Island time

Something that I keep noticing is that people move at a very different pace here than I'm used to. This difference is most evident during "rush" hour. In New York, I was used to being swept up in the sidewalk traffic, having to battle my way in and out of the people-stream, often out of breath once I reached my destination. Here, people meander. They take their time. No one seems to be in a rush to get anywhere or do anything. There are still massive crowds, especially in the tube stations, but people will just form a quiet queue, wait peacefully to proceed through the electronic gates, and then move at a snail's pace to their train. Getting on and off the tube is maddening as well. A large crowd will form outside a door, let the people out (sometimes), step gingerly inside the train, each person taking a look around, stretching, grabing a paper from one of the seats, opening it up and starting to read, all right next to the train's door, as other people are also trying to slowly make their way inside.

This slower pace seems to extend to all aspects of life here - from the work day (my co-workers were horrified when I told them at my old job I had in be at my desk and working by 9 and couldn't leave at least until 5:30 or 6 unless I wanted to be reprimanded), to service in restaurants and pubs, to getting your keys from the landlord of your new apartment while you stand on the sidewalk with 6 suitcases, a guitar and a ukulele, in the cold, hoping to move in. This is not a bad thing...it is just something that will take some time to get used to. Perhaps since the same winds that blow in the Caribbean also hit the coast of England, the English have the same slower-paced lifestyle...what we like to call island time.