I am back!!!! It's been 5 months since I left for Europe and I simply can't believed time passed so quickly. I really have 1001 stories to share because so many things happened while I am on exchange.
I loved most of the places I went to. Due to my VISA issues, my travel plan was delayed by 2 weeks and hence I had to fly straight to Florence, Italy to meet Haoguang and Moses. It was God's grace because we planned to meet at The Academia but I got a bit lost but in the end I manage to meet him. We had lots of happy times venturing the city by foot. I really loved Florence because of her artwork. I shall write reviews of each place I go. :) In short, Haoguang, Moses and I visited Italy: Florence and Milan, France: Nice and Spain: Barcelona and Madrid before all 3 of us separate. Moses flew to Utrecht, Haoguang flew to London while I took a train to Eindhoven via Paris.
I almost couldn't make it on time to get my keys from Vestide, the landlord of my apartment. This is because I took the wrong train. But God was gracious as some kind dutch taught me how to change the train and board the right one to Eindhoven. So i dragged my 23kg luggage to get my keys and then to my house. That was when I first met my housemate Oscar. He is Swedish and he brought me to meet other people at the bar. Thankfully I controlled myself and made it for the Introduction Day the next day. And we drank again. But I headed to Amsterdam that night. I will write more in another post
Most of my trips are done independently where I meet new friends on the way. In short, I tried to visit most of the cities in western Europe and some central Europe countries like Poland and Czech Republic. I also met up Haoguang, Lionel, Jason, Gerald and Joyce in London, England. My last trip was done with Moses where we went to Luxembourg. Throughout my travels, I learnt to budget my meals, accommodations and entrance fee. I also learnt to navigate throughout with the map provided by the hostels or the guide book which was given to me for free by my tour, BUSABOUT.
I had many good times but I had my fair share of unpleasant incidents while travelling and I will elaborate more on separate posts. They are mostly scams and thankfully I wasn't robbed nor assaulted in various way.
In school, I mostly turned to my Study Advisor for help. She patiently tried to settled my modules which were greatly messed up. Honestly I did well for modules that were project based because that forced me to be consistent. However I failed 2 modules because I had lack of background knowledge. They are of master levels and since I had no bachelor level, I failed them. I actually tried to retake one but in the end, my lecturer was so harsh on me such that I broke down. I used up many rolls of toilet paper as I cried bitterly near my bed. But I am thankful for the experience because it was the very first time I was last in class.
I also met 2 Singaporean friends there, Eddie and Jingxiu who really helped me a lot. They invited me to their house for dinner, celebrated my birthday and farewell. I am also thankful to Eddie who offered to buy my bicycle. It was so fun having them around as I shared my Exchange stories with them. I also tried my best to give them some advice so that they would not meet up with unpleasant situations. Thank God that I could be a blessing to them through the bad things that happen to me.
Not to mention, I actually wanted to cry when I first came because I had culture shock. It was a coffee and beer culture and the food were mostly cheese, ham, milk, bread and soup. Moreover I have yet to find a church for spiritual support. In the end, Janelle helped me out a bit through Watsapp and I attended the International Baptist Church of Eindhoven. I met a Singaporean couple there, Isaac and Serene and we fellowshipped together with their daughter Kaira. I had many wonderful times with them, even visiting the Flower Parade Festival at Valkenswaard. She introduced me to other Singaporean friends and I even attended a couple, Jasmine and Loy's baby shower. After they left on 6th November, God led me to Marcus, the leader of the IBC Young Adult Group. We fellowshipped mostly in church, but I did went to Cliff's house for dinner and Marcus and I had lunch at a Hong Kong and North Indian Restaurant. I really enjoyed the time spent with them. I am also thankful to celebrate the Harvest Festival, the monthly fellowship lunch and Holy Communion. Oh! and thank God for the Men's Bible Study session which was led by Tim, an elder of IBC. That was where I studied the book of Elijah and learnt about being a biblical man of God. I think God really place people into our lives for specific reasons.
I was really exposed throughout this exchange where I had to tolerate my other Greek housemate on how he caused some inconvenience to the house. I learnt to be independent by budgeting for my groceries and cooking my own meals, maintaining my bicycle and also planning my travel plans so that they would not caused inconvenience with school. Basically, I learnt to be more independent and yet totally dependent on God. I went to the Red Light District with my friends and it broadened up my view on such issues. I was exposed to my friends passively smoking soft drugs like Weed and I saw Magic Mushrooms in Amsterdam too. I attended a House Party which my Swedish friends brought me too and also had a farewell dinner with them: Swedish meatballs!!! My cousin envied me! ;P Surely the Lord placed me in Eindhoven to broaden my worldview as Singapore have indeed been too safe and comfortable.
Through it all, I had a wonderful time there. I made so many friends from different nations. I stepped into 12 different countries, had my fair share of scams, tried to resist overdose of alcohol, struggled with master level schoolworks and also learnt to grow spiritually; be salt and light to the country there. I believed that I have also drawn closer to God and I really thank Him for all He has done for me. Thank You Lord for such a maginificent experience! :D
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