Year one, part one
Today marks the first anniversary of my life in Nottingham, England. A year ago from now I left the familiar life I had in Umeå, Sweden, to embark on my journey into the unknown. I had been given the opportunity to work abroad and had nothing holding me back. This is the story of a series of unexpected events leading up to this day, told in English to keep some of the key figures of the story in the loop.
Unit ready; Boarding
I arrived at my Nottingham hotel in the late evening, having been picked up from Heathrow by a company paid taxi driver. I had now spent four single trips to and from said airport, querying the drivers as much as I could about my new home while warming up the English of my vocal chords. So, there I was in my hotel room, in the very same room as I had been a month earlier for my job interview. I’d been booked in for two weeks, allegedly enough time to find a more permanent residence in a strange country. Completely exhausted by the journey and the days of preparation that preceded it, I went to bed after finishing my Skagenröra sandwich brought all the way from Arlanda.
I had been told not to turn up at my new workplace until noon. Instead, I spent the morning setting up my base of operations starting with communication devices. I strolled out onto the high street in search for a sim card. Being all new to the town, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have some data allowance available for the Google maps. At least that was the plan. A little later, armed with an “unlimited” data plan of 500mb a month by Orange, I set off on a stroll to find the Games Workshop headquarters. My phone still complaining about not being activated, I brought forth my trusty sense of orientation coupled with a mental map of the city centre. High on life, I walked along the canal that would be my main landmark the first couple of weeks, counting the bridges passing overhead. The fourth bridge was close to where I was headed. Unfortunately, I took the wrong turn at its base. Instead of finding the temple of Warhammer that was to become my office, I found myself sitting outside Priory Church, trying to figure out where I was. Still no mobile network. With a little help from a nearby shopkeeper, I was back on track and still not late thanks to setting off early. In the afternoon I officially became a GW employee with a badge and all.
Aside: After another day or two without network, I am finally adviced by Orange that it may take up to 72 hours for the data plan to kick in and only if there is any credit left. Before that all data traffic is charged as roaming. Turns out all my top up money went in the first automatic syncronisation. Thanks.
View from my hotel room on the first day
