Ah, what a nice soiree we just had at the office tonight.  It was time to celebrate the months spent together and say goodbye to some of our interns (myself included), who are moving on to the next phase of our lives.  There are three of us who are leaving within the next couple of weeks and I’m the earliest to go, so we arranged to get together the night before my flight.  It was so nice to see everyone come out, including some of the people who have been busy lately and who I have not seen in weeks.  The turnout was spectacular, with really only one person I can think of who I would have liked to come.

It felt very much Singaorean.

We started off with a feast of jackfruit fried rice, chicken wings, veggies, and yam cake coupled with a sort of lime drink, wine, or juice.  As the conversations flowed and everyone filtered in, some of the people got a game of charades started while others chilled out in the back.  There was a lot of laughter from all areas, since nearly all of us know each other, and the atmosphere was cozy and comfortable.  It was a really nice chance to see everyone one more time before I fly off and don’t get to see them for who knows how many months or years.  So, I took pictures as I always do, as a way to commemorate the event and have a way of looking back on this final night.  In the years to come I can look back and smile as I remember the intimate gathering of the people I’d gotten to know in my five months here.

When the first people were about to head out, we gathered everyone together and each of us got a card, as well as a chance to address the group and talk about our experiences.  I took the opportunity to individually thank everyone there for the parts that they’ve played in making me feel welcome here and taking care of me when I needed help.  In fact, many of them have been instrumental in my survival here, offering me their time, attention, and even homes as I needed.  I felt a fondness towards everyone, even those who I hadn’t gotten a chance to know well because of too few encounters.  Since I had not anticipating speaking, I pointed them out in a general order of involvement and touched on some of the things that made them so special to me.  Of course, a lot could not be said, so I hope they feel appreciated enough, because they certainly are.

Time for some thank yous.

From there, things wound  down as people bustled around cleaning and I finished packing everything from my desk.  As everyone left, I got multiple reminders to remember my passport, teasing me about the time I forgot it recently as I embarked upon my little vacation a few weeks ago.  I assured them that I would have everything with me this time and I’d take extra care with the passport this time.  😛  Eventually, we were all ready to go and went back to rest for the early start tomorrow.  Last minute, Zen’s car became available, so he, Mizu, and Starfish are apparently going to send me off tomorrow morning before they all head to work.  Isn’t that lovely?  🙂

So with that, I should catch a nap before I need to be up and ready to go.