It started to rain this morning and all plans to go travel around Wuhan has to be cancelled. Its troublesome to get lunch since its pouring and the streets are wet. Just some light rain and the street is filled with water. The drainage system here is really poor. Stuck in the room researching on Beijing tourist destinations. Now i'm really familiar with both Xi'an and Beijing map. The good thing about Beijing is that we can always rely on the subway system. With the subway system we can go almost anywhere we want, except The Great Wall.
The rain stops a while during dinner time so we hurried to have our dinner. Siau Ling, Armanda and Kezia plan to buy the train tickets from Xian to Beijing so they left the trainee house after dinner. Meanwhile, i'm still searching on information regarding the Great Wall and try coming out with a tentative for both Xian and Beijing. When Siau Ling is back, she is so frustrated about the people here. Apparently i feel the same way too. The bad or impolite treatment that we have compare to other foreigners, most probably we both looked like local. The people always treat other EPs better than treating us. The shopkeeper would be rude to us and very polite to them (other EPs). During shopping, the people will never give discount to Siau Ling but will do so to other EPs. When it is pouring and both me and James (UK) were waiting under the heavy rain for bus, the locals shades James with umbrella and left me under the rain, despite i'm standing beside James. James (US) got more toppings when he ordered some food, but mine only ordinary quantities. The ticket selling lady was really rude to Siau Ling but talk so gentle to the other EPs. When Siau Ling told the person she is from Malaysia, the person selling the ticket got stunned and treated Siau Ling better. All these things really makes me hate China more.
Managed to finished arranging the Xi'an tentative after Siau Ling confirm all the train ticket schedule and everything else. Finally, i get to enjoy instead of getting stuck at Wuhan. Still wondering whether i should go Suzhou myself or not after the Beijing trip. Feel like i'm wasting my time not doing anything here but i guess i can always go help James(US) out or accompany him in his project. Going to the countryside to help farming which is organised by the NGO here. I guess (hope) i'll be having fun there... Have to wake up at 5am though...
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
25th Day in Wuhan
Other EPs were planning to go to the Hubei Provincial Museum before 1pm today. I woke up at 10am, get ready for everything and they all only ready after 1.30pm. By the time we finish our lunch, its already 2.30pm and we will not make it to the museum in time as no entries are allowed after 3.30pm. One hour is a long time to get there, however with the traffic condition in Wuhan, who knows what will happen. I'm not going all the way there late and not being able to enter the museum. Therefore we decided to go to Optics Valley to shop. The weather was freaking hot, similar to in Malaysia and I really hope that the mall would be air-conditioned..
Upon arrival, the mall is an open-air concept and most of the shops has no air-condition. The entire building was warm and it is unbearable. I wonder how people can shop under this kind of temperature. The girls were indecisive, wanting to go here and there but just stand there and keep discussing. I mean come on, its a shopping mall, you suppose to shop and walk around, not debating where to go, whether to split up or not. End up, me and Rosebud and James(UK) walk on ourselves. We accidentally venture into a lane where all the shops sell anime stuff. One shop sells ready made cosplay costumes and another shop selling The Sword of Elendil (280yuan) and Frostmourne (1200yuan) ONLY!!! I so wish i could bring it back but think again, it doesn't serve any purpose having that at home just for display.
The return home journey was quite some thing. We waited half an hour for the bus and no bus came. Eventually it rains and i have to wait under the rain to see if the bus is coming. Finally, we couldn't wait any longer so we went to take a taxi but when we wanted to stop the taxi, 2 buses came and we ran to the bus instead. The bus was terrible, having people squeezed inside despite there's no room left. I almost suffocate in the bus and the people smells terribly. I hate the buses in Wuhan!! So many people and always not enough bus. Skipped dinner tonight because its raining and i don't want to get all dirty again after bath.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
24th Day in Wuhan
Everything went back to normal today. The landlord come by and apparently someone accidentally turn off the valve to our house water supply. He also passed to us the electricity bill which cost 840RMB, but we only have 2days to pay before they cut our electric supply. I spend the entire day searching for Xi An attractions, the fees, opening hours, descriptions and also every bus that we can take to arrive in the particular place. It was really tiring especially when you don't have a map and all you can reply on is digital map and google map. Not really an easy thing to do but well, i manage to familiarize with the entire Xi An already. Might be doing that again for Beijing tomorrow.
When we were going out for dinner, i noticed my spectacles were missing and i searched the entire house but couldn't find it. Then we went back to the restaurant that we had our lunch and thank god its there. If i lost it here, i would probably get a new spectacles. Sure happy about it but of course i would be spending more than necessary. Don't plan to do that since I've already spend a lot during this trip. Watched Red Riding Hood after my dinner and i wonder why people can get so violent nowadays. They've turn a fairy tale into a werewolf story. All the best to the future kids to come...
When we were going out for dinner, i noticed my spectacles were missing and i searched the entire house but couldn't find it. Then we went back to the restaurant that we had our lunch and thank god its there. If i lost it here, i would probably get a new spectacles. Sure happy about it but of course i would be spending more than necessary. Don't plan to do that since I've already spend a lot during this trip. Watched Red Riding Hood after my dinner and i wonder why people can get so violent nowadays. They've turn a fairy tale into a werewolf story. All the best to the future kids to come...
23rd Day in Wuhan (The day that everything went wrong)
It was weird today. Normally i would wake up at 9am but somehow i feel my entire body was tired and couldn't really wake until 11am. We went to a ticket counter and bought train tickets to Xian from Wuhan. We were asking about the price, the types of seats, the route of the train, the time and everything else. It is just so confusing and there is no guide telling what kind of train or seat there is and we spend almost 3hours just to get the ticket and back to our house. On our way back, we suddenly got a call from Armanda stating that she got lost and don't know where she is and she told us that she will take a taxi to Optics Valley. After that, we didn't really heard of her since her phone can't get through and she didn't call back. We thought that she is lost and we worried the whole day. Been trying to contact her but can't get through.
In the house, we noticed that there is no water, therefore we can't shower or go toilet or do anything else. Worse is the water in the bath tub never drains out and the dirt and hair and other random stuff clogged it up. We went down for dinner and luckily Jack was there to help us ask the people downstairs how to fix it. I probably would say that the buddy here are so much better than the LC, at least they show us around and they are always there for us. Some of the LC just can't get anything done. We went home and tried to unclog it but it doesn't work. End up James (US) moved the entire bath tub and found out that the tube for the water to flow out is stuck and he managed to get everything done. However, the process is really unpleasant and especially the smell that can really make people puke. Worse is there is no water to wash our feet and hands. Things were getting a bit out of hand and everyone feels uncomfortable and we were worried of Armanda, whether she is safe or not. Some of them was thinking of going out to find her but some of us think its futile to go out since we don't even know the place well and we might end up getting lost ourselves.
We called Michael, the LCP and told him what was happening, about the water supply, about the hotel, about Armande. He told us that he will send someone to help us with our problems. We had a suggestion that the LC should rent a hotel room for us till they fix the problem and they should pay for the hotel. We talked to Michael about it and he said he will call us back later. At last, Jansen came and he booked a hotel for us, just to bath and if we want to stay there, its fine. We waited for him to booked us a decent hotel and while waiting, Armanda just came back and she told us that all the while she is at Optics Valley and she didn't received any call from us. I guess its the phone problem. Everyone was just so glad that she came home safe and sound.
When Jansen came back, me and James (US) went to the hotel to bath first. We thought that the girls would want to sleep there and we just go and bath, then come back to the house. We walked there and it is the worst hotel i've ever seen. We have to walk up to the 3rd floor, go through a room where all the junks and plastic bottles and stuff like that just pile up there, go down one floor below and there we reach the room. The way in to the room was eerie. It is not the worst. The room was terrible, the fan barely function, air-condition which does not function, no towels provided, and the toilet door can't be locked with no place to hang your clothes in the bathroom. I cant imagine how people can consider this as a hotel.
We finished bathing and went straight back to the house. It feels so much better in the house, where there is air-condition, bright lights, no creepy places and most of all, there is internet connection. James lend me a book to read, 'The New Business Road Test'. I can't stop reading it for the first few pages and i think i might spend another few more days reading that book since i have nothing to do in the house. The knowledge should come in handy if i ever need to start my own business...
In the house, we noticed that there is no water, therefore we can't shower or go toilet or do anything else. Worse is the water in the bath tub never drains out and the dirt and hair and other random stuff clogged it up. We went down for dinner and luckily Jack was there to help us ask the people downstairs how to fix it. I probably would say that the buddy here are so much better than the LC, at least they show us around and they are always there for us. Some of the LC just can't get anything done. We went home and tried to unclog it but it doesn't work. End up James (US) moved the entire bath tub and found out that the tube for the water to flow out is stuck and he managed to get everything done. However, the process is really unpleasant and especially the smell that can really make people puke. Worse is there is no water to wash our feet and hands. Things were getting a bit out of hand and everyone feels uncomfortable and we were worried of Armanda, whether she is safe or not. Some of them was thinking of going out to find her but some of us think its futile to go out since we don't even know the place well and we might end up getting lost ourselves.
We called Michael, the LCP and told him what was happening, about the water supply, about the hotel, about Armande. He told us that he will send someone to help us with our problems. We had a suggestion that the LC should rent a hotel room for us till they fix the problem and they should pay for the hotel. We talked to Michael about it and he said he will call us back later. At last, Jansen came and he booked a hotel for us, just to bath and if we want to stay there, its fine. We waited for him to booked us a decent hotel and while waiting, Armanda just came back and she told us that all the while she is at Optics Valley and she didn't received any call from us. I guess its the phone problem. Everyone was just so glad that she came home safe and sound.
When Jansen came back, me and James (US) went to the hotel to bath first. We thought that the girls would want to sleep there and we just go and bath, then come back to the house. We walked there and it is the worst hotel i've ever seen. We have to walk up to the 3rd floor, go through a room where all the junks and plastic bottles and stuff like that just pile up there, go down one floor below and there we reach the room. The way in to the room was eerie. It is not the worst. The room was terrible, the fan barely function, air-condition which does not function, no towels provided, and the toilet door can't be locked with no place to hang your clothes in the bathroom. I cant imagine how people can consider this as a hotel.
We finished bathing and went straight back to the house. It feels so much better in the house, where there is air-condition, bright lights, no creepy places and most of all, there is internet connection. James lend me a book to read, 'The New Business Road Test'. I can't stop reading it for the first few pages and i think i might spend another few more days reading that book since i have nothing to do in the house. The knowledge should come in handy if i ever need to start my own business...
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
22nd Day in Wuhan
Went to Hubei University of Science and Technology (HUST) to do our last survey on paper recycling. This will be our last day of work. After that we will be travelling around China. Went to a place where all the final year students sell their books and other belongings and that is where we do our survey since the people there is the most. Didn't encounter much problem in getting respondents since everyone there is university student and they were very helpful since they know we are from other countries. Anyway the street is really a good idea to sell away unwanted books, thus saving more papers in the process. I really do hope UPM can allow such a thing instead of junior finding senior for books or vice versa. It can really save tons of papers.
During the night, Frank and Hippo brought us to a nice restaurant to have our dinner. Sort of like a farewell i guess since after the project they won't be meeting with us often. The restaurant is really beautiful, decorated very well and the food in comparison is not that expensive. Though i spent quite a lot on dinner these few days. Trying to cut down any unnecessary spending or else i won't be having enough money to travel around.
During the night, Frank and Hippo brought us to a nice restaurant to have our dinner. Sort of like a farewell i guess since after the project they won't be meeting with us often. The restaurant is really beautiful, decorated very well and the food in comparison is not that expensive. Though i spent quite a lot on dinner these few days. Trying to cut down any unnecessary spending or else i won't be having enough money to travel around.
Monday, June 20, 2011
21st Day in Wuhan
Woke up early today. Planned to go Guiyuan Buddhist Temple and Heptachord Terrace. The park around the Heptachord Terrace is really beautiful, if only this kind of park exist in Malaysia, that will be great. At night we have a welcome party for all EPs, however it is more like inviting everyone to the bar to drink instead of a party. There was no agenda, no host saying anything and the most important, no one to bring us there from the trainee house. They would always ask whether we would like to join a certain event and it always end up no one bringing us there. I guess i should have got used to it for the past 3weeks. End up we went there a while and leave for dinner and then we head back to our house. Disappointing day...
Saturday, June 18, 2011
20th Day in Wuhan
It's raining again. The rain wasn't really heavy but somehow the streets are filled with water that couldn't be drained off. Rushed to the bus stop to go to another high school for workshop. I did everything right, wearing short pants, not taking bags except 1, i wear shoes. In not more than 10mins walking, my shoes is already filled with water. What's worse is that there are fine sand that got into the shoes and i have to endure this till i come back after i finish my workshop. The journey to the high school encounters little obstacle beside some flooded road but the bus manage to drive through. The disappointed thing is that after arriving at the school soaking wet from top to bottom, non of the students came except 2 who help organize the workshop. Therefore we go forth on presenting our slides to the 2 person who came.
The journey back was miserable. It only took us less than 1 hour to reach the school but more than 3hours just to get back to the trainee house due to the rain. Everywhere was flooded and the water is up till knee level. Some cars even got stuck in the water while driving through it. The interesting thing that happened to us is that when our bus actually drove through the water, the water was rushing into the bus through the door. We took another super crowded bus back to somewhere near our place and we have to walk back. Its really tiring and sometimes i wonder, am i really lucky to be a Malaysian?
The journey back was miserable. It only took us less than 1 hour to reach the school but more than 3hours just to get back to the trainee house due to the rain. Everywhere was flooded and the water is up till knee level. Some cars even got stuck in the water while driving through it. The interesting thing that happened to us is that when our bus actually drove through the water, the water was rushing into the bus through the door. We took another super crowded bus back to somewhere near our place and we have to walk back. Its really tiring and sometimes i wonder, am i really lucky to be a Malaysian?
19th Day in Wuhan
Went to high school to present about the culture of Malaysia and also other nations as well. The kids were fun and active as usual, i must say being the last time meeting them i'll miss them a lot. On out way back, everyone was heading to optics valley but then Ayush called and said they will reach the Trainee House in 45mins time and they don't have the keys. So i have to take another bus back to the trainee house with Richy accompany me. After that, they went for dinner and the only one left in the house is me. Skype with my girlfriend and that's all for the day...
Friday, June 17, 2011
18th Day in Wuhan
Walk with Patrik to the place where James (US) got his suit tailored in the morning. James(US) left the Trainee House in the afternoon to Shanghai, while the rest of us get ready for our presentation at No.12 high school. We arrived early at the high school so Siau Ling decided to look for a place to get her money changed. The thing which is so different from us is that whenever you want to change money, the bank would request for your ID and if you are a foreigner, your passport. There is no money changer here, not that i've seen of. I just don't understand why do we need ID and passport to change our money. The school presentation was fun as usual, having so many interactions between the students and they are not afraid to voice out their opinions. Skipped dinner tonight because of the serious headache and went to bed very early, around 8pm...
Thursday, June 16, 2011
17th Day in Wuhan
Woke up, nothing better to do and sit in my room watching House. Went to get James (US) tailor a suit for himself and for his friend. Had an urge getting one for myself since its only 600-700RMB, which is considerably cheap compare to Malaysia. Took the whole evening searching for hotels or hostels for our trip to beijing. Everything seem so expensive and i don't have much money left. During the night, skype with my mum, asking whether to tailor the suit or not, she said that better use the money to travel around since she can tailor it for me. Then we took the whole night searching info on where to go before our beijing trip, Nanjing, Guilin, Suzhou, Hangzhou or other places which is near to us...Tiring and unproductive day....
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
16th Day in Wuhan
James (US) introduced a new series to me named Game of Thrones. It is really interesting to watch and since there nothing to do today, i decided to lie on my bed watching all 9 released episodes. Then Siau Ling told me Amanda got malaria from her own country and now is heading to the hospital. Might go and visit her during the night. However, when she arrived at the hospital, the doctor said the malaria had cleared and its just a minor fever. False alarm. We had dinner with our new EP, Rosebud from Ghana. She is really funny and we talked for almost an hour or so...Tomorrow will be free as well...
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
15th Day in Wuhan
Today, we went to 中南财经政法大学 to do our survey on paper recycling. The university in Wuhan is so green and well structured compare to UPM. While asking people to fill in the questionnaire, i found out that whenever i speak chinese to them, most of them will say they are in a hurry and do not have time for it. However, when i speak english to them, i can say that most of them stop and fill the questionnaire for me. Not only that, when i speak english to them, they give me a very surprised look. Then i'l tell them i'm from Malaysia.
Rushed back to the trainee house early to have dinner with other EPs and Saken. Saken will be leaving tonight and we plan a farewell dinner for him at Chicony (群光). He is really nice. I guess i'll miss him when he leaves Wuhan. He always chat with me, tell me stuff about kazahkstan. Hope that, if i ever have a change to go Kazakhstan, i can meet up with him again...
Rushed back to the trainee house early to have dinner with other EPs and Saken. Saken will be leaving tonight and we plan a farewell dinner for him at Chicony (群光). He is really nice. I guess i'll miss him when he leaves Wuhan. He always chat with me, tell me stuff about kazahkstan. Hope that, if i ever have a change to go Kazakhstan, i can meet up with him again...
Monday, June 13, 2011
14th Day in Wuhan
Woke up early in the morning and prepare to go for Develop Leadership Day (DLD) with other EPs (Ayush, UK James, Patrik and Siau Ling). It was difficult to convince myself to go because everyone just feel sleepy, but thinking that the conference might bring us a lot of insights, we decided to go. The DLD was fine at first where i only have to translate what the MC is saying in Chinese and Michael (LCP) gave his speech in English. The following part was unexpected as all the speakers are giving their speech in Chinese. We were told that the speaker will be giving an english speech. After a few pain-staking moments of translating and nothing seems to make sense, we decided to move out of the conference hall and have our own chatting circle together with the Michael. After our lunch, we went back to trainee house while some of them went to the Yellow Crane Tower.
Nothing special happened except that no one is willing to help take the overfilled trash downstairs. End up me and US James have to do all the dirty work (as usual). It is really fun being able to stay with so many people from different countries, despite some minor problems which every housemates would face....
Nothing special happened except that no one is willing to help take the overfilled trash downstairs. End up me and US James have to do all the dirty work (as usual). It is really fun being able to stay with so many people from different countries, despite some minor problems which every housemates would face....
Sunday, June 12, 2011
13th Day in Wuhan
Woke up, had lunch and went to the 华师一 high school to give another presentation. We've been told that they already learn most of the things we presented and wishes to know something more deep and ask us to be more professional in giving presentation. Well, we did what they've told and they are still so quiet...Several questions took me by surprised like you can have suspended wind turbine which can float in the air to harvest maximum wind energy, and also using noise to produce energy. Possible but might have more drawbacks. We didn't really give them an answer whether it is workable or not since with the current technology, we would not be able to do that. But i guess that ain't really the answer they are looking for. The presentation ended awkward and the feedbacks that they gave is somewhat ...not so nice... They wish we can be more professional in presenting and includes more interaction with them. We did and yet they just sit there quietly looking at each other. What more can they expect us to do? And with the suspended wind turbine, its workable but not feasible yet his comments were like wanting us to agree to his idea. Well, we can't say it wont work definitely but this is based on prototypes and research, and we just not those people who do it. Being the best student doesn't mean everything you say must be right. Another comment which took me completely out of my mind is that we present something that could help them score in their exam. I guess they don't understand what we are doing here. We are trying to create awareness, not to help them score exams..Well, one more pain-staking lesson and i won't be seeing them.
Went to the Helen's Bar with the other EPs, had a good night there and its my second time been to a bar. It was nice to know so much about Saken and Kazakhstan, and i might even go visit Kazakhstan if i got the chance. He was in the military faculty and it was cool. He really is a nice guy but i won't be seeing him anymore after tomorrow. Sad, but i guess that's what the exchange is all about. You get to know them and you can try visit them some other times...
Went to the Helen's Bar with the other EPs, had a good night there and its my second time been to a bar. It was nice to know so much about Saken and Kazakhstan, and i might even go visit Kazakhstan if i got the chance. He was in the military faculty and it was cool. He really is a nice guy but i won't be seeing him anymore after tomorrow. Sad, but i guess that's what the exchange is all about. You get to know them and you can try visit them some other times...
Friday, June 10, 2011
12th Day in Wuhan
Its another day of work, will be presenting Eutrophication today. Due to internet down yesterday night, we have to finish up the slides in the morning before we go to the high school. We were expecting Patrik to come over to the Trainee House and a knock from the door and its James(UK) and Kezia. I was stunned and shocked to see them here so early in the week. Well, Kezia has sharp observation and she knew that we cleaned the entire house and left all the slippers on the mat so no one would step into the house with their shoes on. Bravo!!
Arrived at the high school (华师一) which suppose to be the best high school in the whole Hubei province, or even the whole of China. I thought it would have been an interesting class but then guess again. They are really quiet and just listened to what you have to present. I guess being the best student, they are just afraid to make mistakes or give the wrong answer. However, they can really speak good english, at least compare to the other high school students that i've met so far. James(US) went out to celebrate one of his friend's birthday and will go directly to the train station tomorrow morning to the Three Gorgeous Dam. I wish i could go but there's another lesson in the same high school. Hopefully they will give better responds tomorrow...
Arrived at the high school (华师一) which suppose to be the best high school in the whole Hubei province, or even the whole of China. I thought it would have been an interesting class but then guess again. They are really quiet and just listened to what you have to present. I guess being the best student, they are just afraid to make mistakes or give the wrong answer. However, they can really speak good english, at least compare to the other high school students that i've met so far. James(US) went out to celebrate one of his friend's birthday and will go directly to the train station tomorrow morning to the Three Gorgeous Dam. I wish i could go but there's another lesson in the same high school. Hopefully they will give better responds tomorrow...
11th Day in Wuhan
As usual, woke up in the morning and prepare the slides require for this evening's presentation. Once Kyle and Ashley reached the Trainee House, we went to Patrik’s place and straight to the No.12 High School. We had a really good time there and the students are so excited to see Patrik. The presentation went quite smoothly and we ended up at Optics Valley for dinner. This is the third time I’ve been there. Patrik got a few t-shirt and then all of a sudden the rain just starts pouring heavily. We waited a while and planned to take taxi back home. We waited and we waited and we waited for an hour long and yet we couldn’t stop a taxi. In Malaysia, I think it would be impossible for this to happen. We waited since 9.30pm and it seems like everyone is rushing home at such early hours. End up we manage to stop a private (illegal) taxi. The road heading to the trainee house was seriously flooded and we have to go slow on the road. Reached home at almost 11pm and its really a tiring day. I swear I won’t be going Optics Valley for the entire next week!!
Internet breakdown and I couldn’t access to my email to retrieve the slides for tomorrow’s presentation. All the best to me..Hopefully the internet will recover soon or else you’ll never hear from me….
Thursday, June 09, 2011
10th Day in Wuhan
Went over to the homestay where Patrik is to discuss our presentation for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. His homestay was really nice, i wish i would be the one staying there but then again, he's the only EP there with a Chinese family. I guess that must be tough for him, not being able to speak chinese and with no other EPs to talk to. This is also the first time where me and Siau Ling took a bus ride without any assistance from the LC. Its really amazing and how effective the public transport system in Wuhan can be compare to KL.
The house was really a mess and me and Siau Ling started to clean up the entire house, firstly sweeping, then mopping, and lastly cleaning the toilet. It was really tired and obviously not happy about it since we have to clean other people's mess. But then after all the cleaning, we finally are able to walk around the house bare foot. Not entirely clean but it will do, at least better than before.
Went out dinner with James (US), we can really talk non-stop and nothing gets done when we started talking. Its just so much different in US, the food, the legal system, the people, the living standards. They really have a good life in US, in my opinion compare to Malaysian. Yet, the things that they spend is much higher in price. Earn more spend more... We bought something that James had never seen or tried before when we were walking back to the Trainee House, Laici....He really loves it, he describe it having a taste of its own, and would really like to make a smoothie out of it. He even ask about durian too. I guess if we were going to buy that we would definitely need to buy a bigger knife and i might be able to open up a durian by myself for the first time in my life....Finally, shifted into James room because the weather is turning warm and no one will disturb me when i'm in the room sleeping.
The house was really a mess and me and Siau Ling started to clean up the entire house, firstly sweeping, then mopping, and lastly cleaning the toilet. It was really tired and obviously not happy about it since we have to clean other people's mess. But then after all the cleaning, we finally are able to walk around the house bare foot. Not entirely clean but it will do, at least better than before.
Went out dinner with James (US), we can really talk non-stop and nothing gets done when we started talking. Its just so much different in US, the food, the legal system, the people, the living standards. They really have a good life in US, in my opinion compare to Malaysian. Yet, the things that they spend is much higher in price. Earn more spend more... We bought something that James had never seen or tried before when we were walking back to the Trainee House, Laici....He really loves it, he describe it having a taste of its own, and would really like to make a smoothie out of it. He even ask about durian too. I guess if we were going to buy that we would definitely need to buy a bigger knife and i might be able to open up a durian by myself for the first time in my life....Finally, shifted into James room because the weather is turning warm and no one will disturb me when i'm in the room sleeping.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
9th Day In Wuhan
Woke up today and analyse my questionnaire results the entire day while waiting for the new EP to arrive. It was interesting where there are just more than half the people doesn't really recycle their papers. Maybe its because they lack of the facility to recycle paper and therefore no where to place the papers. A Swedish EP arrived around noon, his name is Patrik. He will be staying at the homestay half an hour from our place. I guess that makes communication and discussion a little bit difficult.
Slept the whole afternoon and ready to go to a university where a lecturer is going to give us some information regarding the environment, especially issues happened in Wuhan. We talked about eutrophication. I knew what it was all about but i never really know how it can relate to our daily lives. Just by using phosphorus based detergen can increase the eutrophication in the water. Also, i only knew about how eutrophication happens but not how to deal with it. A simple act by having a certain type of fish that could eat up the algae in the water or having plants planted beside the lake can absorb the excess nutrients in the water can really help improve the quality of the lake water. I guess this is something new that i learned today...Hope tomorrow i can come out with slides for my thursday to saturday presentation....
Slept the whole afternoon and ready to go to a university where a lecturer is going to give us some information regarding the environment, especially issues happened in Wuhan. We talked about eutrophication. I knew what it was all about but i never really know how it can relate to our daily lives. Just by using phosphorus based detergen can increase the eutrophication in the water. Also, i only knew about how eutrophication happens but not how to deal with it. A simple act by having a certain type of fish that could eat up the algae in the water or having plants planted beside the lake can absorb the excess nutrients in the water can really help improve the quality of the lake water. I guess this is something new that i learned today...Hope tomorrow i can come out with slides for my thursday to saturday presentation....
Monday, June 06, 2011
8th Day in Wuhan
You know, it's really annoying when you are trying to sleep and people just keep waking you up by talking loud, singing loud, on the music loud.. Ya, practically thats what happened to me, EVERYDAY since i arrived. They just don't have the sense of consideration that people is still sleeping early in the morning and they just kept making noise.
We went out for city tour today and they brought to this cool street named 'Hu Bu Xiang' where there's so many kinds of food there, and its packed with people. I tried stinky toufu and garlic oyster and it was delicious. The next stop is shopping at 汉口 where we took a ferry across the Yangtze river. Went to Final's house to eat dumplings and 周黑鸭 which is extremely spicy and it makes your mouth numb..I don't know whats so nice about the duck but a lot of people seems to like it.
When we return home at night, we took a bus back which is super crowded with people till the extent where you just can't move and take a deep breath. The bus is already so crowded and people just keep forcing into the bus, which makes no sense. The door was literally having difficult times opening. The thing that keeps me wondering is that being so crowded, how can the people actually get down the bus when they want to. Finally, we arrived at a stop, got down and took a taxi back to our place in 东湖新村. I swear, when i arrive at Malaysia, i'll never ever gonna take a public bus ever again and i'll appreciate every moment of me being in a car....
We went out for city tour today and they brought to this cool street named 'Hu Bu Xiang' where there's so many kinds of food there, and its packed with people. I tried stinky toufu and garlic oyster and it was delicious. The next stop is shopping at 汉口 where we took a ferry across the Yangtze river. Went to Final's house to eat dumplings and 周黑鸭 which is extremely spicy and it makes your mouth numb..I don't know whats so nice about the duck but a lot of people seems to like it.
When we return home at night, we took a bus back which is super crowded with people till the extent where you just can't move and take a deep breath. The bus is already so crowded and people just keep forcing into the bus, which makes no sense. The door was literally having difficult times opening. The thing that keeps me wondering is that being so crowded, how can the people actually get down the bus when they want to. Finally, we arrived at a stop, got down and took a taxi back to our place in 东湖新村. I swear, when i arrive at Malaysia, i'll never ever gonna take a public bus ever again and i'll appreciate every moment of me being in a car....
7th Day in Wuhan
Got up in the morning and start editing the survey after getting feedback from the LC. One of the volunteer asked us to take a taxi to Wuhan University to do our survey as one of them suddenly got class and cant bring us there. Well, Wuhan University is just 10 to 15mins walk from my place and yet they told us to get a taxi. I just dont get the idea of taking taxi where you can just walk with the fine weather here. I guess the people here are just so used to taking taxi everywhere.
The University is big and it is so much greener than UPM. The landscape is really nice and there's a proper walkway in the university which was great. We took around 2hours to complete our survey and then we toured around the campus. The University will soon be crowded with people from all over the country when the 樱花 springs in June. They have really beautiful 樱花 in the university. And also, anyone can just walk in to the campus, tourist or students, so different from UPM where you can only enter with your student ID.
When we reached home, there were so many people at home and we walked for almost half an hour to a shopping mall to have our dinner. Although its far away but i think it is still better than taking a taxi. At least everyone gets to chat and know each other better. Do you know that the Kazakhstan always fight to resolve their conflicts? It is really interesting to know and maybe I can tell more when i got back. And apparently the kast system in India is illegal now, except for some rural parts of India. The central government uses English and Hindi while the other states uses their own state languages but they are require to learn English and Hindi.
It was really a long chat through the night and we talked about some small differences we have like how many cups of water we have to drink a day. The Americans do 13cups while the Asian 8..Its interesting where so many people from different countries are gathered here, American, Irish, Malaysian, Indonesian, Kazakhstan, Chinese, India and soon another from Sweden. We will be going to a city tour tomorrow, cant wait...
The University is big and it is so much greener than UPM. The landscape is really nice and there's a proper walkway in the university which was great. We took around 2hours to complete our survey and then we toured around the campus. The University will soon be crowded with people from all over the country when the 樱花 springs in June. They have really beautiful 樱花 in the university. And also, anyone can just walk in to the campus, tourist or students, so different from UPM where you can only enter with your student ID.
When we reached home, there were so many people at home and we walked for almost half an hour to a shopping mall to have our dinner. Although its far away but i think it is still better than taking a taxi. At least everyone gets to chat and know each other better. Do you know that the Kazakhstan always fight to resolve their conflicts? It is really interesting to know and maybe I can tell more when i got back. And apparently the kast system in India is illegal now, except for some rural parts of India. The central government uses English and Hindi while the other states uses their own state languages but they are require to learn English and Hindi.
It was really a long chat through the night and we talked about some small differences we have like how many cups of water we have to drink a day. The Americans do 13cups while the Asian 8..Its interesting where so many people from different countries are gathered here, American, Irish, Malaysian, Indonesian, Kazakhstan, Chinese, India and soon another from Sweden. We will be going to a city tour tomorrow, cant wait...
Sunday, June 05, 2011
6th Day in Wuhan
It was really boring today, no LC coming over and arrival of 2 more EPs from the countryside. Kezia from Indonesia and Saken from Kazakhstan. The day was busy with designing questionnaire with Siau Ling and later in the afternoon we tried finding some tourist destination in Beijing. During the evening 6 of us went to have dinner and bought some things from the local supermarket. Yea, and i've learn something new from Ireland which is 'What the crack?' meaning 'whats the fun?'
The thing that really shocked us is the entire sink in the bathroom just dropped and broke. There goes our sink... Its so not convenient without a sink to brush your teeth.. During the night, there's another EP who arrived from India. He's name is Ayush. This house is getting crowded and i just hope that the LC would figure out a way to allocate everyone...
The thing that really shocked us is the entire sink in the bathroom just dropped and broke. There goes our sink... Its so not convenient without a sink to brush your teeth.. During the night, there's another EP who arrived from India. He's name is Ayush. This house is getting crowded and i just hope that the LC would figure out a way to allocate everyone...
Saturday, June 04, 2011
5th Day in Wuhan
Didn't have much sleep last night. The arrival of new EP woke me up quite early and he's name is James too, from northern Ireland. This will be my first day of work, going to No 12 High School in 汉口 to give a presentation on Climate Change and Air Pollution. One thing i don't really like about Wuhan is that the place is too big, and you need to spend almost half a days ride just to go and return from one place to another. Took a taxi, change to bus and took another taxi, then finally we have to walk to the school. Took us almost 2hours because of the traffic jam. Wuhan seems to jam at almost every hour, which is so different from Malaysia.
During the presentation, the students listen quietly and when there's activity for them, they are really vocal, active and very participative. Also, the way they think, it is very mature and in dept, so different from the students in Malaysia. I wonder when can we achieve to such high education level. Despite only senior high, they can really debate very well. Went to Optic Valley for dinner, we ordered a dish called 红烧肉 which is really really delicious. Tonight have to get busy finishing the questionnaire for Paper Consumption in university...
During the presentation, the students listen quietly and when there's activity for them, they are really vocal, active and very participative. Also, the way they think, it is very mature and in dept, so different from the students in Malaysia. I wonder when can we achieve to such high education level. Despite only senior high, they can really debate very well. Went to Optic Valley for dinner, we ordered a dish called 红烧肉 which is really really delicious. Tonight have to get busy finishing the questionnaire for Paper Consumption in university...
Friday, June 03, 2011
4th Day in Wuhan
Work starts today where Kyle and Ashley (buddy) came over to discuss the presentation that we will be doing tomorrow in high school. Issues include climate change and air pollution. We had lunch later in the afternoon, Beijing cuisine to be precise and it really taste good.
During the night, we went to Wuhan Normal University to attend a Malaysian Gathering (马来西亚与您有约). The speakers share Malaysian culture to the people who attended this gathering, and it feels really great to be able to feel like home in there. Not much happening today and well, i have to burn the midnight oil to finish up the slides for tomorrow..Best of luck to me...
During the night, we went to Wuhan Normal University to attend a Malaysian Gathering (马来西亚与您有约). The speakers share Malaysian culture to the people who attended this gathering, and it feels really great to be able to feel like home in there. Not much happening today and well, i have to burn the midnight oil to finish up the slides for tomorrow..Best of luck to me...
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Third Day in Wuhan
For starters, the house i stayed in is really in a mess. Woke up in the morning and sort of tidy up the place. Honestly i still not getting used to the idea having slippers on in around the house. In the afternoon, me, Siau Ling and James went for lunch, and i really had a good time with James. Most probably because we both speaks English and its nice to be able to converse in English since form6. Then Linda and one of her classmate joined us and brought us to Wuhan's famous tower, the Yellow Crane Tower. Just visiting the tower makes me trace back some of my ancestors story, 屈原 who did happen to stay in that tower. Linda also asked where my grandparents were from, maybe i can take some time to go visit my place of origin in China. Well, since i'm here i guess i'll probably visit it. Wont know when i'll be coming or ever be visiting China again.
Took a lot of bus ride and cab today, tiring and we ended up in Optic Valley where James' team members brought us to dinner. The place is nice and spectacular, the sad thing is everyone is already worn out and we don't really have time to go shopping. Furthermore, i need to finish designing the survey question and prepare the ppt slide for tomorrow's presentation. Nervous!!! We reached home around 10.45pm, guess it will be a long night finishing the slides...
Took a lot of bus ride and cab today, tiring and we ended up in Optic Valley where James' team members brought us to dinner. The place is nice and spectacular, the sad thing is everyone is already worn out and we don't really have time to go shopping. Furthermore, i need to finish designing the survey question and prepare the ppt slide for tomorrow's presentation. Nervous!!! We reached home around 10.45pm, guess it will be a long night finishing the slides...
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Second Day in Wuhan
The day had been a tiring one, woke up at 8 in the morning and went to the supermarket alone to buy some biscuits for breakfast. Had a chat with the Local Committee President (LCP) named Michael, and surprisingly there are much that i do not know or have misconception about China and their people. All the language used are mainly mandarin, however people from different parts of the country might only speak their own dialect and not knowing how to converse in mandarin. We discussed about the environmental issues, religion, our own hobby but most of the time we were sharing things on the language used. He did ask me one thing which is 'what chinese culture do i still practice in Malaysia?' A very good question and to be honest, i can't really differentiate which is the chinese culture and the malaysian chinese culture. Hopefully after this exchange, i might find the answer in it.
Went to the airport to pickup another EP who is also from Malaysia with Ricky, a local committee. Her name is Siau Ling. Well, good to know there's another person from Malaysia. At least now i will have company and much common topics to talk about.
Went to the airport to pickup another EP who is also from Malaysia with Ricky, a local committee. Her name is Siau Ling. Well, good to know there's another person from Malaysia. At least now i will have company and much common topics to talk about.
First Day in Wuhan, China
My flight departed from KL at 9.40am and reached Guangzhou around 1pm. The flight was pleasant though i regretted requesting for a window seat because during that hour, the sun was strong and not much nice view can be seen. It is also difficult for me to go to the washroom as 2 other passengers were blocking the way. The flight attendant is pretty and one of the male flight attendant is really really handsome.. Though i must say i feel that they are impolite somehow or rather.
Had to wait for my 5pm flight to Wuhan, therefore waited few hours in Guangzhou baiyun airport (广州白云) by reading novel to pass my time. On the flight, there was this nice uncle who spoke to me in mandarin, though i still cant figure out what he meant by asking me '你是几时的飞机票? Weird isnt it considering that he is on the same flight with me.
Upon arrival, Ran (王然), the Aiesecer in charge brought me to my homestay, which is at Wuchang (武昌). The house is nice, though i just couldn't get used to the idea everyone stepping all over the house with their slippers or shoes on. Something which i think i have to get used to if i were to survive the following 6weeks. Met an American EP, James who has been here for the pass 4 weeks. I guess american just not used to sharing rooms, thats why i'm sleeping another room fanless and air-condless...This is part of the exchange purpose i suppose, tolerating and understanding everyone's culture.
Had to wait for my 5pm flight to Wuhan, therefore waited few hours in Guangzhou baiyun airport (广州白云) by reading novel to pass my time. On the flight, there was this nice uncle who spoke to me in mandarin, though i still cant figure out what he meant by asking me '你是几时的飞机票? Weird isnt it considering that he is on the same flight with me.
Upon arrival, Ran (王然), the Aiesecer in charge brought me to my homestay, which is at Wuchang (武昌). The house is nice, though i just couldn't get used to the idea everyone stepping all over the house with their slippers or shoes on. Something which i think i have to get used to if i were to survive the following 6weeks. Met an American EP, James who has been here for the pass 4 weeks. I guess american just not used to sharing rooms, thats why i'm sleeping another room fanless and air-condless...This is part of the exchange purpose i suppose, tolerating and understanding everyone's culture.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Friday, February 04, 2011
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Every Time I Think of You
Since that time, every time i heard of this song i would think of you.
Because when you on this song, you left a deep impression in me.
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful song with me..
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Happy New Year 2011
Every year things come and go,
Every year there's different experiences,
May it be good or bad, happy or sad,
Let it be the memories of 2010.
The year 2011 has finally arrived,
Let it be a whole new beginning,
Fill your year with joy and wonder,
And let it be a good start!!
May the year 2011 be a great year for everyone!!
Happy New Year!!! May everyone i know have a wonderful and great year and wish everyone the best at their future undertakings.
Every year there's different experiences,
May it be good or bad, happy or sad,
Let it be the memories of 2010.
The year 2011 has finally arrived,
Let it be a whole new beginning,
Fill your year with joy and wonder,
And let it be a good start!!
May the year 2011 be a great year for everyone!!
Happy New Year!!! May everyone i know have a wonderful and great year and wish everyone the best at their future undertakings.
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