No, Really, I Am an American

From last Saturday

I had resolved to do something touristy last week; I decided that this Saturday, I would go into London and visit the British Museum.

I had some errands to run before I could actually make it into London, though. Trying to get those done was certainly something else. It started by a bus completely passing me by even though I did the whole stand at the stop and wave my arm thing that seems to be the indication to drivers that I’m waiting for that bus number. I think I ended up waiting for like thirty minutes for bus when I should have only waited ten. It only reinforced the fact that I’m not super impressed by the public transportation of England.

I eventually got to where I kind of needed to go. I was meant to go to Caterham, but the buses in my area only serve Caterham-on-the-Hill. When I had asked co-workers about how I’d get into Caterham using public transport, they all said I’d have to take a blue bus, meaning a non-Oyster card City of London bus. That was fine by me, I just had to find the bus first.

Okay, so I didn’t find the bus, but I did get directions and it really wasn’t that bad of a walk down into the valley (and yes, I mean a valley — the place isn’t called Catherham-on-the-Hill for no reason!).

Yay! I got money! Money is always a good thing.

I was feelin’ pretty good about the fact that I got paid, so I hopped a train from Caterham Station and took it up to East Croydon Station. Technically, I could have stayed on the train I was already on, but it was headed to London Bridge and I had plotted my route from London Waterloo so I got off at East Croydon to try and catch a different train. At least the trains kind of work for me; I’d still much prefer some kind of marking like “Local” or “Rapid”, but I happened to catch a speedy train into the Waterloo so it all worked out for me.

Once I got to the station, I caught the tube. I was all kinds of proud of myself for not having to ask for any directions when I got to the underground. The last time I’d been there, I wanted to make doubly sure I was going in the right direction and the like. I didn’t even have to buy a ticket — my Oyster Card worked on the tube as well! It’s a good thing I put £10 on it last weekend.

I wish I could say I didn’t need directions once I got to Tottenham Court Road, but that would be a damn dirty lie. Then again, even when I did ask for directions, the guy at the news stand pretty much pointed down the road and didn’t say I needed to turn anywhere.

Eventually, I got there, though. The first thing I saw was the Rosetta Stone. I could have left right then and there, ya know? Of course I didn’t, but it was one of the objects that made the trip all worth it yeah?

It’s hard to describe everything that I got to see. I mean, I probably could have spent the whole day on the first floor alone! Technically, it wasn’t like I had anywhere to go, but I wanted to explore a bit. I wandered around the first floor for a while, mostly taking in Egypt; it wasn’t long before I got hungry, though.

I think one of the things I liked about the museum was all the language I heard being spoken; it was strangely comforting to be surrounded by tourists. I can’t really explain it, but this doesn’t quite feel like home yet, ya know?

I was incredibly proud of myself for not freaking out eating alone. I usually feel way uncomfortable, but it really wasn’t all that bad. I got the lunch special, which I think was gamon steak with chips (British usage) and carrots. It was pretty good so I was pretty bummed by the fact that I could finish it.

It was off to more wandering thereafter. I figured I should start at the top and work my way down, so I scurried up to the third floor. Now, I know that the British Museum has an extensive collection from the Ancient World and Classical Greece and Rome, but I was more interested in the history of Britain so that’s where I headed first.

I couldn’t help but think of Beowulf as I wandered around the Europe exhibits. They had artifacts from a place called Sutton Hoo, and I think the helmet that was on display has been used as an image for Beowulf covers, but I could just be making that up because of the general style.

I’m not gonna lie, I also marveled at the fact that they had examples of utensils from the Bronze Age. I mean, most folk think the people back then just used their hands all the time or something, but clearly they had utensils. How cool is that?

I was disappointed that I didn’t see any suits or armor or swords. I wonder if those are kept at an art museum the way it is in Chicago or something. Not that the place sucked, I was just hopin’ to see stuff from the Middle Ages.

While I was on the Europe floor, I foolishly decided to see what the Japan exhibit had to offer. That was a huge mistake. I ended up aching for Japan again. How sad is it that I’m in a new country, and I still miss Japan so much?

I left Japan after a brief breeze through for Greece. I enjoyed looking at all the pottery ‘cuz a lot of it showed the myths I’d studied in school.

The mummy floor was super crowded so it was kinda hard to really see a lot. And we all know how I feel about crowds, so I kinda ducked out of that floor kinda quick too.

So yeah, I spent a good few hours in the museum. I left around 4 or so. There was a Starbucks across the street, so I thought I’d get a mocha and write a letter to one of my friends in California. I mean, I used to do that kind of stuff all the time when I lived in Japan, so it seemed only fitting I do so again in England.

I chose a really bad time to go over ‘cuz not long after getting into the queue, everybody else and their brother decided to get coffee too. In fact, there was a delay in my order and I ended up standing about for like ten minutes whilst the people who had ordered after me got their drinks first. It was mildly annoying. I was also worried about finding a place to sit down, but I was lucky in that I was alone so I could sit at a small table.

After killing about forty five minutes, I decided I ought to wander some more. I flirted with the idea of just heading back to the flat, but my sense of adventure won out.

I didn’t go back the way I’d come since it was a roundabout way to begin with, so I just wandered down one of the sidestreets, figuring I’d come to a main road eventually.

And then it started. I passed a bunch of Japanese-themed restaurants on my way back to the main road. So not helping. Then, when I got back to the station and wandered down the other side of the street, I saw a Muji. I was actually kinda excited about that ‘cuz I thought maybe they carried the body wash I liked; unfortunately for me, it wasn’t like the four-floor store in Osaka and their selection was a bit smaller than what I’m used to.

On the bright side of it all, I think I found the book district or something ‘cuz I swear there was a bookstore at just about every turn. Naturally, I went into all them, including the Borders.

But the best bookstore I found was Foyles. At first, I just passed it up ‘cuz I had never heard of it before. But after having dinner at one of the Japanese restaurants (seriously, they were like everywhere), I decided to step in.

Boy am I glad I did! I’m not kidding when I say they have the largest selection of books I’d ever seen. Take the plays section for example, I thought it was just one book case. Then I turned the corner, and the other corner. I’ve only seen a selection like that at a public library! They even had a whole case just for shooting scripts!!

I so wanted to buy a book! Unfortunately for me, I’m back in a book funk. Besides, it’s hard to read for fun when I have to read for school and all. When I get a little time, though, I am absolutely going back there!

So basically, that was my misadventure in the City of London. I got to do something really touristy, and the city is apparently telling me to go back to Japan. At least, that’s how I interpreted all the Japanese restaurants, the Japanese language school I found, and the fact that there was a Muji.