2011, just words

2011 started with a big bang and lots of fireworks (literally); I ushered in the new year with KH at his friend’s placein Cheung Sha Wan (Hong Kong) on the evening of 31st. We had a barbecue party on the 49^th floor and I remember poor Baileys (a 5-month-old golden retriever pup) falling into the Jacuzzi pool after running around it a couple of times and losing her balance. All of us gathered around the edge of the 49th floor when the clock finally struck 12 to admire the fantastic display of fireworks far off in the distance.

The next 5-odd months of my life was spent in Hong Kong. I never imagined that I'd one day head off to somewhere for an exchange programme, but I guess that's just the way life turns out sometimes, unexpected. So there I was, at HKIEd; Singapore’s equivalent of NIE. That’s a first – spending an extended period of time overseas away from family and friends in Singapore; and it was such an amazing experience. I got to experience the coldest winter that Hong Kong’s faced in a long time; I wore boots for the first time in my life, learnt to check the weather forecast to plan outfits for different days, and I'd even headed to Indonesia to take a break from the cold weather with some new friends. It was 5 plus months worth of invaluable experiences and memories. As the exchange programme was drawing to a close, I also did a fair bit of traveling and visited nearby places like Taiwan and China. On hindsight, coming for exchange was one of (if not) the best decisions that I’ve made in my life so far, at least in recent years.

Post-exchange, I made my way to the northern part of India with Siaos and Robin. I’d only gotten back from Hong Kong for about a week or two so there wasn't a lot of time for me to complete the unpacking and repacking. But all that haste did not dampen my mood for travelling because India was stunning. The place was baking when we visited during summer; it was over 40 degrees Celsius most of the time in the days, and in the words of Robin’s dad, it felt like we were constantly “standing next to a zhi char stall kitchen stove”. I’ve never been to anywhere like India and I've really enjoyed my time here. I still remember that I was smiling to myself after a 4-hour (I think!) long train ride from Jaipur to Jodhpur in a non a/c sleeper cabin; despite being covered in a thick layer of sweat and grime when we finally arrived. On this trip, I learnt to be thankful for all the material comforts that I have back home and for the kindness and hospitality of strangers.

Teaching practice started on a very hurried note after India and nothing very inspiring happened; in fact, it was quite meh. I realized that the working environment and the people in it play very important roles in influencing the job satisfaction of individuals, and I also learnt about the kind of environment that I do not really thrive well in. Anyhow, it got pretty stressful at some point because there seemed to be so much responsibility and so little attention given by the people in charge; I was just very glad that there were no major cock-ups by the end of it.

The end of teaching practice called for reason to celebrate and hence, I found myself in Boracay, Philippines with some NUS windsurfers and David for a dive trip. Boracay might just boast of the prettiest beach that I’ve come across so far; coconut trees with their swaying leaves dot the fluffy beach and fully-filled triangular blue sails line the multi-layered turquoise coastline. I dived in Philippines for the very first time and learnt an important diving lesson that wasn’t covered in any of the basic or advanced dive courses that I'd gone for – diving masks sink in the sea; so don’t bother looking up when yours come off underwater, for some reason or other (inside joke).

For the rest of the time, I stayed put in Singapore because there was school. I was glad to be back at NIE after what seemed like the longest break ever; and I caught myself smiling to myself a couple of times when I walked along the corridors - lectures, tutorials and breaks with the girlies again! I didn’t work exceptionally hard (that explains my grades this time round) but I did enjoy sitting through the lessons that were taught; most of them anyway.

Cambodia took place 2 days after the exams with JM; I was actually quite surprised by how spontaneous he was when I made a casual suggestion to the group - and really glad that he agreed to come together. Some of the architectural details of the tourist sites that we visited greatly reminded me of Thailand's. Oh, and the cuisine too! I'll get round to posting pictures of the beautiful Angkor, sooner or later.

And for the first time ever, I visited a country not as a tourist, but as a volunteer and had the opportunity to look at things from very different perspectives. My first visit to Vietnam took place in Year One, and I remember thinking that I probably wouldn’t be heading back here again. However, this second visit made me feel that there’s just so much of the country that I’ve yet to see, and the kids at the orphanage make it a valid-enough reason for me to head back to visit them again.

For the second year in a row, I counted down to a new year overseas. This time round, it was Taiwan with Mumsy and YF. I was in a bookstore at 12 midnight, and I stood at a road junction with YF to catch a glimpse of the fireworks that were being set off minutes later. Anyhow, that's the first group tour that we've been on as a family (minus Dad), and the only thing I liked about it was the knowledgeable guide and hotel rooms. 

I’ve been travelling a lot this year, and along the way, I made many new friends whom I can’t be more thankful for; for leaving some kind of print in my life one way or another. I've also learnt a lot from all the new people I’ve met; both good and bad - about things, other people, and myself. There were the happy events which’ve made me laugh till I teared, and also the sad ones that made me cry like a baby. One important learning point that I've taken away from 2011 is to keep an open mind and an open heart to things and let go when you have to because there’s no point in holding on sometimes; it's best to just take things as they come. And here's a phrase that I learnt from some of my new friends while I was in Vietnam: 既来之，浙安之. How timely!