I had this random thought, about how contradictory it actually is, to have both chapters, and entries that start off with the format of a letter, but who says you cannot have both? This is a blog, a book, and a collection of letters. This is my life.
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| Staring the new chapter with a picture of me, looking bewildered, maybe? |
A Surprise
I'll just get straight to the point: It was my birthday surprise.
I guess no one would be expecting anything else, knowing that a change of chapter means another 365 days have passed in the Hugo calendar.
But I do have to concede that I should have been more aware after last week.
If you do recall, I was partly preparing for Johannes' birthday, not a couple days before mine. He was dragged out of the dorm and came back to a decorated kitchen. On the day before my birthday, I got a text from Johannes asking whether I was interested in a walk at around 20:30. He said it would take only about an hour or so. My brain cells must have been chilling on an imagined beach and couldn't/wouldn't be bothered by such, so the idea about it being a part of the surprise was only a fleeting thought, a speeding boat that thought less than once to stop by. Also my reasoning was that we would be back by ten in the evening, and nothing would be happening right then. We knocked on Abhidha's door, asking if she would be coming along as well, only to be met with "I'm actually a bit busy" for return.
It was minus one degree outside, and Yu, Johannes, and I were walking along the river, opposite to the direction of the city center, and nothing so grand was happening. Us three do this (strolling) more often than one would imagine.
Taking a round trip back to the dorm, into the elevator, Johannes told me told follow him as he wanted to show me a physical map for hiking he just got. Passing the door of the kitchen, though, he threw the kitchen door and shoved me right inside to the dimly-lit kitchen and dozens of people.
"Surprise!" I guess my whelp of surprise was drowned out by the chorus of shouting and smiling people. Abhinav was standing next to the oven, Yu on the other side of the room. Abhidha standing by the door, smiling mischievously (she did most of the decoration, I guess), and Emma was holding her phone at me, apparently filming. And oh Choong was also there.
My brain cells pushed up their sunglasses and sat up, registering after five seconds or so to finally come to the revelation that my classmates (both living off- and on-campus) were there as well. In the center stood Emily, Costanza, Martìn, and Zaineb (who apparently arranged the coming of my classmates) who were also grinning widely.
I know that I was standing a bit awkward for the next five to ten minutes or so, after having thanked everyone for their kindness and thoughtfulness. But then the cake came into the kitchen, and Zaineb told me that she obviously made both of the ice cream cakes herself, one a chocolate, the other a caramel, toffee, and cream.
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| When trying to cut the cake, Johannes wished in once again with his new one-time toy, and blasted the confetti - all over the cakes. Harish was quick to capture this moment. |
Yazdan presented me a bottle of melon liquor (which was gifted by someone, I still have to ask about it) and asked me to take a big gulp. It was 20% in alcohol volume, and I did have a gulp, but it was burning afterwards. The melon sirup was not bad, though. After the birthday song (and I always sing along on my birthdays) and the distribution of the cake, I decided that it was only fit that I present my gratitude to the collective altogether.
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| It was actually quite chaotic when taking the picture. |
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| Classmates and Martìn (whom we have known since the first day) |
Again, I still am not good at giving public talks, no matter how long, to whom, about what the speech is presented. I always have this unpleasant fluttering in my stomach, but I had to try to get over it. I talked about how chances brought me over to Heidelberg to meet so many nice people. I promised that I want to, in the following year that is yet to come, become a person I would like more, and I hope the same for everyone present. I know that I had stuttered but did an okay job. The other day, Abhinav thought that I was drunk when giving the speech, not knowing that there was nothing to do with the alcohol.
The music went on, and I "moved" a bit with the people (I refuse to say that I danced; that would be an insult to the verb) as Martìn taught us some Spanish dance moves. Johannes was somehow visibly drunk already. With a slurring accent he was trying to get Abhidha to join Martìn's little dancing seminar, but we had a lot of fun nonetheless. ("On a scale of one to ten, how drunk was I yesterday?" Abhidha: "A hundred.")
It was an intriguing view to see people from my class interacting with the people from my dorm, like two waves from different directions clashing against each other in a friendly fashion.
Drunk Johannes popped a balloon. Loud. Emily squeaked. Abhidha covered her ears. Choong popped another one.
Why did I say it was a 75% surprise? It was some afterthought after the party that gave me the revelation that there were indeed some tell-tale signs that previewed this planned event. After the class of Tuesdays, Zaineb and I normally walk back to our dorm together. This time, however, she told that she needed to go in another direction without any explanations; Walking through the corridor of the apartment, I passed Abhinav's door, only to see Harish walking out, hand held fast on the doorknob with the door behind his back. Abhidha walked out of the kitchen and saw the incident unroll, and the edges of her mouth pulled up involuntarily.
The clock showed 11:59, and my friends counted down once again. Johannes gave me a compass, reminiscent to my instagram account. Abhidha gave me a fondue kit, and I promised her we are going to make it together. There will also be a cooking book coming from Emily.
Sometimes I get this feeling that I am just too lucky to get to meet such great and caring people again and again. All the preparation, all the thoughtfulness behind it, and all the good wishes. I thank them.
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| Great. |
Happy Birthday, me. Here you see people who really are nice to you. Don't change (change for the better if necessary), and be grateful, and have fun living.
The Lunar New Year
The lunar new year is a big deal in Taiwanese tradition. On the day, families gather around and sit around the table to have dinner, enjoying each other's company.
This year, the year 2020, the year of the rat, was the first lunar new year that I'm not spending with my family. Strangely, it was not homesickness that I was feeling, though. Instead, I just had this desire to do something matching what my mother and her family would be having.
I had decided to make some hot pots, and I am inviting all the Taiwanese people over. So that was what I did. Apparently, the people had the same thought so the plan was running rather smoothly. We assigned who was supposed to get what, and after my classes finished at one in the evening, I started cooking. The base of the hot pot was heated up, and I submerged the tofu inside for the flavor to soak in. I left for the supermarket tp get some chicken breast and eggs. In the kitchen all alone (with some occasional visit from Abhinav), I hacked the chicken up, added some seasoning to the meat mix, and made them into the size of human eye balls (I was trying to find a fitting simile, but apparently I failed) Making them into meatballs, I planned to put them into the soup. I went on chopping away the vegetables along with the time. I let it boil and simmer, careful not to let it overflow.
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| Next time I will mix in some shredded carrots and celeries because even though the taste was good, the bland white color of cooked chicken wasn't looking appetizing. |
I used some time in between to text Choong, from whom I just learnt that the Koreans also celebrate the lunar new year, was also invited to our get-together. He sounded a bit home-sick, and this is the kind of emotion we wish to wipe away with the dinner. Jackie, by the way, was joined by his visiting family and left for Paris already.
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| It was a bless sometimes to have the whole kitchen to myself. |
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| Yu's girlfriend came over to Germany to visit, bringing with another soup and saved the potential problem of having not enough for a group of twelve. |
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| Look at the spicy hot pot cooking. |
People started coming, and Aliang arrived with her pot of braised pork that she said would make, and my three pots of soup were mostly ready at the time.
People sat around the table, and Johannes started first, given that he is the eldest at the table and that is how table etiquettes work in Taiwanese traditions. It was a bit awkward at first, people from different buildings, different floors of the campus suddenly sitting together at the table, eating together. But then the warmth from the soup melted the ice (or not) and it was a great relief for me. It gave me the impression that the food presented at the table was mostly appreciated by the guys.
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| Selfie :D |
By the end of the hot pot, most of us were already blending in well already. I was glad that it turned out well anyway.
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| From the kitchen perspective; I guess this is what my mother sees from the kitchen every year at this time. |
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| On the second day, Johannes and I had the remaining hot pot with rice while watching some live winter sports (I willingly let him hijack my computer that was initially brought over to the kitchen for studies) |
End
As always, I am running a bit late for the deadline, but hey, that's the life of a university student.
There is also a part where I am supposed to talk about the visit to Uncle Nic's friend in Mannheim for dinner with another German family. It was a self-furnished house with a swing in the middle. I had a small sip of Kavalan whiskey and it was really overwhelming.
Yours sincerely,
Hugo
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