Puffing-and-panting, he eventually makes it to the room of his opening lecture. He quickly composes himself, sucks in a deep breath, then takes the first step into this strange, new, hallowed sanctum of learning.

The young man seats himself around the back of the class and briefly glances at his surrounding classmates. It is apparent that the majority of students are much older than him, but that is to be expected seeing that he isn't an undergraduate student any more.

The lecturer quietly sits on a desk at the front of the room. He has a friendly, unimposing air about him and the roots of his hair reveal a conspicuous grey hue - the sign that a lifetime of wisdom is coming to fruition.

Within the space of several minutes, the lecturer initiates the first class of the year.

"Hello everyone," the lecturer announces. "I'd like to welcome you all to the International Health Policy unit - I'm sure you will all find this an interesting and rewarding experience. Before we focus on the nitty-gritty details of the course, however, I'd like to go around the room and have you tell me your name, your professional background and whether you have had much experience in international health. I'll start first to get the ball rolling...."

The lecturer recounts his personal history, beginning from his younger days as a newly graduated medical doctor gallivanting through the countryside of Africa, to the time he pursued an arts major in French poetry, then finally his chosen career path - international health policy at the University of Queensland.

Soon after, a plethora of names and experiences bombard the young man. Tales of Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Japan, Switzerland, Cambodia, Thailand, France, working for AusAID and (his personal ambition) working for the World Health Organization. All these experiences collectively swirl like a maelstrom in the back of his mind. When it is his turn to speak, he sheepishly utters, "My name is Yong Yi and I have completed a Bachelor of Health Science and Commerce at the University of Western Australia in Perth."

Those final words leave the young man's mouth with a blatant, unfulfilled tone. It's not that he isn't grateful of his circumstances or his upbringing - he is! It is more to do with the fact that his consciousness now has an opportunity to reveal a latent reality regarding just how vast the world around him is and just how little he has experienced.

A flurry of daydreams quickly fill his mind: the icy fjords of Scandinavia; the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas; the sunny beaches of the Caribbean; the forests of Germany; and the sandy deserts of Sub-Saharan Africa. All these images flash before his mind's eye.

And thus begins the start of what could very well be a strong, insatiable wanderlust...