Jeremy's Weblog

I recently graduated from Harvard Law School. This is my weblog. It tries to be funny. E-mail me if you like it. For an index of what's lurking in the archives, sorted by category, click here.

Friday, October 22, 2004

London: Day One

I'm posting from an Internet cafe about 4 minutes from where my friend who I'm staying with lives. I've been in London 10 hours now. 3 of them were spent getting from the plane to my friend's place. 4 of them were spent sleeping (time zones. wow. weird stuff.). One was spent in a supermarket. Because I'm easily amused.

My friend lives in what would in the U.S. be called a working-class suburb, if you were being polite. It's kind of a ways from Central City. But it's cool. I feel like I'm going to bump into the unsuccessful brother of one of the characters from "The Office" on the street.

Heathrow airport was nice. This sounds really bad to say, as an American, because it reinforces stereotypes of Americans, but I was kind of annoyed they didn't have a separate customs line for us and we had to wait with the rest of the world that isn't from the EU. But the line moved faster than it looked. On the tube (tube = subway -- that is the only thing I know, from the guidebook I read), two people were reading Dickens. I thought that was funny.

There seems to be a standard font in England -- it's like Trebuchet in Microsoft Word, a sans serif, pretty casual font. It's everywhere -- on ads, on the tube, in the airport, on the phone book -- apparently the U.S. just didn't get the memo that serif fonts are out this generation.

I bought Vanilla Malted Milkballs from a vending machine. Because anything we don't have in the U.S. is extra-interesting to me. They're good. Halls cough drops come in Blackcurrant. I didn't buy any. But they were in the vending machine too. THey have M&Ms, but the packages are shaped differently.

We spent an hour in a supermarket. My friend needed a phone card, and supermarkets in foreign countries never cease to amuse me. I'm serious. I could wander in there for three hours and be totally content. People here like their chip flavors hearty and interesting. It's so cool. I bought a bag of Peking Spare Rib & Five Spice oriental crisps. They had grilled steak & onions chips, Yoghurt & Dill, Malaysian Chutney, Crispy Bacon (as opposed to soggy bacon?), Lemon & Sage Doritos, Honey Ham. More. I should have taken notes. Wood Chips & Honey Oat Chicken Droppings. I plan to try a new bizarre flavor of something every day. Because I'm easily amused. I got some citrus juice to go with the chips. A cheap snack. I'm a cheap tourist.

Tomorrow: Central London, and the answer to the question, "Will I get run over because my reflex is to look the wrong way when crossing the street?" Tune in to find out. Also, more about funny food flavors.