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Tagboard Archives August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008	Friday, September 26, 2008 Mavis's Nightmare is ... being given a harmless looking piece of paper during my Psychology class... To find that there are more NUMBERS and FORMULAS than words :( Grrr I'm forever tormented by Maths... ITS EVERYWHERE! Now I really got to take time to figure out how the numbers add up... shudders Cheeky lend me your brains please.. just for this module... 4:53 PM Thursday, September 25, 2008 I like... .....watching chipmunks run all around the school nibbling at everything they find, laughing at them if they do silly things like this.. I like how the leaves of the trees turn brown at the arrival of fall... I'm waiting for the days I can throw a bunch of them brown leaves up in the sky and ask someone to take a nice posey photo of me. I like being surprised by unexpected events in school :) Look at this "Smash Poverty" Campaign. They found this old car, painted the word "poverty" on its body and we could all stand in line to smash the car.. It's kinda lame.. I would rather scrap or sell the car and give money to the poor people... but oh well, it attracted a lot of attention... I like free rock concerts in school!!! Blaring music, rock bands and free posters too! I tried to squeeze to the front and jump for the free tee-shirts and cds ! It was a bit unglam.. but no one knows me here and it's so dark, so I should just do all the unglam stuff here anyway. I like how random performances by the school's dance team. It's seriously a bit substandard... but they had so many costume changes... it was worth a look. heh! I like discovering and taking photos of novel stuff that we don't have in Singapore... Like huge remote controls! I like bitching in the girls' room and laughing at my friends for always being so colour coordinated... Then walk around at say hello to neighbours.. I like eating pasta for lunch and people watching.. For that half an hour, if you're attentive enough, you'll probably catch stories of who got into what accident, who broke up, who went where and did what yesterday, which lecture sucked.... I like... occasional indulgences! The low fat vanila mango yogurt in school is super delicious! And so are the fries..the macaroni and cheese..the chocolate brownie...the strawberry cheese cake, the....... (you get the point) I like "bazaars" in school! It's not a bazaar per se, but something like it. I'm missing the NUS bazaars and the milo truck :( Anyway, this bazaar sells really nice posters of like famous paintings, movie stars, old school marilyn monroe posters, football posters......I wanted to get one, but the queue is constantly LONG! maybe i'll try my luck tomorrow :) I like some silly signs in school.. They have this protest thingy about rising school fees... And I might join them during one of their protests simply cos I'm so deprived of that kind of excitement in Singapore. Erm. i think its a peaceful protest lah :) And i love the gorgeous sunsets.... Everytime I look at them, I lament at the sunsets we have in Singapore.. I like jogging in the evening and feeling the cold wind brush against my skin. And I like still smelling so good after my jog :P But the path is often obstructed with geese, geese droppings, sea gulls, seagull droppings, so you literally have to hop to avoid them sometimes.. I think I'm stressing Geraldine out with my keep fit campaign... I downloaded some free exercise videos.. so i'm like kickboxing, doing crunches and like punching in my room when I'm bored.. And I convinced her we'll get fat at the rate we eat the huge portions and oily stuff... So she went jogging with me one day. haha! Truddy bought a weighing scale in her room already lor.. I like finding food in school that are "closer to home". Indian food is not bad lah.. but i miss prata... AND TEH. And I like bumming around with the girls after dinner for a cup of steaming white hot chocolate at this cafe called "The Second Cup"... And looking at mugging people, while leisurely enjoying our exchange experience. :P I love how occassionally, the staff is nice enough to give me a monstrous amount of whipped cream :) awwwwwwww :) Oh well.. I SHOULD REALLY MUG FOR MY TEST NOW..... Gosh, it's so hard to concentrate and like really study hard here (when you know you just need to pass...). Still...wish me luck- my first test in Canada- TOMORROW!!! Can you believe the teacher said everyone HAD to bring tissue paper (they call it Kleenex here) because sniffling (due to running nose or something) is distracting to others! 9:17 AM Saturday, September 20, 2008 I just came back from the Niagara Falls trip with the rest of the international students.... So please pardon my gushing over the beauty of the falls, and all the fun I had with this bunch of friends. I'm amazed at how beautiful the pictures turned out today! We hopped on this boat which took us really close to the waterfall called the Maid of the Mist :) But even along the way, you could hear loads of " Soooo pretty!!" and cameras clicking away because the view was simply breathtaking! Sooo pretty right! Yup, so that's the boat we took. And everyone had to put on this (ugly) blue poncho because we were told that it would be a wet ride! And they were not kidding, IT WAS REALLY REALLY WET. I'm still amazed at how everyone's cameras can still continue functioning despite them being exposed to showers of water! Initially I was a bit irritated that my beautiful pictures of Niagara Falls had to include photos where I was wearing a blue poncho, but I'm glad I chose to keep it on, because it prevented me from getting a lot more wet than I already got. Ooh! look at my new friend Yesha from Kenya! She's really pretty :) And she's only 18! She really really takes photographs of every detail! haha. More photos and even more photos! I helped Truddy take a lot of photos today because she gong3-gong3" left her camera charger in Singapore!! Then we settled for some cheap thrills in the shops nearby! We didn't buy anything, cos verything inside was so expensive lah! But we went around snapping pictures with most of the stuff anyway, then scurried out before we were scolded or something... Oooh. that girl beside me and geraldine is a new friend from Germany. She told me that when she was in high school or something, they were forced to attend mandarin classes once a week. But she said they just had to repeat a few phrases to get their certificate, and up til now, she has no idea what was it that she recited then..!!!But she's really nice! Outside, up Clifton Hill, it was a whole street of museums (wax museums..believe it or not museums, lego museums...), haunted houses, amusement rides, candy shops ... The whole group of us certainly had fun walking around! There were so many things to look at! The bus left at about 3 that day, so we didn't really get time to visit the museums and walk far, but Truddy's cousin will be driving us here again soon, so hopefully we really get to enjoy everything they have there. Heh! Anyway, did i mention how remarkably clean/dry/mud-free/green the grass fields here are? That's why people here sit on the grass to read/ eat lunch all the time! So the girls decided we HAD TO take some shots of us on the grass, since we are not going to do this in Singapore anyway. Oh ya, a lot of people were MUGGING ON THE BUS JOURNEY THERE!!! Gosh... But i had so much fun today!!!! And now I have to face reality and complete the 3 assignments due this week and my psych and law test on friday!! OH YA!!! I'M GOING TO NEW YORK IN 2 WEEKS!!!!!! I'm REALLY EXCITED!!! 8:10 PM Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Is there something wrong with blogger these days? I've been trying to add photos in my entry for days, but the error page kept coming up!! So I'm taking this time to blog although I REALLY should be doing my 3 assignments due next week! And I'm getting nervous about my Psychology and Law test next week... ---------------------- About School: School has been great. I'm gradually getting used to the lecture styles, the accents of the lecturers, the (too long) 3 hr lectures, and of course, to interacting with my new classmates. It feels weird to be on exchange- because you feel like a tourist, yet you are still burdened with the responsibilities of a student.And it's really this week that I've begun to do my readings, and starting to feel the assignments pile up.. Erm... this is what I do during my 7-10pm lectures when i get too bored. Take photos! haha! ------- The New Friend: Oh, I must introduce to you my "new best friend" here! It's this cafe called "Tim Hortons" that is as plentiful as Macdonalds in Singapore. It offers muffins, donuts, hot and cold beverages, and best of all, its MUCH CHEAPER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE! I normally wake up a little earlier, stand through the long queue (which moves pretty fast really), to get a cup of hot english breakfast tea and brave the strong winds to get to my lecture hall. It really helps to keep me warm! ------------------ I've been really visiting neighbourhoods and non-tourist-y locations whenever I'm free, just to ge a sense of local culture. But I still get lost practically all the time! This is despite the fact that I'm armed with local maps (sigh, it's either my poor map navigational skills or that the maps are misleading!) Sometimes, the rest would feel like they wanna stay in on weekends, but me, being me, being the hyperactive me, would go out myself for a day of adventure. These are some photos of days out! they all involve REALLY LONG WALKS!!! Imagine like 7 MRT stops for each trip!! I find it so fascinating that no matter which direction you walk, there would be something enticing, like an artist creating art on the streets, guitar players, festival, events, protests even! Hohoho! I studied so much about this guy during history classes and finally I get to "meet him". Everyone, meet Winston Churchill! I still remember studying his "iron curtain" speeches! ----------------------------- Koreantown: One fine day,the Singaporean girls went off to Little Korea in search for as-authentic-as-it-can-get-in-Canada Korean cruisine... And we were treated to a long street of eat-all-you-can sushi and korean restaurants that were having promotions and dinners at a pretty reasonable price if you consider the overall standard of living here. IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!! It's so satisfying to be able to eat something else other than pasta and sandwiches! We made our way to this place called "Honest Eds" which was nearby. And it was a huge shop that sold a lot a lot of things- from groceries to household appliances- to clothes and slippers... And they were all really cheap compared to the prices you find anywhere else. In fact, the fact that the shop sells so many cheap items, kinda made it a tourist attraction on many travel guides! Anyways, on a random note, have you guys heard the saying, that it takes a Singaporean to recognise a fellow Singaporean? The group of us were happily chatting and walking down the street, when this guy approached us and asked if we were from Singapore! Amazing! ------------------ Mid- Autumn Celebrations: I organised a trip to Chinatown to celebrate the festival and to my dismay, Geraldine and Diviya said they wanted to stay in to mug that day! So i called a few of my new international friends and they happily agreed! So I asked them to bring along their friends too~ And LOOK AT THE TURNOUT!!! We had an entourage of 12 people lah! (1's missing in the picture cos she was in the toilet though. haha) That's me with May(Malaysian) + Mandy & Michelle (Vietnamese) and a whole gang of people from different parts of China! Apparently Kelsey called 1 of her friend, who brought along another, who brought along another.... I really enjoyed the trip ! It was seriously a wonderful session of cultural exchange. We learnt so many new things, and cleared up so many misunderstandings and stereotypes we had of each other :) I miss speaking Mandarin and mixing my Mandarin with my English + my lehs and lors! (Which was why I really appreciated the Mandarin conversations I shared with my friends from China :) ) We spent the day roaming Chinatown, having a very satisfying (and cheap) lunch there, walking to Kensington Market to check out the Green Festival there.. then headed to Eaton Square (it was a long walk!) I know this sounds crazy, but I actually brought a lantern and candles from Singapore to celebrate the festival here!!! Too bad it was raining heavily at the end of the day! But i'm happy with my mooncake and my new walking shoes! The shoes I brought from Singapore are torn from all the walking I've done here lah! Note to cheeky and kokky: - eh people, you know my new friends from China were talking to me about Singapore. And the guys started asking me if I've heard the "LOVE BRIDGE" connecting Chinese High and Nanyang Girls!!! Okok, don't get agitated. I already told them how the term is a serious misnomer! And kokky, they said erm, Chinese High's uniform is erm, unfashionable. haha! 7:24 PM	Yours Truly maymay♥ in canada Credits Host: Blogger Software: Adobe Illustrator CS 2, Macromedia Flash Pro 8 Layout © Xav qior