Bust Your Windows

Everybody loves shopping. Or should it be window shopping instead?

Yesterday, we all slept earlier than usual and were able to get the rest that we are yearning for. After all the shopping, the bargain, and the spending we did, we were still not satisfied. Today, as much for the happiness of our relatives and friends in the Philippines who persistently ask for gifts, we went to Singapore’s place for high class shopping-- the Orchard road.

Pisay delegates with Sir Bingcang posing in front
of Hwa Chong's infamous clock tower.

As usual, we first went to our classes in the morning. I must say that though we've been around the school for only a short period of time, I'm already kind of used to the surroundings and got a hold of things  as well. This I was able to prove when we went around the Hwa Chong grounds on our own.

After we finished our classes, we met with Sir Jayson in the council benches. We shared our own stories of the day until we reached one topic that brought us to experiment a little. Since all of us students stay in the homes of our hosts, we still haven't seen the Hwa Chong Boarding School. As Mr. Jayson described it, their dormitory is just like our own posh Serendra condominium put up inside a campus. Hearing this, we got really excited into seeing it that we cannot even wait for tomorrow. Also, this can be an excuse for us to visit the high school section of Hwa Chong and to be able to take pictures of  Hwa Chong's infamous clock tower, both of which are somewhere along our way to the dormitories.

At last, after almost 20 minutes of walk (with certain amounts of gossiping and vanity), we reached the dormitories. Even when we were still outside the gate, we can already see the Serendra-like style of the compound that houses thousands of Hwa Chong-ians.  Usually, visitors that don't have swipe cards (?)(same as the cards used in MRT stations) are not allowed to enter, but thanks to the convincing prowess of Sir Jayson and Katrina Tan(a Filipina student in HCI), we were allowed to get in, and when we did, I was shocked. Seeing the conference rooms, the indoor waterfalls, the landscaping, and the elevators, I could've not reacted that way if I only knew that it's not a dormitory but a classy condominium instead. Unfortunately, this 8-building, fully furnished, and condo-like place is a dormitory, a dormitory that is obviously superior to what we have back home. Looking around, I kept thinking what if Pisay dormers have such a place like this that looks very conducive to a student's learning and would probably inspire them and even help them to excel despite their distance from their families.

Hwa Chong Institution Boarding School

Afterwards, we already left the dormitories. Ate Katrina and Sir Jayson stayed in the dormitory to go up to their respective rooms. This was the time we started our little adventure-- to be able to go back to the council benches before three in order for us to be able to prepare for our tour and be able to start off early. This was not only our problem as we should first look for our way back. But as I've said earlier, though we've been here for only a few days, we already are quite familiar with the school. Because of this, we successfully found our way back despite of some misdirections.

 Jeks, Bianchi, Renzo, Zyra, Sam,and
 Ferdie (L-R) after (window) shopping. 

We left school early with Sally, Shyh Horng, and Yang Cheng as Sophie and Dennis are still having their classes. Our first stop was Ion Mall in Orchard Road. It's a shopping mall where you can find some of your label brands such as Topshop, Aldo, Charles and Keith. Fortunately, there are some shops in Ion that offers some affordable products from bags, to clothes and shoes, which allowed us to buy some stuff, mostly for our relatives back home. After a little buying and lots of window shopping, we went to Wisma Atria which is just nearby ion. Same story happened here, lots of walking and lots of window shopping...oh great! We finished early going around the orchard road so we decided to go to a bookstore. I'm not sure if we really have a problem of letting money go away from our pockets because even in a bookstore, we ended up window shopping.

We left Orchard road at around 7pm to meet up with Sophie and Dennis who are waiting for us in  Bugis. There, we ate different Singaporean favourites that have really good aroma and amazing taste which made us full even before we eat and left us wanting for more.

Of course, the spirit of the night wouldn't be so much exciting and enjoyable without a good conversation. As the guys and girls sat in different tables, secrets, gossips, and tons of stories were more comfortably shared, laughed at, and discussed. These actually made the night as everyone of us still continued talking and laughing inside the train, in the streets, and on our way home.:)

Again, we ended late, but I must say that it  is one of the most memorable days of our stay. This day allowed us to know each other more and allowed us to open up and show the others what our personality really is. Also, this day helped us be more comfortable as we already are with our hosts. I just hope that tomorrow will be another day of fun and adventure, and I pray that no one will fool around during April fools'.

by: Zyra Arcos