Moving on
Some of you have been asking me how things have been going here in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks last Thursday. It’s hard to say…some people have the opinion that this was bound to happen, it was just a matter of time. Hell, we survived all the IRA bombings, we’ll get through this one. There’s the British stiff upper lip coming into play. Others though, aren’t as outwardly brave. I’m one of them. Yes, I was in the US during the September 11th attacks, but I wasn’t in New York, or D.C or anywhere near there. This is different…I live here. I commute on those trains. This is my adopted new city. This kind of thing isn’t supposed to happen here!
Do you think I get stressed out every time I get on a train now? Yes, I do. As do a lot of other people. But how could they not? It hasn’t even been a week yet, and you can’t go into a station without seeing the big warning posters with "Bomb Alert" emblazoned on them in 50pt red font. And you can’t get on a train without the stationmaster saying "as a result of last Thursday’s incident, the following lines are still closed…" Everyone is a bit a jumpy these days, but strangely, a bit more friendly. Brits tend to be fairly guarded, and before last Thursday, it was almost guaranteed that you could get on the train and not even make eye contact with anyone. Now, it seems a bit different. We all look at eachother when we get on the train. It’s that you look nervous, good, because I am too kind of look. I’m sure it’s temporary but it does show a different side of people here, perhaps a more real side. People are moving on…it’s life, it moves on whether or not you are ready for it.
July 15th, 2005 at 8:57 am
“Brits tend to be fairly guarded, and before last Thursday, it was almost guaranteed that you could get on the train and not even make eye contact with anyone.”
Oddly, I sometimes miss this kind of disconnectedness in the fast-paced urban life. People in where I’m from -Shanghai - is the same way. It’s the attitude I was used to and grew up with.
Interestingly, when I visited London after one year living in Dallas, I started acting like a friendly southerner, making eye contact with people in the tube and even once greeting a fellow pedestrian with a smile.
Of course, that happened on my first day in London. After getting silent treatment in return, I realized, “Hey, I’m in London now. What am I doing? Act like a typical cosmo-woman!”