Best/worst Christmas

The Flat 14 girls prepared a sumptuous Christmas dinner just right before I flew off for London. Things in Whitworth hasn't been as ideal as I thought it would've been. I'm not as tight with my flatmates as I expected myself to be, but I've only got myself to blame because I love being in my room to death (it's almost like home). I guess this dinner is a start though, so here's to more gatherings together in the common room. P.s. Yorkshire puddings are the bomb.

London trippin' with two of my favourite people (plus one). It might have been the glistening waters of River Thames against a sky of different shades of oranges, or the silhouette of Big Ben in its grandeur, or the merriness of Winter Wonderland, but I never thought I would have left a part of my heart in this seemingly overrated metropolis.

Acc: MEININGER Hotel London Hyde Park

Budapest is officially my new favourite city. Five days wasn't enough for me to fully appreciate its scenic icons, its people and culture, and most importantly, its food -- the pork knuckle and sauerkraut, the chimney cakes, the L'angos and the Goulash. For three days straight we returned to River Danube over and over again just because we couldn't take our eyes off the panoramic views of Buda/ Pest. Also, the sunsets here have the most ephemeral hues.

Day 1: Unintentionally stumbled upon a coupl'a Christmas markets and the St. Stephen's Basilica when we took a chance by alighting at the Vorosmarty ter station.

Day 2: Returned to the Vorosmarty ter Christmas market for the goulash bread bowl and some kick-ass pork knuckle with caramelised onions and grilled potatoes before we joined the free walking tour up to Castle Hill where the Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion are at. Unfortunately the view was shit and the sun had set by then (yeah the sun sets at 4pm it sucks I know).

Day 3: Lunch at Kek Rozsa Restaurant before we revisited Castle Hill and caught the. best. view. ever.

Day 4: Szchenyi Thermal Bath (a must-go in this chilly weather), Heroes' Square with a fiery sunset at the back, and dinner at Frici Papa (died over their honey pork knuckles and their £0.40 banana & toffee crepe).

Day 5: Lunch at Klauzal Cafe. Travelled down a little further today to take a look at the Central Market Hall but it was a disappointment. There was no subtlety in hiding its tourist traps at all. But from there, we found something worth hanging around for -- the Liberty Bridge, the Liberty statue and a few other bridges while we trekked downtown along the river. In the evening, Nic and I indulged in a River Cruise Buffet Dinner. Approx £27 for a decent buffet selection and a romantic view of both Buda and Pest. I think it's pretty worth a try.

Acc: Treestyle Hostel

Day 1: Prague Castle, Charles' Bridge, got food scammed at some random Christmas market (the seemingly cheap net prices are actually charged at per 100g), accidentally stumbled upon the National Museum, camped at Starbucks for 2 hours, had a budget dinner back at the hostel with our instant soup and watched a film of 22 Jump Street.

Day 2: Lunch at U Tri Zlatych Hvezd where we got food scammed... again, but at least the meal was satisfying. Our U.S. dorm mate who lived in Prague for 4 months before warned us that we should never pay more than 200kc per meal though, so I guess Nic and I were scammed throughout. Oh well... We spent the rest of the day exploring the Prague astronomical clock tower and random shops within the Old Town. I think we reached back to the hostel pretty early for our budget dinner again and ended the night with yet another film of Edge of Tomorrow because Prague is boring to us like that.

Day 3: Breakfast at the hostel (free flow bread, cereal, hot/cold drinks and spreads for only 75kc!!) before our visit to the John Lennon Wall. Apparently it was repainted white two weeks before we arrived and it's filled up with a new set of graffiti already! Everyday is a race against the sun but thank god we made it up to Petrin Hill before dusk. It's really not that high of a climb, and the view up there is worth it. But a climb is still a climb so Nic and I rewarded ourselves with dessert at Creperie U Kajetana before a late dinner at Malostranska Beseda (where I first tried rabbit meat and immediately felt the sin).

Acc: Arpacay Backpackers Hostel
P.s. Wouldn't exactly recommend it because it's situated along a street that's 1) uphill and 2) sandwiched between endless of tourist traps

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Now that I'm back in my cozy little room in Manch, it also means back to my books and well, that sucks... Can't wait for Dec to be over. Can't wait for Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May and Jun to be over. I miss home.

Monday, I am in love.

I am in love with how we belong to drastically different worlds, yet we seem to fit so comfortably in every way. I am black and he is white (literally though, I am tan and he is fair) but our differences blend into a perfect shade of my favourite heather grey.

I am in love with how his eyes light up each time he tells me about his best mates in army and how each of them have helped him grow in a way or another. He loves them all so dearly (in the most platonic manner). He has so much love in him. I could listen to him tell me his army stories for three hours straight without blinking (I teared so much after that from keeping my eyes open for too long).

I am in love with his silly obsession with working out. The first time we hung out, he dropped down out of the blue and started doing push-ups while we were watching Teen Wolf after we had curry chicken for supper because he "might as well make use of the protein (chicken)".

I am in love with that smug face he can’t ever seem to suppress when he thinks he looks good in a certain outfit. He has a thing for tacky clothes and funky colours which honestly isn’t my thing but. that. adorable. smug. face. I think I could live with that.

I am in love with the way he acknowledges my good outfit days and how he is never shy to praise me when I put in effort to doll up. I am an idiot at receiving compliments. He secretly enjoys watching me blush to death.

I am in love with the fact that he specifically buys ingredients to attempt whipping up my favourite dishes just because I had a mild craving for it. I know how much he hates cooking after a dreary day at school, but still, he does it just for me.

I am in love with how brutally straightforward he is, telling me "I bought you sweets but don't eat too many", "you should start working out, it's good for your body" and "I don't think a long coat suits your height". As much as such comments prick me when it comes from others, I am in love with his and only his frankness.

I am in love with the way he remembers that I'm a girl. People tend to forget my gender sometimes, so much so that I forget it myself. He pushes all the bling bling’s and dresses into my basket when we go shopping, and makes sure I try them on just because I am a girl, and I "deserve to dress up sometimes”.

I am in love with his insistence – his insistence to make me muster up the courage to say the things I far too often bottle up and do the things I want to do that I far too often escape from in the name of fear. He brings out the brave in me. He makes me grow.

I am in love with the extent of details he pays attention to about the things I say. Awhile back, I casually mentioned that my mom's birthday was on 11 November. On 10 November at 4pm (SG 12am), he sent me a text reminding me to wish my mom. I couldn't stop thinking about it the entire evening.

I am in love with the way he says "I want to take you out" instead of "let's hang out".

I am in love with his naggy self when he makes me promise him I would drink water because I have a bad habit to dehydrate myself to death like that.

I am in love with how he possesses every virtue that my dad has and I really look up to that. He is honest (very), he is humble (well ok, sort of) and he is forward-looking – he is everything I've ever been so proud of my dad for. (He's just as nerdy as well) I am convinced that if he is like daddy, then I will grow up to be just as happy as mommy.

I am in love with a man I’ve never dared to love, but am starting to so quickly and dangerously.

And as much as I am scared to death to let the world know this,
as much as I am clueless as to where this will go,
I just want to say that

I am in love.

Well-loved & well-fed

The Yule Ball by SSSMUK.

(Cr: Shaocong)

I guess this is when things start to get a little more intense. The accumulated amount of school work is finally taking its toll on me and the fact that December is already round the corner excites yet scares me. This Christmas, I'm not coming home; It'll be another treacherous Nasi Lemak/Laksa/Bak Chor Mee-less 6 months till the time I do. Instead, I'll be venturing to a coupl'a cities in and out of the UK: London > Budapest > Prague > Southampton > Portsmouth, and what lies ahead straight after is any student's worst nightmare..... Finals. 

Next week will be one of the busiest weeks in a long time, with the Singsoc AGM (I'm running for Social Secretary!) and MBS ball coming up. But I'm looking forward to my kimchi fried rice date with Lor & Melisa tomorrow and a short trip to Leeds again for the christmas markets with Nic this Saturday. Haven't seen this girl in what seems like ages and I am beyond stoked.

Meeting the Whitworth family for some home-cooked Chicken Rice in a bit. I'm so well-loved (and well-fed) here :')

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P.s. Mei recently received her PSLE results and she scored a stunning 255+3 and I just wanna tell the world what a proud jiejie I am. Also, La is going through her last two papers for her A's this week. I can't believe I'm not there to go through this milestone of theirs with them :'(

Carpe diem

It's unusual how I haven't touched this space in more than a month and feel entirely comfortable about it. I wouldn't say I didn't have a life back home, but here, it's a whole new level of life. Everyday, I am living every minute to the fullest. I am never idle. If I'm not in school, I'd either be in the kitchen attempting to whip up a 15-min meal (that far too often takes more than just 15 mins), in my room to catch up with undone work and house chores, or in Lorena's bed telling her about my day. And well, occasionally travelling as well... But I love it; I love how it feels like I'm learning new things and growing everyday. Moving here has undoubtedly been one of the greatest decisions of my life.

Travel logs:

Central Lake District - Aira Force & Ambleside

Day trip to Leeds with a plan to shop at Leeds Trinity but we ended up spending the entire day exploring this serene city and its grand university with our lovely host Yuping instead.

3d2n road trip to the main cities of Wales (Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, the Stonehenge and Bath) with this amazing bunch of seven. Three Cliffs Bay at Swansea was my favourite even though I developed a phobia of steep slopes while we were trekking up the cliff. Other than Wales being absolutely mesmerising in general, I think the highlight of my reading week would have been witnessing two backpackers having sex in the middle of the night in the dorm right. opposite. me. Bless me and my traumatised mind...

Anyhow stitched-up doll for Halloween. Received several compliments for my stitched-up shirt but it was actually just a mistake 'cause I had to sew up the unintentional oversized slits in my shirt when I was attempting to go for a shredded look...

It's been two months and I dare say I've been carpe-ing diem everyday. This is all I've ever asked for.

Till then,
Sarah x