- YEAR 1 -
June, 2007
In 2007 and in June. The first month, I moved into 62A St.Benedicts street, Norwich, Nr2 4ar. I didn’t plan to move out from the campus but I had to. Due to the ‘maintenance’ at the UEA Village, where I stayed for my first year in the university. I hooked on the internet almost every single day and searched for the studio flat to move in.
It was quite hard to judge how actual rooms look like. I kept googling and filing up the flats I wanted to see. One of them was the room the one on St.Benedcits street in Norwich; 62A. St.Benedicts street. I found it was quite nice so I e-mailed Piglet Property to make an appointment to view the flat, they have, on St.Benedicts street. Anita, the landlady, replied me an e-mail quite shortly. It was how I met jolly flat on St.Benedicts.
Noot also accompanied with me and she checked water, gas, and electricity and so forth to ensure me whether the room was conveniently facilitated or not. But I did not really care about facilities of the room. Whatever the facility was the room had, I didn’t care much. I was just so much fascinated by the street. The lively atmosphere with people on the street, the Latin music from the café; Vava voom, and jolie food store; St.Benedicts Food Store, apposite to my flat, everything was very well harmonised to capture a little girl’s mind to be trapped. The St.Gile’s church’s bell top was just behind my kitchen. It rang every hour. The first day, I visited the flat, the atmosphere was just vintage-ish. It was simply fascinating for the potential tenant, the girl, who was going to be 20.
I decided my mind up to stay in this flat. I was captured by its atmosphere. Yes, I romanticized too much about the flat. But it was irresistible. I made my mind up and I waited for the second appointment to sign on the contract.
The second appointment went through smoothly and everything was perfectly well arranged. Finally I stepped into my new place in 12th of June, 2007. The sunlight came through my window to welcome me.
My 20th Birthday
My birthday is June, 29th. I’m the one who celebrates birthday alone by travelling a new place. In my 20th, I travelled to Ireland for 3 nights and 4 days. Before I travelled, I pre-celebrated my birthday with my friends in Norwich. It was on 24th of June on Sunday.
On that day, I attended the mass at 9, and it brought me energy to work in the ‘bloody Subway’. When I got there, Lorenzo was in the shop already, Annabell and Shaun were at the shop as well. Lorenzo, unsurprisingly, wasn’t organized at all, and made everything messed up. And he never shut up his mouth. Fortunately, all the staff at Subway, Castle mall, were very well trained to handle with this Mr. ‘Big mouth’, and we simply ignored him. Well, I had only 4 days left to work in Subway and I was about to change my work place from annoying Subway to fairly descent John Lewis from July. So I didn’t take anything very seriously and I just spent the rest of my time there. I finished my work at 6ish in the evening, and I was so hungry on the way back to the flat. So I stopped by a shop, called the Garden something, near Tesco metro, and I had a tomato & basil sandwich to feed my hunger.
After I gobbled my sandwich, I suddenly felt so fatigue, and then I had a short break on the bench, on the St.Gregory alley. While I was seated on the bench, I thought it was uneventful Sunday. Expecting nothing brought me a sudden surprise.
On that day, my 2 Thai friends, Noot and Nuchy, surprised me with lovely gifts. The gifts, they prepared, were rubber gloves, fly catchers, dustpan and brush. They exactly knew what I wanted at my new place. I was in pajama, but they forced me to wear the gloves, to hold the fly catcher and dustpan and brush. Indeed I was taken a photo by Noot. They also brought me to Pizza Express for my birthday dinner.
We ordered a pizza and 2 bottles of Chianti. On the top of the pizza, we saw a new vegetable in the middle of toppings, which all of us never come across before. Nuchy said it was Banana, but I didn’t think it was a good combination between banana and the pizza at all. Nuchy’s insist, by the way, got harder and she explained it was a different type of banana, which its peel is very thin. But none of us were sure what vegetable was on the top anyway.
Indeed, Noot asked the waiter what the vegetable was on the top of the pizza. Before he let us know of a name of the vegetable, Nuchy said to him, ‘Is this sort of banana, right?’ The waiter glimpsed at her several times and said ‘Banana? No it’s artichoke.’ And the waiter, he even drew a painting of the artichoke on my napkin.
Oh god! Banana? I never expected myself to taste banana pills and banana pills on the pizza? God no! Anyway, Nuchy is amazingly funny creature! Spending the time with Noot and Nuchy was always full of laughs and funs. On that day, a silly funny day, we hung around the city. Especially Nuchy was a bit tipsy and her voice was echoed every single lane and street of jolly Norwich.
Because all of us were tipsy!
2 days later, in June 26th, I started packing the clothes and some stuff for flying to Dublin. On that day, I met Nora, my previous flatmate. She also treated me so well with an unexpected birthday gift; a duck mat for the toilet, and she bought me a dinner at Belgian Monk. It was my first time to have food there, the beer was really tasty. Nora ordered Mort Subite Kriek Streme; the cherry flavoured beer. I tasted a sip of hers.
Wow! Its descent red flavour touched on the very surface of my tough and it was spread to the end of my tonsil. It was amazing. Mine was almond flavoured beer, named Appelbocq, but it was more like cider, very fizzy. I really liked Nora’s beer, and she allowed me to drink nearly half of her goblet. Certainly, it was an extra gift for a birthday girl, who was going to be 20th.
Nora, she is ‘Nora’. There is no-adjective to describe her. Well, my first impression of her was not really good.
In October, 2006, in the common kitchen in Ash 5, UEA Village, it was my first time to meet her. At that time, I and 3 other flatmates were in the kitchen to discuss about the space to allocate to each person. Just in time, Nora just popped to the kitchen, dragging her trolley with piles of foods. Then she simply introduced herself as a Hong Kong-ness and a law school student. The way she introduced herself was very straightforward. And she put all her stuff into the fridge while we were talking about the space in the kitchen.
I thought she was very opinionative and self-assertive, but I realized that she is also very gentle and discreet person on the other side. By knowing her for more than 3 years, I think Nora is such a person, who has a great talent and an attraction to make people love her. First Impression can’t be the answer for everyone. Since I’ve known her, I’ve tried not to judge people by first impression anymore. Certainly, she taught me a very good lesson, not to be prejudice.
After all my friends’ celebrations on my 20th pre-birthday, I finally arrived in Dublin.
At the airport, Emer welcomed me with warm cuddles. We spent a wonderful time in the Guiness brewery museum. I loved the entrance badge, which the original Irish Guiness liquid inside is contained inside of this little cute pebble. I’ve still treasured it as my jolly souvenir. After walking around the museum, and we tasted a wonderful sip of the world’s best stout at the top of the building. Then we went out for a walk of Dublin city.
While we walked around, I asked her how to get to the B&B in Dublin, I booked. But Emer replied me ‘Don’t be silly’ and she pulled me up to the coach for Balingasloe, where Emer was brought up before she came to England to study.
My plan for travelling Dublin, however, was to become a total stranger. I wanted to walk all the streets of this green-coloured city and mark every place I stepped on my map. But, Emer insisted on her to be a host of Ireland, so I spent my first night at her boyfriend’s home. So far I changed my entire birthday travel plan. My changed plan was to enjoy having time with her and her family in her little hometown, called Balingasloe, where full of green hills are waved to bring purified fresh air. I still can’t forget the view of small hill near the cathedral in this little town. I thought the natural beauty of the town would have influenced on Emer’s personality to be such a lovely girl.
On the next day, it rained. It rained whole day. I met Emer’s mother, Mary, and she drove us to Emer’s. I was welcomed by Emer’s family. What a lovely family with 5 children and Mom and Dad!
Emer’s home, however, was hidden somewhere deep in the town. So the car was an essential time to mobilise us. Also the weather wasn’t good even for a little walk. It really discouraged us to go outside. Instead, Emer, I and her little brother Patrick – Emer said that little Patrick is her slave - were stuck on the living and watched the television and played the card games.
At night, loads of booze added on us and we drank a lot, especially Bailey and Baby Guiness, which is made into a shot glass with Tia Maria at the bottom and topped up with some bubbles of Guiness. Another Emer’s brother, Brandon, he drunk amazingly heavily, and he cheered me to drink again and again. Without doubts, all the people, in the living room, felt really hot. All of us were warmed up with alcohol and firewalls. So everyone’s cheeks got red.
In order to get some fresh air, Emer asked me to go out to see a donkey and the white and the brown horses. I was so excited to see a donkey, it was my first time to see the creature. After having a short break with fresh air, we returned to the house. 5 Kellys - Emer’s surname - and me, so 6 young people were gathered again in the living room. Then we kept drinking the rest of booze until Emer’s mom said to us ‘go to the bed’ at mid night.
Before I went to sleep, I took a shower at mid night of June 28th. I desperately needed to water myself to get refreshed before I jumped to the bed, Mary – Emer’s mother – prepared for me. But I made a ‘silly’ trouble; ‘I BROKE THE GLASS OF THE SHOWER DOOR’. How silly I was!
I was very tipsy and certainly watering myself with warm water made me worse. When my body was watered with warm water, half of my consciousness was gone in the middle of time I was taking a shower. After I finished, I jumbled my steps on slippery floor a bit. But I was alright I was able to stand up anyway. I came out of the shower glass. Oh! Why the door was popped out? One of the glass doors was left out. It was really heavy and the floor was wet. Suddenly my lost consciousness was come back to light up to find the solution to fix it. But my hands were wet too. Then CRACK! Yes! I dropped the door I was holding with wet hands.
The particles of the glass were spread out on the bathroom floor. Particles popped up to my naked body, and I bled quite a lot. Certainly the sound was loud! Emer came down and knocked on the door. I opened the door and she saw the disaster I made. Emer kept saying ‘Are you OK?’ The ‘silly 20-year-old girl’ grinned and said ‘Yes Ok, Sorry’. All of her family came down to see me. I was deeply sorry and embarrassed for them. I ruined a part of their house belongings. But Kellys rather tried to make me calm down and they worried about me. While Emer washed my bleeding feet and cut the plaster to place on my feet and arms, Lisa, Emer’s 2nd sister, said ‘Hey, it’s your birthday gift.’
My nightmare was faded away into the past. On the next day, so June 29th, I faced my 20th birthday morning. Every family member said ‘Happy birthday!’ Still, I felt so sorry and so embarrassed by realising the terrible mistake I made last night.
On my 20th birthday, Emer took me to Galway, the west coast of Ireland. We walked around the seaside and stepped on the white-sand beach. Emer insisted on me to try ‘Curry cheese chips’ at ‘Supermac’s’. Supermac’s is the Irish fast food chain restaurant, and it was easily seen everywhere in Dublin, Galway and Balingasloe. I do not exaggerate. I would say Supermac’s outnumbers MacDonald. Although I am not such a big fan of chips, it was fine to feed my hunger. The taste of cheesy salty chips was not my appetite but it was fairly ok. Actually the diet of Ireland was worse than I expected. As far as I observed there were too much fries, sweets and alcohols. Not much difference from Britain.
After I had Curry cheese chips, Emer took me to the city centre of Galway, and we passed by many shops, and we went to the souvenir shop to buy the Irish Jam and Chutney. Emer bought me them as my birthday gifts, although all the jams were taken out of my bag, when I passed the security at the airport.
At 5ish in the afternoon, we went back to Emer’s home.
Wow! I was really touched. The chocolate birthday cake with lighted-up candles on the top was ready on the table for me. My goodness! They treated me just like one of their family members. They were really truthful to me. I was really touched by Kellys. This was what I didn’t expect. My birthday has been all alone for so long. I got used to celebrate my birthday all by myself. My biological family gave me a call or e-mailed me saying ‘Happy Birthday’ That was it. It was something I didn’t really expect. Birthday cake, family’s celebration, happy birthday song. All these, I experienced in ‘Eireland’, was the best gift I had on my 20th birthday.
After having a little party, Emer suddenly became very busy to invite people for my actual birthday party. At first, I didn’t get it what my birthday party would be. Finally I realized that having the time in a club is ‘PARTY’ for Emer and her friends. Again, another night for me to get drunk. Me, Emer, Paul – Emer’s boyfriend- and 3 other friends of Emer, were all gathered in a small pub and I drank something green, called Frog. And then all of us went to the club and we met Brandon. I didn’t know why Emer was hyper. She enjoyed too much.
Paul was missed. We didn’t see him anywhere. We looked for Paul, and Emer took off her high heels then she walked on the ground with her bare feet, looking for her darling boyfriend. We agreed to go back home.
At her home, we found Paul was watching television in the living room, and Emer was relieved to find him back at her home. My 20th Birthday, it was celebrated in a very ‘Irish way’ . ‘Thanks a million!’ to Emer and her family in Baliasloe.
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