Christmas holidays in Singapore

My last meal in Singapore: lunch on Tuesday, January 8, at Jalan Kayu. Teh Tarik!! (Picture taken by Uncle Peter)

I'm back in Montreal now, and was planning on being a very diligent worker today. However, instead of doing homework, I'm updating my blog. Well, I figured that's pretty important, too. :) (I felt very guilty only writing such a short post a few days ago, after weeks of silence, so I'm trying to make it up to you all). :)

After church on Saturday morning, we were invited over to Cristy's aunt's house, where I met most of Cristy's family that I had heard so much about. Jonathan and Jenny also came to visit, which made me very happy. All in all, it was a wonderful day, and I wish I could have stayed longer! In this picture (L to R, cousins of Cristy unless otherwise specified): Kari, Dannie, Robbie (Freddie's friend), Freddie (Cristy's brother), Cristy (with the glasses), Melissa (Kari's sister, Cristy's cousin), Chris (Melissa's boyfriend) - and you know Jonathan, Jenny and me. :)

The Christmas holidays were brilliant, but far too short. I left Montreal on Friday, December 21, after my last exam in the morning. :) Then I spent 24 hours in LA with Cristy (Friday - Saturday evening), before I flew to Singapore (via Taipei). The flight was great because I was sitting in the middle row of seats, almost at the very back of the plane, and the 2 seats next to me were empty. So as soon as the seatbelt sign was off, I put up the armrests, lay down, and slept pretty well for a full 6 hours. That was great! But even so, I was very tired when I finally arrived in Singapore at noon on December 24 (Christmas Eve!). The funny thing was that, as I walked into the baggage claim area, looking for my family who should have been waiting behind the glass, I just couldn't spot them. My bags came pretty fast, so I walked out, expecting to find them somewhere, but they weren't anywhere! So I called them and found out they were all still on their way to the airport. :) It was the first time I got picked up outside, in the pick up area for cars. :)

Our Christmas tree! Not a great picture, but you get the idea. :)

At home, I took a shower and then took a nap. When mom woke me for dinner 3 hours earlier. I was so tired and groggy I really didn't want to get up (I hate jetlag). But I made it out of bed, and despite me looking very tired on all the pictures of that evening, we had a great evening.

The next few days were spent doing the following 5 things:

1. Makan (eating)
2. Playing board games (our family used to play lots of board games. We had so much fun playing more often again this holiday!)
3. Meeting with / visiting friends (as most of my school friends weren't in Singapore, these friends were mainly from church, especially the TTKK group - Teh Tarik Kuat Kuat!)
4. Sleeping
5. Trying to organise my courses for this semester (as of 2 days ago,this is officially -almost- done!) :)

We also started a new hobby, namely Geocaching. It's really fun! Plus I went kneeboarding with Tamar! Well, she went wakeboarding, and she forced me to go with her. I was really scared. I'm not that sporty, and I was very afraid of totally embarrassing myself, but it was so much fun(even though I was aching really badly all over for the next 2 days). You can see the pictures in my Facebook album of these holidays. Other than that, it felt like I didn't do all that much in Singapore. I had a great time, but it really was too short. The first few days, I was jetlagged, and recovering from my trip. The last few days, I was very depressed about leaving, and had to start preparing everything to leave. So, of the 2 weeks that I was at home, I really only had about a week to enjoy. But I did enjoy my time, and I wish I was still in Singapore! I don't feel ready to launch back into the world of school again so quickly.

1. Makan! Posing With Uncle Peter's Paper Thosai. :) (Picture taken by Uncle Peter)

My trip back was much more tiring than my trip to Singapore because I didn't stop in LA, plus I flew via Toronto to Montreal from LA (and I missed my original flight, so I got into Montreal an hour later than expected - but after 28 hours of travelling, an hour more or less doesn't really make a difference). I got in on Wednesday morning, came home, took a shower and went straight to my first class at 11.30am. But 20 metres out of the house, I slipped and fell on a patch of ice, so I had to go back inside to change my pants what were now completely wet (making my leg feel as cold as ice, too). Plus, I had fallen onto my left wrist, in which I have a gangleon that hurts every time I fall on it or put too much pressure on it, so the rest of the day, my left hand and wrist hurt a lot. In my first class, I made the exciting discovery that I have 2 friends in that class (one of whom is Natasha, the fun girl who lives 2 doors down from me in the Solin Hall Annex!). :) In the second class, I got a huge shock because we were immediately given our first lab assignment, which is due a week from that day. Looking at it now, I know that I can survive it and manage the work (even if it will be a lot), but that day, I was so tired because I hadn't slept well on the plane (unfortunately, there was another person sitting in my row, so only the middle seat was free, and I had to sleep in sitting, which didn't really work)...I was so tired because I hadn't slept well on the plane, and because I hadn't slept in a long time (because of the time difference, I'd been awake for a very long time by this point). So, after the class, I gloomily did my grocery shopping (to survive), and once I got home, I went straight to bed, feeling rather miserable. The next morning, I woke up at 3am, and got up at 5am to do some work. Things have been much better since Wednesday, but I still feel a bit weird here in Montreal (the time difference, the weather, the new classes - I hate the new day at school, but here at McGill, the first day of each semester is a new day. Jetlag just makes it worse). I'm still homesick and wish I was at home with my family, but I'm surviving, and I know that, as long as I stay on top of my work, this semester can be good, too.

3. Meeting with / visiting friends: Lunch at Jalan Kayu (L to R): mom, Melvin (back from Poland just in time to say goodbye), :) me, Uncle Michael, Uncle Peng Cheong, Uncle Peter (who is going to be flying Singapore Airline's A380 soon! Yay!), John and Evonne (visiting from the US), and Auntie Dorothy. (Picture taken with Uncle Peter's camera)

One thing I do like about Montreal right now is the weather. While I'd probably prefer the warmth of Singapore, it has been relatively warm here in Montreal since I got back, and I'm thankful for that (makes getting used to this place easier). :) Every time I step outside, I feel like I'm in Europe, because I've only ever experienced this weather (esp. temperature) in Europe, either when skiing, or just when on holiday there. The air is fresh and crisp (ok, maybe not fresh, but it seems like it because it's so cold), and I love seeing my breath when I exhale (you know, the little cloud that vanishes really quickly). :) Yesterday and today are beatiful: the sky is blue, and the sun is out. I'm so glad the weather's like this rather than -30 degrees C, which is what they had about 1.5 weeks ago (in addition to a huge snow storm). Unfortunately, because the weather reminds me of Europe, I wish I was there now, visiting all my family members! I miss you!

Well, that's it from me. I hope you enjoyed this post. I'm very proud of myself for having written so much. :) I wish you all a Happy New Year, and hope you're all well!

PS: The pictures taken at Jalan Kayu were taken by Uncle Peter, or with Uncle Peter's camera.