What do you think of the UK?

[omoneru]

I have visited the UK only once, but I had a good time during my stay.

I loved traditional architectures in cities. Even stone pavements had some artistic flavors. I liked its cloudy weather, which made me somewhat calmer. I loved flat green pastures in the countryside where sheep and shepherds were peacefully roaming around. I enjoyed a remarkably nice view of ocean while I was on a train to Edinburgh.

Food - I don't know. I went to a decent restaurant in town, and ordered a relatively expensive steak, but the one I got tasted like a rubber mat with tons of spices on it. Maybe bad luck.

People - Overall, it was enjoyable to converse with people in the UK. Sometimes, I had trouble comprehending what they were saying since I'm accustomed to American accents. But it was no big deal.

I didn't experience blatant racism during my stay - unlike my experience in France where I felt people were much colder on average or somewhat more hostile to me.

Well, maybe except one occasion - After I arrived at Cambridge, I was trying to get to my hotel in downtown dragging my suit case. A few young people outside some pub looked at me and started to jeer calling me a monkey dragging a tire or something. It was a bit painful experience. I guess it had something to do with me being Asian.

Later that day, I had a chance to talk to one of the students at the University of Cambridge, and I told him about the unpleasant encounter in downtown. He said there's no way that those rude people were students from his university.

I was somewhat impressed by his conviction that his fellow students would never do such a thing. I mean, how many of us can say with conviction that other students at our university would never do such a thing? He must have a lot of pride and trust in the integrity of the school and students, which is a good thing.

I didn't encounter any physically violent youth during my stay, but I'm interested in what is generally considered to be the cause of youth violence in UK cities - such as income disparity, high unemployment rate, lower social mobility, or more broadly a sense of social stagnation, I wonder.