Truth be told, this process of finding a place and getting our life in order has been one of the most stressful and daunting experiences I have ever had. I mean, it is normal to expect some high stress during an international relocation, of course. But from others we have talked to that have moved here from another country, we are all in agreement that, for whatever reason, the UK makes everything a drawn out, painful, and maddening process. I am not very impressed with their way of doing business. Often when you are trying to accomplish something, people will tell you what you want to hear and lead you to believe that things are resolved, but then you go on to do the next step, and find out that that person gave you completely bogus information (and is virtually unaccountable), so you are sent back to square one to fight the battle all over again, questioning always if you are getting good information. It is definitely an "If you don't ask, they won't tell you" kind of situation. It is clear that most people here are not out to do you any favors or help you finish any process. They are there to do their part of the job and it is up to you to assure that all goes smoothly (as if that is possible). This has been particularly troubling because being new here, we don't comprehend how things all work, so it is very difficult to know the right questions to ask. ...Then consider having limited internet and the complications involved with not having your own personal vehicle. It is straight daunting. It truly forces you to be honest with yourself about how badly you want what you are trying to get- be it goods, services, education for your child, etc... I think I have lost 10 good years off my life from dealing with these situations, I am sure of it. Maybe if I eat good and exercise regularly, I can buy back a few of those. I will admit that I have had days where I would have preferred to sleep the day away instead of be driven in more and more circles only to accomplish nothing at the end of the day.
London is a fun city, but a stressful city. In the beginning, I figured it was just me trying to get a grip on the big change we made in our life, but I have come to learn that everyone here is very stressed. It is the nature of the city. It is very natural to feel stressed here, maybe because living life here is completely unnatural. You are competing with millions of other people for EVERYTHING- space on the tube/bus/sidewalk, products, TV/internet service, a time slot for grocery delivery, personal space in general, and peace & quiet (there is no such thing)... It is madness in many ways. It makes some sense why many people here seem to have become cold to social etiquette. For example- some people here don't seem to care at all if you have a little child with you. They will maintain their course straight for Ady and will NOT move even though it takes much more effort for her and I to move out of their way. We have had a few times where people definitely saw Ady, but they proceeded to whack her with their bag as they passed, almost as if trying to hint to us that a child doesn't belong here. I have become very protective of Ady and I am her shield anytime we go out anymore. It is STRESS, STRESS, STRESS City here!
Wow! Phew. Sorry about that. Just had to do a little venting. I hope I haven't ruined your day!
Aside from the UK way of doing business and the intense stress of functioning here, I need to say that we are are happy to be here & we think the change has been good for us. There are obviously many, many great things about living here if you can find a way to manage your stress level. I think things will improve once we have the initial set up with companies and agencies out of the way.
One thing we have been spending time doing lately is touring all the nursery (preschools) in the area for Ady. Schooling is very competitive here, but the quality of the schools is amazing. In addition to learning the colors, letters, numbers, etc., there is a major focus on physical ability, establishing independence, and confidence. Unfortunately, there are currently no spots available in the state schools. We have been put on many waiting lists and will wait to hear if anything opens up. One of our favorite schools may soon have a vacancy and it sounded possible that Ady may be offered the spot- but we shall see. Of course, just as soon as we are done getting on all the nursery school waiting lists, we will need to apply for "reception school," which is preschool for 4 year olds, to be in the running for Ady to start in August. I was shocked to learn that 4 year olds go to school full time Monday through Friday 9am - 3pm. It makes me a bit nervous since Ady & I would go from spending all day every day together to spending hardly any time together. Despite this, I think she would really enjoy school and the social benefit would be a very great thing for her.
Tyler's birthday is next week. He turns 29 this year. We decided to go all out and get an Xbox & Kinect and then spend the week in Paris to celebrate. It is only a 2 hour train ride to Paris from here- so we are all extremely excited for our first major outing. We will leave here on Wednesday and come back on Sunday. Have I said that we are really, really excited about this trip?! The access to other places and the sightseeing is just amazing out here.
I just finished applying to grad school. I am hoping to hear back in early to mid December. If I am accepted, I will just start out small- probably only take 1 or 2 classes each semester. I want to work on my Masters Degree, but not let it overtake my life so that we can't get out on the weekends. I am actually really looking forward to getting back to school- especially when Ady is in school from 9am - 3pm!! Oh me, Oh my! That is a long day.
Here are a few pictures from our riverboat ride down the Thames a couple weekends ago. This is a MUST DO for any visitors. It is a relatively cheap way of seeing many of the iconic London sites- and was rather relaxing and entertaining.
Hope you are all doing good. We hope to be in touch soon!
The sites look just amazing! There is so much history there, I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to see it all!
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