In fact the name by which it is - very much - known by the Italian community in London is Sir Koala of London, that promises to give his own animal version of the city for seven years. As many as have passed since the transfer from Rome. Today she is a blogger in London and is in charge of editorial, proofreading e ghostwriting for different companies.
Blogger in London: one way ticket
When did you leave?
I fell in love with London while traveling in 2007, after which I promised myself to return. A month before I turned 30 - in 2010 - I decided to respect that promise I had made to myself since in Italy it seemed to me that I was not getting anything done and not going forward. Despite everyone telling me I was crazy, I left. I had always been fascinated by English. I started studying it when I was thirteen on my own. At home they called me "the English girl" for my very fair complexion - certainly not a trait common to the rest of the family.
You took a one-way ticket ...
When I got here it was very difficult. Unlike what we read around the web, no one was waiting for me with open arms to find me a home and offer me a job. Nobody was waiting for me here. Like everyone else, I had to start all over again. In Italy I was trained as an advertising graphic designer, but in the sector I only went from one stage to another. Then I reinvented myself, first becoming a saleswoman and then a buyer. I had made a career in an international company, an experience that served me once I landed in London.
Blogger in London: the beginning
I guess the beginnings weren't easy.
The blog itself was born on an afternoon of despair. I was alone, I had no friends, and all I could find online was wrong information. Like don't worry, even if you don't know English come here and you will find work right away. I blogged about my experience and liked it. Maybe because I am direct and I am not ashamed to say that I have had financial problems or that there have been difficult times. Many don't do it and only talk about the positive aspects.
Along with the information that you report every day on the blog, you also have two services, one of translation, revision and correction of the CV and one of LikedIn makeover.
Exact. Especially LinkedIn was and is little used in Italy, but abroad and certainly here in Great Britain it is an important tool. I myself discovered it once I arrived and I studied it well. In the beginning I needed it because I didn't have references, which are essential for the English job market. With LinkedIn you can show them in your profile. Then I saw that it was even more considered than the CV and today I receive several possibilities of collaboration thanks to this tool.
Blogger in London: the job
Was it easy to find work in London?
For nothing! I got so many doors in my face before I found a place. Like so many here I had to start from scratch. I was looking for a job as a saleswoman. Then one afternoon, at the umpteenth refusal, anger seized me: I wanted to know what was wrong. I called the recruiters and I simply asked. I found much more availability than I expected and understood many things. That the CV must be done according to the standards of the English model and must not be long and get lost in the details. That sometimes even a make-up that is too accentuated or a perfume that is too strong can make you discard at the interview. That gesturing or showing too much enthusiasm is not good, because the English do not understand it, they are much more calm. I understand that if you adapt to their ways, if you look like them, they will get you.
And now?
After a year as a saleswoman in a Bond Street department store, a less flashy version of Harrods but which even serves the Royal House, I became floor manager. In all, I spent two years in the industry, then I went back to doing what I had studied for, then writing and communication.
A blogger in London: the city
What do you like about London?
As soon as I moved the first destination was a small town in Surrey, then I lived in Wimbledon, London, Oxford and London again. In reality, I can't stay away from her for long. It is a city that I love, even if I have had to adapt. What I like is the melting pot, the international atmosphere that is there. I have friends from all over the world. Of course, sometimes it's alientante, like the metro at rush hour, you wonder if all these people will ever be able to stay there. But in the end, the bright side is that you feel integrated.
You have also written three e-books on London: London Notes, Low-cost London, Small guide to the best of London.
I often got the same questions on the blog so I decided to put the answers together and create some that explain everything step by step.
A blogger in London: how do you see the future?
Will you stay here?
I don't think I will ask for British citizenship, I don't want to feel tied up, also because once you take the first step you have the idea that you could do it again. That is, if you have left everything once and made the leap you feel that you can do it again. I find myself dreaming of other countries and other destinations.
Does Brexit change things?
The morning after the referendum I woke up and I had the FB page and the site exploding so many were the messages I had received. It is not difficult to understand the fear of the immigrant, of closure. Here they are also very nationalist and for this I admire them. But for sure we are all in bigger games, you can't isolate yourself. And even if I can't predict how it will go, I think they will make a deal, because they are not self-sufficient. In the end, if I have to leave, I will be happy with the experience, it will have been very formative years. For the moment I wait and stay positive.
