It has
been a few weeks now and I am starting to get into the swing of life in London
and learning all the little details you need to know about living in a new
country. There will always be things that just seem wacky, like why is it
perfectly acceptable to park on the wrong side of the street facing into
traffic, and really, honestly, why is there a full page topless model on page 3
of each issue of 'The Sun' newspaper…not that I am complaining but it does seem
rather odd in a city so obsessed with political correctness! I have been
working at a hospital in West London. The work is pretty mediocre, I am
thoroughly overqualified for it, but then, that seems to be the way in London.
There are many people from different countries here and sometimes their qualifications
are not universally recognised so often you will find people with phD,s or
degrees having to do lab assistant type jobs for years just to have their
training accredited. Peope from home keep asking what I am actually doing at
work; it involves getting all the samples prepared for analysis. Mostly blood,
and some urine and other samples arrive from the wards and we log them on to
the computer system, label them with a barcode, centrifuge and separate the
sera if necessary and then send it to the lab for analysis. The people seem to
be friendly enough, I am just trying to get used to the work ethic which seems
to differ around the world, things seem to be somewhat more laid back here
especially when it comes to HS&E and that sort of thing. One good thing
about working at a hospital is that you are able to apply for hospital
accommodation. Rents are obscenely high in the city and I have been able to get
a room onsite at the hospital for a very reasonable £370 pounds a month
including everything, even internet so I can keep in touch with you all! So
shortly I will swap a 1.5 hour commute each morning for a 2 min walk, I can’t
wait.
When I
first arrived here, and took the train to work I thought hey, what a great
system….there are three separate bus routes that go to the station all within
walking distance of my aunt’s house where I am living. Climb aboard the train
and wow! It was more like an airplane than a train, with comfy velour highback
seating and traytables, double glazing to keep it warm and quiet and they even
have a power outlet for your laptop at every seat! Settle in and you are
whisked away to the city at over 200kph. I have to admit, I can’t resist
loading up ‘star guitar’ by The Chemical Brothers on my mp3 player and staring
out the window. (if you have seen the film clip, you will understand). Once in
the city network you can use the very groovy ‘oyster’ ticketing system where
you are issued a smartcard that you can store money and weekly tickets on.
Simply waving your wallet in the vicinity of the turnstyles opens them and
deducts the correct fare which is great when in a hurry. On that first trip to
work I thought awesome, this is public transport I can live with. Unfortunately
the fun wore off very quickly….These guys are so late they make Connex look
good! With so many services the system is very fragile so even if your train is
running on time, someone elses is probably late and you are delayed waiting for
a platform. Obviously that first day was an unusually quiet one because often I
find myself jammed in the section between carriages next to the toilet with a
bunch of other unfortunate commuters who have been unable to get a seat.
Definitely not fun! Of course it is rather expensive too, my daily transport
cost is around £17 so I have to try very hard not to convert that to Aussie
dollars for fear of becoming clinically depressed!
Been
doing quite a bit of looking around on my weekends. Despite the weather being
typically London most of the time, almost all my weekends have been beautiful
weather which is good for walking.
Done lots of walks down around the London
eye, although I havn’t actually gotten around to going on it yet. It is a
lovely area along the river with lots of street performers to watch and it is
nice just to wander around.
I seem to have seen more of my friends over here
than I did at home! Caught up with Lara who is visiting to try for a USA work permit,
and may well murder someone at the consulate before the week is out! Also have
seen a bit of Simon and Drew & Kelly who are all working over here and
actually live right next to where I work. We all went for a wander around Hyde
Park where I realised how much I miss my skates. There were more rollerbladers
there than I have ever seen, including a disturbing number of people on the old
school rollerskates! We terrorised some local squirrels and saw the famous
‘speakers corner’ where it seems you just bring your soap box and climb up on
it to say whatever it is you feel needs to be said. There is no shortage of
people willing to listen either.
I also
spent a weekend in the city with Sara and her partner Ville, an old friend from uni days that I have
not seen in about 3 years. We wandered through some lovely parks with amazing
views of the city, checked out the famous Camden markets which really have to
be seen to be believed, there is absolutely nothing you cannot buy here but
even being a traveller whom can buy nothing for fear of having to carry it, it
is still great to wander around as it is quite fascinating. There are stalls on
the street level, stalls down on the canal and even in the catacombs under the
street! There is also amazing food from every part of the world on offer for
extremely cheap prices. Sara had to catch up with a mate in the arvo, so I went
for a wander around Trafalgar square where there was a huge Muslim festival
happening. I saw some wacky Muslim hip-hop artists ‘I put on my hijab and my
backpack, y’o!!).
We also spent plenty of time checking out all the nice pubs
in the area and drinking many a pint and getting some good convo in, which is
of course, one of the best ways to spend a sunny weekend no matter where in the
world you are!
I have
also spent a few weekends at home trying desperately to organise things for the
next leg in Canada, and spending a bit of time with Tessa and Karl and the
kids. We went for a lovely walk around the canals in the countryside to look at
the loch systems which are quite clever. We also found a pretty cool bridge
that swings out of the way by hand for boat traffic to pass which we had a nice
play on.
I have
been thrilled to find that my friends in France, Germany and Switzerland all
live relatively close to the border within a couple of hundred K’s of each
other so I need to go and organise a quick visit for a weekend I reckon. Till
then.
