From Where You'd Rather Be

London, UK

London, UK- my destination! I arrived on June 7th and was picked up at the station by Mrs S. She was a delight from the start-just as she'd seemed in our skype interviews, and so gorgeous-inside and out. I arrived in a street resembling the streets in the movie 'Notting Hill' (where was Hugh Grant hiding!?) and was shown into an adorable, very English house-my new home!! I met A and O for the first time and Mr S too. We all got along right from the start and the boys were so cute! I had my own room-white, modern, feminine, perfect. Fell in love with the family, the home and the area within a day or two. I felt so lucky. This was meant to be.

As this is my first time in the UK everything is looking just like an English movie set. I feel like the teenagers from the TV show 'Skins' are going to walk across the park any second. From red telephone boxes (they're everywhere in the CBD!); to red double decker buses ( they're not just touristy, they are their regular buses!); to the prices of their lollies ("sweets"); to pounds and pence (some familiarity with the Queen's face on the back just like back home!); to the joint identical white and brick townhouses!!!! Its beautiful here... well the parts I've seen. I'm very lucky of course to be living in a very affluent area of London- the 'Mosman of London.'

Everything is close-by. They say somewhere is far and it turns out that 20 minutes is far; in Sydney this would be close-by! The train and tube system is amazing-from them running literally every 2 minutes; to the Oyster Card which you simply top up with credit and then scan on any public transport you desire. My cousin told me a great anecdote of a typical London transport moment which is very amusing to a Sydneysider who is used to waiting a good 20 minutes for a train- 

"...a man runs for his train which pulls away just as he arrives on the platform. He looks devastated and throws his hands up in the air and curses to himself, shaking his head and looking at his watch. He now must wait for the next train. He looks up at the electronic sign to see how long he will now have to wait. It reads: 1 minute."

...having experienced the short London wait-time, i wonder how i'll find the transport system once i return to Sydney!?