2 years ago, end of September 2009, I took off my suitcases and headed to UK for another exciting journey. Not knowing anyone, stranded in a town where I was the only Indonesian student in that year’s enrollment, I was in between excitement and total nervous breakdown.

My first day in Guildford, Surrey was .. sad. Sad in a way that I had to slept after 16 hours of flight, in a 10 ºC no-duvet no-pillow bed. Starving and not knowing where to get food,  I left only with this delicious banana chips, a gift from a friend that I hesitantly put into my backpack because of the hassle.

Who would have thought after a miserable night, I was greeted by this lovely views

Surrey’s sky was awesome, if the sun was kind enough. But even during the night, it gave magical starry sky which is impossible to be found in Jakarta. So the next day, I decided to decorate my room. At least to make it a little bit homey. So I bought  two little friends and put up some of my favorites people on the wall :)

The two little friends’ names were Mr. Claus and Mr. Santa, at the end of my study I gave them to my next-door flat mate, Mo, just in case he misses the bang on the wall, the noisy late night phone/skype calls or our friendship.

2009 has been kind, the adventure that I thought at first will be terrifying turned out to be one of the best things ever happened to me.

The people (and the parties).

The town.

if you notice, you can see the hills at back end of this picture. Surrey was known for its beautiful meadow and hills. It was the shooting set of ‘The Holiday’ and the residence of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. When you walk inside pubs, cafes, bars or shops, most of the times you will find yourself familiar faces, the beauty of living in a small town. 

Surrey is very close to London as well, only 20 minutes train rides and it will bring you to the heart of England. If you ever get a chance to visit this lovely town, take a city tour that will show you the meadow and vineyard. After, head to the town center for movies or just chilling in the sidewalk’s coffee shop.

So, if only I was a good writer, I would’ve loved to write a book about one of the best things happened in my life, living abroad in UK. I’d tell the world all the fascinating things I found; intercultural friendship, mutual respect, hard work, tasteless fish and chips, Whittard ‘dreamtime’ tea, delicious cornwall pasty, the fun of walking, the art of letting go and the beauty of the landscape and many more.

But I’m not quite a good writer, so hopefully the pictures will tell you my story in its own magical way :).

xx