Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS WRITER
I was given two props (red sequined hairband and 50,000 Dong) to include in the following story with seven prompts in bold:
The first time that I fell in love I felt wanted. After a few years together we decided to get married and it was also the first time that I had lived with a man. This love lasted for 18 years and I still love this man today. When I was 28 my husband was offered a secondment to Madrid for one year. I then experienced first-hand the expat lifestyle and what it was like to live in a warmer climate.
One day we went to a party where we had to dress up and I wore a shiny red sequined headband that went with my 1950s costume. A small glass was sitting in the corner of the room for gold coin donations to raise money for a homeless charity. This was quite ironic as the expat party was a group (International Newcomers Club) that helps expats make a new home in foreign country. I realised how great it was to learn about different cultures at the party and this planted a seed that has now grown into travelling to 41 countries.
The next minute the party was over and I said “adios” to my new found friends. I think that I had drunk too much as I was walking a bit staggered across the road and then when I laid down the ceiling was going round and round. The next day I said that I would never drink alcohol again but we all know that we always do! I spent that day drinking enough water to fill a swimming pool and lying down watching old movies. I began to reflect on the people that I had met and the stories of where they had come from and how they arrived in Madrid. I started to daydream about travelling the world and where we would go and what we would see. Whether it was old ruins or buildings, amazing landscapes, people wearing colourful clothes, white sand beaches and it wouldn’t stop, the list went on forever. We had saved a lot of money as expats and my court case was just about to be settled; this dream seemed possible. My husband’s contract was just about to come to an end and the expression ‘divine timing’ came to mind. About a week later I received a phone call whilst in Portugal with my husband. It was boiling hot that day, I remember it so well. I was made an offer and decided to put an end to my nine year court case. Afterwards, we sat and chatted about travel. I wanted to give back my husband a gift of not having to work for a year as he had been so supportive of me since my car accident.
What is that my husband said a few months later when we were in Vietnam. He was referring to a sign that said ‘Walking adventure’. So we went into the shop and booked the tour that cost 50,000 dong. The tour involved spending a day walking to a hut in the rainforests and then a walk up a mountain. When we reached the top, I felt so much joy. The last nine years of my life had been a big journey and now I felt like I could finally see a future living in another country. And so here I am living in Australia although I am on my own as my husband’s fate was to leave this world sooner than me.