The Beginning of the Adventure

I had always lived with my parents. Though I'm quite independent, I was a bit afraid to go abroad, in a country I've never gone before. Nevertheless, I had to find a place to live. I didn't know what to begin with. Due to my wages, I wanted something less than 350£ per month, but with an internet access. I also wanted to live alone, so that I could invite my boyfriend, some friends, or my family to come to visit me. Everything I found was unfurnished, and I had to come in England to visit the flats before I moved in. I couldn't, of course. I couldn't afford the plane tickets and the hotel just to visit some flats I wasn't even sure to rent. Moreover, I was still working in France. Gumtree, Find a property, Rightmove... I became a member of all those websites... They didn't find anything for me.

It was August. I needed to find something before the middle of September. I had time, you would say, but I was anxious I had nowhere to live. That's when I really appreciated the fact that Anna was there for me. She advised me where to live, in Durham for instance. I didn't want to spend more than an hour in a bus everyday (I spent more than 3hours in public transportation the year before, I was fed up with that), so I looked for a room to rent in all the towns between Bishop Auckland and Durham. Anna also looked for a flat for me, and put me in touch with a girl called Agnieska. She was 21, from Poland, had a job in Barnard's Castle. We chatted on Face Book, and we got on well. She had a flat in Bishop Auckland, next to the bus station, a fifteen minutes walk to the school I work in.  She told me to come on the 8th of September to visit the flat. I thought everything was going to be alright.

I'm so so so lucky... Two days before I took the plane, the 5th of September, I received a mail by Agnieska, telling me that it was no longer possible for me to live with her. When I asked why, she didn't answer. I felt some kind of hypocrisy behind all this... But we kept the appointment. I cried. I cried and cried again. I was relieved to have a room to rent, but I had to find another one in one day and a half. Immediately, I emailed Anna. She managed to find another add for a room in a house in which I would live with the landlords and another roommate. The rent was more expensive than what I was looking for at the beginning, but it seems that I didn't really have the choice. I phoned the landlady and explained my problem, asked if I could move in without visiting much places before. She agreed, and I was finally ready to leave France.

Ready? Not really. Just like every human being, I had feelings I could not control. The 6th of September, the day before my departure, was our third year anniversary with my boyfriend. He had to go back to Lyon in the afternoon. We went to our favorite Japanese restaurant. It was hard to think I would not see him before a long, long time. At night, I prepared my luggage: a few clothes, computer, adapters. That's the problem when you move by plane, you have to select what you really need!

Wednesday, 7th September, morning. I felt very sick. I made sure I had everything. I was scared too. First time I left the house for more than one month, first time I left my family and friends, first time I would be on my own, first time I went to England, first time I took the plane... I was incredibly nervous, always on the verge of crying. My mother came in my room to tell me my grandmother, who had been sick for a month, died in the night. I now had a reason to cry. The funeral took place the Friday after. I could not be there. I had to be stronger. My mother drove me to the airport Charles de Gaulle, in Paris. My brother came with us. He is a teenager, you know, the kind of boy who always says "yeah, yeah, go, I don't care" but who comes with you to have a kiss before you go.

It was time to get on the plane. I held my mother in my arms. It was sad, but I was sure I wanted to go. I sat next to a couple of elderly people who spent their holidays in France,  and behind a younger couple. The plane took off. I cried, again. Was it because I was living France, because I missed the people I loved already, because I was sad for the loss of my grandmother... It's strange to say that I enjoyed the flight at the same time. We arrived, and the two couples noticed I was upset. The elderly couple wanted to help me, they talked to me, asked where I would spend the night... But the youger couple has been more useful. We took the metro together, and I stopped at Gateshead, where I had booked a room in a hotel. Liza gave me her phone number, to make sure I could find the hotel and spend a safe night.

I struggled from the metro to the hotel to push my suitcase. At least, the hotel was at the end of the main street, it was not that difficult to find. The pavement was paved, I broke one of the wheels of the suitcase. I arrived, took the keys, asked for the time of the breakfast the morning after, went out to find something to eat.  I was so tired I forgot the keys in the keyhole! There was a fish and chips just next to the hotel, I brought one in the room, the first time I had one. There was no internet access in there, so I made a video with my camera, to post it on Face Book later, to reassure my family and friends and show them where I spent the first night.

I felt tired and alone, but then, I was quite happy to be, finally, in England :-)