“Hey, your boarding is so cool: Big room with only two people living in each room, some even have air-conditioner! Our boarding is everything opposite to yours!”

This was what I kept lamenting to my friends from other boarding school every time we had batch outing, with sullen faces as compared to those all-too-happy faces of people staying in supposedly superb and decidedly better boarding than ours. How bad of last year’s boarding I am talking about? 4-people rooms, one ceiling fan and one shared toilet, which were not always kept in tip-top conditions.

With all these said, I suppose you or whoever reading this article has so dreaded this boarding. However, before you have any weird idea of buying gasoline and trying to burn down the boarding so that the school has to build a new facilitity, let me remind you that this place, in its respectable thirteen-year history, has housed thousands of scholars, who have evolved from simple teenagers into independent, knowledgeable and responsible adults. In fact, boarding life has been improved much since the first time this boarding went into service, as told to us by Mr. Chow Kia Meng, our dear former senior boarding master.

While we all have had issues with the boarding in one way or another, none can deny that boarding life has helped us to make friends with people from various countries and to appreciate many unique cultures and customs through various activities, such as soccer and basketball tournaments, and various events, such as formal dinners,  RIB Idol and etcetera. Such exposure has undoubtedly broadened our perspectives. Personally, I am grateful to be exposed to a myriad of good friends who are willing to help us whenever we have problems. Even the food, while remaining our favorite “punching bag”, becomes edible after a while, when you came to enjoy other countries’ cuisines.

Live changes

Honestly, life is getting better in RIB as I came back to RIB after a long break in January. From January 2008 onward, secondary school boarders would be able to live in the brand new thirteen stories block, featuring two speedy lifts, spacious game rooms and two-people bedrooms! No longer that we have to bring our heavy suitcase all the way up to our rooms after a home trip thanks to the new lifts! There is more as we are going to have our very own wireless connection in our room this August. Some of our non-RIB friends are even jealous of what we get here,  Indeed, all things keep getting better and better.

With many shortcomings that I have mentioned above, one would have low expectations of this boarding, and that would exactly be my advice to you: Keep your expectation low, and you will find yourself indulged in some pleasant surprises that are unlikely to forget.

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