An Essay on my USA experience which i submitted for a competition (this means that there is quite a portion on por-ing the judges & sounds super PR-ish)
the coloured parts are true!

The Journey of the Free-Spirited

I still remember myself exclaiming over the Hershey brownies topped with white icing on the plane ride to Yellowstone National Park. It wasn’t the food I was talking about; it was the sprawling mountainous terrain of Yellowstone and that was my first impression of it.

Hailing from a concrete jungle; I had never really been in synchrony with Nature and Yellowstone is indeed worlds’ apart from Singapore. What I am referring to is the intangible Goosebumps-inducing feeling you get when you lie down and gaze at the star-strewn sky, which is where shooting stars often traverse by. It is the impulse to sing The Carpenters’ “Top of the World” when I am at the peak of the mountain besotted by the rapturous cascades of the Mystic Falls while relishing the cool wind in my hair and face. It is the giggly exhilaration high when I see my first bear and wolf from a far distance (of course!), when I first encountered the rapids on the white water rafting trip and when I trotted on the back of a horse.

Initially I felt uprooted and planted in a whole new environment and culture which made me feel vulnerable and exposed. However, after I adopted an open attitude, then do I realize that the exposure presented me with deeply trusting friendships, a space to grow and to explore what we would have never possibly imagined. I learnt Russian from a friend in Khagistan and Salsa from the Columbians. We played twister, watch movie marathons, attend parties, chill at the pub and lounged in the lobby. Knowing that time is limited between us and we would not meet up in the near future, we expressed our appreciation for each other by giving hugs, sleeping over and exchanging small gifts. These are the friends who would cry for the equally tear-stained you when you leave.(okay there was crying but not the buckets of tears u expected, even though aft we left quite a no. of us emo-ed over yellowstone. me included)

I worked in the Bear Paw Deli where my coworkers and I took turns to do cashiering, serve ice cream and prepare sandwiches and salads. Serving ice cream was a joy as everyone likes it, especially the children. My deepest impression was of a sweet kid who came to buy a $3.18 double-scoop ice cream alone with $4 and as he left off with his change, he stopped mid-way and returned to hand me $0.52 for tips. Interaction with the customers was delightful and we had a chance to tell the curious many where we came from and more about Singapore. (the exact stuff we educated them abput spore: no spore is not in china, no, we dont only speak chinese. and no we dont speak chinese, we speak mandarin. ehhh, no my badge said singapore, and im not a sister to my other colleagues whose badges say the same. singapore is not a family name *seriously. this happened*) sb was even proud and shared his ww2 exp on singapore. he wasnt a soldier, but was a friend to the generals. we talked for like 5 minutes, and i expressed my admiration like "wow, you must be quite an impressive man of status then" - so PR-ish!!!

Initially the reason I joined Work and Travel was to go overseas at a minimal cost, the program was attractive and I had no other considerations. The experience I got was more that what I could bargain for. My perspective and attitude are offered new angles as I marvel at the endless possibilities in the world after travelling in the United States, which in turn give rise to my new found motivations in life. I feel propelled to fall in love with the idea of living, to explore new hobbies and to dedicate myself to meaningful ambitions. Dear friends, you could only fully understand by taking off on this highly recommended journey too.  Prepare to get blown away into the free, bounder-less sky! ehhhhh. haha. PR-ish. but in conclusion i didnt win the competition, which had a cash prize of sgd1.3k! all their winning entries made reading torturous. they were written in a reportive style with o creative use of language. like i did... i went to... i had... it was.... no figurative language, no creative writing. ok maybe im being sour over this. but im not the only 1 who said so, hurhur!