A week, 7 days

Today's a really hot day. The sun is literally scorching, thank goodness for the comfortable airconditioning in the library.

How time flies, have already been here for a week. Things are slowly falling into place, should be more or less ready for the new term next week I guess.

I finally met some Singaporeans! It happened two days ago, at a bus stop. Again, what "gave us away"? The way we speak. That is what I call "Uniquely Singapore". (To the language police, no, I was not referring to Singlish, more the kind of intonation we normally have when we speak in English the Singaporean way.) Whatever. What matters is we can recognise one another, even if we are at the darkest corner of Peru, or Macchu Picchu. Anyway, found out that we are all here to pursue our graduate studies in education (so essentially all teachers), and hoping to bring back something good to share. But all of us have got different teaching experiences and backgrounds, and will be pursuing different specialisations in education, and that is beauty of it all.

The annual welcome event for the School of Education is tomorrow, think I'll meet many educators from other countries and make some more new friends.

It still feels quite surreal that I am so far away from home (more than 9000 miles --- can qualify for Kris Flyer rewards already, haha), doing something I could never have imagined even 10 years ago. Hopefully this year will be a very fruiful one, with me not only gaining the knowledge I want, but experiencing many new things and developing more fresh perspectives, whether in education or in life generally.

The best laid plans of mice and men, often go astray. But there are always snippets of delights that pop up at the most unexpected moments. Hope my plan for the next one year will not go haywire, and I will also encounter many moments of delight. (Ha, so greedy.....)

Pictures from Ann Arbor

Woke up early this morning, due to the cold. It’s strange, past few days it was really warm and humid, then suddenly last night it turned cold, and this morning I had to wake up to put on an additional sweater before going back to sleep.




View from my apartment window

Anyway, the sun was out, so decided to take a bus down to Central Campus and snap a few shots. Been looking at the buildings and savouring some of the sights the past few days since arriving, but haven’t really felt the urge to take out my camera. Well, today, decided I should do it, or I may never, haha.


The Michigan Union: where I attend various orientation workshops


Lawyers' Club. So atas looking....

As I walked along the streets of ann Arbor, I also snapped some touristy pictures of Central campus.





An animal that I often see since coming here is actually the squirrel. They seem to be quite used to seeing human beings, and usually don't bother running away when appraoched, unlike in Singapore. Evidence of their presence is extremely telling, as there are many pieces of broken tree bark everywhere, a result of their burrowing and gnawing.




A squirrel. They seem to be everywhere. Wonder if they are actually native to Michigan?


A baby squirrel. First time seeing it, kinda cute.

So I was at Central campus for a while, snapping away, then decided it was time to take some pictures of the North as well. So I hopped onto the bus and headed back up north.


Road leading to the North Campus


University of Michigan: my home for the next one year.


Bus stop


Trees seen from outside my apartment.

Scenes like this are actually everywhere throughout the residential area in the north, and they are really beautiful. I believe when the season changes, the tree colours will change and that will just be another sight to anticipate. I must remember to capture that on camera when it happens.

In America

So here I am, in the land of the stars and stripes. America.

Not much of a hoo ha for me though. It's strange. As I stood at LAX airport, waiting for my turn to clear customs, I somehow did not have any of the "wow" feeling (which many people said I was sure to have). Okay, so I've landed, let's get on with business. Perhaps it's because I had another flight to catch. Perhaps it's because I've just sat through a 17 hour flight. Perhaps I just generally feel apathetic. Anyway, queued up for close to an hour, only to be told by the customs officer that I had filled out the wrong form. Darn, felt so embarassed, had to go to another counter to find the right form to fill out. In the end, I became the absolute LAST person to be clear customs. Thankfully the customs officer was kind, and made the clearing process a breeze. How's that for a start. Welcome to America.

And so I went, transiting for a good 7 hours at LA before boarding the next plane bound for Detroit. Upon reaching Detroit, had a real scare. Waited for an hour and still my luggage did not appear. Oh dear. What's wrong. Went to the airport lost and found office, and guess what, my luggage had arrived on an earlier flight. Like duh?! So it was already there at Detroit airport, a good 2 hours before I arrived. Still can't figure out how this could happen. Oh well... the little surprises life throws at me.

Anyway, enough of my travel tales, I finally arrived at Ann Arbor, and what a lovely little town this is. It looks like a simple university town. Lots of greenery, buildings rarely go beyond 4 storeys. Just a very pleasant looking place in general. I graduated from a university with 100 years of history. Now I'm studying in one that has 200 years of history, how interesting.

Actually, a lot of the buildings (especially the older ones) remind me of the buildings I saw in Oxford and Cambridge. I wasn't doing any of the tourist stuff though, did not take any photos so far....think I'm too absorbed in settling the various admin stuff first. Perhaps I will start taking photos this weekend?

I must say the weather is freakishly warm for a place that is so far north in the northern hemisphere. Temperatures are as hot as home, and the thunderstorms are crazy. Showers with strong winds for 10 minutes, then it's all over. So far it has rained everyday that I'm here. But when the sun's out, it's quite nice. At least I do not need to wrap myself up in thick clothing.

This part is for my mother.

还没找到 Ann Arbor 的正式中文名称，可能会向一些中国学生询问。到目前为止，感觉还可以。毕竟好多年没当学生了，能再次感受学生生涯，相当期待。相信这一年应该会很忙，但也会很不错， 时间也应该会过得充实。还没碰到任何新加坡学生，但我想迟早会给我找出来，哈哈。自己一个人远在他乡，求学，过生活，难免会想家， 但这毕竟是一个自我挑战的机会， 一个实现梦想的机会，千载难逢，也只能好好把握，才不会辜负大家对我的期望。

Still jetlagged. Too tired to write more, to be continued.....

Flying.

This is it. Going to embark on a brand new journey. My new phase in life awaits, 30 hours of flight time away. How am I going to sit through that long duration of flight time?

Many things lie ahead, but many things are also left behind. But a year will fly by in no time. Soon, I will be back before you can spell a-e-r-o-p-l-a-n-e.

Wish myself luck, and goodbye Singapore, for a while.

Feeling patriotic

Just caught the National Day Parade on TV. Have not done so for the past 5 years, this year somehow there is an inner desire to catch it. And I was not disappointed. The displays were excellent, the performances sensational. More than that, I just love those moments when the national songs are sung. Would have sung my heart out if i were at the venue, no doubt.

"We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society,
based on justice and equality,
so as to achieve happiness,
prosperity and progress for our nation."

Happy Birthday Singapore, my city, my home.

Life is so Fragile.....

Just got news that someone's grandfather passing away. Really tough, especially when I think of our own family going through mourning recently. I think the worst thing is the fact of not being able to see him for the last time. I'm relieved, that at least, I got to see grandpa take his last breath......

Anyway, such is the harsh reality of mortality. Everyone has to go through it, like it or not. But often, reality bites. Especially when it concerns human emotions and ties. Losing someone close is a devastating thing, and picking up the pieces when it happens, is often an arduous task. Time may heal the pain, but it cannot replace the dead.

Haiz, life is so fragile.....

Marina Bay and the City

Always felt the Singapore city sky line is beautiful, and today my thinking is re-affirmed. Was at Equinox today for tea, and took the chance to be trigger happy and go snap snap snap snap…The camera I’m using is small but pretty nifty, managing to capture some really brilliant pictures. Of course, I’m on the 70th floor. That helps too.

Anyway, I managed to catch a good view of the NDP grounds, so just by zooming, I could take some pictures. The Singapore Flyer could also be seen, so it’s kind of interesting.

Took a walk along the Esplanade after eating, and snapped more pictures. Anyway, the place was swarming with people. Everyone seems to be out for the weekend. At some point, I felt like a tourist.

Well, some photos to share here….. Will not see these places for a year, so at least let these be my memories for the coming year.

Missing you.....

Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you,
That is how I know you go on
Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on

Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and

You're here, there's nothing I fear,
And I know that my heart will go on
We'll stay forever this way
You are safe in my heart
And my heart will go on and on

coming to 49 days......
Missing you.....