First day in my new home, initial observations ...

Yesterday was my first day in my new flat.  I'm living in Hampton about one block off the River Thames.  It still doesn't quite feel real.  I did have my first pint in the local pub yesterday and walked all around the area to get a feel for the place.  It seems like a quiet area and not too far from the train station into London if I wanted to get a little more into the nightlife of the city it wouldn't be too much of a chore.

Initial observations are as follows ...

1.  No closets.  I know that I had an over abundance of closet space in my three bedroom house given that I was living alone and in that regard I was a bit of a spoiled brat.  But seriously, no closet in the bedroom, no hall closet, no linen closet...NO CLOSET!?!? There is a nice sized warbdrobe and a dresser in my bedroom and it did fit all the things I packed over in my two very large suitcases but it should be an interesting experiment in storage when the other 7 boxes I shipped over arrive.  I'll adjust, just a little shellshocked for now.

2.  Market is all local produce.  I went to the local market yesterday to pick up the neccessities to get started (dish soap, laundry soap, nutella -yummm).  It was interesting that all of the produce in the grocery here looks local - not as pretty and plump as the huge overdone produce in American chain groceries but kind of makes ya wonder what they do to our veggies and fruits to make them look so maincured. 

3.  Electrical differences.  For the most part I left all of my electronics back home knowing that the outlet and currents here were different but I did bring over some neccessities to get started.  Note to self ... make sure to flip blowdryer to 220 power BEFORE plugging in seeing as how I almost set myself on fire this morning trying to blow dry my hair.

4.  Trains, buses, subways.  The public transit here is so much better then anything we have in the states but far better then Denver in particular.  The only key is being able to decifer the lines, timelines and stops for the three different systems.  Today my homework is to jump on the bus and see if I can make it into the office by myself like a big girl.  Wish me luck because tomorrow is go time as I will start in my new job in Teddington in the morning.  I was told that I could come in at 10AM tomorrow morning so they must not have a lot of confidence that the American will be able to figure it out.

5.  Space in general is at a premium.  The entire flat is set up to be space efficient.  My washer/dryer (yes both in one unit) are under the kitchen countertop and I think it may fit one of my pairs of jeans.  I can see that I will be wearing clothing more then once before washing from here on out as that little washer will not be able to keep up with my wardrobe.   Centeral heat is almost unheard of here so most of the housing is heated through radiant heat so I will also being going out today to buy a blanket and some warm socks.  Although I don't have a dining area, I do have a table that folds out with four folding chairs underneath it.  So if anyone wants to come over for dinner, let me know in advance as I will need to rearrange and prepare for your arrival.

6.  Locals seem friendly.  I was pretty wiped out yesterday after forcing myself to stay awake in order to adjust to the 7 hour time difference but my limited exposure to some of the locals was that they were friendly and helpful when I asked for something.  I'm not sure how accepting they will be of an American woman hanging out on her own but hopefully after some time I'll stumble into my own social circle and meeting people will just kind of fall into place.  I'll give them my big brown puppy dog eyes and hopefully they will take pity on me and invite me out from time to time.

7.  My neighbors wireless internet isn't secure.  Maybe I'm being hacked as we speak but being reconnected to the world is nice, I'm not gonna lie!

I know it sounds a bit like whining at this point but I am excited by all the changes.   I'm actually looking forward to living a bit more simply and seeing how the other side of the world lives for awhile.  I'm sure I can learn a thing or two about living a better life more focused on things other then material belongings.  I'm off to catch a bus, hopefully I don't end up on the other side of London by accident :) I guess at this piont, everything is trial and error and hopefully eventually success!