Our big son, Justin has started his
new life in Singapore. We miss him. After all he’s only 13. But he seems to be coping well, hardly calling us. But looking back, he’s always been like that. He had no problem on us leaving him all alone on his first day of school when he was 3+, hardly even looked back to wave us goodbye.
We wish him all the best and hope he'll do well in his studies, without us parents prompting him to do so. Here’s a look back at his last year staying with us in the UAE.
One of our favourite pastimes in winter in the UAE – Camping, and exploring the countryside! This is Wadi Shawka, a territory belonging to the emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah, but separated from main part of RAK, by other emirates. Looking back, this would be Justin’s last overnight camp with us. This is right after his 12th birthday. We miss you, son. Come back next winter, and we’ll do another camp, OK? – Dec 2021
Ringing in the New Year in Expo2020! Happy 2022! The winter & spring season of 2021-2022 was dominated by the Dubai Expo. We had seasonal tickets, so wanted to make full use of our tickets (no, it’s not that we’re ‘kiasu’, it’s just that overseas travel was not yet an option, and there’re tons of things to see in the Expo, 200+ pavilions, loads of concerts and performances! – Wish it could’ve lasted longer) – New Year’s Day, 2022
Our sojourn to the Expo continues… Justin inside the UK Pavilion. The UK Pavilion was an eye-catching pavilion but with just an empty space inside. Walking up a ramp, you’d choose a word of your choice on your phone, and your selected word will appear in the pavilion’s multiple displays when you reach inside! Some algorithm was supposed to take all these words and use them for making messages to extra-terrestrials (aliens) when we eventually meet ‘em. (Yeah, no kidding. Looks like the Brits are big believers of the Men in Black. Hope the aliens are not like what we see in movies who’re bent on just wiping us out and taking over our world…) – Feb 2022
Finally, an overseas trip, after 2+ years of COVID restrictions! First destination – India,
mommy’s home. But India is huge, and we made a stop in Amritsar, Punjab, before heading east to Assam. This is the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India – Mar 2022
Justin in Assam, at the site of the ruins of the old Cachari / Dimasa Kingdom. His aunt Amrita, and Jayden can be seen further down, behind – Khaspur, Cachar, Assam, India – Apr 2022
Back in Dubai. Here’s Justin with one of his best friends and classmate, Jamal (who’s half Kyrgyz and half Saudi) at the World Scholar’s Cup Competition. The World Scholar’s Cup is an Olympic games-like competition for scholars/ students on all things academic, where you can win medals for debate, writing, quizzes, etc. Justin’s school invited all the ‘gifted and talented’ students of the school to be part of this event. This was the first round. They subsequently competed in the Global round, which was also held in Dubai a month later – Cambridge International School, Al Twar, Dubai – May 2022
Another
home trip, this time to his papa’s home, Malaysia – Here’s Justin with his granddad, after a trek up Kledang Hill, near Ipoh, his dad’s hometown. Coincidentally, during the home trip, we got an email from Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE), informing us that Justin’s invited to sit for an exam in Penang, to ascertain whether he would qualify for the ASEAN Scholarship we applied for. So, Justin ended up spending quite some time studying during the holidays, ahem. – Kledang Hill, Menglembu, Perak, Malaysia – Jul 2022
Woo-hoo! HE PASSED THE EXAM! He was invited to attend an interview with the MOE in Penang. So, we arranged Justin to fly all the way back to Penang from Dubai by himself, and then from there back to Dubai by himself also. It’s a little complicated, since Justin’s still a minor, and many airlines do not allow minors to travel alone, but luckily, he’s just after 12 years old, and we could opt for waiving the Unaccompanied Minor services for some of the airlines. So, there you have it! It turned out that the interview in Penang, although held in an institute, was thru a Zoom call to Singapore!?! Heck! And the MOE subjected us to all that trouble to get to Penang for the interview! – Justin with his grandad and aunt, Hazel at Penang Airport, ready to depart for Singapore en route to Dubai – Sep 2022
JUSTIN FRIGGIN PASSED THE INTERVIEW, by the way. Congratulations son! Told you, your effort will pay off!
Happy Diwali! Less than 3 weeks before flying off to Singapore! In our neighbour’s Milind’s home – from left to right, yours truly, Milind, Justin, Jayden, Mihir and Aru – Oct 2022
An advance 13th birthday party, and farewell for Justin, with some of his friends around! A surprise arranged by his mommy. From left to right, Mosaab (from Egypt), Nikita (Russia), Som (Korea), Malik (Egypt), Moaz (Egypt), Jayden, Angelina (Korea), Justin, Sean Linz (India), Abdul (India), Ashton (India), and Yiro (Korea). Mosaab, Malik and Moaz are brothers, and stay in the same building floor as us. Nikita and Yiro also stay in the same building as us – Our home, MotorCity, Dubai – Nov 2022
Another meeting with a friend/ ex-classmate from his old school,
Aria and younger sister Viva – At the ice-skating ring in Sport Society, Mirdif, Dubai, UAE – Nov 2022
Thank you, Mommy. I love you – Mirdif City Centre, the weekend before he flies off
All ready to go! Two of his friends (Sean Linz and Yiro) came to see him before Justin and I took the cab to the airport, BYE! Poor Jayden, he was crying uncontrollably, he really misses his koko
Justin’s new home in Singapore – St Andrew’s Hall. This is the hostel that he’d be staying in for his studies. The day he arrived in Singapore, also happened to coincide with our anniversary date, i.e. the day I and Anu eloped from Mizoram, 16 years ago…
Justin meets a new friend, Garren Tang, at his new school, St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), Singapore, after the induction session. Garren is the only one from his ASEAN Scholarship batch like Justin, entering Secondary 1 in SJI. (The other selected scholars were all for Secondary 3, and were from either Thailand or Vietnam). Garren also happened to be Malaysian, but he lived and grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia
My last dinner together with Justin in Singapore, before I flew off. We were with Jason, Fang and Stacey. Thanks for everything Jason and Fang – Suki-Ya (Japanese Steamboat), I think this was the Dhoby Ghaut branch, if I’m not mistaken – Singapore, Nov 2022
ALL THE BEST SON, WAY TO GO! Keep us in your heart, OK? Take care, work hard, stay focused, always be positive and happy, and never give up hope. We love you.
