I stayed for the first two weeks in a hotel, paid by the company. That was lucky, as my money finished around that time… I had to ask for an advance of my first salary to pay the rent the following two weeks. The waitress at the hotel were Scottish. As I said, my English was not very good at the time, and the Scottish accent is really difficult for me to understand, I still have to make an effort now… what can I say, for two weeks I had no idea what I was eating at dinner. They would come and tell me the dish of the day and I would nod and eat whatever they brought!
Some very good and some very bad things happened in those first weeks. I met some lovely people, who welcomed me like a friend from the first day and whom are still my friends. We’ve seen each other grow and find our voice and our place in the world. We’ve seen each other sad for a break-up and happy for a new relationship. I’ve been at their weddings and met their children.
I’ve never been surrounded by many friends. I prefer having very few but deep relationships. ‘Prefer’ is not the right word actually, as I don’t really have a choice: this is who I am. But the truth is that in every place I’ve been, I have met one or two people who will be in my heart forever.
I also suffered a lot in those first few weeks and months. I had a boyfriend at the time, who was working in Italy. It was before the time of the smartphones and facebook and whatsapp and phone calls were really expensive. And I didn’t have much money. I remember crying every single night for months. Then something changed, we reacted to our new lives in different ways. He found another job, in Germany, and started a new life there. I didn’t want to move to Germany. I did try to learn German for a while, I almost found a job there, but my heart was not in it anymore. We split up after almost five years together. I lived an initial period of euphoria, had a flirt with an old friend which ended up in nothing, then fell in a depressed state for a few months. My parents hated me for ruining the perfect relationship and I never felt so lonely in my life. Blogging helped me a lot. It was the time of msn messenger and I would spend many hours every night chatting and writing on my blog.
By the time I started to feel better, it was time to find another job. I wanted to see many people, to start a new life, to do something challenging. I ended up in London, and only a few months after, I met L. But that’s another story.
What is essential is invisible to the eye 