Just like home...kind of

Damn, I was drunk when I last posted. anyway...

I used to think the UK was really weird and uncomfortable. It was so much like the US but twisted in a strange way that made it unnerving. It was like Boston on drugs : people sound funny, cars go backwards and you don't understand the jokes.

At first, I also thought the English were weird -reinforced by the English camp councilor who I've been in touch with since I was 10. We spoke the same language but didn't go much further than that...well, there was the beer and taste for cheddar cheese. But things have started to change...

The past couple times I've gone to London, I've had this feeling that London is home. The longer I'm away from home, the more London feels American (or do I feel more English?). Maybe my idea of what the US is is fuzzy or maybe London has changed, but I actually look forward to going to London in some of the same ways I look forward to a trip to the US.

I look forward to not having to make an effort to speak (although I do to understand), I look forward to the supermarkets and their cheddar cheese and cranberry juice, take out coffee, muffins, bagels, Indian food, nice English cuisine (yes, I said nice) very much like what I'd get at a typical American restaurant in NYC, people who don't look you up and down, being rude in stores and no dog shit in the street, Boot's (like CVS), Waterstone's (like Border's), strange flavored potato chips, Whole Food's, runners everywhere, houses with front and back yards and my new favorite, Wagamama which is as good as Republic in Union Square but without the wannabe actor attitude (I actually think they are connected)...shall I go on?

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and a little homesick.

Then I realize how much money I've spent in 36 hours in London and realize, it's not quite like home...