Tiring of London

So many of the non-British people I talk to in London wish they were somewhere else, yet they've been here for years. My Bangledishi duty manager at work hasn't been home in six years and has no plans to return, but doesn't particularly like London. The Turk who serves my white coffee every morning at Cafe Mezze tells me stories of how beautiful Turkey is, with its 26 degrees Celsius weather and beaches, yet hasn't been home for several years. He shakes his head when I ask him if he likes living here and says "12 years is too long here. Same thing every day."

There are so many stories like these. And it makes me wonder...why are people drawn to this city only to be miserable in it? Isn't there anyone here who loves waking up to the busy streets and honking taxi cabs, the fresh bakeries and endless wanderings down roads that make no sense, the anonymity that comes with the feeling of you and the city?

Then again, these people have been here for years, and I only three months. I can see how city life could wear on a person after awhile. The morning traffic that once energized you ends up smothering you with smog, the fresh bakeries don't cease their deliciousness but begin fattening you, it takes you hours to find anything on the confusing streets you once loved getting lost on, and your relationship with London turns into a love/hate one. Or maybe just hate.

I can see it happening. But not yet for me.


Andrea, Claudia, Amir and I are going to Edinburgh tomorrow! Amir called the front desk a few minutes ago as he often does in the mornings when I work, and I heard music blaring in the background, then a shout: "18 hours baby!" Every time he calls me in the morning, there is a different music playing loudly in his room. One day it's techno, the next it's Iranian. I sometimes think he puts the phone right next to the speaker when I pick up so I know that it's him. He's going to Dubai to start his career in his father's business next month, and I'm truly going to miss him and his morning calls.

On to Scotland! Hopefully I'll have stories of kilts and haggis and accents I can't understand in my next entry. Then back to London, happily. I'm not sick of the city yet.