Do you ever start writing a comment on a blog, and before you know it, you've rambled on so much that you've pretty much written a blog post on the subject?
I've just done that on Nappy Valley Girl's blog. I'm enjoying reading her blog, because she's just moved from Clapham Common to Long Island, and it's full of her early impressions of American life. I can hardly read a post without exclaiming in her comments box "oh yes, I remember that feeling so well!". It also makes me realise how far I've dug in, in three years. Things that strike her as unusual are just part of life for me now, and it takes someone else to point them out for me to notice. She surprised local American friends recently by offering them milk in their tea. I remember doing that. Now I don't, and what's more, I don't even think about it. These things become second nature.
Anyhoo, Nappy Valley Girl was cogitating today on why Americans don't seem to go outside when it's snowy, or even cold. When you're bringing up small children, it seems an essential part of a day to take them out into the fresh air, come hell, high water, or bad weather. But only if you're British.
I was commenting along my usual lines of "oh, I've wondered the same thing!" and found I'd written so much on the subject that, if I just added a tiny bit more, I could repeat it all on my own blog and call it a post. Which is what I've done.
I started off by saying I thought it was just a cultural thing. We Brits have a deep-seated feeling that fresh air is good for children, and that going outside at some point in the day is essential. The Americans don't. Simple as that.
But then I decided that actually, there's more to it than that. I think it's a reflection of a deep cultural difference between the adults. We Brits love our outdoors. We are a nation of gardeners. We like a sunny day because then we can be "out". If we go on holiday, we like to see the scenery of where we are. Our own countryside is sacrosanct.
It's just not the same here. I once tried to explain to a woman who asked me what I missed about the UK, that I missed walking down a street, walking the kids to school, going out and about at the week-ends... that it made me feel disconnected from the "real" world. I said "For example, you could easily live a life here where you literally NEVER went outside some kind of built environment. You leave the house by car from your integral garage. You can run your errands at drive-thrus. Everywhere here has convenient parking lots, so you don’t have to walk to get anywhere. Indeed you physically can’t do that. You could live without ever seeing the outdoors except for the parking lots you walk across."
She looked at me as if I was on another planet, and said "What's wrong with that?"
My guess is that this is one reason why the fear of climate change tugs at the emotions of Brits more than a lot of Americans. We would really mind if our countryside changed. For most people round here, it's a rather remote problem. If the planet warms up a little, your air-conditioning bill will be a bit higher, but it won’t significantly affect your life. No big deal.
I don’t want to get pious here, but I can’t help feeling that it’s important for us humans to be conscious that we belong to the natural world, and not the other way round. There’s a big wide world out there, and we are very small in it. How do your kids learn that, how do they come to feel that, if you don’t take them outside?
I agree. I do think fresh air and the opportunity to run off some energy and be part of the wider natural world is incredibly important. Maybe it is to do with how I was brought up. I sort of think it's sad to think you could go through life just staying in artificial environments.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a gardner, but I noticed last summer we were at my MIL's and she had loads of cherry tomatoes on a plant. My daughter was so fascinated being able to pick and eat them. We could never get her to try tomato before and now she loves them. I'm thinking of growing a few veg - tomatoes and potatoes - this year.
Ah - I seem to have left a really long comment too!
We have snow and have been outside at EVERY available opportunity since it first fell!
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Josephine
I read your comment at NVG first, really pleased you expanded it into a post.
ReplyDeleteBut, interestingly, I do remember as a child in Washington DC (aged 7) that absolutely everyone who lived within a mile of school, without exception, walked home. No parents. My brother was 5. Coming from an English school we were used to walking but maybe not quite that far every day on our own.
You are right though, the English do connect with the outdoors. The thought of never going outside does fill us with horror. Besides, what do you do with your kids all day if you don't take them outside?
Do you think that this is an indication of where the Brits are headed in 20 years time?
Thanks for the link Iota, and I'm glad you expanded the comment - it was a typically perspicacious and intelligent comment and deserved a post of its own. Brit in Bosnia's point is interesting - I think Americans in cities DO walk, and maybe in the 70s everyone walked, but outside of cities it has become almost a total car culture.
ReplyDeleteI remember walking along Main Street here a few months ago with an American friend to go to a pizza place; she was amazed at my boys' road sense and the fact they waited at crossings for me to catch up. I explained that this is because in London we walked everywhere. She was also pleasantly surprised by the shops she noticed that she had never taken in while driving. Let's home some of those shops survive, because most people seem happier shopping in malls over here.....
Freaky Americans. I walk lots of places, too, but I have to admit I have a tendency to cocoon on snowy days.
ReplyDeleteYes, we Brits are hard. We've played in the snow, we've built a snow bear (that my son truly believes is the only snow sculture in the world, ever, ever, to have ears) and today the school even sent the kids out to play in the snow.... although this didn't stop Son from bursting into tears yesterday in the supermarket because the little toe on his right foot was a bit cold! On a serious note, I'd never thought about that aspect of why Americans don't care as much about climate change - good point, well made!
ReplyDeleteI think it's simple -- it's that sense of community. Great post!
ReplyDeleteNot true of Chicago. The minute the sun comes out in about APril, and the temp rises above freezing, everyone gets out, sweatshirts and shorts. People sit outside on their stoops (front doors) and generally spend the whole day outside.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the staying-in-during-winter is because it's often dangerously cold. Here in Chicago, we spend months below freezing and if you're outside for any length of time, you have to start watching for frost bite. Similarly in the summer, loads of places are just too bloody hot and you'll go anywhere where there's air conditioning.
Great posts though!
When I first arrived in the US from the UK we didn't have a car so we walked everywhere, not good when you are dragging along 2 children. We got really weird looks but when I spoke to people about it most were positive and said they would do the same too, if only there were more sidewalks. Luckily I live near a nature trail that could, if I let it, take me from Carmel to Indianapolis. It would be a bit long and tiresome but I am glad it is there.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, you've hit a note with me here!
ReplyDeleteWe were in Florida last June and it freaked me out that nobody walked around. I'm used to going for a walk almost every day here in Dublin, I don't feel right if I don't get out and about.
I totally agree with you on how this affects consciousness re climate change too.
Another thing in US that drove me mad was that, in sunny Florida, they didn't hang washing out to dry, when it would have been dry in under an hour, they used dryers instead. I couldn't do it, and draped the laundry on the pool screen. We'll probably never be let back into that state again!
My SIL lives in Texas, and they can get fined for hanging out laundry! Also, she works in a Montessori school, and parents constantly send in notes to keep their child inside, cos of "allergies" or "cold weather"-i.e.25 degrees!
This comment is also turning into a blog post!!!
I used to live next door to a lady from San Diego who said that her (English) husband insisted on hanging out their washing when they were over there some years before but when they went to take it back in it was 3 shades paler and as crisp as a cream cracker so they had to wash it all over again. But fancy being FINED for hanging it out!
ReplyDeleteI never knew that my guilt if I don't kick the sproglets outside everyday was cultural. I never knew I had any culture at all. Cool!
I do hate that when I run errands I get in my car and drive from one parking lot to another, park outside the place I need and then go off again. Even if it's in the same area, it's just not easy to walk.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we do have a sense of community here at the beach. We all cycle, pass one another and say hello. Go inland to larger cities and that's certainly not the case.
Hi Iota! I grew up in the suburbs and rural area of the Midwest and it was common to go out to play in the snow, run around in creeks, etc. But it was also just as important to have a car to get to the store as it was over 10 miles away. I think that outside of the cities, the car-culture has started and now has gotten to the point where everything seems built around "convenience." I have to admit, though, my feathers get a bit ruffled when a connection is drawn between this and a lack of concern for global warming. (I hope you don't mind, but I am feeling compelled to state that there are loads of Americans who care very much about global climate change. I really believe it is a regional thing in the US -- sort of "red" states versus "blue" states due to the ridiculous politics that have muddled the conversation.) It is true, though, that there are many (frustratingly) people who still cling on to the highly politicized belief that global climate change propelled by people does not exist. Your thoughts on it being connected to a break with being involved in nature is compelling. More than the car culture and "being outside" I think people who garden and pay attention to the grow-times of certain plants and the arrival of certain butterflies and insects are those who cannot doubt that there is something amiss with the climate. The problem in the US, though, is that within the last two generations, it has become less and less popular to garden, walk in the woods, etc. And (might ruffle some feathers here -- sorry!) I'm not sure that the culture is all that different here in Norwich with the younger folks, either. The neighbors kids are all indoors with the snow playing video games, the 22 year old home owner across the street has levelled a flower garden and put in cobblestones instead, and the mall was jam-packed yesterday while the parks were empty in the snow. I ask myself -- could it be that the UK is headed the same direction as the US? Hopefully not!
ReplyDeleteI can relate! I was an outdoorsy person in Minnesota and I am here too, but I know the kind of people you mean (my mother, who lives in Oklahoma, is one of those who would gladly live in her house/car/wal-mart all her life). I go crzy if I dont have a bit of fresh air everyday--I have to work on telling myself 'its ok, you can go one day without it' because I get so irritated if I am not able to go out for even a short walk each day.
ReplyDeleteI was really inspired a few years ago by a news story on a newish childrens nursery in Scotland that was outside--all day every day. There was a shelter, but otherwise they did everything outside. The idea was that if you're dressed right then you can do things in pretty much most weathers (not sure how theyre coping right now). And the kids all slept well and had consistently better attention spans than before they were at the nursery. Might be a bit extreme but it made me realise that we really do need the outdoors.
Great post... I can feel a long reply of my own coming on so perhaps I'll post on this too eventually! ;)
First off, I'd like to say that I'm glad it's not just me that rambles on in comments, because often I edit what I've said to make it not be a second blog post, as you say.
ReplyDeleteI was just saying to my husband the other day walking back from the grocery store that I was going to miss the walking when we move to the US. I am American, and I love the outdoors, I grew up in the country. But what I don't like are biting insects. Really, I don't like any insects. But 5 minutes outside and I am bit up by mosquitoes or the gnats are so thick you can't do anything but squint or else they get in your eyes. I also very much don't like the temperature extremes. In Virginia weeks on end in the summer would be in the 90s with high humidity. It makes it hard to breathe, literally. And this winter there it hasn't gotten above freezing for weeks.
I have very much enjoyed walking everywhere here in England these last months. There was a learning curve, I admit, but not having a car, if we want to get somewhere, we have to walk. I have learned to love it. Well, not so much these past weeks with the sidewalks covered in ice and us lugging groceries home 2-3 times a week. But in general :)
Amen sistah, I'm with you on this one. Bill Bryson wrote about this lack of a 'walking in day to day life culture' in America, in possibly A Walk In The Woods o& about not being able to walk or being no sidewalks etc.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a very European thing too. Albania (& Italy, Greece, most of the BAlkans, many Mediterranean cultures) go for their evening walk which is a ritual, a meeting place, a community event etc etc & makes sense cos it's cooler, but also it doesnt get that dark very early even in winter.. And in northern Europe eg Germany Switzerland, Austria etc they are much more into mountain climbing & hiking. Maybe we culturally adapt customs/habits etc to our environment.
In ALbania EVERYONE exercises,or 'takes the air & has a brisk walk in the park, if they can, 1st thing in the morning.
I honestly thought that the no walking outside thing was only limited to us here in Southeast Texas where we have an insane sub-tropic climate that gives us 80 to 90% humidity and tempters in the high 80s and 90s 9 months out of the year. Honestly it wasn't until I was in my early 20s and made my first trip to Colorado that I realized why anyone would ever want to spend any length of time outdoors.
ReplyDeleteHere in downtown Houston we have an underground tunnel system that connects all the major buildings together. So taking your example, its totally possible for a person who drives to work (which I don't) to leave the house by car from their integral garage. Park in an underground parking garage. Walk through an underground tunnel to their building and spend 9 hours a day in their internal office.
I do think the fact that our environment here in Houston is so swampy and unpleasant probably effects peoples lack luster enthusiasm when it comes to wanting to persevere it. But I have to agree with the previous commenter who pointed out that the global warming issue in America is steeped in politics.
The other point I would make about suburban American mothers and their children playing outside, is that a lot of these mothers are insane. They don't want there kids to come in contact with dirt and they are convinced that if they were to turn their backs while their children played a park, their kids would be instantly snatched up by some perverted wacko or pushed in front of an on coming car by a random homicidal maniac. No, these types of mothers feel its much safer to keep their little ones locked up in a sterilized, temperature controlled volt. These are the types who freak out when they find out that I not only let my daughter play outside.. I let her do it by herself. Can you imagine.. sometimes my daughter as a full day of unstructured playtime outdoors!
I'd say it all depends upon where you live. I live in an outdoor culture where children play hard outdoors, families routinely go hiking and identifying trees and plant life, birds and animals, is common. I grew up in Washington, DC but have lived in London, Lymington (Hants), Caversham (Berks), and Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the UK. Distances and weather, economics, cars, public transportation, ease of parking, size of interior space, etc. all conspire to create different attitudes about being indoors or out.
ReplyDeleteAnd generalizing about America and Americans just like generalizing about the Brits only works sometimes. But it's bound to get folks talking!
I sometimes wonder what's wrong with the Americans you run into, because your views are so different from my memories of living there. As a child, we spent all of our time outside in the snow and cold in Minnesota. We had moon boots and snow pants and a back yard full of snowmen and snow angels and forts and snow houses and snowballs from snow battles and ...
ReplyDeleteHere in NZ they do it slightly differently. The bulk of all activities are outdoors - eating, picnics, surfing, tramping (hiking to us), swimming (they think swimming in indoor pools is slightly odd) BUT they all drive everywhere! I walk alot - like a good, conventional British girl but often get odd looks and comments. Strange in a nation which spends all its recreational time in the thick of the beautiful outdoors. Good blog post though - I really like your insights and writing style
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to take issue here and disagree. Californians love the outdoors, even the snow!
ReplyDeleteHaha. This whole discussion really makes me laugh. We have a communal garden, that serves as my own little cultural laboratory with original English guinea pigs. All free-range, of course.
ReplyDeleteComes summer - and no matter how crappy and cold and wet the summer is - the female pig leaves her private patio and ventures onto the common green. Sunglasses, rolled up trousers and boob tube included (accompanied by glass of white). During the day, her deeply wrinkled skin is slowly turning from white to light pink to bright red. If there is only a slight chance of two minutes of sun shine, you'll be sure to see Miss Piggy again the next day.
In winter, she stays in the piggery but kicks out her brood with a sledge to plough the grass below half an inch of snow.
Very interesting post and comments. I think the points about cities are valid, man of America's cities are good for walking about in. I live in San Francisco which is a very walkable city, despite its crazy hills. Some residents even manage without cars! Californians, at least Northern Californians are very outdoorsy people, hiking, biking, gardening are all very popular. I think that is perhaps why it attracts so many Europeans.
ReplyDeleteI've just written a follow up post - a trip to Manhattan this weekend proved that New Yorkers are totally prepared to go out in the cold. My conclusion is that there's something about cities that forces you up and out of your cocoon.
ReplyDeleteI tell you one place where Americans don't mind walking. Theme parks! Disney must come as a real shock to the system as the parks are MASSIVE and the only way to get around is on foot. Even for a Brit used to walking it's exhausting, so I don't know how they cope without their cars all day long.
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