Chan Wei Jian, 16 years old
Raffles Institution

It’s currently 11:39pm in Seattle as I begin to write this blog post, which is also 2:41pm in Singapore. I am definitely not in the clearest of minds. However, I shall attempt to make this first post as meaningful as I possibly can.

From arriving at the airport at 4am in preparation for the trip, to touching down in Seattle, our brains were deadened from the 14 hour flight and numerous customs clearances.

Getting to Seattle from Singapore has truly been an intriguing experience in itself. The conversation, interaction (and of course inflight entertainment) have collectively served to make this journey a fun one. However, not being used to sleeping in the awkward confines of an aircraft as we are, we most certainly feel jet lagged and sleep deprived in general.

However, as I write this post, I completely feel that this discomfort constitutes nothing when compared to what we will potentially experience over the next few days in the United States of America. I am enthusiastic and certainly look forward to the days to come.

Today, originally a rest day, gave us the excellent opportunity to visit the Seattle City Center. In the city centre, we visited the Experience Music Project and the Space Needle. Certainly, both have served as a great learning lesson, the former provided some much needed basic understanding of past music groups, and the other gave us a great opportunity to look off the 520 foot tall Space Needle, upon the inhabitants of Seattle (and even spend time spotting our hotel). We also unexpectedly embarked on a tour of Seattle by foot, as we combed the city looking for a bus that we could take to get back to Bellevue, the town we are staying in.

Certainly, Seattle’s weather is beautiful right now. Bright, sunny, and cool winds all add up to the great experience I’ve had so far on the trip. I am certainly appreciative that I am given the chance to embark on this journey and look forward to the days ahead.