Berlin, 8th of January 2003: I said goodbye to my parents, hugged my sister and boarded a plane to London. Back then there was no direct flight from Poznan (my home town) to London.
I was dressed for success, yet slightly terrified and clutching a teddy bear I got for Xmas, just a few days ago, from my sister and my dad.
15 years ago I arrived in London and moved in with my host family in Finchley, north of the river. I still consider this first year of being here as one of the best of my life. Yes – I missed my family and felt outside of my comfort zone most of the time, but I also had a ball. I made friends quickly and even though we didn’t have much money, we took advantage of everything London has to offer.
My routine back there was school for 3 hours in the morning, then a few hours of work, then free time and ZERO responsibilities. I only have good memories, despite the occasional tears and heartbreak.
A lot happened in those 15 years!
- The very first item of clothing I bought was a pair of black jeans from GAP, just down the road from Harrods. I might have ruined them later on in a dryer. The second was a jeans jacket from Zara that’s still in my wardrobe.
- I worked as a cleaner in a local pub, later promoted to a barmaid
- I got fired for the first time (and hopefully last) for having an attitude problem. Seriously! I still have that letter (yes – I requested to get the decision in writing) and it says that I rolled my eyes when my boss asked me to make a cup of tea for his guest and I embarrassed him. Well, ok, maybe I did roll my eyes but then making him cups of tea was not on my job description
- My next job was for an American – British couple – and I still believe that one of the reasons I got it was because they actually were clients of the company I got fired from (and they hated it!) so they had sympathy
- And then in 2006 I landed a job in NHS (National Health Service). It is a popular belief that once you get into NHS you have a job for life. But of course I had to make it harder on myself and start the coaching business. Yet I would not have it any other way
- I made and lost friends, I lived alone, I lived in a house share (with 10 or so people for one bathroom), I lived with housemates
- I lost and gained weight and finally realised that dieting is not gonna get me where I want to go and being skinny is not what will make me happy
- I’ve changed the way I eat, and although plant based food is still my favourite and now include fish occasionally.
- I got engaged. I just realised we got engaged in Berlin where it all started for me (remember that plane I boarded)? I don’t want to get all-spiritual here but maybe in some way I came a full circle?
And, in case you are wondering – in 2003 smartphones were not even invented, I had a dial-up Internet and used to check my emails in the internet café. I already had a blog though, yet no digital pictures. Does anyone still develop their pictures??
15 years ago I thought I would be married and have my first child (out of three) by the time I was 30. This did not go according to plan, but then again I could have never predicted starting my own business.
People often ask me if I am staying in London for the rest of my life.
London has been so good for me, yet at the same time I always said that London is a city for young people who “work hard and play hard”, who love a fast pace of life. I’ve always seen myself moving out at some point. Right now I don’t have any plans, yet I have a house by the sea on my vision board, so stay tuned.
I celebrated my anniversary with my other half in one of my favourite restaurants looking back and planning for the future. And I am forever grateful that 15 years ago I was brave enough to pack up my suitcase and made London my home.
PS Have you had any big transitions in your life? I would love it if you share what yours were in the comments below.
In 2001, after I got my M.Ed. as a proud A student, I decided to pack my bags and moved to Denmark starting my adventure with international development workers school. That, in the end, took me to Africa, where I worked and traveled and fell in love with sun and people and the scent of lemongrass. During my time in Denmark, I worked and earned money for school fees, school and travel expenses. My first Canon camera (not digital). I remember painting a school outside in December. Extra money – always good:) But mostly learning and doing PR job, which made me so happy. It was so much warmer in the office during winter time. Hard but the best times. After my time in Africa, I went back to Poland for less than a year, I have such a great memories: I was working as an anchorwoman for local TV, I did voluntary work for UNICEF, I taught at the private college and I had my first photo exposition in ZAK. With all that, I decided to take my chance and move to Finland with an idea of working and pursuing my Ph.D. dream. It did not work that way. But I had a great time, experiences and always in luck to be surrounded by wonderful people with amazing stories to tell. After that, I moved to the UK, got a job in Sheffield for a while. Finally ended up in Florida, the USA for 10 years, and now, currently surviving winters in Maine, USA. Traveling, discovering and listening/sharing stories have been always a huge part of my life. This is the way to learn and understand people, their culture, and their history. It gives such a good background of understanding and tolerance. I sure hope that my daughters will love being and seeing part of life, as much as I do. Immigrants stories, like ours, are great book material:) Between all those happy and exciting lines of my story, there is a lot of hard work, tears, sweat, loneliness and ‘swallowing my pride’ moments. Cheers to our great past and even more amazing future!
Cheers to that:))) I am always amazed by your story!