I’d like to talk about an experience I had during my second year at university, when I had to share a twin bedroom in a student hostel with an exchange student from Spain called Mateo.
We were placed together quite unexpectedly because the university halls of residence were undergoing urgent renovation work, so several of us were temporarily relocated to off-campus accommodation. Up until that point, I’d always had my own private room, so having to suddenly live in close quarters with a complete stranger was a bit of a shock to the system. The room itself was fairly cramped, with just two single beds, a couple of study desks, and one wardrobe between us.
To be completely honest, the first few days were slightly awkward because we had completely different daily routines. I’m naturally an early bird who likes to get up at the crack of dawn to study, whereas Mateo was a night owl who preferred staying up late chatting on his mobile phone or reading with the main lamp on. However, we quickly realised that we needed to establish some ground rules to avoid getting on each other's nerves. We agreed on quiet hours and divided the storage space equally, which made a huge difference.
In the end, I felt surprisingly positive about the whole arrangement. Although I occasionally missed having total privacy, sharing a room actually taught me how to be far more adaptable and considerate. Mateo and I ended up getting on like a house on fire, and he even taught me some conversational Spanish before he returned home. It turned out to be a really rewarding experience rather than the ordeal I’d initially feared.