FREE CULTURE
“Culture” is a pretty broad topic. London has a population of anywhere between 12 and 14 million people (depending on how the metropolitan limits are set) and houses countless historical and not-so historical sites, tourist hang-outs, sport venues, live theatre, musical acts, future/past musicians and of course, museums. But what does London have that YOU might like?
In London, “culture” is everywhere. To most, English Culture might just be a bunch of people walking by each other pretending not to notice each other until one of them has to step to one side in order to avoid a collision. Living in London is kind of like being in a big maze playing a big game of chicken. But if you think about it, walking down the street can be both a game AND a cultural experience. Culture, though, is not just going somewhere or doing something; it’s taking away from the experience. Curiousity. Knowledge. Growth.
I am not afraid to admit that I am a huge procrastinator. I cooked this evening for the first time in a week – just because I couldn’t be bothered otherwise. Through university, you get used to pulling all-nighters to finish papers because hitting deadlines makes for good grades. Most people I know who have lived in London for many years have never even been to the Tower of London or Westminster Abbey, because they’ll “get around to it”. When there’s no real deadline, what’s forcing you to actually do anything? I’m guilty of the same thing.
Before last week, I had only been to the National Gallery, which hosts everything from early renaissance to post-impressionist paintings. Even so, I didn’t make it there until 2.5 months into my stay. This is the kind of museum I like. Simple, concise, direct, no real surprises. Last week, after an eternity of procrastinating (despite walking by it everyday on my commute to work), I went into the British Museum. It was mostly made up of ancient artifacts dating back to before 1300 BC. It makes you wonder what it would say if it could talk – or if it would even remember that far back, for that matter. Growing up in Canada, we don’t really get anything that old. So that kind of thing is always cool to see. And then there was the Tate Modern. The main exhibit at the moment is a series of giant slides that go from all 5 levels of the museum and descend all the way to the bottom level. To me, it seems like more of an amusement park than it does art. Bottom line: Modern art. I don’t get it. But people must like something about modern art because that museum was packed. I’d like to get to the other big museums and having been to only a few, I feel kind of stupid. You see, in London, museums provide a wealth of knowledge…at the attractive cost of nothing.
Over the past few months, I’ve been only to a few small theatre shows. Reason being, they are just too pricey. The shows I’ve been to I have really enjoyed, especially the big production of Mary Poppins – especially because of its familiar story (thanks again to Mike and Kate!) Depending what you go to and how far ahead you plan, theatre can even be fairly inexpensive. But by going to theatre, or live music, or even opening up to new types of music, you can easily become more cultured. Listening to someone else’s opinion is always free – especially at Hyde Park’s speaker’s corner…At the end of any given day, the streets and the public “bins” (garbage cans) are littered with free newspapers. This is London’s private sector’s way of encouraging propaganda. It’s also a good way to see what kind of news is making the headlines and stay in tune with the main happenings of the city. The three big free papers are METRO, London Lite, and (my favorite) the London Paper. The problem with the free papers is that all they do is scrape the surface of the matter and though they talk about big issues, never actually offer a solution or reasoning. A couple of the papers are extremely leftists and all they can talk about is how corrupt big business has become, or how global warming is going to kill us all, or how last week some celebrity wore red underpants. And sport. But it’s definitely better than leaving everyone in the dark about current affairs. It probably is an overall positive for society. After all, if the readers don’t agree with what they’re reading, they can throw it away without guilt.
In the past months, I’ve learned how to make a budget and stick to it. I have learned to cook different types of meals and eat healthy. I’ve learned how to out-drink a ton of my friends and still make it home in one piece. I have learned more about America living in London than I ever did actually visiting like how to differentiate American accents. (Sometimes I can even tell what southern state some damn tourist comes from without even reading their State College sweatshirt.) I’ve learned more about European culture: rivalries, opinions of nationals, history, etc, than I ever could have in a textbook. I may not keep all of the friends I’ve made over the last half year, but they can rest assured they’ve definitely enhanced my London cultural experience – and I didn’t have to pay a thing for it.
This post comes to you 6 months in the making; today being, of course, my half-anniversary here in foggy London town. Countless questions and unanswered mysteries are coming to mind daily. I always find it ironic to be walking down the street and to hear London calling by the Clash, ironic only because even if London wasn’t actually calling, people would continue to come. The ongoing joke is that the Pols and the Aussies will eventually take over (more sooner than later) and there will be no actual English people left. But things still bother me. Even after a great deal of search and research, I still can’t figure out, besides being a once powerful (super-powerful) nation, why Great Britain is so dang rich; why the pound continues to be so strong; and why it is, despite the overwhelming conception that English people are rude and their weather comparable, that people continue to flock here. Now, normally I would say something sly like and “I guess we’ll never know.” But in this case, I think it’s that cultural question that makes it so fun…
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