The unexpected extended sabbatical

Today marks 6 months of my arrival in New Zealand and I’m still at the stage of scratching my head and wondering how the heck I ended up here! Funny how life takes you on twists and turns, and sometimes you really do have no idea what’s in store.

I left London at the end of November 2019 on what I thought would be a 4-6 month sabbatical, a gift from myself to myself for my 40th birthday. I flew to India to study with my yoga teacher Vinay Kumar and booked myself in for 6 weeks of Ayurvedic treatments in the Nilgiris. I figured after years of poor health, a lot of toxic drugs (prescribed while I had CRPS) and a below average diet, it was time for a health reboot. I had a couple of weddings to go to in New Zealand so I planned my trip around them. While I thought I might try get a 2-3 month contract after the second wedding, the intention was never to stay. In fact, after the first wedding in January I’d made a conscious decision NOT to return to New Zealand and was planning on returning to London directly from India as funds were running low and I needed to find work before I started my yoga teachers training.

And then came Covid.

I was watching the numbers on the WHO website daily in February and March, factoring them into my decision making. I am so grateful that I was able to do the things I’d planned in India before things got tricky. In the end I left India on the date originally planned and made a side trip to Thailand to quickly see the family before rushing to New Zealand when there was a call for kiwis to come home. I pondered the option of being strategically stuck in India or Thailand, but in the end I decided it would worry my family too much and headed to New Zealand. It was the most bizarre trip, but more about that later. I arrived the day New Zealand closed the border closed, exactly 6 months ago.

I headed up to my mums for my two weeks self isolation, worrying I’d make my 70+ year old mum ill so taking the isolation seriously. Towards the end of my two weeks the whole country went into a full lockdown and I wasn’t able to travel. I ended up spending 8 weeks with my mother in Whangamta and managed to find a really good job while the country was in lockdown. The time in Whangamata ended up being an unexpected blessing and I’m so grateful to have been able to spend so much time with my mum as an adult. It was a healing time for both of us and I’ll never forget it.

Towards the end of May New Zealand was slowly heading towards the ‘new normal’ and it was time for me to move down to Wellington. A friend offered to have me in her spare room while I work out what to do next. And it seems I’m still in this place of working out what to do next! Having made it through my first Wellington winter, I’ve promised myself (and my mum) that I’ll stay until the end of summer. It seems crazy to do two winters back to back, especially as I find winters in London so difficult. While I’m enjoying it here in Wellington, it is really hard to find a good rental property, it has been a bit of a culture shock (I was away 6 years) and I’m not just sure if I’m ready to come back permanently. Short term I’ve decided to make the most of being in New Zealand and I’m treating it as an extended sabbatical. I have signed up for a yoga teachers training here in Wellington which will be great and will keep me busy for the next few months. After that has finished I will make a decision.

At this stage the plan is to return to the UK, even if its just to pack up and say goodbye. But if 2020 has taught me anything it is that plans don’t always go to plan! While the UK had a pretty good summer, the numbers of Covid in the UK and Europe are on the rise and I suspect they are in for a pretty rough winter. Between Covid and Brexit, the outlook for the UK isn’t pretty and sometimes I think I’m bonkers for considering going back to live when I can be here in New Zealand. The only thing I know 100% for sure is…. the London I left behind will be a very different London I go back to!

So that is where I’m at – in a really strange in between place and on an unexpected extended sabatical. I am unsure about the future and very grateful for what is in front of me right now. Even if it isn’t what I planned!

Wellington – on a good day!

2016 in London

I’ve been living in London for almost a year and have a love-hate relationship with this city. I can see that I need to make an effort to step out of the rat race and tip the scales in the direction of ‘love my city’.  So for 2016 I’ve promised myself 2 touristy things a month, thats 24 touristy things a year. I’m already behind as January was a crazy months for me. I’ll be flexible about when I do things, but the goal is 24 touristy outings in London during 2016.

My wish list contains things like:

• Tower of London
• Buckingham Palace when the state rooms are open (Aug/Sept)
• St Paul’s Cathedral
• Greenwich and the Royal Observatory
• See a West End show (a famous one)
• Tate Modern
• National Gallery
• Museums (incl, British & Natural History)
• Yoga class at the top of The Shard

There is plenty more and I’m hoping to do some random things too. You know, go to a new part of town and do what the locals are doing. A few weeks ago my brother and I ended up in Ilford and went to an Turkish restaurant, it was very traditional and the food was so good that it took me back to Istanbul.  London is a really good place to travel the world via visiting restaurants!

 

 

Another horrible commute home from Canary Wharf

Holy crap… welcome back to London!  After 2.5 weeks away I’ve returned to find the weather is colder, the leaves are falling off the trees (its actually quite pretty) & work is still FULL on.  To make a pretty rough 2nd day back in London worse, getting out of Canary Wharf this evening was diabolical due to a DLR strike. Tonight was possibly the worst commute so far!  I left work quite late (around 7pm) and by then the Canary Wharf tube station was limited to one exit, there was an obvious presence of police (with their bomb sniffing dogs) and the queues for the tube started outside the station!  The mall & pubs seemed unusually busy. Being so tired from my trip I have been struggling with the crowds at Canary Wharf today, I did a U-Turn and went back to the office for a couple of hours.  I couldn’t even handle going to the pub as it was too crowded!

Take 2 of my commute home involved avoidance of the tube. I got a bus to Liverpool Street and then the train to Walthamstow.  It took me over 1.5hours to get home but I was quietly surprised at how lovely it is to be overground on a bus. I spent a lot of time in the area around Liverpool Street when I first arrived to London and it is VERY different to Canary Wharf in so many ways.  I think my impressions of London are skewed a lot by the place I work & the area I currently live.  It will be interesting to see how I feel a few months time when I will have settled into my NEW area.  This weekend I’m moving into my new flat.  Exciting.