From Tourist to Local

London has been my favorite city ever since I visited back in 2016. The unique culture mixed with stunning scenery and a diverse population makes London feel like a second home to me. Most of my culture shock happened the first time I came here, so I was intrigued interviewing Simon Schmitt-Hall who is experiencing London for the first time. Although he finds London comparable to New York in certain ways, he also notices some differences. He appreciates the vas diversity throughout the city, not only with cultures and races, but also with languages. He’s taking advantage of the food variety and additionally is quite enjoying pub culture. I completely agreed with everything he said. I especially resonated with him when he noted that he admires the locals’ pride of being in London, even if it may come off as a bit “snooty”. Simon mentioned his surprise about who was for and against brexit. Personally, I had not thought much about brexit before coming to London. I knew it was a huge deal and I regretted not doing more research prior. It was interesting to hear Simon’s remark about how he had anticipated more people being anti-brexit, but has found it is very mixed. Although I had not done much research, I have learned a ton of information about it after just two weeks of being here. Both Simon and I agreed that getting around and interacting with locals hasn’t been too hard, except for small scenarios where we don’t know the phrase they’re saying. Simon was thrown off when asked, “You alright?”, and I vividly remember that throwing me off too when I last vacationed here.

With my yearning to feel like a resident of London, interviewing a local was an amazing opportunity! What better way to get adapted to a foreign country then to get to know the people who live here? I had a mutual connection and met Sean Stonuk in South London at a mall that had pubs and restaurants inside! I tried to sneak some questions casually into conversation so I didn’t feel like I was interviewing as much, and I got some surprising answers as well as some expected answers. I was fascinated to learn that Sean grew up between Scotland and Germany, but still has a thick British accent. He’s not sure how that happened, but says it might be because of watching television. He moved to London five years ago and is currently a music producer. Though music producing is something I know very little about, it was fascinating talking to someone who works in an artistic field, since I hope to do the same. Sean spends part of his year in LA, and has since grown quite fond of Americans. However, that was not always the case. He grew up with the stereotypes of thinking Americans were less intelligent, more obese, and a lot louder. I completely anticipated him saying that. He’s always thought the US was about 5 years behind the UK on things such as fashion, social development, etc. I found that interesting because my parents have both said that before too. For instance, fashion trends that are popular now in the UK will probably be popular in the US in a few years. I loved talking to him about how he adjusted to the US and why his perception is now different. His answer: meeting people! He’s grown to love Americans and finds each and every one of us unique and “cool”. I also found out his love for American food (burgers and fries to be specific). We both had a good laugh when I asked where the trash can was because they call it a litter bin over here. Sean is used to American terms, but he stated that “trashcan” is one he will never get over. Talking to Sean was a great experience and pushed me out of my element to get to know a local in the city. I would love to continue getting to know people and adjust to being a Londoner even further.