A few days ago I got locked out. Stupid, yes I know. In my own defense, the doorbell doesn’t really work in my new place, the buzz is very very faint and barely audible even if you stand next to it. Expecting my new office chair from UPS – I have been sitting and working on a fold-up chair for years at home – I was looking forward to receiving it, and anxious to miss the UPS delivery because it is impossible to hear the doorbell. UPS delivery men are also not given cellphones, so they won’t be able to call you. I’d intermittently look outside the window (I live on the 4th floor) to see if the UPS van had arrived yet or not. So when I saw the UPS van getting ready to drive away, I dashed downstairs! I was able to catch him, but then the main door slammed behind me. F*!

I waited for a long while. Nobody came back. It was 10am. I tried buzzing the other apartments in my building but obviously they were either 1) not at home or 2) at home, but unable to hear the doorbell anyway. I left my cellphone upstairs too, but had nobody to call anyway, being new in the city. I was thinking it might take until 5pm before someone comes home!

It didn’t take *that* long luckily enough, I am guessing it was about 30-45 minutes when finally someone came back. And what do you know – she turns out to be extremely cool. She opened the door for me, asked me in what apartment I lived, whether I just moved in and where I was from. I mentioned to her I was born and raised in Amsterdam and she replied that her advisor (she is doing a PhD) is also Dutch. She mentioned his name – and ZOMG – it turns out to be my professor who taught me Chinese Literature in my first year in Leiden University. I knew he went to Harvard after my first year but here in front of me was his advisee standing. So we chatted a bit more and I was really surprised to learn that a person was living in the same building who was one degree of separation removed from me (and now zero!).

So, getting locked out, I can highly recommend it as a way of making friends in a new city!