Saturday, September 19, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
Finally able to access blogs, dun ask me how. Secret! =P
For those who forgot or who dunno, I'm in Guangzhou doing Clinical Medicine. In Chinese language, yes. I'm currently studying chemistry in chinese. lol. Takes some catching up and the dictionary is my new best friend. But so far, manageable =) Am quite pleased =)
1st week of school is just over and I'm settled enough to feel at home in my room. I love my room. Love the privacy, the peace, the freedom. My little oasis amidst all of these certain unpleasantness. I live outside school hostel, for better peace and freedom. Only downside: one hour journey to school. But I guess I can make do with that in exchange for a restful place to come home to. My friends at the hostel have problems with facilities and school workers who live in the opposite dormitories playing mahjong and singing ear-damaging karaoke till the wee hours of the morning. In contrast, my room overlooks a small swamp. No people singing karaoke here.And I love that the window faces east, and my room gets the first rays of sunshine to begin the day. It's beautiful to wake up to =) And the sunshine wakes me up. My room's not big, just enough for me to live in. There's a pantry, where I cook all my meals with an electric rice cooker. I pack my own lunch to school, for the sake of not getting food poisoning. The only place I eat out to is the vegetarian restaurant next to Guangzhou's famed temple, not that I've been in the temple itself. Then there's a relatively large study table, mosquito net over the window, a small fridge, internet access, aircon, cupboard, personal toilet, a spring bed, water dispenser. Luxurious =) The doors and bolts are made of steel, so no chance of breaking in down here. Plus the landlord is not a meanie and the place is relatively clean. It's like an apartment that they rent out to students. Can study in peace and undisturbed in my room =) Hehehe. The greatest thing about my room is that I get sunshine at all times of the day and the sunrise I get to watch every morning. It's cozy, messy, and so nice to come home to.
School is great! I love my school building! It's amazing. All of the walls are tiled, so no repainting needed, just washing of the tiles. And NO LEAKS, NO FLOODS. Hahahahaha. I remember how NJC was and when I look at my new school I'm just so grateful. There was a typhoon 2 days ago and my umbrella was blown inside out, then back again. My jeans and shoes were drenched and the rain came in bunches, uneven. Weather was terrible and I had to change into my friend's clothes in her hostel room. But still there were no leaks and no floods in my school. Am impressed =))) Hahahaha. Very good facilities, aircon comes out on time, chairs work, tables work, overhead projectors work, sound system works. =) There's a swimming pool, many basketball courts, indoor badminton court, and stuffs that I haven't gotten to see. My school is out of town in this Higher Education Mega Centre, together with other Guangzhou universities. I get to study here for the first year, then next year onwards I'll move to the city (dreadful). So I'm trying to enjoy my time here as much as possible. I love the greenery and that the air is less polluted than in the city. Students here zip around in bikes, but I prefer to walk. I tried cycling to and fro school, sure it saves half the time, but I had terrible buttache. So no cycling for me there. Hahahaha. Walking rests the mind better =)
My fellow international friends are a nice bunch, and we look after one another. It's a family-feel. I like that. Though I don't stay in the hostel they allow me to go into their rooms and rest in the afternoon between lessons. And I went out with some of them yesterday to get our medical reports. It was a day filled with adventures. Hahahahaha. I was rushing for the train and got stuck between the MRT doors, scared my friends. But the officer pulled me out in time, thank goodness! Then it was peak time when we went home and we couldn't get into the train so we took the train to the opposite direction, reached the end, planning to take an empty train back so that we might get seats. But when we reached the end, we realised that we were stuck coz the 2 directions of trains were at opposite platforms and if we want to get off we would have to pay..... then we approached the train officers to get them to help us out. Woots. Had to lie to the officer that we took the train and missed our station. Woots. Hahahaha. But eventually we got back home safely, after 1.5 hrs of journey. The uni is like in this secluded outskirt island off Guangzhou's main island, so it takes forever to get to town. I wouldn't mind living here for 5 years though, but too bad have to move into the city....hiks.....
There are numerous reasons why I don't like the city and why I dread moving into the city, despite the conveniences that it would bring.
1. People here spit all the time, everywhere, regardless of male, female, young and old.
2. Males here pee under trees, in full public view, not bothering to look for a secluded tree (if they were in Bali, the tree spirit would totally go after that guy)
3. People here like to scold customers and other people.
4. They like to NOT move into the rear in public transport, hence making the people in front smell armpits.
5. They are almost always followed by a cloud of cigarrette smoke.
6. Adult males here generally smoke, drink, spit, pee everywhere.
7. They are not considerate.
8. When they drive, they dun abide by traffic rules nor do they care about the presence of fellow human beings.
9. I dread looking into kitchens.
10. Things sold anywhere, if not of international brands, are not worth buying coz generally they dun work or spoil easily.
Hence:
1. I only buy goods of international brands, regardless the price.
2. I minimise going out.
3. I minimise talking.
4. I minimise asking for directions unless it's the security people, even then, they are so darn rude.
5. I haggle for anything and everything I buy.
6. I move to the rear of public transports, coz I dun want to smell armpits.
7. No matter how rude people are, always think that I would never want to stoop to their level and ignore them as if they were biting ants.
8. If people try to harm me, too bad, u're so darn dead. Like that uncle yesterday whom I 'reminded' to be mindful of others coz he was dragging the shopping trolley behind him and banging everything and everyone in the way. Shot him a perfect angry glance.
9. I don't ever ever ever trust anyone. (sighs)
My greatest question: Whatever happened to all those 5000 years of history, culture and civilisation that are so worthy to be proud of? How come they dun come into practise? How come people can be so......crude????????
When I first came, I felt like screaming, so hard, telling this nation, that all of those stuffs are disgracing the international Chinese race. Sighs. People. Humans. I'm tired of people. I love my room.
Disclaimer: All observations limited to the little areas I've been to in Guangzhou. All observations are generalisations. Dun trust what u read, come here and see if it's true.