First Ten Days in London 倫敦十日

I have been in London for just over a week now. The cold is real. I find myself rubbing my hands, breathing into them, shoulders slightly hunched as I walk. It is not as unbearable as I imagined, but once the sun goes down, going indoors feels like the right decision.

Colder than the weather, though, is the food.

If you are not eating out and rely on supermarkets, lunch usually means a meal deal. Cold sandwiches. Cold chicken. Cold drinks. On days that are already freezing, nothing is meant to be heated. That seems to be part of the system. I have started to accept cold food too, partly because you get used to it, partly because it is the only lunch I can afford.

I still catch myself converting prices back into New Taiwan Dollars, then quietly putting things back on the shelf. I know the comparison is unfair, but it happens automatically. A Coke close to NTD$100. A bowl of ramen around NTD$600. A single tube ride that easily costs over NTD$100. Taipei is getting more expensive too, but London prices still stop me right before paying. I have not fully crossed that mental barrier yet. I really should learn how to cook. A goal for 2026.

Aside from that, everything feels good.

I am not tired of the buildings yet. Even when I eventually get used to them, I think they will still look beautiful. They are a clear contrast to dirty walls, metal window bars, and awkward rooftop extensions in Taiwan. London simply feels better kept.

It is also a city that makes walking easy. Walking for thirty minutes here does not feel tiring, just like in Tokyo. Pavements are wide and continuous. Crossings feel safer. There are fewer cars, partly because of congestion charges. Pedestrians come first. I have already followed locals across a few red lights and started to move more naturally through the streets.

One thing that surprised me is this: while food is expensive, art, or more simply, beauty, is not. Beauty feels open to everyone, almost like a public resource. Elegant bridges, churches, clock towers, and monuments are everywhere. Any one of them would attract crowds in Taiwan. Here, they are just part of daily life.

Even more striking are the museums and galleries. So many of them are free. Inside are paintings and sculptures I once only saw in textbooks. At any moment, you can step into a museum to escape the cold and damp, and suddenly find yourself in ancient Rome, Renaissance Florence, or eighteenth century Paris.

For people who have lived in London for a long time, these streets and buildings may feel ordinary. But for someone raised in Taiwan, where practicality often comes before preservation, where we rebuild more than we repair, and value function more than spirit, this care for beauty feels unfamiliar and deeply admirable. Maybe Taiwan will move in this direction one day, I hope so.

Socially, things are moving too. Even though I have only been here a short time, friends have introduced me to new people. I am reminded how closely connected Taiwanese communities abroad are. People really do come together more when they are far from home. Maybe it is selection bias, but everyone I meet seems to carry a sense of freedom, a clear personality, a distinct way of living. Talking with different people has been genuinely enjoyable.

Because everything is still new, there is always something to notice while walking around. Small details. New habits. Different ways of doing things. Each discovery naturally leads to a comparison with home, and then to more thoughts. My mind keeps running. Ideas keep coming. I like being in this state.

Friends tell me that I will get used to it. Used to the prices. Used to the weather. Used to the food. Used to being alone in a foreign country, staying connected to home through a screen.

Maybe they are right. People always adapt. Life moves in cycles. Change brings discomfort. Discomfort slowly turns into habit. Habit eventually leads to the desire for change again. Over and over. Life swings between comfort and uncertainty, clarity and exhaustion.

For now, though, coming to the UK feels like the right move. Things are moving in a good direction. I know I tend to be optimistic, sometimes too optimistic, but I hope I am right this time. There is no strong reason to believe things will get worse, just as there is no guarantee they will get better.

Still, I choose to believe they will.

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來倫敦已經一週有餘,在冷冽空氣下搓著手哈氣,縮著身子發抖,還是覺得倫敦很冷,雖然沒有想像中的無法忍受但太陽下山後還是進屋比較暖和。

比天氣更冷的是倫敦的食物,如果不上餐廳只在grocery store採買,那麼三明治是冷的,雞塊是冷的,就連飲料也是冷的,已經那麼冷的天氣但食物卻也不願加熱,在英國人的固執下我也開始習慣冷的食物,畢竟這是我唯一負擔得起的午餐。

還是不自覺將看到的價格換算台幣再默默放回去,雖然知道不能這樣比較,但下意識啟動的心算功能很難關閉,快要一百塊的可樂、六百塊的拉麵、和動輒一趟一百多塊的地鐵對於我來說還是無法跟便宜劃等號,儘管台北現在也越來越貴,但英國的物價至今還是常常把我擋在付費前的最後一步,終究過不去自己心裡那關。(之後一定要學著做飯,2026目標之一)

除此之外的一切都很好,街上的建築目前還看不膩,即使之後看習慣了應該還是會覺得漂亮,怎麼樣都比骯髒不堪的外牆和層出不窮的鐵窗與頂樓加蓋還強上不少。

倫敦也很適合步行,在這座城市走三十分鐘都不覺得負擔(東京也是),人行道寬敞且連貫,路口不像台灣險象環生,進城稅的緣故車沒那麼多,行人路權優於車輛,跟隨在地人的腳步我也闖了幾個紅燈,逐漸開始融入,靈活穿梭各個路口。

另外一個發現是,相較於食物的貴,在英國,「藝術」,或更純粹地說「美」,是對所有人開放的,彷彿是近似天然資源的存在(儘管是人造的)。路上不乏精巧典雅的大橋、鐘樓、教堂、與紀念碑,隨便一座在台灣都能吸引不少遊客爭相拍照,在這卻是尋常不過的街景。

更甚者到處都是免費的美術館與博物館開放參觀,裡頭展覽的可能正是求學過程課本上看過的畫作與雕塑,你隨時可以步入一座美術館逃離濕冷饑寒的倫敦,轉身跳入三世紀的羅馬、十五世紀的佛羅倫斯、或十八世紀的巴黎。

也許對於住在倫敦已久的人這些像是空氣般自然的街道、建築、藝術品沒有什麼特別,但對於在功利主義盛行,重興建不重修繕、重實用不重精神的台灣長大的我來說,這樣對於美的保存和分享是未曾擁有並深深羨慕的,也許三十年後的台灣也會往這個方向邁進吧,在溫飽無虞之後。

社交上也有所進展,雖然只來沒多久,但仰賴朋友們的介紹也認識了不少新朋友,深深感受到台灣人社群在國外的緊密連結,人在異鄉會更團結是真的,並且可能是 selection bias 的緣故,大家都帶著些許自由嚮往的精神,每個人都帶有鮮明的特質和人格,不同的靈魂交流碰撞也很有趣,甚好。

由於來倫敦的時間還短,一切之於我都非常新鮮,走在街上還是許多事情可以觀察,很多新奇的事情在發生,每當有一個新的發現就會不自覺和家鄉比較,從中又能延伸出非常多想法,腦袋轉個不停靈感一直冒出,很享受這樣的感覺。

朋友都說時間一久我就會習慣,習慣倫敦的物價,習慣倫敦的天氣,習慣倫敦的食物,習慣自己一人處在陌生的國度仰賴網路通訊維持和家鄉的聯繫。

可能吧?終究會習慣的。人總在差不多的循環裡重複,在變化中不適,不適久了習慣,習慣後又渴望變化,周而復始,於是生活在安逸與動盪中擺盪,在徬徨和疲乏中掙扎。

至少目前來英國的一切都在往好的方向前進,雖然我總是過度樂觀但希望這次我還是對的,這世界沒有理由不樂觀正如也沒有理由不悲觀,一切都會變好也只會更好,對吧?(對)

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