So I'm here! This story starts with a foreign service-like twist. I wake up Monday morning ready to get some breakfast before my flight to New York (for consultations) and lo and behold there's an email of interest waiting for me. My office sponsor (who's great!) lets me know that the day I'm scheduled to arrive in London coincides with a big union strike at Heathrow so I would have to reschedule my flight. Of course in retrospect it seems like nothing, but at the time I was stressed trying to change my plans before I boarded my plane to New York City. Everything worked out but I wasn't siked about paying $90 for my bag being overweight (this is for my domestic flight).
24 hours after I get into LaGuardia, I'm headed to JFK for my last consultation and flight to Heathrow. I have never gotten such great service from American Airlines before! Once we used the key word "diplomat' with the lady directing traffic, I'm ushered to 1st class service. 10 minutes later I have a boarding pass that says Priority Access and a woman is happily taking my overweight suitcases for no extra charge :) For those who don't know (like me), Priority Access meant that I go into a shorter security line, get to board the plane sooner, get a seat change and get our luggage first at the arrival terminal.
My game plan was to drink a glass of wine to knock me out so I could wake up London AM and be ready to fight jet lag and go into the office. Of course, as Murphy's Law intended, I maybe slept 40 minutes and was super out of it when I arrived on Wednesday morning. Thankfully the driver was super nice and got me to our apartment with limited traffic problems. My work sponsor met me there and then we headed to work after I dropped off my luggage. Everyone has been super nice and urged me to go home my 1st day but I really wanted to fight the jet lag by getting the check-in paperwork taken care of.
I'm glad to be at post and to have 3 work days under my belt. I'm lucky that my predecessor is just rotating into a different section, thus I was able to meet with her and go over the portfolios I'm taking over. I shouldn't be surprised that like every other international move I have made before, I am still hesitant and nervous about figuring out my surroundings and getting to know people. I fought my urge to go home after work yesterday and hung out with some people in Hyde Park. Of course I felt like I achieved something big by doing that, I know I'll laugh when I look back at these moments months later. Also, most importantly, I can't wait for the hubby to get here next week so then we can discover London together!
24 hours after I get into LaGuardia, I'm headed to JFK for my last consultation and flight to Heathrow. I have never gotten such great service from American Airlines before! Once we used the key word "diplomat' with the lady directing traffic, I'm ushered to 1st class service. 10 minutes later I have a boarding pass that says Priority Access and a woman is happily taking my overweight suitcases for no extra charge :) For those who don't know (like me), Priority Access meant that I go into a shorter security line, get to board the plane sooner, get a seat change and get our luggage first at the arrival terminal.
My game plan was to drink a glass of wine to knock me out so I could wake up London AM and be ready to fight jet lag and go into the office. Of course, as Murphy's Law intended, I maybe slept 40 minutes and was super out of it when I arrived on Wednesday morning. Thankfully the driver was super nice and got me to our apartment with limited traffic problems. My work sponsor met me there and then we headed to work after I dropped off my luggage. Everyone has been super nice and urged me to go home my 1st day but I really wanted to fight the jet lag by getting the check-in paperwork taken care of.
I'm glad to be at post and to have 3 work days under my belt. I'm lucky that my predecessor is just rotating into a different section, thus I was able to meet with her and go over the portfolios I'm taking over. I shouldn't be surprised that like every other international move I have made before, I am still hesitant and nervous about figuring out my surroundings and getting to know people. I fought my urge to go home after work yesterday and hung out with some people in Hyde Park. Of course I felt like I achieved something big by doing that, I know I'll laugh when I look back at these moments months later. Also, most importantly, I can't wait for the hubby to get here next week so then we can discover London together!
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