I told myself I wanted to move here to experience living abroad, to see if I can live independently, and to do things I have not yet been able to do in Manila living under my parents' roof. I have always wanted to live in a 1st world country and be on my own. Maybe more as a test to see if I can make it. So I left my loving family and boyfriend, suffered through homesickness and just to see if I can do it.
But today, I just stayed home the whole day, surfed the internet, read blogs and watched the 2nd season of how i met your mother. I wouldn't have been able to laze around the entire Sunday back in Manila (what with the usual scheduled family lunches and dinners) but still... not exactly how I pictured things.
So I made a list of what I have done so far in my 4 months and to see what I still need to do to make the most of this experience:
- I have learned to cook pasta - and realized anything can be tossed with it- , plus white rice, fried rice, garlic rice. Unfortunately, I still have to learn to do my one signature dish. My mom has spoiled me so far with all the cooked frozen food she brought with her. So to do: learn a signature dish from scratch
- I have always envied the scenes in movies with main characters jogging around a park - exercising in the great outdoors. Manila does not have nice clean parks to jog around in. The village would be the next best thing but one is surrounded by gated houses and not greenery. I brought over my rubber shoes and 1 - 2 excercise outfits to do some jogging at least once a week. But I never have. So to do: jog around Singapore Gardens (or even around my block)... at least once.
- I realize that I truly am a clean person. I like the routine of doing chores. Every Saturday morning, I roll out of bed at noon, sweep my room, scrub my bathroom and do my laundry. I always wash the dishes after I eat and if ever I do dump anything in the sink, it would only be a glass and a spoon, max. I can actually live without a maid. But the one thing I have yet to learn aside from cook from scratch is how to iron. I have a pile of clothes due for ironing that I have put off for a month now. So to do: learn to once and for all, iron my clothes.
- I am obssessed with first world living. I love the idea of new restaurants to try, fabulous clubs and bars to discover, exhibits and festivals to go to. So far, I have been able to compile a list of go-to restaurants for visitors (cheap hawker-style and expensive chi-chi settings), gone dancing and drinking until 4 in the morning (with no wru text from my mom), obssesively scouted the luxe guide and time out magazine, tried out cafes and desserts, hung out in destination areas. I have yet to experience though watching a play, going to a concert (I chickened out of going alone to Singfest where Alicia Keys, Simple Plan, Newfound Glory played), experiencing full exhibits, museums, and fairs. So to do: all of the above.
- I left Manila because I felt I always end up in the same places - UCC Podium, Rockwell Cinema, the Fort resto's, Shangri-la mall. I want to discover and visit new places on any given weeke-end. So far, I think I have more or less memorized Orchard (and been inside most of the malls), gone to two cinemas, explored the Marina Bay Area, gone to Chinatown and its little streets, hung out in all the quays (Boat Quay, Clarke Quay, Roberson Quay). I've gone to some tourist spots: Night Safari (1st trip here), Botanical Gardens, Sentosa. But there's still a lot of "heard-of-but-never-been-to-places": Little India, Arab St. (been there once but stores were closed), East area, Jurong, Ang Mo Kio and other exotic sounding names. So to do: discover more. The funny thing is, now that I am more familair with the places, it amazes me how everything in the city center really is connected to each other.
- In Manila, I hardly have time to myself. With familial routine activities every week-end, work, going out with my boyfriend and a full household with 4 sisters, I used to crave and cherish time home alone. Now, I am alone more often than usual (in the train on the way to work, in the bus/ taxi to go somewhere, when my flatmate is away, during meals). I still cherish alone time. It doesn't bother me as much to eat alone. It doesn't bother me as much to show up to dinners and to go home after alone. Sometimes it does feel self-concious especially if I am unsure of where to go. But afterwards, I feel that I have accomplished something. Anticipating all this alone time, I have brought over DVD's and TV shows to catch up on. I am getting there and I am not as delayed as I used to be back in Manila. So alone time: going well.
In the end, this experience is all about finding myself and discovering what I am capable of. It is about stepping out of my comfort zone, learning to do things on my own, on my own pace, on my own time. I still miss my loved ones terribly but I know that this has given me confidence and pride as well as experiences I would never have had back home. This has opened my eyes to the world bigger than me. I can't wait for more lessons and experiences to come.
Now to check those things off my list...
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