Two Loons for a Pound

Everyone told me things would be difficult in London.“Making friends will be difficult! Getting a job will be difficult!” they said. Well well you nay sayers, maybe for someone else but not for me. In both these regards I found London to be a very accommodating city.

 I was lucky enough to get a job in the first couple of weeks (admittedly the pay is nothing to write home about). I went to a Pub in the neighborhood and asked if they were hiring, there were, and the next day they asked me if I wanted to work in two pubs (run by the same brewery) both in the neighborhood, and I was happy to oblige. The pub I applied at is called Angel in the Fields, but I have been working at Dover Castle since and I will be staring at the Angel very soon. I technically only have one job in two locations, but this fact goes unacknowledged by my friend Freddie who is a little furious with me for having “two” jobs while he doesn’t have one. I’ve been in London a few weeks longer than him and in my opinion he’ll get hired in no time- I certainly hope he does. 

 As far as making friends, I think I cheated a little. I’m doing a (fantastic) acting class here in London at the Central School of Speech and Drama and after the first day I had acquired many new friends all at once (including Freddie). No Spice Girls yet. But it’s not only in class that I’ve met people. Due to my remarkable social skills and irresistible charm, I have become friends with my Local Starbucks barrista, I fellow Canadian who I met at the Maple Leaf, the family two floors below us and pretty much everyone in every shop in the neighborhood. Overall I find most people incredibly friendly and easy to talk to. Making friends seems very easy here and I think it has something to do with the number of expats. Most of the people I’ve become friends with aren’t British born. I think when people live outside their home country they are more receptive to making friends because they don’t have a friend base of people they grew up with. This makes for quite a friendly atmosphere in London. I love London more all the time, and the people here are a lot to do with it. 

Thanks for reading this slightly more personal post. Remember to comment, ask questions and leave suggestions!  

I have to admit, with the combination of exhausting jet-lag and lack of friends, for the first week in London I was feeling a little homesick and lonely. However, the sun came out and so did I and London became my oyster… more or less. I took my oyster card and began to explore the city. The first place I went to is Oxford Street, now I’m not the biggest shopping enthusiast, but this place blew me away. You may have heard that London has the best shopping in the world, well it’s no lie. Oh and the sales! Even though boxing week is technically long since over, the sales are only now beginning to wind down, and there a further reductions everyday. Marvellous! Also, people here are incredibly stylish, providing much inspiration to shop. I’ve already given in several times to the reduced prices. All the shops and the incredibly lavish department stores are endlessly impressive. As soon as I get a job I vow to go to Oxford street and blow a couple of paycheques on updating my look. I’m quite serious though, the shopping is irresistible. 

In addition to Oxford street some of the first places I checked out were Camden Town and Hyde park. Camden Town is a bit like downtown Vancouver if all of downtown was like Commercial Drive and full of rave-wear shops, also Camden has a market. Camden is really cool. The market buildings are filled with delightful little pathways and whimsical little shops. Camden market is grungy and eccentric but also a bit of a novelty. I feel fascinated with it the way I was fascinated with Granville Island when I was a kid. There are stalls selling all kinds of good, cheap, ethnic food. When I was there  the other day I treated my self to some “bang bang” chicken. Camden is fun and full of interesting things to buy. It’s very touristy, I can’t even imagine it in the summer, but it’s very  worth checking out. 

Taking a walk in the park is one of the few free actives in London. Since I have arrived the weather has been quite nice and sunny in London, so even though Hyde Park is quite barren and leafless, it makes for a fairly pleasant outing. Parks in London are basically large expanses of flat grassy land peppered with trees. They are completely unlike Vancouver’s wild-ish largely forested parks. Some people may be inclined to think that Vancouver has much nicer green spaces, but I think London’s parks are regal and impressive in their own way. I will certainly be doing some picnicking in them in the summer. 

Stay tuned to Two Loons for a Pound, there is much more to come more exploring and updates to come!

After being postponed several times, the plans are finally set in stone; in a few weeks I will be moving to London, England, for over a year.This move has been in the works for a couple years and after some set-backs it’s finally, fully, finalized. When my parents first proposed this to me I was still in high school and hesitant to up-root my life and leave all my friends, but fortunately right now is the absolute perfect time to drop everything and peace out to jolly-old England. It’s time for a drastic change and a new adventure, the likes of which I’ve never experienced. The fact that I’ve never been to the U.K., except for a one night lay-over in Gatwick about four years ago, makes it all the more exciting. 

 I’ll admit, as a born and bred Vancouver-ite, my image of London extends about as far as double decker busses, red phone booths (the entrance to the Ministry of Magic) and the Buckingham palace guards, who I will definitely be taking silly pictures with. My plans thus far, are to arrive in London and become an instant celebrity among everyone I meet, due to my charmingly exotic Canadian accent. I also plan to attain a boat-load of fabulous friends and strut down Marylebone High Street like I own the place. I see no reason why everything shouldn’t go exactly as planned… Though I am completely serious about parading down the cobblestones with my flannel plaid and pet beaver, I also have more normal plans like getting a job and acting like a tourist until I have see all London has to offer.

 It still hasn’t quite hit me yet, that I’m leaving home so soon and for so long. Am I going to be a hopeless wreck without my girlfriends around? You never know, but I think not. I’ll probably forget about them all in a few weeks after arriving, once I’ve replaced them with a perfectly diverse Spice Girl-esque group of posh British friends. Just kidding! But I will say this; I’m more excited to  go to London than I am sad to leave Vancouver. But whatever happens, I’ll keep you posted. 

Cheerio eh! 

-Michela