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a home away from home 9:44 PM

Today marks the first day of Fall. Temperatures are rapidly going down from now, and all across the sky noisy Canadian geese are starting to migrate in their typical "V" pattern.

Fortunately (yet oft annoyingly), the weather here's rather erratic so there was a sunny and warm day last Thursday, where Sepi and I sat at the Duckworth Quad (U of M's campus green) in the open to chat, without a jacket for once. (Anyway, it seems akin a unanimous and silent acknowledgement amongst the exchange students that the ominous and harsh winter is gradually creeping in, and we'd better enjoy our last moments of sitting out (and drinking iced coffee) before it all becomes too late. Haha.)

xx

I remember the incessant bouts of homesickness on Work and Travel. Back then, it probably didn't occur that much that even though I was away, I had to do the little things I always did to keep myself sane and happy. Eventually, these included visiting Laura's Fudge and buying random choc-coated bananas and macaroons for Evi, Bell and company - amazingly, spending money on other people always keeps me light-hearted and self-satisfied - (my friends are incredibly lucky people) - I guess it mirrored how I was always doing little things to cheer my friends up, especially when they were feeling down.

Then there was chilling at Wawa's with Evi, chatting the nights away sipping free coffee (because we conveniently forgot to pay at times). Getting approached by random guys who invited us to a slumber party which we never went, teased by ignorant locals who tried to educate us on what potato chips were.. yea, those were what I embarked on, creating my own comfortable space away from home. And yes, that did make my days better and of course Evi and I became close friends as a result. (We have come a long way from not wanting to do projects with each other and her throwing peas at me in Year 1 to now, hahaha.)

So I've evolved and matured alot as a people's person from this very principle of relationship-management. I probably never understood this when I was younger, yet I'd always known that it makes me happy to brighten people's lives, accounting for how I behave towards my juniors and friends. And coupled with an increased self-awareness from LTM and reflection on hindsight, it does all make sense when I piece it together. I do believe that wherever one is, he/she has to have the ability to manage relationships and to have someone to genuinely talk to.

xx

So over here it seems that I've found Sepi, a great chat + coffee partner as well, when we spoke and realized just how similar we felt - the tensions of being independent yet homesick, the struggle between work and play on exchange. And because she is also in her final year, we shared many insights into our previous experiences and what we are planning for the future as well. In fact, we're thinking of doing our coffee + chill sessions weekly to keep up with this, haha.

I'm thankful that even though I'm halfway across the globe, I am making an effort indeed to hang on to the familiar yet venture and reach out to new people, making things all better for my friends and I. Undoubtedly, everyone has different goals for his/her overseas experience, and I'm just glad that I'm leading it well-integrated and well-connected to both here and back home, at the same time. :)

Reach me!
Wini’s pfingo number: 31501405
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Mail me!
Winifred Lim
Arthur V Mauro Residence, Box 436B
120 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 6B3
Canada

About me
You are an enthusiastic innovator, always seeing new possibilities and new ways of doing things. You have a lot of imagination and initiative for starting projects, and a lot of impulsive energy for carrying them out. You are stimulated by difficulties and are most ingenious in solving them. You can get so interested in your newest project that you have time for little else. Your energy comes from a succession of new enthusiasms and your world is full of possible projects. Your enthusiasm gets other people interested too.

Your feeling preference shows in a concern for people. You are skillful in handling people and often have remarkable insight into the possibilities and development of others. You are extremely perceptive about the attitudes of others, aiming to understand rather than judge people. You are much drawn to counseling and can be inspired and inspiring teacher, particularly where you have freedom to innovate. With talent, you can succeed in almost any field that captures your interest.

A difficulty for you is that you hate uninspired routine and find it remarkably hard to apply yourself to sometimes necessary detail unconnected with any major interest. Worse yet, you may get bored with your own projects as soon as the major problems have been solved or the initial challenge has been met. You may need to learn to follow through and finish what you have begun, but are happiest and most effective in jobs that permit one project after another, with somebody else taking over as soon as the situation is well in hand.

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