Today was my first day venturing into London and I started it like I have started most of my class days this semester – by waking up and saying "Crap I'm late!" The lecture started at 1 pm but it was 12:15 pm and I had to catch 4 trains. My body is still on Eastern time and my normal bedtime is at 3 am which is 8 am here. So all that Orange is the New Black and Daredevil on Netflix kept me up lol. Needless to say, a shower was out of the question (hey don't judge me, I was in rush :-)). So I got dressed, brushed my teeth and hit the door. It was cool and raining, so I squeezed on a puncho I got from Niagara Falls over my jacket and backpack. It looked quite ridiculous. With that red sweater I had on, I expected to be mistaken for a Twisler, or even the Kool Aid man or perhaps a box or red hots from my child hood lol. I arrived at the lecture – happening at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), a branch of the University of London, hosted by the Center of Gender Studies – about 30 minutes late with an excuse loaded. If asked, I would blame it on my not knowing London. The lecture was on queer dalit movement in India and its intersection with the law. There's a lot to learn but the primary thing is that caste continues to be an important factor in the lives of many people in India. Though in many places it’s supposed to be antiquated, indicators like name and geographic region continue to affect their life circumstances. Like in the United States, causes often champion the needs of the privilege and the lower class issues are not discussed. The LGBT movement in India often ignores the needs of its lower caste members. While listening to the lecture, I saw the influence of American writers both good and bad. The ideological influences of movements in the United States could be seen in the presenters’ rhetoric and ideas. You could also see the Ethnocentrism in American and Western thought attempting to research queer movement. The speaker particularly mentions a book, Less than Gay, as a particular terrible representation of Indian LGBT community by American scholars. After it was over, I met some people and set up some meetings and walked in to Russell Square. It's a famous area in Central London with lots to see. I walked out and just observed. I took my sketchpad out, looked, and drew a couple artifacts to help me connect the experience. While walking around, I saw an area that looked both familiar and different. The streets are narrow, there's hostels, hotels, cafes and sight-seeing double decker buses everywhere. I marveled at the people and old architecture. It’s quite a pleasure. I did have an uncomfortable experience though when I walked into a cafe with only middle class white men in suits in there. Really. There were no women or dark persons; they all looked at me like I had walked in an episode of Friends. I quickly backed out and kept it moving. After the second day, I am settling in to the idea that my nationality is my master status. Every time, I leave the United Sates it’s an interesting experience that being an American is more important than my class, race, or education. I am a representative of the US and it feels weird to critique it the way I do here. I feel sort of like I am talking about a member of my family (a crazy uncle who drinks and dances too much at family reunions). But I digress, after all the years in school, if feels good to learn just for learning sake – without tests and professors’ deadlines. I am just taking my time, learning and growing.
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Today, I am starting a 17 day blog about my experiences in London, while exploring racial and gender dynamics in the England. I plan on hearing lectures, attending archives, meeting with people, seeing the sites and soaking up the cultural environment.
My trip to England began by saying goodbye to my partner and our 3 sons. It’s a mix of missing them and excitement that I feel as I arrive at BWI airport. The airport and flights were pleasant and uneventful and I even ran into LeSean McCoy during my layover at the Detroit airport. As I arrive in London, I am greeted by a very diverse group of people, much like the big cities in the United States. I did find myself just looking around at the city and thinking, “this is where the foundation of many of our ideas are from.” It was like traveling to the nexus of the ideological universe, to this black hole of knowledge. I am hoping I don't get crushed :-) On the surface, much of London is familiar to the United States and this can give a person the sense of sameness or oneness, but I was reminded soon after I arrive that there are differences. People began commenting on my accent. Now, of course, there is an American accent, but actually being in a place where my language accent was viewed as the outsider was an interesting perspective. Now people understand me fine, but at times I do have to speak slower and make sure that I enunciate. It was a strange sensation though, because I am usually traveling to countries with entirely different cultures and languages, so being a stranger there is expected. Here, it’s expectation feels somehow more isolating... On the train leaving the airport, I noticed that the people who got on the train at the first of my three-stop journey were mostly people who were Middle Eastern or South Asian Indians. I wondered if they were there enclaves in London or were these the "Middle Eastern sections" of London. I saw building with writing in Arabic. Children happily played on the train while speaking Arabic and I smiled with joy as they pointed straws at each other. I begin to think about residential segregation and white flight and wondered if these sections were a result of it. Once I arrived at the final train station after about 3 transfers, I walked into the neighborhood where I would call home for the next three weeks. It looked different than what I was used to. The houses are a cross between the row houses of Baltimore and brownstones of New York (refer to the picture at the top of the page). The distinctive chimneys made me think of the movie Mary Poppins, particularly the scene where Dick van Dyke is jumping in and out of chimneys cleaning them and singing, Chim chiminey Chim chiminey Chim chim cher-ee! A sweep is as lucky As lucky can be Once I arrived at the home I am staying, I pretty much napped the rest of the day. (I have a new born at home so uninterrupted sleep here I come - lol). Tomorrow is the first lecture that I am attending, so my real exploration of London and its racial and gender dynamics will begin! |
Myron Strong
professor. learner. traveler. emerging artist Archives
November 2018
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