The Sands of Time Wait for No Man

Thursday, August 30, 2007

The End is Near

Finally going into the last few days of lessons in Harbin! So happy that classes are ending but so sad that I have to leave this place. I'll ask my boss to send me here more often in future! Shopping here is so much better than Jinan. Clothes are cheaper and have more variety. It's almost half the price compared to Jinan. I'ld love to come here in winter where I can see the ice sculpture!

The atmosphere and environment is quite different from Jinan too. If not for the Chinese signboards around, I would sometimes think I'm in another country! All thanks to their Russian neighbours up north!

Here I am at Guogeli Street. My colleague and I had too much time to spare while waiting for the underground mall to open. We amused ourselves (and probably other pedestrains) with some photo-taking while waiting.

Check out their churches. Sophia Church is kind of like the icon of Harbin. If you have not seen Sophia, you have not been to Harbin. I've actually seen it the last time I was here, but it was a different feeling seeing it at night.
This other church has no name. Above the main door, it just reads 'Catholic Church'. Duh! But it's nice enough for me to want to take a photo.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Week II

Cliché as it sounds, but time really seems to fly when I am enjoying myself. Last weekend was over in just the blink of an eye. Why do the weekends always flash by but the weekdays appear endless.
My plan for last weekend:
1. Sleep
2. Prepare lesson materials
3. Go shopping
4. Eat less
What I ended up doing:
1. Sleep (plenty!)
2. Prepared only a fraction of what I had in mind to do, so that means more work this week. Well, procrastination is my middle name.....
3. Went shopping at one of the many underground malls in Harbin. Bought a bag, a pair of shoes and a pair of shades. Best buy: red hot patented leather shoes for only S$3!!! I seemed to be in a 'red' mood that day as the bag I got was also red! Why does Harbin have so many underground malls? My colleague and I came to this conclusion: Harbin is too cold during winter for people to be shopping outside, so they built these underground malls which are warm during winter and cool during summer!
4. Instead of eating less, I pigged out with my colleague. He's such a big rice-eater. He always orders a large bowl of rice, while I order a small bowl. Plus, I always give him about half of my portion. Each time without fail, he would finish everything right down to the last grain. How to lose weight when eating with a friend like that?
Now on to week 2...... wish me luck!

Friday, August 17, 2007

TGIF

Hectic week is finally going to be over. Classes in Harbin is really draining even though I only teach for 3 hours each day. So much time has to be spent on preparation as this is a new course and there are no teaching materials available. Have to prepare materials from scratch and it doesn't help that the students here are a demanding bunch. To think that I only have 4 students in the class! 4 students in Harbin is giving me more problems than 40 in Jinan!

On a brighter note, Harbin is a really nice city. Modern, clean, wide roads, big malls, etc. I'm now thinking how I should spend my weekends in Harbin. Perhaps some retail therapy would do me good!

Friday, August 10, 2007

Bunny

Will be leaving for China again in a few hours time. My boss told me on Monday that I have to reach Harbin by Sunday as he had planned another class. So last minute, so impromtu. And I thought businessmen usually have more foresight and planning than this. So rush to make visa, buy air ticket, buy books, prepare materials, meet up with friends, eat all kinds of local food, etc.
Currently in a rabbit crazy mood.....

Go play this bunny game!

Check out the Sng family in their rabbit suits!

Lastly, how could I leave out the Sng family dog?

Friday, August 03, 2007

Almost

I've got to keep reminding myself that I'm now back in Singapore. Got to refrain from doing or saying certain things.
1. When I went back to work in the office and answered a phone call, I almost blurted out "你好!" instead of "Good morning!"
2. When crossing the road, I almost disregarded the traffic lights and wanted to jay walk.
3. When in a shop, I almost wanted to ask the salesperson if she could give me a discount.
4. When having a meal in a nice restaurant, I almost shouted "服务员!" instead of gently waving my hand at the waitress.
5. When making purchases, I kept converting it to renminbi, thinking how much I would be saving if I were in China. Must stop doing this, if not I'll never buy anything when back home!
Almost, almost..... Looks like I've got to hold my tongue and watch my actions! Really have to reprogramme my brain!