One foot on the ground and really, really long legs.

It’s my forth day here in the UK and I have to say things have been almost too easy. The transition could not have been more seamless, both with work and play. It seems like I went to sleep in Austin and woke up in London without skipping a beat. I already have a favorite restaurant (Indian, of course!), a local market, a few great friends and all of London at my fingertips. I am warm, fed, happy and with no major incidents to report, am calling my transition to the UK a huge success!

I have spend the past few days mostly working, with a few small adventures in and around the neighborhood. The way I see it, I am here to work and any time I am not working is a luxury. Thus I have been wonderfully pleased to have this weekend to get to know my housemates and my neighborhood. I live in a house with 6 other people, mainly Australians and New Zealanders. A lively bunch, they have been instrumental in helping me navigate around the myriad of tube stations, buses and pedestrian options. Most of them are here on a two-year work visa, as it seems like the UK and Australia have a kind of cultural exchange program where young people in their 20’s relocate and work/travel in shifts of two-three months. They all come in groups and tend to live together (also in shifts): one couple is living in the house working while the other is busy roaming around continental Europe. Then they switch. Seems to work well – that’s how I ended up in a great location for fairly cheap.

Besides work, my new favorite activity is just walking around. I am amazed at how many different languages I hear on the street. This is by far the most international city I’ve even been to – hearing English is actually an anomaly in some places. It’s so interesting – you can almost taste all the different cultures here. Just on my high street there is Thai, Indian, Polish, Lebanese and Italian restaurants, not to count the pubs that are almost on every corner – and that’s just one block! I love seeing, smelling, tasting all this culture – it almost makes me lightheaded!