The Streets Where I Live

Suddenly since I've returned to the states, my cultural awareness has increased dramatically. I never realized just how pretentious all the neighborhoods in Fishers and Carmel are, until I noted that they all have names like "Cambridge", "Oxford", and "Woods of Brighton." Then, once you get into them, they enjoy street names such as "Charing Cross Road", "Windsor Drive", and "Hampton Court." I'm in the midwest, but yet we're striving so hard to be like New England. It's almost unsettling. We seem so fake, so pretentious, so absurd, in comparison to the reality.

When I was shopping a few weeks ago at Macy's, I noticed that one of their lines -- Style & Co -- uses all British names as well for their products, including Notting Hill and Portobello Road. Having lived in those two places, it seemed so alien to me that American would be that quick to co-opt their names as its own.

I was so eager to come home the last few days in London that it's odd to me now how much I'm starting to miss it. There is much I still wish I could have done. Further, I wish I could still be prodding about the halls of parliament. I'm trying to keep updated on the political situation, and it's fascinating as ever. Sadiq getting bad press for bashing immigration statistics...David Cameron staging a comeback, Brown dithering over calling an election -- the system is so different from our own, and so fascinating because of it.

If I could live in London, with Mormons, and work in parliament, and get paid, or at least not have to deal with the insane prices and exchange rate -- I would go back in a heartbeat.

Though I don't think I could stay. It'd be a stint for a year, maybe two at most. I love the midwest, the wide open spaces, the much more beautiful weather. Big city life, especially in the long term, is certainly not for me.