When I picked my area to live in, I really did not know much about the location. Shoreditch was suggested by a friend of a friend as a cool, edgy place to live. It has tons of pubs and clubs, and contained Brick Lane, which is a street with tons of hip stores and cafes.
What I have come to learn is that I live in Bangladeshi London or "Banglatown". I thought I lived in a big El Salvadorian community in Washington, DC....but here I live in a community of over 150,000 Bangladeshi people.
Since I am not very good on my knowledge about world history, I have been doing some reading. Bangladesh went through a series of political upheavals, starting with the end of British India in 1947, a spell as East Pakistan and a battle against West Pakistan for independence in 1971. Many Bangladeshi men emigrated to London in search of employment during the 1950's and 1960's. And British immigration laws changed in the 1970's to encourge Bangladeshi people to immigrate to the UK because of the need for workers.
There are stores everywhere in my neighborhood owned by Bangladeshi people and the writing on the signs (which I can't read) are absolutely beautiful. I love the script.
Probably one of the biggest shocks is seeing women in full burkas. Almost all Bangladeshi people are Sunni Muslims. While I have seen women in burkas on tv, I have rarely had the experience of walking down the street with women in burkas. The other day, I was walking to the grocery store and was following 3 girls, one in a full burka, the next in a black full-length robe and a head scarf, and the third girl had jeans, a t-shirt, and a head scarf. It was interesting to see the varying degrees of dress for the girls.
Just another interesting thing to add to my adventures in London.
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On a side note, Keena, Grigo, and Rica are here for a 10-day visit starting tomorrow. I am super excited. We are traveling around the country for a few days so I will be offline. I will be back in touch with loads of pictures!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Markets, Markets, Markets!
One of the things that I have been looking forward to in London is visiting all the markets. There are many famous markets around the city, as well as small local markets. Surprisingly, there are 3 markets in my neighborhood that are open on the weekends. This past weekend, I started at the Columbia Flower Market which is a 5 minute walk from my house.
It was great! It is not very big, just about 3 blocks long. But the place was packed with people and flower vendors yelling prices for all different sorts of things. There were flowers/plants I had never seen before. The picture below looks like little pineapples, but they were on top of 3 foot stalks...
Monday, May 19, 2008
Washington Post Article on My Civil Rights Work
USDA Is Called Lax on Bias: GAO Accuses Agency of Inaction on Racial Discrimination
By Darryl Fears, Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 18, 2008; A06
Nearly a decade after the Agriculture Department agreed to settle a discrimination suit brought by black farmers, one of the largest payouts in U.S. history at almost $1 billion so far, the department has yet to develop a system to adequately address hundreds of other bias complaints from farmers and its own employees, the Government Accountability Office said this week.
In blunt testimony before a House subcommittee this week, Lisa Shames, director of natural resources and environment for the GAO, said the department cannot prove that it has reduced its mountainous backlog of discrimination complaints and that its claims to the contrary cannot be trusted.
"At a basic level, the credibility of USDA's efforts has been and continues to be undermined by . . . faulty reporting of data on discrimination complaints and disparities in . . . data," Shames said. "Even such basic information as the number of complaints is subject to wide variation in . . . reports to the public and the Congress."
Shames said the GAO is preparing an audit of the USDA that will be released in fall. The report is expected to support her testimony that, in addition to failing to reduce the complaint backlog and adequately track cases, the agency has not diversified the field offices where discrimination is often reported. The agency does not have a uniform method of determining the race of farmers and other clients in order to study possible patterns of racial and ethnic bias.
"The fact of the matter is that discrimination is going on," said Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), chairman of the government oversight subcommittee before which Shames and USDA officials testified. "Even the staff members of USDA are saying it is, but if they say something, there's retaliation."
The USDA has been a frequent target of discrimination complaints for decades, resulting in taxpayer payouts in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The department is currently fending off class-action lawsuits from Latino, American Indian and women farmers similar to the claim filed by black farmers, who so far have been paid $972 million, according to the GAO.
Shames's testimony echoed criticism from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which reprehended the agency for taking an average of two years past the allotted time to process employee discrimination complaints, and the No Fear Coalition, a whistle-blower protection group, which issued a report card that gave the USDA a failing grade for the way it addresses employee concerns.
Margo M. McKay, USDA assistant secretary for civil rights, defended the agency, saying Shames's testimony was full of inaccuracies. "It's unfortunate that they put this out in the public without going through their normal process, without issuing a preliminary report."
McKay said Shames did not give the USDA time to respond. Given time, McKay said, she would have said that the USDA has various methods of reporting data related to the claims, which is why the number of resolved cases sometimes differs from month to month. "You're comparing apples with oranges," she said. The USDA is currently training employees to use a computer system that tracks cases.
"We have the same frustration and impatience" about the lack of progress, McKay said. "You do what you can do."
The civil rights division that McKay leads was formed five years ago, with a staff of 129 and a budget of $24 million. Her promises of progress are similar to those of Vernon Parker, who led the office before her and resigned in 2006 for personal reasons.
"It's been going on for a long time, for many decades, in terms of failure to address civil rights issues at USDA," Shames said. "Any claims coming out of this office need to be considered closely. These disparities in the numbers -- they do not have the management structure in place to be able to track these cases."
As an example, Shames questioned the veracity of a July 2007 report from McKay's office saying that a backlog of about 690 discrimination complaints had been reduced. At the time, Shames said in testimony, McKay and other officials "were well aware they had not succeeded in preventing future backlogs -- they had another backlog on hand, and this time the backlog had surged to an even higher level of 885 complaints."
As the office issued the report about reducing the backlog, "officials were in the midst of planning to hire attorneys to address the backlog . . ., including some . . . dating from the early 2000s that had not been resolved."
The GAO and the USDA Office of the Inspector General have submitted recommendations on how to address problems at least seven times in past years, Shames said. "They ignored many recommendations," she said.
"We think civil rights is going backwards at the department," said John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association. "They can't tell us what's going on with the cases. There's no commitment whatsoever to rights. The GAO testimony supports what we've been saying for the past couple of years."
By Darryl Fears, Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 18, 2008; A06
Nearly a decade after the Agriculture Department agreed to settle a discrimination suit brought by black farmers, one of the largest payouts in U.S. history at almost $1 billion so far, the department has yet to develop a system to adequately address hundreds of other bias complaints from farmers and its own employees, the Government Accountability Office said this week.
In blunt testimony before a House subcommittee this week, Lisa Shames, director of natural resources and environment for the GAO, said the department cannot prove that it has reduced its mountainous backlog of discrimination complaints and that its claims to the contrary cannot be trusted.
"At a basic level, the credibility of USDA's efforts has been and continues to be undermined by . . . faulty reporting of data on discrimination complaints and disparities in . . . data," Shames said. "Even such basic information as the number of complaints is subject to wide variation in . . . reports to the public and the Congress."
Shames said the GAO is preparing an audit of the USDA that will be released in fall. The report is expected to support her testimony that, in addition to failing to reduce the complaint backlog and adequately track cases, the agency has not diversified the field offices where discrimination is often reported. The agency does not have a uniform method of determining the race of farmers and other clients in order to study possible patterns of racial and ethnic bias.
"The fact of the matter is that discrimination is going on," said Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), chairman of the government oversight subcommittee before which Shames and USDA officials testified. "Even the staff members of USDA are saying it is, but if they say something, there's retaliation."
The USDA has been a frequent target of discrimination complaints for decades, resulting in taxpayer payouts in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The department is currently fending off class-action lawsuits from Latino, American Indian and women farmers similar to the claim filed by black farmers, who so far have been paid $972 million, according to the GAO.
Shames's testimony echoed criticism from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which reprehended the agency for taking an average of two years past the allotted time to process employee discrimination complaints, and the No Fear Coalition, a whistle-blower protection group, which issued a report card that gave the USDA a failing grade for the way it addresses employee concerns.
Margo M. McKay, USDA assistant secretary for civil rights, defended the agency, saying Shames's testimony was full of inaccuracies. "It's unfortunate that they put this out in the public without going through their normal process, without issuing a preliminary report."
McKay said Shames did not give the USDA time to respond. Given time, McKay said, she would have said that the USDA has various methods of reporting data related to the claims, which is why the number of resolved cases sometimes differs from month to month. "You're comparing apples with oranges," she said. The USDA is currently training employees to use a computer system that tracks cases.
"We have the same frustration and impatience" about the lack of progress, McKay said. "You do what you can do."
The civil rights division that McKay leads was formed five years ago, with a staff of 129 and a budget of $24 million. Her promises of progress are similar to those of Vernon Parker, who led the office before her and resigned in 2006 for personal reasons.
"It's been going on for a long time, for many decades, in terms of failure to address civil rights issues at USDA," Shames said. "Any claims coming out of this office need to be considered closely. These disparities in the numbers -- they do not have the management structure in place to be able to track these cases."
As an example, Shames questioned the veracity of a July 2007 report from McKay's office saying that a backlog of about 690 discrimination complaints had been reduced. At the time, Shames said in testimony, McKay and other officials "were well aware they had not succeeded in preventing future backlogs -- they had another backlog on hand, and this time the backlog had surged to an even higher level of 885 complaints."
As the office issued the report about reducing the backlog, "officials were in the midst of planning to hire attorneys to address the backlog . . ., including some . . . dating from the early 2000s that had not been resolved."
The GAO and the USDA Office of the Inspector General have submitted recommendations on how to address problems at least seven times in past years, Shames said. "They ignored many recommendations," she said.
"We think civil rights is going backwards at the department," said John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association. "They can't tell us what's going on with the cases. There's no commitment whatsoever to rights. The GAO testimony supports what we've been saying for the past couple of years."
Friday, May 16, 2008
Spent the day with the Queen!
So a few days ago I headed out to the town of Windsor to visit Windsor Castle with my friend Jess and her British friend Ruth. Funny enough, Jess has been in the UK for over a year and has never visited Windsor and Ruth, born in the UK, was embarrassed that she had never been there.
To get there, we took one of the amazingly clean trains to Windsor, which took about 50 minutes from London and cost $17 round trip. Windsor is a cute little town with a VERY big castle. The castle is situated on top of a hill overlooking the city. We decided to visit the castle first and then walk around the town.
Windsor on the other hand makes the White House look like a doll house! It is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. It has been continuously lived in for 1,000 years!
To get there, we took one of the amazingly clean trains to Windsor, which took about 50 minutes from London and cost $17 round trip. Windsor is a cute little town with a VERY big castle. The castle is situated on top of a hill overlooking the city. We decided to visit the castle first and then walk around the town.
Let's just say that the White House tour is a joke compared to the Windsor tour. In DC, it takes months to schedule a White House tour through a Representative or Senator. Then, you go to the White House all excited that you are going on a tour, and they only show you 4 rooms! On top of it, there are security guards in every room looking mean and unfriendly. My last White House tour took 20 minutes (yes...that was it) and I spent more time looking at photos of the White House pets then the actual rooms!
Windsor on the other hand makes the White House look like a doll house! It is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. It has been continuously lived in for 1,000 years!
It costs $29 to get in (I know....expensive), however, it is entry to the castle for 1 year. Once you enter, you are given a free audio tour headset to walk around the castle and hear about it's history.
Inside, you don't get to only visit 4 rooms....instead about 25! And they are covered with amazing artifacts from Rembrandt to Van Gogh and gifts to the Queens and Kings from all over the world for centuries.
Unfortunately, they do not let you take pictures inside, but let me tell you, the knighting room (where you become a knight) and armor was really cool. And they don't have mean security guards everywhere. Instead they have people every where in matching uniforms to HELP you with your questions. They even carry around books to identify artifacts in rooms. I over heard one women asking about a picture high up on a wall, and the uniformed helper whipped out her book and started to explain the background of the art. And they say that the British suck at customer service. I even asked one of them about becoming a knight. Unfortunately, until someone dies...I have no hope.
And to top off the visit, the Queen was there the entire time (the small flag is the royal flag)!
After spending about 2 hours at the castle (take that White House), we headed into town where we found a nice pub to sit outside and have lunch. We followed that up with a walk by the river and ice cream before heading back to London.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The party is officially over for USDA!
So GAO's testimony on civil rights went well yesterday. I was told at the end of the hearing, the Chairman told the USDA Assistant Secretary that her words were weak and then gave her a thorough lecture!
If you want to read the GAO testimony you can click here (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08755t.pdf).
Ben Evans from the AP was the person who broke the story that we got kicked out of USDA. He has been following us for a while.
**************************************
USDA lags on discrimination complaints
By BEN EVANS – 11 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Agriculture Department has issued misleading and inaccurate reports about discrimination complaints and still can't say how many minority applicants are getting federal farm assistance, according to a federal audit.
Suggesting that some of the misinformation was intentional, the report said the department's civil rights office claimed last July that it had cut a 2004 backlog of nearly 700 unresolved complaints when officials "were well aware" that the caseload would actually grow to nearly 900.
The agency's failure to manage the complaints — despite similar findings in previous audits — raises questions about whether USDA takes them seriously, the report said.
"For decades, USDA has been the focus of federal inquiries into allegations of discrimination against minorities and women," the Government Accountability Office's director of natural resources and environment, Lisa Shames, told a House Oversight subcommittee Wednesday. "Such resistance to improve its management system calls into question USDA's commitment to more efficiently and effectively address discrimination complaints."
The report notes that one class-action lawsuit has already cost taxpayers nearly $1 billion and that an assistant secretary for civil rights office was established in 2003 to better handle complaints. The office had a budget of $24 million in 2007.
Yet USDA has no standardized method for tracking minority participation in programs such as government loans and disaster assistance, despite a law requiring such data.
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, also noted unusual difficulties in getting information for the audit, citing repeated delays and incomplete information.
Most notably, the GAO earlier this year received reports that USDA civil rights officials were possibly destroying documents and manipulating data. In February, when auditors tried to question staffers about those reports, USDA manager told employees not to speak with them and ordered the auditors to leave USDA offices.
The GAO said it ultimately did not find evidence that its work was intentionally undermined. But the complaints did turn up other problems, including several unrelated allegations that GAO said it would refer to the Justice Department and to the USDA inspector general.
Black farmers have long complained that they have been consistently denied loans, grants and other assistance by a "good old boy" network of local USDA field offices.
In 1999, the government settled a class-action lawsuit from black farmers, agreeing to pay $50,000 plus tax benefits to those who could show they faced discrimination. About 15,400 claims were awarded damages, and the government has paid $972 million in compensation.
The farm bill that Congress is voting on this week would reopen the case and allow thousands more farmers who missed a filing deadline to seek compensation.
Margo McKay, an assistant secretary for civil rights at USDA, disputed the findings at Wednesday's hearing and said the office has made significant progress in addressing complaints.
"The problems of backlog case inventory and case processing times have been many years in the making," she said. "The system we have now is a vast improvement over anything we've ever had in the past."
If you want to read the GAO testimony you can click here (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08755t.pdf).
Ben Evans from the AP was the person who broke the story that we got kicked out of USDA. He has been following us for a while.
**************************************
USDA lags on discrimination complaints
By BEN EVANS – 11 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Agriculture Department has issued misleading and inaccurate reports about discrimination complaints and still can't say how many minority applicants are getting federal farm assistance, according to a federal audit.
Suggesting that some of the misinformation was intentional, the report said the department's civil rights office claimed last July that it had cut a 2004 backlog of nearly 700 unresolved complaints when officials "were well aware" that the caseload would actually grow to nearly 900.
The agency's failure to manage the complaints — despite similar findings in previous audits — raises questions about whether USDA takes them seriously, the report said.
"For decades, USDA has been the focus of federal inquiries into allegations of discrimination against minorities and women," the Government Accountability Office's director of natural resources and environment, Lisa Shames, told a House Oversight subcommittee Wednesday. "Such resistance to improve its management system calls into question USDA's commitment to more efficiently and effectively address discrimination complaints."
The report notes that one class-action lawsuit has already cost taxpayers nearly $1 billion and that an assistant secretary for civil rights office was established in 2003 to better handle complaints. The office had a budget of $24 million in 2007.
Yet USDA has no standardized method for tracking minority participation in programs such as government loans and disaster assistance, despite a law requiring such data.
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, also noted unusual difficulties in getting information for the audit, citing repeated delays and incomplete information.
Most notably, the GAO earlier this year received reports that USDA civil rights officials were possibly destroying documents and manipulating data. In February, when auditors tried to question staffers about those reports, USDA manager told employees not to speak with them and ordered the auditors to leave USDA offices.
The GAO said it ultimately did not find evidence that its work was intentionally undermined. But the complaints did turn up other problems, including several unrelated allegations that GAO said it would refer to the Justice Department and to the USDA inspector general.
Black farmers have long complained that they have been consistently denied loans, grants and other assistance by a "good old boy" network of local USDA field offices.
In 1999, the government settled a class-action lawsuit from black farmers, agreeing to pay $50,000 plus tax benefits to those who could show they faced discrimination. About 15,400 claims were awarded damages, and the government has paid $972 million in compensation.
The farm bill that Congress is voting on this week would reopen the case and allow thousands more farmers who missed a filing deadline to seek compensation.
Margo McKay, an assistant secretary for civil rights at USDA, disputed the findings at Wednesday's hearing and said the office has made significant progress in addressing complaints.
"The problems of backlog case inventory and case processing times have been many years in the making," she said. "The system we have now is a vast improvement over anything we've ever had in the past."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Tomorrow is a big day
While I rarely think of GAO these days...tomorrow is the big day. We have our testimony before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement regarding USDA civil rights. I am told that the testimony is really juicy. I hope so, since I wrote parts of it! It is rather strange to know that 17 months of my life will be on display tomorrow in Congress and I won't even be there to see it.
If anyone in DC has some time and wants to watch the showdown, the hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 14, 2008, at 2:00 Pm., in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Stay tuned for the newspaper articles!
If anyone in DC has some time and wants to watch the showdown, the hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 14, 2008, at 2:00 Pm., in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Stay tuned for the newspaper articles!
In my new pad!
I have been off line for a few days as I moved to my new home in Shoreditch. It was rather uneventful as I really had nothing to move. The worse part of the entire move was dragging two 50+ pound bags up 4 flights of stairs! Yes, drag. It was not a pretty sight, but I made it.
As the place did not get internet until yesterday afternoon, I have been spending my time shopping and getting to know the area. First, I can now say I have done Ikea London!
As the place did not get internet until yesterday afternoon, I have been spending my time shopping and getting to know the area. First, I can now say I have done Ikea London!
Sadly...it is exactly the same as the US. I was hoping to see many new items, but as I walked through the store....there was my couch, my bookcases, my tv stand, etc. It was like being at home again! :) Anyway, I spent 2 hours there picking out bedding and trying to not buy anything that would be too heavy as it had to be carried on the tube (subway) home. It was a very successful trip.
Besides Ikea, my roommate introduced me to the pound store. Yea, just like the $1 store in the states. The place is great! We actually found a 98 pence store after visiting the pound store and were disappointed we spent the extra 2 pence! (Right now one pound is equal to 2 US dollars. There are 100 pence in a pound.) I found a great pair of scissors, some bowls, and a cookie sheet which will work great. I was also introduced to a store called Argos which is a catalog store. You go into a really small store which just has catalogs along a wall. You go through the catalog and pick out the items you want and then go to the counter. There must be a warehouse behind the place because your stuff magically appears. They have everything from tvs to horse riding equipment.
The biggest surprise so far is the fact that most English homes, do not have a dryer. A crime if you ask me! It took a full 24 hours for my jeans to dry. I did not have a drying rack so it was even more entertaining to find places around the flat to put wet clothes for 24 hours. I bought a huge drying rack yesterday to help with the situation. I just don't understand how people dry sheets, etc. As my sister said, I have to buy an extra set so I have something to use while the other set is dry. My roommate says he is going to buy a dryer, but I have no idea where we can put it. It should be interesting. By the way, the washer is in the kitchen next to the stove (odd).
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Death of American Television
Before I left the states, I had it all figured out. I would continue to watch all my favorite shows over the internet while in the UK. I did it all the time. If I had some downtime over the weekend, I would just sit down and watch an episode over my computer.
I had added all the channels to my computer favorites and with a click of a button, I would be able to watch the last season of Battlestar Galactica, or Grey's Anatomy, or Deadliest Catch. I also set up my mom's Netflix before I left so I could log onto her account and watch movies directly from Netflix. It was going to be perfect.
Sadly, it is not perfect. Every single channel blocks users from watching down streaming from outside the US. Even Netflix blocks me from downloading and watching everything since I am not in the US. I just get a message saying your computer is not in the US. Sorry.
It appears that the UK has very strict licensing laws that no one can meet. I have even tried to find illegal sites with no luck, since most of them come out of the US and can't be seen in the UK.
I am told they have Grey's Anatomy here on tv. However, it is about 2 seasons behind! Oh, death of American tv!
I had added all the channels to my computer favorites and with a click of a button, I would be able to watch the last season of Battlestar Galactica, or Grey's Anatomy, or Deadliest Catch. I also set up my mom's Netflix before I left so I could log onto her account and watch movies directly from Netflix. It was going to be perfect.
Sadly, it is not perfect. Every single channel blocks users from watching down streaming from outside the US. Even Netflix blocks me from downloading and watching everything since I am not in the US. I just get a message saying your computer is not in the US. Sorry.
It appears that the UK has very strict licensing laws that no one can meet. I have even tried to find illegal sites with no luck, since most of them come out of the US and can't be seen in the UK.
I am told they have Grey's Anatomy here on tv. However, it is about 2 seasons behind! Oh, death of American tv!
Monday, May 5, 2008
British Birthday
I had a fun and relaxing birthday weekend in London this year. It started out with waking up on Saturday and discovering I had a delivery upstairs. I found a huge box from a London flower shop. Turns out my mother had sent me flowers for my birthday. On top of it, a card she had sent from Tucson was taped to the box. Thanks so much mom! I loved them.
I decided to be a tourist for the weekend, so I headed to the British Museum for the afternoon. I had read something before going that many countries were always fighting with the British Museum to get their artifacts back. I really did not think much of it until I visited the museum. It appears that the British have taken everyone's history. For example, they have rooms filled with sculptures from the Parthenon. Apparently, the British ambassador in 1801 removed half of the Parthenon's sculptures and brought them back to the UK. He then sold them to the British Museum.
On Sunday, I decided to hit the Portobello Market in Notting Hill. I took a double-decker bus for the journey which was really fun. I sat on top in the front.
I decided to be a tourist for the weekend, so I headed to the British Museum for the afternoon. I had read something before going that many countries were always fighting with the British Museum to get their artifacts back. I really did not think much of it until I visited the museum. It appears that the British have taken everyone's history. For example, they have rooms filled with sculptures from the Parthenon. Apparently, the British ambassador in 1801 removed half of the Parthenon's sculptures and brought them back to the UK. He then sold them to the British Museum.
Overall, the museum was extremely impressive. I have never seen so many mummies and large statues in any museum before.
After the museum, I walked to Covent Garden. It is a place packed with shops and restaurants. There I met up with Jessica. She is the sister of a friend of mine that use to work at GAO. Jess is a social worker who lives in Croyden (45 min south of London) and has been living in the UK for about a year. She took me out for my first restaurant experience. We headed to an Italian place where we ordered salads, pizza, and wine. Now here is where I see the bland food. It appears that the British really don't use any type of seasoning. As Jess says, the British want a potato to taste like a potato. The prices were also over the top. Everything was about double what you would pay in the US. So the side salad was $7 and the personal pizza was $18. We split a half bottle of wine for $14. After dinner we met up with another American social worker friend of Jess, Sarah.
On Sunday, I decided to hit the Portobello Market in Notting Hill. I took a double-decker bus for the journey which was really fun. I sat on top in the front.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Wankers!
Last night I was in the kitchen with two of the workers in the B&B, two young South African women who have been working in the UK for over a year. We sat around drinking vodka and orange (screwdrivers) for about an hour.
Apparently, when they found out how much my job offer was (48 hours for 250 pounds a week) from the hotel down the street, they were shocked. Come to find out, I was not even offered minimum wage in the UK! That's right. The minimum wage in the UK is 5.52 pounds an hour. They also said it was illegal for the hotel to pay below the minimum wage. The women said that the English LOVE to take advantage of foreigners who don't know any better. Well now I do!
Apparently, when they found out how much my job offer was (48 hours for 250 pounds a week) from the hotel down the street, they were shocked. Come to find out, I was not even offered minimum wage in the UK! That's right. The minimum wage in the UK is 5.52 pounds an hour. They also said it was illegal for the hotel to pay below the minimum wage. The women said that the English LOVE to take advantage of foreigners who don't know any better. Well now I do!
The British Don't Cook
I just want to say thanks for all the great comments! It makes me feel good knowing that I am still connected to everyone.
Grocery Stores in London
The B&B has a kitchen that guests can use for cooking. I have been going the budget route, so I have been shopping in the local grocery stores. Fortunately, there are loads of them. In this area, there are 3 within 5-7 minutes walk.
My first experience in one of the grocery stores took about an hour. I walked the entire store picking up and looking at everything. What was the biggest shock was the amount of instant/ready made meals in the store. After going to a number of grocery stores, I have found that the first 1/3 of the store is dedicated to instant meals. For example, there will be different types of sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads, and dips. Then there will be a whole microwave section of instant meals, plus quick pizza's etc. Much more then I have ever seen in the states. If you pass the instant meal section, there are hardly any people in the rest of the store. But if you are at the front of the store where all the instant food is, the place is packed.
I have to say, the food prices are not bad at all. Considering I use to buy organic all the time, the prices seem the same or cheaper. I did pop into one of the organic places and found some of the prices outrageous.....asparagus for $12.99 a pound.
Here is a sample of food I bought in a regular grocery store and the USD cost.
French bread $1.62
Pasta Sauce $2.72
Mustard $2.72
Salad Dressing $1.64
Cookies (roll of 12) $0.54
Half of a cucumber $0.84
Chicken sandwich meat $2.78
Salami sandwich meat $2.26
Butter (2 stick) $1.96
Bag of salad greens $2.60
Grocery stores also have EVERYTHING packaged. I find it funny to find a packaged cucumber with its nutritional value stamped on the bag. Actually, the way they do the nutritional value is pretty cool. One of the stores has a list of 5 or so items stamped on the front of the package/box in large different colors. If you are looking at the stuff, you can immediately see which item has less calories, sugar, salt, etc. Nothing like the Americans who hide the information on the side or back of the box.
Since I am making my own food, I don't find the food that bad. :) It has some flavor. Hopefully, I will go out soon and let you know how bad the food really is!
Grocery Stores in London
The B&B has a kitchen that guests can use for cooking. I have been going the budget route, so I have been shopping in the local grocery stores. Fortunately, there are loads of them. In this area, there are 3 within 5-7 minutes walk.
My first experience in one of the grocery stores took about an hour. I walked the entire store picking up and looking at everything. What was the biggest shock was the amount of instant/ready made meals in the store. After going to a number of grocery stores, I have found that the first 1/3 of the store is dedicated to instant meals. For example, there will be different types of sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads, and dips. Then there will be a whole microwave section of instant meals, plus quick pizza's etc. Much more then I have ever seen in the states. If you pass the instant meal section, there are hardly any people in the rest of the store. But if you are at the front of the store where all the instant food is, the place is packed.
I have to say, the food prices are not bad at all. Considering I use to buy organic all the time, the prices seem the same or cheaper. I did pop into one of the organic places and found some of the prices outrageous.....asparagus for $12.99 a pound.
Here is a sample of food I bought in a regular grocery store and the USD cost.
French bread $1.62
Pasta Sauce $2.72
Mustard $2.72
Salad Dressing $1.64
Cookies (roll of 12) $0.54
Half of a cucumber $0.84
Chicken sandwich meat $2.78
Salami sandwich meat $2.26
Butter (2 stick) $1.96
Bag of salad greens $2.60
Grocery stores also have EVERYTHING packaged. I find it funny to find a packaged cucumber with its nutritional value stamped on the bag. Actually, the way they do the nutritional value is pretty cool. One of the stores has a list of 5 or so items stamped on the front of the package/box in large different colors. If you are looking at the stuff, you can immediately see which item has less calories, sugar, salt, etc. Nothing like the Americans who hide the information on the side or back of the box.
Since I am making my own food, I don't find the food that bad. :) It has some flavor. Hopefully, I will go out soon and let you know how bad the food really is!
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