One More Year

I went to Germany feeling extraordinarily low; protracted showers and sleeps over a too-brief weekend hadn’t been enough to combat the accumulated dust and disorientation of moving out of my comfort zone of 2 years, and remaining rebel elements in my lungs were still mounting the occasional tubercolotic (that’s probably not even a word, but you know what I’m getting at) revolution. I felt residually gritty and somehow off-kilter, like a bad photocopy of myself.

I returned from Germany yesterday and it feels like everything has changed. I had a pretty damn fabulous holiday with my pretty damn fabulous best friend, which will hopefully be written about soonish. I found out two wonderful pieces of news – one, that I got first class honours in my degree, two, that my scholarship organization will let me take advantage of this by sponsoring me for a Masters (which means another year before they have to pull me kicking and screaming from London back to Singapore).

For the first time in a while there is certainty, and optimism that can finally be more than just cautious. It’s sunny today. I’m feeling good in my skin.

Circus Hostel, Berlin

Another very short update: am in Berlin with Russ, in a youth hostel so amazingly posh (Circus Hostel) I think I may actually emerge cleaner from the showers than when I went in. The weekend involved moving my life out of the hall I’ve lived in for 2 years – it was stressful and more than a little sad. I slept for 15 hours on Saturday night, when it was all over. And I fear that’s all I can write for now, on expensive Internet access. The cleansing showers await.