It’s yet another grey, dark and wet day in London. I’m always angry at the weather, looking up at the sky with a frown and cursing the clouds, a hood over my head and two scarves tugging at my neck… but my mind quickly turns to sunshine, and in the Thai embassy I just came out of, it’s not too difficult because I’m sweating. Too many people are piled into here and I’m stripping myself of layers. I look around and see and old man on crutches, some younger girls with plenty of makeup on, a mother next to me with an adorable, new-born and blue eyed baby challenging me to a staring contest that I know I’ll win. There’s no room to move; just enough air to breathe but I can feel the excitement already. I feel like I’m on my way, I feel like we’re all starting our adventure here.
I give over my receipt at counter three to one of the unhappy looking girls working here, who flips through a few passports and I see my face. She picks it up and hands me back my new passport, with my new name in it, and inside is my new visa which is the first thing to take up anything on a page in there. The first of many, I hope, and the sign of a new beginning. I guess it’s only appropriate that I follow suit and (finally) make my first post here, pen a little digital ink on the first page of my digital book.