Speak English!

Spring Break has already come and gone and, yup - I left the country. This time I traveled to the United Kingdom. London, England, to be exact. And of course, I had to eat at McDonald's there. So, I think that makes the 6th country outside the U.S. in which I've eaten Mickie D's. But I really shouldn't support that business , though. That was bad of me. Ah, well...

I was in London about 10 days. All I gotta say about the Brits is: they talk funny and drive on the wrong side of the road! LoL. I'm telling you, I sometimes could not understand what they were sayin' and I thought we spoke the same language. :-P It's funny how the language has evolved. For example, the word "Asian" refers to South Asians, whereas here in the States, I believe it has the connotation of East and Southeast Asians. But if you wanted to refer to "our" Asians, you would say "Orientals." But that's politically incorrect in these parts. For those who don't know, I've heard that "oriental" should only be used to refer to inanimate objects, such as an oriental rug. But figures those Brits would still actively use the term "Orientals." They're the original Orientalists. (see: Orientalism by Edward Said).

And crossing the street - gosh! I already have enough trouble crossing without getting killed enough as it is. But this time, I didn't know which way to look. I couldn't keep straight from which way traffic was coming. Luckily, at some crosswalks they have painted on the ground "LOOK LEFT/RIGHT".

The weather wasn't the greatest when I was there. It sucks 'cause my friend there told me before I left that it had been sunny there. Then the day I get there, it's cloudy and eventually rains. And if it wasn't rainy, then it was rather cold/windy. Figures the day I leave it would be sunny and relatively warm. :-/

I went to Buckingham Palace a couple times tryna see the Changing of the Guard ceremony. The first day I got there, they were just finishing with it. Then later a few horse-drawn carriages go by and inside are some Arab men. How do I know they were Arab? Well, they were wearing those headresses that the Saudi family wears. I also saw Big Ben and the House of Parliament. Actually, I didn't see Big Ben itself since "Big Ben" refers to the actually bell, but I did see the clock tower. And the architecture to the House of Parliament is awesome. It's neo-Gothic. I visited Westminster Abbey, as well. And I was on a riverboat in the Thames. I went to Westminster Cathedral, which is the big Roman Catholic church there. What else did I see/do...? I went to Trafalgar Square and the British Museum. At the museum I got to see the famous Rosetta Stone. I didn't finish looking around in there, so, I'll hafta stop through there the next time I go to London. Yeah, I'd go back there. I liked it. It was maaad expensive, but nice. But sooo expensive. Sheesh. :-P

And I thought the U.S. was pretty diverse. But London has so many different peoples. The area I was staying in was like a Pakistani area or something. All these people in their Muslim garb, mixed in with Black and white people, as well as others. In some of the little shops owned by the South Asians they sold Mecca Cola and Qibla-Cola. Yikes. And why did this one guy say to me as I was walking by him on the sidewalk (I think they call it the "pavement" there) something about him betting I had a "tight poom poom." OMG! For those who don't know, it's Jamaican, referring to a certain part of, uh, the female anatomy. As vulgar as that statement was, it did actually make me laugh.

But about the diversity - the white guys actually look at non-white girls there! See, the white guys here are either too scared or not interested or something. But there, it was cool. I liked that. :) And I've never seen so many interracial couples of the kind: Black girl/white or other guy. I saw so many of them there. 'Cause you know how in the U.S., if anything, it seems to be a Black guy with a non-Black girl. Ya know? Anyhoo, it's cool. I like to see the races mix like that. =D

I went out a little bit there. I went to the Ruby Lounge and that was okay. I also went to 10 Rooms, which is supposedly THE spot. Celebrities go there. My friend was telling me how Ms. Aguilera and Mr. Timberlake were there recently. (Not together, I don't think). When we went, there were some celebs there. But local ones, so I didn't really know them: Mysteeq, Blue, and a couple guys from "Pop Idols" or one of them kinda shows (you know, American Idol kinda stuff). It was a nice atmosphere. I also went to this nice lounge-type place that's actually called "The Spot." The girl I was staying with went to sing 'cause they have this open-mic stuff. Most people sing, backed up by the live band they have. Some do spoken word. This one cat from D.C. was there rappin'. Another guy from Philly was there reading poetry. Man, I leave America so I don't hafta be around Americans. :-P

The friend of mine there... I met her the same way I met the people from my Winter Break adventure. She actually knows the guy who invited me to that New Year's party. Kinda weird I went all the way over to stay with someone I only recently "met" and I stayed with her. But it was all good. She's nice and all. Actually, after corresponding with her for a while, it turns out she remembers seeing me at that New Year's party. And I, in fact, spoke to her girl when I was at that party. I saw her this last trip, too. Oh, and I ended up meeting one of her Jamaican friends who's actually staying and going to school around my neck of the woods. He was just in England on some business. He was nice. I met him as well as some of his Jamaican friends who live out there. Funny, the one girl asked me if I was Jamaican. That's another race I can pretend to be since a real Jamaican thought I looked it. :)

There was this one bagel shop close to where I was staying. Actually, it was a "beigel" shop. And it had some good bagels, as well as some pastries. I wouldn't mind a bagel with cream cheese right about now. Supposedly, this is a famous shop. My friend tells me it's been around since the war (WWII?). And one of her roommates said that Mariah Carey goes there. Cool.

So, yep... that's my trip in brief. Met some cool people that talk funny. LoL. Hey, mates - what in the bloody hell are you chatting about over there? I fink you guys are mad! :) And I didn't meet any guys. Saw some cute ones. But you know what? I think I'm attracted to gay guys. Well, I'll be damned if the guys I thought were cute turned out to be gay! Doh! :-P Reminds me of how in undergrad, me and this girl Tia would say there was always a catch with guys we liked: they were either taken, assholes, or gay! Anyways... There were still some things I didn't get a chance to do, so, I have some things to do when I go back one of these days. I doubt I'll go back this year, but some day. And I only wish, as with my other trips, that I had someone to travel with. Traveling alone can be just that - lonely. *sigh* But overall, it was a good trip and I'm glad I went. Thanks, Sofía, for hosting me!