Fili’s world

After spending over three weeks here in London-UK there are things I see and experience everyday which I'm curious about. Of that very big list of things, here are 10 quick observations, which are probably all incorrect :

Londoners love to stand up - They're always standing up. There could be loads of empty seats just next to them, comfortable chill-out seats that Israelis would fight over, but the Londoners will prefer to stand up. Put up a big box in the middle of the street and in 5 minutes you'll have a group of friends next to it, standing, probably with a pint in their hands. Which brings me to the next point…

Beer all day around - I've gotten used to that when I was traveling with Europeans while in Asia. Israelis aren't that big on beers, you see, and in all those beer rankings comparing Israel to the European countries on beer consumption we always end up last. Most of the Israelis drink beer when going out to a pub at night, at parties and such. For some Londoners, beer is the basic natural substance needed to maintain steady life, probably overranking the importance of water. When you get a beer in London, asking for a 300-400ml botlle/glass is a joke, since a real Londoner will begin with a pint (568) but will probably ask for an even bigger glass. Drunks everywhere? not that I can see. I think Israelis drinking a beer bottle get drunk faster than a Londoner drinking a whole beer-case.

Londoners don't speak English - English is almost extinct in London, at least in the places that I go to. On the Underground, in the parks, in the shopping malls and markets people understand English but they usually speak a different language. Never in my life have I experienced so many different nationalities in one place. I honestly believe UK has lost its capital to the world. It's a grand world city now, with a big China-town (SOHO), Japan-town (around Japan-center), Jewish-town (like Golder's Green), Little India, Muslim area (Pakistan, Malaysia) etc etc. It's all quite overwhelming.

Londoners don't need to breath - No air-conditioning or windows anywhere. Not on the bus, not on the underground, not in restaurants or coffee-bars. London is suppose to be cool and nice, and sometimes it really is, but without any windows anywhere I always feel like I'm about to suffocate. When it does get hot, and oh-dear it sometimes does, then it's just a living hell.

Londoners are great drivers - especially the ones on the motorbikes. They don't really need to look at where they're going. Motorbike here have this nice board in front of the driver, blocking the important view of what's actually happening on the road. On that board, they have maps, notes and sometimes even books and newspapers. I should try that.

Londoners like extremes - It's either black or white, hot or cold, nothing else. For the life of me, I can't understand the "one for hot water, one for cold water" system. What do I do if I want it to be just in between?

Londoners know how to dress up - Fashion in London seems to be all about expressing one's self. There's not a day that goes by that I don't see some soft of outrageous clothing which I totally adore. I would never be able to walk around wearing something like that, even for large sums of money, so I appreciate anybody who can. I love it how comfortable people feel with themselves here, doing strange combinations like suit jacket with short pants and fancy shoes - I really do.

Kinky, but on the side - Sex is all around you, but it's in some weird places. Why are all the phone booths in London covered in sex ads?

And the last two - Sandwich is a religion here which I fail to understand, and I respect the fact that of all the hard-working people I see in the streets doing construction and pluming - most of those hard-working people are Londoners and not abused poor foreign human imports (usually from China/Asia).