Stamped, Questioned, Remembered
Type: photo review
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Date: Wednesday, 5 September 25'
The night I learned what ‘abroad’ feels like, I found more than a place —
I found a memory that still makes me smile every time I remember how it began.
Imagine having the chance to experience going abroad for the first time with all your senior high school friends! How amazing it is, isn't it (well that happened to meee yay). As you've seen above, ENGLISH IMMERSION —an overseas study program with all your classmates for second-year students. Pretty much, we do all kinds of common study tour stuff like any other school does. BUTTTTT, WHAT MAKES THIS SPECIAL FOR ME IS THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME ALSO FOR ME TO GO ABROAD!!!! Fr I’ve never been one in my whole life. Even though we only went to Singapore and Malaysia, the feelings when you successfully passed the Changi Airport immigration (which is one of the strictest airports in the world) that sparks for a first timer. Maybe people out there think that this is a common occasion, but for me, this holds a thousand memories. Well… It’s all because of one accident that until now I don't know why, every time I go abroad always happens to me.
Imagine, there’s a smart portal that will scan your passport and face at the same time (I guess they scan the image of your retina and face features?). If it's failed, it's normal, right? It might be a technical error in the system. Now, this is the interesting part, it's failed 22 times. YES, you heard it right, 22 times I've changed from one portal to another, scanning my passport and grinning as similar as possible to the passport photo. until I got directed to the manual counter to check my passport manually. Imagine, it’s 11 PM and the officer is tired already, then they just SUSPECTED THAT I’M NOT KEISHA ELMIRA???? man, they legit ask me all sorts of things and still questioned me that I'm not the passport holder??? (they even ask, “Are you really Keisha Elmira? What is your parents' name? DOB?” etc.) until I finally passed the immigration I could sigh out of relief (btw I was also the last person being held at the immigration damn what an experience). NOT ONLY THAT, it continues until the third day I spent in Singapore (since the hotel is in Malaysia, we have to go back and forth to Singapore during the study tour). Hmm.. if you're wondering, the record is… 32 TIMES! Yes, 32 times at the Singapore immigration, especially IT WAS DURING MORNING RUSH HOUR! Ah man, well that's such an experience I won’t forget for my entire life!
