Well, when you're going to see your internet friends that you've never met IRL before, the fatigue magically goes away, you see... excitement and happiness prevails!
I took a shower (cold hotel room + warm water = longest shower ever) and got out the hotel at around 8:20 a.m . I had prata (yaaaassss) at Rowell Rd (I think) before setting off towards Madrasah Aljunied.
The original plan was to take the enlistment forms and walk around the school and sit around at the canteen for 5 minutes or so.
Halfway through walking Victoria St. , I realise that I have ample time left, and turned back to head to Jalan Sultan to find Madrasah Alsagoff so that I wouldn't get lost and indirectly, save some time.
When I reached Madrasah Alsagoff, I realised that the gates are closed... I did not dare try to open the gates.
I headed back to Madrasah Aljunied at around 9:20; the moment I approached the gates, I saw someone close the gates... Darn it.
By the way, remember when I said that the actual distance compared to what is shown on the map is larger?
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| Looks like a small distance , right? |
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| This took me 10 minutes. And I have to run. RUN. |
Alright. Done... Anyways...
I waited around the outside until I saw some students approaching the school. I walked to the gate and saw that the gate wasn't actually locked when I saw the students open it.
OK. Paiseh giler.
I went to the receptionist's office and asked for the enlistment forms :
"Saya nak ambik borang pendaftaran."
"Daripada mana?"
"Malaysia."
"Umur?"
"17."
"Peringkat(?) mana?"
"Pre-U 1."
"OK."
I took the enlistment forms and read it. Ah noooo....
Even if my Arabic was up to par... I still couldn't take the exam without resorting to "extreme and excessive measures"; the entrance exam was on the 20th of November... I have to sit for my Physics papers on that day. Not that I intended to pass it, but--
"Nak isi kat sini ke?"
"Tak, tak."
"..."
"Uhhhh... orang luar boleh masuk dalam sana tak?" *points to school courtyard*
"Oh, tak boleh."
Darn it...!
I went off to the side, out of the view of the receptionists.
"Sigh. Looks like this is it."
I put the enlistment forms in my bag and waited for their recess time, hoping that someone, anyone would recognise me.
By 9:55, I left Aljunied and headed towards Alsagoff. I waited for my friend. By this time, the primary students were having their recess. A primary student came up to me:
"Akak tunggu sapa?"
"Ah, takpe, takpe... Uhhhh... pelajar menengah dengan pre-u dah rehat ke belum?"
"Belum... pukul 10:40 nanti"
"Ah, takpe uh. Tunggu sini je lah."
I waited even more and tweeted that I have arrived, hoping that she would see it. She did.
At around 10:20, I saw her familiar face walk towards me at the gate. Finally...! By this time I was tired and dazed from running marathons around Bugis.
She greeted me warmly. I gave her a letter (which was from a friend of mine in another school who coincidentally knew her as well), and opened the gates. I looked at the primary students near the gate, looking at me in a bewildered and confused way, wondering who's this lone, small girl and why is a student sneaking her in.
She gave me a letter for my friend in Malaysia, and we headed towards the school interior.
"Dah lama sampai ke?"
"Pukul 10 tadi."
"Oh ya, actually sebenarnya sekolah SAMBest ke SAMBestari?"
"Dua-dua boleh."
"Oh, OK. Eh, masuk toilet kejap; ramai sangat orang kat sini."
We headed towards the toilet, and I washed my face so that I didn't look like I was coming out from hell.
"Awak tinggal kat mana?"
"Selangor--"
"Tak, tak kat Singapore..."
"Oh, hahahaha... kat Little India."
We headed towards the canteen. Everyone was staring at me. Maybe it's because of my black shirt. Maybe they don't have visitors often.
We reached the canteen, and I bought something to drink; it was a relief after running around for an hour. I sat down at the canteen and was greeted by 3 of her friends. We shook hands.
We chatted about my Singaporean friends and my enlistment, among other things. Unfortunately, I didn't remember the order or much of the details of the conversation... so I'll write a few parts :
"Kenal sapa kat Aljunied?"
I told them the names of the ones I regularly interact with.
"Awak kenal semua budak madrasah ke?"
"Macam mana awak kenal pasal Aljunied?"
"Ah, actually my family member(?) ada ajar kat Aljunied waktu sekolah tu mula2 bukak dulu... and I idoli-- looked up to him, so..."
"Lepas Junied... kalau masuk, nak sambung kat mana?"
"Kalau keadaan ok, Mesir uh. Kalau tak... Jordan."
We chatted until their recess was over. We took a few pics at the table.
My friend walked me to the gate... but before that, she beckoned for me to take a picture in front of the school building.
That day was the first time anyone invited for me to be in a picture, ever. So everything was weird and awkward. I stood at the wrong place the first time. But at least I got a good laugh out of it.
She took a couple of pics and walked me to the gate.
"Make sure awak datang next year bila nak daftar masuk Junied tau...!"
"OK...! Bye...!"
"Bye."
It was 10:35. Realising that the Aljuniedians might have finished their exams, I rushed back to Victoria Lane.
Note: All of the conversations on this day were paraphrased due to the rushed nature of the events... None of the conversations are 100%correct, so, if you talked to me on that day and you remember everything, tell me and I'll correct it.
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