A Surprise from The Wrong Class

@ Balkan Party, Lodz, PL

Are you familiar with that mixed feeling of being excited but nervous? That was exactly how I felt on my first day of class. I checked my schedule again, it was a screenshot that I cut from the uni’s portal last night. I had to make sure that I would be in the right class at the right time. After all, first impressions are important, right? So, I took my backpack, made sure that I got my book and stationary right, put on my coat, looked myself in the mirror once more and yep, I’m ready. I checked my phone, GoogleMaps here we go. It was a short walking distance, max. 10 minutes by feet.

I arrived at my class, on time, nice! Looking around, everybody was busy with themselves. It seemed like nobody had known anybody yet. Great start. A woman around her 40s came and asked us to sit in a circle. Everybody started to introduce themselves. But.. ..something was off. They said that they are second year students. Some one of them said that they are exchange students. Erm.. Aren’t we all supposed to be in our first year here? Am I missing something? Am I in the wrong class? Then I heard a girl, Brazilian I heard she said,  and this is her first year as well. Okay.. Maybe it is the right class after all.

During the lecture, the lady gave us some cues about her class. She then explained what she expected from us for our final task and test, that we had to use our knowledge from the first year and put an effort to the task. Okay, this is definitely the wrong class. I wanted to make sure about it, so I asked the guy beside me, ‘’Hi. I am a first year student, majoring in International Marketing. Is this the Introduction to Marketing class?’’ I gave him my cell phone and showed him the screenshot that I made from our uni’s portal. ‘’Sorry, but this is not the right class. They changed the schedule again last minute. You should recheck the portal for the newest schedule or go to the bulletin board in front of the administration office. It is always updated,’’ he answered. Dang… ‘’Aah I see, thank you,’’ I replied.

Off to board, I decided to write everything manually. They shall be no room for mistakes. I still can catch the next class without being late. I ran off to the next class and arrived 5 minutes earlier than the schedule. But.. ..people have been grouping. There were a lot of blonde, color hair and tall people in my class. They are so beautiful.Am I in a modelling agency? I looked at my Asian feature, short figure, black haired, glasses, and yellow skin. I realised how far away I was from home at that moment.

They looked at me for a short period, I smiled and sat on the corner. I saw that Brazilian girl as well. She was busy with her phone and she was the only person that didn’t group with anybody. She is pretty. We went to the class. I just picked a random sit on the front row, and so did she. The first class was short and brief. It was mainly about introduction, rules, and books. We were asked to make a group for our next task. Since people seemed to have grouped from the beginning, I decided to go with whomever that is  a free bird like me. I looked around and I saw that she was looking at me. I looked back at her and smiled. She went to me and asked, ‘’Hey, shall we make a group?’’ I smiled back and said, ‘’Yes, of course. By the way, I saw you before.’’ She laughed and replied, ‘’Yes, yes, me too. I was in a wrong class.’’ I laughed and gave her my hand, ‘’Nice to meet you. I am Helen btw. ‘’ ‘’Nice to meet you too. I’m Isa,‘’ she said. We talked and found out that we both lived in the same dormitory.

Since that day, not only we went to the class and went back to the dorm together mostly, we did sports, studied, and ate out together. Through Isa, I experienced the Brazilian culture, such as the parties, hospitalities and their delicious food, snacks, and beverages. Who knew attending a wrong class could reward you a friendship in the end.

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I’m Helen,

originally from Indonesia and have been living abroad; Poland, Spain, Belgium, and Germany, for more than five years. Being a part-time nomad has been a part of me and currently I am enthusiastic to explore the world, experience its uniqueness, and share it with you :)

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