First, let me start with how I feel about my overseas exchange in my Year 3 Sem 1.
Took my longest flight so far - about 19 hours including the 3-hour transit in Hong Kong, from Singapore to Toronto Airport. It's cool to see both sunset and sunrise on the plane. On the plane, for unknown reason, I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried to. Maybe I was subconsciously starting to prepare my body clock for the imminent jet lag. Chit-chatted with a Vietnamese-born Canadian guy who was sitting beside me. He told me that life in Canada wasn't the kind he would like to have and still prefers life in Vietnam, where he could drink and have fun till late with his friends.
So 19 hours had passed and we finally reached Toronto. It was a tiring flight for me since I couldn't get myself to sleep. Still I was a little excited about landing on the other side of the globe. It was nearly 8pm and the sun was just setting. We then waited for the mini-bus which we booked earlier to send us to our house in London, Ontario - another 2-hour ride. It was so dark that we couldn't locate our house without using the headlight to check if a house was there, since we knew that there should be where our house is based on the address. A bat was waiting for us beside the garage which gave us a little scare. The humorous driver joked how he would never come to this place again after helping us to scare the bat away. He's really funny when he showed how envious he was when he told us we would be seeing girls walking past our house every day, which didn't happen since very few would choose to walk past our house which is situated half an hour walking distance away from the school.
In the first 2 nights, we suffered from jet lag. We did funny things like washing our clothes and eating grapes at 3 am when we couldn't sleep. And then we slept like a log the next morning. Things got better, of course. We settled our internet and admin stuff in school before we flew to West Coast, USA and doing what all exchange students do - travelling.
We took a taxi to London airport. By the way, the taxi meter increased by 20 cents every 10 seconds or so, and we were quite scared while on the taxi actually. A 15-minute journey cost around CAD30+.
We flew to Los Angeles, California - our first city destination. 5 days later, we took a bus and proceeded to San Francisco, where the weather was much chillier compared to LA. Around 4 days later, we took a bus again to our last city of the pre-semester trip - Las Vegas, Neveda. LV truly lives up to its reputation. Its night view along the Las Vegas Strip is dazzling and everything is just so glittering. Casinos & ... everywhere ;p We also visited the Grand Canyon by driving from LV. It's a 5-hour ride. When we reached, I was so amazed as we were already at the top and could see clouds in front of us, and the Grand Canyon was just below the clouds that we saw. A breathtaking view indeed. Too bad it was misty and rainy in the late afternoon and we couldn't see the much anticipated sunset. Instead, a rainbow greeted us. Actually, many things happened during the 2 weeks, such as the driver's side window of our rented car was smashed and one of my friends had his bag stolen, but it would take forever to pen it down. Sometimes, photos could help us do the job of sharing our experiences :)
After we got back from the US, it's time to study and pass the modules. In mid-semester, I am happy that I skipped school for 2 days and flew to Cuba to escape from the cold in Canada and enjoy life in the sunny resort. It cost around CAD300 all-in, including airfare, which is very well worth it. A trip on a boat out to the sea, kissed by a dolphin, played with sand and sea - perfect mid-semester getaway indeed! Yet another trip during the semester was to Montreal, Quebec. It's like travelling to France since most people speak French there. A totally different culture just around 8-hour bus ride from London, Ontario.
Soon, exams were over by mid-December. Went skiing and it was not easy to master in just 3 hours. Didn't dare to go up to steeper slopes as we couldn't brake very well. It's better not to cause any accidents. Tried on the gentler beginners slope and it is challenging enough for us. The ski boots are rather heavy. When I finally removed it, I felt that I could fly. Overall, it's a fun experience. Next time, I am gonna try snowboarding which I reckon would be more difficult than skiing.
Our post-semseter trip was to go to New York, New York. We took a bus there since it is the cheapest option. The journey was 15 hours but it's not too bad since the seat and the ride were rather comfortable. Bought the New York Pass and visited almost all the places one ought to visit. The Pass is totally worth it since it allows you for a priority queues for some attractions which helps save time. The only disappointment was that I didn't go and watch a musical. It's too late to book a ticket by then and I should have booked in advance. I should have just go for it even if I am going alone. :/ By the way, the subway operates 24 hours a day, so one need not worry about how late you could stay outside.
On a side note, opening or holding the door for others are simple gestures Canadians would do. Greeting the customers over the counter is another norm. Perhaps the pace of life in Singapore is faster and most people could not afford to slow down and pay attention to and care about the things happening around us.
I am glad that I've had an awesome overseas exchange!
P.S. I wanna go USJ to watch the One Piece show that is held every summer :)
