Song for the year: On My Way - Phil Collins
Tell everybody I'm on my way
New friends and new places to see
With blue skies ahead, yes I'm on my way
And there's nowhere else that I'd rather be
Exactly one year ago, on 1st June 2014, Me wrote this. [Indeed. Adventures, nonsense, and hard times there have been plenty. Seems like I was quite the oracle xD] Excited, but at the same time not quite ready to leave. That poor thing who would burst into tears at the departure gates.
Tell everybody I'm on my way
New friends and new places to see
With blue skies ahead, yes I'm on my way
And there's nowhere else that I'd rather be
Exactly one year ago, on 1st June 2014, Me wrote this. [Indeed. Adventures, nonsense, and hard times there have been plenty. Seems like I was quite the oracle xD] Excited, but at the same time not quite ready to leave. That poor thing who would burst into tears at the departure gates.
Six months from then, another Me wrote this. More experienced, having lived overseas for half a year, but weary of routine (studies/tests/deadlines), and missing the comforts of home. The following 8 months had seemed such a long time to pass.
And here I am on 1st June 2015, one whole year from the day I was last in SG. My exams haven't ended yet (3 to go T.T), but lol I've got license to reminisce [this post was slowly drafted over the past month anyway]. "Time flies when you're having fun", as the adage goes. Haha, "fun" must encompass a whole lot of wacky things then, which must be why the past 6 months macam vanishing act. Save for this painfully slow exam period... But that aside, it's somewhat paradoxical - however fast time seems to fly, the feeling never goes away in that it's been a very long time.
Before we left, I thought I was coming for an overseas internship and one academic year in ICL, with a generous helping of travel whenever I could find the time. So that was true, but how was I to know that there was gonna be so much more than that. I've enjoyed much of it but this year wasn't easy, that's for sure.
With regards to traveling, there are now too many trips to list without being a bore. And I'm also aware that I've rarely written about them since this year started, which I should have done but did not... [I prob should, or else in a few decades' time let's just say I'll rmb nth of raw minced meat and schizo weather] Being in REP has given me this wonderful opportunity to explore the beauty and flaws of UK/Europe - the food, people, weather and more. Also made me less of a suaku - one year ago I couldn't have told you the procedures in taking a flight, and now in about a week, I'll be heading on my first solo trip (10 days across central Europe)! I've taken more flights in just 2014 than in my entire life before coming here... To visit so many places so far from home at such a young age is a thing of fortune, and I'm nothing short of grateful.
I'm definitely different from before, but strangely I don't feel like I've changed much. Looking at the things I've written, I still sound like the same me who was up typing at 3am on 1/6/2014. Ok actually I have changed... Physically, I'm stronger, bulkier (in a few different ways), and my hair is too long. I can cook confidently now. And after all them life lessons... I've honed
my alertness, learnt to trust more wisely, and developed
pretty steely resilience. But even then, I still feel like the same person under all this thick armour. Maybe I have a very "steady" personality that isn't likely to change
much, but I feel I've been doing things the way I've been doing them for
a while now. I'm not easily excitable, just the same as not being
easily flustered, which has been a great help sometimes. Essentially, I'm not coming home much different from when I left, but that doesn't mean I've learnt nothing.
Hence follows this particularly apt set of lines (which has had the fortune/misfortune of being quoted to cliche-ness):
Hence follows this particularly apt set of lines (which has had the fortune/misfortune of being quoted to cliche-ness):
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can
see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the
people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started
is not the same as never leaving.” - Terry Pratchett
I guess it's not often that we come across a piece of writing that simply says it the way it feels. It's been a joy to take cheap flights all over the place and experience for myself how different the rest of the world really is. We tend to compare, and we sometimes fail to acknowledge the beauty we were blessed with. All I can say here is, we have it damn good on our sunny island, and having seen just a bit more of the world, I have learnt to appreciate that better.
[dun complain about a 5 cent increase in MRT/bus fare please hor here increase by 10p (20 cents) and each tap of the oyster costs you at least a plate of chicken rice and you need to get back where you came from so that's two plates of chicken rice i'm not kidding]
This whole experience is something to be thankful for, but if it has to be broken down into notabilities... I'm thankful for technology, for opening a window to home. Thankful for the internship. Thankful for the scholarship/REP allowance. Thankful for proximity, to school, to this side of the world. Thankful for the climbs, both the regular gym sessions and the ones in the great outdoors. Thankful for my friends, old and new, with whom I've shared fun times and braved adversity (not mutually exclusive!). Overseas, your friends are like family, and that is a fact to be treasured and respected. Out of these, special mention and gratitude goes to my roomie and close buddy, J, with whom I was destined to land the same table, same internship, same course, same room. But that's ok lol, coz even though we've been stuck with each other for the entire year, we function independently, e.g. eat when you want and pon the classes you want yourself. Though once in a while we do things together like a 5-hour dinner (15 mins of eating included :P). This kind of comfortable space is better than anything I could ever have asked for. [it's her bday AGAIN in 2 days and i haven't decided what i'm gonna do to her yet...]
So after all that's been said and done, it's been a deeply edifying rollercoaster ride. But now I really think it's time to go home (soon)! Ya la, I know I've said before that I don't really miss home but that was agesss ago. [Not bad though that final line, I knew myself well.] Because of its record-breaking duration (>13 months omggg) this exchange has been really worth it, but now there's really no doubt that I wanna go home... The seasons have gone through a full cycle and yes it's been too damn long so I can't wait to touch down in our extremely awesome Changi airport in just slightly over a month. But before then, I've got these last 3 irritating papers to clear, then the summer stuffed full of travels will fly by. And then I'll see you all again :)
I guess it's not often that we come across a piece of writing that simply says it the way it feels. It's been a joy to take cheap flights all over the place and experience for myself how different the rest of the world really is. We tend to compare, and we sometimes fail to acknowledge the beauty we were blessed with. All I can say here is, we have it damn good on our sunny island, and having seen just a bit more of the world, I have learnt to appreciate that better.
[dun complain about a 5 cent increase in MRT/bus fare please hor here increase by 10p (20 cents) and each tap of the oyster costs you at least a plate of chicken rice and you need to get back where you came from so that's two plates of chicken rice i'm not kidding]
This whole experience is something to be thankful for, but if it has to be broken down into notabilities... I'm thankful for technology, for opening a window to home. Thankful for the internship. Thankful for the scholarship/REP allowance. Thankful for proximity, to school, to this side of the world. Thankful for the climbs, both the regular gym sessions and the ones in the great outdoors. Thankful for my friends, old and new, with whom I've shared fun times and braved adversity (not mutually exclusive!). Overseas, your friends are like family, and that is a fact to be treasured and respected. Out of these, special mention and gratitude goes to my roomie and close buddy, J, with whom I was destined to land the same table, same internship, same course, same room. But that's ok lol, coz even though we've been stuck with each other for the entire year, we function independently, e.g. eat when you want and pon the classes you want yourself. Though once in a while we do things together like a 5-hour dinner (15 mins of eating included :P). This kind of comfortable space is better than anything I could ever have asked for. [it's her bday AGAIN in 2 days and i haven't decided what i'm gonna do to her yet...]
So after all that's been said and done, it's been a deeply edifying rollercoaster ride. But now I really think it's time to go home (soon)! Ya la, I know I've said before that I don't really miss home but that was agesss ago. [Not bad though that final line, I knew myself well.] Because of its record-breaking duration (>13 months omggg) this exchange has been really worth it, but now there's really no doubt that I wanna go home... The seasons have gone through a full cycle and yes it's been too damn long so I can't wait to touch down in our extremely awesome Changi airport in just slightly over a month. But before then, I've got these last 3 irritating papers to clear, then the summer stuffed full of travels will fly by. And then I'll see you all again :)
 |
| Sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo (11/4). |
So, tell everybody I'm on my way
And I just can't wait to be home
With the sun beating down, yes I'm on my way
And nothing but good times to show
I'm on my way
Yes I'm on my way!
