A semester has passed. I'm sitting here in my bedroom in yet another place I call home. I have moved around way too much these past four years.
No, but this time, I actually feel this is home. In the last three months, I have enjoyed life so much more than I thought I ever could. East Anglia is definitely the best decision I made!
My flatmates are absolutely wonderfully-crazy! We had so much fun together and had somehow bonded as a family so quickly. I remember vividly how I met them all.
The first day I moved in, there were only three of us - Puna, David and I. We spent a few days in a quiet hallway. My sister and her boyfriend came down from Birmingham to visit me. I remember vividly how we all met. It was a sunny Saturday and as much as I was busy showing my sister around, my new flatmates were arriving with boxes and bags of stuff. Their parents, worried they were, spent the morning helping their child organise their rooms.
I was overly hyper and way too smiley. I knocked on everyone doors and introduced myself. There was Ben, Faye, Charlotte, Leah, George, Alfie and Raian. After the parents leave and everyone had a moment to settle down. We all sat in the kitchen, talking and having banter, admiring the copius amount of kitchen utensils we brought. Surely, us lots aren't going to cook that much?!
We went out that night to the LCR, dancing and drinking! It was honestly the best night I had with them all. The better spent of course, were all prinks, where we do silly things and laugh our head off as we get to know each other more and more. I emphasised on this because in the next month or so, I could not go out at all.... At one point, we had a cactus pet name Schmitt! It litterally was drinking/eating/suffering from whatever we had.
George and I are besties, we had a tons of laugh about the shit that we do, we drink and all sorts more. Then there is the boys who seem to overpopulate this flat. We were lucky though because there are 4 of us doing the same course.
I joined the triathlon club and since then have started cycling and running. I am slowly improving but I am making it! I finished my first duathlon just 3 weeks ago. The club is so much fun and I am getting all the support I need to just enjoy doing the sport!
What did I learn about myself?
I could reinvent myself here. Be who I really am - the crazy Vietnamese girl with a funny accent who loves drinking and dancing! (as long as I still study well, of course) The fact is, this is the first time I felt I am allowed to "fit in". I hate using that words because it implies that I am trying to change myself for that purpose. No, I am allowed to be myself with the little quirky things I do and still have people laughing with me. I am not being judged for my appearance and I can be as different as I want to be!
Budgeting as a student: I could survive with less food that I thought. Laundry is expensive, I share my laundry, handwash most of my stuff and we do not use the dryer. Booze take a high proportion of my bill.
Just to remind myself: Good things come out of a bad situation.
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It's Christmas holiday now.
It feels strange. The corridor is empty, no-one is playing cricket, no laughter, no banter, the kitchen is clean for once and I have started cooking again... Something is definitely not right!
I miss my flatmates but I hope they all have a nice time at home with their families, being well taken care of and well-fed in the hands of their loved ones.
Merry Christmas and See you all in 2015!
