Trying Out a New City
Is two weeks long enough for a new city and you to decide whether you would make a good team?
Well, two weeks is all I have.
The fog was so thick, this morning, it had swallowed up the Cathedral spire. In a city where I do not know a soul, it was unnerving not to see the familiar landmark. In a new city where everything and everyone seems strange and alien, buildings become your first friends. The winding cobbled street with the Teddy Bear shop. The unnaturally white, unnaturally square Norman castle that looks like a sugar cube; or a sandcastle come out of a mould. The large, late Mediaeval church dominating the market place.
As soon as I got off the train, last Tuesday, I smiled. I kept smiling even as I discovered, whilst dragging my two heavy suitcases, that – contrary to my previous notion – this is a place full of hills. I wanted to introduce myself to this new city with a smile. I wanted to make a good impression.
The city smiled back. A shy smile, through the bleak grey sky and the grey stone buildings but, I think, it was a smile.
You prepare for so many possible problems and hurdles, when you go to an unknown place. I thought I had anticipated every difficulty. One thing I had not anticipated was acute physical pain. Sharp, burning pain in my back where the cold and damp air had penetrated, grabbed a muscle in its fist and twisted. Let’s see what you are made of. Let’s see how determined you are. Let’s see if I tighten my fingers around your shoulder blade. What if I dig in my nails? What – not smiling? I hope the sun – that looked like a brilliant white china plate behind the grey clouds, today – elects to smile at me, soon, and steps out in its golden glory to warm my chilled back.
When I pack to go to a new city, I choose the most neutral clothes. Nothing to attract attention. I want to be able to spy on the city before it notices me. My tweed flat cap is not suitable, I told myself, choosing, instead, the dark brown beret. It is too striking, too bohemian – too London. Then, at the last minute, I put it on my head. That flat cap is me. In this new city, I thought, I want to remember who I am.
It is a beautiful little city. I can walk across it in an hour. Passers-by smile when they meet your eye. They stop what they are doing to show you the way. A glint of amusement flashes across their faces when I tell them I am studying the city, as a potential new home. “We call this city ‘the graveyard of ambition’,” someone told me, this afternoon. It is the second time I have heard this, in three days.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because we have all these high-flying big city people coming here, taking a look, loving the place so much they decide to stay here.”
I have been to cities with much worse reputations.
Scribe Doll
Keywords:
Let's just say that I am old enough to know what to do with my young feelings.
”
—(Georges Guétary in 'An American in Paris')
About Katherine
Before you ask – one half of me is English; the other half, a Middle-Eastern mix. I speak English, Italian, French and Russian, which accounts for my hybrid accent which has, so far, been mistaken for South African, Irish, Dutch, US American, German, and one...
Connections
Katherine’s Favorite Books
'La Ragazza di Via Maqueda' (Dacia Maraini), 'A Many-Splendoured Thing' (Han Suyin), 'Berlin Cantata' (Jeffrey Lewis), 'The Places in Between' (Rory Stewart...
My first guess
Are you in Durham?
No. I actually know Durham
No. I actually know Durham very well. I went to University there.
You will thrive
You will thrive.
'bless your heart. I wish I
'bless your heart. I wish I could share your confidence.
Oh I see great promise in
Oh I see great promise in this new place! I suppose true happiness is not for the timid. And so you're being tested. Perhaps most of all, though, you are testing yourself and not the new town. Be yourself always, Katherine, no one does it better than you. And when they fall in love with you, as they will, it will feel that much greater.
I love the fog, its mystery and as a cloak for something else - don't know what. But you'll tell us. Good luck my friend and keep us posted!
Thank you so much, Eva. It
Thank you so much, Eva. It sure is a test...
Second Guess
Are you in Norwich? :-)
Between the Red Room and
Between the Red Room and WordPress, I am being assaulted with questions. Can you all be just a little patient? :–)
Good for you, Katherine! I
Good for you, Katherine! I am envious as you are embarking on new discoveries, loads of inspiration and discovering if you and your City are compatible. You know what? Wherever you are will be home--I always think 2-weeks is like a vacation and a month definitely makes an adventure. Beyond that will be home. . .with familiar shops, neighbours and new friends.Sending you "Cheers" across the water! J
Thank you, Judee. But don't
Thank you, Judee. But don't be envious. I am leaving London because I cannot afford rent there.
I TOLD you
Doggone it . . . I wish I could walk on water to give you an enormous hug.
Nice cuddly hug just received
Nice cuddly hug just received – thank you!
I want to wrap my arms around Mary
And we we will, together, wrap our arms around you.
You're a darling, a peach, a strong woman who wears Wellies, sleeps with two water bottles and longs for love. You've got it, here, my friend.<3
:
All this virtual hugging is
All this virtual hugging is so cool.
Good luck settling in!
Good luck settling in!
Thank you – let's hope I
Thank you – let's hope I actually so settle in :–)
I blew the whistle on the two hot water bottles
My daughter constantly chides me about "over-momming." I'm taking a step back and relying on everyone else for a change. Momentarily.
Katia - this move is one good thing for you. I said so.
:–)
:–)
My third guess
With so many Norman castles and medieval cathedrals in England, I don't really expect to guess correctly but my third and last guess is Rochester. :-)
Please be patient. I will
Please be patient. I will tell all when it's the right time. I give you my word :–)
Katherine: I don't want to
Katherine:
I don't want to know where you are, maybe because I am not familiar with that part of the world beyond London too well. Or perhaps, and more likely, I like the mystery. For a while I thought it was part fiction - a place with no name where you "want to be able to spy on the city before it notices me".
That's how I see it, and soaked in your world, and you as "In this new city, I thought, I want to remember who I am."
Always.
~F
Farzana, I am so glad you
Farzana, I am so glad you like the mystery. To be honest, I hadn't meant it to be a mystery. Believe it or not, I never thought so many people would be asking. I just thought – if I settle here, then I'll tell the name pf the place.
Thank you for reading, and for your kind words.
I love this energy of adventure and exploration ~
Ah, I admire your process and spirit, Katia. Put some names in the bowl and fish on out and trust yourself and the universe to deliver you somewhere for a new phase of living. Wonderful. Have fun. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Thank you, Michael but I
Thank you, Michael but I think it's a spirit of madness and impracticality. Of someone who has little to lose.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
A flat, windy city, eh?
I think you're cutting the mustard :)
I thought it was flat – until
I thought it was flat – until I had to drag my two suitcases behind me...
Interesting, that you should think of mustard... :–)
Katherine, Somehow I missed
Katherine,
Somehow I missed this post this week. I had no idea you had ventured off into new territory.
Hurrah for you! I know it's not always easy to start over, and somewhat daunting to start over in a new place, your attitude is terrific.
So set your cap on your head at that jaunty angle and set that city back on its heels with your saucy self!
You go girl! I'm cheering you on from across the pond.
Annette
Annette, As you say, trying
Annette,
As you say, trying to start from scratch is not just daunting – it's actually terrifying (at least for me). A lot of tears and "what the hell do I think I'm doing?!" are involved. That's why your cheering me on means a lot to me. Thank you so much.
While I am
writing this a bunch of drunken revelers are singing Happy Birthday to someone on the dark street outside. How weird.
Well, as Flapjack says, with a twinkle in his pretty blue eyes, "Adventure!"
Good luck to you in your new city, Katherine!
Thank you so much, Jennifer!
Thank you so much, Jennifer!
Told you you wouldn't be alone on this trip
:-)
... And that's what's making
... And that's what's making it just about bearable – having all of you right behind me. Thank you.
... And that's what's making
... And that's what's making it just about bearable – having all of you right behind me. Thank you.
Count me in too! Love hearing
Count me in too! Love hearing about your adventures and I like the mystery of wherever you are--a "mustard" city??? :)J
Thank you so much, Judee! :–)
Thank you so much, Judee! :–)
Where'd Mary go?
As usual, I'm perplexed.
She asked me...
...to delete her comments, about which she thought again.
Huntington Sharp, Red Room
I wish I had a "Life is a
I wish I had a "Life is a Grand Adventure; Go Grab It" inspiration for you, but I too am pondering a move, and know better than to gloss over the accompanying terror with colloquiallisms that are probably completely true but which I'm not ready to hear yet!
I do have this to offer though: a deep breath with closed eyes along with a silent affirmation along the lines of "This too shall pass/Everything is temporary" can curtail even the most furious panic.
Thank you for your realism!
Thank you for your realism! As you say, there's nothing glamorous about uprooting and moving somewhere new.
As for "this, too, shall pass" I don't subscribe to it, simply because everything has always been frightfully transient in my life, so far.