Hmm, how should I even begin to write about my Christmas Eve.. I had a lot of fun, the company was perfect and even though we celebrated it in Ansan where there was hardly any christmas cheer, the people I was with really made it feel so special.

The morning of Christmas eve started with us frantically packing and moving. We had to move from the familiar dorm 2 to dorm 4, because the school wanted to conserve electricity by gathering all the leftover students in one dorm. So christmas eve for me started off on a slightly sad, and literally heavy note. My best korean girlfriend Juri, came over to help us move. Thankfully she was around because there were some paperwork that needed to be settled with the people at the dorm office and she being there just made the communication so much smoother, and well, more efficient. So we bidded our 3month old crib goodbye, said thank you to the friendly guard for the last time, and headed to our new home for the next ten days, before we finally head back home.

Byebye room - the moldy and rusty heater that sounds like a train when it's turned on, the leaky pipes and the thin mushy piece of sponge we collapse onto after each long tiring day. It's funny how I started off hating everything about this rundown room, but yet they have all grown to be such a personal part of my life in Ansan. I think I'd never forget all the memories of this place..

And byebye security ajeshi. I've grown so used to saying hello to you almost every day and seeing your nice cheerful smile. It always brightens up my day. Saying goodbye to you was harder than I thought it would be.

After we settled things in the new dorm, we dressed up and headed to VIPS, a restaurant famous for steak and ribs. Chang, Disheng, Zhongxian and Sky came to join the girls.

All dressed and ready to go!

When we got to VIPS, we were told that the waiting time was 2 hours! So we headed to the arcade to kill some time, and by the time we started it was already almost 9pm! We had a 3 hour long dinner - eating and chatting, and at some point in time, I laughed till my sides ache and I couldn't sit up straight, and that's when I realised that these people mean a lot to me. I've grown so much in the past 5 months; grown to be so much more independent, and so much more assured of my own capabilities. And these are the people whom have shared this journey of growth with me, simply by being such a big part of it. I'm not sure what will happen in 5, or even 10 years time. Maybe the koreans and the singaporeans might have grown apart, or maybe the singaporeans themselves would have drifted apart from each other, but one thing I know for sure, is that no matter what happens between all of us in the future, I'd always remember and treasure moments like these. Some things in your life, you just don't ever forget.



We spent the first hour of Christmas day singing at a noraebang (korean karaokae). Then we headed to a bar and ate the log cake after singing "we wish you a merry christmas". After a lot of beer, korean wine, cocktails and snacks, I walked back to the dorm feeling very very happy, and warm despite the minus zero freezing weather outside.


I have no idea why, but even as I sit writing this in the new dorm with facilities way better than the previous dorm, I somehow miss the old, dilapidated, scruffy room I had spent my last 3 months in. Is it just me, or is there someone else feeling the same way?

Anyway, I had a very very good Christmas. I hope you guys had a good one too, if not better! Merry Christmas, and may you all be abundantly blessed with everything good in life!