Americans in London--some observations

I'm not an anthropologist, but I could play one on TV. Perhaps my interest in people-watching had an effect on my choice of academic career (research psychologist). I became good at observing behaviour in a dispassionate, systematic way.

What follows is a brief report on the behavior of Ex-Pat American women in London. These observations were done on a non-random sample of people who send their children to the American School (i.e. skewed extremely to the upper-upper middle class)

NOTE to Readers. The item on hairstyles that used to follow below has been deemed "inappropriate for the general public" by Hubster and has been removed.

When gathering for a planned group expedition that involves meeting at tube stop, groups of these highlighted women will congregate in a place of maximum blockage for those who are trying to enter the station. They are so busy chatting amongst themselves while waiting for the stragglers to arrive that they do not notice that they are COMPLETELY blocking the entrance to the tube station. Once they have arrived at the destination tube station, they will position themselves in a group at the top of the escalators in such a way as to deny access to the exits to anyone else coming up the escalator. This is in the spirit of waiting for any stragglers, but it annoys those who are not in the Group.

Many of these women also engage in walking and running groups in the local neighborhoods. The meeting place for such activities is the SJW Starbucks. The really fit ones can be seen in their running gear, stretching their quads and hammies next to the tables of bean-sippers. Due to my knee, I will never be a runner, so am actually secretly envious of this display of lycra.

The American women are also quick to tell you their sagas of waiting for customer "service".

They will also offer useful advice about how to work appliances, get a UK driver's license (which you have to do before you've been here 12 months), how hard it is to actually pass the driving test, where to shop that offers free delivery, which doctors are wonderful (see homage to our doctor below), how to avoid getting ripped off, etc. As Americans are wont to do, compared to some other groups, they are friendly and assume you'll both want to talk to them AND hear what they have to offer. As this is the main group to which I have been exposed so far, it is easy to chat with strangers and find some common ground in the midst of a strange city.

I am not the only one feeling like a "newbie". One of the women I met last week at the neighborhood coffee is feeling similarly estranged. I was walking near the High Street several days ago, and I heard my name being called. WOW! I looked around, and there was NiceMomH, disguised in large sunglasses. I never would have recognized her. I'm glad she spotted me. It made me feel like I was settling in to the neighborhood a little more to have had a shout-out on the street. I will now call this area of St. John's Wood "the Hi street".