The Way We Live Now

We're getting there. Two weeks ago we made it to London, here to set up camp for a while. Only camping in London gets complicated, quickly. There's jobs to find, flats to hunt, banks to wrestle with and many a British bureaucratic nightmare to yell at. 

So far, a flat has been found; we're in a largish bedroom in Leyton, in London's east. It's a bit of a melting pot community, similar to Wellington's Newtown. The flat is nice enough and suits us well; cheap and close to the tube. 

A bank has been joined. Though not without some annoyances along the way. And we're only allowed the most basic of bank accounts - one where money can be put in, and taken out (but only at the right ATM machine). And don't get me started on their security check questions - seven minutes later, I am finally able to tell the man on the phone all I want to do is change my address. 

I've found a job (and David is well on the way). This is definitely the most exciting. I'm working as a teacher's assistant at a school in Islington (five stops away on the tube, pretty ideal). I will mainly be working one-on-one with a 10-year-old who has speech and language issues. Start Monday. And best of all? I only work from 8.45-3.15, Monday to Friday. I'm looking forward to it - obviously far removed from journalism, but I'm excited. 

And then there's getting to grips with all the other paperwork - national insurance numbers, umbrella companies (I'm still not even entirely sure what this is, and yet I have one), recruitment agencies, crb checks...

It's been stressful, but we have managed to do some fun stuff as well. On Monday we spent much of the day looking at dinosaur bones at the Natural History Museum, and on Tuesday we explored Soho and West End before heading to the British Museum where, among other things, the Rosetta Stone is on display as well as impressive marble scenes from Greece's Pantheon.  And last week we got see A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Globe. If I had a bucket list this would have been on there. Beyond belief cool. 

London is crazy. Every now and again either David or I will turn to the other one and say "we're living in London".  Reality hasn't quite set in yet. I don't know if it will, but in the meantime I'm going to make the most of being in one of the world's largest, craziest and most interesting cities. 

 

Turns out London Bridge isn't the bridge in the background, it's the boring bridge we're standing on. 

Awesome musicians at The Globe. 

And actors. 

A squirrel in Hyde Park. 

David and a t-Rex. Hardcore. 

Hieroglyphics at the British Museum. 

Marble work from the Pantheon. 

I can't remember who this is. I'm going to hazard a guess and say it's a Greek god. 

A couch in the kitchen of our flat. It wouldn't be a London flat if every spare space wasn't used. 

- Hana