London II

Sweden has the most civilized people I've met. The people are happy, healthy, sensible and mild mannered. It was therefore a good transition for me to stop in London before going back to the states. My first night in London had me out with Michael, my friend from Scranton whom I was staying with, and some friends of his. After seeing some good local bands in the beyond-fringe neighborhood of New Cross, I was told not to talk to drunk people on the street if they talked to me. This was against my nature, so I questioned Michael. His friend Claire came and told me the same. "Talking to drunk people will get you stabbed....with a knife." As these words came out of her mouth, a fight broke out between two guys across the street. Soon, 15 people were fighting in the middle of the street, many of them not even seeming to know the original two men fighting. Someone even shouted "Arsenal" alluding to the London soccer club of that name, and adding the spirit of hooliganism I had expected. I am inclined to think that British men really like drinking and fighting. It is like a national past time. I suppose it is unfair to generalize and call English men violent. After all, as the US Supreme court handed down the decision that actions at Guantanamo Bay had to be in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, the equivalent of the British Supreme court was making a similar decision. The top 3 Superior Judges in the UK ruled that forcing suspects to serve house arrest for 18 hours a day was cruel and unusual punishment. That's a bit of perspective.

My last night in London had me meeting up with Emily, Paul, and Agneshka (sorry if I spelled your name wrong).. I met these three in Poland on a sunny, blue-sky day at Auschwitz. I also met up with Scott and Christie, whom I know from DC and just moved to England this summer. They had their friends Yves and Nathalie visiting from DC. Scott, Yves and I played football in what we called the DC Latte League. We met at Starbucks on Sunday mornings and sipped $5 drinks as we discussed world politics, efforts to preserve national parks in Madagascar, and the endangered species of monkeys in the jungles of Burma. We also played some football after a few hours.
On the way back to Michael's, I decided stopping for Ice Cream instead of one more drink would be the appropriate send-off before returning to the states. I've had my fair share of Ice-cream on this trip, primarily because it is the creamy Italian Gelatto that is poured into the display case with waves and ripples, just begging to be eaten. I will miss that, in fact, there are many things I will miss (and many I won't) so I'll prepare the list...