Pre-Flight

Waking up at 6am was easier than I expected. Perhaps thanks to the regimental school routine through the semester. Or perhaps it's because I'm excited about this upcoming trip to Hong Kong, Guangzohu, Singapore, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. It's going to be a 3 week Summer Programme, but the most exciting part of the course is we would be joining up with about a dozen of Canadian students from the University of British Columbia (UBC)! I'll get to meet new people from the other side of the world again.

The last time I had time together with students from the United States was a year ago, when Harvard students came to visit on their Harvard College in Asia Project (HCAP). One of the things I've realised, which was actually very simple and obvious, is how we all are similar in so many ways - the problems we face, the things we think about, the insecurities, the grumbling about school work... While I thought it might be difficult to understand and communicate with them, it wasn't. In fact, although our cultures are very different, we are really more similar than different.

Excited. How would the UBC students be? How would the course turn out? Would it be as interesting as the previous trip to Beijing? Waiting in anticipation...