UNIT 6: PLACES AND THINGSLondon: The World in One CityLeo Benedictus spent months interviewing the immigrant communities that give the city of London its vitality and, more importantly, its food!New York and Toronto may think they are more cosmopolitan, but London in the 21st century certainly the most diverse city ever. This is one of the reasons why is was chosen to host the 2012 Olympic Games. More than 300 languages are spoken by the people of London, and it has 50 nationalities with populations of more than 10000Why is this? Firstly, London is a place of busines. Londoners have the fewest bank holidays in Europe and work the longest hours. People come for jobs and money. But that is not why they stay. Language is one reason. Fluency in English is a great gift for their children. Another surprising reason is the character of the London people. They are not as friendly as some other nationalities. But this has advantages - people leave you alone, and you are free to live your own life. Finally the most delicious reason is-food. You can have dinner in moer than 70 different nationalities of restaurant any night of the week. Londoners' enthusiasm for foreign food creates thousands of job for new communitiesAll Londoners, old and new, have the same principles. They work hard, love their children, and move out of the city centre as soon as they can afford it! 1. Posh Daddy From Nigeria Posh Daddy is the manager of the Big Choice Barber's on Peckham High Street. It is West Indian and African hairdresser's. These two black communities haven't always got on well together. “When I first came here, we just wanted to be accepted by the West Indian community, but they were not very friends,” he says. “Now it is getting better. These days most of my West Indian brothers in the barber's like eating African food like me, pepper soup and kuku paka, which is chicken with coconut - very hot and spicy” 2. Staff in the kitchen of the Asadal“This restaurant was a little bit of Korea brought into a very English town," says Young-il Park, the manager of the Asadal restaurant in New Malden. The Asadal is famous for its kimchi salty, spicy chilli peppers and vegetables. Young-il's father opened the Asadal in-1991-the first Korean restaurant in the town. Young-il was the only Korean in his school. “The thing I noticed most was that people stared,” he says. “Now you see a lot of Koreans here.”3. The staff in the Yasar Halim BakeryYasar Halim, a Turkish grocery store and bakery, is known all over London. It was started in Green Lanes in 1981 by Mr.halim, a Turkish Cypriot. At the time, no one was selling food from his homeland. Now the shop is famous for its baklava, a sweet cake made with nuts and honey. The shop is very busy, and the staff working there--both Turkish and Greek Cypriots--look like they’re having a great time together. In their homeland of Cyprus, there are still problems between the two communities. But in this area of London, they live together as good neighbors.4. Portuguese soccer fans in the FC Porto Fan Club in Stockwell“Soccer is passion for us,” says José Antonio Costa, the president of the Porto Fan Club which meets in Stockwell. “Many people come for friendship-you know, in a foreign country, you feel more comfortable with your own people.”Eric Santos, the owner of Santos’s café near the club, says, “People come for my wife’s bacalhau-salted cod, made with potatoes and onions. Delicious!” There is a pretty big Portuguese-speaking community here, from Portugal, Brazil, and Madeira, but they do not always stick together. “Everyone looks after their own interests.” The Portuguese and the Madeirans, in particular, are very separate groups in London, because madeira wants independence from Portugal.
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