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opinion:
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Sights
and sounds from London memorable
LONDON - To be an American student abroad is not only an opportunity
of a lifetime, but it has become a tool of global awareness.
As Americans we are ordinarily concerned with domestic issues
and policies that apply only to ourselves.
Being overseas has offered us rare glimpses into the perception
and concerns that the world has toward us.
In the last week, Britain has disrupted a regimented and traditional
culture to reach out to the United States. We have witnessed
a monumental changing of the guard where the national anthem
was played in front of Buckingham Palace, a memorial service
held in St. Paul’s Cathedral where an estimated 30,000 people
filled the streets to take part in the condolences of Great
Britain, moments of silence as an American tribute rang throughout
a foreign land as Americans abroad joined with fellow Brit’s
and together they took comfort and stood strong.
Since last Tuesday’s attack, the British have been news hungry
and curious, yet compassionate, hosts to the American visitor.
Newsagents couldn’t keep newspapers on their stands long enough,
and they stood on street corners throwing papers to those who
could throw eighty pence in return.
Underground tube stations became a sea of strangers united by
the thirst for information. They sat silently reading in anticipation
for what Mr. Bush will do next.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has taken a right hand position to
President Bush in his new war against terrorism. The British
have followed and have nobly adopted a courageous and compassionate
role toward Americans.
With this attitude surrounding foreign students, one would presume
this was the case throughout Europe. Sadly, it seems the British
have stepped up to play and left the rest of mainland Europe
on the bench.
France for example, has taken a very different approach in the
aftermath of what has already become a global issue. The French
- Parisians, in particular - showed no concern with the changing
world around them.
The newspapers, the evening news broadcasts and the metro stations
are a somber sight, permeating a detached, uninterested feeling
towards the rest of the world.
Being on vacation in Paris is to be on vacation from reality.
Ignorance is bliss and the French have carried on in harmony,
turning their heads from the grim tragedy the rest of the world
has come to accept as reality.
Americans in France, also, have disappointedly adopted this
attitude. Americans in France were a different caliber
of traveler as a result of the absent media concern and coverage.
The issues of the world do not affect the French directly and
therefore the French do not need to be concerned with the world.
As students coming from London, I have become accustomed to
the unexpected hospitality of the British. I was disappointed
with the reaction in Paris, a city so close to London, and rudely
met by the true feelings of isolation that only being an American
overseas can provide.
Ironically, it is this attitude that many Americans have shown
toward terrorism and turmoil in countries we are not concerned
with. For years there has been political and religious
unrest in the Middle East, yet Americans have gone about their
lives, unaware of the potential global consequences of self-indulgence
combined with an ethnocentric attitude.
Being a student so far from home, so removed from our families
and so separated from a life we once knew has not been an easy
adjustment to make. This is especially true when our country
across the ocean is experiencing the unimaginable.
I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the United States
through the eyes of the rest of the world. Some eyes I didn’t
know would care, some eyes are blurry, some eyes are still shut
and some have been widely open from a deep sleep.
Whatever the perception, the world is watching America.
Lisa Herbst is a senior political science major from Cal
State Long Beach studying at South Kensington University in
London this semester. |
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