Why you gotta be so complicated?

Cue that one Avril Lavigne song. (That one's for you, Kevin).

Seriously though. England is SO. COMPLICATED. Nothing is easy or simple here.

For example, I move into my new place tomorrow (YAY!) and have signed up for internet, but in order to get internet you have to pay for a phone line, and they can't come set any of that up until the 19th. That's over a week from now. Another company told me the 23rd.

So, I won't have internet for a week. Okay. But I also don't have a phone with 3G/4G right now. I have been told by some that I can't get a long-term contract without UK credit history of 4 months. Which means I'll have to pay more for a phone and then pay more overall. Hopefully I can get around that. But still, it's yet another complication.

For the bank, you have to have tons of paperwork to get an account. I lucked out on getting mine so early, and the guy is still waiting for paperwork from me and my school. But at least I have one My friend was unable to get one without official documents from the school. Then to log into your account online, or to get account help over the phone, you have an 8-digit passcode number that they ask you for random numbers from ("Please enter the 2nd to last digit of your 8-digit code. Please enter the 3rd digit..., etc). Then online there are multiple secret questions AND a random-number-generating key fob. So you can't check your bank online unless you have the stupid fob. I have no idea what happens if you lose it!

Getting a house has proved to be equally, if not more, complicated. Many landlords do not want transfers from foreign bank accounts, so you have to have a local one (which is a hassle, as I noted). Then if you're foreign you have to pay a larger deposit (2 months in advance sometimes, plus first months rent. Or in my cause, termly rent). Then that goes into a deposit scheme which you have an account for. Aside from that, finding a place is hard and expensive and many places are practically run-down crack-houses going for the price of a Park Avenue apartment. My friend even got a dorm in a fairly nice place (way over priced, if I do say), and their internet only works sometimes and the stove randomly turns off and her shower gets water EVERYWHERE. So really, even if you're paying out-the-bum for a place, there's no guarantee it'll even really be any good.

Also I have a cold and apparently Nyquil isn't easy to come by here. And this woman told me if I have a cold I'm supposed to go get a shot or it will come back? I have no idea what she meant. Maybe colds are some superbug in England and I just don't know. I can just hear the English cold virus talking..."OI MATE, I'M COMIN BACK FOR YA HAHAHA." Jerk.

Anyway I move tomorrow, so once I get internet I will post pics of the new place and maybe of the roommates or something. Which by the way, are not my original roommates. I will now be living with 3 undergrad film students from Kings, all girls, form France, Bulgaria (I think) and Italy. Things never really work out how you plan them in England...but oh well. Better to not be homeless!