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!