Sharing a room with Elfrina

Was fun: she’s a lovely fun thing, and I didn’t mind sharing a double bed with her for the four days, either, because we’re both quite small. We stuck together a lot and had a great time. We worked out we are both Capricorns, and I think if I had a sister, she would probably be a lot like Elfrina: we’re similar but different. Both speak without thinking, both like to disappear into books; but she is more bubbly, outgoing and heedless, the way a younger sister might be (I’m guessing, here). In any case, I didn’t hate her after four days of sharing a bed, which is not something one could say of many people, I believe.

At the same time, we did bug each other. She is a bit too attached to her mobile, I think: she sleeps with it next to her head, and her texting in the night woke me enough to the point where I told her to turn it off. The next day she laughed at me, saying ‘I missed my Daddy in the night! I wanted to text him! But you are funny malae, you tell me, No Karen*, turn it off! Haha!’

It’s lucky for cranky me that my Timorese friends think every time I say something crankily that it’s funny. I get them to laugh by doing an impression of myself being serious / angry. ‘Stop singing in the office! Turn that music off!’ Ha ha, ho ho, they’re rolling in their seats. Because why WOULDN’T you just sing in the office, or play music, or text your dad at 3am? Haha! Crazy malae, cranky for no reason!

• Elfrina tells everyone she meets (especially malae) that her name is Karen, and malae always tell her that ‘Elfrina’ is a beautiful name. So we compromise by calling her Karen half the time and Elfrina the other half. I realised after writing the entry I’d done my usual thing and called her both names within 30 seconds, and thought I would explain rather than trying to use just one, because I’m bound to do it again.

For her part, Karen claims that ‘Elfrina’ is a ‘bad name’, like for a ‘bad woman’. Hmm.