Hi. I live in Sheffield now.

It has been a wild, unpredictable, ride to get here: seven years of being together, one year of marriage, coronavirus pandemic right alongside our moving dates, two “we’ll have to send you in the wrong direction” flights, two lost bags (both mine with all my earthly possessions), and one apartment to finally be quarantined in together.

It is such a weird time to be alive. People everywhere, simultaneously, are experiencing hardships beyond comprehension. Every situation is unique but equally painful. I am at a loss for how to feel at the moment. I hurt for my friends and fellow humans. I’m uncertain about the future for myself and for the world. Being married to a self-employed artist and finding a job in a new country during a pandemic is not an equation for stability. Yet, I’m grateful for my partner and the home he had set up for my arrival, for my family on both sides of the world and their never ending support. For now, I am finding comfort in the little things that are starting to make our little space a home.

I hope you all are coping with the current state of the world. Friends and family, please feel free to reach out to us for video chats, texts, whatever is clever. We love you.

Love
S.

P.s. If you’re curious, here is our move timeline, contents in bold are personal events :

13th of January - Leave to Enter visa to the UK is approved. Note: My vignette to enter the UK is only valid from 23rd of February to 24th of March - once I enter, I pick up a residency card that would confirm my right to stay.

20th of January - First Coronavirus case in the US confirmed.

1st of February - Flights booked for move to Sheffield. We’d planned to go back to the UK together shortly after Aaran’s US tour wrapped up.

11th of March - The World Health Organization characterises the coronavirus as a pandemic. The President of the United States addresses the nation regarding the virus and announced European travel ban.

12th of March - My mom has cataract surgery on her right eye.

13th of March - My last day of work in Minnesota. The final leg of Aaran’s US tour is cancelled. Minnesota and the Federal Government declare a State of Emergency over Covid-19.

14th of March - Aaran arrives in Minnesota. The White House adds the UK and Ireland to the travel ban.

15 - 20th of March - Minnesota enacts social distancing, work from home and school cancellations (for my family). I finally get to start packing, closing out accounts, cleaning out my space, helping my mom with any last bits she needs before the move.

21st of March - Moving day: the original itinerary for our flight was MSP - ATL - MAN. Fifteen minutes before boarding was to begin for ATL, we were told the flight did not have a captain and could not take off, they eventually found a captain who was incoming from another flight but that would get us into ATL after the MAN flight departs. With so many cancelled routes the only way to get us into England was to fly MSP - LAX - LHR. As we landed at LAX the flight to LHR was already boarding, we ran between terminals, and made it just before the doors closed. As my seat on the plane was right above the cargo door I watched helplessly as they removed my bags from the loading belt going into the plane and placed on a cart as the plane prepared for pushback.

22nd of March - We arrive in London. Reported my lost bags and were told they’d be on the next flight to the UK. Rented a car and drove three hours north to go home.

23rd of March - Picked up my Biometric Residence Permit. Bags are still MIA. I continue to live in my pajamas. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces new stay-at-home order.

25th of March - My bags are still in LAX.