maandag 8 februari 2016

The Beauty of Manchester

I was a man who spent my time quite often in the library, reading thick books seriously, being alone for the sake of my final project. Yeah, it was my last year before I got my magister degree in the University of Manchester. I would never give up on things I had been dreaming of. Studying overseas was not difficult, yet it was not easy either.


I turned off my laptop that had been connected with super fast network speed from campus’ hotspot, putting it inside my bag and being ready to leave. I smiled with the librarian as I left. She was a sweet woman with dark-chocolate hair and pale skin. Then, she sincerely smiled back at me and said,

“Come back tomorrow, will you?”
“Definitely,” I said.

She seemed knowing my presence since I started working on my thesis. We did not really talk much, only greeting each other.

I stepped my feet to the park, wondering where I should go next. The sky above me was cloudy, having much cloud that made my heart gloomy. Gosh! Not again! I felt like missing my family in Indonesia, my friends, everybody. I just knew in my hometown, everyday is summer. Even when raining, I could feel the sunshine on me. Here, people would be grateful when their skin felt the warmness of the sun, which is pretty rare.

Starbucks and vanilla latte sounded great. I decided to buy a cup of coffee to the most famous coffee shop all around the world. Luckily there was no queue in this winter evening and they served my coffee directly. I held the cup and felt warm after drinking it.

I walked along the road heading to my dorm. Suddenly I stopped on the bridge and watched the sunset. It was wonderful! Somehow my mind went back a few months ago when I explored this city myself.

Old Trafford was the first place where I enjoyed watching my favorite football club, Manchester United. I was crazy about them and I got miracle for having chance to see the players. I felt very excited although my throat got pain because of shouting too much. Well, that was worth it!

I knew nothing about arts, yet I visited Manchester Museum by using tram. I only fulfilled my curiosity and wanted to see the comparison, so I also made a visit to Manchester Art Gallery. There was only one word coming out from my mouth, “wow!”

If I had time, I would love to read books at John Rylands Library because their collections were better than my college’s library. I was not underestimating my own university, but that was the truth.

The sun had set on the West, I was about to drink my coffee without realizing that it was already empty. What a fool! Okay, it might be the time I had to go back to the dorm.

I was a half running because I could not stand any longer feeling the cold. I covered my neck with the shawl and put my hands inside the pocket of my coat. Oh warmness!

As I got back to my room, I prepared hot water on the bathtub, taking off my clothes and taking a shower. Cleaning my body could be something fun in the winter as long as I used hot water.

I skipped my supper tonight and directly went to bed. I pulled the blanket and set my head on the pillow. Good Night, Manchester! See you tomorrow!