So yes, I know that the spoiler from my last post promised pictures of barnyard education here in the midwest but I haven't uploaded those pictures yet and my cable seems to have decided to take a tour of my apartment has is no longer where I remember it last being. (and please, no suggestions of otherworldly presences because that would freak me out and we don't want that do we?)

I am currently writing this in the Chrowder Courtyard which is the courtyard adjoining the students lounge or as is known here, the Students Commons. This is the venue for the school's weekly happy hour which easily half the student population turns up for. I was of course, very pleasantly surprised at this, being accustomed to little or no student support for such school functions in NUS and what struck me the most about it was that the students were genuinely enjoying themselves and there wasn't that self-consciousness we see in NUS where it's almost uncool to be at a school function and it isn't uncommon to hear people trying to excuse their presence by saying that they had no choice or that they were there to support their friends who were organising the event. I suppose it also helps that there's always free beer at these events. (Law School here is in Anheuser-Busch Building which is named for the biggest beer manufacturer in the world. They make Budweiser beer. Which tastes foul btw)

And regarding my first entry and in response to some comments, I don't deny that it is a long entry, but it isn't only about my apartment. I suppose the pictures aside, I really wanted to impress upon everyone not on exchange, the difficulty and hardships involved in coming on exchange, that exchange isn't all about cheap alcohol and travelling or even mostly about that, because exchange to me, has been about being turly independent, more than the army, more than going on holidays with your friends, more than moving into hall. It is about finding your own two feet and standing on them and finidng that hey, I can support my own weight. it is about realising the sheer effort and willpower that goes into getting simple, essential tasks and errands done; getting a bank account, knowing how to rout money from singapore, finding a place to stay, negotiating a lease, finding furniture with a small or non-existent budget, drawing up grocery lists, going to the grocers, figuring out how to get around without a cheap, clean, safe and reliable public transportation system, making friends (yes, it doesn't come naturally, and yes, it definitely is a chore at first) slowly but surely devising a standard operation protocol for how to live your life, completely and totally alone for the what will be for many of us, the first time. I was telling some friends that this past month alone has been such an experience because for the first time in my life, every single action or omission is a consequence on my life, directly and with no one else to blame. If I oversleep and don't have time to get to the grocers, then I go without milk or bread for breakfast the next day. If I dawdle about getting my internet connection up, then I deal with not having any form of communication with the rest of the world. I can no longer pick up the phone and call a parent or friend to settle some errand that slipped my mind or expect someone to drive me in the middle of the night to pick up eggs or milk. For the first time, I can honestly say, that this IS my life, because it is whatever I make of it.

So no, the first post was not a vanity post; it was to me, the fruits of a very hard first month's worth of labour and I am certain that anyone who has gone through the process of uprooting and setting up home from scratch will know exactly what I am talking about.