Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Spanish art of life


Last month I headed to Barcelona with my gramma, cousin and 3 uncles for a sorta family vacation. I've never been to Spain before and there's always something thrilling about going to a new place you've never been before. The anticipation of wandering new tree-lined streets, seeing new-old buildings and scenery, of learning all the secrets hidden in the nooks and crannies, pounded into the cobblestone. Barcelona was beautiful for me, with its peculiar way in which the city was segmented into blocks, each junction similarly angular in layout. We lived in an apartment on Passeig De Gracia and walked down the bustling shopping street to get everywhere, taking nightly jaunts on La Ramblas and doing the regular touristy things like sitting on the upper deck of the sightseeing buses and eating Paella and drinking Sangria at every other meal. Oh and of course being Chinese we just had to have at least one night of Chinese cuisine!!! The entire culture of the city and the people is reflected in the way they take afternoon siestas, late night tapas, vibrant and noisy markets and of course the beautiful architecture-- sunrooms and balconies being a common feature of many an apartment block, where I imagined the Barcelona population soaking in the sun with a glass of Sangria in hand. More photos soon! 

Monday, October 17, 2011

It's official

I'm a Graduate!!! Officially no longer a student, since I now proudly hold a certificate from the University of Sydney. Flew up (or down, rather) to Sydney last week after coming back from Barcelona (more about that later) for my graduation ceremony. Was rather miffed at how it was sunny and beautiful just like the Sydney I love everyday I was there except for my actual Grad day, which was disgustingly grey and ended up drizzling through the evening and a downpour later at night. Somebody up there clearly has a sense of humour for new graduates. As the day wore on though, it really struck me that going to Uni was not really about getting an education. Of course I did learn a lot of things, but more importantly I think I grew a lot as an individual, and I definitely did not return to Singapore as the same girl who left for an overseas education in 2008, and I am glad for that. Even though I didn't have fun in the way I imagined a college educaton to be, and didn't make as many friends as I thought I would have, I'm still so so grateful for the way things turned out. If there's one thing I learned, its that quality triumphs quantity, anytime. Many thanks to Natania for taking these photos before my ceremony!

   

Thanks for the memories, Usyd x