My First Times

We all have that first experiences that we will never forget, be it the first kiss, first party, first-time bungee jumping, etc. First experiences can be thrilling, fun, crazy or even scary, but one thing that I know for sure that first experiences gave you unforgettable memories that maybe, one day you will pass those memories on to your kids as their bedtime story. Thinking back to those experiences definitely give you a nostalgic feel, and I am all about being nostalgic today. So, today's post is dedicated to all those first times that I experienced after I moved to Taiwan.

Living in Taiwan for almost four years now gave me lots of freedom that I never had before. Back at home, my parents didn't really like the idea of me sleeping over at a friend's house or even coming home late on weekends. I used to think of how unfair for them to treat me like a little kid; other teenagers get to have sleepovers and hanging out with friends until midnight on weekends, so why can't I? I used to feel so restricted that I want to get out of my parents' sights and be free from their rules asap. Coming to Taiwan definitely gives me just what I want——freedom. I'm miles away from my parents now and nobody here can tell me what to do. I am my own responsibility and I like the feeling of that. So, I use this opportunity to do some crazy stuff, and of course, I have a few experiences that I regret doing, but like what I said before, they are all memorable.
Here goes the list of my first-time experiences in Taiwan:

P.S. I am not a rebel, I'm just living my life.

1. My first clubbing experience.

When I first heard that our ue with me. It's not your typical Saturday night party though. The party was held on ni's students organization is throwing a party at a club, I didn't even hesitate to sign up and persuade my friend to coma Tuesday night, started at 7 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m. (what?! Clubbing on a school's night?) It does sound legit but at the same time, kinda weird cause who starts a party at 7p.m. right? But as a freshman, you can never say no to school parties, cause where else can you check out the school's hotties? (I swear I'm not that desperate, am just stating a fact lol) So, I went there, had a couple of drinks, danced my heart out, jaw dropped from watching men and women strippers performing, then went home feeling good. The thing about clubbing is, I didn't go there to check out hotties, or to get drunk, but I go to clubs to dance my heart out and free my soul (especially after the crazy finals and midterms).

2. First (and most definitely my last) time sleeping in a McDonald's.
This is one of the experiences that I would never ever do again. I never thought that I'd sleep in a McD but I did, and it's not a pleasant experience. I only did this because a friend of mine came all the way to Taipei to celebrate my birthday, and he didn't book a motel to stay for the night so he casually told me that he's going to sleep in the McDonald's. Since he came all the way to celebrate my birthday, I thought it would be rude to just leave him to sleep in the McD all alone, so my friend and I decided that we will accompany my guy friend and stayed overnight in a 24-hours McD. I can't even sleep that night, it's just super uncomfortable and cold, I don't think any of us get a good sleep that night, it's just impossible. When it's finally morning, my friend left for the bus station, and I went back to my dorm and slept the whole morning on my cozy bed.

3. Went to work right after partying (in a tipsy condition)
This is also one of the experiences that I'd never do again lol. So it was my birthday earlier this May, and I thought that it'd be a nice way to celebrate my 21st birthday with my friends in a club. I actually have a 9 a.m. shift the morning after, and I thought that I'd just drink a couple shots and won't touch the drinks anymore. Apparently, I was wrong. My friends kept pushing me and asked me to drink up cause it was my birthday, and I kept refusing but drank it anyway. I don't even know how many shots I've drunk, all I know is that my head is spinning like crazy and I vomited twice that night. It was a crazy night alright, I had so much fun with my friends but the day after that, it's a catastrophe. I went back to a friend's house, cause she lives near the club and slept for like 3 hours before I had to force myself to get up to wash my face, brush my teeth, and put on my clothes in a tipsy condition. I then hopped on a taxi and went to work. I surprisingly managed to stay for the whole 6 hours at work with a constant visit to the bathroom to puke lol. I went home right after work and slept through the whole remaining day.

4. First-time going to a summer music festival and almost fainted.

This experience started out fun but ended tragically lol. I actually went to the Road To Ultra Music Festival for two years. On my first year, I enjoyed it very much and because it's my first music festival, I got so excited to dance the whole day but also ended up with sore legs. On the second year, this is where the "fun" takes place haha. I was as excited as last year's ultra because this year I came with more friends and they're all so fun to hang with. The only downside I had that day is me almost fainting. We stood quite near to the DJs' stage and it was summer time (obviously), it got super hot especially when they put up the fire thingy, and that's when my vision went blank. I couldn't see my surroundings, everything went white, I could only hear things. I started panicking and luckily one of my friends saw my super pale face and pulled me out of the crowd immediately. On my way out, I held on to my friend's hand so tight that if I ever let go, I would fall down right away. That is the last time I ever went to the festival. Although they got a nice line-up of DJs this year, I'm not going back to that place and faint for the second time no more. It's safe to say that I've learned my lesson lol.

5. First-time traveling abroad with my own earned money
This one is the proudest thing that I've ever done in my whole 21 years of living. Last year, I use my own earned money to travel to Macau and boy never have I ever be so proud of myself. Right now, I'm currently saving up for my UK trip which will be in February 2018, can't wait until Feb. The thing about traveling with your own money is the satisfaction that it gives you. I felt so satisfied that I get to spend my own money on myself but also sad at the same time cause saving up takes me a lot of effort and time, but it takes me only a few days of travel to spend all of my saved money. It's like all the efforts that I gave up for weeks are gone just in one click (yknow?)

6. First-time working part-time.
I started working part-time on my second semester of freshman year. The reason why I started working part-time was that I wanted to get out of the uni's dorm and find a flat with my friend to stay, but my parents didn't agree to let me find a flat outside, cause they thought it was dangerous for two girls to live on their own. So I ended up working part-time to save up for my travels.

7. Going to concerts.
Going to concerts have always been my dream since I was in high school. I've always wanted to see my favorite singers or band live on stage, and I've finally done it. My first concert was Imagine Dragons' and gosh, they are amazing!! No words can describe how good they are performing live. They are actually coming to Taipei on the upcoming 15th January, but I'm not going cause gotta save up for the UK trip, and I've already bought Bruno Mars' concert ticket anyway.

Also, can I just use this opportunity to express my disappointment that Ed Sheeran canceled some of his Asia’s tour? I was so excited that he is finally going to come but then he broke my heart with the broken hand news :( Couldn't blame him though. I just wish that he could postpone the date instead of entirely canceling it. Anyways, happy that he's finally recovering.

8. First-time being active in a students' organization.

I'm so proud to be a member of PERPITA (an organization that consists of Indonesian students studying in Taiwan). The reason I joined this organization was to find friends. As I said before on this post, where I talk about my desperation to make Indonesian friends on my freshman year, I decided to be a crew of this organization with the hope to find more friends. But that's not the only reason on why I wanted to join the organization, the other reason is due to my lack participation on clubs at uni and back in high school. I wanted to try new things and wanting to challenge myself to work with people, I never get the chance to work in groups for a long period of time, and I want to know how that feels——to work with a team, to make conncections with all 19 people in the organization, and to manage events.

That's all for my first-time experiences. What's your most memorobale first-time experience that you regretted doing, or maybe the one that is most unforgettable?