Starting my Master thesis, I am at the end of my time here at the UT. It is almost time to pack my bags and search for another place to live. Exciting, but also nerve-wrecking. Which makes me think about the time I had just arrived in Enschede.
Not knowing yet about the deadlines and exams about to be hitting me soon, finding a room was the most pressing issue. At first, I had followed the advice to put myself on the waiting list for housing for international students. It was only a couple of weeks before the academic year would start for me. A few hundred people still preceded me on this list. Now, people can just easily sign up for a single-person apartment at Camelot. But I had to search for other options and directly applied for different student rooms.
Fortunately, I had been invited to three houses on campus. The first house had three applicants for two rooms. A jury of 12 students listened attentively to our answers. In the end, I was chosen over the student from overseas. I guess there is a reason for the long waiting list for international students.
Arriving 45 minutes too late at the second house, I was greeted by chaos. No one kept track of the times or names. People were being interviewed while others received a house tour at the same time. A constant stream of people entering and leaving the room. I was offered a beer, declined and was asked a few questions about my hobbies and what kitchen utensil I mostly felt like. I kindly declined the room and went on the third house.
Here, I accepted the offered beer and joined the large circle of 13 waiting residents. The questions were light and felt more like a conversation than an interview. At almost midnight, I went back to my hotel room in order to process the events of the night, I eventually accepted the first room for a subletting period of half a year.
After a while, I had enough of sharing my living space with others. That is why I am currently living in my own apartment. I guess everyone feels a bit nervous about moving to a new and unknown place after their study. I am nervous about what the future holds, for sure. But at the same time, I am almost certain that nothing can surprise me anymore after living in a student house.
