Tuesday and Wednesday
New photos up from my short trip to Orchard and some buses I found funny: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shedunnit/
1. Do random people come up to you speaking in Chinese? (From Oli)
They don't come up to me, but initially, I'm always spoken to in Mandarin. (Unless I'm speaking to an Indian. Indians, I'm convinced now, have very pretty English. I mean, it's accented, but I like the way their voices lilt.) I always have to apologize and say I can't understand Chinese. I've been mistaken as an exchange student from China twice and once from Vietnam.
2. Have you been on the MRT? How was it?
Yes, I have! I went to Orchard alone yesterday. The trip to and from Orchard takes about an hour when combined. I like riding the MRT, especially standing up. Sitting is more comfortable, sure, but staying up and trying to keep your balance on the MRT is a fun game for me. And there are always old people. I'd rather let the elderly have the seats.
3. What was in Orchard?
Fucking expensive things. So I entered Takashimaya (a mall) and was greeted with all these brand names like Cartier and stuff like that and I was just laughing throughout my stroll. I was WTF-ing left and right at the prices. I will never understand these expensive things. It was even kind of sad when I saw this woman compare her bag with the Louis Vuitton bag of another woman who passed by. (Even Watson's is expensive.)
But Kinokuniya is in Takashimaya. It's an incredible bookstore and I actually got lost in it for a couple of times. I bought three books and I highly doubt I'd be buying again. The prices are pretty much the same as the prices in Fully Booked, but considering my allowance, books are a luxury I could skip. I also like the foodcourt in Takashimaya. (I've noticed though, Japanese food is incredibly expensive here. Not only in Takashimaya, but also within NUS. A meal begins at the range of around seven dollars, so around P210 here.)
I also visited Lucky Plaza which can be likened to the old Greenhills Shopping Centre. I walked around Orchard Road for a while and dropped by Scotts Road (I didn't see the soup restaurant, Kyla!). There's just a lot of people and a lot of shopping that can be done, if you're into that kind of thing. I was looking for the ice cream sandwich vendors but I wasn't able to find them. There's some construction going on at Orchard, so that may have made seeing their stalls more difficult.
4. Have you explored NUS?
Not completely. But today, I did go to the Student Centre, the Music Conservatory, the Cultural Center, and the Central Library.
The Student Centrei is basically a student centre with all kinds of services available from taking passport photos to a foodcourt to a student lounge with billiard tables. The Music Conservatory was kind of a let down because it felt like no one was there, but maybe that's because I didn't go inside exactly. I was walking the perimeter and was hoping, like in UP, to hear instruments playing. But there weren't, so I moved on to the next building.
The Cultural Center is wonderful. It's a big museum with three floors. Admittedly, I'm not an art buff. I like visual art, but I can't call myself an afficionado. I could have spent more than half the day there, but I decided not to overload my brain. I only explored the second floor that contained South East Asian art. It took me around forty-five minutes to look at each and every piece and read what was written. One floor is really huge. I'll be back another day to explore the other floors.
I wanted to dance when I saw the Central Library. It was incredibly nice. I was only able to explore two floors, but those two floors are enough for me. One floor is like the administration center of the library where you could borrow and return books. There's a huge computer area. There's a lounge. There's the multimedia library and the news archives. There are two theatrettes. The other floor contains the books. Hahaha, rows and rows and rows of books. They have a good number of theatre books, but their music books left me a bit disappointed. I'm guessing there's a library at the conservatory. Still. I could live in that library and be happy. (I may not be an art buff, but I am a bookworm. And I'm glad I don't have to buy books anymore to be able to read.)
Funny thing that happened in the library though: I couldn't initially check out my books because the expiry date on my card was 2000. Both the librarian and I were bemused. Do I look like I was an NUS student eight years ago? They fixed it after ten minutes. So, go effective library staff! They were friendly too. And I like the fact that I could use the telephone there for free. I have fallen in love with the library.
5. Bad food experiences?
I hate to say this, but yes, one. I didn't eat it. Not that it was bad exactly. So there was this canteen at the Sports Complex (near the registration site) that seemed to specialize in Chinese food. I decided to try out this "Minced Meat Noodles" thinking it'd basically be bits of meat on egg noodles. Apparently it was some Chinese person's idea of spaghetti. I'm not ordering it again. (Not that it tasted bad. But it was really just a weird experience. I couldn't stomach it.)
6. How was laundry day?
It was very successful, thank you very much. My clothes came out clean and nothing shrunk. I can now say I know how to use a damn washing machine and a dryer.
1. Do random people come up to you speaking in Chinese? (From Oli)
They don't come up to me, but initially, I'm always spoken to in Mandarin. (Unless I'm speaking to an Indian. Indians, I'm convinced now, have very pretty English. I mean, it's accented, but I like the way their voices lilt.) I always have to apologize and say I can't understand Chinese. I've been mistaken as an exchange student from China twice and once from Vietnam.
2. Have you been on the MRT? How was it?
Yes, I have! I went to Orchard alone yesterday. The trip to and from Orchard takes about an hour when combined. I like riding the MRT, especially standing up. Sitting is more comfortable, sure, but staying up and trying to keep your balance on the MRT is a fun game for me. And there are always old people. I'd rather let the elderly have the seats.
3. What was in Orchard?
Fucking expensive things. So I entered Takashimaya (a mall) and was greeted with all these brand names like Cartier and stuff like that and I was just laughing throughout my stroll. I was WTF-ing left and right at the prices. I will never understand these expensive things. It was even kind of sad when I saw this woman compare her bag with the Louis Vuitton bag of another woman who passed by. (Even Watson's is expensive.)
But Kinokuniya is in Takashimaya. It's an incredible bookstore and I actually got lost in it for a couple of times. I bought three books and I highly doubt I'd be buying again. The prices are pretty much the same as the prices in Fully Booked, but considering my allowance, books are a luxury I could skip. I also like the foodcourt in Takashimaya. (I've noticed though, Japanese food is incredibly expensive here. Not only in Takashimaya, but also within NUS. A meal begins at the range of around seven dollars, so around P210 here.)
I also visited Lucky Plaza which can be likened to the old Greenhills Shopping Centre. I walked around Orchard Road for a while and dropped by Scotts Road (I didn't see the soup restaurant, Kyla!). There's just a lot of people and a lot of shopping that can be done, if you're into that kind of thing. I was looking for the ice cream sandwich vendors but I wasn't able to find them. There's some construction going on at Orchard, so that may have made seeing their stalls more difficult.
4. Have you explored NUS?
Not completely. But today, I did go to the Student Centre, the Music Conservatory, the Cultural Center, and the Central Library.
The Student Centrei is basically a student centre with all kinds of services available from taking passport photos to a foodcourt to a student lounge with billiard tables. The Music Conservatory was kind of a let down because it felt like no one was there, but maybe that's because I didn't go inside exactly. I was walking the perimeter and was hoping, like in UP, to hear instruments playing. But there weren't, so I moved on to the next building.
The Cultural Center is wonderful. It's a big museum with three floors. Admittedly, I'm not an art buff. I like visual art, but I can't call myself an afficionado. I could have spent more than half the day there, but I decided not to overload my brain. I only explored the second floor that contained South East Asian art. It took me around forty-five minutes to look at each and every piece and read what was written. One floor is really huge. I'll be back another day to explore the other floors.
I wanted to dance when I saw the Central Library. It was incredibly nice. I was only able to explore two floors, but those two floors are enough for me. One floor is like the administration center of the library where you could borrow and return books. There's a huge computer area. There's a lounge. There's the multimedia library and the news archives. There are two theatrettes. The other floor contains the books. Hahaha, rows and rows and rows of books. They have a good number of theatre books, but their music books left me a bit disappointed. I'm guessing there's a library at the conservatory. Still. I could live in that library and be happy. (I may not be an art buff, but I am a bookworm. And I'm glad I don't have to buy books anymore to be able to read.)
Funny thing that happened in the library though: I couldn't initially check out my books because the expiry date on my card was 2000. Both the librarian and I were bemused. Do I look like I was an NUS student eight years ago? They fixed it after ten minutes. So, go effective library staff! They were friendly too. And I like the fact that I could use the telephone there for free. I have fallen in love with the library.
5. Bad food experiences?
I hate to say this, but yes, one. I didn't eat it. Not that it was bad exactly. So there was this canteen at the Sports Complex (near the registration site) that seemed to specialize in Chinese food. I decided to try out this "Minced Meat Noodles" thinking it'd basically be bits of meat on egg noodles. Apparently it was some Chinese person's idea of spaghetti. I'm not ordering it again. (Not that it tasted bad. But it was really just a weird experience. I couldn't stomach it.)
6. How was laundry day?
It was very successful, thank you very much. My clothes came out clean and nothing shrunk. I can now say I know how to use a damn washing machine and a dryer.