In the euphoria amidst an eventful week in the last few days, I forgot to write an entry which is most important for this week - the one that started the ball rolling.
On Monday afternoon, I had my final pre-departure briefing at the Embassy. It was the briefing to finalise all the details of our flights, itinerary, visa, finance etc. I was so excited cos it only means that my departure is just a mere 4 weeks away! Present in the briefing were current US Fulbrighter in Singapore and a recently returned Fulbrighter to share hands-on experience of their own journeys, together with the Embassy staff. I managed to clear all questions I had from banking facilities, to luggage and clothings, Alhamdulillah - and this increases the certainty of the journey.
We were also given a pin of both the Singapore and the US flags to be placed on our jackets - and it suddenly dawned upon me the significance of it: that we are representing both these great nations through our individual academic, cultural and exchange visits/journeys. My shoulder suddenly felt heavy, but the excitement of being given this prestigious opportunity to embark on this journey overcame me. On top of that, we were given piles of literature to read on our super long flights. For me, I will be enduring a long flight with 4 transits - apart from Narita Airport in Tokyo and in Seattle - all of which is a pre-academic assignment for me. But with longer and further the journey, the more to be learnt, insya-Allah.
So, this was the reason for the whirlwind events of the preceeding days ...
On Monday afternoon, I had my final pre-departure briefing at the Embassy. It was the briefing to finalise all the details of our flights, itinerary, visa, finance etc. I was so excited cos it only means that my departure is just a mere 4 weeks away! Present in the briefing were current US Fulbrighter in Singapore and a recently returned Fulbrighter to share hands-on experience of their own journeys, together with the Embassy staff. I managed to clear all questions I had from banking facilities, to luggage and clothings, Alhamdulillah - and this increases the certainty of the journey.
We were also given a pin of both the Singapore and the US flags to be placed on our jackets - and it suddenly dawned upon me the significance of it: that we are representing both these great nations through our individual academic, cultural and exchange visits/journeys. My shoulder suddenly felt heavy, but the excitement of being given this prestigious opportunity to embark on this journey overcame me. On top of that, we were given piles of literature to read on our super long flights. For me, I will be enduring a long flight with 4 transits - apart from Narita Airport in Tokyo and in Seattle - all of which is a pre-academic assignment for me. But with longer and further the journey, the more to be learnt, insya-Allah.
So, this was the reason for the whirlwind events of the preceeding days ...
2 comments:
salaam ustaz,
firstly, congrats on your scholarship (or i think it is). since you would be away for quite sometime, would you consider starting a facebook account? you could share with us about your experiences there, plus share photos. facebook is very interactive. we might want to send you "gifts" from singapore.
please do....!!
What you have been waiting for is becoming a reality and closer by the seconds.
See you on the other side whenever possible.
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