I took a train to Greenwich, and then carried over 150 pounds of luggage with me to my new student housing called McMillan Student Village. Except…I had no cell phone data to guide me, and I knew nobody. Meaning…I got lost. I took a wrong turn and walked for one hour in the wrong direction. Once I finally figured out where I was (my location services on my phone decided to work for one second), it started to rain! Are you kidding me?!
So I got on a bus with all my luggage to backtrack and start over from where I started. Except I didn’t realize how big my backpack was, and I accidentally turned at the same time an old lady was walking behind me, and she fell over. I felt so bad. I didn’t even realize my backpack had hit her. People with extra hands helped her get up, and she was rubbing her shin. I apologized and I felt awful.
So my first day on my own in London, and I’ve managed to knock an old lady over on public London transport. Things are going great.
I finally got to my housing, set everything down, and…I cried. For like two minutes. A good short cry.
And then I started unpacking everything. I made plans: what did I need to cook food? Where can I go to get it? What do I need for my bathroom? School supplies? A bank account? A new phone plan? So many things to get organized. But focusing on these things helped me keep my head, amidst all the new and overwhelming feelings.
One of my first trips from my flat (that’s English for “apartment”) was to Ikea. Have you ever been to the Ikea in Washington State? I never had, so this was my first Ikea experience. It’s like Fred Meyer with a second floor and two separate restaurants.
