From some of my observations, I discovered most British people resent East London. Or at least love to poke fun at it.
In fact, some question why the city is trying so hard to bring the center of 2012 Olympics to East London. After all, some consider it a mere wasteland, far far away from the CITY of London where everyone lives and all the important businesses take place.
What I learned during my semester abroad about East London is that it never quite recovered fully from the bombings of World War II. With East End’s docklands and ports completely destroyed but never quite rebuilt, East London is slowly on the rise again with Canary Wharf and Brick Lane.
True, I will probably never venture out to East London at night by myself. During the day with a good group of friends, however, I fell in love with the vintage markets, East Asian eatery and delicious mulled wine stands on the streets.
Brick Lane boasts quality Indian, Thai, Bangladeshi or Indonesian dishes and the bagels that really beat New York bagels. I just loved walking down the street to look at the exotic dishes and fruits & vegetables.
Then there is Spittalfields Market and Vintage Market that sell handmade headbands and jewelry for cheap. Right in front of each market stand many vendors with pad thai or sushi. And just to add to the excitement of eating all the yummy food, they make it right in front of you!
Nearby is Liverpool Street Tube, and further toward the river is Canary Wharf.
In my opinion, East London simply adds character to London and glorifies the fun features of the city originating from its diverse population, and that’s just another reason why I miss studying abroad!
Yoojin Cho 