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 2016: New Year, New Adventures, New Sam
Hello world! It's 2016! Happy New Year! (Though I'm more than a week late) Well, it's already been really busy this year. Didn't have the time to write a year end reflection post for 2015 so I shall add a short reflection into this post as well. *Warning! This will be a pretty long post* Now to start off, it's only been a week into the new year and I've been really busy. For those of you who already know, I'm juggling ad hoc jobs together with my tuition job and now I'm taking on the buffet server job. Sounds like I'm mad but yeah, need the money. My tuition job is my first ever job and it's been really good up till now. Still can't believe that I got the job which started right after my chalet and it's quite interesting teaching the kids. Unlike what most people think, I currently have 2 students for each class and it's pretty manageable for me (No need to use the white board phew). Other than that, I'm trying out this hotel job as a buffet server (more of table clearer haha). To be really honest, I've never really expected myself to take on such a job because I try to avoid jobs that need me to 'serve' others but well, somehow I got this job and somehow, it's been pretty alright. (At least on my first day). I guess it's been really nice to have money flowing into my pockets finally and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the month when I can confirm more permanent ad hoc jobs with other companies. Next, shall talk a bit about my fun times. Seriously, I'd never though that I'd still be hanging out with some people after we graduate. 2015 was a pretty hard year and loads of things happened. Some of my closest friends left me and some came back (or did they). Things happened at home and results was pretty shitty. I guess 2015 was really a roller coaster ride. But I'm glad that it's over. If you asked me to go back and restart the year, I would change some things that I did and said but no regrets. People come and go and I think there's no point being sad over the few who don't treasure you. Well, moving on to the happier stuff. Glad to have my friends with me, and I'm pretty surprised who I ended up going to Poly Open House with haha. Interesting bunch. Haven't laughed so hard in such a long time, so much so that my face was aching when I got home. I'm convinced that once you hit 18, all your conversations really change a lot. We no longer have any self-censorship and boom everything from bras to R21 topics take over. Moving on to the new year, adventures part. This year will hopefully bring me to new places, to meet new people and hopefully bring me to a better place that will create more meaningful memories. I've had my fair share of pain and suffering and I'm pretty sure, this year there will be more of such experiences, yet, I'm confident that I'm ready to handle what is ahead. With the people that actually care and love me, thanks for all the support y'all have given me all this while. I'm sure 2016 will be a better year. From 2015, I've learnt to let things go. Forget the people who treated you badly, forget the things that made you unhappy and really focus on the important things in life, the important people and mainly, focus on your own dreams. I hope that this post wasn't too boring (it probably was cuz of the reflection and shit) and I hope it inspired you to take on a new perspective in life. May 2016 bring us happiness and more fun. All the best everyone. Sam Labels: 2016, Life, random, Reflection Long awaited freedom
HELLO WORLD! I'm finally back (hehe) It's been an awfully long time since I last updated this blog and I have to say I've been really busy. Well, at least I'm back !
I know I'm a little lag but A's ARE OVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!! I guess everyone's been waiting for this for a super long time, after all the mugging over the past 2 years, it's finally the time to have a good break before starting off on a new journey. Can't believe it actually. 12 years of formal education ended just like this. Well I can't say that I'll really miss school but I have to say, it's gonna be tough every morning deciding what to wear to school and who I'll be hanging out with in school cuz we no longer have school uniforms and classes to stick with. #adultproblems lol As for this holidays, no overseas trip sadly but I've been really busy already even though it's only the 1st week of holidays haha. Chalet, buffet, outings, Big walk etc. haha Let's start off with my getting fat routine. Read more » Labels: 2015, Badminton, Banana, CCA, Holidays, Life, PostAs, Samchangphotography, SamFreedomAdventures Throwback & Looking Ahead
Around this time last year, I wrote a post for my new year resolution. Well, it's the time of the year again for us to look back, reflect and set new goals for ourselves in the new year.
For me, 2014 was a year of surprises, from getting (unexpectedly good) O level results, to surviving a whole long year in Hwach, I realised I've changed quite a bit. (Read my 2014 resolution here)
A short summary of what went on in my life this year:
January
- Slacking off after O's
Well there wasn't much that I could do since I couldn't get a job and life was boring. Oh! It's the time when I first started DOTA. Can't really remember how I started but one fine day Mel and I decided we should game and we just downloaded and played. (I'm still a freaking noob since I decided I'll not DOTA until after As)
- JC Open House!!!!
Went for many Open House and collected a whole bunch of freebies (some of which are still brand new in my drawers.) P.S. Did I mention that I collected 5 of those floppy water bottles from these Open Houses? People need to look for other sponsors lol
- Release of O Level results
Still remember it like yesterday. It's frawking scary okay. People you'll understand how I felt when the day comes for you. It was really quite an unexpected end to my secondary school life. Didn't expect to get such good results. But then came the annoying part...
- Choosing my JC
Yes this! Trust me, it isn't as easy as it seems. If you're a 2 pointer, yes, it's easy for you, you can choose any school you want and not fear that they reject you. But being a 3 pointer, I was afraid and pretty much confused at a certain point. All along I had expected myself to do well enough to just get me into ACJC and just continue my life from there, but now that I got better than expected results I was pretty much torn between choosing the school I had always wanted and the 'better' school (Hwach/RJC) Well, eventually I made my decision to put Hwach as my first choice.
February
- Release of school posting
Was practically freaking out quite badly that morning waiting for the SMS to come. Mine took quite long, but it did come eventually. HWACH~!!!!!
- Stepping foot into Hwach for the first time
The day after release of results, we had to report to the school for orientation. My OGL already called me up the night before to let me know what to do and bring for orientations (OG2 FTW I miss you guys to mucccccchhhhhhhh)
- Fun & Games during orientation
Times were great as we all really enjoyed ourselves during this period. From OG games to POP which marked the end of orientation, I really had a lot of fun. I still remember being freaking awks with my OG and being so happy to have Angeline in my class. Meeting new people in S7C and finally being able to have so much fun before all the work started to pile in.
- BIRTHDAY!!!!!
Lucky for me, my birthday happened to be our 2nd day as a class and I was really surprised that my new friends made the effort to get me a small cake to celebrate. (Thanks once again for the cake) Went home for dinner as usual and had another cake with the family yay.
Read more here: http://pioneer-crescentian.blogspot.sg/2014/02/looking-out-into-space.html#.VJ7DusAEA
March - May
This 3 months was pretty boring (looking at my calendar there really isn't much to recap about) It's just studying, March holidays( which equates to more studying) and going for CCA.
Didn't really have much Badminton training at that time since I wasn't in team. Don't ask me, I don't even know why they didn't let me compete this year when they had so much space in team. Haish.
Spent quite an amount of time preparing for my OCIP trip as well. Didn't expect to be selected for the trip but surely I was excited to go to Nepal!
June
Went on a 9 day trip with an awesome bunch of people to the land of the unknowns. All of us really had a lot of fun serving the community there and I really enjoyed the CIP work. Not forgetting the chance to take so many beautiful pictures. If I had the chance, I would definitely go back to Nepal (hopefully with the same bunch of people) again. It's really an unforgettable journey and I thank everyone who shared this journey with me (some more than others)
- School work
Well it's true when they say there is no such thing as holidays in JC. Spent most of my holidays doing my Econs project, preparing for PW submissions and most importantly, mugging for the first ever major exam in my JC life BLOCK TEST!!!! (It's scary after not studying hard and slacking for so long)
July-August
Boring months again. I didn't even bother to update my blog during this period because it's just too mundane. Well, I did get back my Block test results and there was MAF, besides that, nothing much really happened.
September
- PROMOS
2nd MAJOR EXAM in my JC life. Spent a lot of time mugging and studying for it amidst all the preparation work for PW and CCA stuff as well.
- My first 5km
My mum signed us up for the Straits Times Run while I was in Nepal so we completed our first 5km together yay. This sparked off our 5km spree. We've been looking for 5km walks/runs ever since.
Read more here: http://pioneer-crescentian.blogspot.sg/2014/09/updates-on-life-block-test-review.html#.VJ7HPsAEA
October
This month is just PW crazy period. Meeting my members almost everyday, even on weekends. We literally editted our work till the last hour before submission and I really want to say it's a fun and tiring journey. Lack of sleep and crazy deadlines made us all zombies but thanks guys for putting up with my nonsense and for all the bridge sessions during our meetings ( I promised not to play bridge after Nepal, but you guys got me back into the game lol)
All in all, PW was a pretty enjoyable journey, I'm so going to miss it next year since no PW = More GP lessons.
Read more here: http://pioneer-crescentian.blogspot.sg/2014/10/after-long-long-while.html#.VJ7HSsAEA
November - December
And it't the holiday month. Holidays really are just like school days. I've been going to school almost everyday since holidays started and didn't really get to take a break from studying until this week ( When I literally stopped doing any form of work) CCA has also been tough ( Sports kills. Gym kills. And I'm still so fat after all the work out haish)
Read more here: http://pioneer-crescentian.blogspot.sg/2014/11/1-month-into-holidays-or-what-it-seems.html#.VJ7HQsAEA
Well, my year sure seems eventful. After a year in Hwach, I've really learnt a lot and I'm confident I fulfilled at least half of my 2014 resolutions. Made many new friends in this new land, exercised a lot (A LOT) and I was happy for at least 6 months here so yups. Sadly, Lim0ncello didn't really work out as we are all busy with our own schedules and lives.
Looking ahead I shall set some new goals for 2015.
1. Study harder
As are approaching and J2 is going to be a roller coaster ride. Need to juggle between studying, sleep, family time and CCA commitments. I know it's not going to be easy but I really need to study hard to get all my As for As (Oooooo PUN!!!!) Shall work hard towards my goal to cut up dead people (hehe sounds creepy but ya I intend to pursue something in the forensics department)
2. Be more optimistic
People who got to know me think I'm a happy-go-lucky person but those who know me well enough will realise that I've been quite optimistic this year. So to start off the new year, I'll work on being a happier person and stop being so negative.
3. Find balance in life
People who know me will know that I'm a freaking busy person. I'm always running around, if not studying like crazy at home. Not much time for myself. So, as my exams approach, I really want to find the balance in my life and to do well without over stressing myself and end up falling ill.
4. Stay healthy & fit
Health is really important. Although there's isn't much time to spare, I want to be able to continue with my current work out schedule and stay fit (and try to lose weight in the process) Also, I hope to maintain my weight or shed a few pounds along the way ( It's going to be quite hard since I tend to eat a lot especially as exams approach)
This has been a really long post ( took me damn long to plan and write) but it's a nice recap of the year. While I was writing, I had the chance to look back at old memories, both good and bad, and really reflect upon them.
2015 will be a new beginning for me and I'll strive to reach greater heights.
Here's wishing all good health and Happy New Year.
Samantha :D
Labels: :), 14S7C, 2014, 2015, Badminton, CCA, Hwachi, Life, My Life, New Year Resolutions, Recap, Throwback 1 month into the HOLIDAYS (or what it seems like a mugger marathon)
Hello World! Haven't updated in a while... (*Guilty smile* hehe) Well it's the HOLIDAYS (So they call it) What holiday? 可以吃的吗？ I guess this is the life of a student in Singapore. Unlike our counterparts on the other side of the world (aka USA), most of the time, we'll be spending our holidays mugging away trying to finish holiday assignments, catch up with school work, training for Seasons etc. It's been 1 month into this so called holidays but haven't really had the time to really have a good rest yet. What's been going on for the past 1 month: 1. PA Youth Integration Ambassador 2. Badminton Training + Gym Sessions ~ 3. Remedial Lessons TT.TT 4. Rushing School Work & revision 5. Family Gatherings and much much more ~ Firstly shall share about the Pa Youth Integration Ambassador thingy I signed up for (obviously with my best banana friend, Mel) So we went for the workshop session the week after OP ended and it was quite interesting mingling with the other volunteers and sharing our personal stories. We shared about all the stereotypes and things we heard about these "other people" that people often refer to. It was a really insightful experience. Following that workshop, we had anther 'story telling' workshop where we worked on a 'story' that we want to share with fellow Singaporeans. the main aims of this program is for us to discover untold stories and share them with the rest of the world. Submitted the proposal for our story already and all that's left is for the approval and we can start work. I guess the stories should be out by January 2015 (so looking forward to it ^^) Next up, TRAINING~~~~
The week OP ended, I started training. Good news is that Badminton Recreational Club is combining with us (yay to not so lonely Sam) and the bad news, more and longer training sessions. Well, I would say that I'm training quite little as compared to the other team player so I make up for that by going to gym after training of just running once in a while before training. Hopefully I'm still in team next year and can be part of the team that get Hwa Chong Badminton into Top 4~ Screwing up my promos, I needed to go for remedial lessons during the holidays. Thank goodness it's only biology for me, but still I have a lot of work to do or the other subjects. (I NEED MY AAAAAAAA) Well I would say remedial is more fun than normal lessons, at least I find them more productive than usual lessons. In those 2 hours I spend there every lesson, at least I learn something. On this note, I just want to thank my Bio teacher, Mdm Low for all her help this year. It's quite sad that she would be leaving the school and won't be teaching us next year. Now I'm scared for Bio, what if I get the scary Mrs Foo, or even worse, some new teacher who can't teach o.o My bio isn't all that good already, so I really can't afford to have someone who can't teach to take us next year~ I need my A for Bio!!!!!! Moving on, rushing for school work... School hasn't been all that easy this year. (Honeymoon period my foot! Where got honeymoon so tiring one) Anyway, there are loads and loads of holiday assignments and revision to be done.
Finally before I forget FAMILY GATHERINGS!!! This November I spent quite a lot of time with my family and relatives. Firstly we met for my niece's baby shower (Yes, I'm an aunt for the third time already. Soon I'll have another baby nephew. Head count as of now is 2 nephews and a baby niece)
We also celebrated my Grandma's 80+ birthday with a buffet last Saturday (Yay for the food)
I also managed to squeeze out some time for the family this November. We went to Alive Museum at Suntec City (hehe we had free tickets) and went to play Snooker at the club house.
Hmmmmm.... Review on the museum?
I would say that if you ask me to pay $25 just to go in there, I wouldn't go. It's just a big hall with different sections for people to take photos. As we went on a weekday it wasn't really crowded (well there was a crowd but not enough to make me feel uncomfortable) The art pieces were really cool and stuff but to pay to take pictures, I really wouldn't. Shall do a detailed review of that place in another post soon.
SNOOOOOOKER I'm confident to say that I'm horrible at table sports (snooker, pool etc.)
We also went shopping and collected our race pack for this Sunday's NewPaper Big Walk. Don't ask me why, but lately, my family is a bit crazy for over running and weird walks and stuff. Was at WestGate last Saturday (I think) and they had the SG50 event where you can write wishes for Singapore. They also had the Heart Map Van parked outside the mall. The Singapore Heart Map event is for Singaporeans to share their favourite place in Singapore and why it means so much to them. I shall write on my favourite place in another post soon hehe. You can submit your entries and find out more about the Heart Map on their website. Click here to go to the Heart Map Website. Click here for more about SG50 Celebrations~!
Time to go back to studying~!
Signing off, Sam the Walrus Labels: Alive Museum SG, Baby Shower, Badminton, Birthday, Breakfast, CIP Projects, Family Gatherings, Gym, Holidays, Hwa Chong, J1, Life, MuggerSam, My Life, Rants, School Life, Training After a long, long while...
Hello world! It's been a while since my last post ~ (well.... almost 3 months lol)
So, many things happened, from school work, PW to all the little things that happen in life and class politics (to a certain extent)
Starting off, I'd like to say that all this stuff about "class politics" and "school life stuff" is just from my POV, don't flame anyone else. If you want just confront me, I'd gladly take the flame, but please be reminded playing with fire will burn you.
Anyways, moving on...
Significant events in August, September & October...
(i) Promos (and how much I screwed it all up)
(ii) PW madness
(iii) This class and all the nonsense that I've had to deal with in the past 3 mths
(iv) LIFE (of the lack thereof)
Well, I finally found time to drop by this blog to leave a post (have really been busy with all the school work and what nots...and my other private blog tooooooo)
So promos weren’t really as great as I'd expected it to be, but neither has it been that bad. I would say I'd expect that I'd screw up so it isn't all that bad. But grades really do matter especially in such a school. I don't want to say this but this school is a VERY RESULT OREIENTED SCHOOL. You can say that learning is an important part of life and we shouldn't be focusing on our grades but who can you kid, everyone just looks at that piece of paper you hold. No one is going to care how hard you studies, how much you understand or how much you learn. The main focus here in this school and even in the society is just that piece of 'toilet paper' that can get you a good job in the future.
I have people telling me that my grades are okay already and that I should not always be so result oriented and focus on the learning process, but these people have to realize that they can only say this because they are already there. Life is already stable for them.
Another thing I'd like to bring up is that classmates really make a big difference to your school life. I am really thankful for Mahboobs and all the support they give me during my mental breakdown sessions and taking all my nonsense when I'm freaking out and stuff.
14S7C hasn’t been a bad class, but I can never say that they are the best. Everywhere we go, we’ll definitely meet people whom we don’t click with or just like to be annoying. Also, there is one point that I’m not afraid to speak up on and that would be A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS CLASS HAVE NO COW SENSE WHEN IT COMES TO PEOPLE RELATIONSHIPS. It’s like all they care about is how well they do, or how well they didn’t do relative. They talk about things (be it results or other stuff) as if there is no one around them. Have you people ever considered the feelings of others. I don’t want to name names, but there are a few people who got on my nerves during the return of papers. These people really have to learn to STFU. Be more sensitive. All you high IQ low EQ toots.
Moving on, the end of Promos marked the start of PW crazy period. We were practically sleeping 4hours every night rushing out our WR and preparing for OP (which is next MONDAY !!!!) WR really got on my nerves and I nearly exploded on people too many times to count. Also, OP is my greatest fear. You can ask me to type a proposal and write stuff but DON’T PUT ME ON STAGE. I HATE PRESENTATIONS!!!! Stage fright + low self-esteem = failure in presentations. Now back on track. WR really took up a lot of time especially when normal lessons were on going. I couldn’t really concentrate in class and was practically dying everyday. As for OP, at least we have this intensive period to prepare. Staying in school everyday just to recite the presentation over and over again. Well, it is fun sometimes. What more, there is still the final document we have to hand in (I&R) after OP(lucky I’m done with that).
I can’t really say that I LOVE PW but after a while it starts to get fun. With all the random meetings we have every weekend and all the fun times we have together, can’t help but hope that this period would stay on forever. It’s been a great experience with my group mates and really working with them and not having enough sleep together.
Time for “CLASS”
It’s the last day of school which means I have to survive with this class for another year and wheeeee I’m gone.
I really can’t bring myself to say that I enjoy being in this class. It’s like there are always times when we have fun together and really enjoy spending the time together, but there are also times when I really hope that I wasn’t in this class. Sometimes I wonder why am I even here? Would life be different if I was in another class, another school? Maybe I wouldn’t be so stressed out by the competition in this class (Yes my class is competitive even thought they don’t explicitly show it) Maybe I wouldn’t have so much hatred in my body.(Yes, I admit, I hate some people in my class and by hate, I really mean hate, despise, want to have no relations with) I know that by saying this, people who are reading will think that I’m a 2 faced bitch who is back stabbing her classmates, well let it be. I can’t always be smiling. I can’t always be the nice person taking in all that nonsense from all these annoying people. I can’t always be the person who just pretends to be blind and cover up for you people. You have to take responsibility for what you have done (or not done) you cannot always expect the minority to conform to your behavior and join you in your recklessness and disrespect. I admit that I’m not the best student, neither am I the best person, but there is one that I’m better than this group of people I’m referring to is that I own up to what I have done. Yes, I am a 2 faced bitch, but at least I have the guts to own up. Do you? Will you? We all know why you are here and where you get everything from so don’t act as if the whole world loves you. And for the rest of the class I’m fine with people who don’t get on my nerves.
The people who know me will know that I’m someone who forgives and forgets really easily. Although when I hold grudges, I’ll make sure I hold them until they are resolved. To be really honest, when I came here, I decided that I’ll not get involved with all this class things and just live my life as a normal student. Finish my 2 years here and just leave with a few close friends. That’s the reason why I didn’t even bother go for any class positions or what not. Yet, I still end up in this pile of shit. Guess that’s the life of a JAE kid in an IP dominant school. IP kids are nice people, I know many nice people out there who are really caring and in general nice people. But there are some who are #$%&*^$ idiots. So, no stereotypes. To each his own, you live your life, I’ll live mine. (In no way am I flaming the school or the system , it’s just the character of some people that annoys the hell out of me)
Now for some life updates.
After promos I’ve been on photo spree, taking pics every weekend and spending plenty of time editing photos and stuff. Life is great but I’ll be spending this holidays mostly on studying and badminton training. (Did I mention I’m in badminton, yes surprise surprise!) Sam is in badminton, not rec. badminton but the actally school team one. Really didn’t expect to get in and be the only JAE kid there. Well, it’s an honor to be on the team yet, it gets a little lonely there with all the players from High school and NYGH. Like these people have been together for at least 4 years and some even more so it’s kinda hard to fit in especially trying to play doubles cause you really need to find that special connection to play well and not end up smashing each other on the head in court.)
Also really happy to have been able to enjoy my last few days as a J1 with Mahboobs. Laughing, eating and just relaxing. I guess JAE kids really do click well with each other. You can say that we’re exclusive but you cannot say that you are not.
On a random note, A levels starts next Monday (with GP lol) All the bets to all my seniors out there, in hwach or not. A huge thank you and good luck to my failure “tuition” teacher, may the odds be in your favour.
Labels: 14S7C, 2014, CCA, Hwa Chong, Hwachi, HWACHIE, J1, Late post, Life, Mahboobs, My Life, People skills, Promos I'm back ~ !
Time past so fast and it's already nearing the end of week 2 of the June holidays.
Can't believe that my OCIP trip is over so soon. We spent so much time and effort preparing for the trip, all the dance practices and meetings just to get things done and finally it's all over. I would say that it was an enjoyable trip and I really learnt a lot from this experience.
Here are some highlights of the trip:
Star gazing
Glad that the skies were clear on the first night and we were able to see the beautiful stars in the night sky. Though this is not my first time star gazing, it was still an amazing experience. Stars always remind me how small I am. Staring into the night sky is something that I will never forget. It was quite disappointing though that I didn't have a tripod with me. I was going to try out star trail photography but without a tripod and stable hands, most of the photos came out quite bad (actually, I haven't really looked through them properly yet hehe)
Sunrise
Woke up on the second morning just in time for SUNRISE!!!! Sunrise was a slow process (took around 30 min) but it sure was cool to watch the sunrise from the mountains. It is impossible to get such a view in Singapore and I feel really blessed to be given the opportunity to be able to see the sunrise. Every sunrise is a reminder of how lucky and blessed I am to be living and breathing. It was a magical experience watching the sunrise with my fellow team mates.
The School
The journey to the school allowed me to have a better view of the living conditions of the people in the villages of Nepal. Looking at the children walking so far to school reminds me how lucky we are in Singapore that we have public transport and not need to walk to school everyday. Also, there were many children helping out in the fields as well. The fact that the children would go to such extents just for education made me realise how important education is and how we are so lucky to have good education.
At the school, we were greeted by the children and the teachers. We also pitched our tents at the camp site just below the school compound. The school compound is really basic as compared to what we have in school. Here we are in Singapore complaining about the lack of air-con in classrooms when the kids in Nepal don't even have proper toilets and classrooms to study in.
I was assigned to teach the Grade 3 and Grade 9 students on our first day of CIP. It was a very different experience as compared to my previous OCIP trip to Yunnan. Firstly, there was a language barrier. This is the main problem we had during the teaching, we couldn't understand what they were saying and they couldn't understand what we were trying to explain. Thus, we had to depend a lot on our translators. I would say that it was quite hard trying to teach the Grade 9s because only those sitting in the front were participating in the lesson and those in the back were doing their own work. This kind of reminded me of my own learning attitude in class. Always sitting in the back doing my own things, I guess I should stop doing that (hehe maybe...) On the other hand, we really enjoyed teaching the Grade 3 kids cause they were EXTREMELY ADORABLE !!!! It was much easier trying to teach the younger children because all we did was colouring and sing songs. This teaching experience allowed me to interact better with the children. The most memorable moment during the teaching session was when I took pictures for the children. All of them wanted a picture and it gave me a feeling that could not be described when I see the smiles on their faces when I showed them the pictures I took. I guess these are the little things in life that the children in Nepal enjoy that a lot of city kids do not appreciate.
After the teaching, I was mainly involved in furnishing the classrooms that were built my the previous batch who came last year. Construction work isn't easy at all. From mixing the cement to "raging at the wall", everything took up a lot of energy but I was lucky enough to be with the team. We were singing and plastering the wall, enjoying every moment together. Occasional greetings and small talk with the children would brighten our day and give us the motivation to continue working hard to help provide them with more classrooms.
I was also given the opportunity to interview some of the builders who were helping out in the construction of the classrooms. They were very glad to be able to work here helping out because it is a better paying job as compared to being a farmer, but they said that if given a choice and they do not need the money, they would rather be a farmer. There was one interview that left a very deep impression in me. One of the builders has a 5 year old daughter who is currently studying in a private boarding school. Public education in Nepal is free, however, the richer people try to send their children to private schools because the quality of education is much better. We also asked him if he would send his daughter overseas if he could and he actually said that he would. As we all know, private education is definitely more expensive as compared to public education and the fact that he would send his daughter overseas shows how much emphasis he places on education. The fact the he had never been to school and wants the best for his daughter shows how much parents actually care for their children and would do anything so that their children can get the best. This made me think about how our parents are working so hard just to provide us with all that we need and more.
Farewell
After 5 days at the school, it was finally the day for the closing ceremony. After all the hard work and practices, we showcased our dance to the students and teachers and presented our gifts to them. The students also put up a performance for us and we really enjoyed it. After everything had ended, everyone was rushing to grab as many pictures with the children as possible. I would say that the 5 days of CIP in the school really allowed us to bond well with the children and the people who were helping us out everyday. That night we had a lot of fun at the camp fire with the sherpas who were helping us all the while. We danced and literally partied all night.
*FLOOOOOOOODDDDDDD*
The day when we were suppose to finish up our work and leave the school we woke up to a huge surprise. Our camp site was FLOODING.It started raining at around 4 in the morning and I thought that the rain would subside and breakfast would be pushed back later so I went back to sleep. But the next thing I know, I woke up to the voice of teachers screaming for us to evacuate. It was a very interesting experience because for the past few days, all we experienced was the hot hot sun in the day and chilly wind in the night. I guess everyone was panicking a lot as we grabbed out valuables and ran up to the classrooms on higher ground. Due to the wet weather, we couldn't continue with our CIP and we made plans to leave the areas ASAP fearing that we would be trapped there for another day.
Trekking to the resort
Due to the weather, the bus would not be able to reach our school and we decided to trek up to the resort (around 8km++) Along the way, we passed through a few villages. Looking at the locals' way of life and comparing to how we live our life made me think a lot. Their lives seemed more carefree and less strenuous, whereas we are constantly living a stressful life, always thinking how to strive for the best and always wanting more than what we already have. I wouldn't say that our way of life is wrong, striving for the best is good, but it has made us want more and more and we tend to overlook the little things in life. Us wanting more and more is also a cause to our unhappiness. We are always not contented with what we have and don't know how to appreciate what we have. Along the way, I had the chance to practice my people and landscape photography skills.
The view of the mountain range was very stunning. Looking out into the mountains made me feel really small. We always think that the world is revolving around us and what we have is what we are supposed to get when actually we are just so small and insignificant in this world. On the other hand, when everyone work towards the same goal, we can make a difference to the world we are living in. Halfway through the trek, we got on the bus because it started to rain again. I feel really blessed to be given the opportunity to trek and see how life is like in the villages and be able to take so many pictures. I think that it is really a blessing that once we got on the bus it started to rain quite heavily.
Relaxing time
After 6 days of hard work, it's finally time for us to have our well deserved break. I have no idea how but somehow I was allocated to be in the guys block for our second last night in Nepal in the resort. And one of the most amusing things that happened was the fact that almost every room came to to our room to borrow shampoo. (is it a guy thing not to bring shampoo?) It was really fun especially the night. Having HTHT with Sharmila (my room/tent mate) and pedo gor. Never expected to hear so much about their lives and really didn't expect that we actually talked till 1am in the morning (minus the fact that Sharm actually knocked out at around 11)
Our last day was spent sight seeing and shopping in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The day went by in a blast and soon it was night time. Somehow, we just talked through the night and I would say that it was quite interesting. From the violent pillow fight to bitching about people, all the fun things that happened summed up our stay in Nepal.
I would say that this trip really allowed me to know myself better and really clear my mind from all the mess of city life. Before this trip, my head was cluttered with all the stress of school life and relationships but now, I think I return as a new person. I definitely will be more appreciative of what I have and really work hard to do my parents proud. Also, I will continue to improve my photography and editing skills so I can continue to capture this wonderful memories. I wouldn't mind returning to Nepal with the group any time. Hope to make more memories while I'm still young and my parents can afford it.
I guess this is quite a boring post for most people because it kind of turned into my reflections. (I didn't even write so long for my actual reflections but still...) If you ask the people who went on the trip with me, I think they would say that I'm quite noisy and bubbly, but thank goodness no one saw my other side, this reflective side who can rant on and on about the morals in life and how we should really thank God for all we have.
Now to end this off, I would like to thank a few people for making this trip possible.
My parents for being supportive and allowing me to go for the trip. They provided me with so much care and helped me along the way when we had problems with the t-shirts amongst other stuff.
The teachers who planned and executed the trip for taking care of us along the way and always ensuring that we are safe and having fun at the same time.
My fellow team mates for creating such wonderful memories with me along the way. I will never forget all the fun we had and all that we learned along the way.
And finally, Sharmila, my dear tent/room mate who had to survive with me throughout this entire trip listening to my nonsense and enduring my craziness.
Well that's the end of a chapter in my life.
Time to sleep...
Signing off,
Sam
Labels: 2014, Camper's Life, Camping, City Life, Holidays, Hwachi, HWACHIE, Life, Nepal, OCIP, School Life, Service learning, Village Life Before take-off
Hello World!
This is gonna be a short post...
Didn't really have much time to update for the past few weeks cause of all the OCIP stuff. (Shall rant about the t-shirt printing when I get back...)
It's the start of the June holidays and boy am I gonna be busy. With so may projects and school work due on the first day of school, I don't think I can even get a proper rest this hols.
June holiday plans:
Wk 1 - OCIP Nepal (yes Imma be climbing mountains jkjk just a little hiking with a 30kilo bag and cameras. All those lifting is gonna pay off haha. gonna spam photos when I get back)
Wk 2 - (After I get back alive...) Econs ILP
Wk 3 - PW WR stuff (damn I hate this subject but I love my group *huggggggs*)
Wk 4 - HARDCORE MUGGGGGGGINGGGGGGG for Blocks
P.S. I seriously think that they don't intend to give us a proper break. Like there's so much to do, so little time.
Now for a little bit bout life.
Glad that Term 2 is finally over. It's been stressful and tiring but fun nonetheless it was fun. A lot of things happened in the last 10 weeks and I have to say that not everything was fun. I've had my share of failure (actually A LOT of failure) not only in academics but also in character. I guess life in JC is not what I had expected it to be. Having all these troublesome people and annoying situations really pushes me to my maximum point but it's through these times where I get to see who are my true friends who will stand by me no matter what.
Taking off tomorrow and I REALLY EXCITEDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!
Gonna take this time away from civilisation and the Internet to do a little bit of reflecting and clear my mind. Term 3 will be a new start and I'll come back stronger than ever.
[Shall leave the spamming for after I get back :))))))]
Annyeong ^^
sam
Labels: 14S7C, 2014, City Life, Flight, Hwa Chong, Hwachi, HWACHIE, Life, singapore, star gazing A little update on life~
Term 2 started and it's week 2 already.
For now, life isn't all that hectic yet but with all those tests and projects pouring in, it's gonna get tough.
Happy that I kinda survived thus far in a new school without killing anyone (yet... cause there are some who really get on my nerves at times) and I guess I won't be surprised if people hate on me. (haters gonna hate)
To some, my life may seem to be perfect ( well, good at least) but I already starting to feel the pressure building up. I have to say that I kinda regret taking on so many things at once. Having 2 CCAs ( I'm suppose to be in competitive badminton yet no one is telling me to go to training and I'm lost like a toot and Photog is sooooo active), preparing for my OCIP Nepal in June (Did i say I was going to Nepal, so egg-cited, but it's really gonna take a lot of my time. Lucky that I'm in Pub comm. The people there are soooooo nice and funny (Y) ) and all those weird projects the world is throwing at me...
It's not that I don't like projects and groups works, but sometimes, it's the people that you work with that makes things fun for you. Imagine working with someone who you totally can't stand, or maybe someone who you cannot even talk to, how to survive doing a project with them. I don't really hate on anyone in my class la but there are just some people that I cannot even talk to like AWKWARD TTM.
Now back to the ranting...
Being the same old me is kinda sad at times.
The only reason why I'm back on this blog is because I have no freinds. (Yes I said it, I'm becoming more and more of a loner. Besides my buds, who else? Mahboobs are always studying and I dun wanna disturb them, I wouldn't say I'm close to my OG... Being the nice person I am, I just don't wanna disturb the world with my attention seeking ways.) And thus, returning here, I rant.
All this while people may think that I have a lot of friends and ya, I show a very friendly side of me but, people only come to me when they need help, and when everything is fine, tata (not everyone is like that, for those who don't I dun wanna disturb them) and thus I'm left alone, AGAIN
Life is always like that to me. There's the social boom period that lasts for like a day and the rest of the month, I suffer lonely days and nights.
I walk a lonely road and I walk alone. I've survived without depending on anyone for the past 17 years, I can survive the rest of my life the same way though I don't always want it that way. (well, do I look like I have a choice?)
Signing off,
Sam
Labels: 2014, Hope?, HWACHIE, Life, Rants, School, School Life, Song quotes I'm a HWACHI!!
Ever since school started, I haven't found the time to continue blogging (I know I still have 4 more posts for my Europe trip) but I've decided to write this post first. I received my O level results about 1 month ago and I was really happy to get what I got. I still can't believe that I did so well (though it's not the perfect score, it's still quite awesome to get such good grades) I had 5 A1s, 3A2s and a B3 for HCL which is like super duper surprising. So, my L1R5 is 3 nett. I am really thankful for all the support from my family, friends and the school for helping me achieve what I did. (Special thanks to Mr. Keong who really helped me a lot not only in Math but also being such a great teacher. He really helped me a lot throughout my upper sec years. He also guided me really well through my leadership role in Badminton to THANKS A LOT MR KEONG.) After getting my results, I had 5 days to decide which school to apply for. It definitely wasn't an easy decision. I always had my mind set that I wouldn't do so well but just well enough to get into ACJC but now I can practically go to any JC/Poly course I wanted. After thinking for a really long time and visiting many Open houses (and getting really tanned during this period) I finally decided to give Hwa Chong a try. People around me advised me to give it a try since it is always better to choose top schools. I was quite sceptical about getting into Hwa Chong since there are many top scorers in Singapore. Finally after a long wait, I received my posting on 5 Feb. I was accepted into HWA CHONG which was really surprising. I feel really blessed to be able to get into such a good and prestigious school. Reporting to school on 6 Feb, I met my OG for the first time. It wasn't really what I'd expected it to be. I was kinda awkward with my group and sadly because I decided to go for the KI trial lesson, I totally missed the ice breakers. I was quite hard to fit in afterwards since I didn't really know anyone. (but at least I managed to make a few friends before I left) I spent my first 4 days with my OG and I felt like I was seriously anti-social (though I'm actually not if you get to know me) The people in my group knew each other and were in their own groups and I thought I'd end up reverting to my sec 1 life again. Fortunately, as time past I managed to get to know each of them better (maybe not all but at last majority of them) and realised that they were really cool people. Time flew past and soon we were split into classes. I was lucky to have someone I knew from my OG in my class because at least I wouldn't be as awkward as before. My class is super cool and bonded though we only just got to know each other. I was really glad that my class is so nice and enthu. Coincidentally, my birthday fell on one of the CT orientation days and I was really surprised that my class actually bought me a cake (aww I love you guys.) It's really touching that they did it for me because we only knew it each other for 1 day and they make me feel so LOVED 14th Feb, Valentine's day marks the last day of our orientation. It's quite saddening that we are going to start school. As you can tell I really wasn't close with my OG but somehow, something in me just told me to join them for campfire night. And I have to say that it was really the best decision that I made. It was really fun doing SODACHE with the guys and I guess it really brought me closer to the rest. (To my CT, I love you guys too) Orientation is officially over and I really would like to thank some people that really made my 1st week in school so fun and memorable. Thanks Deborah and Li Wen for being such wonderful OGLs and letting us ship you guys. You guys really helped me a lot and helped me understand HCI better. Thanks OG2! I know I haven't been the best OGM to you guys and I am always in my own world but thanks for creating so many memories with me and for being so nice and funny. I hope we stay in touch and meet up and have more outings soon. Thanks 14S7C for being such a wonderful class! I am so looking forward to our 2 years together and I really hope that we can bond and be the best class ever. To all those people who had to suffer dancing with me and standing beside me during SODACHE Thanks for not pointing out that I seriously suck at singing and dancing (I am a horrigible dancer and my voice seriously sucks I know) 4 faculties, 1 HWA CHONG! Labels: 14S7C, Birthday, Hwa Chong, Hwachi, Life, OG2, Orientation, School, School Life |
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