The journey of a digital nomad begins with the first step
Read... Write... Repeat...
I walked to the subway and boarded my train. I was surprised to find the trains so empty. All week long, the trains were packed and people kept bumping into me in the station. I asked a lovely lady sitting next to me why today, Friday, the trains were so empty. She said that most people are off or work from home on Friday in London. Yes, I am in London for a month or two or maybe more. And they don’t call it the subway. Here, it’s the tube.
Each morning for the past week, I leave the place where I lay my head at precisely 8:30 AM and arrive at school a little after 9AM for my class at 9:30AM. Having a routine seems so British and I enjoy it. Discipline. A stiff upper lip. Jolly right.
Honestly, I have had too much freedom. Time to buckle down.
I am attending a four-week course here at Stafford Institute which is designed to expand my knowledge of English and certify me to teach. It is called CELTA. And I am really enjoying it. I think it will help me with my writing as well.
I take the Victoria Line to the Piccadilly Line and arrive at the Holborn station. As I exited the station, I was beaming with a big smile and people may have thought I was crazy when I announced, “I’m actually in London.” My sister Deedee said London fits me. I agree. It is pure pleasure. The buildings, the squares, the Rolls Royce cabs, the double decker buses. I am surrounded by memories of scenes from Mary Poppins, Oliver and My Fair Lady; movies that I saw as a youngster. I will continue to explore this amazing and historic city.
A few years ago, I was writing a proposal for a client seeking to do some work for the British Council. My client had to sign an affidavit that he was not participating nor supporting acts of slavery and/or human trafficking. In the UK, a law was passed in 2015 which forced companies to sign this statement in order to bid on government contracts.
At first, I thought it was strange. Slavery? In this century? But the more I have read about the issue, the more I find it troubling.
A court case piqued my interest as I landed in London. Lydia Mugambe, a Ugandan judge living in the UK, was arrested for violating the Modern Slavery Act. She was convicted of using coercion to force a young Ugandan woman to work for her in the UK without providing an appropriate salary, living or working conditions. In court, the prosecutors also showed evidence that Mugambe conspired with Ugandan deputy high commissioner John Leonard Mugerwa to assist the victim’s entrance into the UK.
Apparently, Mugambe brought this poor victim from Uganda so she would not have to pay her to care for her children while she was pursuing a PhD in law at the University of Oxford. But the law caught up to her.
Ironically, as a UN judge, Mugambe had to oversee similar cases which appeared before her in court. Now she has been convicted of the same crime.
This is a huge subject which I hope to write about in the near future. Sadly, the majority of the culprits of modern slavery are Africans and Arabs. They get rich and and abuse those who serve them and even look like them. I have met their victims; usually women penned up in their master’s house since their youths with nowhere to go and nobody to love.
It is shameful. And modern slavery needs to be exposed.
Before arriving in London, I spent a few nights in Cambridge, England. I call Cambridge the city of bikes, books, and brains. I would love to live there and get a bike and more brains, but I am okay with just buying books. I can spend a day in the book markets anywhere. In Cambridge it is heavenly. I visited the Cambridge Press bookstore, Waterstones, and many other more commercial operations. But I prefer the small shops and street vendors whose books are used and more affordable. There I can find the classics. There I can find books with readable fonts, quality paper and patina. I like old things.
While still in Morocco, I started reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. The book is leather bound and printed in 1909 or thereabout. In the front jacket is written: Peace from his chum, Lance Xmas 1912. It was a gift given a hundred plus years. I would never find this book, illustrated by E Stuart Hardy, in a Barnes & Nobles.
Jane Eyre was first published in 1847. The edition I am reading has the older style of English and some of the dialogue between Jane and Rochester is like reading Shakespeare. Quite engaging and sometimes biting.
In Cambridge, I told a bookseller named Zoe that I was reading Jane Eyre. She handed me a book and told me it was a must read. Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys was published in 1966 as a prequel to Jane Eyre. I have read the first part which describes the childhood of Rochester’s legal wife, Antoinette. I started the second part which is narrated by Rochester himself.
Reading them together brings new dimensions to the romantic and tragic story of Jane Eyre. I should finish both books this weekend. Then I will share more.
I am also reading a non-fiction history book entitled, An Imperfect God: George Washington, his Slaves and the Creation of America by Henry Wiencek. I can’t put it down. I made notes, attached stickies and highlighted so many parts of this book. It is so informative and well written. I’m hooked on history.
The training course I am taking is intense. I have assignments and lessons to plan every day. I now rise every morning at 4AM to do my work; even on Sunday. I plan to continue this habit of rising at 4AM everyday. It is what real writers do.
Next post: I will share some coffee experiences in the UK.