I know I should really be studying now, but sometimes, you just have to take a chill pill, sit back and take a look at the past and relive those fond memories in your mind, before you forget them. (:
Let's start off with an overview of the little things in Tampere followed by a chronological way of looking back, since its easier to remember that way. Will focus more on the little things that I didn't know I would miss so much.
Overview
1) Loved walking around in the coldness, and feeling the warmth of my downjacket.
2) Loved cooking my own meals, and loving the taste no matter how badly I may have cooked it.
3) Loved the potluck sessions we had, still can vaguely remember everyone's dishes. (yunxuan's "icecream n' fruits", ivie's "nice" curry, ivie's nice cake that she baked, xiaochen's signature dumplings, finian's bak kut teh, alex's pastas, clarence's AWESOME chicken rice, yunxuan's tom yum and so much more)
4) Loved just sitting in my room sipping on the bottle(s) of whiskey that were ever-present in my room.
5) Loved the thin walls of the apartment, that I could hear what my room-mates were talking about on their skype :P
6) Loved the times when my room-mates are cooking their own meals and I can smell them from my room.
7) Loved those chocolate digestive biscuits that can be my breakfast/lunch/dinner/supper.
8) Loved how I was able to make my decisions on whether I should go to school based on whether I've slept enough.
9) Loved how the sky darkened so fast, that sometimes, I can go a day without seeing sunlight at all just because I slept through it.
10) Loved the snow (:
11) Loved running in the snow, and able to wear running jacket, trackpants with long johns inside and yet not sweat. (:
12) Loved how I could just go out for a run or a stroll in the cold when I'm feeling down.
13) LOVED the many sauna sessions that we had, where we just sat in there and "chilled" & talk cock.
14) Loved drinking my favourite long beer while watching running man or soccer matches. (although had to stop drinking it cuz whiskey was so much cheaper)
15) Loved skyping home to chat with mom & dad and seeing my baby nephew at the same time.
16) Loved how the water from the taps are like icy cold when u turn it to cold, and lava hot when u turn it to hot.
17) Loved fanzhe's random moments, always able to make us laugh.
18) Loved mom Ivie's big and wide-mouth laughter, brightens up the mood.
19) Loved dajie xiaochen's dumplings, its like the best in the world.
20) Loved Alex's company as a house-mate, at least I had a fellow Singaporean where we could look out for each other.
21) Loved(?) Finian's dirty jokes, hahaha, always looking at girls.
22) Loved Nigel being a Liverpool fan, always having someone to cheer tgt with when we watched matches.
23) Loved Clarence's photography skills, always capturing the best moments.
24) Loved Yunxuan's carbo-overloaded moments, too bad we didn't get to see more of it.
25) Loved the travelling with friends. Did so many things together that it almost feels as if we're a family.
26) Loved the Italy trip with my favourite Vespa gang, and the fun things we did together. (Thank you yong cong, tessa & laoda rachel!)
27) Loved the Northern lights that we saw in Kiruna, memorable experience, and surely one to remember for a lifetime.
28) Loved the gang that I travelled together with in Germany. (Buying 2 bottles of wines at 4 euros each, and just walking on the streets drinking them. Climbing to the top of the tower and taking self-shots while being blown away by the wind)
29) Loved the hamburg peeps' hospitality when I visited them, made me feel so much at home. (:
30) Loved the one time where we went to watch ice hockey tgt, but yunxuan was busy looking at other stuff :P
31) Loved the buildings of Italy(Rome, Venice, Florence) where I just couldn't stop appreciating the architecture beauty.
32) Loved roaming the streets of Barcelona by myself, being able to do everything by myself, planning my own routes, following my own timings, eating whatever I want, standing in the rain while watching the magical fountain.
33) Loved my visit to Anfield, nuff said
34) Loved the drinking and htht session we had on the cruise back to Helsinki from Russia.
35) Loved making my way around Granada by myself, weaving through the small alleys and all.
36)Loved the sunset on the cruise.
37) Loved taking planes (only took the plane twice before going to europe, and ended up taking like more than 20 times after all the trips)
38) Loved skipping lessons just to travel. :P
39) Loved how Europe changed me as a person, be it being less emotional or being more daring to try out new things.
40) Loved the fact that I have so many things that I loved, that I would stop at 40 and leave everything else in the blog (with photos).
January
1) Arriving at Finland airport in the wee hours of the morning, and happily volunteering to recce the outside of the airport with Finian just to feel the coldness. Walking into negative temperature in t-shirt, jeans, beanie and gloves, and running back in straightaway. Silly, but fun. (:
2) Staying with everyone at the hotel in Tampere before moving into the hostel, first steps towards knowing each other better (: (and our cab/room full of 10 ppl's luggages)
3) Walking around the city with just a thin jacket, challenging our limits (with Alex), and even to the extent of contemplating whether to wear just singlet and army shorts (:
4) Moving into hostel, and taking photos of the place, loving the snow, the white room, the nice kitchen and the independence. (:
6) Cooking our own meal for the first time (pity that Alex and I didn't have the same eating timings for dinner, else could have cooked alot more together) (:
7) Not forgetting the cold toilet bowl, that my butt managed to get used to at the end of SEP. (:
8) The lovely hot shower when its so cold in the room. (:
9) My lovely heater which doesn't work that well, but because of it, the feeling of snuggling up under my banklets just felt so much better. (:
10) The first trip to IKEA to shop for our own furniture to use for the 6 months. Freedom in its own way. (:
11) Our first clubbing experience in Tampere, where we made one person drink 1 shot of tequilla for every shot that each of us drank. (:
12) Drinking at the bar and just chilling with the finnish, the exchange students, and fellow Singaporeans.
16) My first CNY away from home, away from family, although something bad happened that day back here in SG, but at the end of the day, all the fun friends over there managed to brighten up my mood. Certainly a different CNY from the rest of the ones I had. (:
17) International food exchange day! Tried all the nice food from all over the world. Those french food were the best, all the pastries. -drools-
February
18) First trip out of Finland, to Sweden! Most expensive trip of all, but probably the most eventful one as well. Kinda strengthened our friendships after all that happened.19) Loved the cottage in Kiruna that us guys had to ourselves. So cosy, like one small family, out in the woods, next to a frozen leg. XD I would certainly want to go back there once more, if I had the money.
21) NORTHERN LIGHTS! Would I ever forget them? The dancing aurora, the excitement we had when we first stepped out of the cottage and saw how beautiful it was. And it even appeared for us on the second night. (:
22) Shooting star!! When I saw it, I immediately thought, I just want my friends and family to be happy. (:
23) Ice hotel! The snow mobil before that was amazing as well, but nothing beats seeing the ice hotel with my own eyes.
24) Trudging in the snow in the middle of the night, on a frozen lake. (:
25) That Valentine's Day potluck, with everyone missing their gfs/bfs, and those single guys happily being single, we celebrated the day of friendship <3 p="p">
26) Trip to Rovaniemi, where we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with the train rides and the cosy cottage we stayed in. Always loved htht sessions, and that small htht guys' talk session that we had, well, let's keep it to ourselves (:
March
27) Then came March, where I probably made the best decision of my SEP, which resulted in one of the most treasured trip I've had while on SEP. My beloved Vespa gang (:
28) First stop in Venice, fell in love with the city the moment I stepped out of the bus. Wandered around the city while waiting for the gang to come in from Swiss. Loved the crazy moments we had there, from drinking champagne (or was it wine) in the hostel, to sharing food, such fun times (:
29) Loved how we found Antonio in this souvenir shop and created the Vespa Gang at the same time. Random, but memorable (:
30) Loved just lying randomly on open plazas and just chilling away. Such carefree-ness that cannot be found in Singapore
31) Loved how we just took random shots here and there. Once again, random but memorable. Its these small little things that make me realise how I miss the times travelling.
33) Trip around UK, first time planning a trip by myself (of cuz with a bit of help from Ivie), just glad that everything went well. (:
34) Simply loved WICKED!! First musical I've watched, so obviously its the best I've seen (:
35) First and last pub crawl. Good experience, but certainly not the lifestyle I would live. The free shots at all the clubs sucked anw :P
36) What did I love about London? Probably the way it reminded me of Singapore in some parts, while other parts of it were so full of History and interesting stories.
37) Loved how we went around London looking for all the stadiums in London, mocking the teams, respecting the great
38) Loved the experience of watching a football match live, although it wasn't at my beloved Anfield, but the Old Trafford, its certainly an experience to remember, totally different from the feeling you get from watching on tv.
39) Loved my visit to Liverpool, Anfield, the city, the beatles stadium, the albert docks, all felt so..peaceful. Definitely the city I would want to retire in. (: <3 liverpool="liverpool" p="p" ynwa="ynwa">
40) Oh, I almost forgot to mention how I loved the majesty of the tower bridge. So ancient, so nice.
April
41) Month of Easter, which I loved so much, cuz of the sheer amount of travelling I did in the month. I actually travelled every single week of the month and I believe I spent less time in Tampere than in other countries. Let's kick it off with a pic of Antonio covered in snow on the first day of travel (:
42) Loved how cheap the food was in BUDAPEST!! Its like, less than 10 euros, we could get ourselves a full-course meal, with appetizer, main course, dessert plus wine! Plus the snacks there were so cheap, and we just snacked and drank (coke) away~ hahaha
43) Loved the cycling we had around Budapest, cycling in a foreign country, checked! XD
44) Very much loved the train ride from Budapest to Prague, so much fun on the train, but that wasn't the best train ride yet, if only we knew how fun train rides would be ;)
45) And in Prague, we met up with my beloved VESPA again!! So happy when I saw them (: Other than that, Prague was pretty bad cuz of how rude the people there were
46) Oh, but I loved walking around in the morning with friends who didn't mind waking up early to walk (: (and suddenly find myself laughing while remembering how YC was shivering in the morning and asking me for my blanket b4 I left the room)
47) Biggest group photo ever (of SEP students), i think. haha
48) Then came the crazy night on the train, where we basically talked the night away, braided my hair, braided yunxuan's hair, and meeting another big group of Singaporean exchange students on the train itself. Small world. (Sadly, I can't find any pics of the train, but found this proof of yx's braided hair!)
49) Loved seeing yunxuan's released version after all the carbs intake, so fun, and enjoyable to watch hahahaha.
50) Loved the hostel at Krakow, basically I find myself loving big hostels where we can just sit together in the middle of the room, talk cock, sing song, and drink the night away
51) The informative tour to Auswitzch camp (can't spell it properly, its 2am alr -,-), learning the history, remembering the dead, and remembering the lessons learnt, so that we as humans won't do it again.
52) Then after a short stay in Tampere to finish up some of the work, I whisked off to Germany, by myself! Loved taking planes alone, loved taking trains alone, loved walking around alone, this was probably where I started loving travelling alone. But that, was till I reached Hamburg, where I met up with the rest of the people that I was supposed to travel together with for the next few days. (:
53) Loved how these hamburg people made me feel like I was back in Singapore, so much so that I visited them twice, but that's another story in May. (:
54) Germany, where I fell in love with Rittersports cornflakes (:
55) Then we were off to Freiburg! for Titisee and Blackforest
56) Loved the unexpected snowy mountain that we went up to, while we were totally not wearing anything that could keep us warm enough in the snow.
57) Loved how going to Titisee brought me back to nature, something that I've not been seeing alot throughout the time I've been travelling in Europe.
58) Climbing up the observation tower to take photo in the cold and windy weather. AND it was raining plus hailing! Crazy us!
59) Climbing to Neusthwanstein was probably the best climb of my SEP. (: all the photos taken up there, so worth a place here, that I'm just gg to spam them ;)
Loved how Sujee photobombed this pic in that pose
Vespa @ Castle!
F4!?
The Germany group (:
60) Loved chatting away with laoda while we were climbing down the hill. Basically, I love friends who I can talk non-stop with (:
61) Then came the craziest trip of all! The Russia Trip! where I travelled with crazy ppl I alr knew (yx, iv, tiff, fz, xc,cr), and we were joined by even crazier ppl, weiting and michelle, with two normal ppl in ruyi and jon. Pure havoc, but I still remember my comment about this trip: The city sucked, but the company made it worth it (:
62) Loved taking the cruise too, from waiting for the sunrise, to the drinking session we had, to the htht. Pure craziness? Pure fun. (:
63) Loved the vodka drinking and champagne drinking on the nights in Russia too! Man, I actually miss the vodka in russia, the vodka back in sg just can't compare to the ones we had over there.
May
64) Last month of SEP was basically spent mostly in Tampere finishing up my work, but at the same time, catching up with all the new friends I made on SEP and all the old friends (sadly, through online means, like fb chat, msn, whatsapp & skype). But still glad that we managed to keep in touch, afterall, I hate it the most when friendships just die like that.
65) Realised how beautiful a place Tampere was, just before I left. The lake that we didn't visit much, looks so much better in the spring, and the weather was actually perfect for running!
66) Then I left for my lone journey through Spain the next day, turned out to be the best experience of my life so far, well, at least the best solo experience (:
67) But before that, went on a tour around Bremen with Alex & Finian, loved the walking around Bremen to just sight-see like tourists, and drinking beer in the evening by the bay
68) Oh, and I realised how much I love taking trains in Germany, the conductors are so friendly! Even reminding me to alight at the right stop.
69) So before I headed to Spain, I spent another 2 nights in Hamburg, visiting those over there and doing some sight-seeing, spending some quality time with Tessa, just catching up on things. Always loved Hamburg for how everyone there made me feel at home (:
70) FINALLY BARCELONA~ sunny spain! or so i thought, but this was what I saw the moment I got down from the plane ):
71) If raining in Spain means my whole Spain journey would be messed up, I was totally in for a surprise. I loved the running bean tours they had over there, so informative and brought me to all the places that I myself wouldn't have known.
72) Loved the food in Spain.
73) Loved the metro stations in Barcelona, every station feels so different. Especially loved the liceu one.
74) Loved walking around myself, don't need to care about timing, don't need to care about where I am, just wandering around the streets like I actually live there.
75) My mini emo session at la fountain magica actually opened up my mind, and realised the kind of lifestyle I want. Its okay to be single, its okay to be by myself, I have friends when I need people to talk to, so what's there to be sad about? Stay awesome, I told myself then, and I'm still a happy kid now (:
76) Loved Sagrada Familia, the majesty of it. Not a christian, but just love the building, no idea why
77) Loved how random things can get in Barcelona, bargaining with uncle for a jersey, price slashed from 40 euros to 25, to 10, then I decided not to buy. Random strike on the streets, airport with torn newspaper all over the place, random-ness at its best (:
78) I particularly loved this one that I saw in the washroom. So cute. hahaha
79) Loved barcelona's airport, so big, and so fun just to walk about in it.
80) Then came Granada, a place I've heard so much about, and I wasn't disappointed (:
81) Loved climbing up the slopes of Granada just to see the Alhambra from different places. The sheer amount of climbing I did in Granada was simply crazy, even much more than I did all over Europe. But it was definitely worth it. (: (But seriously, dear tourist, what were u trying to take here)
82) Loved how no matter where you go, there's something to see in Granada (well, at least for the old district that's the case) Great scenery everywhere, loved the following one especially (like how my hair looks so smooth, :P, and my smile here, truly happy from within)
83) Loved watching the flamengos, authentic ones by gypsies.
84) Loved how the bartender just treated me to drinks cuz I was an asian dude speaking some spanish i picked off from google translate. hehe
85) Loved making friends in the hostel, just sitting down and talking about Europe. Too bad didn't get their names, but it was a wonderful time. (oh, and there was one hot european girl too! :P)
86) Loved Alhambra, the gardens and all, loved the flowers, and loved the view from the top. Can see the whole of the old district from the Alhambra.
87) I loved climbing up to the mountain side of sacromonte too! The sense of achievement when I made my own way to the top without any proper road was just awesome!
88) My last night in Spain was back in Barcelona, had a few drinks with the random Canadian peeps I met in the hostel, and amazed by how one of them can't hold his liquor. -.- to actually puke from the top of his bed. Well well, that's another kind of experience I guess. haha
89) I actually loved sleeping at airports! Especially the Bremen one. Throughout the whole of SEP, i actually slept there twice cuz I had to take plane back to Tampere from Bremen. The airport just felt so safe, so cozy, and both times, I fell asleep the moment I put my head on my "pillow" (which was my backpack)
90) I LOVE BACKPACKING!!
91) Last days in Tampere, were pretty emotional, realising all the things I could have done while i was there but didn't do.
92) Saying goodbye to my beloved brand of whiskey that accompanied me through SEP.
93) Had our last potluck together. Had a feeling that we won't be doing this back in Singapore again. I guess up till now, I'm still right! GUYS! please prove me wrong! ):
94) All in all, I would like to thank all the people I've met on exchange for the wonderful times that you all have given me. I'm sure we would meet again some place, some time. It wouldn't be the same as before, but you all have left a deep impression in my heart already. Just in case you all have no idea that you all touched me in my life, I'll list out your names (in no particular order, more of whoever that comes to mind first - mostly people that i've still been meeting up first): Michelle Lim, Congren, Yong Cong, Tessa, Rachel, Luke Ong, Wei Ting, Jonathan Goh, Ivie, Tiffany, Yun Xuan, Fanzhe, Finian, Alex, Clarence, Nigel, Xiaochen, Kayla, Ruyi, Queenie, Jelly, Ka Na, Jeremy Quek, Ryan Ang, Kalle, my french room-mate (sorry, till now I still can't spell your name), Michelle Low, Kien Yong, Zhi Gang, Mingfeng, Melvin, Sujee, Yongtae, Yui, Zijian, Felix, Qinglin, Chuan Wei. I hope I didn't miss anyone out (:
95) I thank my parents for the support they've given me on my SEP, be it moral support, or financial support, without the support, I wouldn't have had so much fun.
96) Loved Europe for giving me such a safe and enjoyable journey.
97) Loved the cheap alcohol for accompanying me through lonely mugger nights ;)
98) Loved Finland.
99) Most importantly, I learnt to love myself more (:
100) Well, that's all of my SEP. Really miss Europe, miss the backpacking days, miss the carefree days, miss the chit-chatting with friends, miss miss miss so much of everything. I swear I'll be back again, Europe, wait for me!
65) Realised how beautiful a place Tampere was, just before I left. The lake that we didn't visit much, looks so much better in the spring, and the weather was actually perfect for running!
67) But before that, went on a tour around Bremen with Alex & Finian, loved the walking around Bremen to just sight-see like tourists, and drinking beer in the evening by the bay
69) So before I headed to Spain, I spent another 2 nights in Hamburg, visiting those over there and doing some sight-seeing, spending some quality time with Tessa, just catching up on things. Always loved Hamburg for how everyone there made me feel at home (:
70) FINALLY BARCELONA~ sunny spain! or so i thought, but this was what I saw the moment I got down from the plane ):
72) Loved the food in Spain.
73) Loved the metro stations in Barcelona, every station feels so different. Especially loved the liceu one.
74) Loved walking around myself, don't need to care about timing, don't need to care about where I am, just wandering around the streets like I actually live there.
75) My mini emo session at la fountain magica actually opened up my mind, and realised the kind of lifestyle I want. Its okay to be single, its okay to be by myself, I have friends when I need people to talk to, so what's there to be sad about? Stay awesome, I told myself then, and I'm still a happy kid now (:
76) Loved Sagrada Familia, the majesty of it. Not a christian, but just love the building, no idea why
80) Then came Granada, a place I've heard so much about, and I wasn't disappointed (:
81) Loved climbing up the slopes of Granada just to see the Alhambra from different places. The sheer amount of climbing I did in Granada was simply crazy, even much more than I did all over Europe. But it was definitely worth it. (: (But seriously, dear tourist, what were u trying to take here)
84) Loved how the bartender just treated me to drinks cuz I was an asian dude speaking some spanish i picked off from google translate. hehe
85) Loved making friends in the hostel, just sitting down and talking about Europe. Too bad didn't get their names, but it was a wonderful time. (oh, and there was one hot european girl too! :P)
86) Loved Alhambra, the gardens and all, loved the flowers, and loved the view from the top. Can see the whole of the old district from the Alhambra.
88) My last night in Spain was back in Barcelona, had a few drinks with the random Canadian peeps I met in the hostel, and amazed by how one of them can't hold his liquor. -.- to actually puke from the top of his bed. Well well, that's another kind of experience I guess. haha
89) I actually loved sleeping at airports! Especially the Bremen one. Throughout the whole of SEP, i actually slept there twice cuz I had to take plane back to Tampere from Bremen. The airport just felt so safe, so cozy, and both times, I fell asleep the moment I put my head on my "pillow" (which was my backpack)
90) I LOVE BACKPACKING!!
91) Last days in Tampere, were pretty emotional, realising all the things I could have done while i was there but didn't do.
92) Saying goodbye to my beloved brand of whiskey that accompanied me through SEP.
95) I thank my parents for the support they've given me on my SEP, be it moral support, or financial support, without the support, I wouldn't have had so much fun.
96) Loved Europe for giving me such a safe and enjoyable journey.
97) Loved the cheap alcohol for accompanying me through lonely mugger nights ;)
98) Loved Finland.
99) Most importantly, I learnt to love myself more (:
100) Well, that's all of my SEP. Really miss Europe, miss the backpacking days, miss the carefree days, miss the chit-chatting with friends, miss miss miss so much of everything. I swear I'll be back again, Europe, wait for me!
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