It's hard to believe, really. Alastair and I like to talk about the big moments that have led us to where we are, and to be honest, I never really imagined living in London. Even being married to an Englishman, I never anticipated it happening. It was a dream that I never thought would come to fruition. But it happened and it still hasn't hit me. And yet, it feels so right.
Let's back to story up to 2014. Alastair and I took a day trip on a layover from South Africa. We stayed with Hollie and spent the day doing touristy things. I got harassed by a homeless person, wore union jack beanies, and ate some crappy fish and chips. Sitting on a bench looking at my favorite building, the houses of parliament, I couldn't help but fall in love with the city. It was cool and gritty and I loved it!
Scroll past a few years, 2018, and Alastair worked his butt off at his summer internship and snagged the job offer. Like, what?! Our dream was going to become a reality?! We spent way more time with Hollie, looked for apartments, and settled on a place in Richmond. Richmond is a bit outside London, but it had great schools and it's an overall amazing area. Alastair was going to commute a bit and we were going to live in a cottage that I wasn't totally in love with. It took some convincing and we were set....Until Alastair had a crisis. One night, Alastair woke me up (dead of night) and told me we shouldn't live in Richmond. Not revelation or anything (at least at that moment), he just didn't want a long commute. Also, the whole point of getting a job in London was to have the London experience. A bit frustrated because we really loved Richmond, we backed out on the place and started from scratch.
I dreaded looking at apartments after that. So did Alastair. It felt like this horrible chore. Nothing seemed like the right fit. Nothing looked or felt right. We were sooooo set on Richmond that we didn't look anywhere else. And you don't want to live in the wrong neighborhood. Just so many factors. I was worried we weren't going to feel right about it all. On top of that, we were waiting for my visa and we were getting worried that I wouldn't get it and we would have to be apart for a while. And I didn't want to do that again. It was hell! The summer felt like it dragged, we were in limbo, and we were just waiting for our lives to begin. We just had to wait with so many uncertainties!
Until everything started to pick up. It's funny, whenever we visit my parents, we always arrive homeless and then leave with a place. This time was no exception. We were sitting outside, chatting, and Alastair told me to start looking at apartments again. That night, we looked at hundreds of places. Once again, Alastair was up really late, for no reason. And he got a call from an agent and set things up. Long story short, we found our place. We got Hollie to look at it and she gave us the approval!
A few days later, I got my visa, and a few days after that, we were on a flight to London. It all happened so fast!
Life in London is great! Honestly, we are so happy! Alastair started work, Emre is starting reception (pre-school), and I am happily curating our mews. There are plenty of cultural differences...and that can be hard. There are pros and cons to everything, but that's fine. The ward we are in is amazing! Everyone is so nice, which is a car cry from our Barcelona ward. That ward was a real struggle, but that's another story for another time....one for my personal journal. But everyone is so nice and friendly, it's great! And, all the Hollie time is the best!
We've done lots of touristy stuff, going to parks, and park runs. And for me, lots of shopping! Starting from scratch has been fun. Haha!
London, I love it here. I'm honestly so happy!
Update:
Update:
What an adventure our life has turned out to be! I love looking at our blog and seeing how far we’ve come! After Alastair’s graduation, we packed up all our stuff, put it in storage, and flew back to Utah for the summer. It was about 2 months of waiting for my paperwork to get processed for residency in the UK. Alastair and Emre were fine because their UK citizens, so we had to wait for me. It was nice to see family, squeezing a Jankowski reunion, and see friends, but it’s kind of hard to be in a stand still. We got my paperwork in the mail and when I saw my approval, Emre and I danced to London Calling. We booked our flights and within a week, we left to start our life again.
Life in London has been great! Every time before, when we would fly into London, it always felt like I was coming home. Which is a weird feeling because it has never been home for me. But now it is and I’m so happy! I’ll be walking around and I’ll stop and think, “I live in London. I can’t believe I get to call this home. I love this city!” Alastair knows what it’s like to move away from your culture and to lose a bit of your identity, but I don’t feel that way. Yes, I’m from the US, but I’ve never felt like I needed to be tied to one culture or identity. I love to embrace new opportunities, especially if it means Alastair can reclaim his identity and for Emre to tap into something that’s always been a part of him. I guess maybe it’s because I also could have had that. Growing up, I felt very American but didn’t look it. And I looked Filipino but didn’t culturally identify. So for Emre, he can have a blended culture. And it is pretty cute to see his accent change!
I love that we live so close to Hollie. It’s been almost a decade in the making, but we’ve finally made it so that we can live in the same city with a McKee! And living 4 stops away on the tube isn’t half bad! Emre and Hollie (all of us, really) get along so well so it’s nice to see that relationship flourish!
Emre’s in school now and he’s doing so well. I was a bit nervous because going to full time school at such an early age is against what I believe in as a former educator, but it’s compulsory here, so I have no choice. I will say that it’s been really good for him. He’s making friends and he’s doing so well! He’s reading, writing, doing maths, and he is even coloring! He used to hate coloring and now he does it all the time! And he even wears the full on uniform. I used to be so excited for him to wear uniforms but now I hate it. I have to iron so many white button ups. So many. I do wish that I could dress him up in normal clothes, I miss pulling outfits together. But it’s tradition here, so button ups and clip on ties and dress shoes it is!
And Alastair is doing well at work. Stressful and ridiculously busy, but it hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. He’s been on projects that keep him in London, which is nice for the family. But, there are many days where he has to work super late. And there are some days where he can drop Emre off at school and then I walk Alastair to the tube or I even go into the city center with him. And once a week I’ll go and meet him for a lunch date. We are all busy in our own little worlds but we’re making it work!
Some of our favorite things to do are going to the dino museum (of course!). Not bad when church is right next to it. I’m sure if Emre had his way, we’d go every Sunday! Ha! We also love going on walks in the parks. Surprisingly, there’s a lot of green space. Richmond park is the best, with all the deer roaming freely. And of course, all the museums, the shows, and all the best places to eat. Need to find the best hot chocolate? I know a place; Said Dal. And their cheesecake is pretty amazing too!
We’re so happy here! There are pros and cons to every place but we’re pretty happy with our situation. I honestly think we might be here for a good while. Are we settled? I don’t think we’ll ever get to that point. But I don’t have that urge to leave, and that’s a pretty good feeling!