Day One: The One

Although my hair was slightly damp, beginning to curl naturally – uncontrollably. I pulled, trying to loosen the tight sheets while surfing the channels trying to find BBC news, but I didn’t really care. My eyes drifted in and out as I laid there, my pillow becoming cool from my hair. All of the tension easing from me.

Our flat mates, minus one, walked through the neighborhood. Homes all white or brick, making me feel as though I was near brownstones in Brooklyn except fancier. Learning to look down at the signs on the ground, directing unknowing travelers of which direction to actually look to see the small speedy European cars.

We made it. We were early for our appointment, but we crept up the tight stairs and entered into a small office with a man, Alan, and his wife. Both of whom were the nicest Londoners I’ve met outside of ICLC.

His office had plaques with sand-script, pictures of loved ones, and a small espresso maker. It was tight, the size of a walk in closet. 

“First, before we get started," he said, "Would you like candy?” He handed me a box of chocolates, we each took one. Very old school, I thought.

He's worked with ICLC before. He knew the deal, we were cheap and needed everything fully furnished. Silver ware, everything. We wouldn't break anything. We wanted to be in a safe neighborhood, near the school. 

“I will show you one flat for now. If you love it, you will get it. If you like it, we can lower price. For now, we will look at just this one.”

It was just down the road, less than a five minute walk away. It was the only building with scaffolding, the outside was just being repainted, but it would soon look like the other homes along the small street that I envied earlier.

We decided this was the one. Four girls to one room, two guys to the other. Large living room, an eat-in kitchen. Wifi and washer/dryer. Balcony (after the scaffolding is taken down). What more could we ask for? After negotiations, we were set to pay the deposit later that week. 

My eyes drifted. I had been awake for longer than I expected. I peered over at the clock. It was in military time. At that point, it wasn’t worth doing the math. It was clearly time to finally rest. The worst part was over and the fun was just about to begin.

This was the fourth piece in a four part series. For the beginning of the story, click here. 

Day One: Finding Flat Mates

“Oh shoot.” I realized my toe was not only blistered, but that the nail on my pinky toe punctured it. Time to get the nail clippers out. My feet still aching, blistered and now wrinkly were about to be in for a treat – sitting. More like lying in a twin mattress to watch BBC.  Either way, there would be no more pressure on the souls.

We had walked all over Kensington with Bill, the Director of the London Center, to find the bank and the phone store. A long line formed immediately at the store, so a few friends and I decided not to go in. We were outside with Bill, when he point out a small glass door quickly with gold letters spelling out a realtor’s name. I would later find out that this man, Alan, would give me one of the best deals any student could have.

A new friend Dan, old friend Kristina and myself meandered back to the ICLC. Yes. Meandered meaning we got lost and then found our way. At the point, I realized the bad shape my feet were in. I looked at my right heel briefly after going at a NYC pace for about an hour, and saw complete irritation. Screw it. I just kept going.

The three of us arrived back and went to the computer room to message our families. Groups were there, forming. My heart just dropped. We actually had to find a place that day. We had a list of realtors from our orientation, but the mixture of jet lag, housing and finding flat mates amplified the situation. (Not to mention: I am in a foreign country.)  

These were the most terrifying 15 minutes of my time in London. My best friend Jamie was not at the orientation and I could not call her since I didn’t have a UK phone. I hopped onto Facebook, thank God she was online. I proceeded to ask her a series of frantic questions. Many people came to London with a set group of people they wanted to live with. All I knew was that I wanted to live with Jamie, that was it. We wanted to meet new people. And we did.

In the long and short of it, my old friend Kristina, new friend Dan, my friend from Spanish class, David, and Jamie all agreed to live together (Jamie didn't know who we were living with, but trusted me). We needed one more though. Kristina and I had asked around for other girls who needed a flat, and one girl seemed interested but didn’t commit. She was frantic too, but she couldn’t make up her mind.

Kristina was still talking to this girl when I saw Anna. Anna was sitting in the computer room, quite literally about to burst into tears. She didn’t come with housing plans. I hugged her, telling her it’s going to be okay and if I find out anything that I would tell her as soon as possible.

Kristina and I ran to the hotel to check in, and decided that if the girl who couldn’t commit, well, wasn’t going to commit, then we should move on. We didn’t have all day. We saw her in the elevator as we went down and told her that we were going to find someone else to live with us if she couldn’t confirm that she would be with our group. It was fine, no hard feelings. Kristina and I wanted Anna. We had no idea who she was but there was something about her that we both liked. Also, we had no time. Then saw Anna in the lobby. We ran to her.

“Do you want to live with us?” I said.

She hugged me immediately. It was honestly one of the best hugs I’d ever had. We sighed with relief. 

“Yes,” she grinned.

We all gathered 30 minutes later and made the phone call that would solidify our new home in London. The biggest stress of the day was over. 

For the last piece of this four part series on click here for "Day One: The One."