I say I am back but I can't swear that I am back for good...or even back. This might be just a random post after five months of not blogging (not that was doing a great job of it in the first place!) and I might dissapear again. I don't know. I can't promise anything.
This was meant to be a place where I can look back on when I am old and grey and have grandchildren and say to them...Look this was me catalogueing of my life as a graduate student at Exeter University. But the academic year has come to an end almost and I have not written anything which is a shame.
So I am taking this opportunity to write bullet points as triggers to remind me of memories that happened this year (academic year starting sept 2007):
- Moving into an two bedroom house that I shared with two girls, Divya and Sara who made my days at Exeter lovely.
- Going to the first class of the year and falling off my chair meaning everyone knew me from that day.
- Falling on the stairs in front of a very nice guy who I had noticed and was then later introduced to and will remain nameless, but said that he knew me as the girl who fell off her chair in class and said he saw me falling on the stairs once and asked whether it happened regularly...this falling LOL. That was the first pick-up line I ever experienced in England..hahahaha.
- Getting very ill with the flu which I passed within 24 hours to Divya and Sara and spent almost a week with them locked up at home which cememnted our friendship. I learned so much about India from Divya and my interest and love for Egypt grew from Sara who would talk about it all the time. In turn I dispelled the miscoceptions of Iran.
- Spending Ramadan away from home but enjoying it very much.
- Missing classes and going for a day trip to London with Sara where we had soothies from Selfridges up at the top floor and sprayed lots of perfume and ate from an Egyptian food place on Oxford Street that Sara'a cousin said was very good and it was delicious.
- Having my mother come and stay with me for two weeks before she had to go on to a conference in New York. She took the bed of course and even though she insisted on me sleeping next to her in the single bed I had a few sleepless nights on the floor before the exhaustion gave me the best night sleeps I've ever had LOL.
- The upsetting time when Divya moved out because the landlord had put up the prices and couldn't afford it. Us packing boxes of her things and putting them into her car and them making fun of me becuse i cried even though she was moving only a street away and ended up spending most of her time with us and our new housemate Shaista at our place and only went home to sleep.
- Sara starting up bellydancing lessons for girls only in the front room. so funny. I have to admit that no one can bellydance like the egyptians and there were lebanese and sudanese girls trying but not managing to be as great as Sara and another Egyptian girl.
- The joy of group shopping. Putting our allowances together to get food for all of us instead of individually. Living on a budget is really fun! And we'd splash out on pizzas and restaurants at the end of every two weeks.
- Playing Iranian music really loud one time when Shaista went back up to Birmingham and Sara and Divya went back to Egypt and India respectively for the Easter holidays while I stayed in Exeter. Having the house to myself made me go slightly crazy and I was dancing around like crazy.
- Another time having the house to myself I put on Iranian music really loud and was dancing when I heard the door bell ringing mad. I switched off the music and then someone shouted from the letterbox KEEP THE MUSIC DOWN PLEASE! while I hiding down in a corner pretending that nonone was in (yes, I guess I hoped he thouht the ghost that occupies the place in our absence playes music lol)...needlless to say I did not play music loud ever again.
I could probably go on for ever but I think I'll stop now. By not finishing it gives me a reason to come back :0D
We started fasting together - the majority of the Muslim world community. It seemed like this for the first time in a very long time. I thought we would be united for the first time, the Muslim ummah celebrating Eid just like we celebrated and bowed down in submission to Allah when Ramadan was announced. But now we are divided again and some are celebrating today, and others are celebrating tomorrow and I heard Bangladesh is celebrating on Friday (i do not know how this has worked out or whether it is true). The disunity is very upsetting.