027 :: Letter
Dearest Sister,
Day Three. This is the best time of the day, the time I can type my letter and feel like I am, almost, with you again. Almost like I am sitting at the table as you cook while I play on my new Skroll. Oh, you should see how wonderful it is. It is just like the adverts. And while you cook you might say to me I should go back to my dance lessons. And I reply that there is enough money now and I have time enough. A lot of time. I have more than enough time. I had enough free time today to watch a film. I have the space to work on my own and soon will have earned the money to take lessons here. Of course I have not forgotten my commitment to you. The lessons will come after the money I send to you.
I didn’t tell you about my arrival. If I had written at the time I would have worried you. There were just so many new things that misunderstanding was inevitable. The security about London is amazing. It was harder getting into London than landing in the country. The flight and the airport was a little tedious but not stressful. I hardly said a word since saying goodbye to you. The man next to me wanted to talk so I pretended to be asleep. The first conversation was with the borderguard. A nice looking old man. He smiled a lot. He seemed happy. It wasn’t really a conversation. Then there was the rules and regulations. In English, can you believe that? They won’t catch me out, though, as I studied the rules and regulations before applying. I am prepared.
I didn’t have a conversation with Simon, the agency man, who brought me to the house. He was too busy on his Skroll to talk to me. And I didn’t have the translator set up. The translator is really amazing. It doesn’t matter that everyone here only speaks English as everything is auto-translated on my Skroll. Or on the big screens in the house. There are screens in every room here. Hidden screens you only see when they are on. The hidden screens are everywhere. There was even a hidden screen on the table in the airport at customs.
Peter is lovely. He is my fellow Au Pair. I mentioned that already, didn’t I? I am so lucky to have someone to show me how everything works. He told me the one weird thing about London is they are always watching. There are things you cannot say. Some people’s names should not be mentioned. He got all anxious when I repeated a name I had heard but didn’t know I wasn’t meant to say it. Oh, I didn’t say, everything is recorded here so you can go back and look at your day. I spent a bit of today watching my yesterday. It is a little funny, not quite like real but it shows everything. I know this is a difficult thing to try to explain as you have to experience it. It is like time has a different meaning here. Like I cannot ever make a mistake as I can review everything and then fix it. Or relive any bit I really loved.
Talking of time, that is all I have today. I will write again tomorrow.
Love,
The Au Pair
