Distance and time make your heart grows fonder of what you usually take for granted. After eight months in my host country, I was eager to go home for a short holiday. I missed my family and friends, food, culture and a familiar environment.

Prior to my departure date, several weekends were spent shopping for gifts and souvenirs. Rents and billed were paid in advance, experiments were wound down and food in the refrigerator was cleared.

Traveling on a 26-hour flight was tiring but the sight of my family and friends freshened me up as I had so much to catch up with them. Though it had passed midnight, we went to eat at one of the night eateries where I satisfied my craving for local food such as fried carrot cake, fried Hokkien noodle, barbeque stingray etc.

The next few days were spent adjusting my biological clock to the 12-hour difference and to the hot and humid weather of Singapore. My mum wasted no time to cook my favorite dishes. I also started planning my appointments with ex-colleagues and friends in this short period. Lunches and dinners were arranged back to back with the consequence of indigestion after gorging myself with any food except western food. Events of our lives and jokes were often exchanged.

Being able to watch Chinese programs on the television and speaking Singlish (English spoken by Singaporeans where there is a mixture of English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil) brought back a warm feeling of home and familiarity.

In the midst of catching up with family and friends, my new found friends back in USA were not forgotten. I had bought Singapore souvenirs and taken snap shots of various parts of Singapore so that they could know my homeland.

Good times passed by quickly and I had to bid farewells to my loved ones again. As a farewell note, I dedicate this poem to them.