Features of British Culture

Over the course of these three weeks, not only did I observe English landscape, architecture, art, and literature, but I had the opportunity to closely examine and learn about British culture as well, and several strong features of this culture have influenced the way I respond to the country and people around me.

Privacy - There is some truth to the reputation that Americans have for being loud, and the reverse could be said as well - the English are rather quiet, especially in public places. Conversations are confined to the people they pertain to, stalls in toilets reach almost to the floor with no gap between the walls, and as Lisa mentioned, contact on public transportation is restrained, and when it must occur, it is quickly glossed over and then vanishes into the dim haze of courtesy.

Space - England is much smaller than America, and also much older. Many buildings are older than fire codes or specifications for the disabled. Hallways and rooms are often in odd shapes to allow for the maximum usage of what space there is. For example, to get to the Backpacker's in Oxford, we had to first climb up the steep stairs to the third story (American). No lifts were available at all. In London, our hotel made excellent use of floor-to-ceiling mirrors in the entryway to give the illusion of a much larger space. I think that it's because of having less space that English people are more tolerant of squeezing together on the tube and in buses. This space issue also translates into how the English value distance - many of them don't drive because they simply don't need to. Whatever city you might find yourself in, you're in walking distance of most necessary shops.

Flowers - I haven't really drawn any conclusions about the flowers that I've seen, but I took a lot of pictures.