School..

The past 2 weeks have flown by without me noticing it…..that’s good, in a way. I can look at my calendar now and smile– just one more week before I can go back for CNY!!! Yay!!! Too bad I can only be back for 4 days…and who knows when I’ll get a break after February. My March holidays will probably be filled–I signed up for CIP (Community Involvement Programme) to the Maldives (but I can only go if I can find enough money..). I really dread the thought of not being able to go home for months. =(. Trying hard not to think about it.

Anyway, school has been quite enjoyable. We had orientation and mass dance during the 2nd week…can’t say I really liked the crazy fun, but after everything I got to know the 23 other people in my class better. It’s nice to be in small classes…there’s a kind of closeness you don’t really get when you’re in a class of 46.=P

Lectures have started too, though we don’t have proper timetables yet. I realize I will have to work hard to cope…it’s a bit hard for me to switch to English for Chem. And I found out that I didn’t really know how to do my first tutorial questions. Arggh. Back then I could just race through my homework! But it’s a good thing I have classmates who can help.

I might also add that people have to compete and fight for almost everything here. We actually have to audition to get into CCAs. I did not make it for Western Dance–have to accept the fact that SO many people are so good–so I’m in debate now. English debate.I don’t know if I’ll enjoy it, but I know it’ll be good training. I will learn how not to depend on scripts to speak, then next time i’ll be able to help Keat Hwa better. (Did not like it when people accused us of reading last year) Yeah! Actually just came back from the International Invitationals, witnessed an interesting debate between Australia and New Zealand. Really grateful for this opportunity.

I’ve also been attending Biomed lectures on weekends…first year medicine syllabus will be covered in 6 months in preparation for a quiz. I think it’s cool that they have this kind of programme…perhaps after a while I might have a clearer idea of what a medicine course is about. Hmm.

Going for dinner now…will go to church tomorrow…then visit my uncle.By the way, all the CNY deco is distracting…not that I don’t like it here, but it makes me think of home.

Some things I have learnt in Singapore

I’ve been here 2 weeks already! Can’t believe time passes so fast. Really looking forward to the 27th when I can go back for Chinese New Year (hopefully my leave application will be approved..it MUST be or I’ll cry). But anyway, this is what I’ve learnt over the past 2 weeks.

1. The toilets here are cleaner.
Yeah, the “er” is absolutely necessary, because I found out that not all public toilets are that clean! They’re just better maintained than Malaysian ones. My hostel toilets are pretty clean…but not all the time either.We have to suffer the consequences whenever some careless clustermate neglects the general cleanliness.Still, a cleaner comes in once a week, so it’s kind of like home where I have a maid. Haha.

2. Singapore is NOT all nice and clean on rainy days.
It has been raining cats and dogs for the past week, and I was lucky enough to be caught in 3 showers, in the 3 times I went out! The water rises very fast when it rains..and you can see the waters gushing out into the pavements. As a result, my shoes were ruined, and I was soaked from head to toe when I visited my uncle two days ago. Well, I don’t really mind getting wet (I think it’s fun and romantic?? to walk in the rain) but my books certainly do not appreciate that. I didn’t realise that my umbrella was too small to protect me and my backpack at the same time until I got home.So, my new One2one Discipleship book became wet (and I found out I bought the kids version–don’t know how to return it now that its’ all wrinkled and creased), my TIMES magazine became something that resembles tissue paper, and my $3.90 bus guide suffered serious damage. = /. Imagine what would have happened if I did not bring an umbrella along.

3. Transportaion costs money.
Duh. I know this is so obvious, but for a girl who has had the comfort of daddy’s car for the past 16 years, it is a new realization of the harsh fact of life. Heh. Money is simply escaping my pocket…a short bus ride to the nearest Mc Donald’s costs me $1.10 to and fro! Only after a while did I realize that, hey, a lot of my money is actually going into the bus! But now that Eunice has lent me her extra EZlink card, it’ll not be so bad. And yes, in a bid to save money, I have come up with an ingenious way of getting free lunch, since only breakfast and dinner is provided on school days.(so proud of myself) I ta pau the fruit from the last night’s dinner, steal extra bread from the morning’s breakfast..and eat that for lunch!=D Let’s see how long I can persevere doing that…before everyone thinks I’m either very poor, or very kiamsiap.Haha.

4. Never sleep/dream in MRTs or buses.
Double duh. But again, this is something new (and difficult) for me, so I actually have to make conscious efforts to focus on my surroundings when I’m travelling. My thoughts tend to float away whenever I’m in vehicles, and I have gotten down at the wrong bus stop thrice already. Pathetic.

I guess I should stop talking about all this trivial stuff, lest people think that Kedahans are really ulu and backward. By the way, out of so many Singaporeans I have met, only a few know where Kedah is! What an insult…haha. =P But I realize I don’t know many places in other ASEAN countries either. Form 3 Geography seems very very long ago.

Before I end, I must say that I really enjoyed myself yesterday!! I went out with the Malaysian guys to Chinatown (and came back past curfew time..=P ). I think its’ the first time I actually enjoyed shopping with friends around–usually I don’t like it because it’s hard to buy stuff with so many contrasting opinions. Helped them pick their “brotherhood shirt”….very satisfied about that.

And yeah, I bought gifts for people too. ( See? I’m not stingy..)

Growing green…

I called mum yesterday to find out how everyone is doing at home. Apparently they are all very busy, what with the start of a new school year. Dad’s away on a business trip, so mum is having a hard time coping with repairs (because of the flood), her tuition classes, and being Eugene and J-Anne’s driver. She told me she just had a very hectic week, and she sounded somewhat breathless through the phone.

However, mum shared something that really encouraged me yesterday. Usually she’s so caught up with household problems that she hardly has time to enjoy herself. But amidst all the chaos caused by the flood, she told me she was heartened when she saw the grass in our garden growing greener than ever. After being submerged in water of a week, the soil actually became more fertile, and I can imagine there must be a beautiful sight in our garden right now. As someone who really loves her garden, mum must have felt very joyful seeing the grass grow.

Mum then said she was encouraged by Job 14:7-9. “At least there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant.”

And that is what I’m hoping for in this new year. I pray that God will let new life spring up in me, and turn the parched desert I have become into a well-watered garden, so that my life will bear fruit and testify of His goodness. I want to learn to cast all my anxieties upon Him, for He cares for me. (1 Peter 5:7). I want to learn to trust and obey Him, and be a God-pleaser instead of a people-pleaser. For He has proven Himself to be faithful, even when I am not.

Isaiah 43:18,19 says “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

My heart and my strength have fail me, but I know His grace is always sufficient. I know I can become a tree which never withers–but only if I depend on Him.