I went to Britain in the year 2005. My engineering batch mates and I landed at London Heathrow airport in the month of August. It was two and half hour bus ride to Wolverhampton, a city in the West midlands. The weather was not cold, not hot, it was just right. We all were put up in the campus accommodation for a week. I was pretty excited to be in a developed country.
The transport
Britain is very well connected via roads, railways, and flights. The different transport systems include buses, railways and of course cars. The way their public transport is built is far superior to any other country. The roads built are so structured. The traffic rules are strict and very nice to follow if you are a near perfectionist freak like me. When the road sign says speed to be followed is 30 km per hour, it very well means that and expects you to follow it. There would be cameras installed if you break any traffic rules. You need to be in the lines and they look like they have been drawn just to fit a car or a bus. Even the curves, you can feel how smoothly the roads are built. While changing lanes you need to give the indicator way ahead. Sometimes I feel that Brits are simply obsessed with perfection.
Why it's the land of values
I do not want to brag about it, although Britain is not my country, I respect them. Why? Because they give importance to the common human being, above everything. Once while I was working, I had to get up early in the morning and catch a bus to work. I walked down the lane on the footpath and I stood there at the zebra crossing. As soon as I stopped walking, the two cars which were coming in either direction stopped, that was the sign for me to cross the road and it shows that they respect common human rights. I did not run or hurry, my pace of walking was normal. As soon as I crossed, they resumed to go, I waved as a show of gratitude. We all learn that we need to give way to people crossing the road at a zebra crossing, I wonder how many actually follow it.
Snow - the bliss and the trouble
Soon it was winter and it snowed heavily. At first, I was excited because I never saw snow in my life. The excitement slowly died. I still remember when I first felt snow, it was an experience. I ate fresh chicken bake from Greggs, the local bakers. It was cold outside and a hot dish was very welcoming. Days passed by and every day there was snow outside. The footpaths were filled with snow. The local authorities put Grit to melt the snow. Grit is like big chunks of salt to dissolve snow. It is not that pretty and is always cold and the days are shorter. You sometimes can feel sad.
The loop
Every student faces a problem when going for a job. There is something called the national insurance number or id. Everyone needs to have it. When applying for part-time jobs, they need the national insurance number and you cannot get national insurance unless you have a job. So kind of a stuck situation. I worked in numerous part-time jobs. Hey, no one said standing on your feet is going to be easy.
The scenery
I do not know how they do it, but whenever I go to central park, there are always new flowers during springtime. In winter though the snow covers the greenery of the park and everything is white. The buildings are old but they seem to have a solid foundation. I do not know how, but every tree I see is straight. Does it grow straight or do they cut it such that it grows properly? still remains a mystery to me to this day. It's like taming nature. The houses are pretty, the roads are pretty, the footpaths are pretty, it's a pretty country.
