Week One...

I think they got it wrong when they said New York is the City that never sleeps - "they" should visit London! It has been nothing but craziness since we set foot off the plane. We had one day to find our bearings (well, try to at least), then it was straight to work and trying to navigate this new way of life.



The tattoo studio is situated in what is regarded as a quiet town here. Back in SA, Kingston could be likened to Melville. However, my idea of quiet does not involve people constantly walking around, sirens screaming past every five minutes, shops closing at 10pm (some of them until midnight, or never) and the sun setting at 9:30pm! That has been the hardest thing to adjust to. According to my body clock, when the sun sets, it's about 7pm, dinner time, and we would be settling in to watch a sitcom. In London, 7pm sees us trawling the shops, not even thinking about dinner, or sitting outside on the porch getting sun-burnt - yes, sun-burnt!



London is the most charming place I have ever seen. The buildings are mesmerising! There is a church down the road that is 700 YEARS OLD! Imagine what that building has seen in its lifetime; if only those walls could talk!



In my first week of living in London, I never imagined that I could:

• Get caught in a traffic jam at close to 1am



• Buy Smarties in any form possible: cookies, cakes, cupcakes, ice-cream, cupcake mix, dessert...



• Listen to somebody speak English, but not understand one word they are saying



• See a 12-year-old pushing a pram - her baby's pram, and



• Have the guts to ride a roller coaster that rockets from 0-80mph in two seconds

If this is only one week in, I can't wait to see what the next seven months and three weeks has in store! Hopefully in my next entry, I will be able to tell you that I mustered up the courage to stick a needle through someone. Then again, maybe not.