London, day 12: Thoughts about being myself, from first 12 days of moving to London
I moved to London on July 12, for 3 months. These are my thoughts from the first 12 days of living in a new city. Check out my London blog for more pictures!
Humans are funny beings. We adapt so easily. It’s only the second week in London, but I already feel like a local now. Whereas in the first days, I found everything fascinating, I am starting to establish a rhythm. I pay less attention to things around me on my way to and from work, and generally about.
In a way, this is a great thing. That means I spend less time and energy now, and have more headspace to do other things. I can focus on actually living in the city, rather than simply exploring it.
In another way, this is terrible. I’d hate to lose the fascination about new things. I think fundamentally, that’s something that drives and excites me. At least I’d like to think — I’m an explorer. I love walking down random alleys, and walk into gatherings, only to see and discover the vibe of a people and a city. There’s no better opportunity to explore than living in a brand new city, for a limited amount of time.
For what it’s worth, I think I’ve done a pretty good job exploring in the first 10 days of London. Here’s a tally:
Day 1 (Sunday): got to the hotel at noon; checked out Tate Modern & Borough Market; walked around and discovered brick lane
Day 2 (Monday): first day of work; walked around Soho after work; took the bus back
Day 3 (Tuesday): mainly worked =/
Day 4 (Wednesday): after work, walked from Victoria to Buckingham Palace to Westminster; took pictures of Big Ben at sunset
Day 5 (Thursday): after work, walked around what I think is the embassy district; fancy cars!
Day 6 (Friday): coffee before work in Soho! after work, ran 6 miles from Liverpool to Southbank, crossed the bridge, and ran back
Day 7 (Saturday): coffee near Chancery Lane; checked out festival in Southbank; did a London walking tour; had drinks with a friend in Marylebone
Day 8 (Sunday): cafe hopping in Shoreditch (apparently a hip neighborhood!); randomly walking around Turkish neighborhood of Dalston; Museum of London & a pub
Day 9 (Monday): worked =/
Day 10 (Tuesday): coffee in Soho before work again! went on another 4 mile run around Barbican
Day 11 (Wednesday): dinner with a friend in Shoreditch and checked out the neighborhood again
Day 12 (Thursday/today): classical concert at Royal Albert Hall
Taking the Tube home today, a thought came across my mind that seemed simple, yet quite profound.
What might seem mundane to me, may not be mundane to someone else, or even to a different “me”.
I remember I was really amazed by the experience of taking the Tube/Underground to work on my first day in London.
“I need to buy an Oyster card,” I had said to myself. “There are so many people at rush hour, that you had to wait for the next train. But trains come every one minute!” I thought.
Yet, today, getting on the train was a completely mindless activity. I had to stop and think, “wait a minute, which line did I take to get to work earlier?” I no longer paid the same type of attention to these activities, which have now become routine.
It takes a conscious, mindful effort to keep an open mind, to be open to experiences.
It’s all too natural to default to the familiar and comfortable. While there’s nothing wrong with that, that’s not what excites and energizes me.
Being in a new city brings about an amazing opportunity for self-discovery. In the absence of any obligation or prior knowledge, I naturally gravitated to what I enjoyed doing. If the last 12 days are any indication, I enjoy exploring by being lost. I enjoy seeing new things.
This is something I will continue to remind myself. It is genuinely me. And I’m not going to let circumstances (work, schedule, laziness) get in the way of being myself.