"I am no longer a civilian. I am now a civilian protector."
~Mister Ray
My brother is officially an army boi!
We've been talking about it for weeks, counting down since last week and finally, THE DAY has come.
The whole family woke up at around 6am this morning, preparing to leave the house at 6.45am. We arrived at pasir ris at around 7.30am and we already saw some people waiting at the bus area. Aren't they excited to be enlisted? Keke..
Since it was still early, we went for breakfast and went to join the crowd after that. Hmmm the shuttle bus was like those sbs buses, nothing special to talk about and the trip to the ferry terminal took about 15 minutes.
The vessel that brought us to tekong looked nice and comfy and was air-conditioned, kinda different from what i pictured. I thought it would be like those lok kor boat which you can even feel the wind brushing your face.
Another 15 minutes of ferry ride and "TA DA", Welcome to Pulau Tekong!
The place was very different from what I've pictured too. Heex..The environment seemed very hmmm condusive, very modern, very clean and nice. Hehe..Upon arriving at the auditorium, Brother were separed from us. Apparently the enlistees had some admin stuffs to do so in the meantime a tour was arranged for us the visitors. There was a bus that brought us from place to place, first introducing us to the various items that the enlistees would be given - their uniforms, shirts, shoes, basic necessities, ration packs etc. Their food menu looked tempting too. Heex..Then we visited their bunks and recreational room. Everything looked great. No wonder I always hear people saying that nowadays de ns men are really lucky, they won't eat a lot of bitter one (direct translation =P). Now that I see for myself, it seems true. At least at that moment, to my eyes.
After the tour, we headed to the auditorium, where the enlistees were already seated, for a talk and oath-taking ceremony of the enlistees. After the ceremony, it was lunch time! The enlistees were assembled outside the auditorium like kindergarden kids waiting for their parents to fetch them home. So Papa and I spotted Brother and off we went to makan!!!
The food mah, hmmmm, the yam rice was chao dar and hard, the veggie and meat was too salty, the apple doesn't look ripe (very yellow), the soup which is salty veggie tofu soup was not salty when it is supposed to be. So, Im worried for dear Brother.
After lunch, we parted with Brother and he was off to assemble at the parade with his platoon mates. I can sense Papa's and Mummy's bu she then. Actually I though I would cry or something but amazingly I didn't. Maybe cuz after touring the bmtc, I am more aware of the environment that he will be in, so I am less worried le bah. I am sure he'll survive through the 9 weeks intensice training de. Cuz he's my brother! =)
On the way back to main island, I must say the 待遇 is very different. First, we had to walk back to the ferry terminal (buses were arranged for us when we first arrived at tekong). Then the ferry was small and old and not comfy (the one we boarded when we went tekong was big and cooling and spacious). We had to wait for 15 minutes for the shuttle bus to bring us back to Pasir Ris Bus Interchange from the ferry terminal (1-2 minutes' wait when we went to the ferry terminal from Pasir Ris in the morning). So what does this imply?
I wonder how's Brother doing now. How he looks like having a botak head. How he's mingling with his section mates. I just hope he doesn't 得罪 people. Thing to be glad is that he has friends in the same platoon as him. What a beautiful coincidence.
08 October 2009 08/10/2009 08102009 08/10/09 08.10.09
The whole family woke up at around 6am this morning, preparing to leave the house at 6.45am. We arrived at pasir ris at around 7.30am and we already saw some people waiting at the bus area. Aren't they excited to be enlisted? Keke..
Since it was still early, we went for breakfast and went to join the crowd after that. Hmmm the shuttle bus was like those sbs buses, nothing special to talk about and the trip to the ferry terminal took about 15 minutes.
The vessel that brought us to tekong looked nice and comfy and was air-conditioned, kinda different from what i pictured. I thought it would be like those lok kor boat which you can even feel the wind brushing your face.
Another 15 minutes of ferry ride and "TA DA", Welcome to Pulau Tekong!
The place was very different from what I've pictured too. Heex..The environment seemed very hmmm condusive, very modern, very clean and nice. Hehe..Upon arriving at the auditorium, Brother were separed from us. Apparently the enlistees had some admin stuffs to do so in the meantime a tour was arranged for us the visitors. There was a bus that brought us from place to place, first introducing us to the various items that the enlistees would be given - their uniforms, shirts, shoes, basic necessities, ration packs etc. Their food menu looked tempting too. Heex..Then we visited their bunks and recreational room. Everything looked great. No wonder I always hear people saying that nowadays de ns men are really lucky, they won't eat a lot of bitter one (direct translation =P). Now that I see for myself, it seems true. At least at that moment, to my eyes.After the tour, we headed to the auditorium, where the enlistees were already seated, for a talk and oath-taking ceremony of the enlistees. After the ceremony, it was lunch time! The enlistees were assembled outside the auditorium like kindergarden kids waiting for their parents to fetch them home. So Papa and I spotted Brother and off we went to makan!!!
The food mah, hmmmm, the yam rice was chao dar and hard, the veggie and meat was too salty, the apple doesn't look ripe (very yellow), the soup which is salty veggie tofu soup was not salty when it is supposed to be. So, Im worried for dear Brother.
After lunch, we parted with Brother and he was off to assemble at the parade with his platoon mates. I can sense Papa's and Mummy's bu she then. Actually I though I would cry or something but amazingly I didn't. Maybe cuz after touring the bmtc, I am more aware of the environment that he will be in, so I am less worried le bah. I am sure he'll survive through the 9 weeks intensice training de. Cuz he's my brother! =)
On the way back to main island, I must say the 待遇 is very different. First, we had to walk back to the ferry terminal (buses were arranged for us when we first arrived at tekong). Then the ferry was small and old and not comfy (the one we boarded when we went tekong was big and cooling and spacious). We had to wait for 15 minutes for the shuttle bus to bring us back to Pasir Ris Bus Interchange from the ferry terminal (1-2 minutes' wait when we went to the ferry terminal from Pasir Ris in the morning). So what does this imply?
I wonder how's Brother doing now. How he looks like having a botak head. How he's mingling with his section mates. I just hope he doesn't 得罪 people. Thing to be glad is that he has friends in the same platoon as him. What a beautiful coincidence.
