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THE BEGINNING
You start by filling in a questionnaire. Yes, it’s a long one, but don’t despair. Be honest with what you fill in; otherwise, your lying or indifference can lead to some fatal consequences. The range of possible preferences is wide indeed: sleeping with an open window, having friends stay in the room until midnight, enjoying peace and quiet… Any worries that you wouldn’t find suitable options are simply groundless. In the end, fill in something nice for your future roommate, but be careful: You still don’t know if you’re going to get a devil in disguise that will keep its lamp and mouth turned on constantly, or an angel whom you’ll want to hug a few times a day. All that’s left then is to simply daily pray, so that the Academy staff can give you a living sun to shine in your room, without the need to undo the curtains.
The result of your truth-telling will become known only when you come to the school on one sunny Sunday. After entering your room, you should watch out, however, since you might find some overly sophisticated techniques by your tricky roommate planning to win over your heart. What will you find on your nightstand? A name tag? A “Horalka” snack? Flowers? Kofola? Use your critical thinking skills (RAVEN is highly recommended, but it’s up to you) to tell these tricks from welcome gifts provided by the Academy.
In case you discover that you have more surprises lying on your nightstand than your roommate, don’t panic! Simply dash out like Usain Bolt and, one hundred meters away at the local Tesco, buy some chocolate which you’ll then put on that low-standing piece of furniture mentioned above. Then simply sit down on your bed with yellow bedclothes, smile warmly, and wait for the arrival of that mysterious person.
At this point, two scenarios can happen. You will meet a pleasant person and have some nice chit-chat. She will mention that she had already been in the room, but had to leave for a while, and will wax eloquent on how the boarding room exceeds all her expectations. Your heart will jump for joy at the sight of your soon-to-be best friend, and you will gladly start unpacking.
The other scenario is this: Your new roommate will rush in like a wind, yelling a brief “Hey!”, and will ask you if you’d like to unpack her for 5 euros since she doesn’t have more. Your heart will sink and you’ll start to think about your chances of surviving the next year.
JUST HANG IN THERE
Life will go on. Despite the fact that your relationship is firmly rooted in the soil, much fertilizer is yet to be used to feed these roots. There will be times when the cold wind blows and you will be disgusted at what nonsense you can write (but you’ll take heart since you’ll think that honesty is what matters). There will be moments when she will keep informing you about the progress in her vegetarian diet, only to learn that she couldn’t bear it and ate a ham pizza. You will come to think that she is a genius and the biggest dimwit in the world. You will hear about all the good relationships that she has with the teachers and friends, and also about the lack of them. She will tell you how amazing she is at writing, but also how worthless her essays are.
Yes, it will take plenty of courage to go through all this. But here’s what I can tell you: Look forward to all this! Great moments await you! Moments when you’ll realize how you care about each other; how your roommate will turn to you for help; how you can talk about controversial topics and LA news without worrying that your discussion could leak; how she would close the window every night so that you wouldn’t freeze just because you need to fall asleep breathing fresh air. There will be times when you’ll be picking a birthday gift for her; write a Christmas greeting with her beloved chocolate attached; when she’ll sing you your favourite chant or Lemon Tree when you need it; even though she’ll put stickers with radioactivity symbols all over the hall and the door, saying “Close the door!” But especially, you’ll be afraid even to think of the time when the school year ends as that will bring your joint experience to an end.
The residential life is great (ok, at least when you’re not on duty). You won’t need to be afraid of it or your new roommate. If you’re not sure about how to handle it, grab some experienced students before they’re out of your reach. And if that doesn’t help either, don’t despair: Go and read this manual once again.
Take the chance and apply to LEAF Academy by March 7
