TAKING OFF|NATURE
What Is There To Love And Miss About A Small Town In Southeast England?
Apparently, much more than expected and I’ve photos to prove it
As I hunted for a particular photo for a different story I planned to write, I grew extremely and unusually nostalgic as I came across photo after photo that I’d taken during my 8 month stay in southeast England.
I arrived in the beginning of August, 2020 and left at the very end of March, 2021.
When I first arrived, I thought I’d only be there until the end of September or the beginning of October.
I had a interview via Skype with a language school in Italy to teach English. I would’ve started sometime that fall.
Due to covid-19 (their “official” reason), and perhaps the lack of organization within school on top of potential complications with my work visa, I did not get the job.
Even though I was disappointed in ways, I was also relieved.
It meant that I had some rearranging to do as far as my short and long term plans were concerned, but it also meant that I could move to Germany, as I’d originally planned before the job offer in Italy.
I trusted Germany’s infrastructure, economy and work options more than Italy. It also meant that I could live with, or at least live closer to, my boyfriend in Germany.
He came to meet me in England after I quarantined for 14 days (yes, I really did quarantine for the full 14 days- thankfully the place I stayed had a nice garden).
This family I found via Airbnb had a renovated “shed” that I had all to myself. They picked me up from the airport (for a fee) and even brought me amazing homemade meals.
I didn’t leave their property the entire 14 day quarantine.
They felt sorry for me, but I was happy to be able to leave the U.S. and stay in England. I was pretty sure that I’d be able to enter the European Union (Ireland, Italy or Germany) from England, which I eventually did (Ireland, then Italy).
My boyfriend and I had an awesome 8 week stay together!
We felt very grateful to be able to be together again after 5 months apart and loads of uncertainty due to the all that was going on regarding the pandemic.
He had to go back to Germany to continue his studies at university and planned to return for New Year’s Eve — our first one together.
On December 19th, 2020, we were on the phone when I found out that England was going into lockdown indefinitely.
My favorite thing about my time in England during that hellish period (I knew no one there and was completely isolated for 5 whole months!) was living just a half block away from the sea (in 3 different places).
First, I stayed at a place in Hastings for about 2 weeks:
My boyfriend and I stayed in Hastings for 10 days before he left.
I missed him a lot, especially since we’d spent many hours walking these paths along the sea, but I took solace in the fact that he would return late December (which, like I said, never happened).
I like that it rarely got that cold- just very windy on certain days.
It was the coolest thing seeing how drastically the sea changed from day to day!
On November 7th, I went back to Bexhill-on-sea, about a 15 minute drive west of Hastings (rich in historical events). I preferred Bexhill because it was calm and quiet, much more so than Hastings.
However, I really missed not having any contact with people or animals during that time.
Having a dog run up to me or a cat come up to me and allow me to pet them was often the highlight of my day.
I always kept my distance from people, but I liked being around some while out.
There were surprisingly a decent amount of FOXES that I saw on a regular basis and I adore foxes!
One time a fox was in front of me on the sidewalk at night and I thought it was a small dog until I got close.
I melted, but kept a little distance. I was surprised it was out in the open so casually. He or she didn’t pay me any mind.
I had to find one more place to live during the lockdown and looked for another in Bexhill-on-sea. I was extremely lucky and found a place on Airbnb right around the corner from where I was.
It was a new listing and offered 40% due to it being new and for a month long stay. I booked it for 2 months because the price was so good and I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to leave England much earlier.
I was right. Here’s the view from the bedroom window of that place:
Writing in my journal was essential as well and sometimes during warmer days, when I could find a spot that shielded me from the wind, I wrote outside while sitting by the water, listening to the waves ebb and flow through the countless pebbles and seashells of the shoreline.
My almost daily walks and talks on the phone with my partner, friends and family by the sea are what helped me keep my sanity.
Do these images look familiar Gianni Bawn?
I recently read a story that he wrote and was fairly certain that a photo he included in the story was of this sea, which it was, except it was a bit farther west, in Brighton.
That photo made me feel nostalgic too.
I never would’ve imagined that southern England could captivate me to the degree that it did.
This simple, yet naturally remarkable place by the sea was just what I needed during an incredibly challenging period of sudden and unforeseen changes.
Nature can be amazing that way.
By the time it was time for me to leave, I knew I would miss this place…immensely.
With all the sudden changes currently going on here in Europe, it was unexpectedly wonderful and soothing to go down this rabbit hole of memories from just one year ago.
The good and the bad, it all changes.
Like Bruce Lee advised, I’ll do my best to be as water, more often than not.
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