Wednesday, December 26, 2007

My First Christmas!

Many would wonder why only a the age of 21 I would say this is my first Christmas. As you know, my family does not celebrate Christmas. Well, I only remember once when I was young, Santa Clause put a ninja turtle toy in my socks. That was the only time I guess.

I was overjoyed when Tegwen invited me to her house for Christmas. She is so sweet because she said she wouldn't want to abandon me alone in Queens'. I had been hoping to experience a real Christmas in an English family. Now, I can tell you that it was a really wonderful one.

On Christmas eve, Tegwen's dad came with his car to fetch us to their house. It is situated in Saffron Walden, a town just half an hour's drive from Cambridge. It is not my first time there, a lovely down I would say. There were Tegwen and her sister, her dad Bop, her mom Megan and her granny Eve. Oh, Eve is 93 but she is still very healthy and strong for someone of that age. She can still cook alone and take care of herself as she lives alone.

Megan taught us how to make minced pies. Tegwen and I had a go and they came out very nice indeed. Minced pie is a traditional food for the English for Christmas. They are small pies with minced inside, they taste sweet. Dinner was sumptuous. We had pasta and meet ball with some salad. I now start to like English food because they are less oily. Well, of course red wine is also something not to be missed. It was a three course meal with pear as dessert. Well the pear is baked with some port and we eat it with cream. Well, before we eat, Bob will usually say cheers and we toast. After dinner we had a family game where by we acted and guessed what the thing is. It was actually hilarious because Bob was having difficulty trying to act Oxford out. Before we went to bed, the kids (Helen, Tegwen and I) hanged their Christmas socks and labelled them for Santa to put present in! Very exciting, isn't it?

On Christmas day, we all woke up quite late and guess what we do first, of course it's to the presents! Our socks are full and some presents had to be laid outside the socks. Imagine how nice it was to have that. I got a lot of things, chocolates, socks, hankie, soap, puzzle block, playing cards and two wooden spoons for cooking! Santa knows me well. There is a half carrot left next to the fire, so Santa is true! Oh, I forgot to mention that they do light fire at the fire place. This is something quite interesting. Sometimes, Tegwen and Helen will play music, one on the piano, the other playing the clarinet.

Lunch was really very delicious. Instead of having stuffed turkey, we had a stuffed chicken. Christmas pudding was for dessert. Well, I had never like Christmas pudding, it is too fruity for me I guess. Afternoon was time for presents again. There was a huge pile of presents next to a 'tree', most of them from the family and relatives. Tegwen organised the present opening ritual and guess what! They gave me a WOK! I was so surprised and excited. Well, this means that I have to cook more for Tegwen in the future, haha! Well, they kiss, hug or shake hand with the person whom they receive the present from. That is part of their culture. I notice they are very expressive after every gift wrapper being torned apart. It was very interesting to experience such a way of celebrating Christmas!

Dinner was simple but delicious as well with wine, ham, and smoked salmon. After dinner, we watched Jeeves and Wooster, a British series which depicts a master and a vallet around 1930s. Stephen Fry, who is a Queens' graduate acted as Jeeves and I like Jeeves a lot. It is a very English series. They speak in a very English accent and walk like Englishmen. Well, it is funny though. I notice English people are really good at manipulating words. I am really glad that I really have a chance to be immersed in such an English environment, experiencing every bit of English culture. From the way they like tea, to the way they speak and express, every bit is an experience to me. Their hospitality was superb and I like the whole family a lot. Lovely! A very common description by the English. Well, indeed, it was lovely!

Thank you Tegwen, Bop, Megan, Helen, and Nana Eve for the fantastic Christmas!

posted by Wei Shen @ 4:52 AM 0 comments

Monday, December 17, 2007


Being alone

I have been spending most of the time on my own for the past few days. I guess I am the only student left in this Cripps Building. Well, of course I still have slight human contact, maybe in the library or the dining hall, not too much. I would think it is a bit scary to feel the total silence around me. The winter cold and early sunset are exacerbating the situation. Yet, I chose to be alone during this holidays as much as possible.

There are many friends who are concerned and kept asking me to go over for dinner. I even receive msn or text messages to ask whether everything is going fine here. I sincerely thank you for all the care and concern even though all of you have got your own priorities. It is for this reason that I want to learn to be alone. For my experience tells me that friends do care, but they do have priorities and they can't be with me always. Any obstacle that we face in life, be it academic or emotional, requires we ourselves to face. The decision is still on me. Therefore, I am starting to realise that life is really about facing it alone, even your best friend cannot help you.

Surprisingly, I am coping well so far. My courage has bloomed, I am not afraid of the dark, or the soundless nights. I am staying strong and keeping myself focus on studies and contemplating on my dreams. Well, I do not deny that sometimes I can really feel the loneliness and the discomfort. But they somehow go away. A friend of mine said I am actually learning some buddhism. I do agree. But he later teased me that I actually need a woman! Perhaps he is right. He explained that we are not arahants, we somehow need women. But too bad, for my case no one has volunteered so far. Haha! So, I have to brace the loneliness. But I guess I am doing fine and hopefully this way enables me to learn more about myself and be more mature and strong.

Many friends must have thought that this is weird because it defies my usual sociable self. Well, time for some rest I guess.

posted by Wei Shen @ 4:21 PM 1 comments

Saturday, December 01, 2007


When the music speaks

Term has ended followed by three consecutive clubbing nights- CUMSA bop, Club Salsa and Jingles at Queens'. Finally can get some rest today.

I am really dancing so much that I would never ever imagine. I remember it was not really a culture to dance in my secondary school. Stereotyping is quite a strong culture back at home. Moreover, there is not much exposure about dancing too. Most of my friends are not keen in exploring something different too.

I just can't describe how I feel when i can step, move, and spin in the music. It just feels so emancipated. My muscles listen to the music. My soul became a dancer when the music speaks to it. I really have to thank my salsa teacher, Haihan for introducing this wonderful art of salsa to me and also for his willingness to teach me personally and sincerely besides the classes. Of course, I have to thank myself too for breaking myself free by coming all the way to Cambridge and dare to step into the unknown and explore. Well, I guess I have always liked dancing, it is just that I do not have the opportunity to do so.

Different music speaks to different people. I guess Latin music communicates with me very well. Maybe that explains why my interest doesn't bloom in piano and I struggled for a pass. I was not able to identify chords, play by ear.... But my muscles listen to music now. Perhaps I am able to dance by ear, not play by ear.

Salsa and bachata is playing in the back ground now, vamos a bailar?

posted by Wei Shen @ 1:45 PM 1 comments