Couple of weeks only in fact--and what a crushing couple of weeks they were! But in other news, are Americans overtly fearful of crossing the street in London? Having been an American crossing the street in London on a number of occasions, I would disagree. Most of us--as the author of our sister blog says--learn to look both ways and not just in the direction the cars would be coming from nearest to us. Aren't blanket generalizations fun? They are so easy to shred. People the world over look both ways--even people crossing streets where the majority of traffic they meet is animals. In all the time I've spent in the UK, I have never been uneasy about driving (apparently in the opposite direction! Oh my God!), or crossing the street. Maybe never being uneasy about the driving is a little strange. It occurred to me in a cab once that we were on the other side of the road than I am used to, but... I felt no sort of fear and never really noticed again other than that I was looking at the other side of the road from my seat.
Perhaps it's ethnocentric people who don't look both ways, and simply assume that traffic will stop or be the way they expect because their way is superior. Rather like the amusing questions I was reading over the weekend in a guide about manners. It was a section about how to act in other countries, specifically the questions not to ask and how you would feel if they were asked about your country. Things like, "Why don't they speak my language here?" "Why is the food different from at home?" "Why is it so dirty here?" Admittedly, the last one got a few laughs due to a day spent hustling and bustling around in the Metro. However! The point was... Look both ways when crossing the road in any country, no matter what the traffic!
Sound advice for all.
ReplyDelete