im at the happiest place on earth ♥
but without, nothing good feels as good, i feel like im missing a little happy part of me.

christmas time is here again(: and the new year, im looking forward to it.


Miriam Beard once said “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”

I cannot agree more. When I first got accepted into Boston College, I was actually not all that psyched to be spending the semester here. Survive through the extreme cold and harsh weathers of New England’s winter? No, thank you, I think I will pass. I am a beach person; I love the sun, sand, and sea. I am from Singapore, of which is it perpetual summer and where it is never less than 75 degrees. In fact, I wanted to go to San Diego, and it was my first choice. I guess, however, fate had a slightly different plan for me. Yet, as this semester is coming to a close, and after the weather that we had over the weekend, I am glad to say that it has definitely been a heck of an experience. A great and wonderful experience. Boston gave me something California would never have - snow. The sight of snow over the weekend felt almost magical, waking up to see the cars and roofs covered in pure white goodness were almost a present in itself. It is like Christmas came early for me. And after having a snowball fight at midnight outside my apartment with a bunch of the most awesome friends that I could possibly ask for, I can finally say that my exchange in Boston finally feels complete.

It didn’t feel all too long ago that I took off from Singapore to Boston. There’s a Chinese proverb that says “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” Okay, in my case, we have to make that TEN thousand miles. I was alone. Again. This time to a country ten thousand miles away from home and that is, for once, not even an exaggeration. That all too familiar feeling began when I hugged my friends and family good bye, stomach in knots, yet saying with a smile that these four months would fly by in a blink of an eye. The unfamiliarity of new terrains and not knowing anyone in the same continent as I was in was pretty intimidating to say the least. However, as I stepped onto the plane, I knew that the next four months is going to be the most exciting time of my life.

The first week in Boston went by a in such a flurry I can barely remember anything, everything happened so quickly - making friends, getting a new apartment, getting phone lines and internet set up and basically just settling in. It was definitely a tiring, tedious, tremendous task to be done all in a week. However, I got to know other exchange students, 3 of which turned out to be my roommates. And for people that I have never known in my life, we were a pretty perfect fit for a group of completely different people. For someone who has never shared much of my things for I was an only child for 10 years, I had to live with sharing my room with someone that I did not even know. It turned out to be really fun, sharing a room meant 24/7 company and my roommate and I turned out to be really good friends.


Being in Boston meant travelling every single chance I could! With my roommates and friends, hand in hand, we came, we saw and we conquered. Throughout these four months, we have visited New York City, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Niagara Falls, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, as well as Montreal and Quebec City in Canada. It was a time of firsts for everyone. For me, last weekend was my first time ice skating in an open space! Also, I had my virgin experience of eating a pumpkin pie, going for a football game, dressing up as a pixie for Halloween, having cranberry sauce on turkeys, and even using a fake ID because apparently being 20 isn’t old enough in the US.

Everything that was the norm in this culture was such a surprise for me. Even the studying habits here amaze me. When I found out that I had to go to school every single day, I thought I saw my timetable wrong, in Australia having the 3 day week was the usual for me. Yet, here, the typical BC student finesses her mountain of projects, assignments and term assessments while finding the time to turn up, unflustered and glamorous for the endless number of parties. Up till now, I am still impressed by how everyone does it.

Have you ever been in a country that you can drive from one end to the other in 45 minutes? Well, that is because Singapore is that country, my country, a tiny red dot on the world map, and as much as I love my home, there is so much to see out there and Boston College gave me an experience that I can speak on endlessly about. It is not every day that a person from Singapore can say that she attended an NBA game, or went to Hollywood, and saw the houses of the Beckhams, Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz and many other celebrities in Beverly Hills. All the television dramas somehow came to life as I see noticeable scenes and spots from movies, like central park and the MET steps where ‘Gossip Girl’ is constantly being filmed at, the St Regis hotel in NYC where there was a scene in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. It is as if the big screen has come to life, right in front of me. I was so terribly excited.

For the wonderful experience, I have to thank my parents, the most understanding and supportive parents in the world, for financing my trip, and all my whims and desires, just to make me happy. Also, I am so grateful for my friends back in Singapore and Australia, who kept in touch through emails and instant messaging, making sure I was settling in well, and sending me a bunch of stuff for my twenty-first birthday which made me feel so loved. Being in Boston for the past semester has had its ups and downs. I missed the food in Singapore, the atrociously hot and humid weather, the friends that I have not seen in months, and my family, but because of my roommates and friends that I got to know in this short period of time, the magic of snow and its effect it has on my mood, and for everything else, Boston somehow managed to make up for it.

A speech from my public speaking class, summing up my exchange.
im leaving the apartment in less than an hour. and there is this funny feeling in my stomach. im going to miss it so so much. on the other hand, i cant wait to meet family. i wish mom dad and farrell were here, i think its my first christmas without them): alright. time to look through everything and make sure im all set.


you got to learn to love whats good for you.

tomorrow touring will start, and after two weeks, i will be back in singapore. i have not even left yet and i miss boston already. its the escapism i think. everything here is new, fresh, without memories, its my very own space.

okay, back to watching new moon. better see someone's heart break than deal with my own. haha i cant believe i even said that.


Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky

School was so gorgeous this morning. that was before the guys started shoveling the snow and the rain making it all slushy. the entire campus was white, pure white. the trees were completely covered, as were the grass, steps, roofs, everything. it was bloody cold, but i could stand there forever just watching the snow fall on everything (: that moment was just simple, nothing on my mind, just looking up at the sky, bliss. one week left, i dont want to leave. i miss home, but il miss it here so much more. boston has grown on me, i love it here, i want this week to last the longest possible. please let it snow more before i leave...

im supposed to be studying, but taking a break sounds like a much better option. haha. i dont understand how i can manage to study two subjects in two days. sigh. okay, back to work. a couple pictures because i cant help but love the snow :) <3<3<3







kinda feels like love<3 white christmassss please. :)


HELL week has begun its official and i dont know what to do about it because seriously, things like that dont happen in aussie. zz.

well, on the bright side. I will be free after friday. thats only 4 days away, but whether i can survive these four days is like a different matter altogether. i am already feeling so so tired): sigh. mom dad and farrell have been away for what seems like the longest time ever! haven spoken to them since i went to LA. i need to talk to people to get through this week, its day one and i am already dying. dying. d y i n g. yawn.

also last week, i realised that my tutor doesnt know my name. BRILLIANT. after 14 weeks of school she doesnt know my NAME at all- good bye class participation grade. haha. well, there was snow over the weekend, and i wrote a speech about my exchange for class today, haha maybe il paste it here. 3 of the people in class mentioned i was 'best improved' speaker in the semester. yayy! i guess, i did, but since i m not too good now, i must have really sucked before that.

haha, okay its 730 now. i have to be back in school at 830 for a group meeting. i hope 830 never comes because i wanna just sit here in bed, hoping time can stop so i can sleep.