16 years is a pretty long time. Let's face it, after the first 16 years of my life, I thought it was the longest time ever and meant that I was a proper grownup and really, really could be trusted to travel through Europe with my best friend. (Funnily enough my mother agreed - she must've been mad!) But it's true, the older you get, the quicker time passes and right now, the eve of my return to Finland, it seems like the last 16 years in London have been a blur - and not due to the amount of alcohol consumed, I hasten to add. Or perhaps a little.
I had never been further away than Stockholm or Tallinn before getting on a plane to come to London for my au pair year. I met a man at the airport who I'd never even seen a photo of and got in a car with him to travel to my new home. Wouldn't happen in this day and age - or it might, but you would read about it in the Daily Mail the day after. I was lucky enough - that he was not a mass murderer, but also that I ended up staying with a lovely family for two years. The Prossers have a very special place in my heart - a wonderful, warm family with two incredible parents whose parenting skills I admire very much but who also felt like friends as well as employers. The hours spent with Elise watching Eastenders (yes I blame her) and the look on Stew's face when I made a very unintended racial slur without understanding the impact (which he carefully and patiently explained to me, thank goodness). The kids, Emily and Luke at the time with a later addition of Miles who lives in the Tardis, whose lives I love following via the ever faithful social media and who in turn make me feel extremely old just by their own being!
There are so many "first"s I have experience during my life here, so many places I have visited and so many good friends I have made. From every job I have had, I have made at least 2 or 3 lifelong friends, from every visit I have a fridge magnet or two - it all adds up. I am the first person to say "London, how I love thee" - for the (in my case, dodgy) live music, theatre, buildings and the buzz. Unfortunately these things only make half a happy little person. The schooling, housing and generally awful benefits structure mean that I have to take Newsweek's word for it and relocate myself and mini-me to Finland. This is not to say I believe Newsweek about everything but any article praising Finland is generally true.
So I quit my job and now it's phase 2 - actually sorting, arranging, organising and thinking my plan through. Shit. I really haven't thought my plan through. But never mind - we're off to the US for our holidays!
Ps. When I come knocking on your door for handouts, please forget about the US holidays comment.
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