Freckles Abroad

Cats of the wild are known for being predators, fearless. However, the second flight was bumpier than I'm used to or enjoy. I did arrive safely in London, of course. In fact, reaching my campus was not difficult in the least.

According to Tolkien, “Not all who wander are lost.” But I was. Not on an emotional level, obviously. I was thrilled to finally arrive on the island and catch a taxi to campus. My problems began just inside the University of Roehampton main gate at about 6:30pm, “British Summer Time”, which is apparently the current time zone.

The gatehouse was empty and dark. Apparently, no one was available to give me directions. I couldn't figure out whether to head to the Welcome Center at the Library or to Security, let alone where the Security desk was located. There was a sign that meant to give directions, but the arrows were not very clear, considering I had no idea which avenues connected later or diverged.

So I decided to try the Library option, first, since I do generally follow Hermione Granger's thinking of “when in doubt, go to the library.” On the way I asked another wandering student where to find the entrance to said building. He pointed out the correct path and let me know that I'd need to be “buzzed” in. On my way there, I had an opportunity to admire the beautiful green spaces, old trees, and a small pond full of wildlife. Unfortunately, the Welcome Center here was also closed for the day. The library staff gave me two different sets of directions to find Security. Of course, this time I not only had my two heavy carry-on bags, but also The Behemoth. This is what I call my over-large suitcase that could have held even more than the kitchen sink. I dragged The Behemoth, of course, as I could not possibly have carried it on this trek.

As my luck would have it, I took the longer and more difficult of the two routes. By this point I was already sweating more profusely than I'd have liked and my limbs had grown weary. After a longer-than-I'd-have-liked hassle to obtain my “access” card, the key to my residence hall, I headed out to track down that building. Unable to load my email to find my Roehampton password in order to log on to the campus WiFi, I had to return to Security at Stuart Lodge to take a photo of the campus map there.

It took another three wrong turns to finally find Old Court, my residence hall. However, I could not find a door to enter the building. Frustrated and exhausted, I left my suitcase on the path for a moment and waved at the people in the downstairs kitchen through the window. I motioned and called out that I didn't know where the entrance was, which they pointed to. They were confused when I went the opposite direction to collect The Behemoth, but were still there to let me in when I found the door. In fact, they were extremely helpful, letting me into the door closest to my flat (or dorm room) and pushing while I pulled The Behemoth up the spiral staircase. My access key worked to open my room door and I thanked them for their help, before retiring to my quarters to settle in.

My struggles did not end there and then. Later that same evening, I headed in search of the nearest bathroom. The only doors near mine were three other individual flats and a door marked “Fire Door. Keep Shut.” In the American way, I imagined this to be an alarmed “emergency exit”. Based on this assumption, I found myself cut off from the rest of the building. I took my door key and phone with me to exit where I'd come in earlier and went around to another door which was left cracked. I went through and used the ground floor bathroom closest to the kitchen.

On my way back out, I found a bulletin board with a selection of “important numbers” on it, including the non-emergency number for campus Security. This turned out to be an incredibly intuitive moment, as I snapped a photo of this sheet. Then I headed back out the door and returned to the door that I believed was the unique entrance to the portion of the building holding my room. My access card, however, did not admit me entrance. I ended up trying my card on all the doors, surprised, as it had worked on my flat door earlier that day. I discovered that the card would not admit me access to the building.

Frustrated, chilled by the night air, and exhausted, I turned on my cellular data to call Security. While I waited for five or ten minutes alone in the courtyard, I had the opportunity to admire the aesthetic appeal of the cobblestones and the streetlamp lighting. When the security officer arrived to allow me entrance to the building, he tried my card a few times. Once proven that it was faulty, he told me I'd have to get it fixed on Monday, two days later, at the Gate House. In the meantime, he did show me that the “Fire Door” was actually an entrance to the rest of the building and not alarmed.

In the morning, on Sunday, I began to run low on the food I'd brought with me. Once I'd sorted the WiFi issue, I emailed the accommodations team about the “quarantine food delivery” that UR offered. The first email I received said that there should already be food awaiting me in the kitchen. As it turns out, Old Court has three kitchens – two full sized (including an oven, full sized refrigerators and freezers, and tables to sit at), one smaller one nearest me equipped with a small fridge, a sink, and a microwave. None of these had food with my name on it, whether in cabinets, fridges, or freezers.

The second email from accommodations said that it was allowed for me to go out for food as it is “essential” and that they'd clear up the food delivery issue on the following day. Thus began my second trek around campus. There are many lovely woodsy dirt and cobblestone paths leading around campus to the various on-site food providers. All of which were closed by 7pm on Sunday evening.

Instead I found an open restaurant that I hoped allowed take-out and began my journey to find a gate closer to the restaurant. After much wayward wandering, GPS confusion, and campus map consultation, I was able to exit through the Froebel Gate. A notice on the door told me that the gate would close at 8pm. At this point it was nearly 7:40pm. After a brief walk down the sidewalk outside of campus, I gave up the wild goose chase for another day and returned to my last bits of saved trail mix for dinner.

The accommodations team delivered food as expected the following day.