update 2
I love reading Marie Claire. You hear how people go through their GF phase when they hit puberty; then Dolly, Cleo, Cosmo, Women's Weekly et al. before settling down for their 'fave'. I never went through that rollercoaster ride but i'm pretty happy to settle with MC once i hit mids. Atm, I'm very happy with New Internationalist and will continue with such:)
Today was a very blessed day. For the first time this semester, chem prac held us back til the very last second -3 hrs- but we learnt more than any other time so my brain feels well used yet nourished. My chem partner is also one of those ppl you can talk to about anything. Perhaps not in much depth, but that comes with time. For now like today, it was great to just stroll around beautiful usyd reminiscing and sharing interests [of which there are many i.e. we are both HP fans!! hurrah!]. On our stroll we got some free food, in the form of cake and jelly, courtesy of Islamic Week. I also finally got the last stamp on my Hot Drinks voucher so that my next visit entitles me to a free hot chocolate:D And with that goes winter. In honour of the upcoming spring and summer i will seek to use up my gelato voucher likewise:)
This week I finally finished Jane Eyre and continue to feel the effects of its charm. I realised how much i miss reading in general, so i hope to polish off as many classics as i can handle:) I also hope to pick up painting/watercolour drawing as a regular hobby and some form of sport to which neither money nor comfort have to be sorely sacrificed. Something as beneficial but more stimulating than walking would be much welcomed:) A job as a Harbour Bridge Climb instructor would be so great! dreams, dreams..
update
There's really not much to update on actually. Right now I'm studying via webct which is the next best thing to sliced bread [really, try 'n' see it that way:P]. Bio and chem complement each other quite well and this semester looks to be almost fun- if i get my act together in time. August sets itself up to be a very busy month for me. All my Saturdays are filled with church activities/parties and Sundays with work. My weekdays are spent on 3 upcoming assignments [darn arts!] and other miscellaneous stuff. It also appears that everyone had to be born this month so a spot of shopping is in order.
When i have spare moments they're spent eating and sleeping :l ** last night I took an afternoon 'nap' and woke up at 9.30 pm!! so i took my permanently altered biological clock head on and proceeded with dinner at 12.30, followed by a light read, then another 'nap' at around 2. I slept like a total of 11 hrs :O not a recommendable activity. I felt sluggish and miffed, but now that i've decided to do homework:D it's all good. See homework -or work of any kind- cures anything:)
There are many things to look forward to:) From the more menial tasks of simply study to getting ready for Smriti's church food fair next Sat:D:D to celebrating my couz's 3rd b'day the week after, there's much to get worked up for. Of course there are some things subtly eating away at the back of my mind; such as whether the potentially carcinogenic material i spilt on myself yesterday during chem prac will get to work anytime soon. Or whether the cutie in the same lab could be justified as a perve. Eek. It's easy to get paranoid within the uni culture. Alright back to bio.. [education musn't be taken for granted:]
well, so much for a travel log..
20 days overseas is not enough time to update anywhere on the net, especially when the only pc available was slow, crap and old. But to sum up: I had a really fantastic time. Which doesn't tell anybody anything, which i'm perfectly ok with. But i had such an awesome time with my family that i plan to go back in 2 years and spend 3 months instead of 3 weeks which is a VERY substantial amount -esp. in such a polluted environment. Oh, I shouldn't advertise China like that>.< Oh well i love it all the same.
When i went over there, I could see a LOT has changed in 7 years. What surprised me the most was how quickly i submerged into the culture, picking up the dialogue almost without effort and beginning to understand how the chinese think [complex with many hidden layers]. I have the best of both worlds, being able to observe a chinese from the
comparatively positive, free spirited western view and in the process, lace the aussie flavour into my chinese aura. My favourite moments were spent with aunt linda, her husband and couz whom i haven't seen for 13 yrs. Despite that, we're closer than ever before which is the thing i love best about chinese culture. Family is such a central concept it's almost omnipotent. Time and space do not diminish love despite no contact (physical that is) for a bugger number of years. As long as there's memories and photos and the knowledge that your values & principles parallel one another, it ticks on merrily away.
Semester 2 promises to be more interesting than sem 1- it'd better be anyway. I've now scrapped stats in favour of english [a more-than-welcomed breath of fresh air; being only 1 lecture a week it should be ey :D].. chem and bio are continued along with anth so all in all i'm pretty pleased. My timetable has also being significantly downsized to just 18 hours a week which means no excuses for not getting credits and above this sem:< I'm also looking forward to getting more work hours as i'd love to save for future overseas trips after i graduate. I simply cannot picture myself staying in Oz for too long, tho I will call it home for life. Only today i was looking at a mini ad for international volunteers and i sped read through the passages to see what's on offer. Nothing seems so appealing as spending a few months/years in a developing country teaching english or building houses or doing a spot of farming or getting to know the beautiful local children. Then return after those years for a job long enough to pay off the mortgage then back around the world again:) Sounds like a plan:D Tho it means settling down will be a remote idea..hmm. Well there are billions of fish in the sea.. maybe i can find myself as adventurous a hubby along the way then. Problemo solved!
