byebye friends...for now

A photo of my bus friends...since i have moved, i won't be taking the same bus as they do, so we thought of taking a photo to celebrate our many intellectual conversations on the bus=)

We had lunch together, and boy was it a discussion to remember. Andreas was explaining sth about der physiker, the play by Alfred Dürrenmatt which was a classic, talking about many issues such as information management, the power of atomic energy, etc. This group of students of namely political science, american and english literature, ancient greek and cultural sciences bravely fronted a lively debate over the existence of black holes, existence of parallel worlds, orbital of the moon around the Earth (how the moon actually has a 'verbundene' rotation around the Earth, so that we can always only see the SAME side of the moon when we look at it from Earth, and how Aristoteles was the first Greek to find that out, but the first discovery of that should go to the Oriental pple)...we could have talked the day away. But Andreas is leaving for China tmr, Orsi, Martin and I have Hausarbeits to write.

Sometimes I wonder to myself, how amazing this all is. Uni life is really the prime of one's life. There doesn't seem to be an end to all this quirky entertainment. =D I mean, at which other time of your life can you pretend to be an expert at modernism and help another with his paper on Ernest Hemingway and his contribution to Expressionist art and Modernism?

Here's a pic of the group of four...i.e. the group who always travel on the bus service number 4.



Left to right: Andreas the poet, Orsi (pronounced aw-shi) from Hungary, Martin the greek expert, Me

=) ting

klausurs...again

Now it is the time to complain about term examinations and the lack of time.

Nahhh, i shan't do that. There are lots of other interesting things to talk about=) One of my fav biology profs has done it again, with a magnificent faux pas during the lecture. He was talking about how we can tell the origins of different peoples by analysing the strains of a particular bacteria they have in their stomachs, and while he was talking about the bacteria...

"The Indo-Europeans, they are all bastards." *Split second later* "I mean the bacteria."

He was mixing his lecture in three languages, speaking in English, explaining some terminology in German, and wondering about stuff he had on his slides in French. E.G, "Now I will show you the bacterium, which was unterschiedlich in other peoples...(while searching for his pic)..C'est quoi?"

Europe...now this is a melting pot.

Wore a dress for the first time to Uni yesterday, (for the simple reason that I haven't been able to do my laundry for the past 2 weeks, yucks, i know, so the only presentable thing to wear was that simple dress), but apparently that was so out of the blue that almost all my friends asked what's up. (Had to tell them the truth, which never fails to elicit laughter.) =)


We were debating about installing Airconditionaing systems in the entire uni today. I think this is the first time that I was speaking...or the second time, for the entire 7 minutes. I actually had things to say for the whole of 7 minutes! Though not in perfect German, but well enough to make myself understood, I guess. =D It is rather funny, but sometimes I think it is an advantage NOT to be a native speaker. People are kinda more considerate (the other students of course) as they know how it is. Too bad they speak rather good English though=) We all thought it would be like a fun fun debate, but it turned out so serious...and kinda aggressive too. Poof. But at the end I was laughing almost half the entire time, we were looking at the photos of the German Debating Championships, and they were commenting about stuff all the time. I do admire people who speak well, there seems to be so much that they can do, for amusement, to convince, to reason... echt cool.

Have to go and catch my bus now. =p

*ting

Worthwhile quote from ST: Ronald Reagan once said,"I know they said that hard work never killed anyone, but I figured, why take the chance?"
Terrible thing to think of in times of exams.

Deutschland...the remnants of hope

I've never experienced a "deutscher Niederlage" before. No cars hooted, the streets were full of people heading straight home from the game, people were waving the German flag bravely, the dignity of a good loser. A few lone italian flags, a few people showing the third finger at that jubilant minority, but most took it in good spirit. But the police were out in full force, directing the traffic, stopping scuffles before they could break out. They wouldn't have needed to do that if Germany had won.

How great it would have been, though, if Germany, as host, could have won the game. Now the commentators can no longer say that no german team has lost in Dortmund before. Nor can they continue singing that funny song "wir werden Weltmeister."

Depressive mood again? No mention of the defeat was mentioned in the Frankfurter Allgemeine. Headlines were about the constant disputes over health issues, the Bundesnachrichtendienst question, and today is Steuergedenktag, the day when the country's proletariats start to work for their pay, instead of paying it all to tax.

Come on, Deutschland. Surely you can do better than this?!

This is a country in which every little "kaff" (or tiny village) has some technological invention they can be proud of, in which precision is prided on, where the poor wouldn't be left on their own, where the politics can't help stumbling a little in their search for the perfect solution or compromise. Heads up, Germany! C'est la vie!

Sometimes, it is not the attainment of a goal that counts, but the pursuit of it.

thoughts...

I have been thinking about what I have been doing so far, especially after my conversation with my grandpa today. Ironically, I seem to talk more to him now that i am thousands of miles away from him, thanks to the telephone. How much is our generation losing nowadays actually, simply by non-effective communication or non-communication with the older ones? Their wisdom of the years, their implicit understanding of how things are...sometimes I want to weep when I think back on the bonds we had when I was still a kid, and how they are currently...just not there anymore. But the hope is there. It just takes a step, on my part, picking up the phone and calling.

In front of my eyes is a scene of a little 6 year old girl, running around the void deck in an attempt to see how many pillars she can reach in the shortest time, while waiting for her grandpa to catch his breath on the walk home from the Kindergarten. The girl is impatient, but she knows the importance of rest for grandpa.

How I wish I could go back to that time. When was the last time I took a walk with grandpa? How many years ago was that?
_______________

Below is an article from the Straits Times, Singapore's National Newspapers, which I think everyone really should read. (This particular article, i mean) Mikhail Gorbachev is really a man who has changed the world. How much courage does that take, in following your beliefs, knowing that what you do is right, and with a sureness that is unwavering, to go on a path that you know might cause you to lose everything you have achieved so far? That is truly the measure of a man's character.

Remembering how one man made history
By Warren Fernandez, Foreign Editor


HE LEFT A LEGACY: Whatever his faults, to my mind, Mr Gorbachev is living testimony to the saying once attributed to American president John F. Kennedy: 'One man can make a difference, and every man should try.' -- AFP


IT MUST not be easy being Mikhail Gorbachev.
Remember him? He was the first and last president of the Soviet Union, whose reformative polices of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) contributed to the end of the Cold War, the break-up of the Soviet Union and, ultimately, him losing his job.

I encountered this political giant recently, at a lunchtime talk on the sidelines of a newspaper conference in Moscow.

He was speaking to journalists from around the world in his deep baritone, wagging his finger pointedly at times, as if addressing one of the Politburo meetings he used to preside over in the Kremlin, right next door to where we were.

At 75, he was sprightly, even feisty, his distinctive birthmark on his forehead as pronounced as before.

Somewhat poignantly, he delivered a robust defence of perestroika, his empire-shattering policy, which literally changed the world.

Some people, he noted, felt that it was all a big mistake. This included the old Soviet ruling classes, former communists and those who held positions of privilege. Life had become harder for them, and many others, he acknowledged.

But without the transformation he unleashed, wittingly or otherwise, there would not be today's Russia, where the world's editors were meeting to discuss their trade and debate the state of freedom of the press around the world, from Moscow to Manila.

Indeed, just a day before, Russia's current President Vladimir Putin had sat impassively listening to a sharp critique of his government's dealings with the media, albeit delivered politely by president of the World Association of Newspapers Gavin O'Reilly. This had happened in the Kremlin State Palace, the heart of the Russian government.

'Gosh, this would have been unthinkable in the past,' a veteran Moscow correspondent from a news agency whispered to me.

In a sign of how things have changed, Mr Gorbachev also announced at his lunch talk that he was becoming a publisher himself, taking a 49 per cent share of the newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, which he helped set up in 1993, using part of the money he had received from winning the Nobel Peace Prize three years earlier.

The paper - known for its investigations into corruption and its critical reports on Chechnya and the government - would be relaunched with a new format in January, but its editorial policy would remain independent, he added.

In a recent interview with Time magazine, Mr Gorbachev had also noted: 'Seventy-seven per cent of Russians say they want to live in a free and democratic country. That is the legacy of perestroika. People now think that we are on an optimistic path; they have hope.'

Without perestroika, there would be no economic reforms in Russia, which are only now beginning to unleash the potential of this vast, old country.

His successor, Mr Boris Yeltsin, he charged somewhat bitterly, had messed things up, allowing Russia's wealth to fall into a few hands. President Putin was putting things right, restoring order, stabilising the economy, improving the health and education systems, he noted.

Yet, Mr Yeltsin was feted in the West, and Mr Putin is viewed with suspicion, he noted ironically, adding that the United States should not wish for a Russia that was weak, which would play second fiddle to Washington.

Without perestroika, there would not have been an end to the Cold War, the end to Soviet domination over Europe, a receding of the nuclear threat that once hung over the world, perhaps not even the rise of today's globalisation.

So, despite these gains, did he think there were mistakes made in his push for perestroika, someone asked him at the conference.

After all, might not a more gradual approach have enabled a stable transition, as the Chinese are now trying to manage?

Yes, he thundered, there were many mistakes made. But, on balance, it had been worthwhile.

'Read my new book, there's something on this in it,' he quipped with a smile, plugging his latest work, Understanding Perestroika, which has just been published. In it, he argues that the introduction of perestroika in the Soviet Union in 1985 was one of the three most significant events in Soviet history - the others being the 1917 revolution and the victory in World War II.

The parallel he draws with these events is telling, since each reshaped his country - and the world - forever.

It must be difficult being Mr Gorbachev. For someone who has made history, he has to live with the knowledge that he is reviled by many at home, and also abroad, as having blundered in office and lost a once-mighty empire, unleashed capitalism on a generation brought up to believe it was evil, and plunged the country into a wrenching period of economic and social change.

Indeed, Singaporeans might well ask just what bearing this forgotten figure from the 1980s and a faraway land has on their busy lives?

Well, quite simply, were it not for this man and his actions, your life and mine would be very different today.

Instead of terror threats, we would still be worrying about the Soviet totalitarian menace, the risk of the world being plunged into a nuclear nightmare, not to mention the countless number of lives wasted in the pursuit of futile ideological battles between East and West.

Whatever his faults, to my mind, Mr Gorbachev is living testimony to the saying once attributed to American president John F. Kennedy: 'One man can make a difference, and every man should try.'

So I found it touching when a young Russian girl rose during the lunch discussion, simply to express her gratitude to him for helping to bring about changes to her country, which enabled her to enjoy a better life today.

Later, a middle-aged German editor approached him, clasped his hand and thanked him for all he had done, not just for Russia, but for Europe and the world. 'History will remember,' the man in a bow tie declared.

Mr Gorbachev fell silent. He reached out, put a hand on the man's shoulder, and smiled, a gesture that hinted at his innate humaneness.

I read later that when asked by Time magazine if he was now enjoying his life, this man of history replied simply: 'Yes, but there are some difficulties. Travelling is physically hard. And my (government) pension is only 40,000 roubles (S$2,350) a month.'

In a candid moment, he revealed that his other passion, apart from politics and power, was something which many Singaporeans would share - food.

'We like to cook. I love Russian food most, but also Italian and Mediterranean. I am more involved as the theoretical director of meals, but when they are ready, I get involved at the consumption stage too. (Laughs) Then I have to explain to people why I can't seem to lose weight.'

warren@sph.com.sg

thoughts...

I have been thinking about what I have been doing so far, especially after my conversation with my grandpa today. Ironically, I seem to talk more to him now that i am thousands of miles away from him, thanks to the telephone. How much is our generation losing nowadays actually, simply by non-effective communication or non-communication with the older ones? Their wisdom of the years, their implicit understanding of how things are...sometimes I want to weep when I think back on the bonds we had when I was still a kid, and how they are currently...just not there anymore. But the hope is there. It just takes a step, on my part, picking up the phone and calling.

In front of my eyes is a scene of a little 6 year old girl, running around the void deck in an attempt to see how many pillars she can reach in the shortest time, while waiting for her grandpa to catch his breath on the walk home from the Kindergarten. The girl is impatient, but she knows the importance of rest for grandpa.

How I wish I could go back to that time. When was the last time I took a walk with grandpa? How many years ago was that?
_______________

Below is an article from the Straits Times, Singapore's National Newspapers, which I think everyone really should read. (This particular article, i mean) Mikhail Gorbachev is really a man who has changed the world. How much courage does that take, in following your beliefs, knowing that what you do is right, and with a sureness that is unwavering, to go on a path that you know might cause you to lose everything you have achieved so far? That is truly the measure of a man's character.

Remembering how one man made history
By Warren Fernandez, Foreign Editor


HE LEFT A LEGACY: Whatever his faults, to my mind, Mr Gorbachev is living testimony to the saying once attributed to American president John F. Kennedy: 'One man can make a difference, and every man should try.' -- AFP


IT MUST not be easy being Mikhail Gorbachev.
Remember him? He was the first and last president of the Soviet Union, whose reformative polices of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) contributed to the end of the Cold War, the break-up of the Soviet Union and, ultimately, him losing his job.

I encountered this political giant recently, at a lunchtime talk on the sidelines of a newspaper conference in Moscow.

He was speaking to journalists from around the world in his deep baritone, wagging his finger pointedly at times, as if addressing one of the Politburo meetings he used to preside over in the Kremlin, right next door to where we were.

At 75, he was sprightly, even feisty, his distinctive birthmark on his forehead as pronounced as before.

Somewhat poignantly, he delivered a robust defence of perestroika, his empire-shattering policy, which literally changed the world.

Some people, he noted, felt that it was all a big mistake. This included the old Soviet ruling classes, former communists and those who held positions of privilege. Life had become harder for them, and many others, he acknowledged.

But without the transformation he unleashed, wittingly or otherwise, there would not be today's Russia, where the world's editors were meeting to discuss their trade and debate the state of freedom of the press around the world, from Moscow to Manila.

Indeed, just a day before, Russia's current President Vladimir Putin had sat impassively listening to a sharp critique of his government's dealings with the media, albeit delivered politely by president of the World Association of Newspapers Gavin O'Reilly. This had happened in the Kremlin State Palace, the heart of the Russian government.

'Gosh, this would have been unthinkable in the past,' a veteran Moscow correspondent from a news agency whispered to me.

In a sign of how things have changed, Mr Gorbachev also announced at his lunch talk that he was becoming a publisher himself, taking a 49 per cent share of the newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, which he helped set up in 1993, using part of the money he had received from winning the Nobel Peace Prize three years earlier.

The paper - known for its investigations into corruption and its critical reports on Chechnya and the government - would be relaunched with a new format in January, but its editorial policy would remain independent, he added.

In a recent interview with Time magazine, Mr Gorbachev had also noted: 'Seventy-seven per cent of Russians say they want to live in a free and democratic country. That is the legacy of perestroika. People now think that we are on an optimistic path; they have hope.'

Without perestroika, there would be no economic reforms in Russia, which are only now beginning to unleash the potential of this vast, old country.

His successor, Mr Boris Yeltsin, he charged somewhat bitterly, had messed things up, allowing Russia's wealth to fall into a few hands. President Putin was putting things right, restoring order, stabilising the economy, improving the health and education systems, he noted.

Yet, Mr Yeltsin was feted in the West, and Mr Putin is viewed with suspicion, he noted ironically, adding that the United States should not wish for a Russia that was weak, which would play second fiddle to Washington.

Without perestroika, there would not have been an end to the Cold War, the end to Soviet domination over Europe, a receding of the nuclear threat that once hung over the world, perhaps not even the rise of today's globalisation.

So, despite these gains, did he think there were mistakes made in his push for perestroika, someone asked him at the conference.

After all, might not a more gradual approach have enabled a stable transition, as the Chinese are now trying to manage?

Yes, he thundered, there were many mistakes made. But, on balance, it had been worthwhile.

'Read my new book, there's something on this in it,' he quipped with a smile, plugging his latest work, Understanding Perestroika, which has just been published. In it, he argues that the introduction of perestroika in the Soviet Union in 1985 was one of the three most significant events in Soviet history - the others being the 1917 revolution and the victory in World War II.

The parallel he draws with these events is telling, since each reshaped his country - and the world - forever.

It must be difficult being Mr Gorbachev. For someone who has made history, he has to live with the knowledge that he is reviled by many at home, and also abroad, as having blundered in office and lost a once-mighty empire, unleashed capitalism on a generation brought up to believe it was evil, and plunged the country into a wrenching period of economic and social change.

Indeed, Singaporeans might well ask just what bearing this forgotten figure from the 1980s and a faraway land has on their busy lives?

Well, quite simply, were it not for this man and his actions, your life and mine would be very different today.

Instead of terror threats, we would still be worrying about the Soviet totalitarian menace, the risk of the world being plunged into a nuclear nightmare, not to mention the countless number of lives wasted in the pursuit of futile ideological battles between East and West.

Whatever his faults, to my mind, Mr Gorbachev is living testimony to the saying once attributed to American president John F. Kennedy: 'One man can make a difference, and every man should try.'

So I found it touching when a young Russian girl rose during the lunch discussion, simply to express her gratitude to him for helping to bring about changes to her country, which enabled her to enjoy a better life today.

Later, a middle-aged German editor approached him, clasped his hand and thanked him for all he had done, not just for Russia, but for Europe and the world. 'History will remember,' the man in a bow tie declared.

Mr Gorbachev fell silent. He reached out, put a hand on the man's shoulder, and smiled, a gesture that hinted at his innate humaneness.

I read later that when asked by Time magazine if he was now enjoying his life, this man of history replied simply: 'Yes, but there are some difficulties. Travelling is physically hard. And my (government) pension is only 40,000 roubles (S$2,350) a month.'

In a candid moment, he revealed that his other passion, apart from politics and power, was something which many Singaporeans would share - food.

'We like to cook. I love Russian food most, but also Italian and Mediterranean. I am more involved as the theoretical director of meals, but when they are ready, I get involved at the consumption stage too. (Laughs) Then I have to explain to people why I can't seem to lose weight.'

warren@sph.com.sg

Football fever!

Once again I have too much to say, i don't even know where to start.

Debattierclub, jujutsu, africafest in Würzburg, AGM at Titisee, Sam's visit, the Weltmeisterschaft or World cup now in Germany...I am too lazy even to type it all out. Maybe I should just stop and leave this entry as it is. =)


...



Nah. The football fever is too good to miss out on. I must admit that even I, the perpetual Cinderella (ie the girl who always runs away from the ball if possible), have even become a convert. How not to be, when the frank enthusiasm among my german friends is so starkly there, decked out all in German colours schwarz-rot-gold, belting out the German national anthem proudly while holding beer mugs in their hands and waving them in beat with the national anthem... The Germans are crazy, but i do love their quirkyness. The atmosphere is almost to be 'tasted' in the tents when Germany is playing. Craning our necks to peek over the shoulders of those in front just to get a good look at the screen in front, showing fully grown-up man risking limb and bone to get at a white speck against a field of green, standing up when the white speck nears the goal, letting out disappointed 'awws' when it doesn't, jumping for joy and waving your arms when it finally does...watching people watch the WM is a spectacle in itself.

Football fever. Now that's really catching! =D

The rest of my hols... (Continued)

I am truly a very very bad chronicler, I guess the world must be glad that I did not decide to become a historian. =)

As promised, here's the next installment of my travels in london and oxbridge.

London, the little red city who yearned to be big, achieved it, and still managed to stay the quaint little city it used to be, with all her über-old traditions, and funny little stories, inspirational, wonderful. I see how the phrase 'richly steeped in tradition' came about.

I stayed with Puee the entire time I was in London. She stays at the Bankside, and what a great place it is, just on the banks of the Thames. We went strolling on the first day, when we caught the sunset behind the Westminster Abbey, the Chambers of the Lords, as well as the Big Ben. (Trivial: Big Ben is the name of the bell in the tower. This gigantic specimen of a bell weights around 13 tonnes or more, if I recall correctly. It was named after the guy who built the tower plus the bell, Benjamin someone. One cool thing about the bell tower is that it lights up in the night when Parliament is sitting.) It was such a wonderful feeling to be there in London, the place in Europe; a city where there resides in every street the echoes of stories and legends; the centre of the world in an era long past but not quite so forgotten. Not to forget the wonderful company I had. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing 'long-lost' friends in a foreign place. (I even saw huishan and Shafa too!)

I visited the British Museum (my very first stop the next day), Chinatown, Oxford Street, Natural History Museum, Hyde Park (Speakers' Corner!), Harrod's, Covent Gardens, the West End (where puee and I watched Chicago), Buckingham Palace (just the outside), the Guards' house, had a walking tour around the area of Westminster, visited the National Gallery...there is just so much to describe, more than even my inclination to do so.

The British Musem can be said to be a statement to Britain's imperialist past. There are artifacts from all over the world, such as the shield that a bushman dropped as he was shot by Captain Cook on the first british foray into Australia. (The Brits had the cheek to include in their commentary that the first interactions with natives were unfortunately violent AT TIMES. What a laugh.) They even have the Gamelan set that Raffles took home with him after his first trip in the Malayan Archipelago. Other collections worth the mention: The Panthenon, temple to Athena. They had the real things brought along with them! There was also a very interesting exhibit on how bronze figures were made in Benin, a technique that has been going on for many, many hundreds, or even a thousand over years. It has to do with the melting of beeswax. Would you care to hazard a guess for how ingenious the method was?

First they made the core (the empty middle part of the bronze figures) with clay. This is baked, dried, then covered with beeswax for the details. Then they place another layer of clay on top of the beeswax. This is dried, then the mould is heated to melt the beeswax inside, which is then poured out. Molten bronze is poured into the mould. And...they cleverly break up the clay to expose the bronze figure within. Spiffing, isn't it?

The general feeling I had in London was that it was very, very cosmopolitan. Everyone's British, yet everyone has a different accent, a different skin colour, different ways of dressing. It is thus the norm to be different, and I love this feeling. *No one stares at you for uncomfortable periods of time like they do in some parts of Germany. But recently, I have begun to realise that sometimes it is not because you seem strange to them, but it is because they want to strike up a conversation about the weather to you, but Germans being shy, do not exactly know how to approach this particularly popular topic.* The people in London are very friendly too, (sometimes a mite too friendly) but pleasant on the whole.

One thing I absolutely would recommend to anyone going to London: take the Westminster walking tour. The tour guide opens your eyes to things quirky and amazing...things like how the phrase "to hold a candle to someone" came about in the first place; the gory history that happened behind the Abbey, the amazing fact that all laws are still written on vellum in this electronic age; the odd british habit of having gas-lamp-timer-winders instead of lamp lighters in this day and age; how the one person who built the House of Lords died in Bedlam while the other, apparently not-so-important person got knighted, etc. All these, told with a british accent that is pleasant to the ear, is an extreme enjoyment not to be forgotten.

Puee and I went for Mass on Maundy Thursday in the Westminster Abbey. It was truly something I did not even dream of being able to experience! In this Church, where Kings and Queens have been made, the presence of an Almighty cannot be doubted.


Oxford and Cambridge

I am terribly sorry that I would be lumping these two places together, apologies to students of both sides who cannot stand "the other side". =D But both consist of so many similar colleges (I cannot tell them apart in my photos, regrettably) as well as great histories, that it would be much repetition if I were to describe them separately.

I had more recollections of Oxford though, perhaps due to all the history that I have heard from it. Do you know that Cambridge is an offshoot of Oxford? The constant conflict between the "Gown" and the "Town" made some of the "Gown" decide to flee to Cambridge to set up another University there. (Then again, this was from an Oxfordian. But he's someone whose account of history I will never doubt.) A walk around Oxford would soon convince you that it is the Brits who invented the entire concept of lawns. In fact, it is doubtful if the word for a 'lawn' even exists in German, for Germans would consider proper lawns too boring to be of merit for a word--Sara just gave me a word for 'Garden' when I consulted her on this issue. I was rather impressed by the painting in Keble College's Chapel, Light of the World. It was so soft, yet so strong in its message, of Jesus knocking on the doors of the hearts of Sinners. A very arresting image.

ZK, Yijin and I went to have this great ice cream too, can't really recall the name. Apparently this ice cream shop would provide strange flavours on request too, every week. *cool* Another thing to note: many names are pronounced in inexplicable ways. E.g. Magdalene college is pronounced as "Maw-dlin", NOT "Mehg-de-lin". And of course there is the entire thing about Worcester sauces etc.

Cambridge, I think, is even smaller than Oxford is. But it has great lawns too (Surprise!) and I played frisbee with a few KUMSA pple, it was great! I hadn't done much sport in the last 7 months, and then suddenly I had to run for 2 hours non-stop, guarding Aud, of all pple. Her stamina was amazing. Got invited to a cookout by some of Aud's friends later on, (cook-out= ie They cook, I eat out.) And Aud trying to intro me to some "good men", but it was all for a good laugh (this alone is soooo extremely strange! Could I ever have imagined myself writing this six years ago, in Sec school, with the Aud I knew then? Definitely not.) Many thanks to Jiahui and HK for showing me around, and for the accomodation, it was great seeing them again.

Comp is running out of batt. Well, the pics would have to wait then=P

=D ting

The rest of my hols...

This is definitely one of the evils of procrastination...I now have too much to write about, and not much time nor space to do that. Let's see if my summarising skills are as good as before=D

Visit to Sara's

Grimma is a very pretty little town on the outskirts of Leipzig. This is where Sara lives...it is quite amazing. Her dad is a pastor who has to take care of the Landkreis or a few churches in that area. Almost like a mayor, just in the pastor-sense. I like her family, even if I didn't speak much at times, I just like to take in the entire family atmosphere=) Sara has two younger sisters, both very pretty, named Leonore and Tabea (Light of something and something to do with a lion.) Her mom is a housewife, an awfully talented one. She is v v creative, and does everything right. Imagine self-sewn wrist guards and egg warmers. She even makes her own velvet. *wow*

On the first or second day that I was there, the mom made a dessert, self-invented. It is just quark with pineapple syrup, mixed with starch, sprinkled with kiwis and sesame seeds. It tasted great with the kiwi and sesame, but it is not what you can have an entire bowlful of, cuz there was too much starch in it. You could almost feel the tense atmosphere in the family, as the mom asked me how it was. I didn't know how to describe it, so i just said, "Erm, interesting." They burst out in laughter, and from then on, anything that was awkward to describe was 'Interessant'. =D

I was at Weimar for a day, it is all about Goethe, Schiller, Goethe's many women friends and his mistress-turned-wife, Christina someone I think. Apparently dear Goethe transplanted a Gingko tree from one of his visits in the orient (?) to Weimar, so there is currently this über old Gingko tree in Weimar. The Gingko leaf has thus become the symbol of Weimar too. It was unfortunately very very chilly on that day when I was there. So that day was one of more shivers than anything else.

I was at Dresden as well, and met up with Sam and Claudia. It was great, I love Dresden! It used to be the capital city (and still is) of Saxony, so all the treasures that the dukes and archdukes received were stored in the Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe). It is quite impressive, the variety and preciousness of all those treasures.

Leipzig was our next stop, where Sara and I visited. Bach was the big thing there. The Bach museum was so full of notes from jap tourists (many newly-wedded couples go there for their honeymoons), and gave us such a great overview of Bach's works, that the both of us nearly resolved to get all of Bach's collections, only to find out that that would be near impossible. We visited the Stasi Musuem in "der Runden Ecke" as well, where they showed us the bunks in which political prisoners used to be kept, as well as the entire inner conflict in the pple and society...especially within the hearts of those who had been working in Stasi. Frankly speaking, they couldn't help it that they were in such an organisation, and that was the power of the state then. If I were in their place, would I have the courage to say that, hey, I don't want anything to do with this org, and refuse to cooperate, while risking the futures of my family and friends? It is easy to say yes now, but I don't know what would happen when the crunch comes. Wasn't it Charlotte Brönte who wrote in 'Jane Eyre', "Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation...if at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?" She must had been a v strong woman.

We went to the zoo together too, where there was this very interesting fish, I shall call it pinocchio. It was just wee..=) Let the photos say it then. Will load them the next time, have to go for dinner now=(

Right, the chronicles of travels in Cambridge and Oxford would have to wait till next time then! =p

ting =)

*zhen you satisfied?*

back at konstanz!

I love Singapore. It was so difficult for me to leave, but once I set on the train ride back to Konstanz, I realise that Konstanz made leaving Singapore not so painful. I will def miss the three Fs: Food, Friends and Family (in absolutely no order of importance, I swear =)) and all those afternoons lunching out with friends. Sam brought me to this wonderful indian restaurant in Little India, Raj, and for the first time I had really really good and relatively cheap indian food! We shopped for clothes and other stuff at Mustafa's (that place is a maze!) and the little shops along the streets.

Seriously, I think Chinatown and Little India beat Orchard anytime. The wares are much cheaper, and much more unique to Singapore. Other than the sole purpose of eating sushi, I won't go over to Orchard.

It was quite a good feeling to see friends on the buses and to meet up with them all over, chat and all=) It is as though I've kinda set up another home=) Went to the English Bookshop the other day, and Frau Cook seemed genuinely glad to see me. That was kinda special, because she is usually rather reserved. I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder. We chatted about many things, like the caricatures issue, den Verstand des Menschen, usw. It seemed like quite an ok length of time, not like the last time when we chatted for almost an hour. My legs were dying then.

Zk and Yijin came for a visit. They arrived at 1.20 am in the morning=p Good thing about living in an ulu village: The bus services still go there in the dead of the night! Amazing. Was glad to have them here, we even got to explore parts of the Uni that I have never ever been to before! And as usual, having guests= good excuse to stuff oneself silly. We cooked Singaporean Chicken Curry, and Sara came over too for dinner. The two of them made quite a good impression on Sara=) But the curry and the veg i cooked were not salty enough I think...=P It was just ok for me, my tastebuds 'purified' by several weeks of my mom's healthy cooking=)

Frankly I was v happy that they came to visit! Wouldn't have known what to do otherwise...for although there are friends here to meet up with, it is just different having tong2 xiang1 ren2 over. And it was nice having pple to do all the veg chopping and grocery carrying too=D

Going to Leipzig, Dresden to visit Sara, and then to UK, London and Oxbridge. Take a look at my mom's dream uni for me=)

ting*

Home sweet home=)

I have been home for almost a week! =D And what a heavenly week it was.

First surprise: I actually met Wenjie on my flight back home. Talk about getting a taste of Singapore before even reaching home.

I must admit that I had quite a strange feeling as I touched down home. As I got out of the plane, not even out of the air-conditioned comfort of the airport, the first thing that struck me was, how warm it was! (ok that is probably something that every animal that comes from a wintry land experiences when plunged into summer's warmth). Second thing was, I no longer have to look up so much when I talk to others. (nope sadly I haven't grown taller.) Third thing, the multilingual singapore again!=) Had to figure how to express a lot of things to my dad in hakka, ended up speaking to him in half mandarin, half hakka instead. I love hakka. It is just so...right. A tongue from your childhood.

As my pa drove down the expressways, into the neighbourhoods and all, I thought I was looking at my home with foreign eyes. Truly, Singapore seemed so 'fremd', as in, so orderly! Must have been gotten used to all that little bits of mess in Konstanz, especially with the Karneval going on and the strike of Verdi (the street-cleaners, they have been on strike in many parts of Germany, so you see streets strewn with rubbish in the city, as well as terminally full rubbish bins). The Karneval or Fasching, or Fasnacht as it is called in various parts of Germany, is a time when the normally quiet, let's-keep-to-ourselves germans would come out in droves, dress themselves up (as chickens, witches, clowns, devils, fish, bears, tigers, you name it they have it, but haven't seen an amoeba though) and celebrate. They march through the streets dispensing sweets to passers-by, and play typical karneval music. It is really fun to see them all, with self-made masks and costumes. The kids look especially sweet with their tiger, bear costumes=) You see, they look like a bundle of fur with a face peeping out from nowhere.

Here are a few pictures of the Karneval=)








Oh, and let's go back a few weeks, just after my exams ended. We went out quite a lot to party, and I took the opportunity to take a few pics of my friends. Here they are!=D

From left to right, Girls then Guys:
Johanna, Ingrid, Sara (behind) and Marlene
Constantin, Simon (face half covered), Johannes, Ivo.



And at the Karneval: Isabella, Stefan, Thomas, oh-dear-i-forgot-his-name, and Rebecca



OK fast forward to Singapore again. Went out with the Choir pple=) Shopped for Jiayan's pressie with HC and ZW, and we were at Suntec with ZW said that he wanted some Ben and Jerry's icecream. So we walked around Suntec, going high and low, detouring, looking thru exhibits until we finally got to the ice-cream shop. And guess what ZW said when we got there? "I don't know if I want ice-cream anymore." I couldn't help it; I gave him an incredulous look and just laughed.

We got Jiayan a great-looking necklace, HC chose it, his taste is really improving! =) Guess the guys got great 'tutorials' from "URBAN". Met up with Shaun, Becky, then went to Jiayan's chalet...it was great to see and hear them all once again, I must say. I miss singing in a choir too. The part about being a component of something big, making music together. Sigh.

Went to MPS last night with my brother. Was funny in that everyone thought that he was my bf, gosh, can't you all see the resemblance? I am just the female version of him. They all thought that he was from some JC too (that's great flattery to my bro i think=)) Nice to mix around with the crew again, Alex, Cheng Cheng, Enghwa, Derrick, Rene, KH (back from Saudi Arabia), all the familiar faces. Too bad I can't stay for the elections=p It would be highly interesting I think.

Right, really should get started on my hausarbeit now. BLEAH. I think I would have concentrated much better on it if I had stayed in Germany. Then again, life would be half as interesting. =)

ting

klausurs and some updates=D

Am sitting in the library right now, having absolutely no interest in the notes in front of me whatsoever. *Now when you have spent almost the last 4 hours staring at 4 pages of slides, you would have the same feeling too...*

My understanding of things, the entire process of relearning things is sooo slow! Can't believe it.

Went a-walking on Sunday, to smell the fishy smell of the lake (no it doesn't smell salty, just fishy, since the water level has descended so much that it is exposing some of the lake's bed, so I see dried water plants and millions of tiny mussels, which crack like twigs when you walk on them...they are already long dead and deserted, those shells.) Tried walking on ice, and gauging my estimation of thin ice...(not very good, fell into sloshy shallow puddles at times, but v fun=)) see people walking their dogs and all...

Was ice-skating with Sara, Johanna and Claudia last Sat...and the latest news is that Claudia and Lars are together. =) I realised that I wouldn't have known if I hadn't gone ice-skating with them, had a teeny suspicion, but didn't dare to ask. Turns out that I wasn't the last to find out! (haha, a tiny bit of improvement from the clueless me in sec sch and jc)

Last wed was the international classroom cooking thingy. It was really 'all in a day's work' for me then. I had a french dictation, a Personel and Organisation probeklausur, AND the cooking thing right after my probeklausur. *stress* But it went on fine...hope the pple don't get food poisoning from my wantons=) But was glad that so many of my friends came...Sara came, of course, my steady friend=) and she learnt how to make wantons, at TOP SPEED. I see why she wanted to be a cook at first=)

My referat last thurs (the very next day) went on well=) I could understand everything in the discussion after that. Prof Freitag even said that it was one of the most difficult texts in the sem, and that the additional stuff I brought in into the discussion were helpful to the understanding of the text *ting beams*. I was really glad that my classmates could understand me...thanks to sara again for vetting my script! One of them, a really taciturn girl, even told me that it was a good prep=D *yay*

OK have to go on for my lecture now. It is dear Herr Seibel again! (The lecturer who promised all of us a very cute fluffy spongebob pen that lights up when you write with it if we get the last qn of the klausur right and do quite well of course=)) Right, gtg!

*muah* ting

Touching Home Base for a while...

Just realised that something rather interesting is happening in Singapore, all the debate on being an open society and now the oppo party (not that there is AN oppo party in Sing, but one of them, go find out for yourself which one) is proposing to remove GRCs, fixed racial proportion in HDB flats, even the institution of presidency...their arguments are rather, erm, interesting. Do go to read them to see if they hold water (is there even such an expression??) @ www.straitstimes.com.

Nonetheless, one issue really does address the next. I am glad that the opposition has decided to speak up this time, even printing a manifesto (tried to get it online but they haven't posted it up yet, must be rather interesting to see what they have in mind). Because the fact that they are speaking up and being heard does answer this question: Are we an open society? What is the def of an open society? My dictionary (in my comp, duh, not the one in my brain=)) says that an open society is "a society characterized by a flexible structure, freedom of belief, and wide dissemination of information." (Oxford American dictionary) Looking at this definition, I would say dear Singapore is quite an open society, especially when it comes to the part on a flexible structure...my German boss once said that Singapore is the country who gave meritocracy its name and a good reputation. However, there are limits to the extent of openness any country can develop to, and we probably haven't really reached the prime yet. Then again, there isn't such a thing as a 'prime' or perfection in development of a country, esp in terms of its policies. Many democratic institutions and republics have this way changing/introducing policies bit by bit, step by step to see if it steps on anybody's toes, and if not, continue with it, a little by a little. This concept is called 'Incrementalism'. (BTW i like the German word for it: Durchwursteln, supposed to mean muddling your way through, but it sounds a hell lot like 'sausaging your way through' in German, haha!! Couldn't help laughing silently as my prof used the word)

As for the question of abolishing the institution of presidency since the legislative system is supposed to be a check on the government anyway, I think that is quite a weird argument. In my opinion, the legislation is an institution that upholds the LAW, i.e. rules that are codified in a set legal docs, but WHO is gonna make sure that the rules that are made are in the interests of the pple and not just of the ruling elites? The judges themselves do NOT have the right to make amendments to these laws, or even ADD laws. This is exactly, let me repeat, precisely the function of the president. This is also precisely why countries like Germany still have a president to act as a final control. Of course, most of the time the president doesn't HAVE to reject laws, since they are mostly controlled/amended through the many rewritings and then 3 readings in parliament, or in the case of Germany, mostly decided by the special committees. As for the idea of publishing it all online and letting the people vet them...Who is going to be a constant control then? Is every citizen supposed to log in and read it everyday? Man i rarely even read the news everyday, and you are telling me to vet incoming laws everyday as part of my duty as a citizen? If everyone is such a good citizen, it would be truly a democratic utopia...YET again, do bear in mind that 4 million good citizens have 4 million different very good ideas and viewpoints. Therefore a democracy wouldn't be a democracy then, because it is the 'blurness' of the average citizen that allows the ministers (pple WE voted in) to do their jobs!

It is understandable that they would want to attack the GRCs concept, because of the possibility of gerrymandering. And I would like to repeat, I do like that the oppo is speaking up now and given more space to speak too. The proposal to help the poor people is admittedly very appealing too. However, why not try "sausaging your way through" too? Focus on one thing at a time, proposing such big changes to a structure that took decades to develop and stabilise wouldn't work. Perhaps one thing to consider is to propose bigger working space and flexibility for social workers, to allow them greater freedom in designing the help schemes to the poor, instead of putting them all under one scheme that may be really help them, since diff people have v diff cases.

Maybe that is why an esteemed opp leader gained so much respect, even though he is in oppo. He acts as an 'idea factory', proposing little things that may/may not be accepted by govt, and turns up in another version later on, thus improving the pples' lives in his own way.

Shui3 luo4 shi2 chu1. A drop of water takes a grain of sand away, until an entire rock is dissolved. Big changes can thus be effected, a little at a time.

*Then again, it is easy for me to just think aloud here, instead of really doing things. It must be really hard to be oppo.*
What do you think?

Random thoughts=)

According to my mom, I just turned 20 yesterday according to the chinese calendar. Eek. Why deprive me of my last few days of being a teenager? =D But truly i miss the mian4 xian4 and the egg in it that mom usually cooks for the birthday boy/girl. I guess I could cook it myself, but it is different, cuz the dish would have been like a present from mom to me.

The Austrian trip reminded me of how lucky i am to have friends at your side. They really make up for my lack of good short-term memory=D But their companionship, just being there for you to share your comments with, to have fun with, to laugh with...is simply precious.

I just fixed a new TV in my room=) Got the TV from Marianne, Angelika's sister, and lugged it home from Nürnberg. Sometimes I really wonder what it is that I have done to deserve such friends. So now I feel as though I have transversed 50 years...from the era of receiving news from the papers and the radio to that of cable TV. Hmm...the joys of living in a small village. When i first switched on the TV, it only showed ONE channel, from Austria. (!!) After pressing some random buttons I realised that I could set channels (Eureka!) For a moment I felt like my dad, the handyman at home. =D

I still haven't truly begun on my work despite having been home for the last two days. Terrible huh.

Am currently reading this book called "The Road Less Travelled" by M Scott Peck. He is good. Would like to quote something from his book: "Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the making of action in spite of fear, the moving out against the resistance engendered by fear into the unknown and into the future." Thus love is about courage too, for any attempt to love includes the risk of being rejected, let down, or abandoned. If one is determined not to risk pain, then he must also do without many things...all that make life alive, meaningful, significant.

"A full life will be full of pain."

He also said sth that makes some sense. The constant reminder of death guides us to make the best use of our time and live life to the fullest. "When we shy away from death, the ever-changing nature of things, we inevitably shy away from life."

=D Just some reflections in the spirit of the new year.

Back @ Konstanz!

I just went for a trip to Nuremberg, Salzburg, Vienna and Bratislava. It was wonderful! Great companions, Sam, Zhen and Azman, which made it a great trip despite all the rain and the snow=)

Here are some pics!

Dumpy the little snowman


The three gals


More pics...





And my fav gramma in Germany, Angelika=D She let me ride a horse on Christmas day, a really wonderful surprise!=D