Daryl Tay.net

Now that exchange is officially over, I’ve been thinking about what singular change I would have made if I knew what I know now, and could rewind time to make the decision all over again.

What I wouldn’t change:

School – Queen’s University was my second choice, but I have no regrets at all. I loved living in a small town and will miss it very, very much upon heading back to busy Singapore.

Country – I can say pretty objectively, that Canada is my favourite place to visit. In one episode of Life, someone from Canada is described as being “happy for no reason” and that’s generally how people are here. They’re cheerful and happy and polite and respectful of diversity.

My friends from the UK were just saying we’re so used to smiling, happy people at the checkout counters, that even if the person on duty is just normal/neutral, we feel like something’s wrong. Oh and the favourable exchange rate didn’t hurt too.

Time – I thought I would have liked to be away longer, but now that I’m about to head home, I’m pretty ready to go. Four months is a long time to be away!

Actually when it comes down to it, I think all of these things sort themselves out. Where you stay, how near the Starbucks (or Tim Hortons) is, whether there’s a television or not, etc.

There really is only one thing I would have changed to make this experience better: I would’ve changed who I came here with. The first day I met my housemates was the first day of orientation here in Kingston, and truth be told, I think I have pretty good housemates. But it’s not the same as coming with a good friend and having shared experiences to carry home with.

Of the people I know who are on exchange now, it would’ve been great to have shared this with maybe Chloe, Ambrose, Joseph, Terence, or one of the people who I’ve been relatively close to in my time in SMU. Boss would have been a good candidate but the idiot decided to go away last term instead.

Of course it could have been worse and I could have ended up with people I would never ever want to be in close proximity with, but I shall not dwell on that or mention any names. Heh.