Living at the UEL (University of East London) (Posted by Scott)

Arriving into my assigned room at the UEL, I was instantly pleased with what I saw. It was, as expected, small, but also exceptionally clean and already prepared with bed linen, toilet paper, and a towel. There was plenty of shelving and storing space and the bathroom was crispy and fresh. Later on in my stay it became known that a cleaning personnel attended the room once a week to do a basic tidy up; a convenient bonus indeed! The communal kitchen was also a pleasant surprise. It was very spacious and came equipped with a large dining table, two refrigerators, two freezers, an oven, microwave, a massive sink and a spacious countertop.  The communal kitchen also had these wonderful panoramic windows which allowed one to see the canal and the airport planes taking off and landing.

Our organized daily breakfasts at the UEL were...meh. Other than a few rare occasions where sausage, bacon, and egg were provided, there was no solid protein; just bread, cereal, and fruit. We were also seated in a cafeteria overcrowded with pre-pubescent teens, which later became known to have been a mistake. We were actually supposed to have been seated in the much calmer, upper level floor of the student social building which was set aside for adults...and where they actually served coffee! In our other breakfast area for kids, coffee was forbidden; hot chocolate only.

I was expecting the UEL campus to be composed predominantly of college students, but instead it was filled with hoards of rambunctious high-schoolers from every corner of the globe, taking part in some sort of high-school summer programme provided by the UEL. I have no clue what the reasoning is, or whether it is some sort of cultural practise, but many of the Italian and Spanish boys, when they became enthusiastic or frustrated, would screech the most obnoxious and disturbing noises I have ever heard come from another human beings mouth that is not in some sort of physical pain. Luckily I’m a deep sleeper so these cries of madness did not put my night-rest in jeopardy.

The area surrounding the campus was unquestionably dull and boring, and from the vibes I got, pretty hooded-out too. This, however, provided in some ways a nice contrast from the glitzy and glamorous tourist spots we would spend most of our days at. The only area of interest walking distance from the campus was a little convenient store called “The Shop”, which offered well-priced snacks and drinks. The young men who worked there were also nice personalities, which would often stir up a fun chat. When I told them I was visiting for a few weeks and staying at the UEL, they jokingly told me, “its dead over here, take my advice, leave as soon as you can and never look back!”