London's Christmas Sale Day

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A friend of mine in Nashville has a friend who recently moved to London. So we got each other's contact info, and today, we're walking along Oxford Street together, weaving in and out of crazy Christmas shoppers. Today is the BIG shopping day here, the day with all the sales, the London equivalent to the "Day After Thanksgiving" sales. The city has decorated the streets with Christmas lights and erected a stage in the middle of the Oxford-Regents Street intersection. We have DJ's to entertain us as we're pushed along the packed sidewalk, and soon there will be live music as some famous musician I've never heard of takes the stage.

Nicola, my new friend, and I find a cafe and buy paninis and coffees. Sitting on stools in front of a window, we chat warmly as the world rushes by. Nicola is from "all over" the world, having moved around a lot, and it's difficult to place her accent. Although she's from neither country, she sounds like she could be American or Canadian. She lived in Nashville for a few years on a work visa before coming to London, and this is the first time she hasn't had to work on a visa in a really long time. I think one of her parents is Irish or something, so she's considered a citizen of the European Union. Obviously, she's fascinating. She's quite interested in my experiences of culture shock, because she doesn't really have it. She's always been moving in and out of different countries, so it's all the same to her.

We walk along the Covent Garden area, which is very beautiful at Christmas time. Musicians have set up posts along the way, some singing Christmas carols, some singing American tunes, like Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens. I really enjoy the live musicians on the streets of London; it reminds me of Nashville.

Eventually, we make our way to the Sports Cafe near Leceister Square, because we're going to meet Stephanie, Dean, Gary, Troy, and Raeann to watch some American football!

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