SSAG AGM=)

13-16th May 2005

SSAG stands for Singapore Students’ Association, and just like other students’ associations in other countries, its aim is to connect students, promote interaction between Singaporean students in a country. Well, it seems to me that SSAG’s mission is rather tough, because Singaporean Students are really SCATTERED all over Germany…you can have as few as one or up to 30 plus students in one city/area. Thus no matter which place you choose in Germany, it would be a really long trip for some people. I belong to one of those ‘privileged’ ones to have to travel 13 hours by car up to Uelzen, Hannover. It was just like driving from South Germany to North Germany. We were also lucky enough to catch the Pfingsten traffic (Pentecost holiday, the one that the French Government recently scrapped, causing a nation-wide strike), so I must say that this is one of the longest journeys I have experienced. I could have flown back to Singapore for the amount of time I spent in the car!

However, the ride there was worth it. I guess there is an immediate connection between people who can spice up conversation with the occasional ‘lahs’ and ‘mahs’, as well as the ability to play bridge, Tai-tee (at this juncture I must admit that I finally learnt how to play Tai-tee properly, from a German girl who is the girlfriend of one of the Singaporeans. But I mastered it in record speed! * self-justification*=)) It was interesting to observe how some of us mix German in our conversations, because seriously, some German words explain things a lot better than their English substitutes. I christened this new language “Sherman”, but another alternative is “Seutsch” (Singlish and Deutsch). I think it is really a Singaporean characteristic to mix all the languages we learn…I was just talking to my sis in office, when Jochen overheard and asked, “Do all Singaporeans mix English and Chinese?” And I had to explain, “No, we mix Hokkien, Malay and sometimes German too.”

We played Frisbee in the morning, had a real German lunch at noon, (I had a Jaegerschnitzel, or the Hunter’s Pork Chop, which is really delicious and had this mushroom sauce with whole mushrooms that people could pick from the Black Forest) and had the AGM in the afternoon, followed by a Barbecue (or Grill) at night on the second day. The camaraderie between everyone was almost tangible. We laughed so much that Pris (DSTA scholar studying at Wuerzburg) and I had stomach muscle aches the following morning. Sam, Ruth and Kailuo and I stayed in the same room, and I must say it was a great feeling, to have ‘big sisters’ taking care of, or nagging a little at me again. Things like, ‘Apply moisturizer’, ‘Wake up, it’s time for breakfast’, etc, are a welcome break from the usual quiet that comes with living alone.

On the next day, we went canoeing along the peaceful river Ilmenau, which is rather small actually, about the size of a canal. It was a pity that the weather was so cold and wet, it just rained NON-STOP. Clever me forgot to bring a cap, or a completely water-proof windbreaker/jacket for that matter, and got completely wet. Other than the cold and the wetness, it was great fun, to just sail down the river, singing Singaporean songs at the top of our voices. (Kharthik remembered all the lyrics, amazingly!) Songs like Count On Me Singapore, The Little Things, We are Singapore…it would have sounded incredible to the Germans that we can be so nationalistic, as Germans are still in general wary of nationalistic feelings due to the Nazi past. To keep my hair away from my face, I placed my glasses on top of my head, and nearly missed looking at some big moos which were grazing by the river bank. One of them turned to me with a baleful gaze, munching on some grass at the same time. It was just the Perfect Setting for a great getaway.

We had to cut the Canoe trip short by 2 hours, because it was raining non-stop, and most of us were shivering in our wet clothes. It was really no joke to have your teeth chattering and knees shaking, and hopping around to keep warm, as the wind blows past to take all remaining warmth you might have had.

We returned to the Jugendherberge (Youth hostel), took warm showers…and then I played Ping Pong. Some Germans are surprisingly good at it! We (the guys) played against this German boy who had the posture and strikes of a professional Ping Pong player, and I learned how to enjoy the game too, though it is because everyone gave way to me as a first-time player, haha!

At night, we passed the time by playing bridge. This was when I learnt something else about myself for the 2nd time in two months. (The last time I learnt that I am actually a very shy person, short of painfully shy, remember? Don’t you laugh, I am probably a very very quiet person in my subconsciousness. See, my subsconsciousness is sooo quiet that I hardly knew there was a shy me in it. Ah, crap.) Well, this time it is that I am conservative, that I probably couldn’t take risks. Comments, anybody? The things that people can read about you from just a card game. Conservative is fine by me, it doesn’t mean I can’t take risks, but that I take CALCULATED risks. But being shy is another matter I think…shy and conservative, the last time I remembered being so was when I was five…or was it Primary Five? Haha, Old Friends, you tell me.

Time really passes quickly, it is nearly 1 am in the morning and I have gotta work tomorrow. Keep in touch!