Squareface @ 31°North

Graduating isn’t too big a problem, but graduating on time (July 2009) might be.

After returning to Fudan from my lovely time across the Pacific Ocean at UBC, I’m being welcomed back with the multitude of procedures that test my patience and perseverance. (I’ve also learnt such things are a test of knowing the right people and what to say.)

The ever necessary multi-step procedures make me sweat over the small stuff, and surpassing my anxiousness to get my visa done, I am fretting over how I am not in control of my graduation eligibility.

Let’s talk about my visa. I assumed that I’d be able to get my visa done within the 14-day visa-free period my red passport entitles me in mainland China, but now I am on a tight schedule where I can only hope that nothing goes wrong. Since I’ve been out of China for more than 3 months, I have to do a physical examination again (these examinations are necessary for freshmen or anyone planning to stay in China for more than 6 months, and its main components are the liver and HIV, along with other general health conditions). Seeing that I came back (very reluctantly) a week before school began to settle the procedures for reinstating my student status (which could not be done afterall since the teachers I needed signatures from weren’t here although I was informed they would be), my visa-free days end this Monday (3 Mar). So in order to go about waiting for my physical examination and its report to be done I have to apply for a travel visa (L visa) such that it lengthens my ability to stay here till 18 Mar. Right now my application for travel visa (L visa) is pending while I await my physical examination on 5 Mar, and everything must be settled before 18 Mar, which is the expiry date of my travel visa (pending). However, it is unknown how long they will take to process my physical examination. :S

Then there’s my transferral of credits. I have to finalize my classes my Friday, 7 Mar, but I was told that the processing of my credit transferral will take 1-2 weeks (from my submission on Friday, 29 Feb, or later because it depends on when my faculty’s admin staff will give it to the people-in-charge) or however long it will take to get it approved. I requested an expedition of my application, but my faculty admin staff informed me that there is only one person handling the entire school’s population of student’s credit stuff and simply said there’s no need to be anxious since I’m not graduating this semester. She said that despite knowing the fact that I would have to make some major adjustments to my choosing of classes if any of my credit transfer fails, and that classes’ timings might clash in my last 2 semesters which will lead to unwanted postponement of graduation.

CG pointed out that this is precisely why many people in my school cannot graduate on time, because admin staff only get the sense of urgency for students graduating in that particular semester, when they could have jolly well killed the problem at its root  if they had just been a bit more sensible slightly earlier.

Actually, I should have learnt not to worry over these small things by now, huh?

Possibly the only visible certainty…

In the garbage bag there is a pillow, pillow case, blanket, quilt, quilt cover.
Along with the flask, I wish it came in a friendlier way.

Back at UBC I was learning Beginners’ German from a German PhD student whose lessons were quite fun and engaging. Even though he was unsure of certain grammatic rules, we always forgave him because beads of perspiration would form on his head even in the midst of winter. Our German textbook introduces grammar step by step and we were just getting into past tense. Learning was in short sentences. I was already struggling with so many rules to remember and vocabulary to memorize, but I managed to get by with pastel colours.

Here in Fudan my classmates are done with grammar rules and usages. My current textbook is filled with PASSAGES and during today’s lesson I was completely lost when the teacher read the passage and the class started analyzing sentence structures. Usages and grammatical rules are briefly reviewed in Chinese and I can’t really follow. There’s way too much I need to catch up with, and I’m not sure if I can handle learning a 3rd language with my 2nd language in such a short time. What is 第1-4格respectively? And then there’s 强变化动词，不规则变化动词 (irregular verbs?)，不定式 (indefinite?)，现在时(present tense?)，过去时(past tense?)，完成时…

I am so dead.

Going…Going…Gone.

I haven’t had time to sit down to reflect, but what I know now for sure is that the past 4 months has been nothing short of pleasant, fun, and wonderful.

Much thanks to my housemates for giving me insight into Canadian culture and helping me with all my needs, and all other friends who made this sojourn so enjoyable I find it hard to leave. Mostly, it’s thanks to the friendly, and always-going-out-of-the-way-to-help Canadians and their pleasant habits.

It’s 2.30am now and the cab I booked will be arriving at 7am. Still, I have not finished packing.

So I have to pack now, blog later.

The next time I blog, it’ll be across the border, down where it’s not as cold.

At UBC, in Vancouver, in Canada. The final 10 days (till my next visit, of course!).

Slowly, I’m trying to cut the strings of attachments.

I’ll always revisit the memories created in this lovely liveable place, and with its people I befriended so easily (you must know how anti-social I was/am in Fudan). It remains on the top of my list of places to live/retire in (if I can afford to).

(And of course, the place to sign marriage papers if someone asks)

Click on the pictures below for pictures of UBC, and other memories in Canada.

Hey I submitted my photos to UBC’s Go Global Photo Contest just in time before the deadline. Nothing fantastic, just wanted to try out for fun. Nevertheless……….

VOTE FOR ME!

Sorry, I couldn’t put it any other way without sounding 不要脸. Haha.

I recall being forced to write compositions on accounts of being trapped in a lift back in Primary School. Be it a continuation story, a story based on pictures, or just a set-titled composition, we’ve all written about it during those front-teethless years, even if we’ve never had that experience. For 22 years in my life, I have never been stuck in that claustrophobic environment.

In fact, lifts, other than images conjured up by horror flicks like The Eye, have always been the creator of sweet (or bittersweet) memories for me. But that’s not the topic for today.

So today I can actually write a true account of how it was like being stuck in the lift, and compensate for all those primary school years when I couldn’t choose that topic or simply couldn’t come up with an accurate account. But since I’m staying away from writing (other than necessary essays) because of a growing phobia, I’ll just leave it to your imagination, haha.

Keywords: 3 girls, 30 minutes, 7 rescuers, dying ventilation, the lift kept going up and down, but the door just wouldn’t open

No pregnant lady with a burst water bag, no plunging elevator, or any other drama involved. We were happily crapping away to lighten the mood while the lift went up and down, like talking about how the leftover from lunch that we packed would last us for one night, but that we didn’t have enough water. The creepiest part was probably how the lift went to floor zero (there is no button for this), and when the rescuers shut the power without warning in order to stop the lift from moving to get us out. Pitch darkness for 3 minutes, and then the ray of light burst into relief of 7 faces staring at us holding our cellphones above our heads for light.

I suppose it’s quite amusing for those on the outside to find that the lift they called for took so long to arrive and then when it finally does, hear girls shouting through the thick door for help. Someone even said “are you stuck inside? Oh, have fun!”

Other than that one optimistic student, I thank the kind souls who helped us call the relevant personnel to get us out.

To date, I’ve been stuck in a lift, experienced two blackouts, and four five six seven evacuations because of fire alarms, all within this short stint at UBC. Exciting stuff, huh.

Add 24 hours with 16 hours time difference from your home country, and you get 40 hours on your birthday! That’s if you count your birthday starting from midnight of the day according to your birth country, and then only ending after midnight of the country you’re in! Haha

I had a very healthy birthday cake this year! Carrot cake! And it was very yummy!

Wah I think my arms are going to be as big as thighs.

The cake was baked by 2 of my lovely housemates! Thank you Alison (left 1st row) and Allison (centre 2nd row)!

And thanks to my Singaporean friends who were also present at the cake-cutting and sang the Chinese birthday song!

You have to admit that the cake is really special! Sorry for the exclamation marks throughout this post. I’m just very touched and thankful! Haha. And it’s the first time I had a carrot cake for my birthday! And it looks like a big donut! Haha…

But of course the most unique (and loveable) birthday cake I ever had was last year, my 21st’s. Made of jelly. Made by her.

And thank you all happy-birthday-wishers!

This year I have had an excessive number of people who otherwise wouldn’t be aware of my birthday wishing me a Happy Birthday via Facebook. Hmm.

There was a blackout in the entire campus yesterday around 1pm, for about 15-20 minutes. I was in one of the classrooms at Buchanan and we just pulled up the blinds and continued writing our assignments. I heard that other classes ended immediately ‘coz of the blackout. Bleh.

Then in the evening at about 7.30ish there was a blackout again. -_- This time for about 2 hours. This happened just after I posted my previous entry on my whining about work overload.

Neighbours from the other unit came over and we played Cranium (this rather interesting board game that consists of components like charades, pictionary, etc).

If blackouts happen more often, can I use that as an excuse to not do all the work that are due?

Playing with candles. X. My name lah.

No it’s not that cold in Vancouver, well, not yet at least.

My schedule book has so much orange ink scrawled all over for the next couple of weeks, depicting all the deadlines for the many assignments and term papers. Arrgh!

I won’t be able to delight you with pictures of this or that mountain, nor anything exciting for the next few weeks I guess.

What’s lined up for me for the next three weeks: German writing assignment, German Test, World Lit assignment, World Lit term paper for writing workshop, World Lit final term paper, Brit Lit term paper, MLT term paper, Technical Writing Report, Technical Writing Report Presentation, Creative Non-Fiction writing assignments…

And then there’s the exams in the following two weeks.

I don’t know which I should start doing first.

Who says students on exchange have it easy?