Time for Reflection

Wah..damn sien (boring)..had my only Japanese finals today..And finals week hasn't really started yet. Guess I should be feeling lucky unlike some folks who are busting their arse for some serious cramming sessions *wink wink*. Ok I shall move on from this sensitive subject before someone smacks me.

Hmm..time really does flash by doesn't it? Come to think about it, I've been in Athens for almost 3 years now. Let me take you on a little flashback to day one I stepped into this quaint little Classic City.

August '02:
I can still remember so vividly that night at the airport, bidding farewell to my dearest friends and family as I'm about to embark on another passage of my life by myself. Not to mention, it was the first time I was gonna hop on a plane, and what's more to another country halfway across the globe!

And when I say halfway across the globe, I'm dead serious..It literally took like a day and a half to get to the States from KL. My goodness, my butt was pretty much flattened esp during the 15 hours Taiwan-Chicago flight. Nightmare!!

So anyways, when I got to Atlanta Hartsfield Airport, I had no clue where to go and I had these 2 enormous luggages PLUS 2 carry-ons..yeah, practically moved my whole room here ^^ So this porter came over to help me. I was like aww how helpful! After getting all my crap to the van, he stood there for a minute.

I was like okay, what's this dude's problem?! Then he explained to me the tipping fee..ahh..so that was my first encounter to the tipping system here. I kinda foolishly gave him a $5 bill, but mainly cuz that was the smallest change I had. I could've sworn his eyes were gleaming with the golden $ sign for like a whole minute.

Off he trotters then..or so I thought..But no, he decided to rest his foot comfortably on the ground. Then he asked for my phone number. I was like erm..I don't have a phone. And he said "what?! how could someone not have a phone?" By then, I felt like blasting him off by saying 'dude, I just touched down in this country, so bugger off will ya!' (bare in mind I've traveled through 4 countries in the past 30 hours or so with minimum sleep, surviving on plane food..so not too pleasant on the mood department). But of course being the demure person that I am, I just smiled and shrugged.

Then the genius that he was, he proceeded to give me his number instead and reminded me not once, but twice to give him a call if I ever wanted a personal tour of the A-T-L (Atlanta). I was thinking, yeah right...dream on lah buddy.

The whole week after that was the amazing International Student Life Orientation. Had the best time eva! Didn't even have time to think about anything else as I attempt to take in every new thing that came into sight. After that, classes began and so did everything fun =)

Best Memories:
1) Hanging out with close friends
2) Discovering all the best restaurants around town
3) International Student Life activities
4) Bowling & Movie nights
5) Jesse's, Allison's and our parties
6) Road trip to Boston, NYC by myself winter '03
7) Exploring downtown Athens
8) Dawgs After Dark
9) Vacation during breaks: San Diego, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Savannah, Tybee Island, Miami, Key West, New Orleans, Mississippi
10) My 21st birthday

Fast forward to October '04:
Things seemed to have taken off to a good start. Then I guess life was just too good to be true. Everything just spiralled downhill overnight. It seemed as if everything that could possibly go wrong did in fact take on a wrong toll..I think my life at that point hit rock bottom, solid..All the way..

There would be days when I felt like a total zombie, completely dispirited and disheartened. Fortunately I received unconditional love by my closest company who helped me pull through that particularly challenging period of my life...You know who you are..A heartfelt Thank You to you for being supportive of me..

Although this past year has been a pretty rough one, I managed to pull through with minor scathes. I'm extremely glad to have chosen this beautiful town for my college years. I'm sure when I leave, I'll definitely miss all the wonders that this town has to offer... Stay classy Athens!