From "Creed," by Dom Helder Cámara

I want to believe that the whole world

Is my home, the field I sow,

And that all reap what all have sown.

I will not believe that I can combat oppression out there

If I tolerate injustice here.

I want to believe that what is right

Is the same here and there

And that I will not be free

While even one human being is excluded.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Two Days in London? Really?

I'm ginger. Blue-eyed. Fascinated by literature, the Britons, the Celts, greenery, Irish/Scottish/Welsh/British accents. I like wearing rain coats. I'm very sarcastic. And I love anything internatonal. In short (dare I presume?), I'm a Londoner at heart.
How the heck did I expect to spend two days here and not get attached?
The second I stepped out of the Tube from Heathrow airport, a metro attendant with a face like mine winked at me and inquired, "You alright there, love?" With his perfect accent. I almost died. It only got better.
London in a 10 minute description, since I'm leaving for LAX in a half hour:
It smells good everywhere, like flowers and water and wind. Unlike most other capital cities, which have a couple gardens to make themselves feel better, the greenery and gardens are the life of London, and they dominate the landscape beyond it. The British accent has the capability of sounding pleasant in any situation. A couple bums were screaming at each other in Piccadilly Circus and I stopped to listen at how refined they sounded. Also, this city is the capital of the language I love the most, where I can find literary history seeping from the cobblesontes. I LOVE IT HERE. Here's how much. You know how I loved Spain? After visiting here two days, I think, if I could do it over...
...oh, that's unfair. My first day here I walked through everything, almost. The Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the Globe Theatre, the Thames, Parliament and Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral (didn't see any old women feeding birds; Mary Poppins was mistaken), Southwark Cathedral, St. James' Park. That night I ate dinner at my hostel's restaurant with four Aussies. London is LOADED with them. I got up the next day and met Marie-Helene, an Erasmus friend, at Buckingham Palace. We took a sentimental walk through Kensington, Hyde Park, Piccaddilly Circus, and the National Gallery. That night I went out with two adorable Aussie girls again, for drinks, and a sweet bon voyage from Europe.
I'm leaving.
It's true that it's time, that I will ecstatically step into LAX and embrace SoCal with a WHOOP. But I have made this promise to myself, so that I can handle leaving London:
I will be back, and for a long time too!

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