viernes, 20 de junio de 2008

One year since I moved to London







The 3rd of July of 2007 I landed in London. A lot of hopes mixed with uncertainty, a really very bad English, almost nobody known in my new city, just two colleagues from my office of Madrid but that had their own life here, a new apartment which cost me double price than a nice apartment in “La Castellana” de Madrid” but half size of my flat in Madrid. A new office, new colleagues whom I almost could not understand, a new boss, with a completely different style compared to the style of my previous one. A new way of working with a lot of procedures, with nobody to have lunch or coffee for a break. I still remember the first Friday when I left the office, I went to have two pints after work with some colleagues and after 1 hour everybody started to say, “Sorry I have to go, I have a dinner now” or “see you next Monday, I’m going to meet my friends now”. I thought and, me what am I going to do now? I just came to home where still I didn’t have TV. Next Monday, the same story, let’s connect to a conference call to not understand anything …. What a bad feeling I used to have after those meetings on the phone…..what a feeling was to walk in new streets for me.

But from the beginning I knew that I was doing the right thing. It is always the same, I have a strange ability to know whether I’m following the good path or not and to feel good with myself.

A lot of things have happened during this year. Today I can do my work so easily that my boss started to feel uncomfortable some months ago because I think he feels he is not in charge anymore. Tomorrow I’ve been invited to two parties, to an excursion to visit Brighton, I’ve renewed my contract with my landlord one year and I like much more my apartment in London than my flat in Madrid, the waiters of the pub of the corner recognize me like an usual customer, I stop to talk with my porter every morning before going working, I have a chat with the shopkeeper about football every day when I go to buy bread, "Torres is going to score on Sunday and Spain will come through, he told me this afternoon" on the 2nd floor of my office I know everybody, in fact I have to skip everyday people to have lunch and I have to refuse two emails everyday of people inviting me to have a coffee because I’m busy, this Sunday I’m going to meet a group of around 10 people to watch the quarter final between Spain and Italy together and the most important thing, although unfortunately I’ve struggled so far to meet English people, I can get by with my English. I can go to anyone in the office or in the street without the fear of not being able to understand them. I can walk down streets that I already know which makes me feel comfortable. I have new friends. But, very important: I can meet my Spanish friends from time to time or at least I’m in touch with anyone. The authentic friends are not lost because the distance. And of course I've met some of them in London several times, great. Just I only miss to have the opportunities to go my little hometown more often, once every two months is not enough to visit my family and to stroll along “El espolon”, I hope a new plan that I’ve started in May will bring me good results in the short term to have business travels to Madrid frequently, that would be really nice, I hope….

I’m the most fortunate person in the world (just because I have health, a strong reason to me to state this) and for sure I’m going to keep making the most of my time. Time flies and I don’t want to wake up one day and to ask myself “if I would be 20 years old again, I would do this”. I’m sorry but you were 20 and you didn’t, you had your time and there are no excuses. So if you think about doing something not to break with your life but to improve it, like moving abroad, seize your opportunity, it will be great (I might be thinking of someone).