Final Reflection Paper
It has been about 12 weeks, and my time in England is coming to an end. Part of me still can not believe that I am here, in England, living and breathing and learning. Ever since I was little I have seen pictures and watched films and TV shows depicting England. Now, I am living and experiencing it, and it is surreal. Overall my experience have been very positive. I have traveled around, explored new places, been mistaken for a girl band member, gone to parties, met some great and incredibly kind people, had a fling, seen three Thylacines, produced some rad art, animated, and have lived an adult life of shopping, cooking, and cleaning by myself. I have grown tremendously as a student, and as a person, and have taken major step forward in my life.
Before arriving here, I was completely confident in adjusting to the culture. I knew that some words had different meanings, and I had been told my numerous people that I was not going to England to experience the cuisine. I thought that the culture would be almost identical to American culture- and in some aspects, I was right. There are quite a bit of similarities, but within each of those similarities are tiny differences. For example, public transportation. public transportation exists in America, but it is not as common as it is England. In England it is normal and acceptable to use public transportation. In America, people who use public transportation are looked down upon. I believe this is because Americans are obsessive consumers. American's love materialistic things, and by using public transportation, people assume you are too poor to own a car. The whole thing is weird and does not make sense. People in England are very consumeristic in their own ways. The English tend to buy a lot more designer clothing and food. Whenever I am out on the High Street, no matter the time of day, every shop is crowded, and everyone has bags of newly bought goods.
One thing I will not miss at all, is the food. Everything is fried in lard and vegetables seem more like a garnish than anything. All fruits and vegetables were individually shrink wrapped, or in some sort of plastic container (which is cringeworthy from an environmental standpoint). Buying boxed macaroni and cheese was like buying gold, costing about $3.36 per box. I found it as hard to find food to eat in restaurant that was vegetarian and somewhat healthy, and what I did find was usually a striking palette of browns and beiges. It was interesting to learn about some of the historical context of “British cuisine”. Everything is so hearty because people needed the energy, and easy to eat meals to get through the day. Meat and potatoes (a staple here as well as in the US) are seen as manly, hearty foods, that will keep you going throughout the day.
One thing that took me by surprise in being immersed in British culture, was the “language barrier”. Right before I left, my Uncle jokingly told me “Have a splendid time in England. Try to immerse yourself in the language so you can be fully bi-lingual when you return.” I laughed at first but there really is a language barrier. The words I struggle with the most is pants and trousers, and chips and crisps. Something interesting about English accents, is that they differ every 20 miles or so.My English friends are able to tell around where another english person is from just from their accents and dialect. I am able to hear some differences, such as a “posh city accent” versus a “northern country accent”.
I do not think racism is as big in the UK as it is in the US, although it is still apparent. We have shootings literally every week of unarmed black men women. It definitely does still exist here in the UK, but have seen a lot more islamophobia than black british racism. I walked down a street called Brick Lane in London. It was a lovely Indian community, and the smells of sweet goods mixed with curry was so enticing. It was a perfect example of failed interculturalism. These people were backed and packed into one area, and still received dirty looks from white people. Racism is still apparent, but I think it is differently expressed here (this is just based on the short time I have spent here, and from the view of a white woman). I also think black history is more brutally honest in the UK.
I remember learning about slave ships and the conditions the people were kept in. I remember being showed the same image over and over again between years 5-10. It is an illustration of what the inside of the ships looked like; little tiny figures arranged to fit the contour of the ship. We were never shown real images of these horrendous conditions, and we never never read actual accounts of the experiences. It was all very hush-hush. I can understand not teaching the actual horrors of slavery to young children, but I think we should be more informed by the time we are in middle school.
We would learn the basics of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad; although the versions we were taught were extremely biased. We learned about white slave owners, and how they would “mistreat” and “beat” the slaves, but we were never taught the full extent of the treatment until late high school (around ages 16-17). When learning about the Underground Railroad, we would focus on the “nice” and “good” white folks that would “risk their lives to harbor black people”. Even in stories about black people, black people are the supporting characters. I believe that has to do a lot about the way we teach US history. The US, and especially US history textbooks, hate to show white people as evil. We are always “problematic” but not villainous, and always shown as heroes. Text books would conveniently gloss over the fact the Christopher Columbus raped, pillaged, and murdered innocent people. It also doesn’t help that twice a year we celebrate national holidays of our unjust claim to land and the gentrification of Native Americans.
The Middle Passage was the inhumane voyage route across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to the West Indies, and was part of the transatlantic slave trade. The voyage took between 6 and 8 weeks. The transatlantic slave trade formed a triangle, starting at ports from England, going to Africa, then to the West Indies and then back to Britain. The people who survived the Middle Passage to the West Indies were sold to American land/slave owners. Liverpool is relevant to the museum because it was one of the big ports for which the transatlantic slave trade stopped at. It also stopped at Bristol and London, both of which get enough tourism. I think museum’s aim is to make people aware that while Liverpool is a great city with rich history (ie the Beatles) it is important to remember the negative historical events as well. It also nicely with the other maritime events that happened in Liverpool. The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 abolished slavery in, you guessed it, 1833. The act was repealed in 1998 and replaced with the Human Rights Act which still prohibited people from owning slaves (even though people still do).
The slavery museum was incredibly eye opening, and I think the museum did an amazing job. They did not try to hide any details about the horrors of slavery, nor did they try to sugar coat any of it. In fact, the graphic nature of the exhibit is what made it so good. It forced you to look at these horrors that real people indured, and how we let it happen for xxx years. The part that had the most impact on me, was the round room with the graphic video and sound clips. The up close shots of shackles, bloody fingernails, and feet combined with the audio of the creaking ship, whimpering and the outcries, created an experience that was so unnerving and sickening, I actually had to leave. You know something is good when it has that kind of effect on people.
Although the other sessions revolved around black culture and its oppressive past, I do not think the three went that well together. I have to say I was disappointed in the presentations by both Christian O’Connell and Bonnie Greer. Both of them seemed to be very scattered with their ideas. For Christian, I am going to be very honest, it was hard to listen to a white man talk about black history. It is fantastic that he compiled the scholarly works, and that he is genuinely interested in blues. However, this history does not need to be told by another white male. I was genuinely surprised I did not enjoy Bonnie Greer’s talk. I think it was because again, her ideas were unfocused, and I had a hard time trying to understand the point she was making.
England had been an amazing experience overall, and I am so grateful for my family and friends for helping get here, and I am going to miss it. I am going to miss the small pockets of towns like Prestbury and the rolling hills of sheep. I am going to miss being able to hop on a bus and explore a new city or town. I am going to miss the kindness of strangers, and the general attitude of the English people. Surprisingly, I am going to miss the weather! I would take slightly cold, windy and rainy, over 15℉, 3 feet of snow, and 4 months of winter hell anytime! I truly hope to come back one day, and know in my heart that I will.