the adventure begins...
Guess it's time to wipe the dust off this online journal, and start blogging again with a vengeance. After all, there is much to say. Life just got more exciting, and that much sweeter. =) I left Singapore for Frankfurt on sunday night, then took a three-hour train ride to Leipzig. So here I am, back in his arms, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of a wintery german stadt.
It was quite a journey, for I definitely did not travel light (16kg overweight!). I had a huge (I mean HUGE) suitcase filled with countless goodies (pineapple tarts, bak gua, shrimp rolls, ikan billis, chicken floss etc.) for the greedy one. Okay, I guess my numerous clothes and shoes must have added quite a bit of weight too. Then I had my huge 55L backpack, stuffed to the brim. Then I also lugged along a classical guitar for his entertainment. *sigh* With the thick winter coat and scarf limiting my movements, I could hardly walk 50m without resting. And boy did i have to walk alot. I must thank the nameless strangers that helped me drag my luggage onto carts, into trains, off trains, across platforms, up escalators... Not knowing where to go and which train to take certainly didn't help. Anyhow, I made it safely to Leipzig...so it's all better now. *cheers*
Anyway, i think i quite like winter. Especially if you have a warm hand to hold whenever you feel like it. When I first stepped out of the Hauptbahnhof, it was a very different world that greeted me. Cute little trams , cobblestone streets that look like pavements, bare naked trees, the cold whipping wind... can't wait to explore the city more. Haven't been to many places although this is the 4th day of my visit...Daryl's still got a week of school, so i'm spending my mornings lazing around, grocery shopping, and preparing lunch. When he visited me in Berkeley, all he did was laze around and play guitar. *ptui*
We've also done quite a bit of cooking. Invited his german housemate/classmate to dinner last night, and prepared a yummy but spicy meal of sambal kangkong, mapo tofu, and kung pao chicken. mmm.... happy tastebuds. =) Think i'm quite a big disruption to his frugal lifestyle. Since i've arrived, we've gone grocery shopping twice (in three days!), and the fridge has filled up with all sorts of food, fruits and juices. I didn't spend very much...but I suppose he usually buys enough food for only a day or two, whereas I plan for a whole week or so. He'd better get used to it.
We're heading to the Canary Islands next weekend for a week's fun in the sun...then spending the following two weeks touring mainland spain and portugal. I'm really looking forwards to some warmer weather, and white sandy beaches..oh, and seafood too. Most of the fish here seems to be dried or salted or smoked. After that should be heading back to the US for 2-3 weeks for grad school interviews and open houses. I've had some positive responses from a few schools already...and so the year ahead doesn't seem so uncertain anymore. =P
Oh, I feel so lucky. I'm really glad that i took a year off before applying to grad school. I gained so much more than I expected from my internship. I did some cool science research, interacted with some really great people, became better friends with M, stayed in a cute studio, earned some $$ for my trip to europe, danced alot, laughed alot, and mm..maybe got a better idea of my plans for the future. Then I got to spend chinese new year in Singapore. The snacks, the food, the family, the ang pows. I enjoy spending time with my parents more and more as I get older...the three weeks we were together seemed strangely short. Mm.. I suppose as they get older, the more I want to make the most of the time we spend together?
Oh, and my adorably handsome baby cousin. I love him so much. I melt when his little hand clenches tightly around my index finger, and when he smiles at me, and when he gurgles excitedly whenever I talk to him. I guess I experience only the good things. I don't have to change his soiled diaper, I don't have to feed him every 4 hours, i don't have to wake up to his crying at 3am in the morning, i don't have to carry him until he falls asleep, i don't have to pacify him when he wails at the top of his lungs. Man, i'm not ready for kids. But is anyone actually prepared for the responsibility of caring for a totally and utterly dependent being, until they are actually faced with it? Oh well, hope that he still remembers this jiejie when I return to Singapore sometime in May. Babies grow up so fast...they remind me how old i am.
Okay...gotta clean up the room and shower. Moving in all my belongings and stuff has added a lot of clutter. Have to stop procrastinating. I hope that it'll start snowing, then we can go out and take pretty pictures. I'm so happy i could burst. *POP*
