Kingston, Ontario

"Prelude to a heartwarming Thankgiving Dinner at 83 year old Eileen's: Sunset at King's Street East, Kingston, Ontario. Captured by Auntie Candy. I loved this little university town pretending to be a city. This is one reason it should stop pretending."

(jw, he who very kindly waited for a hobbling me to our exams today)

Jesus, I am your Father

"On the LAST DAY OF MY EXAMS (!!!!) in NUS, to celebrate, I went driving around Singapore. I came across Sacred Heart Church (built in 1910) in Dhoby Ghaut and saw this sight. It was Jesus holding six lightsabres. "Jesus, I am your Father!" it screamed to me. So, I took a photo."

(david, he who came in a shirt and tie for his final examination)

where would you be on a Sunday afternoon?

i'm sorry for the lack of updates, but it's been a crazy week - essays, exams, and two sprained toes to top it off.

on a Sunday afternoon, overlooking the Southeast Asian Institute of Studies. i'd rather be out than stuck indoors studying. though of course, i'm studying for my last exams as an undergraduate! oh, and my sausage toes probably would not take me far.

-s

Literally a Window This Time

"this picture is from waaaaay back in December 2004, when I was in Timor Leste. This one was taken in a house that was still being built, which was a nice change from the abandoned ruins near our living quarters that were covered in scorch marks and roofless, with soldier helmets scattered around. we arrived just after the turbulent period, and it was a trip that changed my life. apologies about the quality- it was a vintage digital camera and my ISO was sky high."

(xh, she who takes beautiful pictures)

Kembangan, Singapore

"the view from my window on a good fine day" (debbie)

"my good friend, Debbie, a fellow Perthling has been introduced to your wonderful site by meee! And she would like to pass you this photo taken from her window from her house back home (the REAL home) in Kembangan." (ellies)

(in a a chain - debbie sent an email to ellies who forwarded it to theviewoutsideyourwindow)

From the Singapore Flyer

jw has included his captions within his picture.
but just let me say this, we often proof-read his essays and would either get lost in 1. his maze of long sentences, or 2. his incredibly long and explanatory footnotes.

(jw, he whose brains i would love to pick)

the view from the Pantheon

so when i was in my third year as a History major, i took a class which talked about the issues and relationship between memory, heritage and history. our Italian prof, in his wonderful accent, introduced the heritage of Rome to the class, clicking through the powerpoint slides.

that class went past in a daze. i never really understood anything and scored a miserable grade. perhaps the Italian accent, reading John Ruskin's Stones of Venice (which i later wrote a paper on while on Exchange), more than made up for it.

but i visited the Pantheon last summer. the tiny "window" at the top of the dome, the light streaming in at a different angle each time we looked up, tourists and travellers alike laying on the ground to capture the beauty of this "window".

i ran into the prof after i returned from exchange, i said "oh i get what you were saying in class now!" he exclaimed "finally!"

(s, marvelling at the anonymous architect's ingenuity)

underwater world, sentosa, early 2000s

"i saw this while looking through my photos in my computer. it is a picture of moon jellyfish and it was taken through a "window" dividing the surface world from the "sea". it was taken about 3-4 years ago, and a whole wave of nostalgia enveloped me as i thought about how good the old days were. but that's how life is, right? the past seems liquid to us, shifting, and moving slowly like a jellyfish and the present is always in the surface world, where we take pictures of the past in our minds."

(david, he who finally shaved)

Sunnersta, Uppsala, Sweden

"Grumpy cat posing for photo outside my window"

(jovian, he who runs faster than the wind)

Vatican City

i remember we stood in the queue for close to two hours in the summer heat to get into the Vatican Museum. this picture was taken from an open window, with the audio guide hanging around my neck.

i remember how we squeezed through the crowds to finally get to the Sistine Chapel where the guards yelled "no peek-tures, no peek-tures!" and people jostled with each other for the limited seats. how we stood in awe, craning our necks, staring at Michelangelo's Genesis painting.

yes, i loved Rome. and Florence. and Venice. and Milan. the food, the people, "prego, prego!" i'm certain we'll return, to explore the other parts of Italy, to taste the food of Sicily (if i dare), and to meet more friendly and perhaps not-so-friendly Italians.

(s, having completed yet another essay and browsing albums)

The Windowless

we visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, when we were in Krakow, Poland last summer. the despair, the desperation of the extermination camp, what they thought when they looked out through the minuscule windows, i can hardly imagine.

we first studied about the horrors of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust in school, the massive numbers - which were both shocking yet numbing. visiting Berlin was an eye-opener, Sachsenhausen concentration camp a somber experience. Oscar was a little reluctant to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, because we had left Sachsenhausen, a work camp, instead of an extermination camp, extremely depressed. needless to say, Auschwitz-Birkenau was jarring - the exhibits of hair, clothing, boots emotive and disturbing. to sit in one of the dark bunks, little light streaming in through the windows, frightfully eerie.

as students of history, we debate about coming to terms with the past, with history. and i have often wondered, how does one come to terms with the history of the Holocaust? needless to say, how concentration camps are exhibited have come under academic discussion and even criticism - for being too dramatic, too emotive, or even political in its purpose. at the end of the day, i suppose, as depressing as a visit to these concentration camps might be, a conscious effort to forget would be even scarier.

(s, wondering about the hopelessness of windows)

With the Singapore Flyer in the Background

we were stuck in two traffic jams, i was really frustrated with the rush hour traffic, we were supposed to meet our friends for drinks and were hopelessly late. when we were almost reaching our destination, we saw this from the bus.

a soon to be married couple creating new (photographic) memories.

(siok, theviewoutsideyourwindow)

We are Graduating Soon

"from the NUS Science canteen, can we just stare at the skies instead of working on the final year project"

(angie, who says we are less than a month away from our 18 year struggle with education)

The Land of Cambodia

"this photo was taken in 2004, on board a plane for singapore after a 3-week expedition trip in cambodia. the search for this photo amongst many others taken during the trip reminded me of the wonderful times i had during those days; the simplicity of life, the adorable kids and friendships forged."

(hy, who says she's been slacking too much)