On an island in the sun...

I am overwhelmed with the amount of fun I have been having lately, I do not even know where to begin. Although for awhile today I did feel my first little bout of homesickness. I really miss my family, but hearing Sam's voice tell me all about her little 6th grade life really made me feel better.

This last Friday, Susana, Fern, Christina and I went shopping at Orchard Road. We were on a search for a variety of things - accessories, casual clothes, going out dresses, everything. I ended up getting 2 dresses. I really had to refrain from many things, and not be so impulsive. Mom, you would have been proud. :) Go to Bali......... or have a cute dress? It's all about considering the trade-off.

Orchard was so big, and the stores were expensive and name brand on the main strip. So we went to find Far East Plaza and Takashimaya to find some deals. There wasn't as much as I expected to find, but it was fun trying things on anyways. I felt like the little dress up dolls for the girls. They would pick out outfits for me to try on and then judge them. And I can't forget the hilarious moment I had trying on the dress that was beautiful in the front, but turned out to have a HUGE slit in the back....nice, Renee, nice.......





We ate at this huge really nice asian food court. I got some vietnamese spring rolls (made fresh on the spot) and an indian flat bread wrap thing. It was delicious, but I had a bit of a stomach ache after. We had a full day of shopping and had no energy to go out that night, despite the pressure from the boys. Also, I can't forget to mention the free donut samples we got in the mall. We literally got like a quarter of a donut sample each. I could definitely get used to treatment like that...

Saturday was probably the BEST day I've had so far here in Singapore. Compared to my first few nights here, that's not saying much, I know. But it really was amazing. SENTOSA! (Me: Is Sentosa an island? The group: Silence). Ok so maybe I had a few things to learn about this island that we visited, but I had a great time nonetheless. From taking pictures for Zak the photographer, to doing back flips and front flips in the ocean, to FLYFISH (!!!!!!!) with John and Roel, to dancing in the pool, to ordering a strawberry margarita at the pool bar, I seriously felt like I was on some huge resort vacation in paradise, rather than studying abroad at camp NTU. I think I'm going to let the photos just speak for themselves.







Going on the FlyFish was so funny. Our hands and forearms were killing us. We each fell off once. One of my legs was in the water and the other was out, and it was hurting so I just had to let go.

Anyways, from the creepers in the pool who were self proclaimed "rock stars" to exploring the Wavehouse to buying a bathing suit literally at the store there to swimming in the ocean to building pyramids with the boys, it was a day to remember. It is definitely the cure to any type of homesick someone may feel!

Sunday consisted of Christina, Susana, Fern, and I going to Jurong to Fair Price which makes Wal Mart look like the most tranquil relaxing store ever. It was packed with a million Asians running you over. We somehow got the ingredients we needed for our Mexican dinner (chips, salsa at 5 bucks a jar, stuff for guac, etc) and took it back to Hall 3 to make in the kitchen. I am so jealous of all of the people who got hall 3, the nice, renovated hall on campus. Anyways, we ended up cooking the meal, and charging people 6 bucks a plate if they wanted it. Some 'homegirls' as Christina and I like to call them, came and took some chips of ours without paying and we got really upset, but whatever. It was delicious, although I ate waaaay too many tortilla chips and will probably be thirsty for the next week. Susana was the lead chef and Christina and I her minions, chopping jalapenos and tomatos and stirring. She made this chili salsa sauce thing with beans on the side and this meat dish. Everyone loved it. Next up, Christina and I will be doing a pasta dinner. But homegirls aren't invited that's for sure.



Last night, I walked in to my room to find a lizard on the wall. After having a slight heart attack, I asked 3 girls sitting outside on the steps eating rice if they could get rid of it for me. They said I had to chase it out of the room. After explaining to them that I had no idea (and no desire) to do that, they got this chinese boy downstairs to help me. So he brought up a vaccuum cleaner, and sucked up the lizard. It was HILARIOUS, although Sam is pretty upset that I harmed one of her favorite organisms. But at least it is gone, which is the most important thing. Well, at least in my world.

We are currently in the midst of making out travel plans among the group. It is a big big headache. Everyone wants to do different things. Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Moon Festival, it's so confusing. I don't even know where I want to go anymore. But it will all work out.

Going for an early run with Amanda in the morning, so off to bed. Here's to Sentosa, strawberry margaritas, and vaccuum cleaners!

<3>

THE Night

Tomorrow will officially be the one week anniversary of meeting all of my closest exchange friends: Christina, Susana, Fernanda, Daniel, Roel, Marko, Melissa, Alexis. I truly feel as though I have known them forever. I am closer with these people than with some people I have known my whole life. We have gone through and done so much already. It's like speed dating, except for friends.
Last night, I went to my first club: Double O. After spending the whole day with Susana and Fernanda, seeing how nice and big and clean and bug free both their dorms are, I came back to get ready. Fern accidentally burnt Susana's poor hair while trying to straighten it, giving her a permanent curl on the side of her head and making the burnt area completely die and fall out. It was a crisis indeed; luckily they came over and used my straightener and finished getting ready here. Christina met up with us and we took off to make a glorious entrance into Canteen 13 in our going out dresses and heels and makeup. Im not even going to try explaining the feeling of all of the stares we got. I ate some chinese pau's and pineapple and oranges and ice cream which were delicious, while Christina somehow found a chicken chili hot dog and some asian form of barbeque chips and a soda, while Fern and the adventurous Susana ate Japanese food for the first time (chicken teriyaki, that is). Of course, we told the boys we would meet at the hall 16 pre-party at 8 pm, but, like always, we showed up at 930. There we met about a million more exchange students, and took a zillion pictures. We then headed downtown in groups to go to Double O.

Some of the Crew:

My Girlies!

American Boys: Bennett and Alex

Don't worry Mom, that's Sprite in my cup :)

Chinese Pau! and Christina with her American food

Oh what a night!!! I say with all honesty that I had probably one of the funnest nights of my entire life. The club atmosphere was everything I thought it was. Im glad I didn't have to pay to get in (thanks to Singapore's "Ladies Night" every Wednesday night). They were giving free drinks to girls as well, but of course my two best mexicana friends and I don't drink so we just danced the night away....literally. It was sooo hot but so much fun just dancing like crazy, and sharing a dance with Pablo, perhaps the funniest Mexicano boy here, was hilarious, twirling and everything! After that whole club dancing thing, we went into the low-key bar area where a live band was playing so we could rest. 3 boys (David from Canada, Roel from Holland, Daniel from Australia) and 3 girls (Me, Susana and Fernanda) all sat on the couch, and we were about to go home when we decided to play a game of pool, boys vs girls. Fernanda accidentally hit their ball into the pocket, and the boys would just keep rolling our balls into the pockets to help us out, but I am still convinced that we won all on our own. Then, the band started playing literally EVERY single classic oldie song, from Uptown Girl to Grease to Staying Alive, the 3 of us girls could NOT stop dancing. We were doing silly crazy moves and singing and we could not stop, despite it being about 2 am. It is so crazy how people from such different places can come together and dance and sing to songs. I am convinced that music is the universal language.
We got a taxi cab home and named last night "THE Night" because it was so much fun. I absolutely love those girls, who definitely took care of me, as well as the boys, but especially the girls because they have gone to clubs before. It was pretty crazy going up on the top step on the stage and dancing together and we were all screaming and yelling "Singaaapppooooorreeee!!!!"

Playing pool, starting to dance...

Fernanda and I

Exchange girls

My favorite Mexicanas: Susana and Fernanda

Double O: My first club

Mikael, my Swedish friend. Doesn't he look like Clark Kent?

John!!

David!!

Frank!!

I went to bed last night at 3 am and got up at 7. I wanted to fall asleep in my classes. This is so unlike me, I know, but I just have this entire new mindset and outlook on everything while I'm here. I am truly trying my best to enjoy EVERY SINGLE moment that I have here and not worry about anything. My classes are actually pretty interesting though, I think the most interesting one is my clinical neuropsychology class. The professor is a really interesting chinese lady who speaks really good english. It almost reminded me of my dear sweet mother :) Anyways, I went and bought two books I would need for class today, because my name is Renee Payne and even though I'm staying out later and studying a little less, you can never take the nerd out of this girl.

I coordinated a lunch hangout with everyone today at Cant A. I am obsessed with McDonalds vanilla cones because it's the closest I can come to frozen yogurt, although I tried a soya ice cram the other day. Im still trying to decide whether or not I liked it. Then tonight Christina and I took the bus back there for dinner. It really is frustrating how the internal buses stop working her at 9pm every night. It's so inconvenient. I guess they figure all the people here will just run when they need to get food, since EVERY single night there are about a million runners running. Yes, that's how hot it is here that people run at 1 am. When we got back at 230 last night, there were runners running. And I thought I was an avid runner.

My present roommate is here, typing behind me. It is a bit awkward sharing a room with someone that I really don't know. We don't talk much that's for sure. Christina needs to get in here!!! But I better get some rest, I can feel the dark circles becoming permanent beneath my eyes...but I must leave with a few last pictures of my girlfriends and I rocking out at Double O...

All Signs Point to Block 49

I feel that this upcoming event is blog-worthy for sure. My last night of sleeping among the bugs is behind me, and I am now going to be moving to a different block that is bug-free and soon to be shared with Christina. Christina told me that she owes my uncle arthur her first born child for doing this for us. We are so excited to be roommates in 18 days (and counting). Until then, I will still probably be spending more time in her room than in mine.
Last night we met at Cant 2 with the original crew + Frank from Germany. However, due to my stomach ache the other night from the food there (green waffles?? hmm....) and the flies buzzing around it, the 2 of us went to Cant A on campus to get some better food. I got subway and she got some pasta and then we got a McDonalds vanilla cone, which was absolutely delicious. The 3 minutes it took us to eat them was the quietest we had ever been this whole trip. So if you want to shut us up, you know what to get us.
We have also become pros at catching the bus. Christina always spots the bus coming, yells "There it is!" and Im the one who takes off running followed by her. We somehow always make it at the last minute, out of breath, panting, and laughing like crazy.
But yesterday it started pouring like there was no tomorrow. Being from SD, a place that rains about once a year, I was truly dumbfounded at first. We of course had no umbrella, so we had to suck it up and walk in the rain.
Anyways, at Cant A we sat down and planned out our Thailand trip over spring break, Looks like we are going to be flying to Bangkok for the first part of the week, then Phuket for the last part. The boys will probably be going to the Festival on an island off of Thailand, but we aren't sure. Unfortunately Alexis and Melissa will be going off doing a two week tour of 12 cities throughout southeast asia. But it should definitely be quite the adventure.
Yesterday the exchange students had to do the student's pass process, which probably couldnt be more complicated if they tried. Of course, I forgot my passport in my room so I had to take the bus back to get it. Christina doesnt have a cell phone so I was constantly calling Tobias to talk to her and then Daniel and I came back to campus to get in line for the pass but of course then the office closed for lunch so we had to wait an hour then all the students came back and I met even more people from even more places!! I also had to go on campus to take some passport photos of myself in a booth which is always fun.
Goodbye block 52. The best memory here has probably been the other night in the common room (aka Daniel's room) with Roel and Christina and Daniel. It was yet another night consisting of a long talk. I became so delirious and tired around midnight, that as we were asking whether our country's had certain things, like sayings or jokes or gestures, I asked if Australians and Dutch people celebrated Thanksgiving. Im pretty sure I made Jessica Simpson look like a genius with that one.

Anyways, next post will be from a new bug free room. Hallelujah, praise the Lord. And Uncle Arthur too.

<3 chi ai

Insomnia

I have officially been in Singapore for one week now. I truly feel as if I have been here forever. I have not made friends with the bugs and insects here, but I have found some of the most amazing and hilarious people ever, so it definitely makes up for it. I also do not sleep here. No, not due to jet lag but more like an intense fear of the bugs and spiders that will crawl all over me. Therefore, I sleep with the lights on, and usually do not fall asleep til 2 am, then wake up around 6 or 7.
On Sunday our group went to the Singapore Zoo to go on the midnight safari. Somehow, our group kept growing and growing as our 3 hour ride to the zoo continued. What originally began as the Mexicans, the Aussie, the Dutch guy, Christina, and I plus the northerners and David from Canada eventually became us plus a huge group of Americans from Connecticut and Chicago. Crammed onto the back of the bus for a long ride to the zoo, it was quite a sight: A huge mix of cultures and people from various backgrounds on one bus together. I felt like we were on a field trip. Once we got there we met even more people, and I'm seriously considering buying a speakerphone and a big flag to carry around so that our group can stick together. (We tried to do roll call by country "Mexicans!! Check. Germans!! Check) but it didn't work out too well. The creatures of the night show was so cool, but I secretly wish that the snake was hidden under my feet! Luckily, John from Michigan got his 5 minutes of fame when we volunteered him up to hold the gigantic boa. He looked terrified, which was the most entertaining part. But when he told the crowd he was from America, Christina and I cheered the loudest.







We went on a tram ride around the park, but sadly the lady's creepy voice was more entertaining than the animals we saw there. Afterwards the huge group was waiting for a bus to get back to campus, but we didn't know exactly where we were. We asked a group of guys on the curb how to get to NTU and the guy looked down and said, "WTF Is NTU?" It was pretty much the best comment of the night. Anyways we divided the group into eaters and non-eaters, and it ended up being Christina and I and 5 other very hungry boys (Roel, Daniel, Alexis, Frank and David). We beat the other boys in a fancy limo back to Boon Lay to eat some food at a real authentic asian food court. Roel and I got noodles wrapped in paper, pretty much like a present.



Our ongoing conversations revolve around America's superiority over other countries (lol) and my unrelenting effort to prove that Americans have invented more things than their country. Like the light bulb..or Michael Jackson, for example. So far, Roel can only come up with Phillips for Holland, and Daniel can't really come up with anything good for australians, but thats not surprising is it? After or 11 oclock dinner Alexis, Christina and I took a $2 each cab ride back home while the boys all walked bahaha.

That day I also went to the most delicious Hyatt chinese buffet ever with Yee Poa Poa, Uncle Arthur, Aaron and Sharon. I, Renee Payne, ate two servings of Indian food. Shocking, I know.




School started Monday, and it is so strange being in a new country but learning the same things. Being the nerdy girl that I am, I was the only person who sits in the front row alone. All of the locals sit in the back of the room. They are all a bit cliquey, it definitely makes me miss my exchange friends. Luckily, Christina is going to take Social Psych with me, or at least we hope. The poor girl's horrible schedule and course confusion combined with our lack of being roommates made her have a very bad day yesterday. The poor thing couldnt skype in her room due to her roommate sleeping so she was in my room and we were both up talking late. We were meant to be roommates, and finally NTU has recognized that (thanks to Uncle Arthur). I will be moving out of this bug infested room tomorrow, thank god. We found a spider by my bed last night, where Christina tried to get it for me. But it was a fail. Anyways, the important thing is that Im out of here soon and Christina will be my new roommate in 19 days and our room will be the place it is happenin! Just had to raise a little hell!!!
I will write more later, but I must say that so far the best line of the trip was when Christina learned what a squatter was. "Oh, HEEEEEEEEELLLLLL NOOOOOOO" was her reaction, in the best southern accent you could ever imagine. I almost died laughing. She thought they were toilets under construction. Bless her heart.

<3 chi ai

Canteen Talks

My first Saturday in Singapore was spent sitting in cant 2 and then cant A for about 3 hours talking with the group of exchange students from all over the world. Mexico, Holland, Australia, Sweden, Finland, the South! How can all of these people from so many different places possibly find themselves all sitting at one table in the middle of Singapore chatting? We were supposed to go swimming at 8 pm but the pool was already closed so we ended up not only chatting after eating (I ate samosas from a canadian pizza place...hmm) but meeting a couple more exchange students: Daivd from Canada, John and Amanda form Michigan and Pablo form Mexico. But I am sure that I am learning just as much from all of them as they are from me. For example, teaching them what s'mores are, what in'n'out burger is, and what yosemite is like is almost as enlightening for them as it is for me to learn how to calculate celsius degrees and why the day comes before the month (9/11 or 11/9?). Roel (aka grr) from Holland mentioned that he had a turtle once, and that its size is determined by th size of its tank. So I came to the conclusion that it must be that way in humans too, explaining why asians are so damn small because they live in such small places, while americans have all the room to grow, my theory to the obesity epidemic. everyone agreed.

We have all established that we may all be very different, but the one thing we all have in common is that we are all ALWAYS late to everything. If we plan to meet at 3, that pretty much means 4 in our universal language that we all seem to know. Sitting around in canteens for hours on end is pretty much the most exciting thing we have done so far, so we all agree on that too. John from Michigan (who doesn't know jonny) said that at home sitting outside McDonalds is not cool, but obviously here we have made it the thing that cool kids do. The diversity in the group is overwhelming, and I can't wait to travel with all of these amazing people.

I went on a run this morning around the sauna aka NTU campus with my new friend Amanda from Pennsylvania who goes to U of Michigan. The best part of the run is a toss up between going up about 12 flights of vertical stairs, similar to what jim carrey climbed in ace ventura, or when she tripped on the sidewalk which tripped me and we both fell to the ground. It was hilarious, and im sure even more hilarious to watch. No wonder the singaporeans stay so far away from us.

Last night on our way back home Christina from North Carolina aka my future new roomie and I had a great walk back to our hall, which consisted of climbing the fence to catch the 199 bus and finding the hugest snail we have ever seen in our lives. I thought everything was bigger in america, but apparently i was wrong.

Roel from Holland is pretty much the funniest guy ever, along with john form Michigan. Roel's high pitched "what??!?!?!??!" to pretty much everything that comes out of my mouth is hilarious. Daniel from Australia is always down for everything mate and has got me in a new habit of saying cheers at the end of everything. Fernanda de Mexico is single handedly teaching us spanish and spanish phrases, like Cuando quieras!! Susana is also educating us on all of the millions of books and research she has read about everything..while Marko is from Finland and is an only child (lol). Christina from NC my dear elon girl is so sweet and funny and i am still fascinated by her southern accent. Learning about cook out ("uhh..is that a place where people get together and just cook?") and old southern racism and watching "the end of ze world" and bon qui qui is priceless. I can't forget her obsession with cats and trying to rescue them from the trash cans at Cant A, only to have them jump out of the trash can at the speed of lightning. Ill be sure to let you know if she ever gets sick of the hamburgers here!! :)

The Gang

They really aren't so bad after all...

Oh Singapore

I get about 4 or 5 hours of sleep every night here. I will come back from the trip with permanent black circles under my eyes. Either that, or as Christina and I have discussed, super thin, super tan, with crazy wild uncontrolled hair (Macy Gray look-a-likes). My hair seems to look like it "exploded" (Susana) and the lack of makeup has made me feel like im at camp NTU. I dream of the day when I will be able to take a shower without flip flops on, and I wont have to bring my shampoo and soap to the shower, and lizards and moths wont be creeping all around. Ive grown more accustomed to it though, so taking me out of these flip flops at home is going to be a challenge.

<3>

Rocky Beginnings...

It has been a long time since I last wrote on here. So much has happened, where do I even begin? After my short visit in HK, where I had mistakenly assumed that I was ready to take on SE asia, I traveled to Singapore to begin my semester abroad. After a 3 hour plane ride that strangely felt like forever, I finally landed in my new home for the next several months. Figuring out where to meet a family friend who picked me up was definitely a challenge at Changi airport. After some confusion, we finally met each other and thus began an hour long ride back to NTU! I was mesmerized by the beauty of Singapore in terms of nature; it is truly the greenest and cleanest place I have ever been to. Arriving at NTU, and driving through the lush green hills and trees of the gargantuan campus was jaw dropping. I thought SDSU was pretty; but NTU brings it to a whole new level.





Checking into my dorm was..stressful! I had a minor heart attack when I couldn't find my passport, thinking I lost it at the aiport. Luckily it all worked out and I moved into my new room in Hall 10. I was not so pleasantly surprised upon entering a room that was extremely messy and dirty on my roommate's side..also, upon encountering bugs and ants, I once again had a minor heart attack.

______

To describe the next 24 hours of my life would bring me back to a very dark place..do we want to go there? To mildly put it, I had a rough time adjusting the first night. Thinking I had made huge mistake coming across the world to find myself in a humid, bug infested, dirty, and empty place, I seriously pondered booking a flight back home. I tried to go to the canteen nearby for some dinner to find that they were closed. I felt fearful, scared, alone, and oh so regretful. I had never ever in my entire life felt like I did that night..I was so completely out of my comfort zone, I was unable to function.

Luckily, I found help in the caring heart of Suyin, my first Singapore friend. A sweet, innocent, and gentle soul, Suyin helped me that first night try to find a phone, and we met up the next day for her to show me around campus, help me get a phone, eat lunch at Cant A, etc. If it wasn't for Suyin, I may never have made it through.

During my mild depressive episode, I talked to my family who made me feel better and encouraged me to not let the culture shock get the best of me. Also, if it wasn't for the kindness of Yee Poa Poa and Uncle Arthur, I also may never have made it through! Spending the next few days being treated like American royalty, I spent invaluable time with my dear grand aunt and uncle, going shopping, eating at delicious restaurants, eating sweet fruits, learning all about the Beng family, sleeping in my own double bed on the third floor of their house, and being waited on hand and foot by their maid, Theresa, I was, to say the very least, spoiled.

Me, Uncle Arthur & Yee Poa Poa

Coming back to camp NTU after spending time as a princess is always tough, but I was in a much better frame of mind. Excited to meet all of the new exchange students at today's orientation, I could hardly wait to get back to school. The orientation was so much fun. There were about 400 exchange students from all over the world there. Everyone was lost and didn't know anyone else. Everyone was vulnerable and anxious to meet and talk to anyone and everyone. The variety of accents, dialects, and cultures was overwhelming. I couldn't even begin to process the amount of diversity that was right in front of me. The first person I met was Marko, from Finland. Tall, shy, blonde, and extremely nice, we met walking over to the lecture hall, unsure of whether we were even going in the right direction.
Next, I met Susana, from Mexico, probably the sweetest, funnest, most genuine girl I have ever met in my life. You can't help but love her!!
After the orientation, we all went to eat a huge Chinese lunch buffet and chat and mingle. Of course, as I'm standing there eating my food and talking to Daniel, my chinese friend from Australia, I dropped my entire plate of food on the ground. Quite a way to start your exchange program, I know.
Soon I met Christina, from North Carolina, the true Southern Belle. After discovering we were in the same Hall just 2 floors apart, thanking god, and sharing our similar horrifying stories of our transition from the US to SE Asia, we became friends instantaneously. Next, I met Fernanda, but we call her Fern, from Mexico as well - a truly sweet and beautiful girl who shares my dying wish to visit Cambodia. Lastly, our little international group consists of Alexis and Melissa, also from Mexico.

So there we were, the 8 of us: Marko, Susana, Christina, Daniel, Fern, Alexis, Melissa, and Me, the food dropper, sharing stories and cultures and goals like none other. We are all going to travel together as a group throughout the semester, and talking about the different places we are going to go to - Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, etc - was incredible. After going to the International House to finish our registrations, we decided to meet back up later on that night for dinner and to take the MRT downtown to Clarke Quay to meet all of the other exchange students.

Christina and I devised our plan of trying to switch our local roommates and become roommates. We are on a mission to get our roommates to become BFF so that we can live together. I also met my roommate, Yingyu, from China, who came back from Taiwan after her holiday and gave me some Taiwanese candy. A sweet girl, who claims that she will be gone a lot because she is always in her boyfriend's room upstairs.

Anyways, Christina and I got ready - I met her mom on Skype - and we went off to meet everyone. Words can't describe how exciting it is to be with people who share your interests and openmindedness, who have ventured way outside of their comfort zones as well to experience a world so completely new and different from what they are used to. I can't even begin to say how comforting that feeling is, and how special it is to meet people who are just as thirsty for adventure as you are.

Our group went to Jurong Point by bus and MRT, and split up to eat dinner at the mall. I ate with Daniel the Australian and Fern the Mexican. How insane it is that 24 hours ago none of us knew each other existed, when we were then eating dinner together - all from very different parts of the world - at one table! The 4 of us girls - Christina, Fern, Susana, and I (2 Mexicans and 2 Americans) had a great time talking about anything and everything - from American stereotypes, to Obama, to American celebrities, to our "types" of boys, to the places we want to travel and see. When we finally reached Clarke Quay at about 11 pm, we were pretty tired, but walked along the beautiful Singapore River and the absolutely amazing lights and music and restaurants and clubs along it. In our first night in a country where you only have to be 18 to buy alcohol, the 4 of us girls sat on "the bridge" at the River talking and chatting and laughing as if we have known each other forever and sipping orange sodas.

The Girls: Fern, Christina, Me, Susana

On the MRT. Oh and that's Daniel the Australian

Love these girls!

After splitting a taxi ride back among 6 people (the MRTs stop running after 12) Christina and I lazily walked back to our rooms, exhausted. How I have the energy to write this right now I have no idea. It is 3am and I am practically sleep typing, so I will end here. I am so happy, so excited, and truly blessed to have this experience..

<3>