It has been a while since I have updated, so here’s a brief summary.
I finished my last semester at University and passed with an 8 (out of 10) overall, aka I’m pretty pleased and proud of myself.
And as of today, I am embarking on a new journey since I was due for a much, much needed break.
Today, around 2, I arrived at St. Pancras Station, London.
As I passed through customs, live piano music welcomed me to my new home + a very excited hostmom who walked up to me fast paced and planted three solid kisses on my cheeks (as the Dutch tend to do). So it’s safe to say, my start in London started out quite well!
Then.. the tube.. I have heard of the horror of the tube.
The impossibly busy tubes inside of which people could seem to miraculously squeeze themselves into empty spaces that weren’t even there before..
It was around three.. so not exactly a busy time.. generally speaking.. alas the Tube did not agree with that.
But maybe that was because of the Piccadilly Line, who knows.. (I certainly don’t as I’m quite the noob around here).
We had to change lines into a quiet tube line, or I’m guessing as the population in this one was about 1/50 in comparison with the Piccadilly one.
When we got to our destination, we had to walk for a couple of minutes (5 or 6) to get to the house. It looked a bit like they only moved in there a couple of weeks ago (from the inside), but when inside the house was very homely with carpet, really soft and lovely carpet, everywhere (except for the ground floor). One of the kids opened the door with a balloon in her hands saying “Sorry you’re leaving”.. not too sure what to do with that but she thought it was funny, and tbh I did too. The other girl was a bit more shy and she shook my hand saying Hi without looking me in the eyes but eventually she was the one that asked her older sister if “The new au-pair could also come play”.. my heart at that moment just about melted.. Another plus was that they made cupcakes!!! That is always quite the welcome in my book. So far, so good.
About twenty minutes later, the hostmom, G- (the middle child) and I went out to pick up the youngest at the day care. Before we picked B- up, we went to Halfords to bring a bike with two flat tires. Apparently, it is not done to fix a hole so replacing the inner tire (or whatever they called it) is what is most appropriate. Also.. something I did not know.. is that bikes do not come with actual bicycle lights front or back (as a Dutch person this is extremely shocking). Some bikes have reflectors, but that is about it.. There were two bikes which had lights but that is apparently something up and coming in the London world.. Guess the Netherlands are quite ahead in that respect.. nice to know!
Onto meeting B-, the first thing, as two-year-olds do, was scream “Mama, mama” all cheerfully running towards his “mama” and looking a bit funny at me and hiding his head in his mommy’s neck and between her legs or just generally behind her so that he could sneak peeks at the new person that is to become a part of his life for a bit less than a year. After that we walked or more or less jogged to keep up with B- who was running about the sidewalk and preferred not to hold hands in general but let his mommy hold his hand when crossing the street (progress!).
When we got home, B- eagerly ran up to his “papa” like he hadn’t seen him in ages. It was all very touching (no lie, my heart melted again). At a certain point, the girls were watching a movie on Youtube and the little guy was cycling about the room at a high speed and I was trying to stop him from cycling into a wall or into his sisters so I stopped him with my feet and hands.. he absolutely loved it and kept cycling towards me faster to test my reflexes (which are awesome.). After that he decided to play a game of “Fall”, which basically means jump off the couch onto the couch or fall down on the carpet.. all the while hysterically laughing his little butt off. So I reckon he’s warming up to me already :).
As for my room, it’s pretty sweet and big and lovely, lovely carpet that is pure heaven for my feet. Not really a proper closet, but tbh I didn’t bring that much. I made my bed and brought my minions and my sleeping monkey (Yes, I sleep with stuffed animals.). Oh! Did I mention I also have an awesome bathtub that is the right size for me, well now I did! ❤ So much love for that.
So.. as far as the first day goes here in London.. Chez Hostfam V-.
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