Freckles Abroad

Johnny Cash and I finally have something in common. After several days in self-isolation, I found myself watching the cars go by outside the gate of Old Court courtyard from the hall window and wondering, will I ever be free again? It really brought home “Folsom Prison Blues”. I spent a lot of time fluctuating between reading Two Towers, reading ahead of classes, writing, watching television, and playing games on my phone. My body became so annoyed at the sitting position, that I spent a few hours dancing around my room to a Spotify playlist. Even with all these activities to keep me busy, the cabin fever was creeping into my soul.

“I'm stuck in Folsom Prison and time keeps dragging on.”

Sometimes while sitting at my desk, reading emails about the changed school year situation (which classes are online, where on campus we're allowed to take off our face-masks, etc), I am transported back to my college days at the University of New Hampshire. It takes a moment or two of blinking to return to myself. I realize that with all the staying indoors, it has become surreal to me that I am in a different part of the world. I have to consciously recall my flights to get here and the fact that I am in England, in the south western part of London.

“I know I can't be free/ But those people keep on moving/And that's what tortures me.”

The first week was mostly sunny out of doors. At night, even late into the evening, I can hear voices wafting through the autumn air outside my bedroom windows as students enjoyed the freedom of campus life.

As the second week began, the weather turned gray and outcast. One afternoon I enjoyed standing by the window in my pajamas, watching the rain hit the window and the cackling chickens in the back yard. I felt like a protagonist from one of the historical-fiction films I've loved, isolated and watching water fall from the sky.

By far the most exciting evening, or morning, I suppose, was when the fire alarm went off. I'm not referring to the weekly 9am fire drills that last only a few seconds. It was after midnight and I noticed someone was in the shower as I headed down the hall. My thought was “hey, someone else who showers at night!”

A few minutes later, the fire alarm went off. I prayed for it to shut off again just as quickly, but after another minute, I was forced to exit the building. I believe I was the last person out, all of us social distancing in the chilly courtyard in pajamas and socks or sandals. There was no real fire. I was informed that the sensors for the fire alarms in Old Court are, well, old and therefore over-sensitive. When someone exited the shower, the steam set off the alarms.

Interesting to note, while alarms such as this in the United States generally impel the Fire Department, Police Department, or at minimum Campus Security to immediately discover the cause of the issue, these alarms did no more than alert the residents to exit the building. One of my flat-mates had to call Campus Security for them to arrive, check the site, turn off the alarm, and let us back in. After the call had been placed, we still waited almost ten minutes before they arrived. Luckily, that was an isolated incident.

Happily, quarantine has finally ended and classes begin this week. Despite the gloomy weather, I'm looking forward to exploring campus and the start of my programme!