To say my week started hectic would be the understatement of the year. I woke up Monday morning with a Cheshire cat grin with the knowledge I would be traveling later that day. After a late-night packing, all I had to do today was:
- Go to my remote class
- Pack my tech and any other small things
- Go to the apple store and pick up a new phone
- Hop on the plane and fly to London
In theory, it sounds simple, but it very much was not. My little siblings made every task increasingly difficult due to their age: one being a rowdy five-year-old boy and the other a one-year-old girl. We managed to go through the first part of our day quickly until it came time to pick up a new phone.
We made the half-hour drive to the mall that held our closest Apple store, and I went in excitedly with the belief that this would be a quick pit stop; it was not. I went into the store looking for a clerk to assist me. I let him know I would like to purchase a phone, and he smiled as he initiated the process.
I informed him I would like to pick it up right then as my flight was less than five hours away. His once cheerful smile dropped to let me know that they were all sold out, and it has been that way since it was released almost a month ago. My frustration increased as I learned all neighboring Apple stores have sold out since the release date. Not only were they sold out there was also a backorder. It would take three-four weeks to deliver. This delay brought the delivery date to the 16th of November- after I get to the UK.
I asked if they could deliver it to the UK, and they could not. This unexpected hurdle leads me to check every carrier store at the mall. At&t, T-Mobile, and Verizon associates all gave me the same answer: Sold Out. It was getting close to when I should start heading to the airport, and in a last-minute cry for help, we went to Best Buy hoping they would have it or even if they had it open box.
They did not.
My mom then suggested I buy one when I get to London, and while certainly an option, it was not one I’m willing to take. I checked the apple website and found out it costs almost $400 more for the same phone if bought in the UK. See, in the United States, the phone I want is $1,298, and in the UK, it sells for £1,238: $1,699.77.
There is a cost difference of $401.77. I had to get over my initial shock as I realized that Brits pay that much more. If it were unclear, I would not be spending that much just because I am studying abroad.
The main problem remained as I couldn’t even find an older model in stock. My dad, however, came up with a solution for my dilemma. Although not ideal, he saved the day but let me borrow his old 7-plus. It’s got a working camera which is all I needed.
Once at the airport, things moved rather quickly as I got through bag check and security in about ten minutes. I boarded my plane and somehow won the lottery of seat charts. No one was seated next to me, and I was assigned the window seat.
I watched a couple of movies, ate my airplane food, and even took a nap, and then I was here. London looked beautiful from the plane window and even more so once I got out onto the street. I got to see a lot of London during the car ride from the airport to my dorm. Of course, part of the reason why is that we were in traffic for almost three hours. A car ride that should have taken only one hour took three due to traffic. That was the worst traffic I’ve seen since I lived in Cairo so many years ago.
My driver was great and would make conversation while being a little bit of a tour guide as he pointed out locations to me on our journey. I wish I could have appreciated it more, but I believe my hectic day, in addition to my flight and traffic, has made me ill. I was physically and mentally exhausted, but the main issue was how nauseous I felt. I don’t often get car sick, but I felt like throwing up the whole way, which was intensified by how bad the traffic was.
I wish I could say I had a long nap to look forward to, but I did not. Once getting into my room, I did my unpacking and had about a half-hour to get to class. I had two courses in a row: two hours long allotted to each, and would not sleep until they concluded.
On the way there, I got lost twice as I was still figuring out where everything lay, but I enjoyed going to class, and finally, I could sleep. I, fortunately, did not have class the two days after and could use those to recover from jet lag and get everything I needed. The most infuriating part of shopping was that I needed an adapter to charge my devices. I tried checking local stores, but it appears they are all out, which means I could not plug in my chargers.
Thankfully, a friend of mine has been kind enough to let me borrow their adapter until I can obtain one for myself. I got some kitchen stuff, a pillow, and some cleaning supplies. I still have not decorated much, but I am hoping I will be able to soon.
Once the weekend arrived, I was unsure what plans I wanted to have or where to go. I even almost dashed off to Poland! I could not go for a night out on the town but threw an impromptu party at 3:00 am on a Saturday, so that was quite an adventure. I’m also going on another one now as I have a flight to Berlin booked for Tuesday, which you will hear about next week.
