Hello again...

This could easily be my last post before i return to Singapore as have so many other important things to do before i go back.

I have been lucky enough to sit in a really nice, french/italian inspired cafe called 94 (its Thai owned) that gives its customers free 30 min internet access, so here i am chillin away in a real cool acfe, sippin me coffee and using me lappie, even though i should be workin. But oh well, its all about the holistic experience aint it?

I think that i have learnt that through it all, i can make it out on my own. This 6 weeks has shown me that maybe i am ready to go for exchang, away from the comforts of home, living it out on my own while i continue to seek more nice, quaint coffee spaces such as these...

I'm also havin second thougts abt goin to US now, cos hav frens who asked me to go to UK with them, thus i am at a conflict... Hope i will make a right decision ultimately!

This 5 weeks has been a really eye openin, yet bitter sweet experience. I am starting to overcome my fear of starting a conversation with a stranger. Being in Thailand has been a great starting point for this as majority of the Thais are just sooo friendly. It has also reminded me once again that at the end of it all, i do not want to look back in my life saying hey i shouldnt be worrying abt this and miss out on all the other good things in life. Instead, alongside my already hectic Singaporean life, i need to learn to soak in every minute of it at the same time, where there can be a line drawn between school and leisure. This i am really thankful for.

I can also say that i have had a taste of becoming a transmigrant. Why do i say this? I think that i have tasted the feeling of placelessness (Relph, 1974). After being Thailand for 6 weeks, i have been slowly being accustomed to crossing the roads illegally, the cheap and abundant supply of food, taking a songthiaw instead of the mrt, but yet retaining my Singaporean identity with my Singalish (trhis made even more clear when people speak Thai to me) and also by my different dress sense. However, i can now say that i am at a between stage, neither here nor there. Even though i would love to go back to Si ngapore, there will be things in Thailand i will definitely miss. One of them is my freedom. Although i have to admit i am not restricted much by Mum, there is a total different sense of the word as to how i understand it now, where 90% of the time you decide each of your every move. In sum, i can definitely say i am coming back to Singapore as a new person once again.

This might be the last time i blog in Thailand on the field studies module, but it definitely wont be the last time i come back to Thailand to reminisce this interesting experience i had in 2007 for 6 weeks of what could have been just another meaningless holiday wasted at home.

Til i see you when i return, take care me dear frens!

Yours sincerely,

(Wong, 2007)