While my time in London is coming to an end there are a few misconceptions I want to address.
London is always raining:
London is not the sunniest of cities, but that does not mean it is constantly raining. In fact, the place that receives the most rain fall each year is a mountain in Hawaii. Additionally, there is a very good chance it rained more during the 10 days I spent in Nicaragua a couple winters ago, then it did during any 10 days in London. That being said, it does not hurt to keep an umbrella on hand while in London.
Everyone has Bad Teeth:
It is true that under the NHS (National Health Service) dental care is not covered. But people have bad teeth in England, just like small populations in other areas have bad teeth. England actually has a rather high percentage for good dental hygiene within its population.
English Food is Terrible:
Curry has become one of Britain’s national dishes and is supposed to be great, especially if you try some on Brick Lane. On the other hand, from hearing from most of my American friends, pub food is kind of bland and they do not have a lot of food we are used to eating. So while not many come to England for its food, there is hope.
They Drink Warm Beer:
Saving the best for last, of course I had to address this at some point. While personally I have never found warm beer in England I have found two possible answers to why this misconception has arose.
1. The English do not keep their beer in refrigerators, rather in cellars. While this may make people assume the beer is room temperature, in reality cellars are quite cold.
2. Personally I prefer this answer. There are two types of beer. The first, a Lager, which is served at around 45 degrees Fahrenheit, which is most beers that americans drink like pilsner styles or Heineken. The second type of beer is Ale-fermented and served at ‘room temperature,’ which is about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. This is still pretty cold and is supposedly a better taste for stouts and brown ales.
Cheers! (Pun intended)
