Catching up

I'm back in Italy but I have to catch up with a whole week of work. After all, the extra days spent in London were not a waste of time as I reconnected with friends and got to know much better some of them. Even if I need time on my own -like everyone else, I think- I am also very social and I enjoyed being around my Brits, Canadian, Belgian and Greeks friends. Especially the English, I must admit, as I had the wrong idea of "cold" as opposed to the "warm hugs" of both Canadians and Greeks. My English hosts turned out to be friendly, very warm, nice and funny. It seems as though I will always have a place to stay in London which, by the way, is in part of the city I came to love. It's around 40 minutes by tube from the city centre with plenty of ethnic restaurants, green areas and quiet streets. I did have a great time in the UK even if I'm pretty busy now. In any case, it was worth it as my "social capital" is richer than ever.

Stuck in London

I've been stuck in London for days and will be able to come home by train on Thursday. I've reserved a seat on the eurostar and my dad will come to pick me up in Paris (!!) which means approx. 8-10 hours driving. It's crazy what's going here. London is packed almost everywhere and it did cost me a fortune to buy a ticket to get to Paris. I'm also running out of money (all I have is 20 pounds) but luckly I have my credit card and I'm also staying with friends that has been a REAL blessing so far. They offered me a decent place to stay, I have my own room and I do enjoy this part of the city. We're not in the city centre but I much prefer here as it's very quiet, the house is lovely and they are sooo nice.

I know I'm lucky compared to other people who do not have friends to rely on. Yesterday in Hyde park we met a Spanish couple who shared a room with other 18 people in a hostel and have only 60 pounds to get back to Spain. I've heard all kind of stories so far. I'm looking forward to go home and the eruption has caused me troubles as I had to reschedule my work (not to mention how much I miss my home, partner, family, dog) but I have also spent time with friendly people who really care about me.

Hopefully I'll be in Italy on Thursday night.

London, Pilates and tips

I'm leaving on Monday and I won't be able to update this blog for a week which is a shame because I'd love to tell you about my crazy (=busy) days in London. I'll meet all my friends on Monday evening and  we'll be working hard until Thursday. I don't have any special plans for Friday and Saturday but I'll be with two girlfriends so I'm sure we'll have fun.

I had my first pilates class yesterday and I enjoyed so much although I found it quite difficult. It's challenging to learn how to breath in a proper way and it takes a while to achieve good alignment and posture. I signed up for a 3 months course, 1 day a week at a sort of "cultural association". I like the fact that we are only 5 (!)and the teacher is really focused on us. I also like the non-gym environment and the lovely girls I met yesterday. I'm eager to learn and I'm looking forward to the second class (after London).

I will try to "work out" while in London as I'm sure I'm going to miss brisk walking with my baby boy. I'm planning to go for 30 minutes walk every -say- 2 days. I don't want to stop using my legs for a whole week! Moreover I feel better (psychologically and physically) when I move. I've recently realized that I've developed my own ways to deal with stress (or life?) which, by the way, are pretty similar to these tips:

• go to bed early (between 11 and 12)
• drink a lot of water, especially in the morning
• take royal jelly in spring and autumn
• reduce meat and bread consumption and eat much more vegetables and fruits (very easy as I used to be a vegetarian)
• focus on one deadline at a time ;)

I was planning to work this morning but the weather is great and I don't want to miss the chance to go brisk walking for the last time before leaving with my big boy.

Reunions

I must admit I'm a bit nervous for the "big reunion" in London. I'll meet ALL my colleagues and I haven't seen some of them for a long time. Colleagues from the US, Canada, UK, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Greece etc. It makes me nervous because I've changed a lot lately. It's not only my hair (I look completely different from -say- one year ago), it's all the pressure and excitement that usually go along with these meetings. Moreover, most of them met a different Lola and they proabably have in mind a picture of me which I feel diverges from the person I've become. I've just got an email from a friend of mine who is so looking forward to catch up in London. I'm looking forward to see him too but I'm wondering if he'd notice that I'm a different.

Besides, the scheduled event is huge and I'll have to deal with many people for 3-4 days in a row which is good and "bad" at the same time. It's good because, as I mentioned, I can't wait to work with such an amazing network of professionals and because I do know (and like) most of them. It's "bad" because it's actually stressful as I'll be speaking all the time in another language and at a very high level. I can tell you that at the end of the day it could be tiring. Perhaps it's just me... I'm constantly concerned -especially when surrounded by native English speakers- that my English is not perfect and I should have said "this" instead of "that" and so forth. I'm pretty confident but I'm aware that I will always be an "Italian who speaks English" with an accent and a vocabulary that is limited. And I work very hard to improve it... on a daily basis to be honest (i.e. I mainly read books, essays and articles in English, I listen to podcasts and even write my own personal blog in English!).

Anyway, I'm sure I will enjoy the London reunion.