Santho’s story
Santho writes here about her first experiences when coming to the UK. Again, we here about the British politeness, how quiet it is compared to other countries and a slight hint here again about our customer service. This is definitely not something we have a worldwide reputation for.
“I am from India. I still vividly remember my first day in London. From Heathrow terminal station, I boarded the tube with my baggages. It was 7:30 AM. Trains were busy transporting people to work. People got in droves at all stations, crowding the cars terribly. I somehow managed to find a place for me and my baggage. I knew I was creating trouble by holding big suitcases and blocking peoples’ ways. But I was so surprised at the lack of frowns. Yeah! UK has the most polite people in the world!
Later in the day, when I walked along the streets for the first time, I was overwhelmed by the calm environment and the generally quiet ambience. Far less polluted, far less noisy city with such narrow roads! I love to watch bus drivers making sharp turns in such narrow roads. You should be on top of your driving abilities to manoeuvre these London roads. Back in India, two-wheelers are a common sight contributing to chaotic traffic, unlike here.
I also wanted to convey my surprise when visiting the huge superstores here. These superstores occupy acres of lands even in the centre of the city! And you get literally everything in the world! The big malls in India are generally multi-storey and occupy less ground area. Also at times I find it surprising to find very few customer service assistants in the stores.”
