Day 12 (14-3-2009) - United vs Liverpool

Today in the morning, I was still resting up and making sure that I fully recover, but by afternoon, I realised that fully recovered or not, I could not afford to waste any time doing nothing in my room. Instead, I should get out there and do things.

My decision would indeed pay off. I met quite a few people today.

The first activity I was about to do was to play soccer, when I saw Ram, the person who invited me to play soccer, happily walking along with 2 Chinese students. Ram had seen the pair holding table tennis bats, and having a passing interest on table-tennis; he approached them and asked if he could join in. Apparently, the 2 are very friendly, even going on to say that they love to have foreigners here in China. Now, isn’t that delightful to hear?

I talked to one of them about many things, mainly about studies. The pair is taking a major on Political studies and will attain a master’s degree in 2 more years. We talked about how difficult it is for Chinese students like them learning how to speak English. Indeed, I had quite a tricky time understanding what he was trying to pronounce; but I made it through fine, and we had quite a free-flowing conversation. I guess it helps for both parties to want to talk. The great thing is that we exchanged numbers and they suggested that we visit their dorm and go out for dinner some day. We’ll see how things go.

I had a lot of fun playing soccer after that. I have to say, that playing soccer really gives me the feeling that I need, to feel at home. It’s quite a pity that I had imagined me having the chance to play with foreigners. Instead, all they ever care about is basketball, something I don’t really excel in. Nevertheless, nothing can stop a soccer player from enjoying his kicking of a ball.

After that, was time for dinner at the usual Halal stall. We’ve gone there so many times, I bet the owners can anticipate what we would order. But today’s dinner would have a certain spice to it, as we coincidentally met a group of Ngee Ann students (Chinese Studies) eating there too. Again, I met and exchanged numbers with others. I feel that meeting new people gives me a certain joy, especially so during this trip, as it brings more meaning to me being here. Before this, I would not even care about making new friends. Chinese Studies students have to stay here for about 4 months. I wish them luck for that.

Internet posed a problem today as we suddenly got cut off from it. Not the best time for this to happen, as Manchester United and Liverpool were going to play at 8.40pm. Times was running out, so in the end, we made a long trip to the girl’s dorm to access their internet and watch the match. I regard the trip as extremely anti-climatic as Manchester United ended up losing 4 – 1. I would not like to elaborate further.

I watched Stardust on HBO after that; a movie which I think was very disappointing. Then it was time to rest up for another free day the next day.