|
Saturday, July 14, 2007
hello, peeps! =]this might be a bit late, but it is a special dedication to my STPRI buddies. Was caught up in a inter-school competition last week and was too busy than to upload these few photos. Well, I gotta say that those days in Brunei felt like heaven, without parents telling you what to do and being with friends you adore and furthermore without the hindrance of a thought to any homework! Haha. The following is a special dedication of our trip to Brunei to my precious Brunei buddies: On the 28th of june, we departed Singapore from Changi Airport with a mixture of emotions between excitement, anticipation, and apprehension. Mr Zain and Mdm Alina accompanied us on our journey to discovery. To put it more philosophically, it was to "develop more social and cultural skills", as Ms Terry, our vice-principal says. It was really a short flight of not more than 2 hours and the most amazing thing was that I didn't felt airsick for the entire journey compared to the previous flight during december last year when I was mightily trying to resist the volume of vomit building behind my throat from exploding out. haha, disgusting details I was most tempted to reveal=] We landed soon after and before we entered the airport at the linkway from the plane to the airport, the teachers reminded us to be on our best behaviour. With our passports stamped and luggage taken, we proceeded to meet our Brunei buddies for the first time. I really felt nice and happy and great when you guys greeted us. You were so friendly with nice welcoming smiles on your faces!=] I confided in Clara that I felt like a celebrity, especially when they started taking group pictures there and then. We were told to divide ourselves into two buses, where each bus would hold about 10 people with a teacher each. I was immensely grateful for the fact that we could stay in a hotel, for the usual resting area for exchange groups were school hostels. The hotel we were staying in was named "Trader's Inn" and we felt a little worried about heaving our luggage up the stairs to our rooms for there was no lifts. We still managed in the end. Before we could retire after our flight to our rooms where we would spend the three nights, we had light refreshments at the cafe in the hotel, where I very coincidentally met my uncle who was also in Brunei to take part in a sports meet and was also staying at that particular hotel. While we had our meal, the travel plan for the next few days was related to us. We did not really do much unpacking, but I think we rested for a bit before we went down to meet at the lobby to be fetched to Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Raja Isteri for our first glimpse at your school and also our first dinner in Brunei. We were invited to a prayer session which only Muslims took part in whereas we sat by the side respectfully to watch. Thereafter, we had our meal which was served buffet style which I would come to know that most of my future meals in Brunei would be served in this way too. The first night did not provide much sleep as I was unaccustomed to sleep in unfamiliar surroundings. We did not bother to wash our hair that night as it was too late. Thus, we woke up earlier in the morning at perhaps 6 to do it. We met in the lobby at 7 and had our breakfast. I remembered we had some chicken mee with vegetables thingy. Beverages were always tea, coffee or plain water. I had forgotten what we did later on in the day. However, the second night was much pleasant in the sense that I managed to sleep from 12.30 to 6.15. We only got to sleep on the third night at 1 due to the fact that we returned late and thus bathed late. During our trip, we got to visit a mosque and cute little villages which rested upon pillars in the Brunei river while speeding in a boat which provided more than adequate ventilation. Occasional sprays caught our faces too. We also took pictures of the Sultan's Istana when we were passing by on the river. We got to go to a mall and also visited their pasar malam, the night market. We also attended a malay wedding. We also got to shake hands with the Raja Isteri, the queen and also the second wife of the sultan when they visited the school as they celebrate their 50th anniversary. Their hands were terribly icy cold! We couldn't get a picture of them however, which was quite a pity. What touched me was that at the school, students smiled at us, they wanted to take pictures with us, and a pair of them actually bought bangles to remember them by! They were so cute and terribly adorable! =] What I would never forget is all the friendships that I have gained through my trip to Brunei. You guys have made me happy throughout the trip, and welcomed us, and took such pain in planning our trip and made sure we felt comfortable in Brunei, took such good care of us, and most importantly of all, you made these days the greatest days of my life! Here's a poem: It's gonna be sad To say good- bye. I'll miss everyone. I know I will cry. I don't wanna say good- bye To all my friends. I don't want this trip To come to an end. Here's mine: As we enter the gates departure, we left you guys in the midst of tears and laughter We have memories Kept in our minds. Never to forget The days in Brunei Friends, you are to us Which we hold dear to our hearts. That scene at the airport made me cry too. Though we would still contact each other, but we wouldn't be seeing anyone soon.=] Thanks for all that you gave us, the memorable moments that we had. Good-bye and take care! |
Me
PROFILE { YIQIAN
=)
tagboard
TAGTAG..=]=] links[: { BLOGSHOP
credits
layout: detonatedlove♥image: anjali patterns: minty_peach archives
|