My Student Neighbours

My decision to come to London was carefully planned: I chose a great school in a great city in a great continent. Little did I know then that the most rewarding part of my experience here would emerge from pure spontaneity and coincidence.

I met my neighbours months after my arrival, during a residents' pizza night at the International Students House. That night was all it took to realize they were an amazing bunch, and a few more meals together confirmed I was part of an incredibly warm and diverse community of friends that would change my life in London in unexpectedly wonderful ways.

Learning and Laughing

It is not hyperbolic to say that I have learned more from my neighbours than I have in the classroom at LSE. Through our conversations I have travelled the world as they know it, through our meals I have tasted their cultures, and through our jokes I have realized that differences become trivial when we all can laugh together.

My neighbours are there for each other in the good and the bad times, coordinating and celebrating surprise parties, running to the hospital in the middle of the night, knocking on our doors just to brighten our days, acting as better dissertation tutors than our real tutors, becoming each other's godparents (!), providing encouragement, inspiration, relief, laughter, company... It takes sensibility and dedication to maintain such a diverse group of new friends together, and my neighbours have mastered this art. Their kindness and generosity are the true pillars of my home away from home.

As my time in London inevitably draws to a close, I am not certain when, if ever, I will see my neighbours again. We are all continuing life in different directions, and even if I manage to see some, it will be difficult to get the whole gang together in the same place. This silent realization, however, may have made the moments we shared even more special. Because our time together may be unrepeatable, every second has been truly and spontaneously unique.

Thank you for that.

Maria is a Cuban Harvard graduate and a guest blogger for Foreign Students. She posts regular updates of her experiences as a postgraduate student at LSE in London. Click here to see her older posts.

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