A Week in Review

I can't believe it's already been a week since I arrived in England.  At times, it feels like its flown by, but at others, I've felt every second of it. The first few days were rough. I was missing home, friends, but mostly my family.  I was questioning if I made the right choice in coming here or not.  Part of my 'depression' was the fact that my flat, which was supposed to be available to move in to on Monday was not ready. In short, the money had yet to clear the leasing agency's bank account and they wouldn't release the keys until this happened.  So I spent longer in hotels than I thought I would.  The hotels themselves weren't bad, but there wasn't much to do around them, so I was stuck with little to do, no one to interact with, and no idea when I could actually get into my place in Reading.

Wednesday morning came the news I'd been waiting for, the money cleared and I could pick up the keys to the flat! So I hightailed it out of work that night, called a taxi, and was off to Reading to start to get settled. Even though I didn't, and still don't, have much in the apartment, at least it's a place I can call my own.  At that lifted my spirits so much.  I'll be posting pictures within the next couple days on Facebook.  I still couldn't do much after work.  It was getting dark around 5 and not really knowing too much of the area, I didn't want to venture out too far at night.  But Saturday, I hit the town and explored all afternoon.  With no objective, other than watching the England/Scotland rugby match at 5, I set out to walk around town.  I don't know how far I actually walked, but I got a good lay of the land and quite a few ideas for when people visit.

Work hasn't really started for me yet. The kickoff for the project I've been assigned to is tomorrow, so I'll be traveling even closer to London to attend 2 days of meetings in preparation of my work. That doesn't mean I've been slacking off at work. I've had some UK specific training to do as well as trying to meet everyone in the office. My office mates are extremely nice and very helpful. They've definitely made me feel welcome and at home, even offering me rides if I ever need to go to Costco or IKEA to get anything.  I feel truly blessed in that regard.  

That's all I really have to report right now, but wanted to let everyone know I'm fine and adjusting well.

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