it's kinda sad sometimes when you realised that time has passed. place has changed and inevitably. people has changed too. or maybe. they have changed back to whom they were before you know them. even though you always know deep down inside yourself. that the whole exchange most probably will be a single episode and there will be no continuation.

even till date. i still feel like i am living a dream and i am not fully awake yet. i just can't help but go back and look at all those exchange photos. look at all those beautiful scenery shots. look at all those places that i am glad i was once there. even if the weather is horrendous. even if the lighting is not good etc. even if the place is under permanent restoration work or construction.

every time i met up with any of the exchange singaporean-st gallen people. our conversation will always circle back to the days we spent together in europe and all the stunts that we pulled or others pulled. and we will still be laughing at those incidents even though they are repeated for the 10000th times. but yahz. i will still laugh and laugh and laugh.

we never fail to laugh at:
1. chai wie wah hugging ban2's leg and calling bear2's name in the middle of the night when we were in florence. apparently he was hitting ban2 throughout the night. and frm then onwards. we know how much chai wie wah bottled inside himself...

2. chai wie wah flinging off his trademark eye mask in the middle of the night in rome while growling loudly simultaneously. this happened when i was the only person awake using internet. and the next thing i know is that bear2 'woke up' and sat up suddenly. and she just sat there staring at me. and i gently coaxed her back to sleep... apparently she had no recollection of the event the next morning.

3. ban2's notorious fried rice. hahahaz. i was really glad that i never encounter it in real life =)

4. ban2's uselessness when it comes to road trips. coz he holds a auto license while all the cars we rented are manual so as to save money.

5. some of us (girls) uselessness when it comes to spiders. hahahaz. we actually sos-ed for help in the middle of the night because 3 of us discovered a spider in the kitchen and that resulted in beep2 foreva reminding us how he had to come downstairs to help us catch spider

6. how destructive i am. whateva i touched will die. for example. when i first reached st gallen. i blew like all the bulbs in my room within 2 weeks. my internet was down (in the end it wasn't my fault). and my laptop battery had a sudden death from the moment i landed in switzerland. rendering me/my lappie powerless. furthermore. which ever country i stepped into during my after term travels will lose the europe cup. that explains why spain won becoz i didnt go to spain.

7. chai wie wah shouting/growling 'it's so hot' in the middle of the night when we were in austria on road trip.

8. beep2's drunken act 2 weeks into our exchange. when he got so drunk that he almost didnt make it home.

9. some of us (girls) first impression of chai wie wah and beep2 is 'these 2 weirdos' are living above us!!!

10. beep2's rather bad driving during our first road trip to germany. when he stalled so many times i am kinda worried about my safety. hahahaz. not forgetting chai wie wah's persistent too-right driving that we missed the lamposts. parked cars etc on our right by a few inches only.

11. the silly helicopter thing that mr gan brought along when we celebrated my birthday at the 3 ponds. which kept on kena stuck in the trees and he and chai wie wah tried all means to get it down e.g. throw water bottles. throw shoes etc. i laughed until i almost got a stitch.

12. how cheap m-budget. migros' home brand. is as compared to any other brands. seriously. the price is most of the time. 50% of the competitors for the same amount or the same price for double of the amount.

13. how stubborn chai wie wah is. and the fact that he actually carried all our groceries (that normally required 4 girls to carry) back for us.

14. how black faced beep2 can be e.g. in interlaken.

15. how ban2 is perpetually thinking about geri at all times during the after term travels. he had to mention her at least once everyday or else he will feel very uncomfortable.

16. the policeman incident that chai wie wah n beep2 encountered in poland. when they mistook a policeman for a conman. and how they almost missed their transfer bus back to st gallen from poland because they didnt understand polish.

17. the special 'show' that ban2 hosted. with mr lai as the audience and beep2 as the special guest.

18. how we almost lost our way following the gps during our road trip in austria. 8 people in a 5 seater. and it was snowing.

19. the night we spent in venice train station so as to catch the shuttle bus provided by ryan air the next morning. when everywan is geared up to brave the cold night. with mosquitoes stalking us.
~ tham2 looking like a rich man's wife who is on her way to catch her husband having an affair because she wrapped her scarf around her head and face and wore her sunglasses. even in the middle of the night when i turned around to face her. with 800+ myopia in each eye. i still laughed at her.
~ ban2 looking like a gangster because he wore his black winter jacket and pulled his hood up
~ mr lai looking like a skiier because he were wearing his winter jacket and even his gloves

20. crazy stunts that only beep2 did e.g. walking at the D-day beach alone and swimming at monaco coast (ok he persuaded chai wie wah) and swimming in cold adriatic sea in croatia when he had finished freshening himself up for the day.

21. ban2 and his loyal mini toons bag that still tore in amsterdam. he is not seen without his mini toon bag in many of the photos taken in italy. france and netherlands.

22. how the guys smile.
~ chai wie wah got the 'show all my teeth aka i dont know how to smile' smile.
~ ban2 got the pageant boy smile. you can almost see the spark in his eyes.
~ mr lai got the 'no smile' smile. apparently it's becoz we took too long to take a photo
~ beep2 got the cheeky and the as if he knows everything smile
~ mr gan got the most natural smile...hahahahaz.

23. how photo whore ban2 is. yet he complains about geri...

24. how slow bear2 takes photos because she must wait for everywan to leave the subject she wants to take. which is impossible lahz seriously.

25. the intriguing relationship between mr lai and ban2. how they always ended up together. i mean travel together or be seen together. they lived together in st gallen. travelled together after term and during term. they are even born in the same month.

26. how beep2 resemble a big chef when he is cooking that we ask him to open a zi char (cooked dishes) stall when he comes back to singapore.

27. how mr lai and ban2 forgot to pay for their last train ticket in swiss. when they were going to the airport frm st gallen. they were so engrossed in the game of bridge that they only realised when the conductor is in the adjacent carriage. becoz the train is a double deck train. they went upstairs to see another conductor at the next carriage too. so they waited until the conductor who is downstairs to pass before going downstairs and hid in the toilet. and mr lai actually said that lucky he got watch prison break. wow liao. hahahaha.

28. tham2 and i almost drowned in nice though both of us can swim simply because the waves are so so so so strong and huge! to think we were laughing at ban2 and mr lai when they were in the water originally. i somersaulted once the first time i was in the waters when the waves come. then i somersaulted twice the next time i was in the water. and i learnt not to laugh at other people. because i was laughing at mr lai then the wave came and i drank so much water i almost choked. hahahaz. poor tham2 and me had to ask for help from mr lai to stand up after the assault by the waves...

29. all the unglam photos that ban2 took of us all. everyone. his camera is the one and only one with the mode call 'unglam' because almost all the photos he took of aniwan except himself are damn unglam. tham2 and my nice photos are really horrific!!!

30. the meditating cow that we saw in zaanse schaans. the super windy place. hahahaz. it just sit there n meditate. and not forgetting the cat which was doing its big business and ban2. mr lai and tham2 were like engrossed watching it clean up itself. while i m as usual taking photos =)

31. how we squeeze 8 people into a 5 seater car. well. we have 2 drivers who take turns to drive and they are mr lai and mr gan. then the rest of us squeeze behind. i sat next to the door. almost falling off the seat if not for the passenger/driver seat to give me support. chai wie wah sat next to me with tham2 on top of him. then beside him is bear2. then lastly is ban2 with geri on top of him. this is one crazy arrangement because whenever we stop at traffic light. adjacent car driver and passenger(s) will be like giving us double take looks. hahahaz. cause they cannt believe how many people there are at the back seat. they even tried to count the number of people. hilarious. mind you each journey is at least 3 to 4 hours. so imagine our discomfort.

32. the mini avalanche that we witnessed when we were at jungfraujoch. the highest alps in switzerland. where the usually calm. man of few words. mr lai actually shouted 'run!'. and ban2 were still happily snapping photos of the scene.

33. in interlaken. switzerland. we went to play at this playground which has this thing that resemble those running wheel we see in the hamster cages. juz that it's big enough to fit some human (or silly people). well alot of not so clever people ran inside there...and fall with both legs and arms high up in the air. e.g. ban2 and beep2.

34. also in interlaken. switzerland. at the same playground. there was this merry-go-round. so many of us climbed in and then. the siaoz chai wie wah and beep2 started turning it at high and neck breaking speed. seriously at that point of time. everything around me was a blur except the people sitting with me. n i kept on staring straight at mr lai because he was sittin directly opposite me and that's the only place i can look without feeling giddy. this makes me swear off merry-go-round for the next few years at least.

35. tham2's luggages. charlie and bobby and burrow. hahahahaz. charlie that cant stand straight. bobby who also cannt stand straight. and the cute burrow =)

36. my luggages. gorzilla (which is 37 kg when i flew back to singapore). bazuka which is this huge tote bag that i throw wateva i cant fit in my blue colour 'turtle shell' my backpack.

37. mr lai's luggages. zac (his backpack) and why (his trolley). and ban2's luggages. dolphin (trolley). and cockroach (backpack).

38. the fact that we forced ban2 to ride up slope. on a busy road with cars zoomin past us every minute and carry luggage and cycle at the same time. on his first day he learned how to cycle.

39. how lousy a skiier i am. when we were at lenzerheide in switzerland. i will always ski down this slope and ended up on its left bank where there is a ditch. seriously. without fail. 9 times out of 10 times. hahahaz.

40. how kay key and i will always play the 'spot-the-lai' game in france. because mr lai always mia (walk off on his own) then when we wanna move on or take grp pictures then we need to look for him. because of the clothes he wears e.g. black jacket or black/dark blue shirt. most of the time he blends in with the surroundings and we cant see him.

41. we played hide and seek in salzburg. austria. in a maze. and i still remember how tham2 and bear2 ran and screamed at the same time. telling everywan where they are exactly. hahahaz. i was hiding behind some bush while chai wie wah distracted the catchers away. unfortunately i was still caught. too big to be camouflaged. hahahaz.

42. geri. bear2. tham2 and me sang "do. re. me." in salzburg. austria. at the same site where sound of music was filmed. gosh. it's still on facebook and i really really want to untag myself. it's utter disgrace.

43. how bear2. geri. ban2. tham2 n me managed to spend the whole day in liechtenstein. the country is even smaller that singapore. n there is seriously nothing to see becoz the castle was under restoration work and the most interesting sight is actually a ruins. n we still manage to take so mani photos.

44. how accident prone bear2 is. seriously. quoting other pple. she create "disasters" so that chai wie wah can clean up. hahahahahahaz.

45. how accident prone i am without bear2 around me. apparently tham2 was shocked that i can be as accident prone if not worse than bear2. i knocked my head against the double deck bed in brugge. that resulted in me having a ugly bump on my head for around a week. coupled with a bruise.

ok that's all i can think of so far. will update more if i remember anything else. i m really scared that i will forget alot of things. and i sorta have already forgotten alot of events.

even if other people don't make the effort to stay in contact. as least i did. i guess we will never go back to the st gallen days. but at least i can say that those days do have an impact on me. maybe we will lose contact over time. maybe we will not see each other again. but i am glad that you were part of my memories. and that we had so much fun together.

i believe in miracles becoz i would be much happier if i do @ 10:57 pm

to all my friends. who are reading this now. yes. this is a new entry dated in 2008. i applaud your faith in me that one day i will update. hahahaz. and here it is. a new and like usual. extremely long long long entry =D

i promised to blog during my exchange. but because i was travelling almost every week end i spent in switzerland... i guess i don't have much time to sit down and pen down my thoughts. but i guess i should at least dedicate one entry to the most memorable. exciting. challenging. enriching. enjoyable 5 months in my life so far to do justice to how this exchange has changed me in one way or another.

well. i flew off in a frenzy. bought my luggage 2 weeks before my flight. then it was postponed n i flew off with tham2 and bear2. as it's my first trip overseas by myself. kinda not sure what i should pack and what i shouldnt. guess i packed quite a bit of irrelevant stuff. hahahaz. luggage was overweight and had to repack at the airport.

wanna sae thanx to darling son n her mama. ah keow. marlom khar. joanne. melzone. amir mummy for sending me off. even though my flight to zurich is at such an ungodly hour. 1am in the morning. hahahaz. i seriously thought no one will send me off. even my family didnt see me enter the departure gates. on the another note. i was very happy to hear my song dedication been read out on 93.3 fm. heee

had a rather uncomfortable flight even though it was SQ. was feeling freaking freaking stuffy (i had to fan myself and asked for water non-stop) and squashed. partly because the girl next to me was sleeping on my shoulder and i find the engine sound too loud for comfort. should hav juz forego sleep like i did on my return flight and chiong movies. i managed to finish 5 movies on my way back =) n i discovered my love for european movies!

reached zurich at 8 am in the morning. switzerland time. 7 hours difference. i still remember pushing my luggage through the arrival gates. still remember i telling myself that 'i am finally here'. still remember breathing in my first breath of cold fresh morning air in switzerland. still remember being in a frenzy at the train station unsure of what to do. still remember how bear2 and tham2 had to take instant photos after a 13 hours flight. still remember how we managed to get our (or my) oversized luggages onto the correct platform and the train in the end. still remember how we took turns to run down to guard our luggages while we were seated at the upper deck of the train. still remember how shocked we were to see how much a bottle of lemon tea cost in a convenience shop. and how tham2 and bear2 laughed at me when i mistook a sheep for a cow during our train ride (and they never fail to remind me of that from then onwards...)

reached st gallen. met up with some of the singaporeans. met michelle one of my housemates for the first time. rushed home to deposit luggage (with lotsa help from mr gan). rushed to migros which is singapore's ntuc. to buy food because it was a saturday and shops closes early and don't open on sunday. after that. rushed to ikea to buy some stuff like clothes hanger etc. went to mr lai. mr gan and banban's house to eat dinner. all i remembered was that i was so tired that i dozed off on the sofa in banban's room while they were preparing dinner. and that nite. when i was waiting at the tram stop for the tram to come. i had never felt so cold in my life even though i was wearing 4 layers. a t-shirt. a long sleeves. my jacket. n my coat. i couldnt stop shivering at all.

switzerland is a beautiful country in my eyes. it is very similiar to singapore. and it's like a second home to me. i know my way around the various cities. even if i had not been to that city i am sure i will be able to figure out my way. it's safe and clean. the people are generally very helpful. e.g. the guys will help us (girls) carry luggages up and down the steps. n it has all the beautiful natural scenary that singapore dont have.

i saw my first snow-capped mountains there. i saw my first rolling meadows there. i saw my first snow there. i had my first snow fight there. i spend my first winter and spring there. i skiied for the first time in my life there. i cycled more than 80 km in one day there. i cycled/hiked nearly 12 hours in one day there. i did my first hike in snow there. i learned how to cook there. i learned how to survive on yogurt. chocolates. biscuits and potatoes chips there. i learned how to walk faster there because everyone else walks faster than me. i learned to walk more than 6 hours everyday there. i learned to climb stairs/slopes quickly. i learned how to take care of myself and others there. i even learn how to repair my internet connection there.

i love the weather. maybe not the rain. but i do love the snow very much because i know that i wouldn't have much opportunity to see snow for a long time. i love the cold and the dryness because i can walk and walk and walk and yet not sweat much. i love when the sun is bright and the sky is blue. so blue that it appears to be a dream. i saw rainbows too. and the clean fresh air is perhaps the reason why swiss has such long life expectancies.

n i celebrated my birthdae...first time overseas. n it's the coming of age year =) the weather was fantastic. had the celebration at the most scenic spot in st gallen. at one of the slopes that make up the valley st gallen is situated in. it was very simple but very nice. everywan brought food or drinks and i got to eat ice cream. which is a luxury. i really really love my birthdae celebration and a big thank you to you. my dear tham2 for organising.

i miss walking around until my feet aches when i am travelling. i miss taking photos non-stop. i miss laughing at tham2 and banban when they are engaged in their bickering session. i miss msn-ing everyone even though we might be in the same house or the same building. i miss cooking and eating with michelle. tham2 and geri. i miss nagging at the girls to clean the house. i miss eating beep2's food and mr wah's food too. i miss all the gatherings we have because there are so many singaporeans there. i miss walking to school in the morning armed with lunch boxes. i miss climbing all those notorious slopes to school. i miss all the crazy things i had done [squeezing 8 people into a 5 seater. walking more than 10km in Normany, France. sleeping in 2 train stations, Chiasso and Venice. sleeping in an airport alone, Berlin Tegal. Travelling alone for 8 days in Croatia, Berlin and Zermatt. almost drowned in Nice with tham2 because the waves were so huge and strong] i miss the 2 road trips even though i can't drive. i miss m-budget food. i miss long train rides on sbb. i miss living as if there is noting to worry about. as though life is just simply beautiful. i miss laughing hard everyday. i miss seeing new things. i miss seeing new places and people. i miss travelling with everyone. i miss suan-ing the guys about the way they smile.

to tham2. candy. bear2. mr wah. beep2. mr lai. banban. michelle. mr gan. geri. maccann. luyi. bingkai. shufen. shuanghan. ernest. tammy. jin rui. khalid. thanks for all the wonderful memories in st gallen and beyond.

to kay key. charlene and yokey. thanks for all the fun during our travels together.

to christian. markus. simon. boran. marija. marko. thanks for the hospitality when i was in austria and croatia. i was really glad to see all of you though i don't know when will be our next meeting. to christian especially. you are the best host i could ever have. and i am very grateful to your family for their kindess.

alot of things have happened during this exchange. i have grown and learnt alot. even though i have alot alot of accidents. from losing my camera. to knocking my head against the double decker bed in brugge. belgium and got myself a bump on the forehead and a bruise for more than a week. to postponing my return flight unexpectedly. to almost couldn't fly my luggages home. to breaking my armani sunglasses once i am home.

but i will never trade anything for this whole experience. this is the best birthdae presenz i can ever give to myself and i am glad i did. even though i have to pay for it over the next 3 years.

life is a journey and maybe this is just a beginning...

i believe in miracles becoz i would be much happier if i do @ 11:50 pm