A Piece of Home
I have been in Manchester for a little over a week now. There so many differences about this place. Such as the size of the houses and roads or the British slangs that makes you question what people are actually saying. Nevermind that. Differences are good. It allows you to have a different outlook on the world around you. But I am a believer that everywhere you go, you should have a piece of your home. For me, that was making my accommodation feel like home. When it comes to moving into a new space, I am the queen of decorating and organizing until it feels like a place I would want to live in.
The first couple of nights here were really hard for me. Simply because I didn’t feel comfortable in my accommodation. There were weird smells, a rock hard bed, and too many blank walls. It was driving me crazy. Being the expressionist that I am, I had to find a way to incorporate my favorite things ( rose gold, throw pillows, flowers, & canvases) in my room to make it feel like my home away from home. Luckily, I had come over with a good amount of decorations that fit my rose gold theme from back home. The real work began when I had to set aside a budget for redecorating my room. I knew this was something I had to do in order to allocate a specific amount of money to make my accommodation nice. Thank God for places like Poundland (British Dollar Store), and B&M ( Marshalls/Ross Equivalent).The stores allowed me to bring out my creative side while saving some coins. Most people may think that I was doing the most, but thats generally the main thing I needed to feel at peace in the place I would be sleeping in for the next 4 1/2 months.
This is not to say, go redecorate your room like I did (Unless that’s also your vice LOL). Instead, I simply want you to re-evaluate what part of home you brought or would like to bring to your study abroad experience. I believe it’s important to have a piece of what home’s like while experiencing a new environment. It also helps with homesickness.
If you ask me now, I’m in love with my room and it feels like home. My flatmates always walk by in admiration of how I put it together. I can honestly say it was worth it, especially for my peace of mind. Week one is now over, it’s now time to see what else Europe has to offer me.