Small Town Girl: Can't Help but Stare

by - 4:31 PM

I miss London. I miss that big busy city with all my heart. Don't get me wrong, I love living in a small town in the Dutch polder. I love to wake up on a Saturday morning and hear absolutely nothing except for some chirping birds outside my window. Yet sometimes I find myself staring out of the window at the ducks in the pond behind my house and think: 'I miss London so much.'
I spent only a few days in London back in October, but every single one of those days was filled with awesomeness. The city is so alive compared to my sleepy hometown. I had to keep my eyes open the entire time; if I blinked, I'd miss something amazing. I'm not just talking about buildings or monuments. Actually I'm mostly talking about the people. I saw so types of people I'd never see back home and sometimes I really couldn't help but stare.

Stare like that.
I have a creepy stare.
Things that would catch half the town's attention are completely normal in London. Drunk man yelling at inanimate objects? Okay, we'll just let him be, happens all the time. Guy at the stop lights who looks exactly like Jon Snow? Nothing to see here. Men wearing turbans? Plenty of those around here. School class full of five-year-olds in the cutest school uniforms ever? Yeah, we see that cuteness every day in this city. Oh, and a taxi cab driver who's reading a magazine while driving his cab through the crazy London traffic? Totally normal, why does that even surprise you?

Back home I don't see any of these types of people. Drunk men usually stay inside or fall over into some bushes on the corner of the street, where no one sees them. There's not a single dude here who looks like Jon Snow (and I choose to believe I actually saw the real deal that day in London). Seeing a man wearing a turban in the Dutch polder is as rare as finding a unicorn and school uniforms have never been a thing in this country. If a taxi drives through town, everyone is surprised and wondering what kind of fancy person is sitting in that backseat.

It's nice to live in a small town, but you rarely see any colorful characters. People leave their culture at home, cabs are for posh people and if you want to get drunk, you do it at home. It's almost like a culture shock when you arrive in London as a small town girl. After a while, though, if you keep your eyes open, it turns into wonderland. No matter how hard you try not to, you'll find yourself staring at all the people all the time. There's something awesome to discover on every street corner. Compared to that, my hometown is sleepiest place on earth.

Stay Awesome!

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6 Fellow Ramblers

  1. Oh my goodness I needed this post to remind me I'm not alone. I recently moved from Philly to a small small town in Ohio and after 1 1/2 years I'm still not used to stares I get when I walk into certain stores and such!
    This inspired me to write a post about the the same thing (I mean it's a little different but still)
    Thank you,
    Hugs from Hayley

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    1. Woah, that's a big move! People in small towns do starea lot when they see new people, I hope it passes though. I'm looking forward to that postof yours :)

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  2. This is why I love to travel! I enjoy experiencing other cultures and seeing how everyday life goes for them. I get a bit homesick after some time, but there's nothing quite like being in a new environment. I'm not sure if I can LIVE somewhere else, though. That would be a challenge!

    Gail

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    1. Same here! I love discovering new places and I'm actually hoping to get a job in Singapore for a year or so after I graduate college, but I'm not sure if I could handle big city living :P

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  3. Haha. I understand. I go to a High school of about 2000 and there are smaller schools within an hour that have minimal diversity. I recently have become friends with someone who moved from one of these and she's so intrigued by the different atmosphere of my school. So cool!

    The only time I was out of the country was to go to the middle of no where in Costa Rica (think dirt roads, no warm water, but at the same time definitely paradise) so I guess I need to get myself to a real city next :)

    Kate @ majesticgoldenrose.weebly.com

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    1. I'm exactly like the new girl at your school! I like the diversity to a certain extant, but it's also a little overwhelming at first.
      I went to Costa Rica years ago. I liked it better than most cities :)

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