(no subject)
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WARNING: SKIP THIS PORTION IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ CRAP
where is everybody?
hmmmmm.
but here it is, the "this is how i'm doing" entry. (in retrospect, i've realized that what i'm about to narrate, about what i've done over the past month + a week will not sound as exciting and memorable as they actually were, because the excitement has worn off a little, as i expected. self-fulfilling prophecies 1 - 0 jon sadly.)
i will attempt to do this with headings as a law student seeking clarity would.
(and what happened in detail at the airport before departure and the flight would be in a locked friends only entry.)
--------------------------
week 1 theme: feeling like an alien
i arrived at 5am, having slept the entire flight i kid not. i had those "passport check" jitters i always have, even though i have done nothing wrong, have no criminal record and was not smuggling anything but 3 bottles of hairspray which might vaguely constitute explodable objects. i went sent to do my medical examination because i happily skipped that in singapore. and the conversation which transpired with the "nurse" was
"nurse": hello there, what're you here for?
jon: hi, i'm here to study?
"nurse": ah, you should be alright.
and i got the stamp that said i was cleared by a medical examination which included an x-ray. woahla. i contemplated asking her if she had spare mcs. but i got cleared, walked right past dfs i kid not and called home to report my safe landing. purchased an oyster card and headed to piccadilly circus where my cheap bed for a couple of days would be piccadilly backpackers hostel.
couldn't check in until 2pm, headed to starbucks desperate for wireless internet. fine. desperate for facebook. oh yes, the coolness on my cheek felt quite exhilarating. i recall myself buzzing with excitement. yup buzzing's the word. got in touch with alps and matthias, who will be two of the most important people for the following month.
ok now i am sick of typing cause this is boring.
anyone who SERIOUSLY wants to know from start to end can just ask me and i will narrate okay.
--------------------------
that was how far i went, and i have given up. but this is how i am doing in a couple of succinct paragraphs.
I came to london, knowing that many things were still in a mess. The mess included my accommodation, my studies being behind for a month, my lack of friends in ucl, my thoughts and my emotions. I haven't settled down in london, and I have lived with a good deal of people in a good deal of places, not putting in as much effort as would anyone would have expected of someone in my position to look for a place. I've stayed in a hostel in Piccadilly, one night at Zhanyou's, back to the hostel's, then shifted to Amos' and that brings me to the present.
I've travelled every weekend I've been here, other than the first. 2nd with Alps and Yulun everywhere in London, 3rd with Alps and Matthias to Coventry, 4th with Cheryl, Liangzhen and Adeline in Birmingham, Peak District and Lake District and then with Alps and Yulun in Glasgow, 5th with Yulun in Oslo. I was seeing the world, while running away from problems I know I have that are still unresolved. In retrospect, maybe I was travelling so much because I didn't have a place to stay in London anyway. But, those trips were eye-opening to say the least and they deserve a lot more credit than what I have just given them.
Coventry was slow-paced and sleepy, and I got to meet Huabin, who I miss deeply, for a fleeting few hours. The UK roadtrip that disastrously became a traintrip wasn't as fun as I thought it would have been, but the girls made up for that with pretty awesome company. Glasgow was a blast, and to be honest, it reminded me so badly of home. I was terribly homesick but I kept that to myself. I think it was how communal the NTU guys were when it came to cooking, eating and just having fun. I wish I have that safe little bubble to be in, but then again that would make me a completely different person. And I believe I met some genuinely nice people in Glasgow :). Ditto for Oslo, which I must say, going in as a complete stranger, Vanessa, Jack, Shang Ying and Clement really welcomed me into the household. The four of them. I wish I could have recorded down how comfortable they were with each other. So when another person asks me what friendship is, I'd say, look there. That is true friendship right there. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to live in such a household. V, SY and Clem are down in London and I joined them for dinner earlier today. Zhi Wei and Tang Lin :), because they, being there, made me feel human and feel like I'm not the arrogant, intimidating person others believe me to be.
I've just placed my deposit for a double room today at Bayswater and I am glad my accommodation has been settled. That being said, I was almost scammed off some money but by a stroke of luck I was saved by the post office till operator earlier on in my accommodation woes that left me quite jaded for a while.
I've eaten a lot and have probably put on weight. I can't stop my mouth. I eat everything in front of me. I've eaten lunch at tesco. I've walked and munched on a sandwich midday because I don't have a hall to return to and friends to meet for lunch.
I have many many many anecdotes. Most of them, I reckon, are interesting and uncommon, because of the way I've led my life the past couple of weeks. I'm not ashamed of eating the 2-pound tesco meal deals. I'm actually quite proud of the sheer fact that I made it through. I don't think many people I know will have made it through, but of course, I doubt they'd let themselves get into situations I have gotten myself into. So ask me, if you have gotten over gawking and genuinely want to know what has happened. :)
Just know that I am fine. I'm not living in a dustbin or a dumpster. I have food and I study really studiously when it comes to tutorials and assignments. I do not take my studies for granted. I came here to study. And I came here to see the world, grow up and find something to fight for. I am doing just that.
I still say 'thank you' instead of 'cheers'. And I still speak mandarin when I enter a chinese restaurant. I know where I came from. I haven't done my accounts. And I really ought to because I believe I have overspent a little with the shopping, missed trains and missed flights. Still, I sincerely believe every penny spent has been worth it.
There are a couple of people I want to thank, but I'll leave that for a private entry tomorrow. Maybe I'll mention the emotional flight I had from Singapore to London too. For now, I hope everyone's doing great. Because, if you aren't, then what's stopping you? :)
--------------------------
there are a couple of songs that i'd recommend too. ask me, i'll send them to you.
WARNING: SKIP THIS PORTION IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ CRAP
where is everybody?
hmmmmm.
but here it is, the "this is how i'm doing" entry. (in retrospect, i've realized that what i'm about to narrate, about what i've done over the past month + a week will not sound as exciting and memorable as they actually were, because the excitement has worn off a little, as i expected. self-fulfilling prophecies 1 - 0 jon sadly.)
i will attempt to do this with headings as a law student seeking clarity would.
(and what happened in detail at the airport before departure and the flight would be in a locked friends only entry.)
--------------------------
week 1 theme: feeling like an alien
i arrived at 5am, having slept the entire flight i kid not. i had those "passport check" jitters i always have, even though i have done nothing wrong, have no criminal record and was not smuggling anything but 3 bottles of hairspray which might vaguely constitute explodable objects. i went sent to do my medical examination because i happily skipped that in singapore. and the conversation which transpired with the "nurse" was
"nurse": hello there, what're you here for?
jon: hi, i'm here to study?
"nurse": ah, you should be alright.
and i got the stamp that said i was cleared by a medical examination which included an x-ray. woahla. i contemplated asking her if she had spare mcs. but i got cleared, walked right past dfs i kid not and called home to report my safe landing. purchased an oyster card and headed to piccadilly circus where my cheap bed for a couple of days would be piccadilly backpackers hostel.
couldn't check in until 2pm, headed to starbucks desperate for wireless internet. fine. desperate for facebook. oh yes, the coolness on my cheek felt quite exhilarating. i recall myself buzzing with excitement. yup buzzing's the word. got in touch with alps and matthias, who will be two of the most important people for the following month.
ok now i am sick of typing cause this is boring.
anyone who SERIOUSLY wants to know from start to end can just ask me and i will narrate okay.
--------------------------
that was how far i went, and i have given up. but this is how i am doing in a couple of succinct paragraphs.
I came to london, knowing that many things were still in a mess. The mess included my accommodation, my studies being behind for a month, my lack of friends in ucl, my thoughts and my emotions. I haven't settled down in london, and I have lived with a good deal of people in a good deal of places, not putting in as much effort as would anyone would have expected of someone in my position to look for a place. I've stayed in a hostel in Piccadilly, one night at Zhanyou's, back to the hostel's, then shifted to Amos' and that brings me to the present.
I've travelled every weekend I've been here, other than the first. 2nd with Alps and Yulun everywhere in London, 3rd with Alps and Matthias to Coventry, 4th with Cheryl, Liangzhen and Adeline in Birmingham, Peak District and Lake District and then with Alps and Yulun in Glasgow, 5th with Yulun in Oslo. I was seeing the world, while running away from problems I know I have that are still unresolved. In retrospect, maybe I was travelling so much because I didn't have a place to stay in London anyway. But, those trips were eye-opening to say the least and they deserve a lot more credit than what I have just given them.
Coventry was slow-paced and sleepy, and I got to meet Huabin, who I miss deeply, for a fleeting few hours. The UK roadtrip that disastrously became a traintrip wasn't as fun as I thought it would have been, but the girls made up for that with pretty awesome company. Glasgow was a blast, and to be honest, it reminded me so badly of home. I was terribly homesick but I kept that to myself. I think it was how communal the NTU guys were when it came to cooking, eating and just having fun. I wish I have that safe little bubble to be in, but then again that would make me a completely different person. And I believe I met some genuinely nice people in Glasgow :). Ditto for Oslo, which I must say, going in as a complete stranger, Vanessa, Jack, Shang Ying and Clement really welcomed me into the household. The four of them. I wish I could have recorded down how comfortable they were with each other. So when another person asks me what friendship is, I'd say, look there. That is true friendship right there. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to live in such a household. V, SY and Clem are down in London and I joined them for dinner earlier today. Zhi Wei and Tang Lin :), because they, being there, made me feel human and feel like I'm not the arrogant, intimidating person others believe me to be.
I've just placed my deposit for a double room today at Bayswater and I am glad my accommodation has been settled. That being said, I was almost scammed off some money but by a stroke of luck I was saved by the post office till operator earlier on in my accommodation woes that left me quite jaded for a while.
I've eaten a lot and have probably put on weight. I can't stop my mouth. I eat everything in front of me. I've eaten lunch at tesco. I've walked and munched on a sandwich midday because I don't have a hall to return to and friends to meet for lunch.
I have many many many anecdotes. Most of them, I reckon, are interesting and uncommon, because of the way I've led my life the past couple of weeks. I'm not ashamed of eating the 2-pound tesco meal deals. I'm actually quite proud of the sheer fact that I made it through. I don't think many people I know will have made it through, but of course, I doubt they'd let themselves get into situations I have gotten myself into. So ask me, if you have gotten over gawking and genuinely want to know what has happened. :)
Just know that I am fine. I'm not living in a dustbin or a dumpster. I have food and I study really studiously when it comes to tutorials and assignments. I do not take my studies for granted. I came here to study. And I came here to see the world, grow up and find something to fight for. I am doing just that.
I still say 'thank you' instead of 'cheers'. And I still speak mandarin when I enter a chinese restaurant. I know where I came from. I haven't done my accounts. And I really ought to because I believe I have overspent a little with the shopping, missed trains and missed flights. Still, I sincerely believe every penny spent has been worth it.
There are a couple of people I want to thank, but I'll leave that for a private entry tomorrow. Maybe I'll mention the emotional flight I had from Singapore to London too. For now, I hope everyone's doing great. Because, if you aren't, then what's stopping you? :)
--------------------------
there are a couple of songs that i'd recommend too. ask me, i'll send them to you.