Take Your Coat Off and Stay a While

    If you were given two weeks where you didn't have to do anything, what would you do? I'm talking about no obligations, no pending deadlines, you don't have to go anywhere, talk to anyone, or do anything. This may sound like an introvert's dream, but I am no introvert. That was the situation I found myself in due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

    I landed at Heathrow Airport in the early morning GMT. As I walked through the terminal towards immigration, my phone rang. A +44 number showed on the screen. I answered it and a man with a thick foreign accent greeted me. "I am your taxi driver Mohammed to pick you up at Heathrow." The man on the other side reported. I quickly told him that I would be out in a few short minutes and I would see him in the lobby. I breezed through immigration and customs and made my way to the lobby. I said goodbye to a friend I had made on the thirteen-hour flight and found Mohammed with a dry-erase board sign reading "Timon Burgy" I introduced myself and we made our way to his taxi. I was finally in England after months of waiting, planning, and anticipation, it was hard to contain my excitement as I began my adventure. I loaded my suitcase into the boot of the taxi and we drove out of the airport. The first thing I noticed was being on the wrong side of the road. I knew that it was what they did, but nothing prepares you for cars coming at you down a street on the right-hand side. The taxi driver turned the radio on and the voice of BBC reporters filled the car. There were two things that were on the news as I arrived in London: COVID-19 and Brexit. We listened to the radio until we arrived at the hotel that I would call home for the next fourteen days, The QBIC (pronounced Cubic) Hotel. I unloaded my bags and made my way into the hotel. 

    The woman at the front desk greeted me and checked me in, the hotel was colourful and cosy. The light scent of honey lemon drifted through the air. I grabbed my bags and stepped into the lift to ascend to my third-floor room. I scanned into my room and set my suitcase by the door. The room was small, small like a mid-sized single person bathroom. The full bed claimed the most real estate of the room, behind the bed was a strange cube. Spanning from the floor to the ceiling, occupying the back half of the room leaving a 1m (3ft) path around the right side. I walked around the cube and opened the sliding door revealing a compact bathroom. A sink and toilet sat nestled inside and across the box, separated by a small glass wall, a rain-fall shower protruded from the ceiling. The room was all-inclusive, everything I needed was within the 16m² (170ft²) room. For reference, the average hotel room is over 30m² (330ft²). After checking the room, I secured the door lock and climbed into the bed. I hadn't slept much on the flight and for me it was 2am. 

    The next fourteen days flew by. I made friends in the hotel lobby, I met a group of American satellite engineers, a Cypriot Russian on holiday, an Italian chef who made an amazing Beef Shin Ragu, a Spanish bartender, and of course plenty of Brits. I left the hotel a couple of times to get snacks at a Tesco down the street, test British Fish and Chips and see if they're worth the hype, and get some fresh air. I watched my fair share of Netflix and Disney+, FaceTimed with friends and family, and even jumped in on a couple virtual classes from my school. I set a schedule for myself and kept to it. Jet lag fortunately never hit because I forced myself into a schedule. I started a blog - a different one that chronicled my internship - that I kept up on that through my time there to share real-time stories with friends back home. That blog also encouraged me to write this one once I returned home. I loved telling my stories. I did some LinkedIn Learning and learned how to use a program called Fusion 360, which I used a lot at my internship and still love to use today. My extraverted cravings were filled with long talks with other people learning about them, their lives, and exciting places they visit. I learned about the country of Seychelles through my talks with one of the American engineers. He described the islands as his favourite place in the world, having met his wife there and lived there for a while. I added Seychelles to my bucket list because of Jim the engineer. 

    On my final day of quarantine, I received word that a taxi would pick me up around midday but my quarantine was officially over. I laced up my running shoes, planned a route, and hit the streets of London. Along my five-mile running tour of the city, I passed the Thames (pronounced Tims) river and crossed over the London Bridge - which contrary to popular media is not falling down. I ran by the Globe Theatre, Shakespeare's famous venue for his creations. I passed Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, The Tate Modern, St. Paul's Cathedral, and other iconic London Landmarks. I made my way back around to the QBIC, refreshed, and packed my suitcases. 

    The taxi arrived as I was sitting in the lobby of the hotel. An Englishman named Florida - ironic isn't it - welcomed me into the taxi and we made our way for Oxford, where I would live and have adventures.

-TDB