Brina: From the Bathtub to the Blue Door

The story of Brina is long and filled with drama. It starts with a bathtub tragedy and continues with zipper incidents, cataracts, goiter, allergies, and even smelly feet. It’s like a budget combo set, but the contents are all bizarre problems.

After the bathtub almost-drowning incident (because I pushed her and pretended I didn’t know anything), fast forward a few years. I got a scholarship to Taiwan, and when I graduated in 2020, one of my professors asked me, “Do you have any relatives who might want to study in Taiwan?”

I immediately answered, “Yes! My cousin, Brina.”

So I persuaded Brina to come for her Master’s in Taiwan. With her so-so English skills and my overly enthusiastic tutoring, her mom finally agreed.

Before she left, Brina had to do a medical check-up in Medan. One of the requirements was a chest X-ray. So there she was, in the X-ray room, bra off. Suddenly, on the doctor’s monitor, a big metal object appeared on her chest. The doctor panicked, “What is this? Please check your clothes!”

Turns out… it was just her zipper. Once she removed it, all was fine. But the embarrassment? Priceless.

After the zipper drama, they discovered she had a goiter. Goiter is usually known as a malnutrition disease. Poor Brina, a future international student with a bonus goiter.

Not enough? Once she arrived in Taiwan, she started complaining about her eyes. I accompanied her to the doctor (of course, she wouldn’t go alone). When she came out, her eyes were teary. I panicked, “What happened? Why are you crying?”

With a trembling voice, she said, “Nen… I have cataracts.”

OH. MY. GOD. Cataracts are supposed to be for grandparents! Meanwhile, here was this young girl getting a surprise “gift” cataract. Like winning a raffle you never even joined.

Besides goiter and cataracts, Brina also has a skin allergy that has never gone away since she was a kid. When it flares up, her skin turns red and forms coin-shaped welts. If she doesn’t control her diet, she might look like a zombie transformation video on TikTok: “Watch me turn into a medieval plague patient in 3 days!”

She often wonders, “If I get married one day, should I confess to my future husband? That I have goiter, cataracts, and a zombie-like skin allergy?”
And I always say, “As long as your heart is healthy, Rin.”

But wait, there’s more! In Taiwan, summer is super humid. We’re always outside and wearing shoes. The result? Her foot odor reached legendary levels, strong enough to make flip-flops run away on their own.

The peak comedy? When Brina first arrived in Taiwan, I forgot to pick her up at the airport. Luckily, she was independent enough to find her way.

A few days later, after coming back from class, she called me, panicked, “Nen! Why is your door blue now? When did it change color?”

I calmly replied, “My door has always been grey, Rin.”

She got angry and insisted, “No! It’s blue!”

When I went downstairs, she was nowhere to be found. It turns out she was standing in front of the neighbor’s door. And yes, it was blue.

Oh my God.

Looking back now, it makes me want to roll on the floor laughing, from almost drowning in a bathtub, zipper drama, goiter, cataracts, skin allergy, stinky feet, to standing at the wrong door. Brina is truly a full-package comedy series, no discount needed.