The thing with new beginnings is that it is not just some little things that are new and need a lot of attention to figure out…it is everything. That freedom to choose and the newness that infuses all aspects of life is stimulating and promotes a lot of growth as the individual has to quickly adapt. The smoother the transition, the less growth occurs. For us, the transition from California to England was very stimulating and we have all had to change and adapt in ways we were not expecting. From the very beginning, we had to put plan B or C into effect and be flexible and positive. There were difficult challenges and some very tough moments for sure. More than a few tears flowed, stoked by frustration. Yet, we now have a place to live and are negotiating a new country where rules have recently changed and supports do not quite fit our situation. Each day brings a new triumph; a new accomplishment. We are, in fact, immigrants, and that is particularly strange for me as this is my country of origin. What makes the difference is the people.
It may be a west coast phenomenon, because just as in California, the West Coast of Britain, and Bristol in particular, seems to be filled with kind individuals who are down to earth and willing to help. Returning home after so many years away, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and still don’t really. The future is fluid and mutable right now, while the crystal ball is cloudy. And yet, I am thrilled with the diversity of this city- during our short month here I have come to love hearing multiple languages spoken around me (once, on the bus I heard a type of musical African language, Mandarin, a conversation that sounded Eastern European, and Arabic all spoken loudly and rapidly as I sat and enjoyed the moment). The sights, sounds, and smells of the city flow continually feeling like life is happening. Yes, Bristol can be edgy and a little grungy, yet it is vibrant, colourful, full of life and accepting of the weird and wonderful and I love it.
The ancient buildings such as cathedrals, mysterious winding cobbled alleyways, tiny crooked churches and remnants of sweeping castle walls protectively cradling a park or a tiny garden, are at odds with new glass edifices with angular lines or shaped like the bow of some gargantuan ship ploughing through a rejuvenated dockland area. Glass office and apartment blocks sprout everywhere. It shouldn’t work, but it does because everywhere at ground level are havens in the form of small pubs, cafes and restaurants, pretty walkways that follow the rivers and canals, greenery sprouting from 800 year old rock walls or as a living roof on a newly built apartment rooftop. The old and craggy blends seamlessly with the new and smooth. Bikes more than cars compete with an army of electric double-decker buses, and zipping around everywhere are electric scooters rented by college students heading for a night out or an executive in a suit cruising down Whiteladies Road to work in the morning. Canal boats still slide up the river and people take time to sit in the park. And presiding over it all is the omnipresent University of Bristol that seems to represent the valued and stoic traditions of the past somehow adapted to enhance rather than take from the embrace of the quickening future. What a place to be.
