Jess in the City

loving having a washing machine in house

Halloween “fancy dress” is just around the corner…

yes, that’s what they call “costumes”.  ”Fancy Dress Halloween Costumes”… i went to a “fancy dress” store the other day that was loaded with great halloween costumes. i just think it’s a funny term.

my apartment has been freezing all 3.5 weeks that i have been here (can’t believe it’s been that long already). and today, i walk in and for the first time, the heat’s on! and it’s perfect. ironic and typical that it is also the last night that i will stay here in this apartment. i’ve been walking around freezing cold, bundled up (asked for 2 more duvets for sleeping), and now it gets warm in here. i am so excited to move though. i’m taking two days off from work starting tomorrow to be there for when the movers get there to my new place tomorrow morning. my colleagues have banged it into my head, ‘no tipping!! no tipping! not a dime, throw your wallet away’ - they’ve been repeating it to me all day, not to tip the movers tomorrow. just muffins and tea (seems not so good, right? like a consolation prize…), they said. americans tip too much, and they’re being paid already… very odd concept to me.

approved for a credit card! 

debit card came in the mail, finally… which means i can finally get a cell phone tomorrow. it’s all coming together…

i have my first visitor… my family is coming in thanksgiving to visit for a week. yay!

as for my holiday plans, not sure what to do yet. i feel rather confused - where is home? do i go to texas, new york, stay here? is home where my family is, my friends are, or where i am? and what do you do if they’re all in different places and you only have so much time (and money)? i’m at that point where i feel like i don’t belong anywhere really. like someone tossed me up in the air, and i have yet to land. or that i have one foot still in new york and wants to be there, and one foot here in london. new york is not my home anymore, nor is houston, but nor is london… it doesn’t feel like home yet, as i am still exploring and getting to know it (and don’t yet have an apartment) and still feel very much like a visitor. baby steps… :)

after talking to a good friend tonight, what i’ve realized is this is a much different, and much harder, move in many ways. (A, you know what i mean :) ) ok, in college, you’re all new… everyone’s new so everyone is nice to everyone, and everyone is trying to make friends. when i was in mexico, it was still very collegiate and it was all so foreign and we were all foreigners in a new country, so we were all bound by a very unique commonality in that we had all chosen to be there, even though we all came from different countries. we were all foreigners and had no other social network but each other, and it was a lot of fun! this time around, it’s different. it feels more “adult” - easier in many ways (logistically easier, if that’s possible), but harder because it’s me trying to enter social circles and networks that have already been formed. instead of all of us being new, or all of us being foreign, it’s ME that has to change and reach out. instead of EVERYONE making an effort to make friends, it’s ME that has to make the effort. 

alternatively, i also realize that as tough as that may be, or may sound, i am really not that special - and i think about that every time i get frustrated. i remind myself that LOTS of people have done the exact same move - there are so many americans and friends and former classmates that have done the exact same NY - London move, and you find an immediate, unspoken sense of empathy from other americans, and they reach out because they know what you have gone through. everything from navigating things logistically, the weird regulations, to how it feels to get on that plane with a one way ticket and think OMG. it’s weird - i thought i was strange or unique for doing this, but i can’t tell you how many brave stories and others that i have met who have also just, one day, picked up and just got on that plane - and when you hear these stories, you just empathize and identify, and you’re relieved that you’re not the only one who has those ups and downs. and people move for all different reasons - someone i know moved here because she wanted to see europe and literally run through it, via marathons, etc (more later). others, because enough time had passed in new york. others because a relationship ended. it doesn’t matter why, really, just that they did it… and it’s nice to know that.

what other americans i have met acknowledge, implicitly, is that making a move that’s not study abroad, or for a short-term internship, or something with a foreseeable end in sight, and in your late 20s or early 30s, carries a different weight. and i think that’s what makes it a little more serious too. and perhaps why this feels different than before for me - it’s because we’re not just trying to have fun only… we’re trying to have fun, while making a life here. you know how when you’re little, you think about all the places you want to live in? what you want to be when you “grow up”? well, now we’re all growned up! and it’s like, well, where do you want to settle? so the place you choose for now has to be a place you would consider settling in. we’re young, yes, and we can always move back. yes. but you don’t take it as lightly, because you know that you’re not at that point in life where you just whimsically “try” things out anymore (that goes for relationships, careers, friendships… but thankfully, not for food :) ). so, that means that everyone who is living here in london that is away from their home country acknowledges, just by the mere fact of being here at this point in life, that they would be willing to settle down here. it doesn’t mean that they will necessarily, but you acknowledge it as a real possibility because of the things that happen and the decisions that are made at this point in life. judging from the non-english people i have met that are living here, the decision to live here at this point is a very deliberate choice with implications. 

also - the significance of STUFF, of your possessions. on one hand, i can live without it… can sell it. can sell the bed, sofa, etc… but what i mean is the photos, your books, gifts, things you’ve collected that mean something to you. anyway, for most of my life, i have always kept things in storage while away on a journey. in college, my stuff i loved, i kept in houston. in nyc, i had my stuff with me, but also had my grandmother’s house to keep things in. while in mexico, my stuff was shipped to houston, or stored safely in DC… This is the first time ever where it ALL came WITH me. uh, not so easy to get it all back should i want to go home. and subconsciously, i think there’s a reason why i wanted to take it all with me. was talking to a friend who stored her stuff in a NYC warehouse, was testing the waters in london… now, a year later, she’s going back to open the door, assess what’s there, chuck some stuff, and take the rest here… 

but then again, it’s just stuff, doesn’t mean anything, right?

starting to plan trips, for whoever is up for it!

my best friend and i are thinking of doing this trip the beginning of spring (feb-march)… i have always wanted to go to morocco. anyone who is up for it, or meeting up during segments of it, please do let me know!

Also, this is a good discount from a colleague at work who has a friend at The Times:

Get 2 for 90 GBP to Paris, Lille, or Brussels from London via the Eurostar - that’s $70 per person, now until February 28, 2010. Book by Nov. 3, 2009.

http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/latest_deals/Times/times_promo.jsp

Passwords: wine, relax, cuisine

This is apparently a very good deal, they tell me. it’s usually a lot more. to give you an idea, for the trip to Brussels in december, from here to brussels via Eurostar, it’s 139 GBP. (it’s also the holidays, so more expensive)

there are also some good half marathons in europe. some friends of mine living here do triathlons and marathons all throughout europe and have been doing so for years. they love it, and say it’s a great way of seeing the city in a very unique way.

london deliciousness

whoever said food here in london is only so-so… well i have no idea in which city they were eating.  the food here is so good - i have been eating my way through the city, and there are so many shapes, sizes, types of restaurants here, it seriously rivals nyc. the asian food is just amazing, and it’s so fun to go through the grocery stores and look at all the curries they have - it’s a mainstay here, similar to mashed potatoes!  

the indian food is great, and they have all sorts of great Persian and Middle Eastern food - i haven’t eaten this much falafel is awhile.  and it’s so good… and the other day, i had Haloumi cheese (grilled cheese, as if it’s a steak… similar to how the Argentines eat Provoleta).  i love (and have been trying) soft French cheese too, but there’s something about cheese and eating it as if it were a steak with a fork and knife that is really satisfying. And Haloumi has a cool very salty taste to it. and the weird, great thing about both these cheeses is that you can grill them and they don’t lose their shape or form… it’s not like mozzarella, which would melt everywhere. it heats up and you grill it, and you can eat it easily.

these pics aren’t mine (thanks Google images), but to give you an idea, it’s the same thing. i’m actually eating Haloumi leftovers now (leftovers, by the way, are a very american thing, i’ve learned. european friends tell me that the concept of ‘doggie bag’ just hasn’t taken off here. it’s not that it’s rude, it’s just that they will know you’re an american instantly. another american joke i heard was, “how do you spot an american?”… “if they have white, straight teeth”… i think they think that we’re obsessed with our teeth. JF - they don’t even sell Crest White Strips here! good thing i brought my own, which i guess cements that american-obessed-with-teeth stereotype. and the dental check-up twice a year or more, or orthodontics, doesn’t seem to be as prevalent here).

ok, back to “grilled cheese” at a whole new level…

Haloumi: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloumi

Provaleta (Argentina) a la parrilla: 

Next time i will try and take some of my own pictures, but so far, it’s never been an appropriate situation for me to whip out my camera (in front of people i am just meeting through cold-friendship-calling, or friends i haven’t seen in years and am just getting to know again: “wait, hold that thought - do you mind if i take a quick pic of our food??”). but these are some of my favorite cheeses.

the fresh fruit here and produce is also amazing, and a friend told me about all the farmers markets that go on over the weekend. i will check it out and let you know.

The other amazing thing about london is its bus system. These buses are amazing and work like clockwork.  You can literally get from one side of the city to the other so quickly and efficiently on these elaborate red, double-decker buses that expertly weave in and out of the city as if they were alive. amazing.  

so this is weird - you tell me. i am re-applying for a credit card (fingers crossed!) and i got an email back saying that they need my employer to verify my employment. i need to be a “professional”. i understand this. but strange, no, their definition of “professional” and someone suited enough to have a credit card?  this is what the email said:

“…Acceptable professional persons include:  Accountant, Airline Pilots, Articled clerk of a limited company, Assurance agent of recognised company, Bank/building society official, Barrister, British Computer Society (BCS) - Professional grades which are Associate (AMBCS),  Member (MBCS),  Fellow (FBCS) (PN 25/2003), Broker, Chairman/director of limited company, Chemist, Chiropodist, Christian Science practitioner, Commissioner of oaths, Councillor: local or county, Civil servant (permanent), Dentist.”

And the list literally, abruptly stopped there. Where would i be in all of this? “articled clerk”? where would cubicled office worker fall under? 

On other exciting news, i found out that my personal belongings cleared customs (no x-rays!). i am SO excited. this means all my stuff and furniture will arrive on Thursday, and i can move in now. i have gotten to really love Chelsea and being here (far nicer than anything i could afford on my own)… but i am tired of living out of a suitcase, and i just want to feel like i’m home and making my own home here. most people who have made the same move, we share stories of stuff in storage, or how they came with 3 suitcases, or 5 DHL boxes and somehow we’re all able to manage fine without all of that stuff that we think is so important, because it really is just STUFF. i have managed fine for 3+ weeks now with two suitcases (and haven’t even worn half the clothes i brought) and i don’t even remember what is in those 54 boxes that they came and got. but it’s pictures, books, your quilt and linens that also make you feel home, so, extraneous or not, useless or useful or not, i’m excited to be reunited with all my stuff soon (my own bed!).

other exciting news, we booked our weekend trip to brussels via the Eurostar train for december! a friend of ours lives there and it will be fun - first time in years we have all gotten together, and i have never been to brussels before. 

obama

i find people here, and europeans in general, to be very aware. it’s amazing how much they know - and care - about U.S. politics and issues, such as healthcare. my friend from france asked me rhetorically whether i knew and understood how watched the Obama election was, and how important it was to Europe. it’s crazy, if you think about it. i admit sheepishly that i don’t really pay as much attention to world politics as i should, i couldn’t really tell you about key elections going on or their implications. i’m still trying to figure out the difference between the Tories and the Labour Party, etc.

the word that comes to mind that I feel people here feel towards obama is… relief. it’s not so much reverence, but relief. and to be honest, that’s a somewhat dismaying feeling sometimes. it’s almost as if europeans are… relieved… that we americans actually made the “right” choice this time around, as if we almost couldn’t be counted on to make it. the way a mom or dad must feel when their child ACTUALLY made it home from the first day of school.

i’m glad Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize - but i do feel that “relief” factor in the decision to award him it.  even the language: “for extraordinary EFFORTS to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples…” Is it almost like a pre-honorable mention, and/or incentive… a nudge of encouragement, stemming from lack of confidence that obama (and therefore americans) actually can make good choices and lead well on our own?

i thought this opinion by Peggy Noonan was interesting, that he got the award “for not being George W. Bush… for not making the world nervous.” her opinion sounds harsh at first, but it’s actually quite optimistic:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703746604574464083239280914.html

here’s a different slant, also interesting, by Bono (top of mind right now as i heard all about his amazing concert):

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/opinion/18bono.html?scp=6&sq=obama%20peace%20prize&st=cse 

i’m glad he got the award, i suppose, but my concern is - who is obama representing now? is he representing the U.S. and its best interests, or the rest of the world? presumably, the interests of all of us in the world are aligned, so it would be fine. BUT - should they not be by some chance, and heaven forbid it was necessary for us to take an active military stance somewhere at some point, super hypothetically, in the interests of the U.S… then what? who is he representing?

ok, now on to some intellectual talk:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/usa/

british tabloids are really something… yes, they actually have a separate section called “Bizarre USA”

things i’ve had to switch to:

• US Magazine / People —> The Sun, and all the other free dailies they give out on the tube
• Cosi downstairs —> the Pret-a-Manger downstairs (which is very good, by the way! hot falafel wraps, crayfish and avocado salad, meatball burritos)
• “tall skim Starbucks coffee” = “tall Starbucks skinny white Americano” 

i got the keys today!

and the bedroom overlooks what they call “mews”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mews

these are the mews in the back that it overlooks:

i am loving the kitchen floor to ceiling window, and, in the rare occasion that it is actually nice weather outside, the windows open and you can go on the (little) balcony.

i stopped by after work today to get groceries and bring them over (then got lazy and didn’t to to the store), but did walk around at night for the first time.  there are several really cute restaurants - a cute, very small italian place, a neighborhood pub, a persian restaurant, a little wine bar, and several coffee shops, and little stores.  it is in a very cute neighborhood square nestled among a larger neighborhood.  

here’s my street:  

1. http://maps.google.com

2. type “w2 2ay”

3. click on the red marker “A” on the map

4. then click on “Street View” and you can see the actual street

i do really miss the upper west side - and i wonder what’s happening up there.  say hi for me!

over in the bond street area, christmas decorations are up.  my (american) friend and i thought it was awfully early for this, until we realized that there is no halloween or thanksgiving here, so christmas is actually the next holiday.  it is the exact opposite than the u.s., where in the autumn, the holidays come right after one another, like Thanksgiving and the Holidays back-to-back.  here there is a long lull in between. there are people who celebrate halloween, but mainly americans.  i need to decide what to be, by friday!

what i wouldn’t give to get my hands on the latest issue of US Weekly:

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/mom-britneys-new-beau-would-make-a-dream-husband-20092110 

live in the moment, but plan and take pictures

i just read that today, and liked it, and am trying to do that.  :)

some of you have asked me whether it is really as gray weather-wise as it looks in the pictures.  and the answer is, well, yes.  

don’t get me wrong - sometimes, it is sunny outside, like this past sunday… a beautiful crisp day. but it’s often drizzly, and i’ve learned never to be caught without an umbrella. despite the rain, i do enjoy being able to see the sky, which i was unable to do a lot of in New York.  see, here’s the sky:

honestly, it’s a real novelty to be able to see the sky, one that takes getting used to… sad as it may seem to say.

other strange tidbits:

•  you have to get a TV license to be able to BUY a TV here.  another form of taxation, i guess?  but - and you tell me if this is odd - there is a 50% off discount for blind people…. who watch tv?
• tipping.  as an american, you get admonished by your british counterparts for tipping too much, and thus setting the expectations out of whack for all.  you realize that tipping is very much an american tradition (largely because the minimum wage is higher here).  but ask most americans and they say they have to restrain themselves from tipping, sometimes at all, and then you feel really badly about it. i was told that, when the english movers come in a few weeks to move in my furniture and belongings, all i need to do is buy some tea and muffins (muffins, really?) and that they’ll be happy with that. seems like rather short-changing them, but that’s the custom.

you learn not to get offended by other cultures’ differences and you learn to adjust:

• on a call with the Italy local team at work, they just didn’t show up for 15 minutes.  my VP and i were chatting while waiting, and she says: “don’t worry. don’t take it personally. they’re italians. it’s normal for them to be 20 minutes late, or not show up at all.” she added: “usually you allot 30-50% more time than you normally would, as they tend to get tangential.”
• you learn that mentioning support for a soccer/football team, is not something to be taken cavalierly - Arsenal, Liverpool, etc, references come up all the time at work and if you don’t follow it, you miss out (like me so far).

as with any city, big or small, commuting is commuting:

week two

two weeks done.  there are definite highs and lows to adjusting to a new country and city. the highs - this past weekend, two friends from paris came in and stayed with me to celebrate our friend’s birthday, who lives here. during the day, we walked along the Thames River…

… London Bridge from the pedestrian bridge we were on…

… saw Big Ben, the clock tower, went for hot chocolate to warm up, did some shopping on Kensington High Street, and went for a great Italian dinner.

By night, we headed to a lounge called Soho House along some street I cannot remember the name of:

The space in Soho House was very nice, intimate, and a lot of fun.  Which by the way… the English get absolutely loaded here - so much so that it puts American college binge drinking to shame. It’s unreal, and i think it’s an English thing, not just a European thing - my french friend said they do not drink the same way in france. anyway, it’s quite funny to watch and partake in. there’s a lot of liquor advertising, which is not so common in the U.S.  At a movie sunday, of the 13 ads before the movie began, eight of them were for liquors (Tanqueray, Bailey’s, Absolut, among many others), and this was a PG rated movie… there were kids there! I just think it’s part of the culture here.  At Soho House…

the tube ads are… interesting:

Anyway, i would sum up Week Two here as a mixed bag. people have said that i would feel major great euphoria the entire first month, and i don’t feel that. it’s more highs and lows on a per day basis. there are times where you feel everything is so new, and you love the newness, and you walk around thinking, “wow, i’m here in notting hill… wow, there’s the London Bridge, or Paris is 2 hours away” and others like today, where you crave familiarity. familiar people, familiar places, familiar customs. i definitely have moments of frustration. some include:

• getting denied for a UK credit card AT THE COMPANY WHERE I WORK, and have been a cardmember for seven years in the U.S. — because I have no credit history in this country
• being 20 minutes late to everything because i’m lost, and being that girl with the big map that’s flying around
• i miss U.S. customer service - no change of address for your bank over the phone. you have to hike it to the actual branch to physically change it
• trying to wire money
• not being paid because you’re not registered on the international payroll yet
• debit cards and checks send to the wrong addresses
• no cell phone provider wants you because you have no credit history
• being perpetually cold because i totally packed wrong for this month and am still awaiting my stuff

i definitely have my moments where i wonder, ‘why am i here?!’ and then i have those other moments, where i’m like, ‘i’m here!’ As my best friend says, there are those moments where you fall flat on your face and you just pick yourself back up. 

i have those moments of fear where i walk into a big party and feel a momentary panic because i don’t see anyone i know, and everyone speaks differently than i do. but more often, i am struck by people’s kindness and inclusion, and for that, i’m grateful.

little things become symbols, and make you think, and that’s when it becomes real. for example, yesterday, i was on nytimes.com (as usual) on my regular home computer, and i realized that the ads had changed. no more j.crew ads… it was British Airways ads… Royal Mail ads (“10% off your mailshot!” - what’s a mailshot??)… Google ads quoting savings in GBP, not USD. how did they know i moved? kind of creepy, actually. in fact, CNN defaults to the international site, even if you want the U.S. site. but it’s little things like that. i remember just staring at the screen for a moment thinking, ‘oh… ok… no more j.crew then.’ 

being abroad, however, is great for re-connecting with people you may not have connected with otherwise. and weird! i caught up for drinks (lots of drinking here seriously!!) with a good, good friend from high school in texas. we had lost touch, and it was odd yet great (thank you, facebook). reconnecting, swapping out Pappasito’s, Ninfa’s and yes, Taco Bell (no mexican food here :( ) and seeing her in an english pub, not with her texas accent anymore, but with a british one (she’s lived here for 5+ years now). odd to see a good friend in a very different setting, but good!

i met up tonight with a b-school friend who had a very similar experience to what i am doing now. we were saying how this is different and scary in a way, bc it’s not the same as right after college, where everyone is open and relatively carefree, and networks haven’t yet settled in. she said to me what everyone has said to me who has done this NY to London move: that you have to stop converting pounds to dollars. and i think that means literally, but also figuratively too. you can’t go to Hyde Park looking for Central Park, because you won’t find it, she said. those majestic views of Central Park South won’t be there - it’s not comparable. but there’s a lot of other great things about London. there’s more greenery, for example.  and you can’t keep converting pounds to dollars literally - you just start to realize that 2 GBP buys a coffee, 5 GBP for lunch is a good deal, etc. Or you can’t do the math converting Celsius to Farenheit - you just memorize when people tell you that about 23 degrees Celsius = roughly room temp. it’s just accepting that London is London, and New York is New York. they’re similar, but different, but both very good. (kind of like a relationship?) i miss new york, but more than anything, i think i miss how new york made me feel - which was… able, knowledgeable, familiar. 

then i see signs on the tube saying, “London to Amsterdam - 19.99 GBP on easyjet” -or planning trips to paris, belgium.. and that makes things a little better and i remember why i did this :)

lastly, what i find odd is the strange oxymorons they use here, such as:

• It’s Ludicrously Tasty! (on the Crunchy Nut Clusters cereal box)
• It’s a horribly funny read! (on the back of the book i’m reading)
• It’s not a decision that can be made in splendid isolation (on a deck at work - what is ‘splendid isolation’?)

tomorrow, i get the keys to my new apartment! i love where i am right now, but i can’t wait to move in, and get my stuff, to feel settled. my sea shipment arrives oct. 24 but depending on customs, things can get delayed… not a surprise here.

first weekend in london

so i finished my first week in london.  it’s been exactly one week, and i had my first weekend in this city.  friday night was fun, i felt culturally confused.  a friend of mine originally from poland, now living in brussels, but visiting london was in town. (i felt really not that smart at one point, because i couldn’t remember which was the city , and which was the country… brussels or belgium?  to which they all laughed and my friend affectionately said to her friends, ‘see, isn’t she so American and cute [ie, culturally ignorant]?’ - sorry guys, didn’t mean to make us look bad.  to my defense, i said that it was easily confused, seeing as they’re both two syllables and both begin with “B”.)

anyway, at one point, there were five of us… and i was having a conversation across the table in English with one girl, but with the three others speaking rapidly in polish to one another, while seated in a chinese restaurant in Chinatown, over a bottle of Italian white wine.  i also spoke to the waiters, who were chinese-english (?) (vs. chinese-american), who were chinese but spoke English but in british accents, which was confusing at first and i had to try not to stare.  this dizzying cultural melting pot is what i really like about this place so far.

people here seem class conscious.  a few examples:

• one of the first things asked is, “where do you live?” and it doesn’t seem out of curiosity, but honestly because they are sizing you up to see if you are appropriate company?  that’s honestly how i feel.
• the “members only” clubs.  we went to one on Friday night, but you have to know someone to get in.  it’s not that there’s a cover, it just that you have to know someone or be on a list.
• a colleague at Thursday’s happy hour was talking to me and explaining to me different parts of london and brighton and apologized for “not having a ‘proper’ english accent.”  what?

london is very nice though, and the city has so many pockets to explore.  each neighborhood i’ve been to, to visit people, has a different charm but also feels similar.

the pub we started at on friday night in Leicester Square (a nightmare by the way! imagine partying in Times Square - and the girls wear nothing even though it’s freezing out!).  look how they hang the bottles:

the english and people here drink a lot - i struggle to keep up and definitely need to build my tolerance.  i have to decline a lot on the “top offs” of my glass in order to find my way home!

so i slowly but surely am following through with mentally committing myself to this move. shown first by putting my Metrocard to the back of my wallet and finally buying an Oyster card.  unreal - a monthly unlimited Oyster card, good for all buses and the tube, is 99 GBP (like $160 USD!) vs. an $80 Metrocard. i also got a bank account, the only one which would accept me.

i just got back from dinner with a good friend of mine and we all went to a Spanish tapas place in Fulham (a very cute neighborhood, by the way), which was very good. so i am relieved to find that food in London, contrary to what is popularly said, is actually very good.  and i’m relieved that there seem to be a lot of people who have made the same move, from nyc to london, who know what it’s like and are very helpful.  

i must say that it is a humbling experience to be in a new country and really have to try to make friends and ask for help with everything.  people at home (nyc, i mean) have been very nice to email introduce me to people they know, but nonetheless, it’s kind of weird to ‘friend shop’ or cold call/email people (“uh hi, i’m so-and-so’s friend… it would be great to meet up!”).  it definitely puts me out of my comfort zone, because i really did like nyc in that way.

it’s also weird that, as much as England and the U.S. are similar, we actually stand out a lot here.  and people point it out a lot.  in my current neighborhood in Chelsea, there are a lot of foreigners.  and i was buying cheese and fruit at this store, and this (very attractive) guy also in line says, “hello.”  to which i say, “hi.”  and he says, “how are you this evening?” and i say, “great… how are you doing?” i guess at this point, my accent was a dead giveaway, because he responds, in a very English direct way, “you’re quite American, aren’t you?” i couldn’t figure out if this is just a statement of fact - i’m like, “well actually, yeah, i ‘quite’ am!”

the neighborhood is just beautiful - the homes are amazing, and it’s great just walking around.  my street:

on the way to the tube in the morning on Gloucester Road.  filled with cute little kids going to school:

one of the many beautiful homes in Chelsea…

on saturday, i took the bus over to Kensington High Street to check it out, and it amazes me how commercial spaces with normal stores can be situated under such amazing buildings like this:

over near Bond Street, where people watching is great, just seeing all the very well-dressed people do their thing during the day.  one thing about people here is they are all dressed so well, and definitely have a distinct sense of style and point-of-view in how they dress.

ah, work tomorrow… for you WFC people, thought you may find this funny.  instead of “Lunch and Learn” series, they call it “Munch and Learn”.

the gym

it is quite funny to me that, on some of the gym equipment, it says “Please stop exercising if you feel ill!” — really, it’s says that as part of the actual equipment.  this goes without saying, right?

after huffing and puffing after 30 min on the bike and pouring sweat, it’s dismaying that the machine says, “25 calories burnt” — that’s when it’s just very convenient to say, ah, must be an English thing… and get off the bike feeling good.

now after ALL that exercise, i’m heading over to a college friend’s house for dinner in Fulham… it should be interesting to see what that neighborhood is like, i hear it’s very nice.

happily ever after… right now

that’s for you, E :)  and that’s how i feel being in london right now.  everything is so new, and such a challenge.  even the mundane things such as riding the subway to work, getting lunch, making a phone call… are challenging and so different.  and i want to try and remember how that feels because i know that in a month even, it will seem so boring and routine.  even the ordinary feels extraordinary right now.

speaking of the subway, or rather the “tube”, you really do have to ‘mind the gap’… i was in shock at how big some of the gaps really are between the subway car and pavement. my first thought was, ‘geez, someone could sue if they fell in!’ - yes, a very American reaction.

also, i had “tube hands” this morning - H, remember?  it’s just like before, coming into work at WFC… yuck.

getting used to the weird lingo, things such as:

• “nibbles and cocktails”
• “cantine” - someone told me tonight that he liked the ‘cantine’ at our new york offices… we had some serious miscommunication until i figured out that he meant ‘cafeteria’ and i thought he meant the bar downstairs at my old work
• “brown toast” = whole wheat… i ask for “whole wheat”, they say, “what??”
• “topping off” your card or glass of wine = refilling it
• “turning up” at 8 pm = show up
• “churchyard” = cemetery.  yes, can you believe i had to learn this word, of all times, during my APARTMENT search?

all pretty intuitive i guess.  also peoples’ names are just different here.  lots of chloes, emmas, mels, james, chirsties… 

work is good.  quite strange with no cubes, but good… but how do you ever check personal email if everyone is all around?  ok, well, hope you all are well and TGIF tomorrow!