These Are The Last Days

Walking towards my hall building few hours ago, I noticed my room's light was off. I thought my roommate Tinglin was asleep already. However as I got in front of the door, I noticed her shoes were gone. I unlocked the door and instead of seeing her, I saw only plushies neatly tucked under her blanket. OH NO! She left without me having a chance to say good bye. I'm not gonna lie, but I got a little teary when I read her note. The morning when I woke her up with my arrival and the luggage noise that I made seems to be really fresh in my memory, just like yesterday.

So with that being said, this is very likely to be my last post written in Singapore as I'm leaving in 2 days. I've spent the past week just studying while being tourist at the same time: visiting places on my list that I haven't gotten a chance to visit. Among them are the St. Andrew's Cathedral, Peranakan Museum, Asian Civilisation Museum, and the Treetop Walk at MacRitchie Reservoir.

Saying goodbye is never easy, but I've been handling it well so far through some of the goodbye dinners I had this week.

Now that it is all about to come to an end, I can't even imagine how my life would've been if I didn't make the choice to come to Singapore in the first place. I wouldn't met these awesome new friends, nor would I traveled to these amazing places. I would've just been a typical Fransisca: clocking in and out of co-op for the rest of the summer, overworking myself with ambitiously packed schedule, looking for jobs that would pay me well after graduation, and just sticking with the status quo.

This semester has definitely been the highlight of my Drexel career and changed my life. My Singapore experience has changed the way I view my life and the ideas of rest, life calling, and community. I've also been challenged to step out of my comfort zone and complacency in many situations and without God's providence, I would never had the strength to go through it all. In a way, I'm sad to pack all these memories with me as I leave this place. But on the other hand, exciting stuffs are waiting for me in the States. Talking with friends back in Philly as we plan things to do this winter has definitely helped in getting me pumped once again for the  rest half of my senior year.

Good night, Singapore! I will miss you just like a migrated Singaporean does.

Happy Thanksgiving from Singapore

I know it's a little bit belated, but happy thanksgiving to you all in the States! I really miss my American thanksgiving: thanksgiving day breakfast with my church family, hosting my best friend Ei for thanksgiving dinner at our home, staying up for black Friday shopping, decorating the house for Christmas, and heading to perform Balinese dances for the annual Bali to Bala opening night. I didn't get to do the traditional thanksgiving meal here since 1) I don't have access to a kitchen, 2) Restaurant thanksgiving meals are pricey, 3) When I found out supermarkets were catering it, it was too late to place the order for thanksgiving day. Believe it or not, turkey dinner here is more of a Christmas fare so this time around they have just started providing the service. Despite of the absence of  thanksgiving meal, my heart was so grateful for all these places, faces, and experiences that God has blessed me with. They were more amazing beyond I previously imagined. I'm also thankful for whatever God has in store for me next.

One and a half week left for me in Singapore. Everyone has been busy preparing for the finals. I only have 2 exams,which are on the 29th and the 5th. So much time to study that I've became kind of scared that I'll forget things I'm reading up now comes the real exams. This is where lecture videos come in handy. I've been putting it on as I do my chores and start on consolidating/throwing my stuffs away. On the brighter note, I'm really looking forward to spending a month in Indonesia and more importantly going back to the States. So here's what my life looks like post-exam:

• Dec 6th: Flying to Jakarta in the PM
• Dec 7th-10th: Being tourist in Jakarta with Diana, an exchange friend I've been travelling with
• Dec 11th-13rd: Bali with my mom
• Dec 13rd-20th: Mostly Jakarta, but I might drop a visit to Bandung as my sister ends her semester and coming home
• Dec 21st-29th: North Sumatra to visit grandmother, relatives, and some times of family vaca

Breaking My Singapore Bubble

America, it is.

This past week I've been thinking of things that are going on back there a lot. It all started with the Hurricane Sandy hitting the Mid-Atlantic. Even though I was spoiled by Singapore's 90 degree days during that disaster, I was with you folks. I kept a close eye on the news while praying for your safety. I missed the historical Drexel closure and worked intensively on term projects and papers instead, boo! (I did celebrate Halloween with my neighbors, though. Eastern State Penitentiary should start hiring them; they did an awesome job scaring people off and turning TV lounges into haunted houses).

Election was another thing. You'd never know how much the international community is watching your election from here, America. Students from all over the world gathered at our Global Lounge nervously watching the votes being counted: many celebrated at the end, while few were disappointed. I had a mixed feeling towards the whole thing. However, a key take away is that no matter who the president is, God is still in His throne and Christ reigns over all. I had never felt such overwhelming gratefulness that my citizenship is not of this world, but is in heaven ruled by my Savior Jesus Christ.

Lastly, I have only one month left in Singapore and two months in Asia. It's time to register for courses to fulfill my degree requirements. I'm already set on staying full-time until graduation since the senior capstone course that I needed was closed for Winter term already; making it 2 courses that I really need for graduation to be postponed to Spring. I've also started  to look through the application for the year-long ministry internship which was quite lengthy. God has definitely been making me realize more than ever of my great insufficiency apart from Him.

This Singapore comfort bubble needs to be broken. Time for some real stuffs  to kick in.