Are YOU Looking at ME?

Aline writes: It sometimes hits me how much I have adapted to life in the Big Smoke. For example, we went to Tunbridge Wells a few weeks ago, which is a short train ride from London. As soon as we walked out of the train station onto the High Street, I noticed that people seemed to be staring at me. Of course I asked Bill if I had anything in my teeth, but he assured me that I did not look unusually freaky. When I whispered to him that I thought people were staring, he confirmed my worst fears as we walked down the street. But what I finally realized is that people weren’t actually staring more than usual from a U.S. point of view, but only when compared to London behavior. People just don’t make eye contact when you walk down the streets in London. And this is especially true on the tube, where avoiding eye contact is mandatory behavior. It’s even documented in a hilarious website about tube rules.

This led me to my own little experiment on the tube: last week I rode the Bakerloo line with my iPod headphones in (a required accessory). It was during rush hour so all seats were taken. The woman across from me averted her eyes as expected. For 3 stops, I closed my eyes the majority of the time, only occasionally opening them. The 12 times I opened my eyes, the woman across from me was indeed looking at me every single time, but she managed to immediately avert her eyes on eye contact. Maybe my game was kind of mean, but I was fascinated by the results. It’s not that people don’t want to look at each other, but rather it’s a survival technique to deal with being crammed tightly in with total strangers in a metal casket hurling under the earth. It reminds me of Grommet when he hides his head under a blanket – even though his whole body shows, he assumes that no one can see him because he can’t see anyone. Stick in some headphones and don’t look at anyone – presto, you are alone!

More evidence on my adoption of tube etiquette? A few days ago Bill and I took 2 available seats on a tube train, but were separated by one person (as often happens). The woman actually offered to change seats with us so we could sit together. Let me make this clear: she spoke to us. This is the first time in nine months that anyone has ever spoken to me on a tube train, and let me tell you, was I surprised! It was actually quite shocking. I’m starting to wonder if I will seem incredibly anti-social when I get home. I’m sure all of you will let me know ☺