Departure

I woke up to a rather gloomy morning.

The beautiful field outside Totem Park Residence greeted me for the last time and I pulled open the blinds to savour the sight for the last time. It was pretty empty, as most people had early flights. I never had to say a last goodbye to my Arizona and Texas friends - the bunch I've bonded with the most within the week, and needless to say, the ones I'd miss the most. They all had flights as early as 5 am.

Breakfast was pretty quiet as well and I was pretty sure that I'll miss the strawberry yoghurt served in the dining hall.

I showered, packed, took one last look at the room, and left. What had disappointed me the most was, I never really said a proper, final goodbye to my chaperone, Ms Kim Uyyek, who had been kind and helpful to me throughout the week.

I shopped around a lot at the airport, for it's not everyday I get to be in a country halfway across the globe from my own.

I dreaded my flight, but the time to board had to come eventually. I don't know if I'd get the chance to be here again.

But as the plane lifted off, I know one day, I'll be back.

And then I drifted off to sleep. It was another twenty hours back to home.

From left: Kendrix and I from Malaysia; Natya from Indonesia; Eri and Ririka from Japan