Window shop in Berlin
Some impressions of volunteering abroad
Volunteering in Belgium
Being a volunteer means a chance to travel: going to London
With a Eurolines bus London is 7 hours away from Brussels. Or more…: if the bus is held in custody at the French-UK border. This reminds of borders in the current outskirts of the EU instead of being in the middle of it - if you are a Bosnian travelling to Slovenia, this is common-. However, it was not what I expected. I guess most young Europeans experienced travelling to London before, but for me it was the first time. After getting of the bus, I had to have my luggage X-rayed and then wait two long hours for two French passengers being questioned by the French police over some packages of cigarettes for which they did not have a receipt. And if that was not enough: on top of all this the passport of an English bus driver was confiscated just to avoid him from running away and leave the two passengers alone with the police! :-)
Finally the two passengers arrive and we were free to enter the Eurotunnel. An amusing experience! The bus is loaded on a train that looks like a kind of container. Once it is parked inside, the engine is shut down and the barriers are put together in order to create wagons. Then you are told what kind of sound it makes in the case of the fire - it can be a bit of a strange experience if you are somewhat claustrophobic –. There was a Polish guy who declared to the French police that he felt nervous because of the tunnel and whether he could be checked first.
After half an hour you arrive to UK! You are reminded in the train when you’re about to exit that you’re in supposed to drive on the left side of the road. If I would have been driving, I would most likely cause some accident, or at least cause some chaos on the street! I would be totally disoriented since I already have problem with normal general orientation.
London. Look right. Look left. Look both ways. Mind the gap. Mind the stairs. Keep to your right. Keep to your left. To use the tap move your hands to the tap and the water will start running automatically. These are phrases that accompany you while crossing the road, when taking the metro or going to the toilet. Everything is nicely indicated and calculated for you. If you go with a metro to Heathrow airport you won’t be able to use your mobile during your journey (since the London underground is not covered with signal) except when the train goes above the ground and you will have the signal for approximately 23 minutes – as indicated nicely in the trains. Signs, notifications and politeness.
You usually do not have eye contact with people on the street (much different than in Belgium, for instance) and during the weekdays even when all the seats in the metro are taken, there is complete silence and people have quite frozen/sad expressions on their faces. Only during the weekend things get livelier. People are cheerful and talking to each other (alcohol, I guess ;-).
What is also interesting to notice, is that people in London seem not to mind the cold in the winter; it is usual to see someone in short sleeves while you are all cramped yourself because of the cold. And women like to wear skirts and high heel shoes on a bare foot!
About the constant repetition ‘mind the gap’: the gap between the train and the platform is much bigger in Belgium - and there is no notification sign for it! All in all, London is a cool city and I totally forgive the city its bad weather and the alienation of the people – its greatness and uniqueness compensates for everything.