Day 41 (12-4-2009) - the Delayed final entry

Day 41; the last day in Wuhan. I realised that I miscalculated the number of days I was going to stay in Wuhan. The name of this blog should really be “41daysinwuhan” rather than 42.

As with any kind of goodbye or farewell, there is always a mixed feeling in the air. Part of you wants to stay; part of you wants to move on to experience what is ahead.

Wuhan has been a great home for me. I will always remember the friendly smiles that people would give us as we walk by, the giggles when we struggle to understand certain things, the help given when we were helpless.

But at the same time, there are also reasons for me to be getting home. I miss my family and friends. I’ve been longing for just a taste of Singapore cuisine. At times when it was cold, I dreamt of Singapore’s hot weather in my sleep. After 6 weeks, I just need the comforts of home once again. Still, something tells me that after some time, I’d be longing to go back to Wuhan, for countless reasons.

For now, it would be fair to say that I’m glad to be back. On the plane, when we were just reaching homeland, I experienced how beautiful the night lights of Singapore are when viewed from above. How bright and shiny the tiny island is, distinguishes it prominently from its surroundings. There was a loud cheer of jubilation when the wheels of the plane touched Singapore soil. We were home.

Everyone had their families and friends to pick them up at the airport, while I had requested my parents to stay home and allow me to get home myself, just for that sense of independence. It was one of the reasons why I went to Wuhan in the first place; to be independent.

In that quiet taxi ride home, the only thing accompanying me other than the driver was the song “Where I Belong” by Tanya Chua, played on my MP3 player. The lyrics never felt truer.

I think all these go on to say that as much as I love Wuhan, I still love Singapore most.

I gave both my parents a hug the moment I saw them. I can’t remember the last time I’ve ever done something like that. After giving them the gifts I bought, unpacking my luggage, I did some catching up with the world through the internet, and now here I am typing this final post to be entered in the blog that has been telling the story of my life for the past 41 days.

A life well lived, with lessons learnt, memories to be kept.

Until next time, goodbye!

PS: I will miss you, Wuhan

Day 40 (11-4-2009) - More than words

As the days come and go, you might have realized that my journal entries get shorter and shorter. It’s not so much because I’ve written too much in the early days that I have almost nothing to talk about now. Neither is it because there is nothing much happening in Wuhan.

There have been so many things happening here that I just find it difficult to put them into words. To put it simply, you’ll have to experience living in a foreign land for an extended period for yourself to understand my feelings right now.

I would like to apologize to the reader if the information I have put up on this blog is insufficient.J

However so, I feel that this blog has served its purpose, save for the upcoming last entry.

Day 39 (10-4-2009) - Closing Ceremony

All the money I’ve been saving for the past 6 weeks, eating only a bowl of rice and an egg every meal, occasionally skipping breakfast, being left out from the restaurant and steamboat dinners, have all been spent today. Let’s marvel at the way things need time to be built, but just an instant to disappear or be destroyed.

I’ve only got 2 more days here, so by right, I don’t have to change any more money. However there are still some things that I have not bought. We’ll see how things go.

All in all, after the closing ceremony lunch during which we received our course completion certificates, the whole of today was spent on the last minute shopping that we have all intended to do all this while. I’m rather satisfied with what I have gotten for myself and my friends and family so far but there’s still work to be done and I hope tomorrow will be enough.

Looking at the certificate once more, which proudly showcases the Overseas Immersion Programme that I have completed, I can’t help but feel satisfied with what I have learned here so far. But let’s leave all those for the conclusion of this journal.

Day 38 (9-4-2009) - City of Hankou

There is some sense of liberation in the air today as we finally completed Quiz 5, the last quiz. There’s also a feeling that everyone will pass it easily.

After Quiz 5 we went to visit one of the other 2 cities in Wuhan, Hankou. Just so you may know, the one I’ve been living in is Wuchang, the so called cultural city. Hanyang is the industrial city, and Hankou is the commercial city. True enough, Hankou is a very modern and urban place. The place we went to reminded me a little bit of Singapore’s Boat Quay, without the river. Its buildings are more modern, but it also has preserved some buildings which are stated to be “heritage architecture”.

Surprisingly, the things there are also very cheap, so shopping was a blast for everyone. So after much shopping, we visited the Hankou river beach.

I could not believe how beautiful this place was; a beach by the river, connected to a park, and shopping malls. It was just too bad we could not spend more time over there. We could have had a picnic, fly some kites; play with the sands, but there was just not enough time, also reminding me of how soon it is until our stay here ends.

Hankou has some buildings which have become important monuments.

The look on the shopping streets.

At first look, a corner or backalley like this is something you would want to avoid. But it is exactly places like these where you can get those mythical (imitation) goods for very good prices.

Bargaining is a common activity.
The most outrageous thing that happened was that we managed to make the owner offer us a watch for 40 yuan, when the starting price was 400 yuan.

Take it to the streets..

Needless to say, we shopped alot.

Took some photos, and then it's back to our dorms.

Day 37 (8-4-2009) - Paper Cutting

As the day that we finally get home draws near, the weather gets hotter and hotter. Today was the first time in Wuchang that I perspired while walking at a normal speed. It seems as though Wuhan’s spring has only lasted 5 weeks, and it has turned to summer already.

Meanwhile, on our side of the story, we started the day off with Chinese Paper Cutting, which was rather fun. The point of it all was to cut out Chinese characters from pieces of paper and the one that we were all thought how to do was the word “happiness”. You can do all sorts of characters but I reckon that they have to be symmetrical, and your art and craft skills have to be better than mine.

So after that we had another industrial visit. This time, we visited an online education company. A brief question and answer session was all that was needed to cap off the whole trip. Once again, I feel we should have visited an industry more closely related to our course.

Day 36 (7-4-2009) - Preferences

Today was just another normal day as far as I’m concerned; Maths in the morning to noon, and free time from then onwards.

It seemed especially normal to me since I did not go out for a steamboat dinner with the rest, for 2 reasons. Firstly, I do not have the amount of money left to be spending on expensive meals (they said it turned out to be 25 bucks). Secondly, my favourite show was airing at 9pm on Discovery Channel. This would be my last time watching it so I did not want to miss it. (The rest would only come back at 2am, much to my surprise).

Actually there was one more reason; I had something better to do.

Well, enough of that; I kind of don’t feel good right now since I just sat through 2 hours of mild horror, as Manchester United drew 2 – 2 with FC Porto. Their performance was just mediocre and I fear that their loss of form will affect them all the way until the end of the season. Right now, I’m just hoping for the best (and cursing the last goal that Porto scored).

Day 35 (6-4-2009) - Great weather

Enter the last week of our stay here in China.

It seems as if every time we come back from a trip, the weather here in Wuhan changes. Thankfully, this time, it’s for the better. From weather that always rained down on us and made us feel cold, today’s weather is actually rather hot. I must say, being in hot weather makes me feel like I’m at home.

But I’m also aware that it’s raining a lot in Singapore these days (at least in certain parts). Flash floods in Chai Chee and mini “twisters” in Tampines; Singapore seems to be experiencing some rough weather.

We took advantage of the great weather today to walk around and do some shopping.

In other news, I am very satisfied with the 85 marks I got for the Common Test. But immediately after that, I had no idea on how to do Quiz 4. Looks like I’m going to have to work extra hard for Quiz 5. (Which is unlikely to happen).

I took some time out to walk around campus alone in the evening. I think Huazhong Normal University is a great place to live in, for reasons that can’t be put to words.

Day 34 (5-4-2009) - Lu Mountain

Today is the day we “conquer” the Lu Mountain, otherwise known as Lu San. I seriously thought that we would be trekking for the most part of our way to the top, but what happened was we only had to walk a short distance, and then take the cable car all the way to one of the highest points of the mountain.

Since many of the days leading up to today were rainy, I was slightly concerned about the idea of taking a cable car up the mountain, when the suggestion was first mentioned. The weather had been so pathetic, that it seemed like a miracle that the sun was actually up and shining. Today’s weather was wonderful.

I’m not a person who is that afraid of heights. But when I was in the middle of the cable car ride up the mountain, I must admit, I was rather nervous; nervous enough to be gripping my seat as tightly as I can and looking down on the floor of the cable car.

It is in many ways different from the cable car I’ve ridden in Singapore. In Singapore, the height at which the cable cars hang at is no higher than Mt Faber, which is actually a hill. This one here is a genuine mountain. As it gets higher, it also gets windier and the car rocked. I did not like that part. And well, in Singapore, the cars are fully enclosed. Here, the cable car does not have window panes so it has an open air feel to the ride. In some ways it made the ride that much exciting. In others, it made it almost unbearable.

I had to give myself some time before I could sit properly, and fully enjoy the scenery displayed all around us from such a massive height.

The best thing that happened today was probably halfway through our ride to the top, when a certain song played on the loudspeaker radio. It was “Take Me To Your Heart”, the exact song we practiced and performed for Cultural Exchange Night, just a few days ago. I think this song has become some sort of a theme song for our trip and hearing it during the ride certainly helped calm me down and made the ride much more meaningful. I sang (screamed) along to it and I’m sure I was not the only one doing so.

Visiting Lu San (along with the Three Gorges) has provided us with a firsthand view of the natural beauty that China has. From gorges and cliffs to mountains and waterfalls, I have experienced much more than what I had expected, and much more than what I would have, if I had stayed at home.

start of the trail

cable car!!

streams

that lead to waterfalls...

end of the ride...

and end of the journey.

Day 33 (4-4-2009) - Hot Spring

Today I had one of the most relaxing days of my life, simply because we visited the hot spring.

Our impression of the hot spring was a natural one, among rocks and boulders, like what you always see on “Japan Hour”. After all, we were on the way to the Lu Mountain. Who would have known it would be a high class one, with VIP-style service all the way. I have never felt as important as a guest as I did just now, at the hot spring.

The place comprised of not one, but many mini hot springs, and you have the luxury of dipping into each and every one of them. There were so many types of hot spring that I forgot what were the names of the ones that I tried but one, which was Aloe. Aloe or not, all of them helped us relax and refresh.

Even better were the Jacuzzis which provided many ways for the water current to “massage” your body. Despite the wonderful hot springs, Jacuzzis, slides and saunas that we tried, the thing most worthy of mention was probably the service that they provided us.

I can’t help but emphasize this simply because it was the best kind of treatment I have ever received in my life. Since it was drizzling, they escorted us under an umbrella whenever possible. They also led us the way to where we wanted to go despite the distance between the two points. When you take off your slippers and enter the water, they rearrange it for you in a manner just so it will be more convenient for you to wear them back, after you are done. They provide you with a brand new towel when they see that you are not walking around with one. And needless to say, they did everything with a sincere smile.

So after all the VIP treatment that we got, we were keen to know what was in store for us next. We were sent to the hotel that we would be spending a night in. It might be because my standards are low, but the room I stayed in on this night was once more, the best in my whole life. It must be twice as big as the room I live in, at Wuhan. The toilet is clean and stylish, the bed is big, and I’ve got a Las Vegas look outside my window.

I can get used to this.

waiting for our locker keys at the hot springs

my keys bear resemblance to my name

enjoying awhile at the lounge after 1 and a half hours of hot spring-ing



like i said, i can get used to this

Day 32 (3-4-2009) - Industrial Visit

We didn’t really have a good start to today. Out of 23 students, only 11 of us were able to make it to the early morning lesson on the Chinese Political System. I found this kind of annoying since we come here to learn more about China, yet some of us don’t seem enthusiastic at all when it comes to these lessons. How can a person ever be more enthusiastic about Math lessons than anything else??

Luckily the young teacher understood the fact that we had a late night and all of us were very tired.

I think the industrial visit today was okay. Seeing how 3D images, CGI and animated films are made was kind of interesting. I just don’t think that the industrial visit nailed us since animation isn't really our ideal cup of tea. I think that we should have also visited an industry more related to our course. What’s more, the visit was so short and I barely learned anything. But I appreciate them allowing is to step into their offices and work areas just to have a preview of how animated films come to life.

Day 31 (2-4-2009) - Cultural Exchange Night

Tonight proved to be another memorable night. For all the last minute preparation that we had, I did not expect our performances to be so successful for the Cultural Exchange Night.

But still, we did not have a good start. I, who was supposed to sing certain verses of the Take Me To Your Heart song on my own, had to deal with a faulty microphone. So at that point of time, I was a little bit stunned and clueless as to what I should do. In the end both Fareez and I had to share the same mic to sing the song. I appreciate the audience for waving along to my singing as it certainly made me feel comfortable, considering what I was experiencing. (Also considering just now was the first ever time I sang in front of an audience).

I would like to thank everybody else who performed a song after that, and made me look like an idiot because their mics worked on all occasions, and they all sang better than me. Just kidding.

The real deal was the skit that we performed. I don’t really favour performing for skits as I feel that they need a lot of time to perfect and we only had one night. Surprisingly, our acting was acceptable, and our jokes were on target. I got the feeling that the Chinese locals half of the audience enjoyed learning more about Singapore lifestyle through the skit, and the Ngee Ann Poly Chinese Studies students, well they just enjoyed laughing at the funny ways we all live.

There is no doubt I enjoyed myself tonight, adding on to the fact that I also met certain new people. As for now, I’m headed for bed since its going to be a long and tiring day tomorrow.

Day 30 (1-4-2009) - VISA

Today I received a call saying that my Visa application which was previously accepted is now overturned due to a fault in filling up my name. I must now stay in China for an indefinite amount of time until the Visa thing is settled.

Nah just kidding. Happy April Fool’s day!

It’s such a shame that on this year’s April Fool’s day, WE have to go through our Common Test. So the days leading up to this day was spent on revision so nobody really had the time to plan any pranks. HOWEVER, Amanda and Agnes did pull off a prank on Fareez and I must say, I am impressed with how real the acting was. I NEVER could have seen it coming. I just feel lucky I was not pranked. But I think EVERYONE was fooled by the act the girls put up. Great job!

Everyone is occupied with preparation for tomorrow’s student exchange programme. We will have to give 2 performances which is decided to be a skit, and a song. I hate last minute preparation. We only have today and tomorrow to practice so I’m not quite sure how things will turn out but as usual, we hope for the best. I’ll definitely put more effort in this than what I did for Common Test though.

Hope tomorrow turns out to be yet another night to remember!

Day 29 (31-3-2009) - Pre Common Test

Much of today was spent on preparing myself for tomorrow’s Common Test. To say the truth, it doesn’t feel as if I’m facing a Common test paper tomorrow. Usually you’d feel nervous and tense that you’re going to fight for that 20% for 1 and a half hours. But right now, everyone is relaxed but nevertheless still rather worried about how it’s going to be.

We only get to practice with one past year paper; definitely not enough. What’s more these past 4 weeks have passed by so fast that I just can’t believe we have finished covering that much of the EM3A module. Whatever it is, I’m definitely going to be one of those who are going to struggle during tomorrow’s paper. Then again, it might only be me. I admire the rest of us here who do their work diligently, grasping the integration topics so fast (and leaving me behind). Just kidding.

I’ll do my best, as I would always do, even though my preparation is never a “best effort”.

Day 28 (30-3-2009) - 2nd Last Week

Enter the 2^nd last week of OIP. Pretty much the normal routine today. Event most worthy of mention would probably be the dinner we had at Sichuan Restaurant. The food there is always nice and all, it’s just that it’s a little bit pricy for a person like me, trying my best to save money for all the last minute shopping.

It’s not as if today was THE day that winter suddenly changed to spring, but the atmosphere around campus today was definitely different, and that of a new season.

The past few days have been cold, windy and rainy. Today it is still slightly windy but the sun is out and there are lots more people walking around.

I also say that there’s a spring feeling because the flowers are blooming. There are even flower exhibitions around campus. Like I said, it is as if, the seasons suddenly changed overnight.

The surprising thing is that the locals are just as amused as us, when it comes to checking out the newly bloomed flowers at the gardens and parks. I managed to find the time this evening to take photos of the flowers. It’s nothing much, because only a few have started blooming, but it’s still something worth a look

Day 25 (27-3-2009) - Caligraphy and Shutter

We started the day today with a short Chinese calligraphy. I bet the Chinese characters written on the black board today confused both Chinese and non-Chinese alike. Ancient Chinese characters don’t bear too much of a resemblance to their modern counterparts.

If writing Chinese characters is hard enough, then painting it is worst. Try being a Malay doing it too.

Quiz 3 today was supposed to be an easy one but somehow, everyone had different ideas on how to do some questions so we don’t really know how well we would do. But I feel that I along with everyone else will pass.

Remember the group of Chinese Studies girls that I met on Day 12, they called us and asked whether they could interview us, regarding the topic on Malay food. Being in China, I guess they could go nowhere but to us to find their answers. Truthfully speaking, I really do not know much about Malay food and dining customs but I think that we gave them good and fulfilling answers for their research.

After having dinner at a local fast food restaurant, we went back to the girls’ dorm to watch the movie, “Shutter”. Never before had I imagined myself having to or wanting to watch such a horror movie. But apparently, scaring myself seemed like a better idea than just slacking alone without anything to do.

I think I enjoyed it. I get the same feeling whenever I watch any horror movie. Watching it is enjoyable and exciting but I hate what happens after that. I’ll start imagining things and be afraid of doing the simplest tasks, such as looking at the mirror. I guess that’s just something I have to deal with sooner or later.

Day 26 (28-3-2009) - Backstreet Boys

Sometimes, having lots of fun inevitably means the spending of a lot of money, because that’s what happened today. Being the “money-saver” that I am, I always kind of regret spending lots of money all in a short span of time, but I guess today was fun enough to justify itself.

I had this stomach-filling lunch that cost me 15 yuan, then went to play 7 bucks worth of pool, then walked around and finally went to a KTV, for the first time in my life. I would say that it was one heck of a time I had in there, even though the English songs were limited to those of Westlife, NSync, Backstreet Boys and others. So other than singing nostalgic boyband songs, the girls also sang Chinese songs.

So today was kind of like a having-fun-through-using-up-your –money day. I was enjoying so much that I actually missed the “Earth Hour” event that I had been anticipating all week. At 8.30pm we were supposed to turn off our lights in respect of Earth and its ailing state. Truth is, even though we were not really participating and observing the Earth Hour, we DID turn our lights off, simply because we weren’t even at our rooms. So I’m satisfied enough.