♥ Your Dawn, My Dusk ♥


Tagboard Archives August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008	Sunday, September 7, 2008 Living in Toronto actually takes some getting used to... Sometimes, I wish I couAd stay here forever...Yet, on some occasions, I seriously can't wait to fly back to Singapore. - The Weather When I first got to Toronto I LOVED the weather. The sun was out, yet the wind was so cooling and refreshing against my skin. I totally enjoyed the fact that I wasn't back in Singapore, sweating out in the hot sun, and I thought to myself, maybe I could really get used to the weather here afterall and there was nothing to worry about. I was decked out in tees, shorts, slippers, and for one moment, I was actually wondering why I bothered to bring my pretty coats and heavy sweaters.. BUT, it started raining one day.. and my nightmare began! It became freezing in the room. I had to layer clothes even indoors, I shiver when I step out of the shower (which brings me to my point that I almost dread showering now), and I sleep every night hoping it wouldn't rain the next day. But it got colder and colder and colder and now, it's almost certain that summer would end really soon and fall would come. And even though I'm really excited about the fact that I can finally wear my coats, simply cos I would look so weird wearing them in Singapore. And even thoughI can't wait for the maple leaves to turn red during fall.. I'm actually kinda worried about the cold! Guess I'll have to wrap myself up, and layer myself like crazy when the cold hits... I really don't want to think about winter now.. - The People The students here, I would say, are really vocal. And if you think you've seen vocal people in NUS classes, no no, people here are REALLY VOCAL. They ask questions and comment on everything! At one point of time, the teacher had to go to 20 people to hear from them one by one after posting a question. The teacher doesn't pick someone with his/her hand raised, the teacher goes to everyone with their hands raised...No wonder lectures are 3 hours.. In Singapore, during 10 minute breaks, students leave for the toilet, go to the canteen for food or tea, but here, students line up in front of the lecturers to ask questions! And they've all done their readings beforehand (some, have read the whole book even), and the library was filled with mugging people on the 1st week of class. I can't even call myself a "mugger" here, I'm not even CLOSE! But I'm kinda happy that people actually bother to dress up for classes here, cos I would look silly wearing caps or scarfs or dresses to class in Singapore, but not here! And because Canada is kinda liberal about sexuality, you'll kinda just see 2 men or 2 women stop and share a passionate kiss as you walk down walkways. Of course, this is not to mention, that school newletters and newspapers here dedicate the last few "Classified" pages to advertisement for sex workers- which kinda means pages and pages of porn in newspapers! Gosh! And I picked up a paper that day, and brought it to my room to read while having lunch, without realising that it's a gay's biweekly! No wonder there was so many adverts/ pictures with men hugging men, and even full nudity. Culture shock! -Lifestyle You suddenly realise that you appreciate a lot of things in Singapore when you're overseas for such a long time. I'm really craving for some chicken rice, some wanton noodles, some teh from the coffee shop. I'm so not going to be eating sandwiches/ fried chicken/ pasta for a long while when I'm back. I eat them EVERYWHERE! I also realised that we Singaporeans are really "well-trained" in standing to our left on escalators to let people pass from the right. This realisation stems from the fact that we're having so much difficulty switching to standing on the right instead! You'll seriously see the gang of us stand on the left, then move to the right on escalators. We clear our own food trays here, whether we're at food courts or fast food centres. It's probably a good habit we should all cultivate, but I keep forgetting to clear trays here all the time! And I appreciate 3-ply tissue paper + toilet paper in Singapore! The toilet paper is sooo thin we have to use a lot of them! Speaking of toilets, the toilets here have really huge gaps along both edges of the door, which means we can actually see the faces of people waiting outside for our cubicle, which also means they can see us!!! So awkward! What else takes some getting used to?... Maybe that seagulls and geese are more plentiful than ants/bugs/houseflies/cockroaches here? haha! But I really like how people here read books on buses and subways instead of listening to their mp3, I like how they sit on patches of grass or fields to catch up with their friends, and how they just smile and strike up a conversation with you so easily.. Ahh.. But I still miss Singapore. And i can't wait to be back!!! 6:44 PM	Yours Truly maymay♥ in canada Credits Host: Blogger Software: Adobe Illustrator CS 2, Macromedia Flash Pro 8 Layout © Xav qior