Konstanz!

I got my Uni Admissions letter today! I got into University of Konstanz, my dream uni on the BodenSee, or Lake Constance, hurrah!=)



This is the Uni Konstanz from some mountain top or sth. It sits on top of a small hill. It is like being in NJ all over again, with all the stairs to climb, and wonderful views.



This is some picture I got of the fountain/man-made stream running in front of the Uni's library. It is so arty, designed from the likes of the late 1960s hippie movement, if I am not mistaken.

Uni Konstanz is situated at the Bodensee, which is smack in the border between Germany, Switzerland and Austria. (I can walk to Switzerland from there!) It has one of the largest libraries in Germany (7 stories of books, 2 million books, open 24/7 =)) and probably the best pol sci faculty in Germany. (debatable, as all things in Germany are...)

Happy ting:)

Meeting at Newton with all the rg old pals was wonderful=) It seems weird that time should pass so fast, that we would be all going our own ways so soon...but some things, I hope, would never change.

I had an interview with the German Centre in Singapore on Monday. It was hilarious, I said ridiculous things like, "The Germans are a stubborn lot...in my opinion." Which I had to justify and soften later on... and when asked to characterise them as a people, even more useless things like, "Germans bake superb cakes," came out. Sometimes I think I can slap myself for the brainless stuff that spout out of my mouth. I think i must have been kinda so used to the common German stereotypes such as punctuality, preciseness, social equality, beer and Bratwürste, that i didn't see them as anything special. We are kind of all the same, after a while. Then when it was finally my turn to ask questions, I was lost for words...when there were so many things I could have asked! I for one, could have let them have a taste of their own medicine..."so what do YOU think of Singaporeans?" Yet the most brillant thing I could think of then was,"So what do you do in your daily work?" Inanity.

And the craziest thing was...I got the attachment. (?!)

Upon reflection, i guess the Germans are indeed different. They have different values, and by that I don't mean different emphasis on similar values (for how can a value be viewed as important enough to be a 'value' if inadequate/little emphasis is placed on it?) I cannot describe exactly what this difference is. It is probably the greater importance lent to individual opinions and thoughts rather than a communal compromise. This value of greater respect for individuality probably influences their thoughts too on other issues such as family structure, nationalism, societal structure, etc. Yet Germans, due to this inate respect of others' thoughts and opinions, usually do not tend to 'imperialise' or impose their views on others...arguments normally end with "we agree to disagree" rather than one party giving up his/her viewpoint totally.

Hmm...I wonder if I got this right. Any comments?

=)ting

photos! (Super late)

Some more photos from germany=)



That is my host sister when I first went to germany in sec 3. She just grows prettier with every passing year!



Sunset at dutzendteich. Beautiful.



Ting can cook! =) A typical dinner i cook for myself back there in deutschland.


Man I regret not taking enough photos at the pdc. =( People, please donate photos to me!! =)
I had the most incredibly wonderful time tonight at the NJ CO concert. It was beautiful, and boon sang in it as well! Solo! Man i feel so proud of her, my little sis is blooming. (* can almost imagine myself as an old mature woman saying that, but seriously i have no right to, cuz she did it all by herself.)

The PDC chalet was just over. It was a good time for more chatting and bonding, and I got to know a few people better as well. We were laughing the entire time about Russell Peters' weird jokes: "You want to eat?", or "Ya-man!" These are a few of those jokes that kind of stay way, way past their deserved shelf life. I even acquired some of those inane army lingo, like "let's go for one-thum midnight walk," (One-times sth). Of course we had some serious talk on relationships (how they are more work than anything else) and religion (there? or not there?) among other topics.

Rollerblading was fun, but I must award the endurance prize to YH, who fell an ave of once every 30sec, and the spectacular fall prize to HJ and Aud, who performed such stunning falls that it was incredibly fun to watch them, the best teacher award to HX, who taught us all the theory for blading while confessing that she could not blade actually, and last but not least, the long-suffering prize to William, who was our nanny all the time (the only one without skates then). Hey guys and gals, let's do that again! (Ya-man!) *the jerald-virus*

Hey, when are we going to the zoo?

=) ting

photos from germany!

Hey all!
Here are some of my photos from germany, finally!



That's me at the Zugspitze. Jie says I look a bit fatter than usual...dunno to take that as a compliment or as criticism:)



Beautiful Nürnberg...

Will post even more later on. Seeya all!

The Singapore Workout and more

YF and I went for the brisk walk on Sunday, as part of the PDC.

The entire adventure (for me) started way early in the morning. We were supposed to meet in this block in Marsiling at seven in the morning. I was in this half-conscious state of mind, and missed the bus stop I was supposed to stop at, thus was ferried to Woodlands Checkpoint. Upon reaching there, there seemed to be no way to get back to where I wanted to go to, or that was what it appeared to be to my groggy mind then. So I thought in horror, does this mean that I would have to go to Malaysia to come back to Singapore? Darn I left my passport at home! (?!) Unbelievable, isn't it, how foolish I was. Fortunately a policeman gave me directions to get back=D

Well, back to the brisk walk. I must say that it was a very very different experience...it was the first time since 10 years ago that I have done the Singapore Workout, and it was really, really hilarious. We did this hand-wringing cum knee-bending exercise, which reminded me of the exercises my grandma does. Wring your hands to the left, wring your hands to the right, wring your hands in the centre...mind you, they were truly effective ways of warming up in the morning, but I started laughing so hard I couldn't wring my hands properly=) After that, everyone just walked for a rather short distance around the estate. The aunties, their children and the elderly were the main supporters of the Brisk Walk, and some of them were really very enthusiastic. I liked the feeling of walking together with them...it gives you this sense of community, and you feel kind of fit, even without doing much.

We had an MPS today with Dr Teo. I thought he handled some difficult cases very well, and it seems like he really takes time to talk to the people, even some unreasonable ones. I was impressed by his superb PR skills, truly. He wanted to understand them well too, even volunteering to go down to assess the ground level situation at some stall competition conflict. That truly shows some commitment. Throughout the session, I just thought how truly the board behind him reflected his character: Jing4 Ye4 Le4 Qun2.

Things to do: Learn Malay, Cultivate infinite patience, Be firm, Stand behind your teammates no matter what, and most importantly, have a Heart for the People. They count on you.

ting

PDC-

Hey all!

I just realised how dangerous a blog can be...I mean if TK can find it with just a little probing and connecting. Not that I am against anyone reading my blog or anything, I mean, read it if it doesn't bore you to death, but it does make you think of entire thing about privacy and all. (*hey tk give me your blog too!)

There are just so many things to blog about that I do not even know where to start. Let's start with the PDC. Frankly I think I am really privilleged beyond anything I could dream of to be in this prog. All v interesting talks, excursions, projects, and most of all, people. Frankly, I thought I was rather out-of-sorts at the beginning of the prog, esp during OBS. Everyone knew what to do, and for once in this kind of team activity, I did not have to think of what to do, or how to assign work. Once you think of something to be done, even before the words, "I think.." escape from your mouth, these things have been already done. Not that I subscribe to the "ruo4 nü2 zi3 zhu3 yi4", but it was mostly the guys... Anyway, it could have been jet lag or any other weird thing, but I was extraordinarily quiet/subdued during OBS I think. Didn't like the 'me' then. Perhaps it is the entire awkward process of finding out where exactly you 'fit' in a group, what is your role and niche, etc.

However, it got much better, as we got to know one another through smaller chats and all. We had a great instructor called Mario/Muchsin/Handsome (?!), who kept making fun of John and tchs boys' smelly tshirts (?!). Frankly I think this PDC is really a great way to build bonds. Just dump a group of like-minded people together, and they would bond. We have so many mutual friends (hear and laugh about their teasing of your old friends), and common interests (Never thought I would see so many pple crazy about singing).

Some highlights: visit to navy base, talks by people who really know about the topic they talk about (less smoke around here), and I was really impressed by a particular speaker who came to talk to us about leadership. We all expected a really dry talk about how to lead, but this guy, David Lim, was simply inspirational. He truly embodies toughness and the wonders of the Human Spirit. Let me give you a short summary of what happened in his life: He LED the first Singaporean Team to conquer Mount Everest; he had to suffer the disappointment of being unable to scale the summit due to some health probs; he had to make some tough decisions on the way; survived Guillian-Barres disease when he came back-a disease that attacks the peripheral nerve system so you are paralysed but you know exactly what is happening to you, it was not due to the expedition. He later went on to scale even more mountains, both literally and figuratively, overcoming his disability and climbing higher than what most of us have even dreamed of:Kilimanjaro, and even doing it alone. Let me quote him on a few things which meant much to me:

"Success isn't an event! It is about changing your mindsets from what is impossible to what IS possible. If you are successful unintentionally, you probably would not be successful again. ONLY WHEN you are successful purposefully can you be successful can you be successful again."

"The most important question to ask when you face an impossible task is: Is that a FACT or a BELIEF?"

"A stretched goal will motivate you."

(From Henry Ford) "Obstacles are those horrible things you see when you take your eyes off the goal."

Lovely, aren't they? Shall make them my life's Maxims.


I enjoyed the talk by Encik Othman Wok too. He was just so...candid and grandpa-ish. Really funny, and it really got me thinking about those turbulent times. I mean, most students think that everything about NE is propaganda and all, but imagine if you were there, changing the course of history, and everything could have gone either way. What if we were still in? What kinds of life would we be having now? (Such SS questions were posed to me as a Pri 5 kid, and I think I gave really stupid ans like, erm...I would be having Tau Sar Piah everyday! (?!) )

I was impressed with Encik. I wish I could travel back in time to live in those times.


Finally, attachment to the CDC. Jobs assistance, Social Assistance, Comcare fund, somehow all these have sounded academic when you read them in the papers, BUT when you see how much they are really needed by Our people on the ground, you get an idea of how important policies are, and it is really NO simple matter...every little detail in how it is all implemented, or how it is planned, can make or break lives. Many lives. Lives of children who have to sacrifice school to support their families. Lives of people over 40 who have mountains of bills to pay and living mouths to feed. Lives of families which can count to the exact cent how much money they have left in the house, of elderly who allow their wounds to fester because they do not have the means to go to the doc's.

How do you teach someone to walk, yet not carry him all the time?

Noblesse Oblige? This term sounds condescending to some. I like the spirit of the term, but it must be coupled with this:
"...For I say...to..you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think SOBERLY, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

ting

BACK AT HOME!

Hurrah it feels great to be back at home again! It was really exhilarating as we touched down at Singapore, and my heart just gave a whoop of joy as I saw the familar bougainvilleas, palm trees and all along the runway. My aunt and uncle and cousins were there to pick me up, as well as my wonderful friends...what better welcome can there be? There was this warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart...it was indescribable. Thanks gals, for being there!!

I had a really hectic schedule, going for OBS just 2 days after touching down at singapore again, but I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Haven't been so tired for such a long time! The entire week was a mixture of jetlag, physical exhaustion, and mental challenge in remembering names of new pple I am meeting, and enjoying their company and funny characteristics. Not to mention the wonderful home food as well.

I find myself missing Germany sometimes too...just like I thought I would. The new experience, the people you meet there, my friends over there...i actually enjoyed having the burden of doing everything on my own, jogging through parks that they have over there. However, nothing ever quite replaces home I think=)

Right, have to do my reflections now. Gotta go!

Terribly BZ!

14th June 2005

I shall give up back-dating my blog for so long. I am nearly 3 weeks behind time. At the rate that I am going, I will never ever become a passable journalist=) So I shall just describe in little detail what has been happening…it is always like this, isn’t it? We are always too busy living life to reflect on the life we are living.

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Ruths Geburtstag!
After the Ritterfest, there came a holiday, Fronleichnam. I went over to Kassel to celebrate Ruth’s birthday with her. I had a very good time there, I remember it made Germany seem exactly like home! On the first day, Kailuo, Ruth and I went to the Orangerie. A bit about the Orangerie: as you might have already guessed, it is a place for…oranges. Apparently, in the 1700s, it became the trend for the dukes or Electors, or basically rulers of the various parts of Germany to travel to the south and bring back some exotic plants to grow in their own land. This must have been quite an important indication of their status, because these Electors spared no efforts in making their Orangeries the best in the country. We walked for half an afternoon in the Orangerie, and we did not even cover the entire place!

That night, we baked a cake together. Ruth insisted on baking her own birthday cake(!!) Later on, Asman told me that we should have locked Ruth up in her room while we baked the cake. This cake was supposed to be a healthier choice, with yoghurt and plant oil instead of butter in it. I loved it, for Ruth thought that it was a failure because it tasted like choco bread instead of choco cake.

The next day, Sam and Joshua came and joined us. We climbed up the Hercules, a Sehenswürdigkeit (or attraction) in Kassel. To cut things short, it was a very beautiful place, as we climbed to the top of the fountain of Herkules, Josh and I could see the entire town of Kassel, plus a nearby castle. It was breathtaking. The dinner that night was Singaporean curry, wonderful veg, and omelette with cai pok (the thing they put on top of chwee kuehs) Ruth refused to let us do any work, so she cooked the entire feast on her own. On her birthday(!!) I think she tired herself out, thoroughly. But the meal was truly delicious, and the conversation just flowed. I must admit that I found it quite hard to speak proper English at first, for German words kept coming to me whenever I try to express myself. I don’t think it is a good sign…it is comparable to the first signs of dementia: someone seems to be talking in your brain, telling you the German and Chinese versions of what you want to say, so you FORGET what you wanted to say at first, and worse, forget that you are speaking English after all. However, one gets used to it.

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Konzert Bonifatius in Erlangen
The weekend after that was my concert in Erlangen. We, the Motetten choir, sang in a church called St. Bonifaz in Erlangen, a nearby town, which is also known as the Siemens town, because besides uni students and Siemens employees, the rest of the population consist of bakers, restauranteurs who exist to serve the Siemens people. Everyone gets along on bicycles. (Did You Know? People can get their driving licences revoked if they were caught cycling recklessly in Germany) Back to the main topic, the concert was held in the hope of raising money for a hospice and a children’s home. We sang 10 songs, most of them Ave Marias, and even Bogoroditse Devo by Rachmaninoff! (NJChoir: great memories? =)) I had the fortune, or misfortune to be standing right in the middle of the performing stage, and by a stroke of luck, there were spaces on my right and in front of me, thus I seemed to be rather prominent. Magdelena, Angelika’s little grand niece, said that it was easy to observe me, and that it was clear that I sang as I opened my mouth rather widely (what observations 9-year-olds have, seemed to be a tactful way of saying that I have a big mouth=D) She made a further comment that she could tell that my mother tongue was not German, just from the shape of my mouth. I really had to laugh at that…she was sitting 5-6 rows away!

An article on the concert appeared on the Erlangen Newspapers on the Tuesday after that. It had a picture of us, and I was in it! =) The article said that our concert was a success on the whole, just that there were 1 or 2 songs that were not together. I just got the CD of our singing, and I am listening to it as I am writing this. Frankly, I think that the columnist is right, but since Herr Killer (our Chorleiter) said that it was all Quatsch, I could hardly say anything to the contrary. During practice, Herr Killer said that one of the most memorable compliments was that from a lady who lived near our practice room. She said that the concert was truly amazing: every Thursday night, she would close her windows to shut out our singing practices, and little did she know that our singing could be so wonderful.

Now, haven’t I told you that Germany is a land of opposites? Everyone thinks in circles here.

We went to the botanic gardens in Erlangen that weekend too. I loved those gardens, they were simply so beautiful, and great to walk in. There are little winding paths in the garden, not like the big paved roads in our gardens, and the entire place had a secretive feel to it. I learned the names of quite a few plants, such as Kiefer, Fichte (pines), Kakten (Cacti), Wasser Rose (water lily), Rosamarginata (a tree with dark red leaves, the edges of its leaves are pinkish red, thus the name), Schwiegermuttersessel (or mother-in-law’s seat, referring to a spiky cactus with a wide top; what a cute name isn’t it).

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Tang yuan-cum-Muah Chee-making
Last Wednesday, I went to Chen Su’s place to help her make Tang yuan or Muah Chee. Of course the China-chinese did not know what a muah chee was. Anyway, we made it as a treat for our colleagues because Su is leaving to work in another department. We brainstormed, she wanted to make ba1 bao3 fan4, I suggested Muah Chee or Konnyaku Jelly. Since the idea of Muah Chee was hard for her to imagine, we made tang yuan, and rolled them in roasted sesame or grounded peanuts. It tasted great, so great that Leila, a German-Lebanese colleague of mine, wanted to know how to make it. She is coming to my place tomorrow, then we will make tangyuan again! =)

After making the Tangyuan, we (Su, her bf Liu Xiao, and I) watched Forrest Gump. It was the first time that I have watched it in its entirety, and I must say that I was very impressed by Gump. The story line was very engaging, and the values it offers, those of the American Dream, were very attractive. The show offers a great history lesson too: I did not even know of the Ping Pong Diplomacy until after watching the show.

At around that time, I wrote my Motivationsbrief to Mannheim as well. It is about why I wanted to choose Pol Sci and why I wanted to study at Mannheim. Wwj helped me with it, and I really improved on my 2nd part after that, thanks man! Leila was a angel: she corrected every single word for me. My entire essay was filled with red marks after she was done with it, but I thought the essay was really much better after that! Terrible of me, though, to still continue to make all those stupid mistakes after nearly SEVEN years of studying the language. It is as if I am always stuck at Primary one. (!!)

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Visiting Sam!
Just last weekend, 11 and 12th June, I visited Sam in Dresden. Dresden is in Saxony (Sachsen), and it used to be a very major city. It was part of East Germany before the Reunification. There is truly a great difference between states in the East and states in West Germany. Somehow, everything seemed…greyer in former East Germany. The buildings are darker, as I later knew from Max, Sams Freund, due to the deposition of soot from the coal-burning power stations in the states’ communist days. There were also many identical buildings in the East, called Plattenbau, because they were all made from the same design to provide fast solutions to the housing problem in East Germany then, just like our older HDB flats. Dresden on the whole still seemed like a big construction site…everything is still under development. I saw many Trabbis there too! The Trabant is a former East German car…apparently you would have to wait about 15 years to get it after you have registered for one. They looked like beetles, or vehicles from a totally different era. I liked them so much, I had a photograph taken with one…and that is my dream car. =) Oh, apparently, I could even get a Trabbi at 1 euro! Jochen showed me how to get it online…and some people are selling Trabbis like scrap metal. Some are collectors’ items though. One just needs to look out for them.

It seemed so apt then that I was reading George Orwell’s 1984. Saw it in a bookshop going for 2 euros (!!) and it was in German (!!), so it was really a steal=) It seemed to me that East Germany was such a dreary place, it was a wonder that people actually tolerated it for so long. However, things are often not as simple as they seem to be. I have a neighbour, Herr Rübsam, and he came from former East Germany. There is a certain nostalgia when he spoke of East Germany to me, about how people would be much better looked after, wrt their pensions, social security and jobs. Everyone had a job to do in East Germany, the work was equally distributed so was the reward. Of course one would be rewarded for greater efficiency with small bonuses. But the main principle was:To each his own. What an impossible, and unworkable promise, you might say. However, it must be taken into account what kind of situation we have right now: unemployment rate is soaring at about 12%, and in most former East German states, unemployment can be as high as 25 %. With its ageing population, Germany can also ill afford to pay her citizens their promised pensions. The anti-capitalism debate, the calling of int firms as locusts waiting to strip German companies bare; these are all just backlashes to the kind of situation that has been worsening in Germany. People want change, and they might have a chance to vote for it in September.



14th June
I am so tired! Tried frying goring Pisang tonight, but they turned out tasting like banana love letters. I think I put in too much egg…and because I am too embarrassed to ask others to try my cooking, so I had to finish all of them by myself! How fattening! =( Terrible.

19th June
Just came back from trip to Mannheim, Heidelberg and Konstanz. Am really dead beat. Wanted to sleep the day off, but I guess I am done with growth, so my body refused to let me sleep.
Spent the entire day trying to make Singapore Curry puffs instead. It tasted ok, but the puffs unraveled whenever I tried to fry them. So I rolled them up like spring rolls, so they looks like little fat spring rolls instead. Thought they were failures, but Angelika thought that they were really good, so I will be making them for her birthday this Thursday (!!)
Am feeling kinda 'Housewifey' or shall I say Domestic? Cooked Green bean soup for pple in the office, am improvising on pancakes=) Can't wait to cook a few German dishes for pa ma gor jie and boon back home! =) Gosh, feel really like a housewife now.