Places of Residence

In the vein of my attempts to figure out 1) my physical address, 2) where I get my mail, 3) my actual mailing address, and 4) what about packages?!, I give you this entry about places of residence in the lovely Buckingham and spare you the gory details of this endeavour (at least until after a bunch of pretty pictures).

Nearly every house or cottage or dwelling is named and omigoodness, it’s adorable. Like this:

"The Cottage"--it's written on the gate!

[Sidenote to Uri: WE CAN HAZ?!]

The walk to town and campus is always made better by the picturesque houses/cottages/dwellings I see along the way. Even though I’ve made the walk no fewer than twenty times now, I still gawk like a tourist and stop to take pictures. [May I encourage you at this time to come back and visit my Buckingham Picasa photo stream here: Buckingham.]

Just enjoy for a bit.

Now about my dorm…

The University has seen fit to grant me a £100 credit to my account for the suffering caused by the lack of a shower door (which decided to fall apart before my eyes on my very first day and has yet to be replaced…after more than a week). I wonder if I’ll also get some more credit to my account for the suffering caused by the lack of reliable internet out here (in spite of the router being IN our apartment)—it is, after all, my only line back to the States! These random blackouts in communication breed concern in this digital age and breed resentment among college students…but at any rate, the lack of a shower door is really starting to get to me. I expect better for the amount I’m paying!

Hint: this is not supposed to be leaning against my bathroom wall...

Other than that, my dorm is just lovely.

My building!

Part of the development

It’s in a brand new housing development just outside the main town (which is approximately a 10 minute walk from my flat and 20 to the UBuckingham Hunter Street campus) in an area called Maids Moreton. I got the large ensuite room (YUSS) with two large and gorgeous windows that open like a charm and let the sunshine in first thing in the morning (which I really don’t mind except when the sun shines in just so like a laser boring through my eyelids when I wake up). The room came pretty well stocked (minus a mirror and waste bins and any light aside from sun and the ceiling light) with a dresser, wardrobe, desk, bed (with fluffy bedding!), and an unexpected bright red felt bulletin board I aim to cover (because I can, silly!).

There are two other girls down our little hallway, one from London and the other from Manchester (but absolutely Irish and plays the fiddle ohmygawd!). Our hallway, though spare and otherwise boring, has a bookcase. What. So now I have shelves on which to place my extensive reading list of books!

And the kitchen. The place I like best in this world is the kitchen.

Yeah, I'm quoting a novella from my senior year English class..

Shared betwixt the three of us, it’s now our kitchen and we’re very pleased to make its acquaintance! It comes complete with a microwave, kettle, nice sized sink, oven + range, and a fridge that’s somewhere in between the size of my freshman dorm fridge (larger than you would think!) and a typical white fridge with a freezer and refrigerator section to it (read: uh-oh. American size expectation warning). The kitchen is done up in a black-and-white theme that looks clean and neat and it makes me so very, very happy. Even happier since I purchased basil and a lettuce mixture to sit on that luvverly windowsill.

Lookit my haul from the charity shop! 5 GBP (c. $7.75 USD)

It’s quite small by the standards of my (read: Mom’s) kitchen back home, but this has one thing hers doesn’t: a washing machine. You heard me, Americans—a washing machine.

What!

The Isha is still slightly confused by this whole setup and annoyed at the complete and utter lack of a dryer in my vicinity, but that’s what Ikea drying racks are for. Apparently.

Voila!

I’m quite positive this is supposed to hang on a radiator, but all of mine are rather too small for that. On the upside, my door and my wardrobe are the perfect size for laundry and the clean clothes I wish to hang up.

All in all, I really am pleased and happy and well. And I've nearly gotten  the hang of which side of the blinds string to pull for up and down! I'm proud of me, anyway.

Cheers!