On one of my first mornings walking to work in London, I stopped at Pret A Manger, a popular UK chain, to grab a breakfast sandwich. I ate it as I walked, the same way I usually would back in Pittsburgh on a busy morning before class. When I finished, I instinctively looked for a trash can to toss the wrapper. After walking several blocks without finding one, I started to get confused.
In Oakland, you can count on finding a trash can every couple of blocks along busy streets like Forbes or Fifth. But here, even along the main road of Old Street, there wasn’t a single bin. I looked around and noticed how clean the streets were. No litter, no overflowing bins, no wrappers blowing across the sidewalk. The absence of both trash cans and trash didn’t make sense to me at first. If it were back home, people would likely toss their wrappers on the street even when trash cans are provided. Here, I was carrying my garbage with no clear plan for where it would go.
Later that morning, I threw the wrapper away at the office, still puzzled. But over the next few weeks, something started to click. I began to notice that I wasn’t just missing trash cans. I was also one of the only people eating while walking. Most Londoners sit down to eat, even if it’s takeaway. Whether it’s grabbing a sandwich at lunch or a coffee in the morning, people here stop to eat. You don’t see many people rushing through the streets with food in hand.
The difference really stood out when I spent a workday in Cambridge. Our team went out to get sandwiches during lunch, and I assumed we’d eat them on the walk back or at our desks. Instead, we sat together on the college green and ate as a group. The whole experience was casual, social, and completely unhurried. It was a big shift from the work environments I’m used to, where lunch is often taken alone and squeezed into a packed schedule.
That moment helped me realize that this wasn’t just about trash cans. It reflected a deeper cultural value around slowing down and being present. In London, there’s more of a separation between work and rest, even during the busiest parts of the day. Meals are meant to be enjoyed, not just consumed.
What started as a small inconvenience turned into a valuable reminder to slow down. I’ve started sitting down to eat more often, even if I’m on my own, and I’ve come to appreciate the intentionality behind these small everyday routines. It’s a different rhythm than I’m used to, but it’s one that I’ve grown to respect and one I hope to carry with me moving forward.