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.
What a fabulous experience at Sentosa! I touched so many creatures I can’t even count them anymore. From butterflies to sting rays and even a dolphin, it was an absolutely thrilling time for me. Though I enjoyed the views from the Tiger Tower and Merlion, what stood out the most was the time I spent at the Butterfly Garden and Insect Kingdom, Dolphin Lagoon, and Underwater World.
The Dolphin Lagoon provided good entertainment as the pink dolphins there showed off their speed, balance, and accuracy. They even showed off for us before the show and posed for pictures. They are still adolescents, so only their bellies have started to turn pink, which was interesting to see. After the show, we were allowed to pose for a picture with one of the dolphins for a small fee, so I happily lined up for my turn. My dolphin’s name was Splash and loved the ladies, but swam away when the only guy entered the water! He was good for me though and struck the best pose. 🙂
Continuing on, there was a pool entirely of rays that would whisk by and occasionally stop to say hello and see if you had food. It made me want to have a pet sting ray – they’re better than dogs! I spent a lot of time there, petting their soft bodies as they went by and marveled at the opportunity. There was a display showing sharks at their stages of development with live examples! Then it was case after case of bizarre and brilliant species, like jellyfish, cuttlefish, seahorses, crabs, and sharks. There were these “angels” that flapped their wings and cuttlefish that changed skin patterns in the blink of an eye. Some leafy-looking sea horses floated around near the seaweed they resembled and some giant crabs scuttled slowly across the sand.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for five months and even harder to believe I’m about to leave on Friday. Thankfully, there’s lots to do so I don’t have much time to mull over it all. On the one hand I’ve missed Panda for nearly 150 days and I can’t wait to see him, touch him again. It’s been too long of pretending I could touch him and feel him hug me through the webcam. On the other hand, the people here are amazing and have taken great care of me. Plus, I’m just getting around to exploring Singapore! It’s a pity it’s ending already, but I can’t help but look forward to who and what I have waiting for me back home.
Each one has its significance to me (and may not be the most practical, but I was going for more meaningful…): for Zen, a pair of silver dragons because that just seems fitting for an influential man; for Mizu, a pair of gold electric guitars because he truly is a rock star (in so many ways); for Typea, a pair of blue and sea green golf clubs in their bags (or whatever it’s called) for his enjoyment of the game and the lifestyle it represents; for Marylin, a pink cover with a pretty peacock for her growing involvement in the beauty industry; and for Starfish, a cool blue cover with an elegant flower for her cool head and classiness as well as the spray I mentioned above because she loves VS. As for the elephants, I figured that Mac would want the purple one (actually why I bought that particular pack, though I liked it because I like purple too) and Lorry would appreciate the green one (a bit of an inside joke on that one, for all his Greenness). Skim was the only wild card, who could go for the pretty light blue one or the more royal blue one, or maybe even the bright white one.
I’ve noticed that I tend to make more Asian type noises when I’m in this part of the world. I’ve always done that whenever I’m speaking Chinese and occasionally with Asian friends when I’m speaking English, but now I find I’m doing it far more. It’s strange because I’m usually either in one mindset or another, but now there’s this mixing of speaking English but making more Chinese noises. This ranges from saying “wah” instead of “whoa,” “aiyah” instead of “ugh,” and “ah?!” instead of “huh?!” They’re subtle differences, but I notice them and I wonder if other people do too. Isn’t it interesting how different the sounds we make are? I guess that means that every language also has it own distinctive onomatopoeias to reflect the way they perceive the sounds that are made.
Additionally, I’ve been thinking in a British accent lately, which makes no sense to me since I’ve always sucked at pronouncing things the way they do. Of course, in my mind it all comes out right, but that still doesn’t explain why that happened to begin with. Perhaps I’m getting confused by all the British and Australian accents I’ve been surrounded by while traveling. It seems like everyone but Americans are out and about exploring the world, and now I sound like them too, in my mind. I’ve always switched between thinking in Chinese and English, but I must say this is the first time my English has taken on a new accent. o.O
That’s what I thought, anyway. Then I saw pictures and it was undeniable; these things are PINK. Like little girl playing hopscotch and blowing Bubble Yum gum pink. Like pink rose pink. Like how flamingos are neon pink, they are baby pink. Nothing like the “pink” tint of human skin or other such wannabes. So, I was really excited to go out to see some of these creatures for myself. I almost couldn’t get on a tour, but we managed to book me for a tour before I was due to leave (though I had to delay my intended departure time by a few hours).
When we were first heading out, we were right around the area where the planes were coming in for landing at the airport. Distracted, I took pictures and videos of them as they roared overhead and came down for a smooth landing. By the time one plane landed, another was appearing from the clouds, making its descent. One by one the planes took turns coming in, like clockwork, as others left going in the other direction. I marveled at how many people and how much cargo I had just seen arriving in Hong Kong. It was the first time I’d ever spent some time watching the operations of an airport and it was pretty cool.
At one point when we were further out, I was sitting in front, staring down at the water when a little fish jumped out and quickly got overrun by the boat. I continued staring down and soon more came, jumping just ahead of the boat, then falling off to the sides to avoid being hit. Excited, I started to film and snap away, trying to get a good shot of these little flying fish. Maybe it was just my imagination, but they looked a lot like mini dolphins. I spent a long time observing them and noticed that when they are in groups, they all jump at more or less the same time in some sort of coordinated effort. They also really seemed to like jumping in front of the boat in the rushing water, but once they went off to the side, they seemed to resume swimming more. I guess they’re looking for the adrenaline rush!
I so wanted to hop in the water, toxins and all, and go join them. I wondered if they’d come closer to explore if I had some body parts dangling in the water. Still, it was so rewarding to finally find them, after so many hours of searching. I had even begun to entertain the idea of how I could go on another trip (they offer a free retry if you don’t see any on your trip) – perhaps I could get an IOU that wouldn’t expire, so I could use it years down the line, or whenever I return. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about that in the end and we ended the trip on a happy note.
When I went to visit Patong Beach, I was delighted to find the sand teeming with live little clams that could be caught burrowing whenever the tide washed away the sand hiding them. I happily spent the next two hours digging them up and taking pictures and videos of them climbing back down again. It was truly an amazing time for me, since I love creatures of most sorts and it was my first time seeing clams in a natural habitat and not at the market. The next day, I went to check out a different beach with the hopes of finding more of them, but the sand was rougher and there was hardly any life to be found.
At the hostel, I wasn’t sure about the policy on bringing back such things, so I quietly took them upstairs and went out to find a container to put them in. I ended up finding a styrofoam bowl and transferred them over. The sea snail with the pointy shell was an active one, always coming out to climb around whenever I put him on top of the sand. He left a little slimey trail with sand clinging to it and made a small indent in the surface of the sand as he moved around. The clam, however, was super boring and just lay there for hours. I guess he was trying to get used to the still water and the little bit of stirring I did was not enough to simulate the ocean’s waves.
It’s a pity I couldn’t keep them, but as a fellow hosteler pointed out, they wouldn’t get through customs. However, Panda is willing to get an aquarium one day, so I can get some then! I also want starfish and sea cucumbers and anemone and sea horses and sea urchins and shrimp! It’s going to be one intense aquarium, I tell you. However, I’m going to have to wait a few years before I can afford to maintain such a thing. So for now, I’ll just enjoy the life that I can find when I go to the beach to play around.
