I truly believe that in life we face new journeys, new adventures.
In the past 6 months, I was a traveller moving through places that I thought that I would only see in my dreams and is feeling like a dream right now. I was observing alot of things in the foreign land that I was in but not exactly doing anything purposeful on exchange.
Today I am living in Tembusu again. Its not the same though, I am now a third year Tembusu student, a fourth year Mechanical Engineering student and ORA house resident assistant.
In my first year in Tembusu, I was also NUS Skating Club vice president, so I couldn't really commit to planning and doing too much stuff in Tembusu. In my second year here for a semester, I was sort of floating around alot as I missed the orientation and didnt know too much of the juniors. I realised that sometimes responsibility and commitment really brings out the best in me. Hence that is why I decided to become a resident assistant.
Through this appointment, I hope to be able to commit more of my time in my final year to tembusu and to my studies (only 0.05 more to a second upper ) so that I will graduate with a BANG! Make more friends and help them achieve their dreams. Have lotsa fun and laughter, and maybe I can find some love too <3
This academic year I want to be focus and finish my work as efficiently as possible so that I can do well academically as well as develop holistically. Skating is something I always would want to work on to continuously improve and fitness too of course (Stanchart half marathon here I come!)
Last of all, in the little time that I spend with my family, I wish for the happiest moments to be present.
AY13/14 Let's go!!!!
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
Saturday, 6 July 2013
The End? or the Start of a New Beginning?
This is the final post of this blog. I have come a long way since I started this blog in December. Finally I have finished my exchange journey and boy it was definitely the greatest experience of my life!
Living in a different country, with different weather conditions, with people of very different culture and more importantly so far away from home and my family and friends.(Kudos to the technology that make it possible for us to stay connected even though we are 15000 kilometres away)
You get to see how people in another part of the world live their lives in a different way, for example without the use of smartphones but learning to speak to each other in a conventional manner. You get to experience cooking on a daily basis and buying groceries and living cheaply by looking for deals, house brand goods while at the same time trying to live to the best you can with the money and time you have. You feel joy, loneliness, excitement, fear, love and sadness in a foreign land which you learn to call home for these 5 months.
When we traveled around Europe, you meet many people travelling around the world too and share stories of fascinating adventures. You also meet locals who you probably have to use sign language to talk to but you can feel that they are very warm and welcoming of your presence in their country and want to let you experience the things that they are proud of in their country. (sometimes hostile unfortunately but rarely). You see so much history and the remains of people of the past and try to imagine how human civilization have progressed through the millenniums into the present. You compare the difference between your country and the ones you are visiting and realize that even though your country has a lot of things to improve, it is actually pretty good compared to most countries.
The greatest thing that I take away from this journey is not the pictures that I take or the amazing scenery that I got to see with my eyes but an introspective into the person that I am or that I thought I was. Sometimes you feel that being in a different environment will change you, for example I thought I would take more to drinking or enjoying the nightclubs more than in Singapore where it is so expensive, but I realize overseas where it is so much cheaper that I still don't. These kind of insights might be trivial but together they form the person that you are and gives you a clearer identity of yourself so that you will become more self-confident in the future.
As I look out of my window into the shimmering horizon of the setting sun on my flight back to Singapore, I feel a sense of satisfaction of having embarked and completed this journey. Well it's time to go home. A new journey awaits in the next chapter of my life!
Living in a different country, with different weather conditions, with people of very different culture and more importantly so far away from home and my family and friends.(Kudos to the technology that make it possible for us to stay connected even though we are 15000 kilometres away)
You get to see how people in another part of the world live their lives in a different way, for example without the use of smartphones but learning to speak to each other in a conventional manner. You get to experience cooking on a daily basis and buying groceries and living cheaply by looking for deals, house brand goods while at the same time trying to live to the best you can with the money and time you have. You feel joy, loneliness, excitement, fear, love and sadness in a foreign land which you learn to call home for these 5 months.
When we traveled around Europe, you meet many people travelling around the world too and share stories of fascinating adventures. You also meet locals who you probably have to use sign language to talk to but you can feel that they are very warm and welcoming of your presence in their country and want to let you experience the things that they are proud of in their country. (sometimes hostile unfortunately but rarely). You see so much history and the remains of people of the past and try to imagine how human civilization have progressed through the millenniums into the present. You compare the difference between your country and the ones you are visiting and realize that even though your country has a lot of things to improve, it is actually pretty good compared to most countries.
The greatest thing that I take away from this journey is not the pictures that I take or the amazing scenery that I got to see with my eyes but an introspective into the person that I am or that I thought I was. Sometimes you feel that being in a different environment will change you, for example I thought I would take more to drinking or enjoying the nightclubs more than in Singapore where it is so expensive, but I realize overseas where it is so much cheaper that I still don't. These kind of insights might be trivial but together they form the person that you are and gives you a clearer identity of yourself so that you will become more self-confident in the future.
As I look out of my window into the shimmering horizon of the setting sun on my flight back to Singapore, I feel a sense of satisfaction of having embarked and completed this journey. Well it's time to go home. A new journey awaits in the next chapter of my life!
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| Homebound! |
Thursday, 4 July 2013
Poland Beauties
For this last leg of my journey in Europe, we ended up in Poland because it was cheap to fly from its airport back to London. We travelled 3 cities from Wroclaw to Krakow to Warsaw.
Last but not least we have Warsaw which is the current capital of Poland. Legend has it that King Sigismund was playing around with alchemy and burnt his palace in Krakow down. Thus he needed to look for a new residence and Warsaw he chosed! There are many faces of Warsaw; a metropolitan city with high rise buildings, a rebuilt historical old town, etc.
Sorry for this extremely long post....stay tune for the final post (reflections)!!!!
First in Wroclaw (pronounced vratvirst), it was not a major city but was described as a hidden gem of Poland. It had many churches and cathedral that shows the strong catholic influences in Poland. Another attraction that was really nice was the panorama of raclawice battle which is a picture depicting this battle that went 360 degrees around the viewing gallery.
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| Lecture hall of Wroclaw University |
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| Wroclaw University |
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| St John Baptist Cathedral |
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| A small section of the panorama |
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| The building that house the panorama |
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| Lighted cathedral at night! |
Next came Krakow which was a place with lots to do! The city itself is very beautiful as it was the royal capital of Poland before it was shifted to Warsaw. Most of the buildings were original as they were not damaged much during WWII. The most famous sightseeing attractions are Auschwitz concentration camp and the Wieliczka Salt Mines. Lesser known attractions like the idealized Communist Town Nowa Huta and the Jewish Quarters are also equally interesting to visit for a view of how people lived in the past.
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| A very rainy day in Krakow! |
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| The Wawel Castle with all the Chapels built from different eras. |
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| My favourite Polish restaurant with good cheap food and ambience |
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| Into the Wieliczka Salt Mines |
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| Dragon sighted at Wawel Castle! |
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| In Nowa Huta is this modern church built by Pope John Paul II before his papacy. |
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| Car from communist era |
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| Communist town neighbourhood |
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| A tank that has been through alot! |
Last but not least we have Warsaw which is the current capital of Poland. Legend has it that King Sigismund was playing around with alchemy and burnt his palace in Krakow down. Thus he needed to look for a new residence and Warsaw he chosed! There are many faces of Warsaw; a metropolitan city with high rise buildings, a rebuilt historical old town, etc.
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| The city skyline! |
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| King Sigismund sitting on top of the monument. |
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| One very special eating place is the Bar mlecky or milk bar and everything is in Polish and the people there don't speak english much. |
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Pretty Prague
I'm into my final leg of my travels in Poland after Czech Republic and I am actually hyped up about finally getting back to Singapore. It has been one hell of a journey!
Prague was a really pretty city and me and Edwin spent a very relaxed 4 nights over there. Well it kept raining (48 hours of non-stop rain which brought the temperature down about 20 degrees!), so we pretty much just went out for a few hours each days to see the sights and then back to the hostel.
Luckily we had the best sunny weather on the first day to take the best photos of Prague! All the castle like and medieval style buildings made the place look like a fairyland. With lots of chinese tourist in it :P
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| Prague! |
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| Town square |
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| Must See #1: Charles Bridge |
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| Must See #2: Astronomical Clock |
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| Must See #3: Prague Castle |
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| Must See #4: Jewish Quarter |
On one of the days we made a day trip (rainy day trip actually) to the town of Kutna Horna which is famous for its Bone Chapel and its Cathedrals and the medieval town. The Bone Chapel was quite small but still quite impressive.
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| Bones everywhere! |
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| St Barbara Cathedral |
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| Inside St Barbara Cathedral from behind the pipe organs |
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| 1 out of like 15 girls is a guy...LOL arts faculty indeed! |
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Medieval Festives in Cesky Krumlov!
It is raining continuously for the second day counting in Prague so I decided to work on the video on Cesky Krumlov instead of walking out in my shoes that were still quite damp and into the rain...
As you can see, Cesky Krumlov is not a very huge town. But we managed to spend 2 days there as the 5 Petaled Rose Festival was held during the time we were there. My first medieval festival ever! I had always want to go to one and here was my dream come true...
Enjoy the video!!!
With craftsmen, artists, musicians all around and local people all dressed up in medieval costumes, it was as if I travelled back to the medieval ages! Festivities that include fencing plays, knight tournament, wedding reenactment, dance performances, juggling, folk theatre and comedy, etc. take place at the castle, courtyards, square, local park and the river bank. It was really enjoyable to just soak up in the festival mood.
Enjoy the video!!!
Monday, 24 June 2013
Viva la Vienna!
From Budapest we head onwards to Vienna!
Historically Vienna is the center of Central Europe with all the most talented artist like Beethoven, Mozart came to play their music. It was a metropolitan city with a diverse mix of culture and people and the buildings that is left behind today reminds us of those golden ages. (You will never NOT have enough photos to take!) Today, it feels like a German city that still has a lot to offer but it is not what it used to be.
I had 2 group of friends in Vienna but one was in Rome travelling. Luckily the other had just finished their exams and I could spend time with them! Boating in the Denube River because it was so hot, cooking at their apartment because it is expensive to eat out, and swimming at the swimming pool because again it was so hot.
Vienna is also famous for its morbid culture (likes death; there is a very big cemetery for all sorts of religion of people like catholics, buddhism, islam, orthodox church, etc. called Zentralfriedhof where graves are shared by the family and also famous musicians like beethoven, schubert, etc. can be found here)
An observation in Vienna is that people in Europe do not use fans or air-con much! Its so crazy especially when a heat wave passes and everyone seems to be dying...well luckily it doesn't happen very often phew! (Singaporeans in Vienna all complaining).
In the end even though Vienna is supposed to be the most expensive city, I ended up spending one of the least as I ate with my friends and just spend the day walking around the city which is really a piece of art itself. NEXT STOP: CZECH REPUBLIC!!!
Historically Vienna is the center of Central Europe with all the most talented artist like Beethoven, Mozart came to play their music. It was a metropolitan city with a diverse mix of culture and people and the buildings that is left behind today reminds us of those golden ages. (You will never NOT have enough photos to take!) Today, it feels like a German city that still has a lot to offer but it is not what it used to be.
I had 2 group of friends in Vienna but one was in Rome travelling. Luckily the other had just finished their exams and I could spend time with them! Boating in the Denube River because it was so hot, cooking at their apartment because it is expensive to eat out, and swimming at the swimming pool because again it was so hot.
Vienna is also famous for its morbid culture (likes death; there is a very big cemetery for all sorts of religion of people like catholics, buddhism, islam, orthodox church, etc. called Zentralfriedhof where graves are shared by the family and also famous musicians like beethoven, schubert, etc. can be found here)
An observation in Vienna is that people in Europe do not use fans or air-con much! Its so crazy especially when a heat wave passes and everyone seems to be dying...well luckily it doesn't happen very often phew! (Singaporeans in Vienna all complaining).
In the end even though Vienna is supposed to be the most expensive city, I ended up spending one of the least as I ate with my friends and just spend the day walking around the city which is really a piece of art itself. NEXT STOP: CZECH REPUBLIC!!!
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| St Stephen Church |
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| Watching FREE live opera outside the opera house. Can't understand anything haha |
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| Musician Wonderland! |
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| There are 2 of these each facing each other. Both housing a different museum. |
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| Useless but nice rome style building. |
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| Their parliament house i think |
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| Emerging from the trees is Rathaus or the city hall...my picture did 1% justice of how nice it looks. |
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| Vortivkurche - I refuse to take the front view photo as there is a huge billboard in the middle. |
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| Along the danube river is a very hippy stretch of canal with lots of grafitti and beach bars and people hanging out! |
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| Vienna at night! |
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| Another thing famous in Vienna is its coffee culture! |
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| My hands shielding from the glare that is Beethoven's grave |
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| Belvedere is like a small Versailles |
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| The so called stairways to heaven... |
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| A replica of Sigmund Freud (who was from Vienna) famous lounge chair |
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| The famous Hotel Sacher cake...taste like a good chocolate cake. |
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| Boating is fun. Boat is very slow. |
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| Swimming to beat off the heat! |
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