Collective Subconscious & Cultural Observations

The time has come for more cultural observations. Being in England sparked some new trains of thought. It's a strange thing to be American, studying abroad in Germany, but vacationing in an almost-American-culture like England.

The following are not ranked in any particular order, and bear in mind, they are only my experiences. We are a part of all that we have met. . . .

(1) The reason I titled my last post "Where the Collective Subconscious Dreams in English" is because I was struck so much by the plethora of advertisments all over London for theaters, movies, books, etc. I suppose I see this to some degree in Munich, but not to the extent I saw it in London. With the gray weather always overhead, they must dream...

(2) I have seen dogs pee in U-Bahn stations. For some reason, leashing is not that popular here in Munich. It bothers me a little. I will say that the dogs are very well-trained, and ignore pretty much everyone except for their owner, but I'm afraid they're going to start attacking small children and I will be forced by good conscience to intervene.

(4) Transportation. London's Tube station seems to have been built for a much smaller population than it has at present. By contrast, the U-Bahn system is quite roomy and comfortable, especially if you, like me, have claustrophobic tendencies. Also, cycling doesn't seem to be that common in London, due to small streets, no doubt. There exist parts of Munich where one can almost certainly be killed by a cyclist. Not owning a Fahrrad myself, I can't comment as to their experience, and I imagine they feel quite vulnerable and that vulnerability is the cause of their bitterness toward the non-cycling world--but they are very frightening. Step one toe into their zone and they will screech at you like harpies.

(5) One becomes very desensitized to sexuality over here on the Continent. I have to say, my body image has never been so good. For one, you have to walk an inordinate amount. Not having a car, you are your own driver, passenger, holder of drinks and food, and trunk/sherpa. This keeps you in tip-top form, if it doesn't leave you with bruised feet. Then, nudity is regarded almost as an art form here, and there just comes a time when you've seen enough naked men in the Englischer Garten that it just ceases to faze you so much.

(6) It's much easier to fit into the London scene clothes-wise. In London, anything goes. Europeans tend to dress up much, much more. Grown ones, anyway. Teenagers seem obsessed with wearing Converse All-Stars; I have never seen so many of these shoes in my life. College students wear an Adidas-like court shoe, then grown-ups wear nice shoes all the time. (As a former worker in the footwear industry, I'm sensitive to these things.)

(7) When we were in London on Friday going toward Westminister Abbey, there was a huge protest opposite Westminister Abbey. Sarah, Ashlee, and Rebecca were about to cross the street against the light, which is a huge no-no in Munich. I was a bit worried because there were policemen crossing against us, and I didn't want to be ticketed for jaywalking. Then I realized that there was a huge, five-day hunger strike / protest going on not 20 yards away, and the police were probably much more concerned about that than about my potential jaywalking. Oddly, a feeling of relief went through me. I no longer felt like potential line-crosser criminal. Munich's crime rate is pathetically low--as a result, this means that every tiny little infraction becomes magnified 10,000X. I have seen a policeman ticketing a lady with her little 20's style basket-and-bicycle. Automobiles attempting to cross into pedestrian zones while their light is green don't get shouts like they would in NYC, they are instead subjected to the Societal Shaming Glare of Death.

(8) I went into WHSmith Books at Heathrow to seize my last opportunity to browse through English-language books. I adore being in bookstores in general, but it's frustrating when I'm at Hugendubel and the books could be in Chinese for all the good it does me. (Side note: at Hugendubel, they make huge reading areas in the middle, and the cushions snake alongside the center in a somewhat-circular like fashion. This seems to recreate the experience of being on the U-Bahn / tram / bus. Why on earth would anyone do that? Maybe it's to prevent people from stuffing books into their bags in dark corners, but geez. This is a big city, and people are always surrounded by other people all the time--at work, going to / from work, at play, etc. Why can't they just make nice cosy corners like we do in the U.S. ?) So I was browsing around (and the two British-Indian women working there were chatting about Henry VIII and his wives--I love England) and saw Moby Dick by Herman Meville. In high school, I had attempted to read this book, but had gotten bored with it. But I always believe sometimes one isn't ready to read a book until one's had the experience to appreciate it. I realized that now I was ready, since I had enough distance from America to appreciate it as a culture on its own.

(9) I love speaking English. There's nothing like fluency, the information being seamlessly transmitted from aural / visual stimuli to instant understanding. There's this sign in Munich, called "ueber die man spricht. . ." and it roughly translates to "what people are talking about" but it literally translates to "about the things one speaks" which BOTHERS me to no end. I hate seeing it. I adore being in an Anglophone enviroment. I was at the platform in Marienplatz yesterday, and saw a group of three men only a little ways from me being introduced to each other, and thought I heard American English. They were laughing quite jovially and smiling, and I was like, "oh, yeah, they're Americans." Closer analysis confirmed my guess.

I do see why we Americans get the "You're all just like a big, happy dog" rap: we have a habit of not seeming to take anything too seriously--but I think, in fairness to us, that we do--whereas the Europeans take everything seriously. My average rate of smiling has gone down by 120%. I don't smile at baristas, students in the hall, no one. I occasionally copy the Europeans and will allow small children to elicit a tiny, tiny, no-teeth, smile. They just don't. San Antonio's a big city, but people smile there all the time, because it's just a friendly, open city. Europeans tend to view this as "fake" and "exhausting." It's interesting. No perspective is really wrong, just different. But seeing those guys, having just met, laughing like they'd been friends for years, was quite cheering. Fake? Or just projecting the reality that they hope will come?

(1o) Convenience. So few stores take credit cards, or even debit cards. Mammon is God. Why can't you buy your books at the cafe in Hugendubel? Noooo, that would interfere with The System, which mandates, like so many European things, that you stand in line with a huge group of people and Wait Your Turn.

"My country is all I know. . . .And the river opens for the righteous, and the river opens for the righteous." --Jackson Browne & Steven Van Zandt "I Am a Patriot"