✔️Soundtrack To My Life (18+) part 1

Independent Woman

Veronica, December 2003

I landed at Heathrow just after seven in the morning, feeling somewhat energised after sleeping most of the second leg of the flight. I'd spent weeks planning everything out, from my accommodation at the hostel to the job I was due to start in a few days, I'd even organised transport to the hostel. I'd studied a map of the city, making point of my closest underground station and supermarket as well as how far I was from both Kate's new place in Fulham and Shayla's flat above her shop in Covent Garden.

 I thought I was so well prepared, that I'd considered everything but as I stepped out of the airport to join the line for the shuttle bus, I was instantly hit with an icy blast that cut to the bone, Australian Winter is nothing compared to this. I'd left Australia in light clothing because we had been having endless, blazing hot days and even though I knew I was flying into a colder climate and I had added an extra layer of clothing, I just wasn't expecting it to be this cold. I rummaged through my suitcase until I found my big, wooly jacket, beanie, scarf and gloves, throwing them on as fast as I could just as the shuttle bus arrived.

 The driver took my name, making note of the hostel before taking my suitcases. I sat down in my window seat and pulled my passport out of my handbag, opening to the page that had been stamped upon arrival. It was such a small stamp but held such a huge, symbolic representation to me, this had been a dream of mine for so many years, to travel and explore the world and I had done this all on my own, I didn't tell my friends I was coming because I needed to prove to myself that I could be independent. 

The drive to my hostel took just over an hour, stopping along the way to let others off at their hotels. I loved looking at all the buildings as we passed by, they were centuries older than any we had back home and every now and then I'd notice narrow, cobbled laneways between the houses and all the railings painted black. London was a city so rich in history and I couldn't wait to immerse myself in it, to soak up it all up like a sponge.

The driver announced that we were at my hostel as he pulled up out the front of a long, brick building that looked like it had seen better days, I'm just hoping the inside wasn't as run down as the outside was. I checked in at the main desk and was handed a key to a room on the 3rd floor as well as a set of linen for the bed, the clerk then explained where the communal kitchen and bathrooms were located.

I caught the rickety elevator up to the 3rd floor, holding onto the wall behind me, scared that the cable could break at any moment and send me crashing to my death. When the doors finally opened on my floor I breathed a sigh of relief and took note of where the stairs were so I wouldn't have to ride in that death trap ever again. 

My room was located at the end of the long hall, I put my key in the door and was taken aback as it swung open to reveal a teeny, tiny room, just big enough to fit bunk beds, a window, small desk and heater against the wall. The room was unoccupied, with both beds striped of linen so I had my choice of which one to take. I decided on the bottom one, only because the proximity of the top bunk to the roof above, I didn't want to have the inconvenience of hitting my head whenever I sat up in bed. 

Off to the side of the room there was a door, I opened it and inside was narrow room with only a toilet and a small sink, not even a window to air out the room. I made a mental note to add air freshener to my shopping list out of fear I could get stuck in here with someone who could potentially stink up the whole room with their bowel movements. 

Although it was freezing outside, the room felt stuffy and hot so I decided to open the window to let some of the cool air in. I gazed out the window, taking in my surroundings, the British Museum was directly across the road and I had the perfect view of it from my room, it one of the main reasons I wanted to stay in this hostel.