finding my flat

I was told that I lived in flat 143. Easy enough, right? I had no idea where I was going, but I figured that I would find it eventually. I walked out of the office with a key and without a clue. I decided to take shortcut, in between two buildings and down a dirt path. Did I mention that it was raining already? Apparently, I got here in the middle of one of the worst rainy seasons in Welsch history. I trekked down the path, across a quick paced stream, with a bridge, of course. I look ahead, to the right, then to the left seeing building that all looked the same. I started to get a little worried that maybe it was not going to be as easy as I thought. Tricia H. had decided to join me down the shortcut. I looked at her and she asked, " What flat did you say you were in?" I said "143." As though it was as easy 2+2, she looked at me with a silly face and pointed to the left, "There you are." I felt kind of dumb, but I knew that would probably happen a lot here, being uninformed and out of my comfort zone. She was up the road a bit, so we said goodbye and decided to meet up later. I pulled both of suitcases into the building, leaving one downstairs and carrying the other up three flights of stairs. As I came up the last bit of stairs, there were two people talking in an open doorway. They introduced themselves as Carrie and Cliff. Carrie is my flatmate and from New Mexico. Cliff is from Mississippi and lives downstairs, I think. He may live on our floor, but I don't know. I keyed into my room, only to be met by the contents of a dorm room. I was a little surprised by the nakedness of the room, but not sure why. I guess I had imagined the rooms to be nicer, bigger, different. The room is fine..a bed, wardrobe, desk, bookcase, night stand, and two chairs. I brought my other suitcase upstairs, rearranged my room, then unpacked. I had wanted to take a nap, but instead I showered and went downtown with Carrie, Janette(from California), Doug(lives downstairs, from America), Tricia H., Cliff, Ann(lives downstairs, from France), Sonja(lives downstairs, from Germany) and Farydeh(lives downstairs, from Wales/Ireland). We went to a local pub, where the range of people was amazing. There were old men, women in their thirties and guys that looked 16. I hope they weren't, because you have to be 18. ;) That in itself has been a big shock, the ability to go to a bar, pub, or night club. I am 2 1/2 months away from being 21, but here it makes no difference. I did not realize how much it would surprise me to be able to walk up to the bar and order a Foster's, without being told no or even carded. Yes, I ordered my first beer in Wales the first night I arrived, at a pub called The Potter's Wheel. It felt good to be able to sit back, relax and just hang out with my new friends. The night went well, with a somewhat inexpensive cab ride back around 1 in the morning. I knew I would be tired the next morning for the American Studies field trip to the coast. Oh well, I guess that's the price I will pay for a little fun and flatmate bonding!