Guys bashing guys in the playground

Today was all about rugby, as from the moment I woke up until the early evening all time was spent around and at the Harlequins venue where a London premier league derby took place. Going all local watching this game in a sold-out stadium, eating hamburgers and drinking Guinness at the spectators’ seats, purchasing fans’ ware and cheering for the (eventually losing) team. David and I found out we don’t fully get the rules yet, but witnessing the match was about witnessing locals’ ideal Sunday leisure time as much as it was about watching sports. The journey there provided additional insight in how vast London and her suburbs are; the stadium was recommended by folks from work because of its ‘central’ location in London, yet still a half an hour train journey was required to get there. Big.

Writing down this small update occurs just after having nourished some great Indian snacks that David and I just picked up from our favourite Indian food stand (supposedly Pakistani but it does taste like genuine Indian food to me). Although I am in no position to complain about the furniture arrangement in my apartment (as everything is stacked in a fairly logical way), David’s living room leaves about a third empty, while his table and four chairs have been cramped in a corner between kitchen and couch. Supposedly designed by one of England’s best architects, I may be able to pursue a career in this field if I happen to fail as a banker, as England seems to be in dire need of in-house architectural talent. Ah well, the super-fast internet doesn’t allow opening a website half of the time either, so perhaps I shouldn’t take it all too literal.

As my initial dread and horror of travelling by Indian auto rickshaw over the months was replaced by me falling fast asleep in the back of these notorious vehicles in the midst of Delhi traffic, so my early fears of cycling in London are being replaced by a regular shot of adrenalin as David and I chase after one another on our rental bikes. Overtaking cars and buses, getting to know routes, and being in regular touch with the company owning the units because of yet another malfunctioning bicycle; fun is all that is driving me forward.

Daily shopping is done at Tesco, which I was already familiar with from Poland times. The units in the neighbourhood here cannot compare with the 24-7 vastness of half the Katowice shopping mall that Tesco in Poland was, but surely for my daily groceries they suffice, not to let unmentioned the ideal laundry basket PLUS drying unit that one of their shopping trolleys has become to function as in my apartment. Had the designer known of the ingenious new role one of his models currently fulfils in London he would have been beaming of pride.

Now I prepare for an early wake-up tomorrow, as I intend to leave work early for the London outbound journey described earlier. This week promises to be awesome for the remainder too, as Thursday will feature some classy lunch and dinner in town, plus a roof terrace drink at work. Friday visits from the gf, and midweek a promising vacancy that will surely be filled in with pure bliss and awesomeness in the way that London keeps surprising me. Let’s see and experience!

Two weeks of awesomeness

It’s been two weeks since I came to London and I cannot suppress the urge to write down my thoughts and experiences thus far. It is not so much for sharing as well as for my own record keeping, as reading the blogs I used to keep when living in Katowice, New Delhi, and Sanmenxia, respectively, are a great means of reviving my time spent there and I reckon London does not deserve a different treatment.

So, two weeks of London, what is it like? How does it feel, this new foreign adventure, for which I have had to wait more than three years? Late June 2009 I arrived at Dusseldorf airport, having flown from Beijing and ever since the Netherlands has been the place of residence. September 15^th 2012 the new adventure commenced, and thus far I live up to it to the fullest.

The differences are remarkable, compared with the warm cosy nest of social life that an Erasmus experiences entails, the chaos of India with the peace and quiet of a true home in Kalkaji with my international friends, and the relative luxury but far greater social challenges that five months in China implied. So relatively speaking London is easy, with a great apartment arranged and paid for by the bank, fifteen minutes by bike to work, with Vasiliki, Dana, and Gabriel already living in London and thus safeguarding the warm welcome and social life in a new country, and David, a co-trainee of mine, living in the same building, working at the same place, and being great company throughout.

The very place I am writing this new start of a blog resembles some of the luxury I am surrounded with; I am on my balcony, having dragged a table outside, with my laptop being charged through an extension cable, looking up at a blue sky, and some Enya music playing from the speakers of my laptop. This must sound like I am in shorts and t-shirt in bright sun light, but the towering buildings around me prevent such holiday feelings, and thick sweater and jacket make the temperature just bearable outside. At least it is not raining, with I consider already a huge treat, given the ominous murmuring of people at work when I ask them about general weather conditions in London.

Highlights so far, I wouldn’t know where to start. Freshest on the mind is last night, when Dana took me about for drinks. Dana and I arrived the very same hour in India the 28^th of August 2008, so we witnessed each others’ first impressions of the turmoil and chaos and filth and awesomeness that Delhi is. January 2009 she went back to England and I moved on to China, and yesterday was the first time in all those years that we reunited. As if no time had passed! Memories of India, stories of our lives post India, and plans for the future; a few drinks and a regular change of bars made for a splendid evening. Come Monday I will board a train after work to make the daring journey to wattfort or what the name may be, being a suburb of London and contemporary home to Dana. Apparently there’s a forest and mountains and what not –I may exaggerate- but the plan is to go running as she’s training for half the marathon and I have no other sports to exercise here. Should be fun!

Always on the mind shall also remain the morning when David and I were in our daily struggle to find the quickest route to work (which we have by now found), as we take rental bikes every morning insofar as the weather allows to do so. Having just taken another wrong turn, it was a few yards of pedestrian area that led us back to the road we were supposed to take. I had been walking with my bike alongside me but David was still on his, something which did not go unnoticed to an elderly gentleman walking to work. His red nose and glazy eyes were somewhat of a contrast to his suited-up appearance, and I would not have been surprised if his last drink had been a shot of whiskey rather than the supposed-to-be daily start of every self-respecting Englishman; a cup of tea with too much milk blended in. Nonetheless, the accusations he growled at David made clear he did not approve of people cycling on the pedestrian area, and the no doubt well-intending youth who had sold this man a newspaper half an hour prior to this remarkable event probably hadn’t expected that the very piece of paper would be used to bitch-slap Dutch cyclists. David, however, in stark contrast to my flabbergasted state of mind, could only laugh, and after growling a few more gloomy words the old fellow disappeared in the crowds.

By now it is getting colder and darker and my hands feel slightly numb, which makes typing a bit of a challenge. I could do with the steaming cup of coffee I had this morning with Vasiliki, her Polish guest who I also know from Tilburg times, and David. Every day new bars, restaurants, and coffee houses emerge, making living in London a dynamic adventure in which only the very best places are visited more than once. By now I already have a list of favourites, posing the dilemma of a constant trade-off of where to go; trying out new venues or sticking to the awesome ones that are known and appreciated? “New is always better” often prevails.

For tonight David and I have bought port and a lot of promising cheeses and bread to make a splendid combination – or so the guy selling us the cheese reassured. Marijn, a Dutch intern from work, and perhaps Vasiliki will pass by for a bite and a drink. After having lived in India and in Holland contemporaneously, England is the third country that hosts Vasiliki and myself at the same time, and I love the ease with which I can visit her, call her, have a drink after work or a coffee Saturday morning. True friends can miss out on seeing one another for years and have the same magic spark the instant they are reunited, which is something to cherish and hold on to.

Well, the cold is getting the better of me and my ability to type properly, so I had better call it a day and move up to David’s apartment (he’s having a great view from the 12^th floor, I have the balcony, and we both share crappy internet). Soon more and better!