Starting Over Again

I got up at around six. The alarm was set to half past, but somehow I woke up before that. I took my time to get ready and checked a few last things online, just to make sure. My bags were packed, but I felt like I left out something important. Usually I'm quite good at it, but packing this time felt a little different. I mean, what do you pack when you're leaving for a whole year? I found it rather difficult to decide what to leave and what to take. Twelve months worth of stuff, clothes for all four seasons, and it all has to fit into one bag. Fifty-two weeks in only twenty kilograms.

As it turns out, I actually cut down to the basics. When it comes to survival it's the most elementary things that will keep you alive. Plus, I like to travel light. At the end I had a medium-sized suitcase and a backpack to take care of. At the airport I checked in my luggage and had a last cup of coffee before I walked to the gate and waited for boarding. And except for the guy who freaked everybody out, because he started screaming in a foreign language when the responsible lady wouldn't allow him to take more than one piece of hand luggage on the plane, things went smoothly.

Flight time was about an hour, but I didn't realize any of that, because my eyes suddenly became unbearably heavy as soon as I was sitting in my seat. My luggage was checked in, my backpack tugged away under the seat in front of me, my phone was switched off and I knew where the swim vest was and what to do with it in case of an emergency. For the first time in weeks I suddenly seemed to be relaxing. If anything had been wrong by then, there was nothing I could do, anyway. But as far as I could tell, everything was good.

I thought about what was awaiting me the moment I would get off that plane, that's when I got really excited about this. The plane arrived with only little delay, I claimed my baggage alright and was suddenly in London. P gave me all the information I needed to get into the city. His descriptions were actually so precise that I had no problem at all to get to Kings Cross Station. And just as he had promised me, the wifi there was freely accessible. P welcomed me via Kakao and gave me some more tips to go on with my day.

I gave away my suitcase at the storage center and got a sim card with ten pounds worth of credit. I got a decent seat in one of the coffee shops and began with my search for a place to stay. I called a million numbers and made two appointments for flat viewings, one in Hoxton and one in Aldgate East. After topping up my Oyster Card I started traveling. Hoxton seemed like a quite nice place, but I didn't like the flat too much. The place in Aldgate East was alright, simple enough, but not too spacy. The price was alright, I guess, but I still would have to commute by tube or at least bus to get to school.

Around six I finally met P back at St. Pancras Station. He looked tired from work, but unmistakably London. Good old P. We had a little chat over coffee and soon decided to head towards the crib. We took a bus, a real London bus, to Angel Station and walked the last few hundred meters to his house. I only realized how tired I was when I sat down on the sofa and let my feet rest. In the evening we waited for his flatmate Tehs and had a super mellow pizza dinner. I think I mentally crashed soon after that, but I was super satisfied with my first day of London.