Met up with Niamh, Orla's elder sister this evening! Niamh is on her way to Australia for her travels and has stopped over in Singapore for a few days. It was great that I had a chance to meet up with her. Seeing and talking to her reminds me so much of Orla. They have the same eyes, expressions and mannerisms. The encounter with Niamh reminds me of the time Orla and I spent together in Room 508, London Hall.
It was a lovely evening. We had dinner at Kenny Rogers in Marina Square. Then we walked to the Suntec City Mall and the Fountain of Wealth. Then we walked to Esplanade and the Marina Bay waterfront area before walking still to the Clarke Quay area. Niamh is just like Orla, easy to talk to and connect with. At certain points in time the similarities in their mannerisms are just so striking. We had a great time talking about all sorts of things and I think Niamh is a really smart and elegant lady.
My encounter with Niamh made me realise that I miss my Orla and friends in Western. I haven't had such strong feelings since I came back.
Anyway, it's going to be midnight and I should go to sleep and wake up to another day to go to work. I think I have to polish up myself to be sharper and quicker, somewhat somehow. Go-Go!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Second Day at Home
Interview Transcript
Yay! I've just finished the transcript for the CJ interview. It took me longer than expected. Although the interview lasted for only 39 minutes, it is very time consuming to type out word for word. It is (one) big load off my shoulders. I feel much less burdened. However, I still have to write out the actual article which is the real gigantic task!
As I typed out the CJ's responses, I developed more and more respect for her and her views on life and values. I was especially impressed by the CJ's succinct articulation of how she manages difficulties in life and the candid recount of an anecdote:
"I remember one point early on, many many years ago, I gave a speech, I was very nervous. It was in my judgment, anyway, a disaster. It was horrible. And when they brought me the flowers later I was so embarrassed because the speech was so bad, I didn’t even finish it and I worried about that for weeks and months and then I gradually realized I better give more speeches and then I did it more, I got better at it and now I do it without any trauma at all and this is what I think you have to do in life. Sure you are going to have problems, you are going to fail but you have to pick yourself up and don’t say “that is not for me”. Try again."
This is the mantra that I would subscribe to in order to sustain a determined attitude in what I would be doing professionally. Practice and just keep going at something that you think you are weak in and you'd find that you will become better at it. Train your mind to confront your weakness and not hide away.
Last Day in Toronto
It is amazing how favours can come back and reward you. Stanley volunteered to fetch me from the TO airport on the night of May 15 to stay for a night at his house and drove me to the airport the next day. Otherwise I would have to spend a miserable night as a 'homeless' person int he airport again. Stanley's mum was very nice and warm-I'm so lucky to have met so many nice moms of my friends. As Jeff, Stan's brother remarked, it is indeed amazing how we have come one round, after one year since we knew each other in Singapore, to meet each other again in Canada. It put a wonderful full stop to my exchange in Canada.
What have I been doing?
First morning back home-brought Taiqi to Punggol Park for a 1.5 hrs stroll. Taiqi has learnt a lot and is alot more expressive than before I left. She sang Baa Baa Black Sheep along with me, to my surprise! Went to the park again this morning and went to the market to buy groceries and cooked a simple lunch for michael, ah gui and myself. Quite fulfilling. Then nap again. I think I'm still trying to adjust to the different time zone because I became very tired at 3pm (TO time 3am) and slept all the way to 8pm. The same thing happened yesterday too. And it's 2.45 am now but I'm not sleeping. I have to pull myself together and really start to get back into the groove of things, mentally!
Will be starting internship at A&G on thurs, but still bothered by my bad tan. Ar. Will run a couple of errands tomorrow-sign up for driving, haircut and go Popular.
Yay! I've just finished the transcript for the CJ interview. It took me longer than expected. Although the interview lasted for only 39 minutes, it is very time consuming to type out word for word. It is (one) big load off my shoulders. I feel much less burdened. However, I still have to write out the actual article which is the real gigantic task!
As I typed out the CJ's responses, I developed more and more respect for her and her views on life and values. I was especially impressed by the CJ's succinct articulation of how she manages difficulties in life and the candid recount of an anecdote:
"I remember one point early on, many many years ago, I gave a speech, I was very nervous. It was in my judgment, anyway, a disaster. It was horrible. And when they brought me the flowers later I was so embarrassed because the speech was so bad, I didn’t even finish it and I worried about that for weeks and months and then I gradually realized I better give more speeches and then I did it more, I got better at it and now I do it without any trauma at all and this is what I think you have to do in life. Sure you are going to have problems, you are going to fail but you have to pick yourself up and don’t say “that is not for me”. Try again."
This is the mantra that I would subscribe to in order to sustain a determined attitude in what I would be doing professionally. Practice and just keep going at something that you think you are weak in and you'd find that you will become better at it. Train your mind to confront your weakness and not hide away.
Last Day in Toronto
It is amazing how favours can come back and reward you. Stanley volunteered to fetch me from the TO airport on the night of May 15 to stay for a night at his house and drove me to the airport the next day. Otherwise I would have to spend a miserable night as a 'homeless' person int he airport again. Stanley's mum was very nice and warm-I'm so lucky to have met so many nice moms of my friends. As Jeff, Stan's brother remarked, it is indeed amazing how we have come one round, after one year since we knew each other in Singapore, to meet each other again in Canada. It put a wonderful full stop to my exchange in Canada.
What have I been doing?
First morning back home-brought Taiqi to Punggol Park for a 1.5 hrs stroll. Taiqi has learnt a lot and is alot more expressive than before I left. She sang Baa Baa Black Sheep along with me, to my surprise! Went to the park again this morning and went to the market to buy groceries and cooked a simple lunch for michael, ah gui and myself. Quite fulfilling. Then nap again. I think I'm still trying to adjust to the different time zone because I became very tired at 3pm (TO time 3am) and slept all the way to 8pm. The same thing happened yesterday too. And it's 2.45 am now but I'm not sleeping. I have to pull myself together and really start to get back into the groove of things, mentally!
Will be starting internship at A&G on thurs, but still bothered by my bad tan. Ar. Will run a couple of errands tomorrow-sign up for driving, haircut and go Popular.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Good and Bad News
I received both good and bad news this morning. As customary, I'll start with the bad news.
Bad News: Exchange Results
Bad results for exchange semester! I did really badly for Corporate Finance (C+), as expected. The concepts just didn't go into my head, or have I not studied hard enough. I studied hard during the last three days leading to the exam but apparently it is not enough for someone as bad in memory as I am. After having three years of open book exam, my memory seems to be failing me. Perhaps I should not have taken this module since it extra credits? But I think it's good that I took this module because at least I did not run away from it and drop it. I'm also sure I was exposed to finance concepts which I would otherwise be ignorant of. But look what result I've got in the end? How difficult to get around this. Or maybe the answer lies in that I should have worked harder and applied my mind to the subject in a more methodical and disciplined way? Even if the subject is not my cup of tea, I think I could still have worked hard enough on it to scrape a better grade. I think that is my critical weakness: lack of discipline and method. These are qualities which I shall aim to develop from now.
Good News: SAL Litigation Internship!
I received the email informing me that I've been selected for the SAL Litigation Internship! Yay! It was a huge stimulant for me when I saw the email this morning. Seeing that only 12 NUS students are selected for this prestigious internship, it's really quite something to be happy about! I've been assigned to Michael Khoo SC for the three days of attachment to an SC! Michael Khoo SC is such a legend for all students of SLS (only who were taught by Micheal Hor I guess).
"With power brings more responsibilities". I think I should start to think about how I can enhance my legal skills to meet the demands of the programme. I certainly can't let myself go through it with regrets thereafter.
Nervousness
JD just told me about robberies that can happen around this area and this makes me nervous about walking to the bus-stop at 5.20am alone tomorrow morning to catch the bus to Best Western. I wasn't that nervous before I was told of robberies that actually happened near here!
I am nervous enough about making the trip back to Toronto as it is without such horror stories that bring my anxiety level to a new high.
I am really nervous now...please pray for me that I arrive safely at the Toronto airport tomorrow!!!!! (I will!!!)
Bad News: Exchange Results
Bad results for exchange semester! I did really badly for Corporate Finance (C+), as expected. The concepts just didn't go into my head, or have I not studied hard enough. I studied hard during the last three days leading to the exam but apparently it is not enough for someone as bad in memory as I am. After having three years of open book exam, my memory seems to be failing me. Perhaps I should not have taken this module since it extra credits? But I think it's good that I took this module because at least I did not run away from it and drop it. I'm also sure I was exposed to finance concepts which I would otherwise be ignorant of. But look what result I've got in the end? How difficult to get around this. Or maybe the answer lies in that I should have worked harder and applied my mind to the subject in a more methodical and disciplined way? Even if the subject is not my cup of tea, I think I could still have worked hard enough on it to scrape a better grade. I think that is my critical weakness: lack of discipline and method. These are qualities which I shall aim to develop from now.
Good News: SAL Litigation Internship!
I received the email informing me that I've been selected for the SAL Litigation Internship! Yay! It was a huge stimulant for me when I saw the email this morning. Seeing that only 12 NUS students are selected for this prestigious internship, it's really quite something to be happy about! I've been assigned to Michael Khoo SC for the three days of attachment to an SC! Michael Khoo SC is such a legend for all students of SLS (only who were taught by Micheal Hor I guess).
"With power brings more responsibilities". I think I should start to think about how I can enhance my legal skills to meet the demands of the programme. I certainly can't let myself go through it with regrets thereafter.
Nervousness
JD just told me about robberies that can happen around this area and this makes me nervous about walking to the bus-stop at 5.20am alone tomorrow morning to catch the bus to Best Western. I wasn't that nervous before I was told of robberies that actually happened near here!
I am nervous enough about making the trip back to Toronto as it is without such horror stories that bring my anxiety level to a new high.
I am really nervous now...please pray for me that I arrive safely at the Toronto airport tomorrow!!!!! (I will!!!)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Painting Class
Second time that I am crashing JD's classes! I'm now sitting beside JD in her in her painting class in the Seattle Community College of Fine Arts. The journey here this evening was arduous as it was rainy and cold.
The theme for the class today is 'fruits'. JD and Huiyi (friend from Taipei University) have painted bananas, oranges and apple! JD complained that her orange looks like a peach now because the texture that she was supposed to create on the orange turned out to appear 'hairy'. I thought it would have been better if the teacher could demonstrate some of the painting techniques and give more attention to the individual student.
I think it is very good to have some leisure activities outside of school/work so that one can maintain an interest and in the process identify an aspect of oneself beyond the one's daily preoccupation. It is good to cultivate a hobby because I think it is a way to develop a quality you'd like to have eg patience, artistic sense.
Lesson ended. Going back now :)
The theme for the class today is 'fruits'. JD and Huiyi (friend from Taipei University) have painted bananas, oranges and apple! JD complained that her orange looks like a peach now because the texture that she was supposed to create on the orange turned out to appear 'hairy'. I thought it would have been better if the teacher could demonstrate some of the painting techniques and give more attention to the individual student.
I think it is very good to have some leisure activities outside of school/work so that one can maintain an interest and in the process identify an aspect of oneself beyond the one's daily preoccupation. It is good to cultivate a hobby because I think it is a way to develop a quality you'd like to have eg patience, artistic sense.
Lesson ended. Going back now :)
Third day in Seattle
Today is my third day in Seattle. Time really flies. It feels as if I just arrived yesterday.
Cooked dinner at JD's place yesterday and tonight. Now I appreciate Ah gui's troubles in trying to put together the menu from day to day, night to night.
I just booked my flight from Vancouver back to Toronto a few hours ago. My bad habit of procrastination and naiveness/self-delusion nearly got me into trouble again. This is my second flight booking disaster which has made me want to kill myself for being such an incorrigible person when it comes to correcting bad habits. But all in all I think it was a fortunate thing that I did not manage to book my flight with American Airlines (which does not accept international credit cards and only accepts that at the airport counters-can you believe it?). It is quite a disastrous airline company, JD told me, and I'm just glad that divine forces have helped me to avoid a flight with such an airline. All turns out well that I'll be travelling on westjet from vancouver to Toronto. But the transport cost is really expensive for my seattle trip. But I guess I have no choice. I'm still disappointed with myself for not getting everything done neatly and properly.
Been to North Gate Mall and Pike Place Market today. Going to Greenlake Park tomorrow morning. Very tired now, going to sleep.
Cooked dinner at JD's place yesterday and tonight. Now I appreciate Ah gui's troubles in trying to put together the menu from day to day, night to night.
I just booked my flight from Vancouver back to Toronto a few hours ago. My bad habit of procrastination and naiveness/self-delusion nearly got me into trouble again. This is my second flight booking disaster which has made me want to kill myself for being such an incorrigible person when it comes to correcting bad habits. But all in all I think it was a fortunate thing that I did not manage to book my flight with American Airlines (which does not accept international credit cards and only accepts that at the airport counters-can you believe it?). It is quite a disastrous airline company, JD told me, and I'm just glad that divine forces have helped me to avoid a flight with such an airline. All turns out well that I'll be travelling on westjet from vancouver to Toronto. But the transport cost is really expensive for my seattle trip. But I guess I have no choice. I'm still disappointed with myself for not getting everything done neatly and properly.
Been to North Gate Mall and Pike Place Market today. Going to Greenlake Park tomorrow morning. Very tired now, going to sleep.
Monday, May 11, 2009
In UW IBT Lesson
Sitting beside JD in her IBT lesson now :)
Dinner at International District
JD finally made it back to Seattle from Victoria this morning at 2am. As she did not manage to return to Seattle yesterday night due to a bridge closure, I had to spend the night at Darius, Sarah Efrem and Stan's place yesterday night.
It is quite wonderful how things worked out yesterday night. As JD could not make it back in time to bring me home, I went for dinner with the Singaporeans in the house. Stan, a business consultant working in Seattle, is a mature and measured guy who is sort of like a big brother. Sarah, a phd student in geno science, is very cheerful and warm, also like a big sister. Really grateful to her for making me feel at home. Efrem is a phd student in microbiology (I think)- very gentlemanly and tactful. He helped me to lay the futon and tried to get a sleeping bag for me. Darius was my 'main host'- applied math student in UW and a Canadian citizen (we had a little chat about his SG/Canadian citizenship status).
We went to a chinese restaurant in the International District (which, as Darius pointed out, should be more appropriately named 'Chinatown') with two other Singaporeans- Dan and Jacqueline. Dan is in College and is waiting to transfer to UW. He did his poly course in Temasek Poly. Jac is a second year student at UW, one year my junior and a pleasant young lady.
Although the food was not especially nice, it was a good feeling to be around fellow Singaporeans at the dinner table to have hot Chinese food!
JD came to bring me home!
JD came to 'claim' me from the house this morning! hahaha....she kept apologising for letting me spend the night elsewhere but she really doesn't have to cos she has warned me about that she didn't know what time she'd be back on Sunday night. But the ticket on Sunday is US$70 cheaper thant that on Monday- it was just irresistable. Anyway I think I had a good time at Darius' and the others' house and it was an enjoyable night out with them. So I think it worked out really well for me last night.
I'm now sitting in an International Business Transactions class with JD now. The Prof is a Korean who has been educated in SG in his youth. But I'm not listening to him, although I was trying very hard to 10min ago. He is now on "Repudiation or breach of contract by state". I don't think many others are paying 100% attention anyway, cos many are on their emails or other websites from what I can see here. :)
I'm looking forward the rest of my time in Seattle!!
Dinner at International District
JD finally made it back to Seattle from Victoria this morning at 2am. As she did not manage to return to Seattle yesterday night due to a bridge closure, I had to spend the night at Darius, Sarah Efrem and Stan's place yesterday night.
It is quite wonderful how things worked out yesterday night. As JD could not make it back in time to bring me home, I went for dinner with the Singaporeans in the house. Stan, a business consultant working in Seattle, is a mature and measured guy who is sort of like a big brother. Sarah, a phd student in geno science, is very cheerful and warm, also like a big sister. Really grateful to her for making me feel at home. Efrem is a phd student in microbiology (I think)- very gentlemanly and tactful. He helped me to lay the futon and tried to get a sleeping bag for me. Darius was my 'main host'- applied math student in UW and a Canadian citizen (we had a little chat about his SG/Canadian citizenship status).
We went to a chinese restaurant in the International District (which, as Darius pointed out, should be more appropriately named 'Chinatown') with two other Singaporeans- Dan and Jacqueline. Dan is in College and is waiting to transfer to UW. He did his poly course in Temasek Poly. Jac is a second year student at UW, one year my junior and a pleasant young lady.
Although the food was not especially nice, it was a good feeling to be around fellow Singaporeans at the dinner table to have hot Chinese food!
JD came to bring me home!
JD came to 'claim' me from the house this morning! hahaha....she kept apologising for letting me spend the night elsewhere but she really doesn't have to cos she has warned me about that she didn't know what time she'd be back on Sunday night. But the ticket on Sunday is US$70 cheaper thant that on Monday- it was just irresistable. Anyway I think I had a good time at Darius' and the others' house and it was an enjoyable night out with them. So I think it worked out really well for me last night.
I'm now sitting in an International Business Transactions class with JD now. The Prof is a Korean who has been educated in SG in his youth. But I'm not listening to him, although I was trying very hard to 10min ago. He is now on "Repudiation or breach of contract by state". I don't think many others are paying 100% attention anyway, cos many are on their emails or other websites from what I can see here. :)
I'm looking forward the rest of my time in Seattle!!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Arrived in Seattle
Seatttle
Arrived in Seattle at Darius' house. Darius shares a house with 5 other Singaporeans. JD will be picking me up once she returns from Victoria tonight.
I left HI Fisherman's Wharf at 4.30am in the cold morning of May 10th to go to the SF airport to catch a plane to Seattle. I only slept for about 1.5 hours and was so tired I think I was in a rather stoned state of mind as I drifted from the check-in counter to the boarding gate and finally onto the plane. It was just a 2 hours plane ride but a whopping $37 shuttle ride from the airport to Darius' house!
I just met Stanley and Sarah, who just came back and rushed out again to catch a football game downtown. I can tell that all of them, Darius Erfem Sarah and Stanley, are very nice Singaporeans. Sarah told me to help myself to anything in the kitchen, as long as they are 'safe', haha.
I guess I will hang around and R&R here until it's time for lunch.
Backlog: Days 2 and 3 of San Fran
Backlog from all the tiring days in San Fran!
Day three (last day) was a fun one as Mica, Liam and I teamed up as a trio to go and take a walk around the Japan Centre area, Mission district and downtown area. We walked alot (almost 7 hours) and had a great day with each other's company talking on the way. Liam is a well-travelled Dutch guy who has a lot of interest and knowledge in geo-political and environmental stuff. He is the second person, after Carlet, that I know who is from Netherlands. He had backpacked Europe and is now travelling West coast N America, NZ and later on Southeast Asia, including Singappore! I've told him to look me up when he is in Singapore. Liam is also easy-going guy who is so easy to befriend and strike up a conversation with. I like this kind of person because despite being a stranger from a different background, there is a no palpable barrier in his attitude.
Day 2 of San Fran was an adventurous outdoor one. As we rented bikes for 24hours, we still had half a day to use the bike on Friday. Mica and I decided to take up the "medium" rated route to the Golden Gate Park. It was a good 32km journey. Halfway through there, I thought I was going to die going up all those slopes. On hindsight, it seems dangerous that I was cycling in the cyclists' lane right next to the vehicle lanes when I am a cyclist who has not cycled for about 10 years and was still nursing bruises from a bad fall the day before. In the end I realized that it's all about control and braking. We had a picnic lunch at the Hippies Hill where groups of 'hippies' looking unkempt and dressed in a rather gypsy-ish way go about their normal routine of making music, dancing in a relaxed and trance-like manner, playing with 'fire-ball' chains and according to Mica, get high on drugs. The last part wasn't quite visible in the daytime but it was an experience sitting at a slight distance and observing these people whom Mica would call, the 'alternative people'.
On our way back, we passed by the downhill Golden Gate Bridge again. I told myself that I must conquer the slope where I fell and of course I did!
We returned the bike at 5.30pm in the evening, 24.5 hours after we rented it from the same shop. Although it was just one day, we felt like we've been through alot already-golden gate bridge, the not-so-well-trodden paths in the golden gate park, the difficult hills and everything. There was so much mutual support and care on the way, well, maybe more from Mica then from me. When the chains on the bicycle gears came loose I was in a loss and didn't know what to do. Mica took control of the situation, casually and matter-of-factly mumbled that it is a very common problem, flipped the bike upside down in a jiffy and fixed it up with her bare hands. Her hands were dirtied by the grease but she non-chalantly rubbed her hands against her tights, smiled at me and told me reassuringly that "don't worry, it is just grease". I felt like giving her a hug that instant.
Mica is a wonderful person. She has such a compelling personality- she is cheerful, fun-loving, sensitive, caring, candid and lucid in her thoughts, articulate, opinionated and maverick in certain ways. It still surprises me how providence and destiny brought us together to meet in HI Chicago and later on to be in San Francisco at about the same time (if I had not had to cancel my San Diego trip, I would not have had three days to spend in San Fran). I can still remember the day when I entered the HI Chicago hostel room and a voice emerged from the sheets in a lower bed bunk to say 'hi' to me- it was Mica on the first day we met and it just went on from there. She said that she'd keep me posted about her San Fran trip and she really did. I shall also remember the dinner she offered me on my first day in San Fran (instant noodles which was so comforting for my empty stomach), the dinner we made together on our second day, the walk back from Safeway in the dark, cold and eerie front yard before the hostel and the secret hide-out places she invited me to go with her.
Recounting all the events in my encounter with Mica since three weeks ago makes me feel that I am a character in a movie- where a slightly paranoid and sheltered 22-year old student from a backwaters state (almost, by geographical standards) met a 28-year-old hippy, free-spirited and streetwise Australian girl in a foreign land, who then let the innocent and ignorant student into snippets of her slightly more choatic life and opened up the student's eyes to fresh perspectives which the student has never been exposed in her neater and monotonous lifestyle back home.
Contemplative Mood
I am still amazed at how destiny could bring people to cross paths at confluences in life and how such a brief and fortuitous encounters could make an impact on one's overall experience as a human being. This sentiment is not confined to just the San Fran trip, but also to the exchangein Western- Cynthia and her family, Adriana and her family, fellow exchange students and people from all over the world whom I met while on my travels: Jessica and Zoe (in NY), Mica, Sabine, Karen (in UBC), Erin and Clemence, Michael and Liam. For people like Erin and Clemence, I've only met and talked to them a few hours before I left Ottawa and I already feel that I have developed a bond with them such that if I ever visit Taiwan and France, I would surely remember their invitation for me to visit them. And for Michael, the geologist whom I talked to over breakfast yesterday morning-I would really like to look him up in New Mexico City so that he would bring me to go caving as promised.
I guess such is one of the beauty of venturing out and knowing more people. I don't know if I would ever get the chance to do this again because an exchange programme is once in a lifetime and any prospect of doing this kind of carefree and free-roaming travels in the near future is so remote that it is almost non-imaginable. It is not that I think I would particularly relish travelling alone to new places again, but just that I think this way of meeting new friends from all walks of life is an incredibly valuable and enriching experience. I am not even sure whether I would be this lucky if I do this again in the future. The mindset of a being a young, impetuous and experimental novice traveller is an essential pre-requisite for such an appreciation of the experience, I think. I'm really not sure if I can ever return to this state of mind ever again.
Arrived in Seattle at Darius' house. Darius shares a house with 5 other Singaporeans. JD will be picking me up once she returns from Victoria tonight.
I left HI Fisherman's Wharf at 4.30am in the cold morning of May 10th to go to the SF airport to catch a plane to Seattle. I only slept for about 1.5 hours and was so tired I think I was in a rather stoned state of mind as I drifted from the check-in counter to the boarding gate and finally onto the plane. It was just a 2 hours plane ride but a whopping $37 shuttle ride from the airport to Darius' house!
I just met Stanley and Sarah, who just came back and rushed out again to catch a football game downtown. I can tell that all of them, Darius Erfem Sarah and Stanley, are very nice Singaporeans. Sarah told me to help myself to anything in the kitchen, as long as they are 'safe', haha.
I guess I will hang around and R&R here until it's time for lunch.
Backlog: Days 2 and 3 of San Fran
Backlog from all the tiring days in San Fran!
Day three (last day) was a fun one as Mica, Liam and I teamed up as a trio to go and take a walk around the Japan Centre area, Mission district and downtown area. We walked alot (almost 7 hours) and had a great day with each other's company talking on the way. Liam is a well-travelled Dutch guy who has a lot of interest and knowledge in geo-political and environmental stuff. He is the second person, after Carlet, that I know who is from Netherlands. He had backpacked Europe and is now travelling West coast N America, NZ and later on Southeast Asia, including Singappore! I've told him to look me up when he is in Singapore. Liam is also easy-going guy who is so easy to befriend and strike up a conversation with. I like this kind of person because despite being a stranger from a different background, there is a no palpable barrier in his attitude.
Day 2 of San Fran was an adventurous outdoor one. As we rented bikes for 24hours, we still had half a day to use the bike on Friday. Mica and I decided to take up the "medium" rated route to the Golden Gate Park. It was a good 32km journey. Halfway through there, I thought I was going to die going up all those slopes. On hindsight, it seems dangerous that I was cycling in the cyclists' lane right next to the vehicle lanes when I am a cyclist who has not cycled for about 10 years and was still nursing bruises from a bad fall the day before. In the end I realized that it's all about control and braking. We had a picnic lunch at the Hippies Hill where groups of 'hippies' looking unkempt and dressed in a rather gypsy-ish way go about their normal routine of making music, dancing in a relaxed and trance-like manner, playing with 'fire-ball' chains and according to Mica, get high on drugs. The last part wasn't quite visible in the daytime but it was an experience sitting at a slight distance and observing these people whom Mica would call, the 'alternative people'.
On our way back, we passed by the downhill Golden Gate Bridge again. I told myself that I must conquer the slope where I fell and of course I did!
We returned the bike at 5.30pm in the evening, 24.5 hours after we rented it from the same shop. Although it was just one day, we felt like we've been through alot already-golden gate bridge, the not-so-well-trodden paths in the golden gate park, the difficult hills and everything. There was so much mutual support and care on the way, well, maybe more from Mica then from me. When the chains on the bicycle gears came loose I was in a loss and didn't know what to do. Mica took control of the situation, casually and matter-of-factly mumbled that it is a very common problem, flipped the bike upside down in a jiffy and fixed it up with her bare hands. Her hands were dirtied by the grease but she non-chalantly rubbed her hands against her tights, smiled at me and told me reassuringly that "don't worry, it is just grease". I felt like giving her a hug that instant.
Mica is a wonderful person. She has such a compelling personality- she is cheerful, fun-loving, sensitive, caring, candid and lucid in her thoughts, articulate, opinionated and maverick in certain ways. It still surprises me how providence and destiny brought us together to meet in HI Chicago and later on to be in San Francisco at about the same time (if I had not had to cancel my San Diego trip, I would not have had three days to spend in San Fran). I can still remember the day when I entered the HI Chicago hostel room and a voice emerged from the sheets in a lower bed bunk to say 'hi' to me- it was Mica on the first day we met and it just went on from there. She said that she'd keep me posted about her San Fran trip and she really did. I shall also remember the dinner she offered me on my first day in San Fran (instant noodles which was so comforting for my empty stomach), the dinner we made together on our second day, the walk back from Safeway in the dark, cold and eerie front yard before the hostel and the secret hide-out places she invited me to go with her.
Recounting all the events in my encounter with Mica since three weeks ago makes me feel that I am a character in a movie- where a slightly paranoid and sheltered 22-year old student from a backwaters state (almost, by geographical standards) met a 28-year-old hippy, free-spirited and streetwise Australian girl in a foreign land, who then let the innocent and ignorant student into snippets of her slightly more choatic life and opened up the student's eyes to fresh perspectives which the student has never been exposed in her neater and monotonous lifestyle back home.
Contemplative Mood
I am still amazed at how destiny could bring people to cross paths at confluences in life and how such a brief and fortuitous encounters could make an impact on one's overall experience as a human being. This sentiment is not confined to just the San Fran trip, but also to the exchangein Western- Cynthia and her family, Adriana and her family, fellow exchange students and people from all over the world whom I met while on my travels: Jessica and Zoe (in NY), Mica, Sabine, Karen (in UBC), Erin and Clemence, Michael and Liam. For people like Erin and Clemence, I've only met and talked to them a few hours before I left Ottawa and I already feel that I have developed a bond with them such that if I ever visit Taiwan and France, I would surely remember their invitation for me to visit them. And for Michael, the geologist whom I talked to over breakfast yesterday morning-I would really like to look him up in New Mexico City so that he would bring me to go caving as promised.
I guess such is one of the beauty of venturing out and knowing more people. I don't know if I would ever get the chance to do this again because an exchange programme is once in a lifetime and any prospect of doing this kind of carefree and free-roaming travels in the near future is so remote that it is almost non-imaginable. It is not that I think I would particularly relish travelling alone to new places again, but just that I think this way of meeting new friends from all walks of life is an incredibly valuable and enriching experience. I am not even sure whether I would be this lucky if I do this again in the future. The mindset of a being a young, impetuous and experimental novice traveller is an essential pre-requisite for such an appreciation of the experience, I think. I'm really not sure if I can ever return to this state of mind ever again.
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