Looking back over the past year, what particular event or experience do you remember most clearly, and why ?
My sister Lena married a Norwegian man two years ago and went to live with him in Oslo. Norway. Last June, she gave birth to their first child. My mother and I went to Norway to take care of her. That trip was for me the most memorable experience of the past year.
Lena's husband. John, picked us up at the airport. When we reached their apartment, Lena could hardly wait to greet us. Lena had not been back in Singapore since she left. When we hugged, I realized how much I had missed her. She told us that the baby was sleeping. We walked quietly to the nursery to look at her. They had named her Serena. She looked so fragile and her cute appearance reflected the two ethnic groups that she was horn into. She is the first grandchild for my parents, and my mother could hardly hold back her tears. As. for me, initially I could not believe that there was already a new member of the family - my first niece. But soon. I was already imagining myself taking her to the toy shop, the zoo and the fun fair!
My mother and I almost took over the house to help Lena recover. We feared that John might consider our efforts an intrusion, but he said that he was glad we were there to help them. My mother and I found our way to the Asian grocery stores to buy herbs and Asian cooking ingredients. Lena had missed local food and was eager to enjoy Mother's cooking again.
It occurred to me that there were three generations of my family in that apartment in Oslo. I remembered when Lena and I were growing up, she would always' recruit' me to play pranks on or father. She was a tomboy who played softball with the neighborhood boys.
Now she is a mother, raising her own family. I still had difficulty reconciling the two images of Lena. But, fortunately, our closeness had not changed. Lena asked me about school and news of relatives and friends. She still teased me and we shared laughs, like we used to.
Those weeks in Norway also made me understand how hard it was for Lena to start a new life in a different country. She had no friends and family around her, and she had to form new friendships. She also had to learn the language. and adjust to a different kind of weather and culture. I admired Lena for her strength in adjusting to her new environment.
John and Lena also took us around for sightseeing. We enjoyed going to the lovely lake and parks. Soon, the three weeks were over, and it was time for us to leave. Lena promised to make a trip home next year. The time spent in Norway made me realize how precious my family is to me. It does not matter that Lena and Serena live thousand of miles away from us. We will always remain together a
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s a family. 
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