Went to bed and woke up this morning feeling rather pensive, and musing about similar things.
As I think of various places I consider 'home', I'm glad they exist because of the people and connections made. Practically and logically speaking, it might be a form of inefficiency, to have to miss and think about all these people, because it is obviously only humanly possible to be one place at once.
However, i continue to be enriched and touched by them, even from the middle of the freaking ocean. So I'm glad I tend to choose quality over quantity - or rather, it's okay that I can't do superficial interaction and am awkward at making new friends because I can't really do small talk (for now at least, I hope I learn before I work). The past 2 days on the ship have made me really happy with the group I have here, even as everyone from back at 'home' is constantly at the back of my mind.
When this voyage ends, I can safely say there will be at least another few people, from all over the US or the world, who I will always look forward to hearing from.
AND IT'S ONLY BEEN 3.5 WEEKS THIS IS UNREAL.
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Monday, 17 September 2012
Less than a month in
And it feels like Singapore was a lifetime ago already.
The last few days in port were perfect - a leisurely yet purposeful exploration of Ghent, Antwerp and Bruges, i felt like we really got a feel of the place, especially the former, and I left thinking that Belgium had severely surpassed my expectations. Its not just a stopover between France, Holland and Germany, but a place with its own pulse and spirit. The architecture was stunning, and simply strolling around could make us stop agape as we turned the corner. It's telling that I don't have many photos despite that beauty - we were truly immersed in the place, more interested in discovery and enjoying the moment rather than capturing it for show or posterity.
The war museum in Brussels was great. Airplanes of the past galore on top of endless displays of costumes and weapons, and entry was free?! The psychiatric museum in Ghent must have been my favorite museum yet. It's housed in a mental institution that's still in operation up to today, and had interactive displays on both the history of psychiatric care and how it's developing. Most provoking though were the artwork done by the patients, walking through the relatively empty galleries sometimes got so creepy I had to hurry out, not just because of the limit of 3 hours we had there, which was way too short. Guess it's true when they say art is that which stimulates your senses, mind or soul.
We decided to take a day trip to Breda - literally the closest town in Holland to Antwerp that potentially held anything of interest, as that is where we described to the train ticket seller we wanted to go (we didn't want to travel almost 3 hours each way to Amsterdam, and were too cheap to pay 40euro instead of 20). Good decision - as we encountered yet another quality museum, this time of Graphic Design, with displays from artists around the world to illustrate how it could be used it virtually EVERY field. it was such a good trip we even went back the next day, having found out that the town's biggest music festival of the year was going on in the park, for free. We also managed to squeeze in some exploration of Antwerp, which is especially stunning at night.
Coming back to the ship also feels like a weird dichotomy now. It feels so much like returning home, to a safe and secure environment, but also time in port is never enough and we mourn having to leave the lands we had just begun to discover.
Work is piling in.. but yet it's become more difficult to get down to it. There are distractions all around, but mostly the material still hasn't picked up the way I hoped it would and is tedious, but not as stimulating as the classes I'm used to.
Something insightful i learned recently: When in doubt, always look for and go back to the Home of your highest self.
As friendships deepen through traveling or meaningful interaction on the ship, certain decisions have to be made, and in a sense it ironically gets harder to plan time in ports. It becomes a toss-up between wanting to hang out and enjoy the company of SAS friends, or venture out in smaller groups, spending more time with locals or even being alone. Either way, I trust my gut to tell me what to do. It's served us well so far…… :p
Portugal in 2 days!! TIme to stuff my face with egg tarts wooooo
The last few days in port were perfect - a leisurely yet purposeful exploration of Ghent, Antwerp and Bruges, i felt like we really got a feel of the place, especially the former, and I left thinking that Belgium had severely surpassed my expectations. Its not just a stopover between France, Holland and Germany, but a place with its own pulse and spirit. The architecture was stunning, and simply strolling around could make us stop agape as we turned the corner. It's telling that I don't have many photos despite that beauty - we were truly immersed in the place, more interested in discovery and enjoying the moment rather than capturing it for show or posterity.
The war museum in Brussels was great. Airplanes of the past galore on top of endless displays of costumes and weapons, and entry was free?! The psychiatric museum in Ghent must have been my favorite museum yet. It's housed in a mental institution that's still in operation up to today, and had interactive displays on both the history of psychiatric care and how it's developing. Most provoking though were the artwork done by the patients, walking through the relatively empty galleries sometimes got so creepy I had to hurry out, not just because of the limit of 3 hours we had there, which was way too short. Guess it's true when they say art is that which stimulates your senses, mind or soul.
We decided to take a day trip to Breda - literally the closest town in Holland to Antwerp that potentially held anything of interest, as that is where we described to the train ticket seller we wanted to go (we didn't want to travel almost 3 hours each way to Amsterdam, and were too cheap to pay 40euro instead of 20). Good decision - as we encountered yet another quality museum, this time of Graphic Design, with displays from artists around the world to illustrate how it could be used it virtually EVERY field. it was such a good trip we even went back the next day, having found out that the town's biggest music festival of the year was going on in the park, for free. We also managed to squeeze in some exploration of Antwerp, which is especially stunning at night.
Coming back to the ship also feels like a weird dichotomy now. It feels so much like returning home, to a safe and secure environment, but also time in port is never enough and we mourn having to leave the lands we had just begun to discover.
Work is piling in.. but yet it's become more difficult to get down to it. There are distractions all around, but mostly the material still hasn't picked up the way I hoped it would and is tedious, but not as stimulating as the classes I'm used to.
Something insightful i learned recently: When in doubt, always look for and go back to the Home of your highest self.
As friendships deepen through traveling or meaningful interaction on the ship, certain decisions have to be made, and in a sense it ironically gets harder to plan time in ports. It becomes a toss-up between wanting to hang out and enjoy the company of SAS friends, or venture out in smaller groups, spending more time with locals or even being alone. Either way, I trust my gut to tell me what to do. It's served us well so far…… :p
Portugal in 2 days!! TIme to stuff my face with egg tarts wooooo
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Things that have struck me in Belgium so far:
- It truly is a country of contradictions. I have met the nicest people here, and also those that are just plain rude (although it might just be the language barrier). Thankfully, the nice ones outnumber them 3 to 1 ITS CRAZY I keep thinking I'm still in Ireland, except it is that much more impressive because they don't speak English
- Reminded all the time of the universality of human communication despite the lack of a common language
- Europe is really becoming a cultural melting pot.
- There is never enough time to explore a new place.
- I will never cease to marvel at the stunning work of ancient architecture.
- Good food can be found everyyyyywhere. I am as piggish (or even more) as always
- Travelling alone adds an extra dimension of vulnerability that can attract some interesting experiences, but there's nothing like the comfort of being with a like-minded friend
- Reminded all the time of the universality of human communication despite the lack of a common language
- Europe is really becoming a cultural melting pot.
- There is never enough time to explore a new place.
- I will never cease to marvel at the stunning work of ancient architecture.
- Good food can be found everyyyyywhere. I am as piggish (or even more) as always
- Travelling alone adds an extra dimension of vulnerability that can attract some interesting experiences, but there's nothing like the comfort of being with a like-minded friend
Monday, 10 September 2012
Chocolate and waffle overdose
Hello from Belgium!
So I decided that instead of crazy shuttling around Amsterdam/Germany/Paris like 90% of the ship is doing, I'm going to take my time to fall in love with Belgium, enjoying the vibe of the different cities and towns.
Its been a good, chill day - essentially eating our way through Brussels, topped off with amazing Turkish music in front of the beautiful Grand Place, and interesting encounters with someone who works in the EU/nice Belgians.
With the chocolate, people and architecture, there's nothing about our third port that has disappointed me so far.
One observation though - there really are a lot of immigrants, from all over the world. It's interesting, and illuminates the fact that it really isn't a Singaporean phenomena and people might need to stop bitching so much about it but rather engage in constructive dialogue.
Peace out.
So I decided that instead of crazy shuttling around Amsterdam/Germany/Paris like 90% of the ship is doing, I'm going to take my time to fall in love with Belgium, enjoying the vibe of the different cities and towns.
Its been a good, chill day - essentially eating our way through Brussels, topped off with amazing Turkish music in front of the beautiful Grand Place, and interesting encounters with someone who works in the EU/nice Belgians.
With the chocolate, people and architecture, there's nothing about our third port that has disappointed me so far.
One observation though - there really are a lot of immigrants, from all over the world. It's interesting, and illuminates the fact that it really isn't a Singaporean phenomena and people might need to stop bitching so much about it but rather engage in constructive dialogue.
Peace out.
Keep calm and sail on
My London experience was completely different from Ireland. Most people took it a lot more slowly, and this was really evident getting back on the boat today, when everyone was still gathering around like it was a normal day, unlike when we returned from Galway and half the ship just passed out. I took it one step further and didn't do a single touristy thing, telling myself 4 days was way too short and I would save it for this winter!
So, onto the highlights:
- The international management field lab (not kidding) where we met and listened to the stories of the bosses of MONK engagement - 25 years old, never went to university and voted one of the top marketeers in Europe. Just pushes the point that passion, talent, interest and hard work are more important than anything else.
- Bar/club hopping with Steph the first night, when we stumbled upon the fact that in London, no matter how many people try to sell you tickets or the bouncers let you in for 'half price entry', it really isn't that difficult to get in for free.
- Sweeney Todd, which is ending its run, getting lost around SoHo looking for gay bars
- Just spending time chilling with Mich…... stocking up on food for the ship, devouring fresh oysters and wandering around markets. Definitely had not enough time but I can't imagine how it could ever be.
- Failing to find a Comedy Club because we were seduced by Indian food… then getting taken on the trippiest rickshaw ride ever to Fabric
New insights and resolutions about how this trip shall proceed were gleaned. Specifically, shall try to stick to a one club night per port rule. 6 out of 6 nights out on land is intense, on hindsight, and while it is obviously easy and tempting to have fun, that's exactly the kind of SAS participant I did not want to be before the trip. The very American style of partying is also not a pull factor...
I'm not sure how life changing SAS is going to be, despite what everyone says, but one thing's for sure, it's already been an eye-opening experience in more ways than one!
So, onto the highlights:
- The international management field lab (not kidding) where we met and listened to the stories of the bosses of MONK engagement - 25 years old, never went to university and voted one of the top marketeers in Europe. Just pushes the point that passion, talent, interest and hard work are more important than anything else.
- Bar/club hopping with Steph the first night, when we stumbled upon the fact that in London, no matter how many people try to sell you tickets or the bouncers let you in for 'half price entry', it really isn't that difficult to get in for free.
- Sweeney Todd, which is ending its run, getting lost around SoHo looking for gay bars
- Just spending time chilling with Mich…... stocking up on food for the ship, devouring fresh oysters and wandering around markets. Definitely had not enough time but I can't imagine how it could ever be.
- Failing to find a Comedy Club because we were seduced by Indian food… then getting taken on the trippiest rickshaw ride ever to Fabric
New insights and resolutions about how this trip shall proceed were gleaned. Specifically, shall try to stick to a one club night per port rule. 6 out of 6 nights out on land is intense, on hindsight, and while it is obviously easy and tempting to have fun, that's exactly the kind of SAS participant I did not want to be before the trip. The very American style of partying is also not a pull factor...
I'm not sure how life changing SAS is going to be, despite what everyone says, but one thing's for sure, it's already been an eye-opening experience in more ways than one!
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
Ridin'
I'm still not a complete believer in what they say about how we will meet our best friends on this trip and I'm far from being a social prodigy like some of these people are, but I must marvel at how quickly comfortable, easy friendships can be formed over the joys of exploration and travel. Some have reached remarkable depth, and its a little hard to believe that we barely know each other. New information being revealed prompts exclamations like "what! How could I not have known this before?" before we crack up, realizing that we only met less than 2 weeks ago.
Time runs on different planes on Semester at Sea.
Time runs on different planes on Semester at Sea.
Are we human, or are we dancer?
Ireland - 3 nights of revelry and celebration of life, I feel like it wouldn't be an overstatement to declare that it might just have been the best possible way to spend our first port. It is probably also revealing that I was knocked out for 12 hours straight last night. It was also lovely to hear everyone else's stories about their different experiences and watch our ship pulling into and away from the dock, back to a distance where land mass cannot be spotted. What a great thought that this is to be repeated 13 more times before the end of our voyage!
Galway was the perfect place to first step foot on after 8 days of swaying - we all took a while to just revel in the fact that the ground below us was hard, and unmoving. We spent the first day on a walking tour, exploring the charming European architecture of the town, and then leisurely made our way along the Salthill promenade, feeling like hipsters because most of SAS were on day trips out of Galway and we bumped into hardly anyone except when walking down the main pub street. Of course, 500 students is a lot, and we were all reunited barhopping in true irish fashion at night.
Continuing on our avant-garde itinerary, we took a private plane to the Aran Islands the next day, where the only SAS folks we met were faculty. Beautiful plane ride, amazing scenery. We climbed up to the fort, and were delighted that the cliffs there were comparable to the ones at Moher, indeed saving us a trip. Dublin at night was unforgettable as we finally settled into Kitchn after sweet talking our way into the place, then happening upon the best party ever in a pizza parlor just as we were ready to head home.
Electric Picnic was out of this world - just a day spent high on happiness, topped off by seeing the Killers from the second row. Definitely need to go back for another year's picnic.
Was left feeling like we needed at least another week in Ireland, but we topped it off with sweet life music and a last meal in an Irish pub - if 4 days was meant to be a teaser, it succeeded all right.
London tomorrow - unbelievable!
Galway was the perfect place to first step foot on after 8 days of swaying - we all took a while to just revel in the fact that the ground below us was hard, and unmoving. We spent the first day on a walking tour, exploring the charming European architecture of the town, and then leisurely made our way along the Salthill promenade, feeling like hipsters because most of SAS were on day trips out of Galway and we bumped into hardly anyone except when walking down the main pub street. Of course, 500 students is a lot, and we were all reunited barhopping in true irish fashion at night.
Continuing on our avant-garde itinerary, we took a private plane to the Aran Islands the next day, where the only SAS folks we met were faculty. Beautiful plane ride, amazing scenery. We climbed up to the fort, and were delighted that the cliffs there were comparable to the ones at Moher, indeed saving us a trip. Dublin at night was unforgettable as we finally settled into Kitchn after sweet talking our way into the place, then happening upon the best party ever in a pizza parlor just as we were ready to head home.
Electric Picnic was out of this world - just a day spent high on happiness, topped off by seeing the Killers from the second row. Definitely need to go back for another year's picnic.
Was left feeling like we needed at least another week in Ireland, but we topped it off with sweet life music and a last meal in an Irish pub - if 4 days was meant to be a teaser, it succeeded all right.
London tomorrow - unbelievable!
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