Geriatric OE

The weekly musing of a couple of Kiwis on their geriatric OE in The UK






Wednesday, 9 November 2011

Insulated

As I sit at my usual weekday morning Starbucks I'm struck by the thought of how separate we make ourselves from each other. When I look around no one is making eye contact with anyone else aprt from the counter staff and I am struck by how different it would be in NZ. In London's seemingly ovepopulated world I wonder if it is an attempt to retain personal space in a crowd.. On the jam packed tube almost everyone is head down, eyes only for the newpaper or more likely a PDA. Ear plugs in listening to thier own world, not making eye contact with anyone else,  or heaven forbid actually taking to anyone else. I crammed myself into a crowded tube a while back, yes I can do that now, and said to the men surrounding me 'Gosh, haven't been surrounded with so many handsome characters for a long time'  All I got in return was a blank looks form them.
But if you do manage to engage one of them in conversation it can be interesting. I struck up a conversation with a young fellow the other day on my way home. Yes, I talk to anyone who will listen. He was sitting next to me on the tube and had his head in a very complicted looking text book. Turns out he was an electrical engineering apprentice in his first year and finding it quite hard going, but defiantely woth the effort.

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