You don't want to discuss it anymore? Then that is you choosing not to engage, not us being unfriendly!
As for being "cold and reserved" - we may be reserved, we see it as polite and respectful not to wear out hearts on our sleeve and be emotional all over the place. But we are not cold.
The "cold aggressive attitude" and "lack of empathy" is simply not true. Amongst other things, the English (or actually more generally British) are known for:
- Having a sense of fair play/fairness.
- We love an underdog too!
- Being kind and sentimental towards animals.
- Having a health/social wellfare system that in general means vulnerable/disabled people don't end up living on the streets, and illness isn't a financially ruinous thing. (I may be comparing this to outside EU as that's my experience of other cultures!)
These are not things associated with a lack of empathy.
Actually empathy is an interesting thing for you to mention. Because empathy is about feeling another person's feelings/situation. For example, if someone clearly doesn't want to talk, it's empathetic to take the hint and not keep on pushing it when they are clearly uncomfortable. Perhaps also understanding that they are shy, or overwhelmed, or having a bad day/time in their life, or whatever. Getting cross because someone isn't gushingly friendly is the opposite of empathy.
That said, it does sound slightly odd that no-one chatted to you after the meditation. But that's not representative of all English people - if it was, I wouldn't find it odd!
As a PP said, there's a difference between a sort of shallow friendliness, where people are friendly on the surface but actually don't consider you a friend/close friend, and friendliness where people have accepted you and you are really, properly friends. It is something that has been said about the British before - it's actually much more straightforward to only show the level of friendliness you really mean.
Your best bet in making friends is to follow your interests in terms of groups, evening classes, and so on. But crucially - don't come on too strong! Don't be determined to make friends with everyone. Just live your life, and enjoy the groups for what they are - enjoy the meditation, or art class, or whatever you choose. Gradually there will be one or two people who you chat to and get to know a bit more and eventually you'll make friends.
Work isn't the best place for making friends (although it does happen quite a lot), as we do tend to keep professional and home life somewhat separate. I once worked somewhere where the boss was friendly and it became a nightmare because they became controlling and demanding, made opinionated comments about my life. After I left it was like healing from an abusive romantic relationship. A professional distance would have avoided that. However, I made friends with another colleague there. I think work friends generally need to be the same job grade as you!
Good luck - and another recommended for the book "Watching the English" by Kate Fox. It would actually be really useful for you to read.