There are so many opportunities in life to experience things that most people do not get to experience. Going to England for two weeks was one of these opportunities. I not only got to experience a whole new culture but I also got to experience a whole new history. I would consider myself a rather sheltered person. This is because I grew up in a middle class society with not a whole lot going on. The city I grew up in was small without the hustle and bustle. The English culture is much different to what the culture is in The United States of America. This ranged from how people live, where they live, how they eat, to how they get places. Thus, this was rather a shock to me. People live rather close to each other in tight quarters. It seemed to me that most people lived in the city while few lived outside the city. This is totally different from what it is in the states. Where a few live in the city and much more live in the suburbs or outside the city. Everyone knows that the United States has larger people, in reference to what they look like. Thus, we have more overweight people. After immersing myself into the English culture, I noticed that people eat a lot less food. To me the reason for this was due to the fact that people are served smaller portions and “fast-food” is harder to come by. People tend to always sit down to eat than to have food on the go. Thus, I feel as if people in England eat a lot healthier and eat less, thus they are smaller in size. Also in reference to how people look, people in London typically use public transportation to get around rather than driving themselves. This is not only cheaper but also requires more exercising. I found myself getting rather tired because I was walking so much. In America if I wanted to go somewhere I would hop in my car and go. However, in England, I had to walk to the bus stop or walk to the underground. This could be rather far in some cases. Thus, if people in the United States used more public transportation I feel as if people would see a reduced size.
In addition to the culture that I saw, I also saw differences in the history. It seemed to me that the locals had a rich history. England has a longer history than we do here in the states. They also take great pride in their history. People seem to know a whole lot more about their history than those who live in the United States. Learning about their history was a lot of fun. It made we want to know more about the history in the United States. It would be easier to learn more about the History in the United States than it would be in London. This is because their history dates back farther and they are central in the world.
We got to experience a lot of things that most people could not do. When I got home a lot of people asked me what my favorite thing was. I could not come up with one thing. When I would start saying one thing I would come up with another. I tell people to go to the blog to see what all we have done. This is because if I were to tell them all my favorite things they would get sick of hearing of what I loved. Each day had its highlight. I cannot even say that there were bad things. Some might say the bus rides were bad or the plane rides. But when I think of those rides I disagree. I either got to see beautiful landscape or catching up on some sleep. I did not think at first that I would like going to all the tourist attractions because I thought they were going to be boring. However, I soon learned that this pre-conceived notion was wrong. I loved every bit of every day.
Therefore, there is not a doubt in mind my mind that I would go back to England. I would recommend that people go experience a different culture because it is eye opening and it makes one appreciate things that they have and want to have.
