thoughts on leaving

it's a little under two months before i leave for stockholm and having just gotten back from the great south american adventure, i'm faced with the inevitable question - so what're you doing this holiday?

and it's absolutely singaporean to instinctively wish i could come up with some impressive answer. "oh, i'm working on my phD, yes it's a little early, seeing how i only graduate next year, but no harm starting early." or "i'm off on a humanitarian mission to the middle of the atlantic to help find other parts of the doomed aeroplane", you know, something blithe like that. but the truth is, i'm not really doing anything till i leave in august, save intensive french classes at the alliance francais in july. i do need to get my swedish resident visa sorted out though and was appalled to find out that one needs an obscene bank balance before the visa application is approved. riddicks. what i sleep with my money under my pillow? then how?

but that's just me being difficult.

it's a little strange to be going away at this late stage, when most of my friends have returned from their year abroad. grateful for the opportunity nonetheless and having traveled the past few school holidays, i'm decidedly more selective about where i go this time. no more random european cities just for the heck of it. oh, maybe a few, but not as often as previously! looking forward to taking my time, to meandering aimlessly and to letting the pace of life slow to a crawl. semi-relieved that i'm not embarking on some epic self-discovery process. i'm not 'missing' so there's no need to 'find' myself if i'm right here. am certain that there will be things that i'm going to lose along the way, hopefully nothing of particular importance, but the search can be saved for that.