This whole trip so far is an unexpected mess. The parts I assumed would be on the easier side are a lot harder than expected, then again, the obstacles I expected to face never came up. Because I took a connecting flight from Dublin to London, I only had to deal with the Irish customs security and not the British. The security guard only asked me how long I was going to be in London and if I had been kicked out of London before. Jokingly, I said, “No… well, I almost did the first time.” I don’t think he got the joke right away, nonetheless I got through.
This is where it begins.
Its 325 am…. And I am wide-awake. I passed out yesterday around 10pm after downing two gigantic vanilla lattes to keep myself awake throughout the day. It’s a 5-hour time difference over here and I tried so hard to avoid jetlag. Around 9pm, Al and I grabbed a late fish and chips dinner at the bar around the corner of our hostel. (I know how stereotypical right?!) I couldn’t even finish the pint of Guinness I had for dessert.
I hoped the caffeine rush and full stomach would keep me passed out until at least 7am. Even after taking that late night pee, I am struggling to lie back down and attempt to sleep. I am wide-awake and now I’ve woke up Al and one of the other dudes also sleeping in my hostel room.
There are actually two dudes sleeping in my hostel room. Ah, the beauty of Europe and youth. In hopes of saving some money, Al and I decided to skip out on a hotel for the night and book a hostel room instead. (Side note: one of the dudes in the room is now snoring fairly loudly and I no longer feel guilty being awake and typing on my keyboard.)
Any who…
My connecting flight was delayed due to ice on the runway at one of the London airports. I had to recheck my luggage and re-enter security to take a different flight. I then lugged my 75-pound suitcase (don’t worry it has wheels!) and carry-on bags around London from the airport. London surprisingly does not have a lot of handicap/wheelchair accessible tube stations. Regretting that we should have taken a cab, I think I found every staircase on my tube ride to the hostel. Funny, not as many people offered to help Al and I with our luggage as I expected.
We arrived at the hostel around 2pm. A cheery young dude with spiked up hair greeted me with a handshake at the front desk. Ha-ha, I could tell this guy flirted with every decent looking woman that walked in the hostel. It’s a four-person room, with two bunk beds. Al took the top bunk. And although I can’t see her, I know she is awake right now wondering when I am going to fall back asleep.
One of the guys sharing the room with us is a Mexican man named Caesar. I’m assuming he’s in his mid thirties, though, he might just age bad. He works as a freelance cameraman for a television station here and has been bouncing around London for a place to stay for about a month. The other dude staying in our room I don’t know, he came in late last night when the light in the room was already off.
I passed out with my clothes on and I’m now lying on the bottom bunk still wearing the skinny jeans and a tee shirt I wore out to get a drink with last night. I didn’t feel like changing and going through my luggage to find another pair of clothes. I honestly just want to find a place to live a quickly as possible so I can unpack my things.
It’s almost 4 am and I can’t sleep. I think I’m too nervous. What I assumed would be easy like finding an apartment, turned out to be a very difficult task. Getting through customs, which I had been most worried about, was the easiest part of this trip so far. All the apartments we’ve found so far are too expensive. Maybe if the exchange rate was a bit lower Al and I could try and look at an apartment that costs a little more, but it’s still about a dollar fifty to the pound. Since I nor Al has a job yet, we we’re looking for something for around four hundred pounds a month each which I guess would be about six hundred a month in US dollars right now with the exchange rate.
Tomorrow Al and I will try again. First thing on the list is to get a cell phone so at least we can try calling a couple landlords about apartments. We also plan on going by the Syracuse University building out here and see if they can help us out with some advice on what to do.
I’m scared my money supply is going to run out quicker than expected. I feel guilty I ate dinner last night.
This is where it begins.
Its 325 am…. And I am wide-awake. I passed out yesterday around 10pm after downing two gigantic vanilla lattes to keep myself awake throughout the day. It’s a 5-hour time difference over here and I tried so hard to avoid jetlag. Around 9pm, Al and I grabbed a late fish and chips dinner at the bar around the corner of our hostel. (I know how stereotypical right?!) I couldn’t even finish the pint of Guinness I had for dessert.
I hoped the caffeine rush and full stomach would keep me passed out until at least 7am. Even after taking that late night pee, I am struggling to lie back down and attempt to sleep. I am wide-awake and now I’ve woke up Al and one of the other dudes also sleeping in my hostel room.
There are actually two dudes sleeping in my hostel room. Ah, the beauty of Europe and youth. In hopes of saving some money, Al and I decided to skip out on a hotel for the night and book a hostel room instead. (Side note: one of the dudes in the room is now snoring fairly loudly and I no longer feel guilty being awake and typing on my keyboard.)
Any who…
My connecting flight was delayed due to ice on the runway at one of the London airports. I had to recheck my luggage and re-enter security to take a different flight. I then lugged my 75-pound suitcase (don’t worry it has wheels!) and carry-on bags around London from the airport. London surprisingly does not have a lot of handicap/wheelchair accessible tube stations. Regretting that we should have taken a cab, I think I found every staircase on my tube ride to the hostel. Funny, not as many people offered to help Al and I with our luggage as I expected.
We arrived at the hostel around 2pm. A cheery young dude with spiked up hair greeted me with a handshake at the front desk. Ha-ha, I could tell this guy flirted with every decent looking woman that walked in the hostel. It’s a four-person room, with two bunk beds. Al took the top bunk. And although I can’t see her, I know she is awake right now wondering when I am going to fall back asleep.
One of the guys sharing the room with us is a Mexican man named Caesar. I’m assuming he’s in his mid thirties, though, he might just age bad. He works as a freelance cameraman for a television station here and has been bouncing around London for a place to stay for about a month. The other dude staying in our room I don’t know, he came in late last night when the light in the room was already off.
I passed out with my clothes on and I’m now lying on the bottom bunk still wearing the skinny jeans and a tee shirt I wore out to get a drink with last night. I didn’t feel like changing and going through my luggage to find another pair of clothes. I honestly just want to find a place to live a quickly as possible so I can unpack my things.
It’s almost 4 am and I can’t sleep. I think I’m too nervous. What I assumed would be easy like finding an apartment, turned out to be a very difficult task. Getting through customs, which I had been most worried about, was the easiest part of this trip so far. All the apartments we’ve found so far are too expensive. Maybe if the exchange rate was a bit lower Al and I could try and look at an apartment that costs a little more, but it’s still about a dollar fifty to the pound. Since I nor Al has a job yet, we we’re looking for something for around four hundred pounds a month each which I guess would be about six hundred a month in US dollars right now with the exchange rate.
Tomorrow Al and I will try again. First thing on the list is to get a cell phone so at least we can try calling a couple landlords about apartments. We also plan on going by the Syracuse University building out here and see if they can help us out with some advice on what to do.
I’m scared my money supply is going to run out quicker than expected. I feel guilty I ate dinner last night.
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