A tribute to the nostalgic past

Even before Mizzou, I had already caught the adventure bug back in JC 1 when I went to Trinity College in the University of Melbourne in Australia for three weeks of Science Summer School back in 2004. As I lay in my bed trying to sleep last night, it dawned on me that SSS 2004 was one of the first experiences that opened my eyes to the different cultures and people in this world. There, I learn how a simple bottle of water at a ranch could result in such different views by the Aussies, Indians, Malaysians and Singaporeans. Ask me if you've not heard of that anecdote, since I think I've told quite a few.

The Elephants (my group name) clockwise from bottom left: Bay Gie from Malaysia, Arjun, Ankit and Karan from India, Julian, Douglas and Kathryn from Australia, Vivien our wonderful group leader who is also Australian, Sze Jia, Me and Choo Jie from the Lil' Red Dot. This may be the only time that you'll see me in a skirt. ;>

Suzie, one of the group leaders, helps Roger the madcap prof with some weird science demostration. Suzie has got to be the smartest and funniest redhead that I've ever met, not that I've met alot of redheads...

Half of Eugene and Julian , who looked like they really enjoyed dissecting the cow's eye.

Karan & Karan: The two Krazy Karans and moi. I looked like I totally dunno how to react to their crazy antics.

Every once in a while, I kind of miss those days of hanging around the Junior Common Room of the college, watching tv in the Behan basement, sitting around a real Aussie bush campfire and listening to Roger forget the lyrics of "Tie me Kangaroo down sport" and attending crazy science lectures that included dissecting a cow's eye. One of the best memories of SSS 2004 was a bunch of us sitting down on a patch of grass on Lygon Street and eating our gelatos and finally getting a sugar rush when a few of us started marching back to campus while chanting something that one of the Indian girls invented.

Group of us at the Ace-Hi Ranch, where we had a fantastic time riding horses and doing all kinds of outdoorsy stuff.

Sze Jia and Me with the Darwin girls, whom Maddie, Em and Jasmine were collectively known as, since Darwin to the rest of the Aussies sounded like the land of never-never.

This has got to be the most poignant photo of SSS 2004 that I've ever taken. It was the end of the whole "awe-inspiring" (quote from Bridget) experience and the ball that we kicked almost eveyday at the college never lookes so forlorn with Shikha and Ankita ignoring it.

So it's been 4 years since SSS 2004, and while a few of them have visited me in Singapore (A.J., Em, Maddie and Jasmine), I sometimes wished I could go back to my room in Cowan and wake up to the sounds of the other Summer Schoolers playing football in the square below. I wished I could still have meaningful chats with Maddie, with whom I would say was one of the closest friendships I developed there. I do wonder how they all turned out sometimes. FB allowed me to keep in touch with some, but it's not the same as actually talking to them face to face.

As I start to get ready for another experience in Nepal, I have no doubt that I'm going to keep exploring this world that I live in, because there's always something to learn from people, and whatever it is that you learn from them, it usually stays with one forever.