So I've been thinking of a few more questions to ask people. I've been contemplating the extremely private nature of many people in Great Britain. I happened upon this website the other day, and I was thinking about how I need to do better about being punctual. It's less of a "deciding to be late" problem as much as a "I have too much to do, therefore I can't justify being early" problem. In any case, being in London may raise the marginal benefit of being early a bit for me, and perhaps help me overcome my bad habit.
About the slower decision-making process than in the United States, I think that's an interesting one. I'm trying to decide if Brazilians are faster or slower than Americans. Maybe I haven't been around Americans enough since I've been back to know. However, I think Brazilians are pretty slow at making decisions too. I think they're better at faking that they've made a decision than actually making the decision. I've had a lot of people in Brazil tell that they were going to do something and I was dead certain when they said it that they didn't mean it. In America, I think people are a little more prone to tell you straight out if they're going to do something or not. And I think Brazilians like to put of decision making. Maybe that's what this man means when he says that "Decision-making is slower in England than in the United States." In terms of my interviews, I'll have to keep that fact in mind. I may not find anyone in London who will be willing to do an interview with me after only knowing me for a short time. It may take individuals I meet a while to decide that they want to help me.
I was thinking about ways that I might go about just getting the pulse of the population when it comes to religion. If I did succeed in starting up a conversation with someone, either at a museum or at a park (which isn't likely, given how private the British are said to be), how would I turn the conversation to the topic of religion? Undoubtably, they will ask what I'm doing in England. If I tell them I'm studying religion, they may not want to talk about it, since it's not exactly one of those topics you speak about in casual conversation. But if I was to ask something like "You know, the UK isn't near as religious as it used to be," maybe some people will just open up about what they think about it. The essential part here will be holding their attention on the topic for enough time to make it interesting to them too. If they like me and find my conversation amusing or entertaining, there's a chance they might just let me call on them again to do an interview. Just a chance though.
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