A Week of Welcomes

My dorm in Dinwiddy House is strikingly reminiscent of last years single in Deroy. After getting our keys, the IFSA gang headed to Argos, an elaborate catalog store that feels like the future. You look through books, check availability, hand the cashier a little slip and wait to be brought everything you've asked for. It was such a lovely minimalist shopping experience. Well worth the troop it took to get their and the pounds spent on the cab ride back.  I prioritized decorating: hung a Ghanaian tapestry & overpriced records from a charity shop up the road in Islington. I have still yet to fully unpack. Clothes are overwhelming and there's not enough drawer space so my suitcase is serving as a clothing reservoir for the time being.

Those first two days were easy enough. Went grocery shopping. Felt grown and responsible. Having a fully functioning kitchen is a new kind of freedom. A freedom my tongue and tummy are grateful for. Imagining meals and creating them, honoring my cravings and saving money-the good life.

"Fresher Welcome Week":  populated halls, free planners, and a full table of events. The first event was listed as a BBQ which ended up being a massive serpent of a queue  wrapped throughout the grounds of the Vernon Square campus/ Paul Robeson post-graduate housing complex. There was one food truck, serviced by 3 people. Frying chicken and grilling up some mushroom/eggplant radish stuff for the vegetarians. I wasn't hungry for anything aside from social interaction but it was difficult to break through such a food-centric arrangement. It was an ideal time for people watching and after standing around for an hour or 2, dancing to 90s dancehall and making conversation with the folks around me i was hungry and hell bent on getting some chicken (breaking my diet because im allergic to eggplant and detest mushrooms). But Chicken ran out, campus closed and I found myself pleading for some eggplant mush before being forced out of the courtyard towards a pub called Bistro.

That night at Bistro was my first successful turn up. SOAS DJs did me right serving up Hip-Hop, Nostalgia and "proper Bashment tunes." I exchanged smiles and dance moves for Facebook adds and plans to be made Jollof by an adorable Ghanaian fresher. Being the only one who can twerk in a pub feels like a super power.

I spent my post-party hours chatting with two recent SOAS graduates about music degrees, campus, and club nights.  

Orientation/Enrollment: The 8:30am hike to Russell Sqaure on a Monday morning was a situation I refused to let myself stress over. I got up. Got out. And Got there- tuning out the anxious power walk of my fellow study abroad students. Once there, we sat in an auditorium for almost 2 hours learning about the days to come and the distinctions of the UK university system. Since I am only here for a term, I will be assessed based on either 1x 4,000 word essay due in January or 2 shorter essays, one mid-term the other in January. 

The next day, I arrived at campus around 2:30 for "formal enrollment" queued up for about an hour, handed over my identification documents & received my library card.

As far as classes are concerned, I have spent the week emailing professors for enrollment approval. Thought I had it all sorted until I discovered some blaring time clashes and overlaps in my personal timetable. Currently sorting it all out. Decided to stop worrying about Brandeis' Anthropology requirements and focus on making the most of this semester. If all goes well I will have Thurs & Friday free for travel and be taking courses on everything from Ethnomusicology to African literature.