Boston has the Charlie Card. Venice has canals. Tufts has poor students climbing up a snow-covered mountain.
No matter where you go, every place has its own rules for getting from point A to point B. And whether I'm heading to class, exploring the city or trekking back from my latest adventure, London is no exception. Here are a few observations I've made while navigating this grand city:
1. Cars driving on the wrong (or right) side of the street tend to be the least of your worries. It's the most glaring difference, but it's also the one that you're most prepared for. The Brits even have instructions painted at crosswalks because they have decided that the fewer tourists turned to pancakes by double-decker buses each year, the better.
Of course, this all leads to the very awkward routine of looking "down, left, right, down again to double check, left, right" to cross the street, but you get used to it very quickly. The bigger shock is going to another country and thinking, "Huh, everyone's driving on the wrong side" before realizing that they are, in fact, driving the same way as in the United States.
2. That being said, you still have a great chance of getting hit by a car. Why? Because this ain't Boston, the land where pedestrians have the right of way to an almost scary extent. We're all used to crossing in the last minutes before the blinking man stops blinking (or even at a blatant red light) and cars screeching to a halt at our presence. Here, the cars will keep going. And going. And have absolutely no intention of stopping.
Believe me, hearing those engines rev when I'm halfway through the crosswalk is not pleasant. Personally, I think this behavior is a remnant of British ego from their once-great empire. The sun may set on the British Empire, but I'm pretty sure the Limey in the driver's seat thinks of good ol' Queen Victoria and divine providence as he looks at a pedestrian and hits the gas.
3. Strangely enough, similar logic goes for relations with other pedestrians. The British are by no means good walkers. They have two speeds: rude and stupid.
As a New Jerseyan, I'm a skilled crowd weaver. You have to be when you're from the most densely populated state. I can duck and dodge my way through apparent deadlock with the greatest ease. Here, if someone does not like how you're walking, you will get pushed, shoved and bumped.
Now, I would tolerate this if the person were indeed a faster and more skilled walker than me. But I cannot count the amount of times I get the elbow only to find the offender suddenly slow to an amble in front of me. Like I said, echoes of having a once-great empire.
4. The Underground goes down deep. Like, really deep. As in, I'm pretty sure that the Westminster stop is indeed in the earth's mantle.
5. Seeing double-decker buses quickly loses its novelty, but I will say that riding in the front of the top level at night is also one of the cheapest fun things you can do in London. With the big window, crazy turns right before you hit something, and the bar in front of you, you feel like you're in a simulator ride. It's like Star Tours, only without the annoying droid.
6. Last thought: Bikes are evil. And obnoxious. And are probably more likely to kill you than anything else. This goes for all of Europe.
Devin Toohey is a junior majoring in classics and studying abroad in London. He can be reached at Devin.Toohey@tufts.edu
