Am I British Yet???

I believe I have made it to the point in our London journey where everything is becoming comfortable. I am used to where I am living and the people I am living with. I know my class schedule by heart and am at ease navigating most aspects of London's public transportation system (except when the bus you are waiting for finally arrives only to drive past because it is out of service). Of course, when that happens all you can do is say to yourself, "Well, it still beats SEPTA!"

Most of the time, I have found the behavior of your average Londoner to be pretty similar to the majority of city-folk back in the states. They are funny when they want to be, independent when they want to be, and social when they want to be. However, after reading through Watching the English by Kate Fox, I began to reflect on encounters I have had so far and how they are representative of the British way of life.

During my first week in London, a few friends and I decided to talk a walk through Hyde Park and go to Kensington Palace. One of the first things I noticed when we went through the gate was just how many dogs were freely running around the park. The majority of them were not on leashes and were mingling with each other. My personal favorite sight was seeing a small wiener dog and a labrador chase each other in circles. It was interesting to see how the level of trust all the owners seemed to have with their pet. No one seemed worried they their dog was going to run off or get in trouble. While nearing the Palace a thicker short dog strolled passed us wearing no leash and no clear sign of an owner. We made a joke of how cute he was when suddenly behind us I heard a woman say, "You guys like my sausage dog?" She didn't say it in a territorial way but with a feeling of pride which I found to be pretty wholesome. The fact that he wasn't on a leash or by her side was not because she didn't care about him but almost felt that he was more of just a pet to her but her side-kick.

There are not dogs in this picture of Hyde Park but I promise they were there.

The "petiquette" section in the book was really interesting to read because of the relationship that British people was something I had never really thought about before. According to Kate Fox, British people get "great vicarious pleasure from our pets’ uninhibited behavior. We grant them all the freedoms that we deny ourselves"(Fox, 89.) Londoners are known for being generally unsocial however, they allow their dogs to interact with each other and other people and gain enjoyment from it. Using a dog as a way to be more open in social situations is something I never thought of before, but it seems to be common practice, especially in public parks. Dogs are used and seen as extensions of the owner which is a British quirk I find pretty endearing. If I come back to America with a British sausage dog... you'll know what happened.

This is the face of a SURVIVOR!!

Yesterday, I went to the pub (surprise! it was Gloucester Arms!) with my friend Chris to get some happy hour deals. He orders the prosecco deal and when the bartender went to open the bottle he popped the cork and it flew across the bar about 2 inches from Chris's face. Although it didn't seem like too dangerous of a situation, it drew a small audience and the bartender looked pretty appalled. The bartender apologized multiple times and insisted that that had never happened to him before. While we waited for the bartender to stop apologizing and pour the drinks the three old men to the right of us were having QUITE the field day. They were still howling about the entire situation and said to Chris and me, "You should have held your eye and said it hit you so you can get your drink for free!" While the men continued to laugh, the bartender who overheard the drunk SNL rejects next to us looked over and then poured the drinks to the very top apologizing, yet again for almost crippling Chris. In the end, the situation worked out for everyone, except maybe the bartender who seemed to be left a little distraught.

I left the bar with a different sense of pub culture. In the reading by Kate Fox, she talks about the ins and outs of pub culture on an in-depth level. One thing I found interesting was the politeness of bartenders and what is expected of them and how they expect us to treat them. Kate discussed how although they are often lower class than the people ordering there is to be a level of respect given to them that is expected. I think the fact that the men were messing with the bartender may have made him a bit uncomfortable because it is not entirely what he is used to. As far at the graciousness of the bartender, it may have been more of a way to make not only Chris happy but the others watching. His politeness was more of a way to get the stress of the crowd and his mistake off his back. After reading the section, it's hard to know the real intentions of the bartender but either way, I think Chris was just glad to get more prosecco.