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.