Moving to London – The 1st Days

Sep 17, 2007 by Justin Wayne

17/9/07
JWA

With bank accounts to close, money to move, and most importantly, people to say goodbye to, our last day in the States was quite crazy. Jamie and I ran around like chickens with our heads cut off – she was still not feeling well – and it seemed like trouble was chasing us. My most eventful part of the day was finding Kyle at the bar, he was completely unaware of the time, and I spent the last hour with my trusted friend running around.

After these stressful days rounding up all of our things, affairs and such… Jamie and I were finally able to fly out for London. Arriving at the airport in Bozeman, Montana we found out that my baggage weight research had been incorrect and I was given a cardboard box to transfer half of my bag into. Luckily, I had planned on checking my guitar, and they let me carry it on and check this monstrosity of duct tape and cardboard with my now lighter other bag.

For those of you about to fly a word of advice: 50 pounds = limit. More than 50 pounds = extra charges up to 365 dollars (that’s what they were going to charge me!). Be warned.

After finally checking everything and holding up the line for quite a while, we spent the last few minutes with Jamie’s dad, Jim, and got through security without incident. An easy flight to Chicago, our last beers in the states for quite awhile, and then on the plane to England.

Jamie crashed out quick, while I was forced to suffer through the best movie they had playing that I hadn’t already seen. “Mr. Brooks”, while being a Kevin Costner movie that he wasn’t playing himself for the first time in… ever, was sub-par. Even with Dane Cook in it… the best part is when (spoiler alert!) Dane gets his neck sliced open with a shovel. I’m sick, but you get morbid on those trans-atlantic flights.

After a mediocre meal, the Duty-Free cart passing us a few hundred times, and Jamie slobbering on my shoulder like she was getting paid… we landed in Hethrow. Oh, I almost forgot, this was the part where Jamie’s cold began to get to her. Her ears plugged up about 1/3 of the way down and you know how bad that can get. I don’t think her ears are still 100% and it’s 6 days since we flew. Anyway, she was getting very frustrated and couldn’t hear a word I was saying for the rest of the duration of this blog.

We landed as proceeded through customs without too much trouble. I just wish we would have had our address we were staying – we caught hell from the immigration officer for that.

The tube (underground train) provided us with some more fun. Jamie = sick at this point, don’t forget and she’s not doing very well. We realize that we literally have to travel across town with our three big bags and my guitar. Oh yeah, don’t forget both of our computer backpacks and Jamie’s purse. That box? I destroyed it as soon as I could find it and repacked my bag, making it nearly 80 pounds.

We get on the Piccadelly Line and there’s hardly any space. In retrospect, we should have just waited for another train but Jamie had dragged her bags on and found a good spot for her, so I dutifully filed on as well. Crushing a poor commuter’s foot and this very nice small lady beside me, I got settled on the train for our 45 minute ride. It was long, and it only got more crowded until we finally reached about 3 stops from where we were getting off. We then phoned our new roommates once again… oh yeah, I forgot to tell you… this whole time we also had the stress of moving in with people we hadn’t met yet. They seemed alright, (they are, we know now) but we didn’t know for sure. However, they were on their way to pick us up in their car which was a very nice gesture.

We waited for nearly an hour and found out we were waiting in the wrong spot after they walked up to us. They grabbed our bags, led us to the car (tiny!) and we piled into it, bags and all. With bags on top of both Jamie and I we traveled through the surprisingly swift London traffic to our flat.

The flat is not big. The flat is not small. I think it’s about perfect for us who are here. Our roommate, sorry, flatmate Hannah is a Londoner and Karol is Polish. We have also welcomed Rafal, Karol’s brother into our home who is also looking for a job. We’re all looking for jobs. Anyone know anyone who’s hiring in London? Anyone?

Whheew, that’s about all for now. I have more stories and I’ll continue soon.

Thanks for all your love and support

~Justin