An Episode

Today’s the hottest I’ve ever felt in Beijing. Weather report claimed the highest temperature reached 26C, but noon was warmer than it is in Singapore!

After two and a half months in track shoes, I was happy to let my pair of sandals see daylight. My feet didn’t quite agree. Arggggh…now I have two HUGE liquid-filled blisters…boohooooo…!

A couple of weeks ago, a pretty nurse on an advertisement caught my attention. Taking a closer look, it turned out to be an abortion ad by a hospital. To say the least, I was shocked and angered by how the ad described the entire process as painless and simple.















On the bus towards 五道口to fix my hair, I saw a similar ad, but this time, it dawned upon me that this has really got to do with China’s one-child policy. In such a populous country, have human resources and LIVES been taken for granted?

Now that BICF no longer provide shuttle services from PKU to church, we have to take a half-hour walk to and fro. Along the way, there would be middle-aged women standing around asking, “要盘吗？”. This referred to the illegal sale of pirated DVDs etc. I couldn’t understand why there were also women selling 发票 (receipts), until Jiasong explained that people in business could pay less tax by purchasing these receipts. Oh.

Through Ee Jin’s recommendation, I went to 五道口’s 名哥一族 to get my hair dyed at 96rmb. As Jin said over sms, Le Tian was indeed a “sweet-talker”, but I didn’t suspect any “gay-ness” as she did. I am lousy at conversations with hairstylists, and sweet-talking ones are even more intimidating. For most parts of the one-sided conversation, all I could do was smile. =] Awkward. Embarrassing. I-don’t-like.
































Thankfully, an assistant was roped in to help, and he was quieter and we clicked a little better. I didn't get his name, but he too was from Harbin. Standing slightly above 1.55m, he lamented about not being able to enlist into China's military school cos of his height. What a difference...

After four hours and enduring same old comments on my thick hair, white hair, dry hair, why-don’t-you-rebond hair, I walked out with a reddish-brown head (which didn't look much different from before I stepped in).

Next time, I must be sure what I want before I visit the salon. Hmm, at least I learnt that brown is called 棕色 .

gRacE =)

通宵Karaoke!

The nation-wide one-week 五一 holz have just begun and the campus is eerily quiet... Eric’s somewhere in Guilin, Kai Qin is up trekking on duno-which mountain, Ee Jin’s headed for North Korea on Monday, Jinyao’s in 青海, Ming Lei’s on the Silk Road, the local students are back in their provinces outside Beijing…the list goes on and on…

When self-pity almost caught up with me, I picked up a pretty flower! Daisy?? Lalalaaaa…





















Ee Jin called for karaoke kakis yesterday afternoon on her msn nick. Incidentally, Bruce msged while I was at class if I wanted to go sing. Wooohoooo..and so we went! The KTV place was just across a bridge from PKU…and we paid less than 20rmb per person for 4 hours of K-ing…

That included a buffet!
















































Songs selection...No remote control...Booo....
















There you have it…PROFESSIONALS! =P















Peijing went for classics like 爱上一个不回家的人 (the mtv's a must-see!!!)...




















Whenever Bruce couldn't sing the male vocals, Ee Jin had to take over!















我们的爱 almost killed me... =P




















Bruce’s 想说was impressive!




















I’m not sure if they have it in Singapore, but there were buttons we could press for clapping, cheering etc…hee…




















Before we left, Ee Jin and Peijing were on high with Kelly Chen’s 三秒钟. =)

@ 4am...















Surprisingly, four hours seemed to fly by, but I did sing to my heart’s content. I guess the after-effect was waking up at noon and having breakfast then? Hee.

PS/ As I'm typing this, Peijing is still in bed! Amazing yes... ;)

gRacE =)

China Advertising Top 100 Award & China Advertising Summit 05/06

It was a long bus ride from school to town to attend the award ceremony last evening, but it was all worth it! Organised by PKU School of Journalism and Communication, and the Communications University of China, the night brought together big names in the advertising industry from all over China.





























Thanks to Lisa, who attends an advertising module taught by someone from 中央电视台广告部, we managed to get tickets to attend the ceremony.

We were told to arrive before 6.30pm, but panicked when we saw publicity banners stating “17 30 to 21 30”. ‘What kinda ceremony last four hours?!’ Later on, we found out that half the time was spent socialising and exchanging name cards. Oh.















At the reception, if not for some exposure back in Singapore, I almost suffered a culture shock upon seeing so many powdered faces and stick-thin models, formally attired PR person ells, and heavily stressed filming crew. Why were we told there was no dress code?!!





























The four of us arrived on time, but a little later than the rest from PKU, so we didn’t meet the teacher nor obtained the tickets. But it really was a blessing in disguise. When we mentioned that we were from PKU at the reception, we were given an entry pass and a goodie bag (the students who came earlier were just ushered in with the teacher)!





























Emcees for the night















Chen Gang, Sub Dean of PKU School of Journalism and Communication and head of advertising department




















In reality, these models looked as if they have been forcefully stretched vertically! Very tall and extremely thin…






























Check out these Sohu online journalists working on-the-spot




















For most part of the dinner, we were conveniently ignored by the adults at the table, so I decided to concentrate on the food.

























































While I was still engrossed with the food, and describing what a dragonfruit is to Christina, Lisa leaned over and whispered that the people before us were from reputable media companies from all over China. Woah…湖南卫视...天津电视台... 陕西... 浙江广告公司 ...

For a brief moment, when the “adults” found out that I was from Singapore, the entire table’s attention focused on me. Same questions about our languages, my roots and how remarkably clean Singapore is… ;) It was an embarrassing moment when they made some joke and I was the only one who didn’t catch it. Argh.















The “adults” gave us their name cards and told us about internship opportunities. Wow. I wasn’t very observant, but the girls later told me that some models were chasing after the “adults” for name cards but were rejected. Ouch.















Leaving the hotel, we came across this beautiful cathedral.


























































The weather was fantastic and 王府井 was especially charming at night…















gRacE =)

西单

Have I ever mentioned what a chore it is to hand-wash jeans… =S

Last night, I suffered an “overdose” and was knocked out for 11 hours straight. I woke up feeling pretty guilty… BUT, I think I was quite nice to myself today. Food wise, I had Japanese ramen, Haagen Daz, bubble tea, and Mushroom Risotto. Shopping wise, I bought 3 pairs of earrings and a top. Company wise, Leow was with me for most part of the day! ;)

Thanks to Ee Jin, I now know the most convenient route from school to五道口 subway station. I was thankful for the 售票员 on board cos she ungrudgingly accepted my 100rmb note for the 1rmb bus fare. =)

Journey to 西单 took 1.5 hours! I brought my bible along, hoping to read the gospel of Luke on the long train ride. Turned out, the passengers were squashed together like sardines, I could hardly move, let alone whip out the bible and read. Hence, I was forced to focus my attention on the sign directly in front of me.















No. 7…Booo…so even if you can pay the fare, you can’t take the train if you’re underdressed or uncivilised?

No surprise, Leow was stuck in a jam when I arrived at Xi Dan’s 77th Street Plaza. Woooohooooo… Put two other shopping complexes in 西单together, plus some pasar-malam-like area, there you have it, another shopping paradise! =D


































Actually, 西单 is known for this huge foreign language bookstore. I did find the English books that I wanted here, but in China, imported stuff generally cost more than back home…so I gave them a miss.















Lunch

Poor poor Leow caught the cold, so he had to take some super bitter medicine during lunch. Forced smile… =P


































Oh… we found a café-style BreadTalk. Impressive…but business didn't seem too good…




















Haagen Dazzzz… Leow had Tiramisu and Strawberry Cheesecake, while I took Macadamia Nut and some Vanilla Toffee flavour. Yummilicious…but like I said, imported stuff are more expensive than back home. Cost a whopping 90rmb!















Leow’s heading back home tomorrow, so today was our last meeting here in Beijing. As a parting "gift" (also part of my request =P), he gave me these…















Wheeeee…! Lotsa hangers…I take it that he’s encouraging more shopping! Hee...

Thanks Leow for enduring those torturous shopping trips with me (I'm sure you've learnt much..haha)! I enjoyed our conversations tremendously! Hang in there for the Thailand training and I will be praying for you! =)

On my way back outside 西直门 interchange, I wanted to buy some white lilies for myself. Then I realised I have no vase at all to put them! Argh.

Dinner

Before returning to PKU for my Southeast Asian Culture at 7pm, I decided to pay Bravo, the Italian restaurant, a visit again. This time, Mushroom Risotto won Pasta by a thin margin.















I noticed the 香 but neglected the 辣 on the menu. As a result, I was sniffing and almost tearing while dining all alone in the restaurant. What a sight. ;)

gRacE

Discover Nanyang

My roomie has an amazing ability to kill mosquitoes in our room. Last night, she left her slipper print on our ceiling as a momento after successfully whacking a 迟钝 mosquito. 赞!

The shower room tonight was noisier than ever. Then I heard an African and a Korean coming out saying something about浪漫主义... I was puzzled, until I found out from Laotian Jin that they had lit candles in the shower room cos the lights were out. Wow.

GlobEl Village publicity...sigh...



























The entire day, I was feeling down in the rut.

First of course, I didn’t feel that what I prepared for the evening’s presentation was fantastic or interesting. It is sad, but I honestly do not feel much belonging to NTU. I don’t live in hall, so I don’t have a hall life. I am in CS, but not soooo into CS. Basically, in NTU, my joy comes from my friends and Chinese modules. I’m the typical student who comes to school, learn, study, and go home. Oh well…

The second factor was how poorly organised this entire event was. Late last week, I was informed that it would be postponed. Then I was asked to call the in-charge who made me choose ANY day this week for my presentation. Ming Lei, my co-presenter, is leaving for 丝绸之路on Tuesday, so we had to keep to Monday. As a result, there was publicity only during lunch hour today. To make matters worse, I was not informed at all about the venue cos the in-charge never called or sms me as she said she would. That was 3pm.

Let me just say that my mood took a 180 degrees turn during, and especially after the presentation.

I think I had more supporters than attendees. 4 of the organisers who came were very apologetic about the poor turn-up rate. The entire presentation took up half an hour, with the screening of a Uniquely Singapore video, NTU Corporate Communications video, and my power-point slides.










































I have to say that it was still an experience. I not only learnt more about NTU during my preparation, I drew lessons from the presentation itself as well. It is more difficult maintaining and giving everyone eye contact when the group is so small. Despite the organisers’ approval, I should have done the presentation entirely in Chinese. It is not an easy task for the presenter, and it confuses the audience when both English and Chinese are used.

After the presentation, a PKU Biological Science Masters student came forward and enquired more. I’m glad I was of help. =)


















It’s over!!!














While preparing for the presentation, I came across some interesting sites.

Videos
10 short videos produced by NTU students. Check out my CS peers in Bar None But Two & Like Love!

Naresh Argawal Portfolio
NTU from an Indian International student's perspective

NTU Singapore Survival Guide
Collated by a German student. Below are some "worthy" quotes.

Bring what you consider smart casual or good style since the SG taste for clothings is terrible (warning: subject to my opinion) and it is sometimes hard to find stylish stuff (try the City Hall MRT Shopping Centre. If you cannot find good stuff here, you cannot find it at all).

Many street people speak a singlish (mandarin-english mix) that is far beyond the -lah, -ah and -lor stuff and impossible to understand.

Hmmmmmmm...

gRacE ;)