Life of an Exchange Student

Jennifer. Exchange student @ Aston University.

[just-wanna-travel]

Stockholm, Sweden

[hatoonabdulmajeed]

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Take me back to Barcelona. I can't handle the bipolar weather here in England.

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“When ego is lost, limit is lost. You become infinite, kind, beautiful.”

Yogi Bhajan (via elige)

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Black Slope, Pamporovo Winter Resort | Bulgaria (by Evgeni Dinev)

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Thoughts

I've been wanderlust all my life. Up until five months ago, I've never left the U.S. I was unaware of what life was like across the globe and I wasn't "cultured" as some would say. While my friends spent their summer vacation in the Bahamas, Hong Kong, etc., I was at home living vicariously through their status updates and pictures. And people are always surprised when I tell them that I've never been to China despite the fact that I'm of Chinese descent. So, who did I blame for my stamp-less passport and cultural inexperience? My parents. Growing up, I'd often ask my dad why couldn't he had been a businessman, so he could take me on his business trips like my uncle did with my cousins. Now that I am abroad and have been fortunate to travel around Europe over spring break, I've come to realize how selfish and ungrateful I was back then. 

My experience abroad has been life-changing and amazing thus far. It has broadened my horizons and it has shaped me into a more culturally sensitive and mature individual. I have my international friends and professors to thank for that. And despite my continuous growth and development, one thing remains unchanged. I will always be wanderlust, waiting on the next big adventure to satisfy my cultural curiosity. 

[westeastsouthnorth]

Bagan, Burma

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Illuminations @ Eiffel Tower, Paris. 

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Generosity Day (2/14/13)

For me, February 14 is like any other day because I don't have a boyfriend or a significant other to spend it with (I'm not complaining though).  While every couple is out on a romantic date, I'm either bumming at home or hanging out with friends. 

I decided that this Valentine's Day, I was going to do something different. Why? Because of this article that I read on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130212163742-6200057-why-you-should-make-this-valentine-s-day-different . The author coined the term "Generosity Day," which is a day of giving, whether it is one's time, love, talent, money, or anything special that one has to offer.  I decided to get my hands dirty and give my time to achieving a cleaner and greener environment. Three days before Valentine's Day, I had signed up to volunteer for the Canal Conservation Project, which just so happened to fall on Thursday the 14th. The task was to pick up litter along the Ashted Canal and use grapple hooks to pull out whatever we could find in the canal. The volunteers and I separated into pairs. I teamed up with a girl named Yoona and we were very successful with our findings!

Struggling to pull up Item #1 ..

Oh look, it's a wooden fence!

2 minutes after my first find.. I pulled this out of the canal. -pats on the back-

"WHOA, that's huge!" My shocked / proud look.

Everyone's findings piled together :)

That orange mini cone at the front gave me and Yoona such a hard time. We spent around 20 minutes trying to get it out of the canal. At one point, I almost fell into the canal as I was reaching out to grab the cone. Thank god I didn't!

At the end of the event, I was hungry, exhausted, and sore all over. But, that was all forgotten as I looked at the pile of items and posed for a group picture. I felt happy and fulfilled. I had given my time to a worthy cause and it felt great. I would definitely do it again in a heartbeat!

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MAAAAAAANCHESTER! (2/9/13 - 2/11/13)

DAY 1

On the following weekend, I went to Manchester with Sufen. We took the Megabus, which took about 1.5 hours. Upon arrival, we went to the mall -Arndale, which is even bigger than the Bull Ring! Sufen's friend, Meiyun, then met up with us and we had a late lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Tai Pan. We ordered dim sum and roast pork over rice! I could not contain my excitement because the last time I had dim sum was two months ago, before I left for the UK. 

After lunch, we took a bus to Meiyun's flat, where Sufen and I would be staying over the weekend. We then got ready for the Chinese New Year dinner hosted by University of Manchester's Singapore Society. The dinner took place at a restaurant called Pearl City, in the heart of Chinatown.

When we got to the restaurant, we were each given a red envelope containing a gold chocolate coin and a slip of paper with a number (for the raffle). While people were trickling in, we chatted with some of the attendees. Every person I spoke with asked, "Are you from Singapore as well?" And my response was, "I'm Chinese. I'm an exchange student from New York." And they would stare at me in awe.. so much for blending in! 

The first course was yusheng aka "prosperity toss", a raw fish salad comprised of salmon, shredded vegetables, ginger, with several sauces and a cup of honey on the side. Everyone then stood up with their chopsticks in hand. The MC instructed one person from each table to pour the sauces over the dish, followed by the five-spice powder, and lastly the honey. On cue, everyone at the table proceeded to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with their chopsticks, while saying good wishes out loud. Sufen said that the higher the toss, the better because it is symbolic of one's fortune/prosperity. This was all new to me since the prosperity toss is not practiced in Chinese culture. Despite being clueless, I followed everyone else and tossed away. Our table was a complete mess afterwards. Before 

After

Other dishes included: chicken with prawn crackers, fish in a spicy sauce, roast pig, roast pork, and bak choy with abalone. I don't remember the rest of the dishes. All I know is that there was A LOT of food and that my tastebuds were happy. :) For dessert, we had mango sago and ricecake! It was my first time trying the mango sago since I usually eat the coconut one back at home, but I really enjoyed the mango one. It wasn't too sweet and it was a bit tangy, which I liked. Overall, the dinner was great. I really enjoyed it because I got to experience a Singaporean / Malaysian tradition, learn about Singaporean politics, and meet new people. The fact that I was celebrating Chinese New Year away from home with good company and good food made me less sad about not being able to celebrate with my family. 

After the dinner, Meiyun took us to Curry Mile, which is known for its Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan restaurants/cafes. We ended up in a cozy little cafe / shisha (aka hookah) bar. We chatted over tea and allowed for the food to digest. It was a really nice way to end the night.

DAY 2 | HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! 新年快樂!

The next day, we went to Albert Square to see the Chinese New Year Festival. It was raining, so there weren't as many people. There was a tent for arts and crafts for little kids. Right next to the tent, there were people selling Chinese New Year merchandise and accessories. On the other end of Albert Square, kids were singing and dancing on stage. We then proceeded on to the next block to watch the lion and dragon dances. 

We then visited the Manchester Art Gallery, followed by the John Rylands Library. The library was holding a Chinese New Year event, so we decided to check it out. It turned out to be an arts and crafts / DIY event for kids. But since we were already there, Sufen and I decided to participate. We ended up making magnets and keychains. I made a magnet and a keychain for my dad. 

Drawn by yours truly! I felt like a kid all over again. :) 

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Day Trip to Oxford (2/3/13)

So much has been going on lately, that I haven't had time to update my blog. Apologies! But, as I promised .. here's my post on Oxford!

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Rebecca, her dad, and I took the train from New Street to Oxford. We initially planned on taking the Megabus. However, we didn't know we had to buy our tickets online. So, we couldn't get on the bus and that left us no choice but to take the train. The ride took about an hour, which I took full advantage of (zZzzz). By the time I opened my eyes, we were pulling into the Oxford station. Even though I was mentally and physically exhausted from my trip the previous day to Stratford-upon-Avon, I was really excited to be in Oxford!

Our first stop was the infamous Oxford Castle. We all took a paid tour of the castle and learned about its history.

View from the top 

Hoodlums. Blurry mugshots of me and Rebecca.

Next, we headed into the city centre to find University of Oxford. We found a series of Oxford buildings in no time. For some reason, I had assumed that there would be an actual campus. Instead, all the buildings / schools were scattered apart. In fact, there are 39 colleges within University of Oxford. 

Sheldonian Theatre. The theatre is used for lectures and music recitals. More importantly, it is used for graduation ceremonies (Fun fact: In keeping with the tradition, the graduation ceremonies are in Latin).

Old Bodleian Library - the second biggest library in the UK!

"Bridge of Sighs." This bridge connects the new part and old part of Hertford College. There is actually a myth behind the name of the bridge.

New College

New College dining hall

Harry Potter filming scene!

Radcliffe Camera. Camera means "room" in Italian. The Radcliffe Camera is a reading room / library for students. It is most noted for its beautiful architecture and design.

St. Mary's Church

After a day's worth of sightseeing, we ate dinner at the Wig & Pen. I ordered the Hunter's Chicken, which is a whole chicken breast topped with grilled bacon, BBQ sauce and cheddar cheese. It was deeelicious!

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"Swans on River Avon"

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Shakespeare-tastic

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."

Last Thursday, a group of exchange students and I went to watch Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night at the Blue Orange Theatre. The venue was smaller than I expected, but I'm not complaining since I got to sit near the front! The whole time, I was comparing the play to the American movie She's the Man starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum. (Prior to the show, I had no idea that the movie is a parody of Shakespeare's play.) Overall, the play was great even though I couldn't understand what the actors were saying at some point.

The following Saturday, I went on a day trip to Straftord-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's hometown!) with Jenny and Vivian. We took the train, which was about an hour long. Our first stop was Shakespeare's Birthplace, where Shakespeare was born and spent his childhood years. 

Front of the house  Shakespeare's bedroom

One of John Shakespeare's (William's father) workshop - he was a glove maker and a wool dealer. 

The 'Birthroom' Window. In the 19th century, some visitors left their mark by scratching their names on the glass.

Part of the kitchen

Shakespeare in the flesh?! Or not.. haha, this reminded me of the human Statue of Liberty in Times Square

The second stop was Nash's House & New Place. This was Shakespeare's final home. Nash's house was named after Thomas Nash, husband of Shakespeare's granddaughter. 

Entrance This is supposedly a portrait of Elizabeth Nash and Thomas Nash.

Beautiful garden out in the back!

The Alto Relievo: Statue of Shakespeare between the Dramatic Muse and Genius of Painting

This 'L' shaped mulberry tree situated at the front of the garden is 150 years old. It collapsed 60 years ago.

After touring the houses, we walked along River Avon and visited the Holy Trinity Church, where William Shakespeare & Anne Hathaway (his wife) were buried. 

Holy Trinity Church from the outside

Alright, I'll end my entry here! I think I posted too many photos and wrote too much in one post. I'll probably upload more photos of Stratford throughout the week. I will also be blogging about my trip to Oxford soon!

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Fernando and I watched Les Misérables tonight at Odeon. Every Tuesday is Bargain Tuesday. Tickets are only £4.20, which is equivalent to $6.80. This is cheap compared to the prices back in New York ($11 - $14). For once, the price works in my favor! Plus, the movie was great. Anne Hathaway never ceases to amaze me. She's a great actress and I've been a fan of hers ever since I watched Princess Diaries. Hugh Jackman's acting was decent as well. He definitely nailed the emotions and who knew Wolverine could sing?! 

Interesting Fact: People here say cinema instead of movies. 

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"Chamberlain Memorial" by Jennifer Li

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"ENGLISH SLANG"

The perk of having British flatmates is that I get to learn the colloquial terms and phrases that students use here. My goal is to try to incorporate them into my vocabulary so I can use them in conversations with other students - in other words, I'm learning to blend in. My flatmates were more than happy to teach me and in return, I taught them a few Cantonese phrases. Here's the list of terms I've learned so far:

Skanking out: dancing 

Sessioning: drinking alcohol This can also be used as a noun (ie. Are you down for a session?)

Porkies: lies

Going cakeless: taking risks

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"St. Martin at Night" by Jennifer Li