HOW I BECAME A LONDONER IN TWO WEEKS

This time around in England is different.

For one, I am not spending any time whatsoever in Ormiskirk, England. Never heard of it huh? Me either… well of course until I studied there for five LONG months in the spring of 2010. During my spring break, I took a train to London but unfortunately my brief stay did not give me a chance to really experience much. So here I am for round two, this time experiencing all of the diversity England has to offer right in the heart of London! For two months I will put on my best English accent, have some crackers and a cup of tea every morning and learn to live as a Londoner. But interesting enough, many of the perceptions that I once had of “life as a Londoner” have been completely demystified in just two weeks.

 In my last gym session with my trainer in the states, I told him I feared putting on weight while away. He quickly dismissed my fears reassuring me that, “those folks eat healthy out there, you will be fine.” Hmmm how about… FALSE! Walking into Tesco grocery store, my eyes were immediately hit with BIG bright attractive bags, wraps and bottles all filled with tasty looking junk food! As my British Nigerian cousin revealed to me, a majority of Londoners do not operate on a “healthy food pyramid”. A huge portion of their diets consists of crisp (chips), chips (fries), chocolate bars, Fanta soda and takeaway. Talk about healthy eating?

 But one stereotype that I carried over with me still remains. And that is the incredibly amazingggg mix of cultural traditions and beliefs that electrifies the city! While the population of “white British” is still the majority in London, there is a huge population of Londoners who belong to an ethnic minority or was born somewhere other than Britain. To put things into perspective, over 300 languages are spoken in London!  The diversity of the city is unbelievable. And while I remain fascinated by all of the candy and sweets caving in on me in the aisles of the grocery stores, they do a remarkable job of celebrating the diversity of food from around the world. In just about any grocery store or restaurant you will be able to find foods ranging from Indian cuisine, Lebanese, Chinese, Turkish and my favorite Nigerian. I just had a Chicken Tikka microwave dish from Tesco and it was delicious! Think next time I’ll grab a few candy bars… and a Fanta. My trainer is going to kill me!

BTW: You  can probably tell that I love to eatJ

Folasade Omogun