Prologue
A year ago, my friends and I had taken the trip of our lives to the United States. We had heaps of fun, we visited lots of places, and we learned a whole lot of things. And yet, I've never blogged about it. Perhaps, if I didn't blog about it, the experience would still stay fresh as if it were still in the "now". After all, blogging about something carries with it a sense of finality, as if saying "This is what had happened. It's over and I'm recording it down for posterity."
But it's been a year. It's definitely time to move on. I know that most, if not all, of us still think back on those days and yearn for them with much longing and regret. I think several of us left our hearts in Oklahoma City, thanks to all the amazing people whom we met along the way. From Erin whose easy-going nature made us feel right at home the moment we stepped into OCU to Charlene whose hugs were so wonderful that if she were able to bottle that up, she'd be a millionaire; from our bus driver Donny who'd give us a little speech every morning that made us feel like, yes, each and every one of us was worth a million dollars to Karlie, who invited all of us over to her place for a Christmas dinner; from all of our lecturers - Dr K, Ms Binkley, Andy - who were living proof that lectures can be so fun that you won't fall asleep (although, i still did, heh) to all the other staff at both OCU and the Marriott In; I thank you and salute each and every one of you for making us feel as if we belonged, as if we weren't strangers from an island that was situated on the other side of the globe. If it hadn't been for all of you, the trip would have merely been nice. Instead, you guys made it memorable.
Dedicating only one blog entry to the trip would be criminally unjust. So take this as a prologue. Hopefully, I can crank out at least one blog entry a day for the next few days and that these would be enough to tell the story of our trip to the US.
So anyway. This is what had happened. It's over and I'm recording it down for posterity.
But it's been a year. It's definitely time to move on. I know that most, if not all, of us still think back on those days and yearn for them with much longing and regret. I think several of us left our hearts in Oklahoma City, thanks to all the amazing people whom we met along the way. From Erin whose easy-going nature made us feel right at home the moment we stepped into OCU to Charlene whose hugs were so wonderful that if she were able to bottle that up, she'd be a millionaire; from our bus driver Donny who'd give us a little speech every morning that made us feel like, yes, each and every one of us was worth a million dollars to Karlie, who invited all of us over to her place for a Christmas dinner; from all of our lecturers - Dr K, Ms Binkley, Andy - who were living proof that lectures can be so fun that you won't fall asleep (although, i still did, heh) to all the other staff at both OCU and the Marriott In; I thank you and salute each and every one of you for making us feel as if we belonged, as if we weren't strangers from an island that was situated on the other side of the globe. If it hadn't been for all of you, the trip would have merely been nice. Instead, you guys made it memorable.
Dedicating only one blog entry to the trip would be criminally unjust. So take this as a prologue. Hopefully, I can crank out at least one blog entry a day for the next few days and that these would be enough to tell the story of our trip to the US.
So anyway. This is what had happened. It's over and I'm recording it down for posterity.