Piccadilly Court

Our housing accommodation, called Piccadilly Court, is located in the northern London neighborhood Islington (which is only a twenty minute walk from Emirates Stadium for you Arsenal fans!) Named after its proximity to the Piccadilly Underground line, the place holds students from all over the world that are either studying abroad or on vacation. In just a few days a met other students from China, Turkey, France, and Austin, Texas.

Close by is Sainsbury local, which is a fancier 7-11 that provides groceries and prepared foods. Also on our block are three separate breakfast spots, each a little more different than the others. Across the street there is not much other than a small clothing store and a twenty-four hour deli. Seems to me that this is more of a residential area than a touristy, commercial one.

Each student is in a group of five in a separate corridor. Each corridor contains five single rooms that have their own bathroom and a common kitchen. The rooms, while not air conditioned, are roomy and come with a desk, drawers, a closet, and a pretty sizeable bed. The kitchen comes with two refrigerators, two freezers, an oven, microwave, and a pantry. The kitchen will probably act as our common room, as there are a few couches and tables.

One of my major concerns was that I only met the rest of the students once before we left at orientation about a month ago.   I could barely recognize their faces at the airport! After meeting the group for only the second time, I noticed some of them already had friends, and it forced me to rethink about how I had to break the ice freshmen year with the other kids on my floor. Thankfully, everyone has been very nice, and making connections with different people on the trip has been a breeze. On the flight over, I talked to Andy about his first year in school, his Netflix choices, and what he was most excited for on the trip.