Chapter 61: London and Hanoi
The next day, Thuy Linh came to the dorm to take Kieu Ly on a sightseeing tour of London's museums and the iconic Big Ben clock tower. At every stop, Thuy Linh took check-in photos for her — and she was remarkably good at it. Truly, Thuy Linh turned out to be an unexpectedly top-tier tour guide. Wherever they went, she also made sure Kieu Ly got to taste the local specialties and take part in various festivals.
Thuy Linh said, "While you're still new and have time, you should experience as much as you can. Once classes get intense, you won't have time for any of this."
Autumn had arrived in London.
After an amazing initial period exploring with Thuy Linh, Kieu Ly finally began her coursework.
At first, she was quite overwhelmed — the number of video lectures and reading materials required before and after each class was massive, nothing like the learning system in Vietnam. However, thanks to Thuy Linh's guidance, Kieu Ly quickly adapted to this new method of studying.
She also took the opportunity to make lots of new friends. Her class was filled with students from all over the world — all kinds of nationalities and cultures — which made it fun to socialize, although there were still cultural barriers that made truly deep connections harder to form. On some weekends, Thuy Linh would come by and take her out for a little adventure.
Although it was a bit costly, Kieu Ly never said no. She didn't want to miss out on these valuable experiences. Money could always be earned later.
On October 20th — Vietnam Women's Day — Kieu Ly was eating lunch alone when she received a congratulatory message from Toan Phuong via Facebook.
She smiled and replied with thanks.
Toan Phuong online was noticeably different from the one she knew in real life — much less talkative. Or maybe he was just busy with his own things, just like she was with hers.
At that moment, Kieu Ly also received a phone call from Huong Tra.
She turned down the volume of her music and picked up. It was around 7 PM in Vietnam.
"Ly stubborn! Happy Vietnamese Women's Day!"
Hearing that, Kieu Ly asked,
"You don't get the day off for this holiday?"
"Nope, it's super busy. The ladies are all excited and placing tons of orders."
"Leave the packing for tomorrow. Get the girls together and go out for a proper feast!"
"When you were still here, you used to get free food with us. Now that you're gone, there's no one left to sponge off of."
"I'm rich now, okay? Let's go spoil ourselves. Only women can bring happiness to other women!"
"Haha, you've got a point there."
"Happy Vietnamese Women's Day to you!"
"So why are you eating alone?"
"The Vietnamese student association is celebrating tonight. Over here, no one knows it's a Vietnamese holiday."
"True. Alright, go finish your meal. I've got packages to pack."