The importance of television

Saturday, 30th of April 2016

Television is an important media for information, as well as entertainment, but you never miss it until it is gone and is no longer part of your daily life.

When I was in Germany, I had neither a television or a computer, since mine broke during my first week and was only repaired when I got back to Lisbon, but to be honest, I never missed those things, I had my books and even more important, I had my friends.

Rarely a day went by without me having company at all hours of the day. When I got up, I had company to go to classes with and after that we would go to the city centre for a walk, shopping or something to eat. My close group of friends would hang around the common kitchen for lunch or we would all eat together at one of our apartments. During the afternoon we would be relaxing in the park, playing table football or going to explore the amazing city we were living in. And at night it wasn't any quieter since we rarely had time to have dinner before going out to the bars and clubs. Even when we got back home at early hours in the morning, you could find us having theological debates and drinking our favorite turkish tea.

I had no use for a tv, I had all the noise and talk I needed. Of course it was complicated not having a computer, mainly when it came to university work or when I needed to skype, but my phone got me through it.

Now that I stand in London, the scenario is completely different. As I told before, I still don't have broadband and with that my life has been more difficult than necessary, I can't communicate with my friends and family, I can't watch a video online, hear music or even watch the news.

But a tv is what I really miss, not only because I miss watching my shows, I do, but mainly because having a television at your apartment also means you have noise and sounds, you hear people talking and it distracts you from constant silence.

My books have been my salvation, since I arrived I have already read 27 of them and is helpful to distract yourself by imagining scenarios in your head, relating with the characters and dreaming with the stories. Yes, it is helpful but it doesn't make you as much company as a television would.

When I am reading the only noises I heard are the constant water pipes, the fridge and the wind banging on the window of my apartment and sometimes I just wished to hear something different.

From a girl missing watching "Dr.Phil",

Mariana Fidalgo

Vodafone: The gateway to hell

Thursday, 28th of April 2016

The last few days have been a torture, since I am currently in an open war with Vodafone. The company that I so like back in Lisbon, that was very helpful when I bought my phone or when I had questions about their service, is a nightmare here in London.

I have been going to the nearest Vodafone store, one in Notting Hill Gate, almost every day (and no is not a lie). Since I first arrived, I have not been in another place so many times as I have been there and to be honest, I had never seen so much incompetence and lack of knowledge in one place only.

The all experience started when I went there to see check on prices for the instalation of broadband (which basically stands for internet service at home). I was forced to wait while the employee decided to answer some text messages from her friend, she had her whatsapp messages fully on display to everyone and cleary could´t care less for her customers. When I was finally called, she proceded to tell me some information, but it seems that they always find a way to hide some important things from the client, and then I accepted the service, which was with a promotion of 50% off.

I spent the next few days having to go back to the store since there was always a lack of information and it seems that they needed more personal details of mine every time I went there, before letting me sign a contract. After spending nearly 3 hours there (my personal record), where I was basically silent and seated down waiting for them to do something, it was said to me that the only way I could bring a router device home was if I presented my debit card from an english bank. The problem was that I had not yet received mine, it took almost a week to get it through the post.

When the card arrived, my first move was to go to the store and show it. Again I stayed 2 more hours there when it was supposed to be a short trip. The employee had no idea of what he was doing and had to call someone to help him out. The fact that he thought it was appropriate to flirt with me in the middle of the process, did not help at all, it made me even more angry with all of that.

Finally I had the router and was ready to instal it myself when I got an email saying that an engineer had to come to my house to check if everything is ok before I connect the cables (here is necessary to have a box installed called an Openreach line). I was out of my mind when they said he could only come on the 12th of May and so now I have to wait until that day so a man can come to my house and do exactly what I am able to do alone, and of course they charge the service.

I swear the automatic service that is provided on the phone is a million times more helpful than the people who work at that store, even tough I am talking to a machine for ten minutes and just pressing buttons, at least it gets the job done.

From a girl frustrated with Vodafone,

Mariana Fidalgo

EU referendum

Saturday, 23rd of April 2016

I have come to London, for now almost a month, with the intention to start my life as a newly graduate student. I remember the first few weeks when everything seemed new to me but at the same time somehow familiar, with flashbacks of what I had previously visited and seen on my last and only trip to the UK six years ago. I fell in love with this city all over again, its lights, its cultural diversity, its freedom, its creativity and I even have come to accept the inconstant weather.

When things got a bit more serious, when I stayed alone for the first night, when I saw myself having meetings with banks to open a new account, having meetings with internet companies, furnishing the house or calling to get my insurance number, I could not but witness that the burocracy took some of the magic of this beautiful city.

The high rents and prices and the fact of not having yet started to work, made my family spent foreign currency to pay for my little adventure here. I am in debt to them, no doubt.

I do not doubt of the opportunities that there are in this capital of the world, many have come here to start a life and got a job quite quickly, although most are older and with some more experience than myself. The UK has an open-mind set to give people the chance to start somewhere, even if at the bottom, there is an opportunity to rise up the ladder of work. It is a pragmatic system, you have to prove yourself but if you are not up for it, you are quickly dismissed, since there are millions who want your place, even if you are working simply as a barista or a cashier.

To integrate in this society is necessary to make a great effort, although I have a good level of English, I have learn that people here are interested in you for about a few seconds when they understand that your accent is different, but only to know where you are from. You have also people, and by people I actually mean men, that approach you in the middle of the streets, as it happened now more than a couple of times to me, but those have more than friendship on their minds. By norm, foreigners and british people don´t hang out between themselves and so both groups tend to get along with their own nationalities, which is a shame.

The UK is a country that highly profits from EU migration, both in the economical and cultural sense, but the sole idea of migration is still a sensitive issue, expecially in London, that has seen a huge change in the last couple of years.

By voting no, the country would be turning its back on its European values and that is why is my decision to leave the UK if that decision is ever to be made. In a globalised and democratic Europe, Britain does need to understand that it not ok to stand alone against all others, it is no longer time to play empires, kings and queens but to solve the modern day problems with global solutions, that help improve the development of our countries and give streght to the European Union.

We must stand for a unitated Europe and not a divided one by forcing emigrants that enrich this country´s culture and economy out of their new place of choice. Values and rights that were fought to be imposed after the World wars must continue to define Europe, that is the only way we can improve and continue the development of Europe itself.

From a girl standing for the European Union,

Mariana Fidalgo

The death of Prince

Friday, 22nd of April of 2016

Prince is dead. The singer who´s music transcended not only generations but genres was found unresponsive yesterday, 21st of April, in Chanhassen, Minnesota, his home state. The news was covered all over the world, leaving his many fans to mourn this great loss of the music industry.

A man who was known for breaking the music industry with 80´s pop songs such as "Kiss" and "Purple Rain" and his creative genius, gathering seven Grammy Awards and 30 nominations for his life work.

This was definetely an unexpected piece of news, despite the reference made to the emergency landing of his plane in Illinois, due to the fact that the singer was not feeling well. His death came as a terrible shock to all of those who loved him and admired him as a talent artist. The grief is great but surely he will stand high in the hearts of his fans and followers.

The city of London seems to share the outpouring grief of the rest of the world. This all week had been quite warm and the sun was shining bright every morning, until last night, when the sky turned dark and it started to rain. The temperature dropped and the rain continues to lay down the streets today, and there is a strange silence going on, as if in respect for this man.

All we can hope is that in 2016 there are no more sudden deaths of great valuable artists, as Prince, Bowie or Alan Rickman.

Now that he is gone, his music shall live through us, his loyal fans.

From a girl listening to "Purple Rain",

Mariana Fidalgo

The Queen´s 90th Birthday

Thursday, 21st of April 2016

Today is an important day for any british citizen, as it marks the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch of Britain. This will be one of the highlights of 2016 for the UK, as events start today (her real birthday) and extend to May and June, which is the official annual celebration of the Queen´s birthday.There are many events taking place during the three months, some free and others requiring tickets to attend.

The centre of all the attention is Windsor Castle, around one hour drive from were I currently live, and where the royals started their celebration with the great support of the public. A plaque was unveiled marking the start of a four-mile Queen´s Walkaway at the foot of Castle Hill in Windsor, therefore, connecting 63 points of interest in that same town, as the Queen herself commemorates more than 63 years reigning as of 2015. A walk made to greet the public was next, sending royal fans to camp outside those streets to make sure they would get a sit on the front row, which seems tremendously difficult to achieve. 

During the evening, the celebrations continued as the Queen, now joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, lighted the very first one of the 1.000 beacons that spread across the country and even worldwide to celebrate the monarch´s birthday.

Tomorrow, the President Barack Obama is scheduled to attend a private luncheon with the Queen at Widsor Castle.

Only during the months of May and June the extravaganza will rise up to a all new level, since their will be a 90-minute long event with 900 horses and 1500 riders, as well as performers, being much similar to the Diamond Jubilee of 2012. Already 25.000 tickets for the arena are sold out since last November and of course, ITV will be broadcasting it for the public.

It is indeed impressive how much Britain does to commemorate the birthdays of their beloved royal family, even the garbage is not collected on this very day! As a portuguese girl outside of her element, I can not but admire the great gestures and genuin love british people seem to have for the Queen, or how they call her, Her Majesty. Although I am not for monarchy in any sense or form, and do not consider Queen Elizabeth II to be a figure of authority towards me, I do have respect for her as a woman standing in an autoritarian position, though in this day and age, the royal family is more of a cultural symbol and way to attract tourists, than an actual political figure.

From a girl wishing happy birthday to the Queen,

Mariana Fidalgo

The coldness of the English

Wednesday, 20th of April 2016

It is nearly a month since I have first arrived in London but I do feel as I have not yet started my real life here, it is almost like being in a state of limbo.

London seems to take twice as long as Lisbon to make things happen, to get matters of significant importance straight and solved, as if to purposely delay the new life foreigners and strangers to the english culture have come to seek. It is not easy at all to begin and have a brand new start in this lands.

It turns out that everyone is quite suspicious of an outsider. My landlord would only allow me to move into my new apartment after the money was present in his bank account, despite the proof of our transfer; the Vodafone store would only allow me to take a router home if I presented a physical evidence that I own a debit carb from an english bank (which can take a long time to arrive to your home) and everyone seems extremely interested on what is my source of income, how much money I make per month (as if they doubt my ability to pay for their services and products), if I have anyone who can talk on my behalf and where was my previous address or even how long I have stayed there before moving.

It is a constant interrogation as if I am to give proof of my own character and soul. I am not yet accepted as a member of a functioning society, despite the fact that people on tour buses no longer approach me as if I am a simple tourist, and therefore, coldness is what I have come to face daily on my tasks and path. The only true sign of warmth is the sun that has been shining all week long.

From a girl standing strong,

Mariana Fidalgo

Stand-up comedy

Tuesday, 19th of April 2016

One of the things that made me fall in love with London was its comedy culture. Here comedy is more than just a hobby, it is valued as an art form and comedians have a highly source of respect from the audience itself, gaining thousands of devouted fans, like myself.

Six years ago, when I turned 16 and first came to London, I rushed to a store so I could buy Russell Brand´s stand-up comedy DVD, it was the first of many. Since that day on, my collection has been increasing, I own now several stand-up tours DVD´s, a great deal of comedian´s autobiographies and my list of favorite performers has been fast growing ever since. 

It was a promise made to myself that on my returning to England, I would indeed attend a live stand-up comedy show for the first time. Yesterday, 18th of April, my wish came true when I set foot inside the beautiful and highly iluminated Lyric Theater, in the Soho neighborhood, to see a favorite: Joe Lycett.

Although I had no company, I was not about to miss this great event, so I called a taxi and after 15 minutes I arrived at the theater, which was surronded everywhere with fans trying to get in, as it was a sold out show. I took my place in the Upper Circle of the arena with a clear stage view, as at exactly 20pm, and after his announcement, Joe Lycett enters the stage. 

Around 900 people cheered him and laughed at his first couple of jokes, highlighting the tittle of the tour "That´s the way a-ha, a-ha" (recalling a famous song) and take on the people sat in the first row at the stalls. Nearly 30 minutes after he first arrived, he presented the warm-up comedian and another familiar face walked into the stage, it was irish comic, Aisling Bea. She continued gathering laughs with her thick irish accent retelling her trip to America until it was time for the interval.

20 minutes went by faster than I was expecting, when Lycett returned to perform his routine. The all time favorite joke and highly memorized by his fans since he performed it on 8 out of 10 Cats, about the parking fine in York was received with 900 laughing faces, as if they were hearing it for the first time. It was followed by jokes about the city where he lives in with his parents, Birmingham, about what he considers to be stupid people, such as the ones who keep wearing festival wristbands months after the festival ended, and even a stag due he had with his friends in Lisbon.

It was a pure delight to sit there, hear him and laugh. As a newcomer in comedy, Joe Lycett is certaintly here to stay. He definetely showed everyone this is the way it is and we all Lycett.

From a girl enchanted with comedy,

Mariana Fidalgo

Cafés and Parks

Saturday, 16th of April 2016

If there is something quite important to have in a new city is a new café. Thatˋs right, a place where you can hang out, relax with a cup of tea while you read your book and just be around people.

When alone is difficult to meet new people, mainly because there is no way of doing it normally, without sounding a bit creepy in the process. All of us already had problems in this department, seeing a person that we might think is interesting but we are not brave enough to start the conversation, so we just stand there in our own corner hoping that they will be the ones to iniciate (thanks Nazifa for being the one strong enough to come up to me at our first day of college). 

Since I moved here on my own and not to actually study, it has been difficult to talk to people, I just have no idea on how to do it and with this problem the internet is not the best tool, since the only option seems to be to instal apps like Tinder, and we all know that no one there is looking for friends. 

So the process of finding a café near your house to create some routine is essencial because you will be forced to talk to people on a daily baisis, even if it is just to order and then you will have a space where you feel comfortable and where you can just be surrounded with other people, which is important to create a sense of community, even if you are not talking to them.

Another great place is the park, it turns out it became my favorite of all. When it is sunny outside and relatively hot, which here is around 17 degrees, you will see everyone out in Hyde Park walking their dogs, playing and throwing balls, having a picninc or just reading under a tree. 

A few days ago I decided to take part of this ritual and grabbed my book (the fifth one I am reading this week) and hop I went to sit under a tree to read for an hour or two. Not even 15 minutes went by when I realized my book was all full of drool and that there was a huge brown and white staffordshire terrier looking directly at me with a ball in his mounth. This huge but very cute dog was asking me to throw the ball so he could fetch it, I did so for a while and despite of his owner calling he decided to sit down near my feet resting, it was only after 10 minutes he decided it was time to leave. 

So despite of now knowing more dogs than people, these are the little things that make you feel a bit more part of the community and that is why is so important to do some of this tasks outside and not inside of the house all alone.

From a girl missing her own dog,

Mariana Fidalgo

Cooking for one

Friday, 15th of April 2016

When you live alone, you soon discover that if you are hungry, you will have to be the one to cook, there is no one else that will do it for you. Sure, takeaways and precooked meals are always an option, or at least that is what you think before you understand how much money is actually flying of your bank account. Therefore, cooking turns out to be your only option.

The problem of cooking just for yourself is that you donˋt have to answer to no one or even impress someone else, you are the only one who is going to eat what you cooked and no one else will ever know. When you realize this and after a few days of just eating pasta, simply because it doesnˋt take that much work and is relatively cheap, you start wanting to change it up a bit and that leads to weird and surprising mixtures of flavours. Of course that when you go back home to meet your friends and family, you will never try to reproduce this dishes (if we can even call them that) but you will definitely remember them with a fondly smile and keep them secret.

Is also a misconception that when you live alone, you also start to eat healthier. Let me just tell you, no you donˋt. Yes, maybe you will lose a few pounds and go back home skinnier but that is not because you now have adopted a healthy livestyle, is only because you have to constantly pay attention to how much money you have so you instead of a box of cookies or chips that cost over 1.30£, you decide to buy the apple instead for 60 pences.

You will sometimes realize you were just day dreaming about food, about those restaurants you like back in your hometown or about your momˋs home cooked meals, but you will also understand that is your turn to step up and that cooking isnˋt as bad as it seems.

From a girl who wants to go to Hamburgueria do Bairro,

Mariana Fidalgo

Meeting the neighbours (or not)

Thursday, 14th of April 2016

Lately a lot of my family members and friends have been constantly asking me the same question: How are your neighbours like? Have you met them yet? Obviously this is a question that can only be asked when someone you know moves to a different place, mainly a different country where people donˋt speak the same language and tend to behave in a different way than the one we are used to seeing every day.

As it is expected the answer I give to everyone is the same and it will probably maintain the same no matter if you ask it tomorrow or in three months time. No. Those simple two letters that when combained transform into a powerful expression, no, that is my answer. 

I moved from a big city to another huge capital of the world, so why am I expected to know who happens to live in the door next to mine? In Lisbon, I only know the people who live on the second floor and that is only because they are family, my uncle, my aunt and my cousin. Sure I recognize some of their faces, I know there is a family there that used to have their kids at the same school as I was, there is the girl who likes making out with her boyfriend in the middle of the stairs, the scary old lady that lives above me and the crazy screaming bunch that lives next door. Yes I recognize some of them, it is hard after 20 years of living in the same place not to, but I donˋt know them, I donˋt go to their places and they donˋt come to mine, we donˋt attend each others parties or spend time together, except when we are awkwardly standing side by side inside the elevator.

Why should it be any different just because I am now in London? If you want I can easily tell you when they are taking a shower because I can hear the water running through the pipes or even that my next door neighbour has got a cold since he hasnˋt stopped coughing for a while, but that is it, for me they are just noises, it is impossible to associate a name or even characteristics to them simply because I have never seen them before.

Here in England not knowing your neighbours is the key to a happy collective living arrangement. As british comedian Jack Whitehall once said: "Donˋt make eye contact with me and donˋt you dare start a conversation!". This seems to be the running practice around here and in no way seems abnormal to me.

From a girl perfectly content with this situation,

Mariana Fidalgo 

Emigrants in London

Tuesday, 12th of April 2016

Is rather curious the effect that emigration has had in London. As you walk down the streets is possible to hear many different languages and dialects being spoken at the same time, mostly you can tell are tourist just visiting for a couple of days but there is a high percentage of non-english speakers living here.

This fascinating effect is mainly noticeable when it comes to services, whether at a restaurant, a hotel, at the bank or even at the Vodafone store. So, for past few days I had to deal with a lot of paperwork, give a lot of details about myself, sign loads of documents and meet with several people to start using their products and services. In all of those moments I dealt with emigrants such as myself.

At the hotel I was staying at previously, I had some problems due to them overcharging me with a room and when the woman working at the reception tried to fix the situation I heard her speak, for the first time, her native language (as we do when we are nervous). It turns out she was spanish so I could perfectly understand what she was saying. When dealing with my living arrangements issues, it was clear that my landlord was also not british and also not his company, it turns out he and his partners are from India, so when together they always speak hindi. Last week I was in a hurry so since I didnˋt have food at home yet, I decided to quickly stop at McDonalds, after taking my order, the lady turned to her collegues and started to speak french. 

I have many more examples of this that I was able to experience in just a week, it is great to understand that I am not the only one trying to adapt to the english way of living and that I am not the only foreigner here, but at the same time this comes with many problems. Putting aside issues like racism and xenophobia that might occur, the difficulty that I am finding here is communication because in the end, I am a portuguese native talking to another foreigner, both not using our mother tongues, trying to communicate in english, our second language, so is obvious that with our accents sometimes things get lost in translation.

It is natural that even if you are a perfect english speaker, but this is your second or third language, some things are not going to be understood but that is fine, you just have to repeat them and remember that if the person that is attending you was able to overcome his or her struggles, so will you.

From a portuguese girl surrounded by different cultures,

Mariana Fidalgo

Garbage disposal

Monday, 11th of April 2016

Having been in London for over a week now, I still constantly find myself discovering new things and learning the living arrangements of this city. One thing that came to my attention recently was the disposal of garbage. This minimal action is rather necessary but at first was extremely confusing and it is just now that I am getting the hang of it. 

The first thing you should know is that here in London there are no typical garbage bins, not in the streets and not in every residencial area, like there is in Lisbon. When you walk through the streets you might see places where you can dispose small objects and mainly at the park you will see bins designated for dog waste only. Meanwhile, as I started to cook and clean the apartment and I also started to have many things I wanted to remove from my house but with not a garbage bin in plain sight, I was rather confused on how people were proceding with this.  

I started to search online, which when you really think about it can be a bit ridiculous but it was my only way of finding out. After many pages that lead to no help at all, I was able to finally find one with every detail I needed. It turns out that here they adopted a system of collecting waste weekly, which means that as London is divided by several zones and areas, each of them has a day of the week when a truck comes and takes out the bags out of the street. Yes, of the street. 

For example, in my street the garbage is collected on Tuesdays around 11h/12h, so the night before (after 18h) and even on early Tuesday mornings, you will be able to see the all street full of black garbage bags (residencial disposal) and transparent ones (for recycling). This way there is no trash in the middle of the streets, everything is quite clean and it makes people be responsible about how much they are disposing of.

There is even an app, My Waste, that allows you to set up your address so you can know when the collecting is going to be and it turns out is quite helpful.

From a girl who spends Monday nights putting the trash out,

Mariana Fidalgo

Grocery shopping

Sunday, 10th of April 2016

If I believed in a god, I would thought such deity would be the internet. Such a powerful tool that can make the most common daily tasks possible in a quicker and easier way.

You see, when we move we tend to focus more on the bigger things, such as finding a place to live, a job, getting acquainted with the city and, as a consequence, we tend to forget about the simplest things that we normally take for granted. One of those is buying groceries, something quite simple but if you really think about it, extremely important.

   

That was one of my primarily struggles as new member of this society, trying not only to understand the all dynamic of shopping here, but also the different products and most of all, how was I supposed to take all the bags back home.

In London you will be able to find various supermarkets and the good thing is that they are all open until late (around 22h or 23h). Besides the common supermarkets is also possible to find this so called places named Pharmacy, and no they are not the typical store where you can only buy medical products but also where you can buy food, hygiene and beauty products and even electrical tools.

One of the biggest supermarket brands here is Tesco and luckly there is one just four streets away from my house. What I have noticed is that there are at least eight self check out machines at every store (all of them constantly occupied), when only one is operated by a cashier (usually empty or with one person in the line to buy tobacco), so I guess is safe to say that londoners do not like the usual chat most people tend to have with the person attending to us at the supermarket.

The all process of going grocery shopping is not very complex but when you are alone it turns out to be more difficult than it seems. First, there are no shopping cars at the supermarket, only metallic baskets so when you put two things there is already full. Secondly, not knowing where things are and what they look like is not the best situation. And lastly, the process of going back home basically transforms into an impossible mission because four streets start to seem like twenty when you have your hands full.

That is why I decided to find and easier way to this, I was tired of having to go out grocery shopping almost every day and still not being able to bring everything I wanted. And that is when online shopping saved my life. I found it was possible to order what I wanted from Tesco online and then ask for them to deliver my selection directly at my front door. I found it extremely helpful to have all the products layed down in my computer screen, that made it possible for me to see their all selection and to find the cheapest price, so in the end I did not only saved money while comparing products but also didnˋt get distracted and bought unnecessary things (like chocolates).

So if you find yourself in the same situation as me, donˋt be afraid of spending an extra 5£ for the service, it is worth it.

From a girl with food until August,

Mariana Fidalgo   

The best hidden secret in London

Saturday, 9th of April 2016

There is a huge secret in London only known by the ones who live here: the buildings are liars. What I mean by this is that what you see on the outside does not correspond to what is on the inside.

In London every building you look at is beautiful, amazingly decorated, seeming like all are newly painted and very majestic, but the moment you walk in into a residencial building your reaction changes. Old materials, broken windows, noisy wood stairs covered in torn carpet and two colored walls are the hidden sight which we have to live with. 

Here at Notting Hill Gate that is exactly what happens. A gorgeous and quite calm residential street with large white buildings is exactly your first sight, however as you pass through the door you suddenly see the landlordˋs vaccum cleaner and the million stairs that tell everyone in the building that you arriving with the noise they make as soon as you step on them.

An interesting fact is that carpets are everywhere, hotels, apartments, restaurants...It is not a norm to have wooded floors with the actual wood exposed, carpets cover the stairs and even the inside of the flat, so you definitely wonˋt need to buy rugs. 

Is interesting to understand this dynamic here. In this city is more valued what the sightseeing is and looks like than what really is covering up, so even if a building is in ruins on the inside, what really matters is if it looks presentable on the outside. With this, tourists continue to admire the typical architecture of the city and go home telling people how beautiful it all looks without having the knowledge that it is all a cover. Strangely in Portugal is quite the opposite, buildings that look a wreck on the outside can be valued for more than half a million, all because of the interior space.

This is definitely a text book example that you should not judge a book by its cover.

From a girl trying to get used to carpets,

Mariana Fidalgo

First steps

Friday, 8th of April 2016

Deciding to come to London is the same thing as deciding to go to a casino, spend half of your money and wish for the best. And I say that simply because London is not a city made for people who donˋt have money, of course you donˋt need to be rich but you do need to have savings or else is going to be even harder for you to start building your life in this city.

One of the first steps is to find somewhere to live, well here you have many possibilities, such as: sharing an apartment/house with other people, choosing a studio with a shared bathroom, a self-contained one or even just renting a bed in a shared room. This all depends on what you feel comfortable with and how much are you willing to pay for accomodation. 

To me this was an extremely important step. I started my search back in Lisbon using websites like Gumtree as a tool to find affordable places but is was only when I came to the city that I was able to start the real search. I made the decision to get together with a real estate agency called Flatland and with their help I was able to explain what I was looking for and get in contact with landlords easily. In one day they were able to schedule three apartment viewings and that was all it took for me to find my current studio in Notting Hill Gate.

For people who never lived in the UK before, you have to be careful when it comes to the rent because here is usually charged weekly and not monthly so when you see an add saying it costs 80£, it really means you will be paying roughly around 320£ a month. Also most places are not including how much you will have to pay when it comes to water and electricity, this last one you normally have a device installed in your wall where you need to put coins to make it work, something I had never seen before in my life. Despite that you will have to pay council taxes if you are not a student and even a tenant fee. So has you see what it started as 320£, can be over 400£ a month.

Living alone was my own choice, I like to have a personal space where I can just relax after a long day and have my alone time. Unfortunately, that also means rent is higher but I really wouldnˋt tradded it for anything else, mainly after seeing an add saying that rent was free if you were a female between 18 and 25 and wanted to share a two floor house with a 50 year old man.

When I moved to my new place I almost wanted to cry when I saw the "raw truth" for the first time, sure I had seen the place before but when it is always different when you actually examine everything you need to do to make it your own. I was overwhelmed with the weird noises, with the fact that the curtains do not cover the all window, that the actual window canˋt close all the way down but mostly with the overall dirtiness that surronded everything I touched. 

After a while of feeling sorry for myself, I pulled myself up, found the closest store, bought several cleaning products, put on the new gloves and started to scrub everything from top to bottom. I didnˋt stop until I felt like I was almost passing out from all the chemicals.

The last thing was making the bed and when I finally layed down my quilt, the one I hold in my heart so dearly because it was bought in Bamberg and a dear friend of mine as the same one (we chose it before even knowing each other), I looked at it and just smile seeing that the studio was becoming a home.

Sincerely,

A girl in her new apartment.

Mariana Fidalgo

Choosing isolation

Thursday, 7th of April 2016

After such a long period of waiting, it finally happened, I have officialy moved out of the hotel I had been staying at for the last couple of days to my new studio. It was a very long and drilling process, I am not going to lie. It was difficult, exhausting and even frustrating at times but I can firmly confirm that in the end it was worth it because for me it meant I could finally start building my home in my dream city.

The all process started quite a while ago, it was after a long and difficult year and many hours of reflexion that I made this life changing decision of moving to London. Sure it was always a big dream of mine to accomplish this but that did not make the decision any easier. When you decide to turn your life upside down, you better know what you are doing and make sure you are not only ready for the commitment but that you are also a strong of enough person to deal with your new situation.

Despite of having the pleasure to have met various people from different nationalities, none of them happened to live here, which meant I was voluntarily accepting isolation. Whether we want to face it or not if we go to a different country, we lose our support system, that doesnˋt mean our friends and family members back home will stop talking to us or even love us any less but it does mean they are not physically present and that changes everything. My moving did not only affect me but it did affect everyone who I have a relationship with because it affects the simple daily life, for example, my parents have one less daughter at the house, my friends canˋt talk to me face to face or just call me to come down and meet them when they are passing by my house. Little actions that everyone takes for granted but by not been physically there, are no longer possible.

The harsh and dark truth is that we find out that life goes on without us, it doesnˋt stop just because we are no longer there. As you move on, so will other people and that means you will lose important moments, you will not get private jokes, you will feel like an outsider in your own family or group of friends, simply because your reality is no longer shared with theirs. It is almost like a past you left behind, like the people you know and love are now in a distant world disconnected from your own. And when you get back, even if just for a couple of days to visit them, it is still difficult to find a common ground because no matter how good your stories are, they are yours not theirs and they may listen but is difficult to make them understand simply because they might not know the place, the streets, they have never seen what you are talking about and even names of people you met, it is all just imaginary to them and the same applies to you.

That is probably the most difficult personal change you go through when you move because you are trying to fit in in a new culture and environment, at the same time you are trying to keep up with your old life.

Being a single emigrant woman means that my friends are extremely important as a support system. We all need our families more than anyone else but having people your own age supporting and giving you strength to keep up makes you work extra hard. So although I might have choosen isolation by moving alone to a new city, I still have my dear friends in my heart.

Sending all the love in the world to my friends with a special thanks to Bruno, Fitore, Leticia, Beatriz, Filipa, Lumturije, Patricia, Joana, Nazifa e Daniela who have been supporting me since the beginning of this adventure.

Com saudades,

Mariana Fidalgo

Food in the UK

Wednesday, 6th of April 2016

Everybody knows that the United Kingdom is not particulary known for its food, sure you have good restaurants, a lot of cafés, delicious pastries and a huge amount of tea everywhere, but still there is something lacking. The most well known dish has to be the famous fish and chips, the one everyone that comes to London wants to try but eventually they all come to the same conclusion: is not worth it. I donˋt want to offend anyone, I am sure the english are quite proud of this dish but I must admit that I havenˋt met anyone so far that likes it, including myself.

As a portuguese girl I have always been accustomed to good food and although I have been described as a picky eater before, I donˋt find it very difficult to choose a dish or to enjoy a nice meal whether is at a restaurant or even at home back in Lisbon.

However, here is a completely different story. When we are in a new city, we take a little time to get used to a new culture and that includes the food. I have come to realize that here in London there are a lot of ethnic restaurants, it goes all the way from chinese and thai food (there is actually a Chinatown in the Soho area, near Trafalgar Square) to greek, persian or even vietnamese restaurants spread all over the city. Nonetheless, it is possible to see most british people buying their lunch or dinner at convenience stores or even at service stations, since they all offer "meal deals". As is public knowledge, everything in London is quite expensive, mostly if you decide to compare it to the portuguese way of living, so most citizens instead of spending 20£ at a restaurant, they prefer to buy one of those "meal deals" for 3£, and that can be a sandwich, wraps and even pasta that perfectly makes a quick but substancial meal. The problem with is that you are relying simply on the price, and despite of saving money, it can´t really be said they are a pleasure to eat or even good for a healthy diet.

Since I have been staying at a hotel awaiting my contract for the new apartment, I had to rely way too much on these type of meals, which made me feel quite weak and indisposed. It is known to my friends and family how much I don´t like cooking but I would rather have to cook every single day and do the dishes a million times than to continue putting my body through this. Until then I guess I will continue drinking tea.

From a girl desperate for a pastel de nata,

Mariana Fidalgo