Reflections before a journey

I left the office for the last time. It has been over one and a half years since I started being involved in that job, at first a lowly assistant, and more recently a coordinator. I know, leaving that door, that I had nothing to be concerned about, because I did the best I could to the very best of my abilities, and I have nothing to regret, nothing to ponder on. I could just leave the office, and that job, and leave.

And I am moving on. In the past weeks I have been really travelling a lot and to far away places. Now, it seems I will be going even further, not just because I am flying back home to Taiwan to surprise my mum, but also because I have been selected to attend this prestigious summer course in Spain in July and August, and straight after that I will be flying off to Canada to begin a new life. Travel, travel, it seems I am really moving and going places.

Sometimes things are happening so fast and all at once, I wish time would stop a bit for me to reflect. On what has been happening, on how it is changing my life (for better or for worse), and what direction I should go. But really, I am someone who seems to just go, oftentimes without thinking too much where I am going. And somehow life has taken me places exciting and unexpected.

I guess I am very fortunate... or just patient, and as people say, good things come to those who wait. Some four months ago I submitted the application for what people say is the best university in Canada, and a reputable one in North America, and even ranked 12th in the whole world. Anyways, besides all this fame and glory, I submitted the application, not thinking too much about it, and not even sure whether I would be taken. Alongside the application, I also applied for a great scholarship, which will basically cover almost all costs of study and living. I wrote these pompously worded applications and motivation letters, praising the institution I am going to, and saying what great experiences and grades I have had.

Four months passed by without a word. And suddenly, the mail comes through the post, saying I have been chosen to be admitted to the course, and also that I will receive a fellowship position provided by the Boeing Company! Two excitements in as many number of days!

Compared to half a year ago, things are really looking up, and I am really moving on. For this all, I am extremely grateful... to all those people who have supported and encouraged me to go on and go through with what then seemed like a crazy and life-changing plan, but what today is within finger's reach. And somehow, the other day as I was reading the acceptance letter, my mind thought of my dad... how proud he must be! How he has been there, to support and encourage me as well, in his special silent ways.

Reflections before a journey

I left the office for the last time. It has been over one and a half years since I started being involved in that job, at first a lowly assistant, and more recently a coordinator. I know, leaving that door, that I had nothing to be concerned about, because I did the best I could to the very best of my abilities, and I have nothing to regret, nothing to ponder on. I could just leave the office, and that job, and leave.

And I am moving on. In the past weeks I have been really travelling a lot and to far away places. Now, it seems I will be going even further, not just because I am flying back home to Taiwan to surprise my mum, but also because I have been selected to attend this prestigious summer course in Spain in July and August, and straight after that I will be flying off to Canada to begin a new life. Travel, travel, it seems I am really moving and going places.

Sometimes things are happening so fast and all at once, I wish time would stop a bit for me to reflect. On what has been happening, on how it is changing my life (for better or for worse), and what direction I should go. But really, I am someone who seems to just go, oftentimes without thinking too much where I am going. And somehow life has taken me places exciting and unexpected.

I guess I am very fortunate... or just patient, and as people say, good things come to those who wait. Some four months ago I submitted the application for what people say is the best university in Canada, and a reputable one in North America, and even ranked 12th in the whole world. Anyways, besides all this fame and glory, I submitted the application, not thinking too much about it, and not even sure whether I would be taken. Alongside the application, I also applied for a great scholarship, which will basically cover almost all costs of study and living. I wrote these pompously worded applications and motivation letters, praising the institution I am going to, and saying what great experiences and grades I have had.

Four months passed by without a word. And suddenly, the mail comes through the post, saying I have been chosen to be admitted to the course, and also that I will receive a fellowship position provided by the Boeing Company! Two excitements in as many number of days!

Compared to half a year ago, things are really looking up, and I am really moving on. For this all, I am extremely grateful... to all those people who have supported and encouraged me to go on and go through with what then seemed like a crazy and life-changing plan, but what today is within finger's reach. And somehow, the other day as I was reading the acceptance letter, my mind thought of my dad... how proud he must be! How he has been there, to support and encourage me as well, in his special silent ways.

Reflections before a journey

I left the office for the last time. It has been over one and a half years since I started being involved in that job, at first a lowly assistant, and more recently a coordinator. I know, leaving that door, that I had nothing to be concerned about, because I did the best I could to the very best of my abilities, and I have nothing to regret, nothing to ponder on. I could just leave the office, and that job, and leave.

And I am moving on. In the past weeks I have been really travelling a lot and to far away places. Now, it seems I will be going even further, not just because I am flying back home to Taiwan to surprise my mum, but also because I have been selected to attend this prestigious summer course in Spain in July and August, and straight after that I will be flying off to Canada to begin a new life. Travel, travel, it seems I am really moving and going places.

Sometimes things are happening so fast and all at once, I wish time would stop a bit for me to reflect. On what has been happening, on how it is changing my life (for better or for worse), and what direction I should go. But really, I am someone who seems to just go, oftentimes without thinking too much where I am going. And somehow life has taken me places exciting and unexpected.

I guess I am very fortunate... or just patient, and as people say, good things come to those who wait. Some four months ago I submitted the application for what people say is the best university in Canada, and a reputable one in North America, and even ranked 12th in the whole world. Anyways, besides all this fame and glory, I submitted the application, not thinking too much about it, and not even sure whether I would be taken. Alongside the application, I also applied for a great scholarship, which will basically cover almost all costs of study and living. I wrote these pompously worded applications and motivation letters, praising the institution I am going to, and saying what great experiences and grades I have had.

Four months passed by without a word. And suddenly, the mail comes through the post, saying I have been chosen to be admitted to the course, and also that I will receive a fellowship position provided by the Boeing Company! Two excitements in as many number of days!

Compared to half a year ago, things are really looking up, and I am really moving on. For this all, I am extremely grateful... to all those people who have supported and encouraged me to go on and go through with what then seemed like a crazy and life-changing plan, but what today is within finger's reach. And somehow, the other day as I was reading the acceptance letter, my mind thought of my dad... how proud he must be! How he has been there, to support and encourage me as well, in his special silent ways.

Au revoir, Strasbourg

I left in the morning, on an empty train, in the lazy sun. The world was just beginning to stir, and I was still drowsy from lack of sleep. Yet I knew this would be the last time I would be leaving the station at Strasbourg for a long time to come.

Yesterday, I saw online that my long awaited application for studies coming September has been approved. This means, there is a very high probablity of me packing my bags and moving to Canada very soon. As soon as I read that news, I was delighted, as it signals a new start and break from the mundane life here in Europe. But at the same time, it also means that I will be gone an indefinite time, if not never to return to here again.

I kissed my godson goodbye, unsure when I would see him again. And yesterday, as I walked through the narrow streets of Strasbourg, I was feeling a little melancholy. I realised I have been somewhat connected to the city in a special way, mostly by my friend and her child. In the past two years, I have been there and back no less than six times, for a birth, for Christimases, for birthdays. When Aslan was still a growing foetus, I was there. When Aslan was born, I went there. And now, almost two years old, happy and becoming more and more an individual, I was there. But I wonder whether I will be able to be a bigger part of his life, as he grows older.

Au revoir, Strasbourg. If I remember correctly there was a novel or movie with the exact same title. It was about the end of French control over this beautiful city, after the successful conquest of the Germans in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. "Au revoir" ("till meeting again"), because on a fateful day, history in the city would change forever, and German would become the overruling language and culture of a city that has for centuries been French (or at least, Alsatian). It was not known to the people when again they would see their old and inherent culture and country back again.

Au revoir, Strasbourg. My parting from Strasbourg was not as dramatic or sentimental. But a part of me will miss the city... miss the walks on the banks of the Ill with my godson's hand in mine, miss the night walks under the yellow lighting on cobblestone streets, miss the majestic buildings that adorn the old parts of the city, miss the large expanses of greenery in the parks and forests nearby. Mostly, I will miss my friend, and my godson, whom I have grown attached to after these two years of visiting them, and taking care of them, whenever I could.

When will we meet again?