Much like New York or Chicago, visiting the major sites in the city on the first day felt a bit strange as an American. I was different from the majority of the people with whom I congregated, yet I did not feel like an American among Londoners. Although London’s population is significantly diverse, I could understand that the people around me were visitors as well, speaking different languages and enjoying the tourist activities. Every so often someone whom I could guess to be a London resident would walk by me, speaking in an accent, and the employees on location were clearly residents, yet they were outnumbered. I figured that there would be a good number of Londoners in the Barbican complex, yet the grounds were relatively deserted (which was strangely nice in its own right for photographs and a sketch). At One New Change, it was difficult to tell who was a resident.
The architecture we saw was excellent, yet the daytime activities led me to the Soho area in the evening in an effort to see some more typical London activity. I visited a handful of record stores and saw many Londoners in the walks among them, yelling funny phrases to each other and having a good time on the weekend. I got to hear some great breakbeat and garage music in the shops, and I got to see some records I have never found before in the States with the help of the people in the stores. I also saw some supercars in the area like a Lamborghini, Mclaren and GTR. I got to see some student activity and hear some music at the SOAS University of London and ended at Rogers’ Central St. Giles, which had amazing noise attenuation in its courtyard, muffling the loud exhaust notes that Londoners seem to love. I now have a much better understanding of the population as well as a greater appreciation for some major architectural works.