Boarding House Woes Number 1

Living away from home is harder than I thought. I always thought that living away from my family would be fun and exciting. And I never imagined that learning how to be independent can be very depressing.

I rented a bed, which they refer to as a bedspace, in a two-storey house near my school. In this boarding house, all my clothes had to fit in a very small closet while the rest of my stuff had to be arranged under my bed. Unlike my room in the province I can put my things anywhere I want because the whole room is mine and I don't have anyone to share space with.

The first few days of my stay here were very awkward. Everyone seemed to give me a "that's the new freshie boarder" look. Also, I couldn't do the things I wanted to do because I felt like everyone was watching my every move. To avoid their stares, I chose to stay in my room and read. But I found it hard to concentrate because they're really loud in the next room. And because of that sleep was just out of the question. I figured, the only thing left for me to do is write out this blog entry.

Actually, one of the other reasons why I'm compelled to write this entry is due to an incident earlier between the landlady and myself. Today is "water day", because water has a schedule here in our place. After taking a bath I decided to fill the pails in the bathroom while getting ready for school. While putting on my watch, I glanced at the time and I realized that I only had 5 minutes to get to my class, so i rushed to get my things together and headed out the door.

When I arrived home, I was surprised that my landlady was waiting for me at the receiving area. She scolded me for not turning the faucet off and not locking the main door. I apologized and explained that I forgot to do those things because I was hurrying to get to school. She didn't listen, and walked out murmuring words in a dialect I didn't understand.

On my way to my room, I noticed that one of my boardmates had seen the whole thing and was watching me from the kitchen. I felt weird and a bit ashamed that she was just standing there, watching the whole time. Because of that I decided to stay in my room despite the fact that my stomach was growling from hunger. And I just didn't want to overhear them whispering about me and what happened.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Don't be careless enough to think that someone's gonna pick up after you. When you live alone, you're the only one responsible for your actions.

So, that's that. Here I am, hungry and lonely.

Things have GOT to get better!

...the very first one...

It's a challenge to live away from home...

I should know because as of a few weeks ago I had to move to Baguio City from my province to study. This is my first time ever to be away from my family and from the life that I knew ever since I was a kid. You see, back then, I didn't have to worry about cooking food or washing clothes. I mean, I knew how to do those tasks but I never really had to do them.

It's different now.

Now no one's around to pick up after the mess I make. No one's around to wash my clothes or cook my food and wash the dishes after. No one's around to clean my room either, or at least tell me to.

Now it's all up to me.

So, I say, why don't you join me in this challenge. Take me as your partner in discovering the things all young adults should know. Maybe then it will make it easier for us both...

And by the way - Hi, I'm Red.