It’s been a humble tumble, from a know-it-all to a fumbleall...
Send-off
Hectic evening, with me trying to circulate among rgchoir, vjchoir and my jc class and gang, and getting loads of going away presents n notes (extra bag argh! =p ok kidding, thanks all I love you! And send me emails k?). Ended hastily when we realized it was the last call for my flight (silly, it doesn’t mean boarding!). Thank God there was time for Jac to lead a beautiful prayer for me, and for hugs all around. Sam didn’t cry, my dad did!
I was really touched that so many ppl bothered to come down, and I guess it testifies to the -positive- impact I’ve had on people’s lives... =p Thank you Lord for your favour, and like Jac prayed, may I continue to shine in Your glory wherever I may go!
Narita airport
After some initial confusion over where to go (all the signs were in Jap), we figured the way to our lounge where I discovered, to my glee, a free Yahoo! Café, and my mum bought a cheap watch so my dad couldn’t complain about her forgetting one. Saw a black Jap roach in a DF shop which totally turned me off shopping... but other than that the airport's cool and it has big toilets with cool hand dryers (they're embedded in the countertops right next to the sinks so you don't wet the floor! smart!)
Plane
I love window seats but i hate crawling over ppl to get to the loo. Stupid economy class!! Other things of note:
This ABKorean next to us with multiple body piercings, rings and an absolutely amazing appetite. He asked for second servings of everything (including drinks and snacks – once, when they didn’t have enough lunch, they compensated with FOUR sandwiches – and he only brought ONE off the plane :)
This Chicago choir or sthing seated behind us! Apparently it was some guy’s bday… they and crew startled everyone by suddenly breaking out into a very hearty birthday song (with operatic vocals that’d make Justin proud)
Home Sweet... Home?
The first day in Chicago was really bad, I was jetlagging and my mum must have been worse, because she forgot that she had my I-20 and Immigrations issued me a temporary pass instead!
That was just the start of my problems... our hps not being able to make local calls, my mum being reluctant to ask when we needed help, or sounding completely spastic in broken English when she did. I ended up doing most of the talking but it was really tiring. You don’t understand some little things that they say like "program" meaning "course" (at International House; though that lady was really very comforting and whisked away the I-515A to convert it for me) and "paper or plastic?" (bag choice in the Co-op Supermarket, cos we're so unenvironmentally aware that we don’t have an option back home) and you can sense them getting impatient (people here aren’t afraid to show what they’re feeling through their tones, or sarcastic questions, e.g. *slow drawl* "The bus isn’t going to come here, you’ve got to go down there, otherwise you’d miss it" or being downright rude "You know you’re not being coherent" – an Immigrations officer over the phone).
Ended up being really tired: of drinking water boiled from our room coffee maker – my mum’s ingenious idea; of walking around looking lost, be it the toilet or the ice machine or the Student Care Centre; of my mom’s vacillating between inconsequential options, her dilly-dallying (making us nearly late for our shuttle to the University campus) and slow speed in doing everything; of being talked down to in a condescending manner by the locals.
Tired of being visibly foreign in a foreign land, trapped in the Land of the Free. Ok granted not everyone was bad to us... and I might be a little oversensitive. But I really felt bad and for the first time since forever, I lost my appetite. I’ve never felt fear grip my stomach like that. Homesick homesick homesick aaah.
Other stuff I’ve learnt:
- Chicago experiences freak weather and it was a real mistake to pack all warm clothes cos it’s almost as hot as in Singapore on a cool day
- Buses traverse 1 or 2 straight roads only. Each stop is named after the road the bus' path cuts, e.g. Halsted at the intersection of Halsted and Clark when you're traveling along Clark. "_____ and ______" means at the turn of ______ St (horizontal on the map) and ______ Ave (vertical)
- short distances on maps are actually really, really long in reality.
- the most unexpected things are cheap (ahem – weiying, you were wrong!) and others are daylight robbery
- the University Bookstore has the bestest merchandise ever! Soft toys, fleece throws, files, clothes and other UofC logo-ed paraphernalia galore. Oh it’s also a really comprehensive place for textbooks... :)
- in fact, the whole campus is very self-contained and I love how residential halls, stores, post office, bank, hospital and churches are all seamlessly integrated.
Thank You Abba for wonderful family and friends who are so concerned for me, for their prayers, and for Your mercy and grace that’ve kept me safe thus far. The knowledge of Your love has kept me going these few days! I put my trust in Jesus regarding Chicago and all my student affairs... Amen!
Hectic evening, with me trying to circulate among rgchoir, vjchoir and my jc class and gang, and getting loads of going away presents n notes (extra bag argh! =p ok kidding, thanks all I love you! And send me emails k?). Ended hastily when we realized it was the last call for my flight (silly, it doesn’t mean boarding!). Thank God there was time for Jac to lead a beautiful prayer for me, and for hugs all around. Sam didn’t cry, my dad did!
I was really touched that so many ppl bothered to come down, and I guess it testifies to the -positive- impact I’ve had on people’s lives... =p Thank you Lord for your favour, and like Jac prayed, may I continue to shine in Your glory wherever I may go!
Narita airport
After some initial confusion over where to go (all the signs were in Jap), we figured the way to our lounge where I discovered, to my glee, a free Yahoo! Café, and my mum bought a cheap watch so my dad couldn’t complain about her forgetting one. Saw a black Jap roach in a DF shop which totally turned me off shopping... but other than that the airport's cool and it has big toilets with cool hand dryers (they're embedded in the countertops right next to the sinks so you don't wet the floor! smart!)
Plane
I love window seats but i hate crawling over ppl to get to the loo. Stupid economy class!! Other things of note:
This ABKorean next to us with multiple body piercings, rings and an absolutely amazing appetite. He asked for second servings of everything (including drinks and snacks – once, when they didn’t have enough lunch, they compensated with FOUR sandwiches – and he only brought ONE off the plane :)
This Chicago choir or sthing seated behind us! Apparently it was some guy’s bday… they and crew startled everyone by suddenly breaking out into a very hearty birthday song (with operatic vocals that’d make Justin proud)
Home Sweet... Home?
The first day in Chicago was really bad, I was jetlagging and my mum must have been worse, because she forgot that she had my I-20 and Immigrations issued me a temporary pass instead!
That was just the start of my problems... our hps not being able to make local calls, my mum being reluctant to ask when we needed help, or sounding completely spastic in broken English when she did. I ended up doing most of the talking but it was really tiring. You don’t understand some little things that they say like "program" meaning "course" (at International House; though that lady was really very comforting and whisked away the I-515A to convert it for me) and "paper or plastic?" (bag choice in the Co-op Supermarket, cos we're so unenvironmentally aware that we don’t have an option back home) and you can sense them getting impatient (people here aren’t afraid to show what they’re feeling through their tones, or sarcastic questions, e.g. *slow drawl* "The bus isn’t going to come here, you’ve got to go down there, otherwise you’d miss it" or being downright rude "You know you’re not being coherent" – an Immigrations officer over the phone).
Ended up being really tired: of drinking water boiled from our room coffee maker – my mum’s ingenious idea; of walking around looking lost, be it the toilet or the ice machine or the Student Care Centre; of my mom’s vacillating between inconsequential options, her dilly-dallying (making us nearly late for our shuttle to the University campus) and slow speed in doing everything; of being talked down to in a condescending manner by the locals.
Tired of being visibly foreign in a foreign land, trapped in the Land of the Free. Ok granted not everyone was bad to us... and I might be a little oversensitive. But I really felt bad and for the first time since forever, I lost my appetite. I’ve never felt fear grip my stomach like that. Homesick homesick homesick aaah.
Other stuff I’ve learnt:
- Chicago experiences freak weather and it was a real mistake to pack all warm clothes cos it’s almost as hot as in Singapore on a cool day
- Buses traverse 1 or 2 straight roads only. Each stop is named after the road the bus' path cuts, e.g. Halsted at the intersection of Halsted and Clark when you're traveling along Clark. "_____ and ______" means at the turn of ______ St (horizontal on the map) and ______ Ave (vertical)
- short distances on maps are actually really, really long in reality.
- the most unexpected things are cheap (ahem – weiying, you were wrong!) and others are daylight robbery
- the University Bookstore has the bestest merchandise ever! Soft toys, fleece throws, files, clothes and other UofC logo-ed paraphernalia galore. Oh it’s also a really comprehensive place for textbooks... :)
- in fact, the whole campus is very self-contained and I love how residential halls, stores, post office, bank, hospital and churches are all seamlessly integrated.
Thank You Abba for wonderful family and friends who are so concerned for me, for their prayers, and for Your mercy and grace that’ve kept me safe thus far. The knowledge of Your love has kept me going these few days! I put my trust in Jesus regarding Chicago and all my student affairs... Amen!
aethyrs made a splash at 7:09 pm
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