sunday we were event staff for the championships and we saw lotsa pros coming down. the oxford rowers were anything but splendid, and the great britain rowers who were in the open category totally blew us all away, especially when one of them broke the english record there and then right before us. so yes, it got me so much more motivated to train harder and to row better. i know i'm not gonna be like them, but knowing that i have improved and that i'm actually working hard towards a goal, is good enough.

and for the first time ever today, i encountered snow! it was lovely to say the least. and we had our first ever snowball fight and it was hilarious. i was rolling about and doing somersaults in the snow, rolling down horizontally on a snow covered hill with jue and throwing snowballs at random people. basically the gang was there and we were trashing each other. exposed butt cracks had snow and ice creeping down their asses and faces were treated to heaps upon heaps of snow. everyone got drenched and soaking wet and all our fingers were numbed beyond belief. but it was so much fun. my white shoes are thoroughly muddy and wet but i don't really give a shit. it was definitely a night to remember. expressions like "knn" and "ccb" rang shrilly throughout the night no thanks to people like jue, and i was struck by the juxtaposition of such a familiar language set against the foreign landscape. i love home where it is now.

came home to sip nice warm milo and the family had embarked on a project to recreate nativity using plasticine they had won at the RAG quiz. so i ended up helping and i made baby jesus, and the straw for the manger. our house is really decked up and ready for the christmas season. it's a real pity coz all of us won't be around but we know that it's gonna be a real special christmas for many of us. i'm not heading home for christmas for the first time ever. it's gonna be spent with matt and annie at johanna's home in germany and we're gonna go through a traditional german christmas with her family. life's getting on real sweet here. 

but yes, i love my family. they make life here so much more bearable. singaporeans on the other hand serve to ground me back home to my roots, and it's with them where you know you'll always be "safe" and looked after because afterall, they're your fellow countrymen so to speak. so yes, i'm thankful for being able to achieve and strike that balance between having good friends from singapore and friends from here. that's what studying overseas is all about isn't it? meeting new people yet at the same time, not neglecting what firmly binds you to an identity you can never totally shed when you're 13 hours away from home by plane.