It's been close to a month since I've left home for Europe, and the homesickness began kicking in about a week and a half ago. It's especially difficult without much access to any form of communication which doesn't cost a bomb or isn't super convenient to reach your loved onces.
Phone: EUR 0.07/min outgoing, SGD 0.18/min incoming. A calling card makes calling a lot more affordable, but traveling around Europe's complicates things as roaming charges prevail when you use a calling card purchased in another country.
Internet: Eur 1.00/25min. Inconvenient most times without a data plan on your phone or a trust iphone to begin with. For anyone whose intending to get a smart phone soon, please get one which supports skype mobile. Trust me, it comes in handy. Oh yes, at least make sure it supports ebuddy or else it's as good as a stupid phone anyway.
Snail mail: Costs a bomb to send international mail in Europe, for some strange reason I can't explain. I just blew EUR 15 on two packages and they don't even weight that much. On top of that, patience is certainly not a virtue I possess and waiting at least 3 days for mail to reach your loved ones, and risking your mail getting lost in transit isn't much my cup of tea.
Honestly speaking, there is no convenient way to reach your loved ones when you're overseas. The time difference and this virtual reality crap is really making me depressed. I hope this so-called "homesick phase" passes soon so I can truly bathe in the holiday spirit and enjoy my stay in the UK for the rest of the 4 months I have left.
Back to Spain. Barcelona's been pretty neat. The buildings are much more grandiose in terms of its architecture. We were all in awe of the gothic-style buildings which we were acquainted with through some lame "ghost tour"--which turned out to be simply night tour really. (Our tour guide kept asking us to snap pictures of places supposedly rife with paranormal activity, just so that he could point out orbs of energy. That's as good as it gets.) The gargoyles and stone demons were cool, but started getting a little disturbing after awhile. I certainly would not like the HDB flats in Singapore to be decorated in a similar fashion. People-wise, the girls love their flamboyant-printed maxi-dresses and harem pants. 1 in 4 ladies wear something along those lines! It's incredible how everyone can carry it off so easily. Wear the same thing in Singapore and people laugh at you. The weather's been kind to us too--hovering between 22-25.
I'll be leaving Barcelona for Rome tomorrow, in the evening around 9pm. Can't wait for the gelato. Photographs in the following entries! :D
Hey don't worry about the internet thing.. it'll get much better when you've settled down in Nottingham and have internet access:) for now, just enjoy your travelling before school starts! take care..
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