All who know me pretty well all admit that they always see me over-exicted on Friday nights, just a little bit. I can share with you, the feeling at the moment you walk out of your last Maths lecture at 4pm on Friday night, after one busy and highly committed week, is beyond words.
I recall those days back then when I was doing secondary school in Vietnam, weekend was a vague notion. We still had schools on Saturday, meaning your weekend is basically chopped half. And just an add on to that, on Sunday, my schedule would be filled with all sorts of extra. out-of-school-hours classes. The only thing that remarked my enjoyful weekend back then was: the chance to watch another movie on Saturday night and to sleep in for 1 more hour on Sunday morning. And that was about it. Every week is the same until summer holidays come.
Things are a little bit different here in Australia. Oh well, to me, ever since I came here. I start to plan for weekends as well since every weekend, there will be something new on my agenda. It's not the same-old-same weekend routine anymore. Plus, no more sleep-in-till-the-sun-is-high. You might wonder, why on earth would you wake up early during weekend? Isn't weekend supposed to be relaxing - being lazy ? Okay I'm going to share with you one of my weekend. Let's pick randomly: the one last week.
I got out of bed at around 7.30, prepared breakfast for myself and my housemates: special today - pancake for the weekend. It would be a grave grave mistake if you underestimate the level of complexity and challenging in making pancake. Pancake making job is nothing similar to Pho (it is Vietnamese noodles), one that I used to help my mom to make during weekend back at home. Trust me, I have burnt a couple of pans before succeeding in making well-done brownie pancakes. Making pancake is an art. And pancake with chocolate topping and a scoop of vanila ice-cream can absolutely make you feel high for the rest of the day. Ever since I came over my best Aussie friend - Jax's house and learnt the pancake recipe from her mom, I unconditionally felt in love with this special dish. Anyways, keep it short, so that was how I started my weekend.
One thing about studying abroad is that, one day you would realize that your mom is not at your door complaining about your teenage-typical messy, or "creative" as I used to defence myself, room anymore. And that's when you grow a little bit and realize that you can't possibly find everything so easily after 2 seconds thinking if you don't clean your room. Sometimes cleaning your room can be fun. That's when you can stick some lovely messages from your friends on the board, just to motivate yourself to keep being energized in doing whatever you're doing. It's about taking care of your guitar. It's about re-arranging your bookshelf. It's about having so much laughs with your housemates while doing the laundry. It's about shifting your bed, your shelf, your desk so you have some changes in the room - sometimes changes are good.
10 o'clock sharp.
I caught the bus to the city for my ball-room dancing class. Even though I'm a horrible dancer who always steps on the foot of my partner, dancing definitely colors my life with the brightest and most vivid crayon. It's when you feel like the music is flowing in you. I once never thought that dancing would be something I do, yet saying yes to something new is all that it takes (my motivation is pumped up after I realized my addiction to So you think you can dance - Australia). Last week we did a bit of revision on valse and practiced more on rumba.
After class, I caught up with some friends in the city and we did grocery shopping. Have you ever thrown yourself to a full-of-energy Saturday Market? That's defintely something you should do if you want to shop for fresh food at good price. You see happy faces everywhere in the market. Happy sellers. Happy buyers. Families. Elders. Students. Kids. Last Saturday we had a girl ministry - basically a girl gathering - so shopping was essential. Since I am a big fan of food - going to the market is something I love always. Filling your nose with the irresistable smell of coffee beans. Tasting some creamy cheese. Buying some hot-fresh nuts. Getting an ice-cream cone.
Last Saturday was a big night. Girls from OCF, an organization at uni that I join, gathered at an uni apartment and cooked. IT was truly a blast, being able to try so many dishes from different countries. And above all, it was precious time to get to know your friends better, getting closer. As we talked, time just passed by unknowingly.
I promised to myself that I would finish my Jurisprudence reading for this week over the weekend. So Sunday was dedicated for catching up and preparing school work for a new week. Yet it was always fun, because Sunday was often my study group time. Sometimes we do the same subject, sometimes each can study their own subjects but we all sit together. Having friends in different departments is one of the best experience in uni: you can learn more things outside of your area of study. Everyone has something to bring to the table: a bit of history, a bit of International relation, a bit of Economics, a bit of Music. In between, we went out for lovely lunch in a Malaysian restaurant.
My weekend always concludes with my two favorite things in the to-do list: number 1, to have a guitar lesson at my friend's. Number 2, to watch Rove in channel 10 at 9.30. Rove is undeniably one of the most popular TV shows in Australia: many witty comments about current affairs. And it's just truly relaxing to refill yourself with energy for a new Monday.
Everyweek there would be something new. Sometimes I take a long bus to Harbour Town to shop with my friends. Sometimes, it's a picnic by Torrens River. Sometimes, it's a day-out to make more sketches of the GPO. Sometimes, it's a sporty day playing captain ball with my friends. Sometimes, it's a long ride down to Victor Harbour. Sometimes, it's just simply a chat at my friend's house and playing with her dogs.
And that's how I always get excited on Friday night: because my weekend is coming again, time to love the sun, love the music and love your friends.