The joys of crashing over at friends before living on Paradise Row.
(One day before my departure: ) “Yes, I’m going back to London! Oh no, I haven’t found a place to stay yet, but it’s fine, tudo bem!” –that’s generally when the eyes of the one in front pop out and you know you’re now considered as an ultimately naïve fool.
So I hadn’t found a home yet by the time I reached this hectic monster called London, could it really be that bad?
Dragging my broken orange suitcase around Shoreditch, I finally reached my first point of hospitality . My good friend (and amazing musician, check him out HERE while you’re at it!) Dominic had just moved in with 4 other guys in a sick house with a rooftop terrace. This was during mid-September, when the sun kicks out its last warm rays of sunshine, giving you the hope that summer hasn’t ended yet.
You never get fooled for too long here in London anyway.
Getting back to the story of being homeless! Luckily for me, I’ve had the best hosts ever. What was supposed to be a one-night stay turned into a week of crashing over. One of their flatmates was out of the country, so I got to stay in his room and sleep on a comfortable mattress: that’s some luxurious crashing there!
During the day, since it was always surprisingly sunny that week, we would take the couch outside on the rooftop and chill with whoever was around. Not having keys of my own, I would only go out wandering once in a while; too scared no one would open the door once I’d come back. I wasn’t the only one crashing over: at one point, two other guys slept on the sofas and one of them ended up delaying his stay like I did. We talked about how homeless we were and at one point the guy took his toothbrush out of his bag and started casually brushing his teeth on the rooftop- now THAT’S when you recognise a true pro of crashing over. “Once, I even did this while walking on the street”, he said, as I looked at him with eyes wide open.
The next and final stop during this homeless experience was at my Lebanese friend’s house (Damn it’s cool to have good friends to count on- definitely makes the whole “homeless” experience a lot more easy). Totally different from the other flat’s atmosphere, Mira’s house is all clean and cosy. I instantly felt comfortable in this colourful cocoon protecting me from the cold London weather (Yes, the sun died quickly). I stayed there for a couple of days before university started. Since Mira is my game buddy (she and I are both addicted to playing, playing more and more) we knew perfectly what was the best way to spend our days. Even after all these hours of stress and tension due to our highly competitive character, Mira never kicked me out of her house- now THAT’S when you recognise a true friend!
During all this fun process of sleeping from left to right, I still did not mention the best and most exciting part of all: My flatmates and I finally FOUND OUR FUTUR HOUSE. It was almost sad to abandon this vagabond life filled with surprises and uncertainty. I made a list of the top things I learned from this experience so that you are now prepared for it if it hits you! Here it goes,
THE 5 THINGS I LEARNED FROM CRASHING OVER:
It’s actually a nice activity when you have good friends to rely on: you get to exchange more with them on a daily basis and share the small events of the everyday life (such as shopping for groceries and cooking some funky food together). Don’t forget that a good host deserves a perfect crasher. Small intentions to help around the house are always a good way to express your gratitude for the generosity you receive.
You learn A LOT about your host! (How he/she likes their coffee, if they’re more clean freak or pig style, what is the best way to handle them during the first minutes after they’ve woken up, and much more depending how long you stay with them).
Using 2 big comfortable chairs and putting them together makes a great bed for the night! There are other alternatives such as sleeping in the bath tub or on a pile of clothes depending what you’re preferences are.
Always make sure you have enough food in the house in case you get stuck without the keys for hours!
You get used to less comfort and it feels just fine. Crashing over teaches you to live the everyday life without all your “possessions” and reminds you how lucky you are when you finally get to have your own bed again (Yes, this day comes eventually, don’t lose hope!).