Delaney Brake

Britain’s diversity was one of my initial discoveries. All of my prior exposure to England almost exclusively involved white people. My naive perception was challenged even before I landed in London. None of my flight attendants were white and yet they spoke with a British accent. I’m embarrassed to admit I never heard anyone from an Indian or African descent speak with that accent before my flight. Although the encounter opened my eyes, it was only after living in England for a few weeks that I was able to fully understand the magnitude of the UK’s diversity. The streets of London are flooded with individuals from different cultures who speak different languages and have different beliefs. A trip to Brick Lane proved that entire streets in London are devoured by diversity. These streets in the east end add character and complexity to the city through the scents of curry, breathtaking street art, intricate fabrics, and hummings of a history that continues on today. nicely expressed

In addition, I had the honor of having lunch with a group of British young adults from Hillsong Church London last Sunday after service. As we laughed and asked each other questions about our hometowns, my friend Desiree told me a story about how she served a group of Americans at a local restaurant and they told her “I didn’t even know black people lived in England!” Another conversation I had was during a small group Bible study on Monday night. The group consisted of three people from Romania, one Italian man, one English woman, and myself. It was through our conversation that I realized another contributor to London’s diversity was immigration. My friend Luigi explained how common it is in Europe to move to another country and that London, specifically, was home to a plethora of immigrants. He believes that there are more people who were born in other countries living in London than people who were actually born in England. All of these experiences have revealed that the realistic (real) population of London is far more beautiful, intricate, and endearing than the whitewashed version a majority of Americans imagine. where do you think these misconceptions come from?

Although a plethora of my prior perceptions of British people have proved themselves to be false, the perceived characteristic of British people being incredibly apologetic is blatantly accurate. Whether it’s on the Tube, walking down the street, shopping for groceries, or observing beautiful works of art I have had numerous people say a short “sorry” as they pass me for no apparent reason. This “sorry” is also often said in a hushed tone. I have discovered that the majority of British people I’ve interacted with don’t speak as loud as myself and my American friends. Even in a pub, there is not nearly the same level of noise as there is in a Starbucks in the USA. However, Scottish people did appear louder and more eccentric than English people. There were multiple instances of shouts and uproars in laughter at the Frankenstein pub in Edinburgh, while I rarely overhear a conversation in Highgate’s Whittington Stone pub. could just be the different clientele in the two pubs

Through the conversations I’ve had with English people my age, I’ve also discovered the large role that banter and witty remarks play in the lives of Brits. English humor is quite sarcastic and so quick at times that I’ve missed punchlines. For example, when I was hanging out with my friends from Hillsong, there was a passionate exchange between two girls from London and one guy from Birmingham. The girls from London were making fun of Birmingham and exclaiming how they “could never date a bloke from Birmingham” because of his accent. The guy retaliated that at least Birmingham had clean air and the girls reasoned that at least they could have fun in London, unlike "the midlands". There was a sense of pride about being from London rather than Birmingham. It was through this interaction that I was able to understand the playful rivalry that exists between the different areas of the England, that’s similar to, but perhaps not quite as intense as the rivalry between Ohio and Michigan.

Some interesting observations! A