A Visitor To The Motherland

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This week I fly into Heathrow Airport.

I am a traveler by heart.  

I was always destined to travel.  I think I wished it so deeply, that eventually it became an innate part of me.  I left England when I figured out I could.  The leaving part was easy.  Making it permanent was a little harder.

The last time I visited London,  it was under completely different circumstances.  

I hated being there.  

rainy day in london

I was 24 and had been in the states for almost a year; living with a family in New Hampshire and working as a nanny.  I’d only been issued a six month visa, with an optional  six month extension.  

So – the clock was ticking.  Loudly.  I knew that I would have to make a decision about what to do next.  Should I try and stay in the states? Or should I return to England?   It was an easy decision to make.  I drove to the beach, watched the ocean and realized I couldn’t leave.  I needed to be in America.

The only realistic option was to apply to college and change my visa to a student visa. Initially, it seemed like a simple thing to do.  Yea, Like – I’ll just go back to school.  It’s actually not that easy.  You need a financial sponsor, you need to apply and be accepted into a college and then you need to go back to your home country and apply for the visa change.

It is anxiety provoking, to say the least.  I left the states not fully knowing if I would be allowed to come back.  Do I half pack? Leave some things, take some things?  I went back to my hometown, and for a few weeks lived in limbo.  The feeling of not being fully in control of my life was especially hard for me.

I traveled by train, to London,  with my mother.  We would be there for the day, to attend my interview.  It would be fun (ish).  

map

I carried a small bag stuffed full with the necessary paperwork.  And I could have literally thrown up at any given moment.  Like – full force vomit.  It was not a fun day.  We waited in line, took a number and sat – in a hot room, for hours.  I spent most of the time rehearsing my lines.  Things I thought they would like to hear from me.  Things that I prayingthought if I said, they would like me enough to let me go back.

If you have never dealt with the I.N.S, you have no idea the power they hold over you. It’s frightening.  Even when you’re doing everything by the book, it’s an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.

 One word, one nod, one stamp in the passport and your life changes.

Someone with a government-issued badge can change the trajectory of your life forever. trajectory And there’s little you can do.

When my number was called I don’t recall how I felt.  I remember going up to the window.  Giving a young woman my papers, her reading them, her making a comment that her father was an instructor at the college where I would be attending.  And her stamping something.  Then she smiled.  I have no recollection of anything I said to her.  Nothing.

I do remember leaving the Embassy, and walking down the street with my mother.  

I was a visitor again.  I didn’t live here.  I would be going ‘home’ soon.

In hindsight, it would have been nice if we would have had the desire to do the tourist things: see the sights, buy overpriced cheap crappy souvenirs that will end up as landfill.  But, I couldn’t.  I was emotionally stripped raw.  We headed back to the train station and prepared ourselves for the three hour train ride back.

When I fly into Heathrow this week, I arrive as a tourist.  A visitor to the Motherland.  

And my journey continues on. 

 

suitcase and girl

(Insert catchy ending phrase here)

Diane aka The Paint Factory

[contesthopper contest=”224″]

 

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14 thoughts on “A Visitor To The Motherland

  • July 24, 2014 at 4:13 pm
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    Good Luck on your trip, I have always wanted to go to England, and promised my Mother that her and I would go at some point, unfortunately, I never took her before she passed away. I will go one day! Some of my heritage lies there, and I am one of those Americans that loves watching those Royals, and that is not the ones from Kansas City.

    Have fun, and no painting allowed!

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    • July 24, 2014 at 8:45 pm
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      You need to visit – for yourself and to honor your mom! You’ll enjoy it, trust me 🙂

      Reply
  • July 24, 2014 at 6:54 pm
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    A talented writer evokes emotion. Wow! Did I feel it. Enjoy your trip. I look forward to reading your blogs after you return home.

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  • July 24, 2014 at 6:59 pm
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    Have a good tme, great little story. I’m sure you will have something fun to write about when you return home. I hope you don’t find that “perfect” chair or something that will torment you because you can’t bring it back.

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    • July 24, 2014 at 8:44 pm
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      There are so many awesome antique stores there, Allison. I can’t wait to see all of the antique pine pieces!

      Reply
  • July 24, 2014 at 7:49 pm
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    wishing you a good and safe journey Diane, hope you have an funtastic time !

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  • July 25, 2014 at 12:06 am
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    Beautifully remembered, written. So proud to have you on our side on the pond.

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  • July 25, 2014 at 1:34 am
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    Just make sure you come back! I only have a few tutorials for the blog, I couldn’t possibly maintain it for very long! 😛

    Have fun! XO

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  • July 25, 2014 at 3:37 am
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    Enjoy London and seeing your family. I have great memories of the times we spent there with dear friends. We stayed in the “low rent” hotels–Sussex Gardens near Paddington Station, took the tube everywhere and had a wonderful time. Fly safe.

    Reply
  • July 25, 2014 at 2:42 pm
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    Hi there
    I love reading your story and can totally relate to it. Having entered the US at the age of 19 illegal it’s touching. I gained my citizenship many years later and have three amazing children. However after a seperation from their dad it bacame no longer possible to remain there. I have returned to Northern Ireland and have happily settled here for now. The kids are amazing loving the new family around them and making the most of it. I dream of one day going back as after 25 years in NY I call it home.
    Enjoy that trip and to add a quote to the end of your story upwards and onwards I go.
    We have been blessed and very lucky to have had the opportunity to travel.

    Maggie

    Reply
    • July 25, 2014 at 3:43 pm
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      So great to hear your story Maggie! I became a citizen about four years ago, because when we lived in Toronto they took away my Green Card! Meanies. I was literally stranded in Canada for almost a year while my paperwork got approved – again!!

      Reply

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