I am done. Finito. Completamente. Lately, I have been a little M.I.A. because I was cramming for finals - succesfully, I think. But the semester at Nanyang Technological University has come to an end, I have said my goodbyes and I fly out of Singapore tomorrow morning. A 'veni vidi vici' feels quite appropriate right now. As my departure is dawning on me, all I can think about is how time has flown by.
It feels like only yesterday that I arrived on campus and watched the lady at the canteen pour my coffee into a plastic bag. It clearly upset me greatly at the time since it is the one memory that stands out the most of how I had to adjust to Singaporean life. Funny enough, I leave with a similar coffee-related memory: it was literally yesterday that the word 'coffee' caused great confusion for the 'subway' employee. She had to be rescued from her misery (I screamed COFFEE at her at least five times will stirring in an imaginary cup) by the guy behind me in line: "she wants kopi".
Despite that I can nowhere near call myself a Singaporean, it takes nothing away from the fact that I fell in love with all that this city has to offer. I can say with certainty that Singapore has not seen the last of me. I leave with new experiences, new friends (if you read this, and I expect nothing less, Oktoberfest 2011- we are making this happen), dreams for the future and a long list of foods that I will simply have to learn how to cook.
So what is next? I am not yet going home but am ready for phase 2 of my exhange: a two-month backpacking trip to Vietnam, Laos, Camboadia and Thailand. A dream trip that I suspect will cause Asia to keep stealing my heart, over and over again. I have never done anything like this before and seriously, it takes the principle of light packing to a whole new level (not my forte). But as I have given up make-up a while back, I figure showering and clean clothes are only one step away?
I will try and keep this blog running while I'm traveling, so keep an eye out :)
Sending you love - once more - from Singapore (rhyming was unintentional.)
Emma
