Going down Memory Lane
As I sort through my stuff and unpacked my bags, I came across all the brochures and the receipts that we acquired through the trip. I went through them one by one, reading some for the last time before throwing them away. It is at this point that I realise, our graduation trip is really over. For me, it all happened too fast. And it is at this point that it became clear to me, from now on, our graduation trip will cease to exist except for that memory in my mind and dozens of photos.
And now as I revisit all the email correspondances we had in preparation for the trip, I smile in my heart at our amusing e-conversations. Our little ignorances about the trip, our excited little cheers…they all pull at my heartstrings as I read them again.
The Australia trip keeps replaying itself in my mind. And I remember everything very very clearly. How we gave a little squeal when the plane took off…how we struggled with the gravel path at "Wait-a-while Road" (with Lilin’s knees poking into my back)…how beautiful the Pacific Ocean is, as if somebody with a very long arm had sprinkled diamonds all over the ocean surface…how we came out of Howard Street every morning, Lilin and Yujun walking in front of Alice and me…towards Queen Victoria Market where we spent hours souvenior shopping, not giving up until we found the cheapest boomerang…how the little lambs trample on the girls’ feet as they tried to feed milk to them…the beautiful Opera House sun-tanning it’s golden luster in the sunrays…how Alice eased slowly down the steep sand dune on her quad bike and screamed her butt off…how we all sat on Auntie Pat’s sofa waiting for the clock to strike 11 am to go home…
Everything is so vivid in my head and I can just see it happening in front of me. And it wrenches my heart to know that in a few years time, all these memories will seem vague and hard to recollect. But that’s the way it always is. Memories are suppose to fade with time. And only those that are the most deeply etched, will remain with us through our elder years.
In case I haven’t said this to you guys (or I am too shy to say it in your face), I feel honoured and lucky to have been part of this crusade. Thank you to Lilin and Yujun, for being wonderful travel mates and accommodating buddies. Special thanks to Alice, for letting me being part of something special, and for reading out the road signs/speed limits out loud to me throughout the trip.
We have done a good job ladies. *pat on everyone’s back*
P.S. I am ashamed to say this but writing this note has made my eyes tear.
Just something I found in my email account recently while I was rummaging through some of my "Sent Items". As much as I don’t want to, I have to use the cliche ‘Time really files’. It’s been more than a year since my graduation trip, and true enough like what I said, it’s becoming hard to clearly remember what exactly happened. I almost forgot that I sent out a Post Trip email to my travelmates. But reading it at this point of time, I am reminded of how I felt when I just came back from Australia in June last year. My graduation trip to Australia has really been an outstanding episode in my life. Photographs may be visually stunning, but I prefer to read an entry. To me, words can be so much more beautiful and descriptive. I am glad to have kept the habit of blogging, and I anticipate fondly that in the years to come, I can go down a Memory Lane which I created myself. Imagine walking down a narrow street, "Yibin’s Memory Lane", where words and dates are scribbled all over the walls, each and every chapter of my life narrated by the stories on the walls…….
It’s difficult reading about Alice though. I guess I kinda miss the maturity and sensibility that she exhibits in terms of handling a relationship. And the fact that the whole of my school days had been polka-dotted by her presence. I am glad to say that when I eventually walk down Memory Lane, I will find her name peppered on the walls during this period of my life.
November 9th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Well said.