Singapore: Day 43

I am deeply sorry that I haven't been keeping up with the blog; things have been immensely hectic lately, and I will upload the other posts as soon as I can! My internship program is nearing it's end in 2-3 weeks, and I'm not sure how to feel. I am both happy to see my friends and family again, to resume the life I've lived for the past 20 year (yes I am finally 20, a challenging transition to say the least) but I will also deeply miss the 2nd home that Singapore has become. The Singaporeans never cease to impress me with their selfless concern and honesty toward others. For example, earlier today, I randomly approached a family in order to interview their children. I mentioned that I am a travel correspondent for Reach the World, and last week's blog post entailed an interview with a local child. I've felt like a creep for the past week, because I've been keeping an eye out for young children but sadly had not encountered any. That is why I grabbed the rare chance I had today and spontaneously approached the family during their dinner at Just Acia. A short interview with her daughter Isabelle turned into a 3 hour talk about many, many things. I've been struggling a lot with so many emotions and thoughts: my Thailand trip last weekend has led me to question my choice in career, my view of the world, and what I can do to alleviate the economic inequality. I've also lost hope in many things, from love and relationships to my own sense of being and past struggles. However, my conversation with her restored much of my faith. I usually have animosity toward happy families and stay-at-home mothers (perhaps animosity is too light of a world); it is a mixture of jealousy and near-hate. However, my talk with the mother helped me overcome some of that emotional barrier as well as restore my faith in familial relationships and love. She gave me her email at the end of the conversation and told me to contact her anytime I wanted to continue our conversations. I was deeply moved by her kindness and the kindness of Singaporeans in general. I cannot count how many times I've seen people run after strangers to return the cash or card they dropped, give up their seats for the elderly, etc. Singapore is such an amazing place, and as I become more acquainted with this country, my desire to stay here in the future only grows stronger. My study abroad experience has only instilled in me a thirst to see more of the world, to escape my comfort zones.

Thank you Isabelle! :)