[Ellie's Story] Unfamiliar Territories

 I sat down at my desk with a hot cup of matcha tea and turned on my computer. As I waited for it to boot up, I turned in my swivel chair and looked at my apartment, which recently has taken on a new ambience.

Jung, my new roommate, an English student from Korea, was all moved in as of three days ago. The whole process went a lot quicker than I had anticipated once I had decided to accept him, especially considering how long the phone screening process took with the other candidates. I had shown Jung around the apartment, asked him a few more questions about his background and his plans for the upcoming year. Five days later, he moved in from his relative’s house, where he had been temporarily staying since his initial arrival to Vancouver. Jung was from Incheon, which is Korea’s third largest metropolitan area, as I have come to learn, amongst other tidbits of information about Korea.

Jung’s English was quite proficient. I found it easy enough communicate with him, and he had a mild-mannered way of speaking. His accent was noticeable, but not detracting in any huge way. He told me that he came to Vancouver to make sure that his English was fluent, so that he could return home and strive for a job in an internationally-based business. (And no, he didn’t have three eyes, as I gleefully told Kyle later.) 

The only things that Jung brought with him on moving day were two large suitcases – the same two suitcases that he had gotten off the plane with. So, I didn’t have to worry too much about space constraints in the apartment, which was great. I didn’t even have to book the elevator for his move. Jung settled in quietly into the spare room, and life in the apartment became less lonely, albeit a bit unfamiliar. MoMo, although friendly to Jung, probably also sensed a shift in the apartment’s atmosphere, and he frequently situated himself near me.

I missed having the space to myself. I couldn’t blast my music or watch my all-time favourite sappy movies on rerun all day. I couldn’t be a slob and leave my stuff around the living room area. I couldn't walk around in my apartment naked – even though that wasn’t something I did anyway. But hey, at least the option had been there before…you know, if I ever decided on a whim to have an exhibitionist moment. Life in the apartment had changed, but at least I had company now, and most importantly, some revenue that I much needed.

With my computer booted up, I logged into my email account and opened up the email I had received from Simon. Yes, I had finally agreed to make contact with him after pondering over Kyle’s words. Madison was thrilled when I told her my decision, and she immediately gave me Simon's email address, saying with emphasis: “Email him now, before he’s taken.”

I wrote him a basic email, stating something to the likes of “Hey, Madison had told me about your meeting and said we should chat.” I tried to keep it casual, not wanting to bring up anything too complicated, since I still wasn’t sure exactly where I was going with this. Half of me was still reluctant to get to know this stranger, but as I remembered my conversation with Kyle, I clung to the fact that I also had no good reason not to try this.

Simon’s response to my initial email came quickly, four hours after I had sent it. It’s been over a day, and I still hadn’t responded. I sipped on my tea and re-read his email again, hoping to be inspired to respond this time around:

Hi Ellie,

I’m so glad to hear from you. Madison and I had the opportunity to chat for a while when we met a few weeks ago, and she shared a lot of stories of when you two were growing up. From the things she told me about you and the things I shared with her about me, it seems that we may have quite a few things in common. Strangely enough, even though I had only just met Madison that day, I developed an innate trust in her opinion that we could get along. (I generally consider myself to be a reserved person, so believe me when I tell you that this is not a common thing for me to do, randomly getting to know a girl from a stranger.) Anyway, I look forward to meeting you, whenever you may be free. Let me know!

Sincerely,
   Simon

When I first read his email, I wondered what stories Madison had shared with a complete stranger. I shuddered and made a note to myself to ask and possibly reprimand Madison for what she may or may not have said about me. Taking a huge gulp of tea, I began my response:

Hi Simon,

It’s nice to meet you and have an opportunity to chat. I’m wondering what stories Madison may have told you and hope that they weren’t too ridiculous!

I scratched that out, finger hitting the Delete button repeatedly. I decided that shouldn’t be too forthright straight off the bat. The cautious approach was probably best – he was a stranger, after all.

I’m glad you enjoyed speaking with Madison. We’ve been friends forever and she does know me very well. Like you, I’m pretty reserved as well, so I hope you’ll understand if can get to know each other gradually.

 I didn’t know what else to say. Should I talk more about myself? No, I scoffed at myself. That’s probably not a good idea…perhaps I should just ask him more questions. I tried to remember what type of questions I had been asking for my roommate search. I stretched my hands out a bit and placed my fingers back on the keyboard again.

So what do you do for work? What are your hobbies? Did you grow up in Vancouver? What type of music do you listen to?

And because this was important, I added:

Do you like cats?

Sorry for the twenty questions...I just figured this would be the best way to get to know each other. Hope you have a good week!

~ Ellie

I looked up from my monitor and saw Jung enter the living room. He sat down on the sofa, with a can of pop in one hand and a textbook in the other.

We exchanged quiet smiles. I briefly wondered how our relationship would develop. Would we end up being the best friends-type of roommates, or the awkward ones?

Not able to make a guess on the answer, I returned my attention back to my email. I re-read it, hesitating a bit, deliberating everything I had written and if anything would be misconstrued. Mulling over it, my peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Jung, who was still sitting there, unmoved. I turned my head towards him and we made eye contact. He smiled and then opened his mouth to speak. The words came out slowly, as if he were thinking of the right English words to use.

“Ellie, there is no coffee table here?”

My face flushed in embarrassment. I nodded with an apologetic smile. “Yeah, sorry Jung. Not yet, but soon.”

He nodded back in acknowledgment.

All the while, my finger was still hovered over the mouse button, with my mouse cursor hovered above the Send icon. Ah, whatever. I’m over-thinking things, I told myself. If Simon doesn’t get me, then too bad. I clicked Send without further thought.

A small crunching noise came from the living room. I whipped my head to look at Jung. He was now crouched over, picking up his textbook and his pop can from the floor, which had toppled over.

“Sorry! I dropped my textbook, and the pop…it’s empty though,” Jung said, showing me his empty can.

“It’s okay,” I replied. “It’s just hardwood floor anyway, not carpet.”

Thankfully, I added to myself. Mental note: Buy myself a coffee table already.