london adventure day 3 (thurs. 04.04.2002) part 2
Originally written 04.04.2002 This might show up in ‘zine form in the near future if I have a chance to put it together when I get back to Edinburgh.
now i’m leaving trafalger square and i’m heading towards picadilly circus. The place reminds me of times square in nyc, both in terms of the massive amount of neon, and the huge number of tourists. the scene is gaudy and aphixiating, and i’ve had my fill. i just start walking randomly. i’m lost now, but i have my maps in my daypack, so its kind of fun to just take random turns around the city. i’m now at what must be leichster square where there are more tourists, street performers, and vendors hawking henna tatoos. a few more turns, and i’m in chinatown, full of stately restaurant proprieters greeting their diners, and the unmistakable aroma of roast duck hanging grotesquely in the storefronts. I keep walking and i’m back towards the theatres and nightclubs and then back to the tube.
the tube is crowded as it’s getting late and the theatres have recently let out. i see young girls, awkwardly clad in dresses and high heels, happily clutching souveneir programs, and little children looking exhausted, but fulfilled, after a days adventure. The whole scene gives a sort of finality to the day that is really nice. maybe i could live here after all …
when i get back to my hostell, the other inhabitants of my room are already back. at first, i mistake them for a family, b/c they are engaged in conversation, but that’s just part of the social nature of the hostel. they’re just lone travelers like me. there’s the older south african man, the woman from australia on holiday, and the young-looking, college student from chicago. we talk about our individual experiences thus far in london, and the topic somehow switches to personal safety. the other american and i comment on how striking the apparent lack of gun culture is, and the australian remarks that back at home. she can leaver her doors unlocked. the south african talks of the need, in his home nation, for high walls and armed gaurds before entering into a rant about nigerian immigrants. it always catches me off gaurd when i hear someone, who i perceive as a minority, express an anti-minority sentiment towards another group. but, i guess that i, like many in the ‘states, stikk hold onto some notion of africa as a homogenous culture.
i shower, finally washing away the layers of grime that have accumulated on my skin from falls at the skatepark. when i get back to the room, the others are asleep. i turn out the lights and join them.
* as i’m transcribing this, i’m watching some news program on street crime and youth victimization and they flash up some shots of the skatepark and the surrounding estates, complete with ominous music.