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If I could have named one thing about the UK that I was sure would definitely not in a million years impress me, it would have been its beaches. I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by beaches of warm deep blue Caribbean waters and the whitest, finest sand. After spending many summers in Varadero, Cuba's most famous beach, not even its Miami or Hawaii counterparts were able to fulfill me. I thus did not look forward to visiting UK beaches, and only did so because the International Students House Travel Club organized a day trip to Brighton, a beach resort area on the south coast of the country.

As it turns out, Brighton did impress me. Sure, the sand looked dark and rocky, and the water colder than one could bear. But the beautiful Brighton Pier seemed to smile under a radiant sun. Parents and their children came to the pier in colorful clothes, sampling the many restaurants, arcade and fairground attractions. Along the seafront row, thousands of the finest automobiles lined up for InCarNation 1000, a show that celebrates the UK's best 1000 modified and performance cars. The day smelled of happiness and spring, and blooming flowers adorned the many terrace cafes offering delicious meals at surprisingly low prices.

When I received the admissions letter in 2005, Harvard was already a familiar place. Even before I applied, I had visited the university, checked out the campus party scene, attended information sessions, met my admissions officer, and gotten involved in the Cuban student group events. I thus began my undergraduate career with a fairly accurate sense of what awaited me in the next four years.

Arriving at LSE

My introduction to LSE was contrastingly abrupt. Before I knew it, classes arrived and I saw myself in Houghton Street absorbing everything for the first time. Of course, I was unprepared for the rushed course selection process, and the unavailability of professor and course evaluations as a public guide for students did not make the task easier. I was surprised to find that there were virtually no British people in my classes, as the majority of my classmates came from other European countries and North America. The school calendar shocked me; my unthinkable number of holidays included two months to study for finals!

Every full-time student and professional trainee can become a member of International Student House (or ISH for short), the amazing residential hall in the centre of London that I am proud to call home. However, ISH is much more than a residence. It is actually a cultural, intellectual and social center where activities literally do not stop thanks to the efforts of a fun and dedicated staff, especially the ISH events team.

I had been warned and I confirmed it: looking for accommodation is the one nightmare that foreign students will have to face before they can settle into the otherwise wonderfully student-friendly city of London.

Fortunately, I had friends in London that came to the rescue after I called for help. A couple of months before my arrival, my friends showered my inbox with e-mails full of invaluable advice on how to make the most of my housing search, even from the United States. There I submitted online applications to LSE residence halls as well as International Students House (ISH), a private residence hall for university students. When LSE rejected my application and ISH put me on a wait list, I was thrown against my will into the world of letting agents and websites of available rents.