Chapter 2 COSMOPOLITAN LONDON

London's ethnic diversity makes it a very special city. People from almost every part of the world live here. This was obvious to Pablo and me when we took the Tube from the airport to the centre of the city. People of every nationality were traveling on the train and it was nice to see that everyone seemed accustomed to the great variety of races and religions in this city. We were fascinated by an orthodox Muslim woman who was sitting opposite us. Only her eyes were uncovered and we couldn't stop looking at her because it was the first time that we had seen a woman dressed this way. No one else paid any attention to her. If you're a person who likes eating different types of food, London is the place to go. I've eaten food from many parts of the world here and most of it has been excellent. Indian food is especially popular. When arrived back at our hotel on the afternoon of our second day in London, I asked the lady at reception to recommend a few good restaurants in the area. She said that there was a very good Indian restaurant close to the hotel. Pablo shook his head.

"No, I want to eat something that's typically British," he said.

The lady laughed.

"You don't understand," she said.

"Indian food is typically British."

"Oh, I see," replied Pablo.

When we got into the lift, he looked at me and said, surprised, "Perhaps London isn't as traditional as I thought."

I laughed and decided to take him to places that showed London's ethnic diversity, like Chinatown. London's Chinatown is in the middle of the theatre district and it feels wonderful to cross a street and enter a completely different culture.

There are lots of excellent Chinese restaurants there, as well as many Asian supermarkets. We specially liked walking through the Chinese fruit markets.

"Look at this!" exclaimed Pablo.

"Look at what?" I asked.

"This fruit," he said.

"I've never seen most of this fruit before.

It's so exotic."

"There are lots of exotic things in London, if you know where to look," I told him.

"Like what?" Pablo asked.

"Well, London has a Caribbean carnival.

It's a huge annual carnival and it takes place on the last weekend in August, in an area of London called Notting Hill.

My friend Mike took me to the carnival a couple of weeks after I met him at the Globe,"I explained”.
"That sounds interesting”.

“What happens during the carnival?" asked Pablo.

"Well, Notting Hill has a big West Indian population and thousands of people go to the carnival to eat West Indian food and dance to Caribbean music."
Mike and I walked through the streets and there were people of all cultures celebrating together.
At one point, I closed my eyes and it felt like I was in the Caribbean instead of London!
“I was surrounded by West Indian accents, music and smells."
"It sounds fantastic!" exclaimed Pablo.

"It was..oh, and I remember another interesting thing that happened that afternoon," I told him.
"What was that?" he asked.

"Well, from the carnival, we went to Mike's flat in one of London's famous black taxis.
After a few minutes, the driver began talking to us.
He was speaking English but I couldn't understand him!
“He was using Cockney rhyming slang!"

"What's that?" Pablo interrupted.

"Luckily, Mike explained it to me”.

He told me that the driver was a Cockney and Cockneys are traditionally from the East End of London.

They have a very strange way of talking, called Cockney rhyming slang.

For example, "When my friend called me on the [ dog and bone ] (phone) last night, I ran down the [ apples and pears ] (stairs) to answer it."

"That's incredible!" exclaimed Pablo.

London's full of surprises!"

Summary: London's ethnic diversity makes it a very special city. Everyone seems accustomed to the great variety of races and religions in this city. If you're a person who likes eating different types of food, London is the place to go. Antonio decided to take Pablo to places that showed London's ethnic diversity, like Chinatown (a completely different culture). There are lots of exotic things in London, for example a Caribbean carnival. People go to the carnival to eat West Indian food and dance to Caribbean music. Finally, Antonio talks about Cockney, a London slang.

Questions

1. Why is travelling on the Tube in London interesting?
2. What do people do at the Notting Hill Carnival?
3. What is a Cockney?

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La diversidad étnica de Londres la hace una ciudad muy especial. Las personas de casi cualquier parte del mundo viven aquí. Esto era obvio para Pablo y para mí cuando tomamos el Metro desde el aeropuerto al centro de la ciudad. Personas de todas las nacionalidades estaban viajando en el tren y era agradable ver que todos parecían acostumbrados a la gran variedad de razas y religiones en esta ciudad. Estábamos fascinados por una mujer musulmana ortodoxa que estaba sentada frente a nosotros. Sólo sus ojos estaban descubiertos y nosotros no podíamos dejar de mirarla porque era la primera vez que nosotros habíamos visto una mujer vestida de esta manera. Nadie más le prestó atención. Si usted es una persona que le gusta comer diferentes tipos de comida, Londres es el lugar para ir. Yo he comido comida de muchas partes del mundo aquí y la mayoría de ellas han sido excelentes. La comida india es especialmente popular. Cuando llegamos a nuestro hotel por la tarde de nuestro segundo día en Londres, yo le pedí a la recepcionista que me recomendara unos buenos restaurantes en el área. Ella dijo que había un restaurante indio muy bueno cerca del hotel. Pablo agitó su cabeza. "No, yo quiero comer algo que sea típicamente británico," dijo. La señora se rió. "Usted no entiende," dijo. "La comida india es típicamente británica." "Oh, ya," contestó Pablo. Cuando nosotros entramos en el ascensor, él me miró y dijo, sorprendido, "Quizás Londres no es tan tradicional como yo pensaba." Me reí y decidí llevarlo a lugares que mostraran la diversidad étnica de Londres, como Chinatown. El Chinatown de Londres está en el medio del distrito del teatro y te maravilla cruzar una calle y entrar en una cultura completamente diferente. Hay muchos y excelentes restaurantes chinos allí, también muchos supermercados asiáticos. Nos gustó especialmente atravesar los mercados de fruta chinos. "¡Mira esto!" exclamó Pablo. "¿Mire el que?" pregunté. "Esta fruta," dijo. "Yo nunca he visto la mayoría de estas frutas antes. Es tan exótico." "Hay muchas cosas exóticas en Londres, si sabes dónde buscar," le dije. "¿Cómo que?" preguntó Pablo. "Bien, Londres tiene un carnaval caribeño. Es un enorme carnaval anual y tiene lugar en el último fin de semana de agosto, en un área de Londres llamada Notting Hill. Mi amigo Mike me llevó al carnaval un par de semanas después de que yo me lo encontrara en el Globe," le expliqué. "Eso suena interesante”. “¿Qué sucede durante el carnaval?" preguntó Pablo. “Bien, Notting Hill tiene una gran población de “antillanos” y miles de las personas van al carnaval a comer comida antillana y bailar música caribeña. Mike y yo atravesamos las calles y había personas de todas las culturas celebrando juntos. ¡En un momento dado, yo cerré mis ojos y sentí que estaba en el Caribe en lugar de en Londres! “Estaba rodeado por acento antillano, música y olores." "¡Suena fantástico!" exclamó Pablo. "Era... oh, recuerdo otra cosa interesante que pasó esa tarde," le dije. "¿Que era?" preguntó. "Bien, desde el carnaval, fuimos al piso de Mike en uno de los famosos taxis negros de Londres. Después de unos minutos, el conductor empezó a hablarnos. ¡Estaba hablando inglés pero yo no podía entenderle! “¡Él estaba usando una jerga londinense (Cockney)!" "¿Que es eso?" Pablo interrumpió. "Por suerte, Mike me lo explicó”. Él me dijo que el conductor era un Londinense y los Londinenses de la clase popular son tradicionalmente del Extremo Oriental de Londres. Ellos tienen una manera muy extraña de hablar, una jerga llamada “Cockney”. Por ejemplo, "Cuando mi amigo me llamó por [el perro y hueso] (llama por teléfono) anoche, yo corrí abajo [las manzanas y peras] (escalones) para contestarlo." "¡Eso es increíble!" exclamó Pablo. "¡Londres está lleno de sorpresas!" Preguntas 1.¿Por qué es interesante viajar en Metro por Londres? 2.¿Qué hace la gente en el Carnaval de Notting Hill? 3.¿ Que es un Cokney? 1. People of every nationality travel on the train and it is nice to see that everyone seem accustomed to the great variety of races and religions in this city. 2. Thousands of people go to the carnival to eat West Indian food and dance to Caribbean music." 3. Rhyming slang.(strange way of talking) 1. Personas de todas las nacionalidades viajan en el tren y es agradable ver que todos parecen acostumbrados a la gran variedad de razas y religiones en esta ciudad. 2. Miles de las personas van al carnaval a comer comida antillana y bailar música caribeña. 3. Una jerga (forma de hablar)