The Giant Magnifying Glass

Things are amplified and intensified when you are overseas - far away from shelter and security. Days seem a little longer here cuz there is no "going home" feeling... you are constantly on the move and constantly looking after every nitty gritty. At home, you can sit back for a good 12 hours everyday - 4 hrs semi nua-ing time at home + 8 hrs of peaceful sleep knowing that ur parents are in the next room and knowing that your neighbourhood is safe at night - something we lack here.

I guess being away have allowed me to look at things from a different prespective. Not just look look, but really experiencing and looking deep into the matter. its easy for me to sit back in my room in singapore and go "hmm yeah if i was alone in another place... things would be like this or that... I would learn to be independent, etc"... but thinking and imagining can never match the real experience.

Not that i never knew it, but over here, it really sinks in how so much my parents mean to me. And now that they are older, i do worry for them. I usually think of them in the mornings when i wake. Like a passing thought and i smile and go "hello dad, hope u have a good day at work" sorta thing.

And not that i wanna quit and run home now; i am still embracing this experience.

Its not just family and friends that i miss as individuals... its the life and the happenings. When i first arrived here, we were made to attend orientation lectures which taught us about starting a new life away from home - the uprooting and rerooting business. I remember clearly the diagram of a tree and the animation that came along with it... man, i do feel like that tree now - growing cuz im learning ... and cuz of the undying support from a few important pple. A life changing experience calls for a life long gratitude...

And i just wanna say, "i'll be there for you... cuz you're there for me too."