|
Throwback...
posted : Tuesday, December 22, 2015
...to 26 December 2005.
The day I left a place which I called home my entire life thus far, and set out into an unknown.
Immediately after graduation my plans were either following my sisters footsteps in KL, or accepting the ASEAN Scholarship in SG (provided that they offer me). Sat for the test in late November or was it early December, and they did offer me, on 20 December (yes I checked my old emails). I do remember feeling both relieved and stunned at the same time. Relieved coz someone helped me make a decision lol. And stunned coz I really didn't know what to expect.
The last few days at home was a flurry of rushed farewells, getting necessities, packing. I was to be accompanied to SG with my dad. I can't remember what else happened actually. Maybe settling formalities like completing forms and faxing back. I don't remember any friends sending me off at airport. But I do know I will be meeting Stel and Val (and maybe Eng Aik too) in SG - they were enrolled in JCs there too. And KahSiong who was there on holiday.
And just like that, off I go.
I remember one of my first reactions after I reach SG and hop on a cab is..."wow all the road signs are in English" hahahah trust a future traffic engineer to spot this first up. Check in date was 27 December, so we stayed in a hotel for the first night, Hotel 81 Bencoolen. Then met up with dad's friend and we went for a steamboat lunch at some basement shop in one of those old old shopping complexes (maybe it's Fortune Centre or something). Then we went over to Funan and I got my first ever laptop, Fujitsu which ended up lasting me about 4 years.
The next morning...we went to POSB to open up a bank account. Coz the scholarship acceptance letter said we had to open one for MOE to transfer us our monthly allowance of $200 (wow students really don't spend much do they). Then off we go to McNair. Had tried researching online to see how this place looks like, but nothing showed up, so settled for pictures of how other hostels look like, seemed promising. Cab driver took us to McNair Road but we couldn't find unit number 17 - until we realize that somehow it's on the left side which should see even house numbers. There's this tiny sign that points us to the hostel. And heart starts sinking.
Checked in and found that it's 6 person per room, in this small room where there are 6 bunk beds - they removed the beds and somehow managed to cram in a study desk, a cupboard and a shelf within the space. There's a toilet and a bathroom at the end of the room to be shared by the 6 occupants.
Hahaha. I could go on and on about how bad conditions were the first day we moved in but that wasn't the point of this post. Turns out McNair is a new hostel, fashioned from a former primary school. The classrooms were partitioned into three rooms each, and the intention was to fit 6 per room. Indignant parents complained and eventually they realized they don't need that many rooms - so they reduced it to 5 per room. Subsequently added windows for ventilation, added aircon (there's a timer that allows it to be switched off at 6 or was it 7 in the morning, hostel wide. Though my senior roommate found a way to bypass the timer and it was a month before the hostel management realize something was amiss LOLOL), added wifi which frequently crashed coz they knew nothing about students needs (which was torrenting and gaming HAHAHAHA) and under provided. But just know that conditions improved and we eventually got used to it.
Met Mun Hon and Nayan on the first day and after the reduction to 5 per room, we still ended up in the same room. 203. Haha. Rest of the year was spent meeting a couple more new friends, meeting up with my old friends, and the briefing at MOE where we had to wear our secondary school uniforms (and in fact throughout the first semester coz well, it's the first intake and local students weren't confirmed yet). And that epic time when we boarded the wrong bus which was headed to RI instead lol and had to come back on MRT to a full hostel waiting for us to start hostel briefing =.= There was someone who was with us at that time and could have brought us along when he found out we are heading for the wrong bus - but he chose to go off on his own and left us to board the wrong bus. Talk about foreshadowing.
And dad leaving on New Year's Eve - heartless me didn't even send him off sigh. Suppose that's the difference between sons and daughters? My mum was telling me my sister teared up when she was leaving her in KL heh. Me, I was trying to get used to the new environment and was thinking I will see my family again in another three weeks anyway for CNY.
Instead the Malaysian seniors organized an outing and brought us to Marina Bay Countdown - only to leave and rush back at 11pm coz they realized we didn't actually get clearance to come back after curfew (yes there was a curfew back then).
So those were my first memories of SG which I never got the chance to blog about. 10 years on, it still brings a smile to my face when I remembered some of the funnier moments.
Labels: reminiscing |
