Categories
Living Streets

Crouch End

Photo by quite peculiar

I moved again, in the beginning of December. I narrowed my search for a new place to live to Balham and Crouch End: both seemed like village-type areas, where you could spend a quiet weekend without having to go into town.

Crouch End won merely because the first suitable place I found was there.

And I’m delighted that it happened like that…

It’s so easy to fall in love with this part of London. It is indeed a village inside the city, close, but far enough from all the buzz. It has all the kind of stores you need. All the types of food you’ll ever desire. Pubs and coffee shops. Florists. Parks. A farmers’ market that sells Portuguese delicacies. What else do I need?

I’m still, slowly, discovering all the interesting spots in Crouch End, but I’m really glad I ended up here. I wonder for how long I’ll stay.

Categories
Miscellaneous

Proud

Photo by lewishamdreamer

I’m proud of my country. I love when it’s recognised for its good things — it makes me happy when others say they love something about Portugal.

Recently I’ve been noticing I now feel the same about London. Few things make me happier than looking at the smiles on visitors’ faces, or hearing the excitement in their voices when they describe something about London they have particularly enjoyed. It makes me feel good for being part of it.

Categories
Living Miscellaneous

2012

Photo by Andy Wilkes

The original plan was to try London for one year.
Six months later, it was clear that year was going to be at least two.

Initially I never thought I’d be in town for 2012—or even to see through the end of my (first) 18-month O2 contract—, but, as weeks go by in the glimpse of an eye, it’s looking more and more likely.

Categories
Language People

English

Photo by Garry Knight

This post never existed in my head in Portuguese.

The other day I was thinking about when the last time I had a thought in Portuguese was, and I couldn’t remember, which made me sad. I guess that’s what happens when you move to a country where they don’t speak your language and when your friends and work colleagues are either local or from different countries too.

But even though I don’t really get to speak in my own language much, when I’ve known someone for some time my first instinct is still to address them in Portuguese, which makes me happy (but can also be embarrassing).

There’s not really a point to this story.

Categories
Mood Weather

Rain

Photo by Zohar Manor-Abel

The rain usually makes me feel a little bit happier…

I do love walking around London when it’s sunny and hot, but there’s something about its (or mine) permanent melancholic state that makes it feel more perfect under the rain. And it gives me an excuse to just linger around the house without feeling guilty.

Categories
Living

Looking for a home

Photo by Helal Al-Helal

I’ve been looking for a new place to live for the last couple of weeks. I like the prospect of a new adventure somewhere new, but the actual process of looking comprises so many things that I tend to avoid… it’s nerve-wrecking.

It’s time-consuming, you have to be prepared to be rejected and to say no, you have to make uninformed choices based on the first impressions, you have to budget and think about money. Afterward, you have to adapt to a new setting, you have to change your habits, you have to get used to new people.

It’s stressful, at least for me. Evenings lost on Gumtree, scrutinising every ad, and then, going around London hoping to find the perfect place.

I have picked my favourite. They haven’t picked me yet though. We’ll see what happens.

Categories
Going out Mood Streets

Cheer up

Photo by me

This was not my best week. It wasn’t the worst either, but the lack of energy and inspiration to do anything didn’t help.

Luckily, I’m in London, so getting out of the house and walking around its streets (even under this cold weather — ignore the photo) seems to be enough to cheer me up.

It reminds me that the things I’m stressing out about are probably seen as good things by anyone else other than myself, and, if not, well, we can’t have everything — we might as well be happy with the things we’ve got.

I love this city and it’s starting to get really hard to image my life without it.

Categories
Politics

Politics

Photo by Stephen J Kennedy

I’m not into politics. By that I mean I’m not passionate about it — I do like to make informed decisions and to be aware of what’s going on around me.

Moving to the UK meant I’m now trying to keep up with what’s happening in two countries. And this is far from an ideal situation.

Because I’m in London now, I’m more exposed to the local news, but I’m not familiar with the past — so I have to be told what happened before. Because I’m not in Portugal, I have to ask my friends and family what are the latest developments and how those are affecting them since I’m not confronted with it on the news every day — but I do know the history.

The conclusion here is that I’m completely lost by now, but I’m trying my best.

Categories
Going out

Music

Photo by wonker

I have been going to a lot of concerts recently. In the past twelve months I’ve seen (just in London) Vampire Weekend, Nine Inch Nails, Arctic Monkeys (three times), Lily Allen, Ben Harper. In the next couple of months I’ll see She & Him, Gorillaz, Rage Against The Machine and Caetano Veloso (which sadly clashes with LCD Soundsystem — bittersweet).

This is one of the things I love about London: there is no lack of music events. No matter what you are into, there’s something for you. No matter which new band you’ve just discovered, they will most likely be stopping in London within the next few months.

The only problem is choosing. And not going bankrupt.

Categories
Miscellaneous Travel

Back home

Photo by anthlockton

Since I went to university — almost 10 years ago — and moved out of my parents’ house, it’s been hard for me to qualify a certain place in the world as “home”.

I was born in Russia, my father is from Panama (where I’ve also lived), my mum is from Portugal, I lived for 13 years in a small town near Porto, then 8 years in the Algarve, then London. I have a sentimental attachment to many places and none at the same time.

But the more I come back to London after a trip, the more it feels like home, more than any of the other places I’ve lived in.