The start, or the end?

I have my last exam in exactly 13 hours. After that, I shall have no more academic life in Sweden. My holiday starts. I'll need to put the finishing touches to the 20day adventure that I'll be embarking on. And I'll have to start packing for home, sending back heavy down jackets and winter clothes.

So is this a start? Or the end? I know its both.

This will be a start of a new life, a new beginning. A life full of Adventures and lessons learnt, a life full of excitement and fun, a whole new start when I return to Singapore. It is also the end. The end to this short exchange in Sweden, the end to a relaxing life, the end to the warm strangers who eventually become friends, the end to outdoor classes, the end to being self sufficient.

I love living on my own, its much simpler, you'll be able to do anything when and how you like it. Its about making your own decisions and living by it. I guess this time away from Singapore really did do something good for me. I've grown up.

The Adventure continues in exactly 16hours from now.

The Independance

The thing about living all by yourself is that you will somehow learn independence. You will learn that no one will do the laundry for you, no one will plan your timetable, no one will cook for you. If you feel like eating pizza, then you'll have to go google for a convenient recipe, and do it yourself. If you feel like having a homemade banana cake, you send an sms back home to your sister to send over your mum's banana cake recipe and bake it yourself. There will be nobody to tell you what you can and cannot do, what you should and should not do. You are your own boss. And I like that. The Adventure continues whilst planning for a 20 day trip around Europe.

Things Changed

The as we know it, is in a state of increasing entropy. And it constantly changes every day, every moment. The sun no longer sets when it supposed to. Its now 6 in the evening, but it looks like its 3. The days are getting longer and warmer. Kinda like how the day is so long, and there are always so many things to do. My life as I know it, similarly, has also changed. And I would like to think that it just got better. I would like to think I got stronger. I would like to think I've become better at managing time and priorities. I would like to think I am in control of my shy-ness. I would like to think that I can take up any kind of dares without having the 'paiseh' feeling. I would like to think that I will go back home, and find that I am different. We'll see how. The Adventure continues at Zhe Bin's place for a round of drinks.

The Start of The End

When you know that you are heading back to sg in 2mths time, you are in the middle of very mixed feelings. On one hand, you are missing home and the familiarities that it brings, on the other, you still haven't got enough of europe yet. Thats me. There are so many future trips to europe that i see myself doing, like a month long cycling and camping trip, eating out of field kitchens, sleeping in tents and exploring every countryside, wedding shoot in the lesser known places of europe. There's more. Its just not seeded in my mind yet. I wonder how my family is doing at home, i wonder how it feels like to windsurf with my mates after a 6 month hiatus. I wonder who will be at the airport to receive me. Maybe i don't want anybody to pick me up at the airport, cuz sometimes its nice to be alone, independent, talking to random strangers, playing a game of blackjack with teenagers on a school excursion to Gent. This is life. The Adventure continues whilst on a train from antwerp to amsterdam.

Brugge, Belgium

Just tried stoofvlees. Its soft and tender lean beef stew hot crispy chunky fries. The best thing to eat from a road side stall. Also, the chocolate factory struck me. Do you know that a long time ago, cocoa beans were used as currency? And it was drank like coffee before sugar and milk was added into it, before finally becoming solid chocolate? And cocoa was used as an stimulant and medicine. There was even a time that chocolate was banned in church. Maybe last time it was a drug that the rich indulge in. Now we get it as a snack. Maybe one day tobacco and cocaine would be eaten as a snack. Social norms are powerful. The adventure continues in amsterdam. Where prostitution and soft drugs are a socially accepted norm.