Sunday, March 18, 2007

LONDON AND DIVERSITY


The floor of the airport was flawless reflecting the lights in the wide and shiny ceilings of the airport. Queues and lines formed to different directions with each one indicating separate destinations for travelers. Heathrow International Airport at six o’clock in London was as busy as a bee hive. Airport security personnel and police are scattered over the airport in flamboyant green uniforms affirming what I had always thought London Police wore as seen on television.

This airport was in many ways DIA except it was located in Europe. The other difference was that the thick British accent that welcomed me in the London was not akin to what is heard over the intercom at DIA. The first sentence I heard was “welcam to Heethro Intternnational ayeport”.

My host had not arrived yet but there were many other people who had also come to meet and receive their guest. The first thing that struck me was the diverse nature of the people of London. The man who checked me in was a Indian and the overseer at the baggage retrieval station was African.

I had always thought and anticipated that my stay was going to be great and this was immediately confirmed by the different people. I had anticipated London, an old city of Europe to filled with people from around Europe to create a predominantly white society. This was not the case at all.

I went up to the currency exchange counter to get some Pound Sterling because all I had on me was dollar bills. The lady that was at the counter was Muslim and I quickly greeted her in the Islamic greeting of Salaam which she gladly responded to while she offered every inch of assistance I needed.
In the taxi I thought I was not in England, it felt like walking on the streets of Bronx, New York or a different cosmopolitan area.

On my first night in London my host who I had known for years before decided to show me some night life in London. We were able to do what in the United States is called club hopping visiting about six different clubs in one night and most of the ones we visited were ethnic clubs. Some were Zimbabwean clubs, others Kenyan, rock and roll, Jamaican reggae, hip hop and regular London pubs.

The cosmopolitan nature of the city made staying in the city very easy or me. On the third day of my stay I decided upon myself to so sight seeing not on a tourist bus but by myself on the regular subway or underground as it called in London.
While riding I had seen a gentleman walking towards me and smiling. I thought this was a bit odd but he kept coming and sat just right by me. He introduced himself as Ali from Iraq who had just got there six months ago. I warmed up to him and he found out that I had just got day a couple of days ago. He assured me that London would be good to me as it was good to him and almost all visitors so I should enjoy myself.

Almost everyone who knew that I was visiting from the United States met me with such admiration and joy as if I was coming from where the long to be. I had gone to the Central Business District which is called Downtown in the United States taking a peak at a spectacular resting place almost like a park called Trafalgar Square. The square was made up of more people from Asian that from the United Kingdom. This by now was no surprise to me because I had come to understand that The United Kingdom and London in particular is only second to New York in its diversity of culture.

The city of London looked old in its architecture but new in the people who occupied it. On twelve Downing Street which is the seat of parliament I could not help but to appreciate the different groups of politicians who represented the United Kingdom. Universities, businesses, shops and so on line up the streets of this political hub of the United Kingdom while quietly displaying the different people and nature of the city.


The preparation to travel to a different city on the other side of the Atlantic ocean can be a exciting near nervousness experience. The problem usually is that we do not know what exactly to expect. Our anticipation might be met well or we could be disappointed. No doubt this was a feeling I had about London but by the time I was leaving, London had felt almost like somewhere I had lived for a year even though I spent only a couple of weeks.

The Buckingham palace of all places proved more comfortable that any other places in London. I took so many pictures of the palace and gardens that I ran out of film for the day. There were all kinds of people going to see the palace and its surroundings. Again people from different parts of the world who either lived in London or were visiting. Many who late described themselves as residents of the city offered to take pictures of me standing in front of the Victorian and Edwardian looking statues compound of the Queen of England. Diversity was the hallmark of London. I felt more welcome in London than I had felt in many United States cities when I first visited them.

A market square on a Wednesday proved to be the last prove I needed to conclude that London does not even belong to the people of the United Kingdom anymore as the social and racial tapestry of the city had gone beyond anything typically European which I mean white.

Visiting different places should be on the list of anyone wiling to learn more about the world around us. The other side may sound so different but anyone could be taken by surprise that the world is almost the same. If you visited DIA the degree of diversity of the employees alone could take you by surprise which you probably have not noticed because you lived in Denver.

You do not have to be an avid traveler to enjoy going to different places. All you may need to do is to go once every four or five years and could be taken aback by what you may find out. It does not have to be on another continent and crossing the ocean but it could be a state in the south or Canada or even next door Mexico. I did not have the same view as I did when I entered London.

Finding something to eat was much easier that finding a bus. You look around you and there are all kinds of restaurants from Italian, English, African and Caribbean, more Chinese than any other, Middle Eastern cuisines, Vietnamese and a host of other choices with each of them prepared to get your business again anytime you visit.

Leaving London was not the greatest feeling as I felt like I needed more time to enjoy my stay fully but I had had enough to make me want to come back over and over again. The spring weather was perfect for me only a little breezier because London is close to the ocean. In the end London was one of the best cities I have ever visited because I have been to different cities in the world and Europe and very few beat London.

“Welcam abord the Unitted” in a thick British accent signaled by return to the Unites States and I immediately reminded myself that I was on a flight.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

The Root Of All Evil:Money.


Just thought I would pose a question; if money really is the root of all evil. I do not personally believe that money is the root of all evil.People usually decide to defy both natural and human laws that govern morality and commit heinous crimes in the name of money. There are of course many situations when money has been the reason why people have commited evil.


If you took a look around people do all kinds of things for money. There was in recent news the espisode of Lacy Peterson who was killed for insurance benefits her husband was supposed to receive.This was done because of the money involved in it.


Everyday in the United States as illegal as it is in some states prostitutes line up the streets of different cities just to make money. For some of these women they have genuine opportunities in other areas of life to make it but decide to rely of selling themselves and their honor at a price. For some of these women they have to make money to feed their families and make ends meet.


There are people who sell drugs for both young and adults in order to make money. The effects of drugs in our society include the cause of broken homes, child and spousal abuses, wasting of potential for youth,chidren born with defects due to drug addicted mothers,cold blooded murders among a host of other negative effects.
In many other developing countries in Asian, Eastern Europe and Africa among other areas of the world there are children put to work to support
There are countless stories of corruption,discrimination and raw evil and crime commited in the name of money. To all intents and purposes money is the root of all evil.
On the other side of the coin money has made life easier for the world in terms of exchange. In primitive society on had to exchange what he or she has with what is needed. Money has made transaction smooth without much problems of measure and value.
Money has helped alleviate poverty in many areas of the world. Charities run across the globe to assist people in need including the disabled, war torn regions of the world, hunger stricken parts of the universe, uplift the downtrodden and the list goes on and on. Money can be used for good things.
At the end of the day money has been used for bad things and to me seems to be at the fundamental base of most problems in society. Your take depends on how you look at it.