Tuesday, September 16, 2008

hey people

sorry for not having time to post. actually now i don't really have a lot of time too, because now there's school and everything... i somehow feel damn sleepy also, too used to sleeping all over the place in Hue =P but i feel the need to reflect on the trip too, soon, before I forget everything. yes, everything. i am so forgetful sometimes. you can ask Bong how many times I 'lost' my wallet on the trip XD

before the trip i guess i felt that Hue was going to be rather low-key compared to places like Korea and China. Maybe its the distance or something. I would still like to go to those other countries, but I dun DUN regret going to Hue. Its amazing. To all the Hue people out there, you deserve a big thank you for all that you have done for us, the raffles people.

The most meaningful parts of the trip probably arent reflected on the schedule. What was planned, and what was carried out was two different things. Surprise birthday parties, cancelled trips, visits to the beach. And even what is planned... when other people read it they probably won't see the feelings that were expressed, the joy and sadness. I kind of like that, that such things can never be planned, the good things in life are so spontaneous and unpredictable. If you could plan for it it'll probably take away half the fun.

Not to say that the community work we did, the flowers / trees planting, the interaction with the kindergarten children, long hours of planning, collecting of books are not meaningful. They are. Its funny really... we don't know their language, yet we volunteer to help... and thanks to the NTP people, and maybe because we really tried, I feel that our trip there will have an impact on the people there. If I ever go back to Hue, I hope that I can pass by NTP school and recall the good memories, I can visit the kindergarten and see the tree that Huy and I and many other people spend their time and effort planting, I want to see the paintings and posters that the RI people did. I hope our gifts are cherished better than they would have been if they had been with us.

More importantly, I think the trip has been about people. RLP 1 sounds so official. At the start, at boarding, I think I only knew about 5 people. Gifford (prefect), Quah (debates), Chin Jie (judo), Shi Leon (badminton), Kenneth (01 Scouts). Outstanding people mind you. First feelings was that I was quite out of my league la, look left and you find all the prefects like Shaun Choo, Moses, Pei Yuan, Douglas, look right and you see the future leaders of some outstanding CCAs in RI, Bong (tennis), Guan Lin (Xcountry), Jun Wei (squash), Kwun Tong (gym), Jonathan (BB), Kwang Yi (CO)Bhargav (cricket), Clement (swimming). And they are great people. There's more too, like Ben Goh, Edward, but they didnt go for the trip. Sorry that all of you had to miss out for some reason, it was really fun haha.

I've grown closer to all of them, to different degrees. Some I think I can consider to be good friends already, some I really need to talk to more, interact more. That's just my fault I guess. I can be quite quiet. Stop snigger. haha... yeah people like Gifford, Nick Quah, Guan Lin, Shaun, Kenneth. Thanks for the memories =)

For the NTP side, I was slow in coming forward to make friends, so sorry, otherwise could have spent much more fruitful times getting to know all of you. You all made it easy to make friends haha, even those that I didn't talk to much still come forward to ask for my email. I hope we'll be good friends...

In the letter I wrote, on the plane back to Singapore, I think I poured my heart out. I don't want to even try to remember what I wrote. I'll leave it for next year, when Ms Chang returns us our letters, then maybe I'll see whether I have grown. I hope so. I think so. Haha imagine screwed up little me... becoming slightly less screwed up. Yeah that'll be great. And then i'll recall...

the songs we sang, in my host's room, on the bus, and at the farewell party, choking with emotions,

the little gestures my host family made, the little touches that they didnt have to do, to make Bong and my trip so much more

the little games we played, hand-slapping, bridge, taiti... haha eat your heart out Bong, no more owning for you =P

the smiles of the vietnamese children, after completing the sand picture

sharing my photo album with the NTP students

listening to Kwang Yi strum his guitar, great sound

playing against NTP in soccer (lost 5-1), watching soccer, real or virtual, especially ARSENAL! haha

for PHOTOS, i think i will gradually post about maybe 5 photos at a go, when i feel like it. I don't want to post everything up together, especially with this post. It'll take the whole meaning out of everything. Yeah, so thats all for now. =)

stay tuned.

[oiphue'08] trip of a lifetime.