When I was applying for my student visa to the United Kingdom. I was asked to pay more than SGD$4,000 for the NHS Health Surcharge. I was shocked at how expensive it was and I did wonder to myself if I would ever use any of the health services whilst in the UK. (For I […]
2x Lunar New Year in 2022
This is the first time in more than 10 years that I am spending the Lunar New Year away from my family. And it turned out to be much harder than I have imagined. All alone in a foreign land when everyone else is enjoying their reunion dinner. I was missing my extended family, missing […]
Of spiders and wasps
Ever since I moved to Oxford, everyone around me has heard my endless whines about my never-ending struggle battle with with wasps and spiders. Honestly, even I myself am quite sick of telling the same old story… except that I continue to be traumatised with every ‘new’ encounter. That said, a few evenings ago, I […]
One month later
It is hard to believe that I have already been in Oxford for a month (and that I have only been in Oxford for a month). Particularly when this October felt like the longest month ever, probably since the Covid pandemic started in late 2019 and since I had to live through the first lockdown […]
Protected: Encountering God
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
First Weeks at Oxford
It has been two weeks since my memorable (not in a good way) first weekend at Oxford, and I continue my journey here with a mix bag of feelings. My first engagement with the Department of Education simply blew my mind away. On the very first day of induction, we had a series of introductions […]
First Weekend as a Sojourner
I was duly warned before I set foot on this country that nothing would be what I was used to or expected. I was rather taken aback by the experiences shared by those who lived here recently, but I took in these well-meaning advice and braced myself for the worst, with a pinch of skepticism. […]
15 years to the beginning
2006 One year after I completed my Master in Arts (English Studies) at the National University of Singapore. I started wondering if proceeding to do a PhD was on the cards. However, the weight of funding my studies and paying off my mortgage felt like insurmountable challenges. Starting a PhD was but a fleeting thought. […]
Ramblings on a rainy evening
Today felt like one of those days where I should be disciplining myself to reflect upon the various unsettling occurrences around me. For today felt like one of those rare days where I was ready to throw in the towel – to give up and walk away. I have always known that I am a […]
Thank You 2017!
Year end has traditionally being a time of much turmoil as I raced against time to see through commitments made earlier, while yearning to drop everything and be still, to find a quiet corner for reflection and to journal my thoughts. What happened very often would be incomplete posts, started when I had a moment […]
An Ordinary City Dweller 