Tags
Chicago, Day1, Dayinthelife., Ethernet physical layer, Hong Kong, Illinois, Justin Timberlake, Nordstrom, Singapore, Studyabroad, The Four Seasons (band)
Justin Timberlake is playing in the background right now and all that sits upon my desk is my laptop along with a pair of matte tortoise sunglasses from Nordstroms. On Sunday July 28th I woke up at 8:15am. In the 42 hours between that moment and the current I haven’t gotten more than 6 hours of sleep. From Chicago to Hong Kong, 15 hours and 18 minutes. After that a 4 hour 30 minute layover of rehabilitation and one quick game of frisbee. 3 hours and 15 minutes of flight time to Singapore leaving Hong Kong at 1:15am and reaching at 4:30am, much of which contained a screaming child. After months of preparation as well as large amounts of anticipation, I am finally in Singapore. Today has been long and that is an understatement. I’ve been on my feet all day wandering all over this beautiful city trying to do basic tasks but encountering a large amount of difficulty. Just going to the convenience store to buy an Ethernet cable became a complete adventure mainly due to the lack of cell phones in my group of four. My campus is like a resort and I can’t believe it is real. Walking from residence hall to residence hall I feel like a tenet at a Four Seasons strolling down to the Embassy Sweets next door. It is a complete 180° from the slightly uneventful Universidad De Illinois. The heat and humidity is something to get used to but much like any other burden it requires adjustment and perseverance. I am very confused as to how I feel about this whole experience thus far. I had the pleasure of Skyping with Emily today and I compared how I feel currently to a person buying a new car. I got a brochure chalked full of all the gadgets and amenities that this specific vehicle could offer. I talked to a sales person, negotiated a price and even decided the day I was gonna come pick it up. Well that day had finally come and now as I sign my final papers and drive this car home, I have to think, “Did I really love every feature of the car? Was this really the perfect vehicle for me or will I want it swapped out in four and half months? These questions in regards to the metaphor and my reality can only be answered by time. Time spent exploring every facet and figuring out what each aspect means to me personally. As I’m literally falling asleep while I write this, gazing at bed and realizing that maybe it’s just a little too small for me I want to say thank you for taking the time to read this. I personally hate and I mean hate reading things I write back to myself but I believe I owe it to some people to have a window into this experience because I’m sure as hell going to need to confide in something. I miss everyone back home a lot and it’s only been a few days, this is going to be a long few months.
-Nav
The Weekday Update 