letting it all hang out

One of the things that is hard to get used to over here is the lack of privacy. Because so many people are packed in to such a small space, people have developed this weird knack of pretending they're in some private kind of bubble when they're actually in a very public place. The classic example of this is on the train. People on tube will talk across to each other about weekend exploits or relationship issues, you hear people having domestics on the phone, women put on their makeup on the way to work, it's just bizzarre All these small acts of people's private lives and they're carrying on like nobody else can hear or see. I guess you have to do this to a certain extent, you erect this private and invisible barrier so that you don't feel that your personal space (mental and physical) is being totally raped and invaded by these people you are forced in to such close contact with. But just because I understand it, doesn't stop it from being a bit surreal at times.