8/365 - First day in London
On the early morning of 17th of August 2009 I landed in London, UK. I remember going through customs at the airport, but cannot remember which airport. There were big posters greeting us at the airport saying that if you are a Romanian or a Bulgarian national you cannot work without a visa or you risk all sort of fines and prosecutions.
My heart sunk… did I just come all this way for nothing? We were in the EU, but “some were more equal than others” apparently. I had to brush that thought off, multiple times, it kept rearing its head!
But fear did numb me and clouded my thoughts so much that I tried to go up the stairs to take the exit out of the tube station by cutting through an incoming mass of Londoners at peak time. A woman looked me into the eyes and pushed me down the stairs with a straightforward recommendation: “Go to the other side, you f**ing c***!” First time I heard the word, but I did not have to take out the dictionary to figure that one out.
It worked! It was brutal, I was humiliated, but it woke me up!
Outside the tube station at South Kensington it was a warm, sunny day and that strengthen me, it felt like there was someone watching over me.
I checked around and saw a tourist shop on the left so, I went in and bought a map. The hostel ended up being very close, but we kept that map and used it for many years to come until it started breaking apart.
I checked in at the hostel and I knew from the moment I booked it that I will be sharing the room with three other girls. One of them was Brazilian, one was Russian and the third one was never around.
The hostel was located on Queen’s Gate, within walking distance of Hyde Park and V&A Museum and I remember paying around £80 a week or less. I think it was my friend who suggested Central London, I had never been to London, but she had some experience - she had been once before! As funny as it sounds, it turned out to be a good advice.
It was daunting to think I will share a room with three strangers, but I have to say those girls surprised me and I still believe I got incredibly lucky. If they would get back to their rooms in the middle of the night they would not even switch the lights on and they would tiptoe to their beds. Every communal space they would use, they would leave in a tidy, clean state. They helped me understand and taught me the rules of the place. Some would say that that is just common sense, but we all know how hard it is to find. There was no loud music, no smoking and no weird visitors. It felt just right!
I spent some time chatting with the Russian girl, she helped me understand the gravity of the visa issue and pretty much told me that me staying was a hopeless case. I should have done more research before, but moaning and beating myself up was not a good plan, I had already plunged, it was time to swim!
I had to take it all in so, I gave myself a couple of days to walk around and know the area. Adrenaline was crazy high, but what a scary, exciting time that was! #adventure
I know so many stories similar to mine, but one that has moved me to my core is my uncle’s. I have seen determination in my life, but I have never ever seen someone take the Yellow Pages book, take every single page and call every single job that he was capable to do. When I see things like this I just think: “Shut up and learn, dummy!”
You must have had your share of amazing adventures and you might be starting new ones, but you are a fighter and you already know that no matter how many times you will have to shake the dust off…
You got this!
