Flatmates of Flat 9!

At the request of Jessica Carroll, I am will update my blog. I cannot believe that I have not even been in this country for a week and so much has changed already. The past 6 days have been crazy, exhausting, anxious-filled but also exciting, adventurous, and turned out to be awesome. 
So I found my flat and moved my stuff in yesterday because I have still been staying in the hotel with mama Joy and papa Crol. After moving in yesterday, I stayed at the flat to go to the school at 7 for a free dinner for the "Freshers Week" party. This "fresher's week" is all new to me. Here, the programs start at different times but the freshmen/ first years start first and kick everything off with a week-long party. I, obviously not a fresher, went last night as a guest and was truly amazed. Let's just say that my school knows how to party. Outside the school is a huge courtyard or quad and there were tables and chairs and a huge white tent. Inside the tent was a nice floor, lights everywhere, a DJ, amazing catered food, and a bar. As I walked around, I just stared at all of the girls (who looked like they were at Fashion Week) with their Louboutins, Chanel bags, and designer clothes. I was somewhat in shock but then I also found "normal-looking" students too. Luckily, my flatmates are "normal" or at least semi.


I have only seen Three's Company once but I think we could be compared to that in the flat. 


Bianca is the first. She is from northern Italy and absolutely great. I talked to her on Facebook right before I left for London and she told me about the flat. We met last Saturday and instantly hit it off. She is only 19 but speaks Italian, fluent English, some German, some Spanish, and is now learning Chinese. I am jealous. She actually studied abroad in Seattle, Washington for a year so we talk about her favorite American t.v. shows: How I met your Mother, Wheel of Fortune, and Family Feud!! So random but she is fabulous. I knew right when I met her and she brought up being embarrassed that she was Italian because of Jersey Shore that we would be great together. Bianca is so easy to get along with and helps bring all of the flatmates together.


Mang Yin (aka Mr. Chow) is next. Mang Yin is an Asian from Chile. He speaks Spanish, Chinese (not Mandarin so I am not sure what) and pretty good English. I gave him the nickname Mr. Chow last night. If you have ever seen the Hangover, please picture him now. Mang Yin is hilarious. He found the flat originally and then Bianca told him that we would be his flatmates. He showed us the flat on Saturday and seemed mad and not friendly. From that, I did not want to live with him. Now, he is the exact opposite- hilarious, entertaining, and very friendly. He told me last night that he is very "timid" at first when meeting someone new but now he is "confident". So funny. On Monday, we signed the contract for the flat and they wanted to move in that night so we all had to pay a 550 GBP down payment and then we could pay the first 8-weeks rent by getting a bank wire the following day. Mr. Chow went back to his hostel and returned with his suitcase and a fanny pack. Inside the fanny pack he pulled out two huge wads of cash. He paid his deposit, Bianca's deposit, and his rent in cash on the spot. So sketchy. I have no idea who he really is but I look forward to finding out.


Marc Antoine. MA is from Paris, France and I found out last night that he is 1 of 12 children! He showed us his house and it is basically a castle in France but I guess you would have to have something large for a family of 14. I compared Marc Antoine to Kelsey Welch (my dear friend and roommate from college). He is so weird! but I enjoy his company. He also does not speak English too well, so he is pretty entertaining to listen to. At the Fresher's party last night there was a dance floor and DJ. Marc Antoine and I went straight there and pulled out some awesome moves. Basically, any spastic movement of our body was all that we did. On the walk home from the party, I put some music on my iPod and we continued to dance most of the way home. Because of his poor English, he is always trying to learn new words/ understand anything we are saying. I feel like a thesaurus with him because I am always trying to come up with synonyms for words.


Lastly, there is Nino. Nino is from France too but is actually portuguese. His real name is Stephane but his nickname in his family is Nino because he is the youngest of his extended family. Nino is probably the most mature guy of the group, which does not say too much. He seems like me but in male form. Whenever I though to tell the guys to be quiet last night because they would disturb our neighbors, Nino told them first. He also cleans up after himself. He has a girlfriend and they have already been Skyping a lot but I think it is cute because he misses her. Nino speaks French, Portuguese, some Spanish, and some English.


Together, we represent some of the United Nations. With all of our different languages it is so entertaining to listen to us communicate. For example, Marc Antoine was talking in French to Nino. Nino did not know the English word so said it to Mang Yin in Portuguese. Mang Yin then told me the word in Spanish to come up with it- finally in English! I have a feeling, we will lose a lot in translation but hopefully, I will learn some things along the way. 


Mama Joy, Papa Crol, and I begin our UK adventure tomorrow to North England and Scotland. This shall be interesting....


Until the next time I have wifi, 
Cheers!