Departure. 31 Feb 07. Wednesday.
It was crazy. An 11:15pm flight.
8:00pm Still packing! Thank God mom was helping me.
It was crazy. An 11:15pm flight.
8:00pm Still packing! Thank God mom was helping me.
8:30pm Dad carried luggage down stairs and the handle broke! Panic. Thankfully grandma has got an extra one to spare. And I think in fact, it’s a blessing in disguise. Cos hers is actually bigger than my original one, so repacking wasn’t too difficult. Plus, the broken one was a hardcase (heavy), with only a little handle by the corner (ie I’ve gotta bend a little low to drag my luggage along); while grandma’s was a softcase (lighter), with a pull-out handle so I could drag it while standing straight. And most thankfully, it broke at home, not at the airport, or in Delft or anywhere else for that matter.
9:00pm Left home, finally.
9:25pm Arrived at Changi Airport. Rushed to check-in. Got a seat far from all my friends. Plus it was a window seat. Usually I would have loved that, but wasn’t too good a time for that then, if you know what I mean ):
9:35pm All’s done. But heart was still unsettled. Maybe it was due to all the rush and anxiety before that. Maybe I was worried about the window seat. Or maybe I just wasn’t prepared to leave. And I didn’t know how to. Especially with all my friends and family with me at the airport.
Tried to keep cool, since there was no turning back.
I think it helped when bunch of church friends tricked those who were coming to send me off but late, by telling them that I’ve already left. The victims were Dorcas, Jeannette, Fuwei and Mell, Kevin and Andrea. Anyone else? Sorry victims! And thanks too, for sth so memorable. Haha. Who was the mastermind by the way?
10:15pm Time to leave. Thanks for the help, for the gifts, for the well wishes, for the prayers, for just coming. I really appreciate all of them. Wanted to give everyone a huge hug, especially those with tears in their eyes, but my Eindhoven counterparts were already waiting for me and so I had to go ): A big THANK YOU to all once again (:
In The Plane. 12.5hrs.
Surprised that the stewardesses did not bother to check if we’ve fastened our seatbelts. Anyway, it was a long flight, but they only served 2 meals. Soggy stuff.
Slept a large part of it, about 7-8hrs? Which was good. But getting to the toilet was a little tricky. Window seat as I’ve mentioned, 2 other guys to my right, both sleeping. Didn’t want to wake them, so was waiting for both to be awake before making my way to the loo. But they kept taking turns to wake up and fall back asleep! But finally, I managed to get to the toilet of cos, just in time. Haha.
The next few hours weren’t too hard to pass with a nice little chat with the guy sitting next to me. He’s also from NUS, flying to NL for the same purpose. Too bad, he was yet another going to Eindhoven. Why? Why is everyone going there?! Why am I going to Delft alone? This is so so unfair.
Arrival. 01 Feb 07. Thursday.
6.25am Thankful that my aunt has arranged for her brother-in-law who’s been living in Amsterdam 7 years to pick me up at the airport. He’s really nice and have helped me a lot – met me 6+ am at Ams Schiphol Airport, carried my bags, bought me train tickets, took the train with me to Delft, bought me b/f, and dinner later.
7.30am Arrived in Delft. But had to wait for DUWO housing office to open to sign contract and get my keys. Had b/f in the meantime.
8.30am Went to housing office, signed contract, but told me to go back at 3pm again to get my keys?! What the. And my uncle had to return to his office, so I took a map, together with my haversack (my uncle brought my luggage along with him to his office), and started walking. Decided to find the way to my apt first. While holding the map, a guy approached me to see if needed help. “NO” I said, rudely, thinking he probably had sth up his sleeves. But felt bad after that – what if he sincerely wanted to help?
Continued walking and a 2nd guy came along to offer help (are Dutch guys really this helpful??). This time, I said “OK” (since he looked quite decent, and was an old Asian man, and I really needed help), but still not letting my guard down. And it turned out to be that he really was sincere about helping me. He walked me all the way to my place even when it was out of his way. Really thank God for him.
Continued exploring the vicinity till…
3.00pm Finally got my keys!
4.00pm Stepped into my room, checked inventory. Immediately after, set my bed and SLEEP! That was much needed after all the walking.
8.30pm Uncle arrived at my place with my big case and we went for dinner at this Chinese/Indonesian/Vietnamese restaurant (he said usually this kinda mix serves lousy food, and it was true, unfortunately) just diagonally across my block. That was expensive – each plate of rice/noodles costs €10?!!?
10.30pm Back in room. Crashed the bed, again.
Surprised that the stewardesses did not bother to check if we’ve fastened our seatbelts. Anyway, it was a long flight, but they only served 2 meals. Soggy stuff.
Slept a large part of it, about 7-8hrs? Which was good. But getting to the toilet was a little tricky. Window seat as I’ve mentioned, 2 other guys to my right, both sleeping. Didn’t want to wake them, so was waiting for both to be awake before making my way to the loo. But they kept taking turns to wake up and fall back asleep! But finally, I managed to get to the toilet of cos, just in time. Haha.
The next few hours weren’t too hard to pass with a nice little chat with the guy sitting next to me. He’s also from NUS, flying to NL for the same purpose. Too bad, he was yet another going to Eindhoven. Why? Why is everyone going there?! Why am I going to Delft alone? This is so so unfair.
Arrival. 01 Feb 07. Thursday.
6.25am Thankful that my aunt has arranged for her brother-in-law who’s been living in Amsterdam 7 years to pick me up at the airport. He’s really nice and have helped me a lot – met me 6+ am at Ams Schiphol Airport, carried my bags, bought me train tickets, took the train with me to Delft, bought me b/f, and dinner later.
7.30am Arrived in Delft. But had to wait for DUWO housing office to open to sign contract and get my keys. Had b/f in the meantime.
8.30am Went to housing office, signed contract, but told me to go back at 3pm again to get my keys?! What the. And my uncle had to return to his office, so I took a map, together with my haversack (my uncle brought my luggage along with him to his office), and started walking. Decided to find the way to my apt first. While holding the map, a guy approached me to see if needed help. “NO” I said, rudely, thinking he probably had sth up his sleeves. But felt bad after that – what if he sincerely wanted to help?
Continued walking and a 2nd guy came along to offer help (are Dutch guys really this helpful??). This time, I said “OK” (since he looked quite decent, and was an old Asian man, and I really needed help), but still not letting my guard down. And it turned out to be that he really was sincere about helping me. He walked me all the way to my place even when it was out of his way. Really thank God for him.
Continued exploring the vicinity till…
3.00pm Finally got my keys!
4.00pm Stepped into my room, checked inventory. Immediately after, set my bed and SLEEP! That was much needed after all the walking.
8.30pm Uncle arrived at my place with my big case and we went for dinner at this Chinese/Indonesian/Vietnamese restaurant (he said usually this kinda mix serves lousy food, and it was true, unfortunately) just diagonally across my block. That was expensive – each plate of rice/noodles costs €10?!!?
10.30pm Back in room. Crashed the bed, again.
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