U.K. has similarities and differences with U.S.

Would you like some tea and crumpets? Or maybe you would like to sound like the Spice Girls or sing in the musical Mary Poppins while having fish and chips?
No, I wouldn’t. First of all, people in the U.K. drink hot tea, not sweet tea. Got to have it hot! Second, no one even talks about the Spice Girls in Britain. Third, no one says ‘ello governor or cheerio like they do in Mary Poppins. They did, but that was more than 25 years ago. Finally, yes we do like fish and chips (fries as you guys call it) but we also like our fries and chicken just like you.
The U.K. is very different from the U.S. when it comes to racism, and differences between the races are not so extreme, they are hidden. However, there are some people who are outright rude about how they feel about minorities. I remember my friends and I  walked into a store and as soon as we started to look around, the security guard followed us around the store. I didn’t say anything this time, but it happened again, and it was the same security guard. When we asked him why he was following us, he said that we were making it up, and we were seeing things. The thing is that we went into that store so many times and every time we always bought something.
As much of a surprise it is, the U.K. does have a lot of the same things the U.S. has. For example, there’s a type of rap that is called “Garage”, which is just like a speeded up version of U.S. rap. People also have rap battles just like you see on BET. One negative thing about growing up in the U.K. is that anything that is stereotypically “black” is usually called urban instead of just saying what it really is. Another thing that is similar is we have award shows recognizing the efforts of black musicians and artists. I got to go last year to the Music Of Black Origin  and it was fantastic. I got to see and hang out with artists like Akon and Latoya Luckett.
Coming to the South, I had this idea that it would be similar to the U.K. because I’ve been to the U.S. so many times. However, those times were to places in the North and just like the U.K., the different regions of the country are completely different.
For a black person in the U.S., they have to know who they are. In other words, your place of origin is very important. At first I didn’t know what to call myself when I arrived. I have African heritage as my parents were born in Africa but then went to the U.K. However, I was born and raised in the U.K. so does that mean I’m African American, or am I British?
There are many differences and similarities between the U.S. and the U.K. However these do not take away the essence and the appeal of the U.S. This is because many people in the U.K. see the States as somewhere where they need to go at least once in their life.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 20 2007. Filed under Perspectives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry