Life...

More Random Pics!

2008-01-18T10:09:00.000+08:00

Really sorry for the lag in updates but I got caught up with having fun and chilling when I got to NYC! So these last few mark the end of my exchange which was a great one! The next pictures will be of New York and the places in the east of US that I went to

Disgusting food at Pembina Hall

But how I miss the times spent for lunch/dinner there!

All of us partying one last time at The Lid

Yeap, that's me having fun at The Lid

We make him the poster boy everywhere we go. He is just too tall for us!

My 2 best friends on exchange! Poonam the Dutch girl and Margot the French girl!

The bar on campus!

That's inside Wiseguys!

There he is! That's Rob from The Netherlands and is 2m tall I think :)

Having hot choc at Dylan's place after a freezing afternoon tobogangging. (We did that in -29 deg celcius)

I miss Canada!

Ice-skating in the cold!

and having hot choc after... Now, that's life :)

Preparing for ice-skating

Vancouver & Vancouver Island (Victoria)

2008-01-18T07:10:00.000+08:00

Stanley Park in Vancouver

The mountain range behind seem like a woman lying down. can you see it?

Dohphins!

Sea otter I think?

At the Vancouver Aquarium

Vancouver Downtown as seen from the back of the bus

The lovely family we stayed with. Smriti the girl next to me is the one I met in Winnipeg

Vancouver Airport

Inside Air Canada

The ship we took from Vancouver to Victoria

Really cool! Cars can go on too!

On the ship/ferry

Having dinner at Earl's in Victoria

The parliament house! It's really pretty at night

How can I go by without posing with my beloved horses?

At night

in the day

That's the parliament house in the day.. Looks so ordinary

You won't believe it but this is a piece of work found in miniature world. Looks danm realistic!

Mini Buckingham palace

Mini Circus

Wax Musuem

If the fake one glitters so much, I wonder how shiny the real one is.. One would probably be blinded by it

Winston Churchill

Diana

Gandhiji

The Last Supper

Victoria Harbour

The Museum

That's Lincoln's Car

I found Singapore style Tom Yam soup somewhere. It was pretty good!

It was really pretty even for winter! It must look really nice in the summer

Back in the ferry again

The ferry terminal!

AIMS Farewell Gala & Alive

2007-12-05T03:38:00.001+08:00

The Italian Restaurant we had dinner at

Dinner

Solenne, Lo, Dylan, Me

My buddy and Ms Sexy

Most of the winners!

At Alive

The Jap way to take pics!

Margot, Poonam and Me!

Poonam, Solenne and Me!

Lindsay, Dani, Me

Rob, Me, Yuana

Can you spot me in the crowd at Alive?

Om Shanti Om in Winnipeg

2007-12-01T11:59:00.002+08:00

Om Shanti Om at a cinema which was more then an hour away from Rez. That's when we met wierdos at night on the way back.

But I watched Enchanted too, at another cinema nearer my Uni

That is the mini-cinema.

It was empty and looks like a concert hall!

Random Pictures of My Days in Winnipeg

2007-12-01T10:50:00.001+08:00

When the temperature was still bearable at -2 deg celcius

Trying on jackets for the winter

Look at what the postcard says! "Winnipeg at night" - is just darkness. HAHA

For those who don't believe me, this is the forecast for the week! And look at the bottom for today's temperature! At 1pm in the day it was sunny and -20 deg! It was freezing.

Forecast for the day

Lunch on one day. That's a ginger ale drink by the way.

The people in the background are actually looking at a mirror! This was at an Indian restaurant we went to. I finally had some decent food in ages.

A sign outside the ladies in a club/bar

A martini bar, which was really small and cozy.

The boys - Weihow and Kenny cooking a late night supper for us one of the days.

Dinner at Degrees (a restaurant on campus) - My food

Poonam's food. I think this was some mushroom and peas dish.

That's me!

That's Degrees!

SNOW - that stays! This is the view outside my room!

There! Even the roads are covered with snow

This was earlier in November, when the snow used to disappear after a few days.

Calgary

2007-11-26T13:35:00.000+08:00

Gosh this must be such an unimportant landmark that I forgot the name!

Saddledome! Where the ice-hockey team of Calgary plays

The Stampede

That's the Calgary Tower behind

Downtown with decorations in preparation for Xmas

Inside Calgary tower, on the glass floor

I was finally able to stand on the glass floor without freaking out. (Remember my experience in the CN tower in Toronto)

Looking straight down

That's the Calgary Skyline

The Saddledome in the distance

The view from the tower at night

My caramel latte at Starbucks

In St. Claire Market

That's the Calgary Olympic Park (COP)

Anni, JP, Val, Me

Yeayy! I won...

Inside the Olympic Hall of Fame

Ok, I know I look really wierd in this pose but, oh well....

My fav game! I wish they had this in the arcades in Singapore. It so beats Daytona.

Playing virtual ice-hockey

And I score!

I think this is meant for the luge?

The Bobsleigh

The luge

The Ski-jump Tower

We saw some people jumping and it was really cool, but too cold.

Having dinner at a really nice, Metropolitan Grill in downtown Calgary.

My cream of mushroom soup which was really superb!

And my pasta which beats P-hall food anytime.

Banff National Park (Canadian Rockies)

2007-11-26T04:07:00.000+08:00

The rockies from our car

First stop was Lake Minnewanka

That's our car! Looked really sporty for winter

Lake Minnewanka

We saw them while driving on to the Mountains. They were so close to the car that I could have put out my hands to touch them. No zoom used here.

The small town of Banff

The Gondola

View from the Gondola

Inside the Gondola

The first sight of the rockies from Sulphur Mountain

The other 3 with me on this trip - Valerie, JP and Anni who are from Finland

This is something all SMU students have to do wherever we go

Beware!

Oh-sama BinTE Lah-den is watching you...

Still a long way to go till the top, but it was good weather. So we managed without much fuss

That's the top! It was so windy that my ears froze within seconds

The rockies behind

Well, you gotta sit on a rock on the rockies.

Sulphur Mountain!

This was the area where the Gondola brought us and we walked all the way to the top there!

This is the direction Singapore is from Sulphur Mountain

Enjoying a cup of hot chocolate after a few hours in the cold snow.

The hot spring that we didn't take a dip in as we didn't bring any bathing suits. Ok, more like it was really cold

Moose!

The next day was really bad. It was snowing terribly so all the pictures are well full of snow. This was at Johnston Canyon

Castle Mountain

That's the famous Lake Louise which was all foggy coz it was snowing. It looked nothing like the pictures I have seen of it

Our car after a day. The snow froze on the windshield, so when the wipers moved there would be a sound like someone was throwing rocks on the car.

This was an hour away from Banff and we made a stop befor heading back to Calgary.

Orlando (Florida) - The Home of Disney

2007-11-25T06:49:00.000+08:00

Japan

Funnel Cakes!

really yummy...

Hello Panda in Disney!

This is especially for Mich :)

The Epcot Ball

Mexico

While waiting for a ride

USA

The African Safari we waited an hour for

This giraffe was like next to me. It's even better then the zoo in Singapore

MGM Studios

Denn and Me in front of the coolest ride! Mount Everest

Goofy and Pluto

While waiting for the Safari mentioned earlier

MGM Studios

The Original Walt Disney Airplane

The Hollywood Tower of Horror in the background. That was a real cool ride.

My 3rd Space Mountain

Sitting in rides till 11pm at night

Disney's Magic Kingdom is so huge that we had to take a boat to the parking area

A huge cab just for the 2 of us

Shopping at Orlando's Premium Outlet

Miami (Florida) - My Love...

2007-11-25T04:25:00.001+08:00

Our Hotel on Miami Beach!

Especially for Yiwei :)

Shopping in Miami beach was great... Oops!

A candid shot - I have no idea what I was laughing at

Walking to the beach after shopping

At the famous South Beach of Miami!

The beach patrol

A dip in the Pacific Ocean

The walkway along the beach at night. Really pretty

Dinner at some Noodle shop

Hard Rock Cafe in Downtown Miami

Looks like a bigger sized Clark Quay

With a live band

That's the place! Really nice

Guess?

Dinner at Hooters!

Funny signs on the washroom doors

I didn't know that a minority of men could actually enter the ladies

The beach on the 2nd day

We wanted to lie down on one of these!

A walk along Changi Beach is nothing like a walk along the Pacific Ocean. The water is really clear

And we finally did sit on it, not lie down!

Ice - Hockey Match & Alive (Club)

2007-11-18T23:47:00.000+08:00

Finally at an Ice-Hockey game

The ones in white are the Manitoba Moose - those that we were rooting for.

and the Moose strikes!

During half-time, they had kids come out and show us some good ice-hockey

Crazy people! Poonam, Lorenzo (from Holland) and Natalie (a Canadian who is coming to SMU for exchange next term)

Benni, Dylan (a Canadian who went to SMU last term for an exchange), Lo, Natalie, Poonam

Natalie, Poonam, Me, Dani (from Brazil) and Rob (from Holland)

Us again!

At Alive after the game. Only 1 tequila shot!

Having fun :)

Poonam, Val, Dounia, Me

Natalie, Chantel (a Canadian), Dani, Me

Rob, Pierre (from France), Me

In the ladies :)

My new top from Miami!

Crazy people

The live band

Lindsay and Me

It was a great night! I love clubbing here.

Halloween!

2007-11-15T01:29:00.001+08:00

Arabian Princess - Pirate - Princess Jasmine (Me)

I don't know what she was

That's my buddy Lindsay in her pirate costume

Jasmine - Dr. Dounia and Arabian Poonam

Angel - Cat - Me

21st Birthday Celebrations...

2007-10-31T06:59:00.000+08:00

...are wayyyy too COOL here. They know how to celebrate in style, with a limo, pre-party and then a fantastic club :)

Lindsay (my buddy) and the Birthday girl

Benni (from Iceland) and the other Birthday boy

Irma (from France)

One of the 2 limosines for that night

My first time in one :)

That's rob (from Holland)

Inside the limo

I only know the guy, Pedro (from Brazil)

The other 2 girls are Lindsay's friends

The other side of the limo

Hong (from HK), Poonam (from Holland), Me, Yuana (from Holland), Dounia (from France) and Lindsay

Dounia, Me, Pedro - outside the club. It was -1 degrees at this time :)

The inside - pretty nice and big

Me and Dounia taking a break from dancing

On the dance floor :)

Grand Canyon - The South Rim

2007-10-23T09:31:00.000+08:00

The weather is crazy - I got a tan on my hands and feet but it was freezing

That's Hoover Dam - pretty much dried up

The Grand Canyon

It was too far or we would have walked all the way to the place where you can see those people at the edge of the rocks

Las Vegas - The Sin City

2007-10-22T23:17:00.001+08:00

The lions at MGM Grand

Circus Circus

One of the acts

The Mirage behind

Treasure Island - it had the best show ever - Sirens of the TI

That's the Venetian - exactly like Venice, a mini one

We watched Phantom which was a fantastic show there

Fried Rice at the Venetian - the best I have eaten so far

The inside

I sneaked a pic of the theatre of Phantom

The Stratosphere - They had rides at the top but we were too scared to sit, and it was too cold

View of Las Vegas from the top of Stratosphere

That's Flamingo - where we had superb Mexican food for lunch

As the name suggests, a place for Margaritas and Mexican food

The inside - really nice decor though it doesn't look like it in this pic

There, the best Margarita I've had thus far

Quesilladas (pardon the spelling)

We walked around the Flamingo - the place with exotic birds

That's Caesars Palace - really posh

If you don't believe me how strong the wind was maybe you will believe this picture.

After 10 minutes of trying to tame my hair, this was the best shot we managed

The show inside the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace

Of course you can't go to Las Vegas and not try your hand at gambling. That's a 1cent jackpot machine by the way

The mirage where we saw a Volcanic eruption show at night

Me with the Crazy Girls - an adult show we watched

Eiffel Tower

& Arc de Triomphe in Paris where Pamela Anderson got married on the Saturday we were there! There were so many police alround so at first we thought there was some major accident but then we realised that it was Pamela getting married to some Nick guy. The place was crazy on that night

The musical fountaions of Bellagio which is in the background. I took a video of it and will post it when I am really free coz it takes super long to load. They were really nice.

That's New York - New York

The ultra scary roller coaster we sat on

There! M & M factory! There are 22 colours of M & M's. Go count them! This shop was way too cool with insights on how M & Ms are made, a 3D show about M & M and 5 floors of pure M & M ecstasy.

There! I couldn't resist buying one of these boxes! Click on the picture to see a larger version of it.

At the Coca Cola shop

This was the best of it all. A half yard (45cm) glass of Margarita (800ml) Really really cool! They even had one yard glasses but I would never have been able to finish it all.

I love Vegas! I have to go back there again. It is the ultimate party place.

Los Angeles

2007-10-16T01:25:00.000+08:00

On our way to Disneyland California, inside the tram

Halloween time

:)

The evil witch of Little Mermaid - floats in the evening

Teacups

That's Pluto, Goofy and I don't know who else

And finally Mickey and Minnie

Universal Studios - LA

The red carpet that I finally get to step on

Marilyn Monroe

This was the best part of Universal Studios

View of LA

See something you like?

The stages used for shooting

A fake broken bridge used in some movie

The cars used in The Fast and the Furious - this part was grand.

They showed us how they made the cars burst into flames. Very very cool

Sets of Jurassic Park

I finally get to be up close and personal with the largest Orang Utan ever

More sets

A fake earthquake at a fake SF subway

That's the beginnign of Wisteria lane. It is really tiny

Yeap the famous yellow house of Desperate Housewives. They were shooting on site that day but we didn't see them

The sets of - The Grinch whole Stole Xmas

Destruction of an airplane - Looks like the first scene of Lost but it was used for some other movie.

It was really well done

My favourite ride was in here

Spiderman who sounded really cute, but too bad we couldn't see his face

That's the ride - we had a surprise waiting for us at the top

Yes, T - rex

Water World show

Shrek and Fiona

That's the first home of LA

at Olivera Street

The Disney Concert Hall

Hollywood Bowl

The famous sign - which is nothing great

Chinese Mann Theatre

Matt Damon's handprints & footprints

On the Hollywood Walk of Fame

There it is, the totally UN-glamorous HWF

More stars

That's Val - see how hot it was in LA?

The Hollywood sign

Et Voila! There is where the stars who live in Beverly Hills shop :)

& that's Beverly Hills

See the sign that says Beverly Hills on the left? I only saw it when the bus turned and hence the blurred picture

Farmers Market - nice burgers

The Grove just behind the Farmers Market. It is really nice to walk and shop

Venice Beach

Lots of things to do besides slack at the beach

Wealthy people staying in beautiful houses by the Canal

Marina Del Ray

Dinner with Kapi Aunty and Family at the best Pizza place in US ever! California Pizza Kitchen. Priyanka is sitting next to me and Namrata is opposite.

I love San Francisco

2007-10-15T03:42:00.000+08:00

Stanford

That's the Main Entrance

Something you have to do when you see a pillar

Orientation/Initiation for the freshman where they jump into the fountain and then run to the next one. There are many around the school and it is cold.

The famous HP :)

I love Stanford! It's really really nice :)

Shopping at downtown in SF

It is so cheap it's unbelievable

The gay parade we encountered while shopping in town

The Cheesecake Factory with amazing views and amazing food!

My tomatoes and cheese salad. I couldn't even finish half of it

The view of Union Square from the top of Macy's (Cheesecake Factory)

The original cheesecake with strawberries. It tastes even better then it looks.

Macy's

Union Square

The streets - none of which are level

Walking to Chinatown

Some park. Can't remember the name now

The view from the top of Lombard Street. Yes we walked all the way up. Coit tower in the distance

That's the famous crooked street on a slope. We should practice our driving here. If we can do it without mistakes, we are good to go :)

Walking towards Fisherman's Wharf - Coit tower and the Bay bridge in the distance

Reaching Fisherman's Wharf

With too many shops to tempt you

Yummy seafood - Not yummy for me though

Looks really nice at night

Sea otters at Pier 39. Too bad we reached when it was dark so the pictures aren't that great

Our room at Swati Aunty's place.

One of the entrance to our room - From the poolside

The poolside where we had breakfast on the last day.

On the Golden Gate Bridge - which is actually red. It only looks golden at sunset

Fresh air in the woods

The Golden Gate Bridge from one viewpoint

That's the museum of Fine Arts

There the Golden Gate Bridge again - fom another viewpoint

Alcatraz

Finally we ended the day at the Golden Gate park where it was Comedy Day so we had a chance to see what it was all about.

I love, absolutely LOVE SF. It is THE PLACE to be! I have to go back there again someday :)

Strike!

2007-10-12T02:48:00.000+08:00

Guess what? The workers in my uni are on Strike! All the maintenance crew, helpers and people carrying out services like cleaning are on strike! Even food services have been greatly reduced. Instead of our dining hall being open 12 hours a day, it's only open at specific times so you have to make yourself hungry at that specific time, if you want to eat.

It is really cool actually. All these people are walking around campus fully decked in winter wear (coz the temperature averages at 4 degrees these days) carrying a large sign around their neck that says - On Strike. Our residences have set up systems whereby everyone has to volunteer to clear the garbage and stuff.

It will last till they can come to an agreement and it should go on for a minimum period of one week.

The best part? The Professors may go on strike next week! If they can't reach an agreement by the designated date. I'm taking 3 courses so basically I have no lessons at all! Haha, well I look forward to see what happens but missing lessons is not a good thing as they will speed up once the strike is over! And all tests, papers and stuff due during the strike period will pile up and be due all together when the strike ends. That is seriously bad. In fact I heard that in worst case scenarios (if the strike lasts longer then 1 to 2 weeks), they may reschedule exams to January! Horror of all horrors! I wouldn't want that to happen, at all.

Interesting huh? I would never have seen it living in Singapore. I guess these are the experiences I am looking for. Of course in countries like India and Indonesia these orderly strikes would exist only in the form of riots, another interesting sight to see.

Today a student asked a question about our term paper while the prof was going through some work in class so the prof said it is disruptive and he should wait till the end of class. Which is reasonable. So after class the student (a guy, who must have been PMSing, the way I see it) went up to the prof and yelled at him saying that it is not distruptive and it was just a question that required a simple answer. He then stormed out of class, with everyone watching. The prof just took it. I mean where in Singapore do you see such things?

It makes me wonder if these western people have a different concept of respect from what the Asians consider it to be. You don't see any student yelling at any prof or anyone of authority. At most, we question or argue in the most polite way possible and that too could result in suspension, depending on the situation.

Maybe I like the Asian culture after all. I wouldn't want to be in the Prof's place no matter what. However bad the prof is, (no mine isn't bad at all) I think no one deserves such treatment.

Ok, time for class! I will put up pictures of my trip to the West Coast (USA) once I stop being lazy. :)

The Forks

2007-09-28T06:09:00.001+08:00

Manitoba's Polar Bear which we hope that we get to see in Churchill

Winnipeg is famous for its Ballet

That's Poonam and Valerie

My dutch dress

Val's in Chinese and Poonam is in I-don't-know-what?

The very sad, sad dock

And we think Singapore is small. This is all there is for their tourism to see the 2 rivers

A skate-boarding park

That's downtown in the distance

The famous structure that's built above the area where the 2 rivers meet. The red river and some other

A cemetry

The inside

That was dinner, a much better experience and change from P-hall food. Had warm bread, a salad and yummy choco ice-cream to go with it.

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So that was all there is to Winnipeg. Now, I am off to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. There should be lots to update once I'm back after 10 days. See you!

The Weather and Other Things

2007-09-24T23:41:00.000+08:00

This is really a strange country. Well ok great country with strange weather patterns. Just yesterday it was so hot that I felt like I was back in Singapore. It was about 22 degrees but really sunny outside so we could wear summer clothes.

And suddenly today it's 12 degrees outside and has been raining since morning. A drop in 10 degrees is fine but with the rain and wind it feels like 5 degrees. I'm glad we have access to a weather network channel where there are constant (and relatively accurate) updates so we know how to dress for the day.

Things are getting by slowly. Getting to know more people at lunch and dinner too. I figured this to be a slower paced country where people enjoy talking. They have no rush for anything when they need to say something. It's not as slow as Aussie, but a good change from Singapore. I just hope I am able to cope with the stress and rush when I get back.

So far lessons have been good. I seem to understand more here, maybe because the lectures are shorter so you pay more attention for every lesson. I think Singapore should seriously consider changing their 3 hr 15 min seminars. In any case, I have yet to see if stuff here is easy or not after I have had some tests. Maybe by October end?

Canada is known for it's hockey/ice-hockey so we will be going for a match sometime in November. It's a gathering for all exchange students.

I'm also looking forward to Halloween coz that day (as promised to us) will be the latest time by which it should snow.

Val and I got tickets to watch the Nutcracker, just before we depart Winnipeg (right after exams), at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

So I am looking forward to many good days ahead and of course travelling too. We have managed to make new friends who wanna take road trips with us around Winnipeg so that will be really cool to have something to do on weekends.

Plus, I think I can do a Canadian accent relatively well. I hope I don't start speaking like that when I come back. HAHA

Toronto

2007-09-22T23:40:00.000+08:00

That's the famous Hockey Hall of Fame

The Stanley Cup

This was an intersting structure we came across in downtown Toronto. It looks like the paint is being peeled off

St. Lawrence market

The interior of the first post office of Toronto

This red building is so flat that it looks like Hawa-Mahal in Jaipur

Hockey Hall of Fame from the outside

On Queen's Quay with the CN tower right behind

Rogers Centre which is a baseball stadium. There was a match that night we were there and we managed to catch some of it from the top of the CN tower

The people on the left are rooting spectators

View of the city skyline before sunset from the top of CN tower

Now this was a glass floor that I was so scared to step on coz, well you can see a 100 over storeys below. That's Rogers centre

Of course, Val had no probs like me.

Finally managed to stand on it for like 2 seconds

Sunset

And we saw the city skyline at night too. See Rogers Centre? We could actually see tiny players running about.

Taking the Toronto subway

That's the man who built Casa Loma (it's a Spanish word and means House on the Hill)

Now this is a real cool shower with so many knobs and stuff. Why don't we have things like that nowadays?

We walked all the way up to the top of the castle. Where you can actually see the CN tower

Still climbing up

This is a long passageway to the stables. It is so long that it took us almost half an hour to walk it

And that would have been my horse had I lived during that time - Belle Casa Loma

The stables

CN tower as seen from the castle's garden

The garden which is very huge, but looks small as it is blocked by the trees

There it is - Casa Loma

with some parts of it still undergoing renovation

The Royal Ontario Museum

The interior reminds me a little of the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Niagara Falls as seen from the Canadian & U.S. side

2007-09-21T23:43:00.001+08:00

Niagara Falls looked like a cross between Las Vegas and Disneyland as we first thought when we arrived.

Taking the maid of the mist

That's our boat

The Bridal Veil falls behind

Nearing the Canadian falls. After awhile you can't see anything as it is very misty and you are getting thoroughly soaked

US falls on the left and the Canadian Falls on the right. Yes, the view of the falls is much better on the Canadian side as you will see later.

Maid of the Mist below

The Skylon tower

This is the area below the Canadian Falls, and it is called Journey Behind the Falls

Rainbow's are ever present

Grabbing a quick bite at Wendy's

That's the man - Robert Ripley

The Skylon Tower in the evening

The Bridal Veil Falls from the Skylon Tower

The Horseshoe Falls when illuminated at night

Looks tempting and sinful?

It is!

That's the Rainbow Bridge that we crossed to view the US side of the falls

The falls from the bridge

On the observation deck

The rainbow bridge behind as seen from the observation deck

See what I mean? You can't see both falls properly from the US side. The horseshoe falls are blocked halfway and the US one can be seen from the side only.

Crossing a bridge to get to the middle island in between the falls

It's called Goat Island. See in the picture that there is an island in between the falls? We crossed it to get to the Cave of the Winds

Preparing for the Cave of the Winds

It's a good thing I'm short. The raincoat really covers everything and I didn't get that wet

Going down to the bottom of the falls

The Bridal Veil Falls from below

Trying to take a picture without getting my camera wet. An impossible task.

Can you see the guy in orange? He was our guide and we went up all the way there to stand right underneath the falls. And I can tell you, that deck called hurricane deck was the best part of Niaraga Falls.

Val and I were so crazy that after taking this pic, we asked the guide if we could go up again to the uppermost deck to get drenched by the falls.

This is a mini fall on the US side.

Skylon Tower from the US side

That's where we were earlier.

These are rapids that are formed a distance from the Falls

We then took a Spanish Aerospace car to view the whirlpool formed by the rapids from up above.

That's the river formed by the falls way up ahead

And that's the whirlpool.

So that marks the end of my trip to Niagara Falls. It was really amazing, especially the Cave of the Winds on the US side. I'm glad we went over. Up next are pictures from Toronto.

Ottawa

2007-09-21T10:20:00.001+08:00

Ok guys, you have to bear with me. For one I have about 400 over pictures from my trip to Ottawa, Niagara and Toronto so it is going to take me awhile to put everything up. Also, we don't have wireless here but still use LAN, so it is a little slow and that makes me lazy to spend so much time uploading. But I will seeing that I am leaving for U.S. in a week and will have lots more to upload. So this is Ottawa. Niagara Falls up next.

Ottawa Airport

While walking to our Hostel - the uni is in the middle of town

Our hostel

Which was really tiny

That's parliament house in the background

The bridge that links Ontario and Quebec. We had to cross it to get to the Civilization Museum in Quebec

That's the Civilization museum in Quebec

In Quebec

Civilization Museum of Canada

Aboriginal stuff

Canada :)

In the gardens of the Museum - Parliament house behind

Laurier House

Still green maple leaves

Rideau Canal

Byward Market - It's active on Saturdays and sells everything

Fire & Water

That's the clock tower of the Parliament house that we went up to

The Parliament House

The west tower

The senate

The library - It's really very rich looking

The interior

The clock tower

The view from the clock tower

And that's the clock

That's the bridge we crossed to get to Quebec and the green domes on the left is the Civilization Museum. Yes, we walked to all these places

Rideau Hall

Pictures

2007-09-14T02:24:00.001+08:00

Before the pictorial update, today is 7 degrees celcius with max of only 10 deg. Tonight by 9pm it's going to hit the zero degree mark! Can't wait to see how cold it is.

Walking about half an hour from our residence to some guy's place for dinner.

It is not considered far and it was about 10 degrees celcius when the pictures were taken.

We wanted to show everyone how deserted and lonely the area is.

Finally you see 2 people behind me in the distance

Dinner

On a lazy Sunday having bubbletea with the Singaporeans in Winnipeg

Updates...

2007-09-13T02:51:00.000+08:00

So we now have a fresh and new look to Pembina Hall, where we have our meals at. It is more Marche style then the previous buffet style. But, but, but, while you get fresh food being prepared for you as you order it, it also means longer waiting time during peak periods.

Yesterday we had stir fry vegetables. It was nice for a change from the ususal pasta and cheese related stuff. The only complaint I had was that it was way too salty and we had no white rice to neutralize it with as it was over. So we improvised and made do with pasta.

Also, there was channa and brown rice on the menu but I didn't try it. Will save it for another day. They have loads of selection of Subway type sandwiches so thats great.

Today we had made to order omlette for lunch. A mushroom, onions and cheese one, well done. Just the way I like it.

After lunch we met some guys to hang around school and we chanced upon some union giving out free grilled corn, with butter, salt and pepper. And free soft drinks to go with it.

This is life man. Having corn on the cob in the middle of the day and walking around school in nearly perfect weather. It's sunny outside but 10 degrees celcius.

Later we are going to have supper (meaning early dinner) with all the exchange students and their buddies. There is free pizza and drinks!

Back to reading. I think I might just be the first person to actually study hard on exchange! But I am loving it, coz the lessons are just and hour and 15 mins.

Interesting Things I Noted

2007-09-10T08:04:00.000+08:00

1. The weather here is so dry that the solution left in my contacts lens case dries up within a day. When it disappeared I was so shocked and wondered what could have happened. However the good part about this is that hand washed clothes dry really fast :)

2. DO NOT ever complain about the price of textbooks in Singapore. Everything here is a minimum of 100 bucks, CAD! I mean we have to buy what we have to buy but it is horrifying to discover that you are going to buy books that you can't sell later as you are leaving the country.

3. They and US are the only places which use wierd sized paper. I mean it is wierd and has 3 holes instead of 2 for filing.

4. At least the weather is in deg celcius so it is not too bad.

5. Prices on anything you purchase like food, books, clothes are all BEFORE their GST and PST (some other tax) so basically when u look at something you still have to add another 13% mentally as the latter will then be the actual price. So things are not as cheap as they seem to be.

Will write more after I read a bit for my lectures.

Exploring Downtown

2007-09-10T03:38:00.000+08:00

The state of the hair tells you how strong the wind is

Our bank

CTV - the hair refuses to behave

Looking back at Portage Ave in downtown

Reaching the main centre, where the offices and banks are

I look like shit here. And that's the bank of Montreal behind.

The pictures below are all the historic, unconverted buildings of downtown.

All super old buildings

That's city hall, but it didn't look like a city hall. Do you see any people? I don't

Museum

Val being a real tourist

We didn't go in as we reached too late and it was closed

I guess we have to do with taking pictures with fake polar bears as the real ones are not going to be possible to see.

1st Week in Winnipeg @ U of M

2007-09-09T23:57:00.000+08:00

OK, I have not disappeared. I am here! Busy settling in. Anyway, bad news is that I can't upload the pictures from Val's camera onto blogger so there are going to be many pictures missing. Luckily I realised it so I will try to take all my pics on my own camera. Though that will be annoying.

Life is really slow here. People do one thing in one day. We took so long to get our bank stuff and mobile phones settled. We didn't even have time to attend the orientation as we had so much to do. So now we don't have any friends as yet and are a bit blur about the activites of the school. We took a trip to one of the nearer shopping malls called St Vital one of the days and kind of got lost. But it was a good experience to know that the buses sometimes come after 1 hour so if you are stuck in winter, then good luck to you. I mean to me.

We also took a trip to downtown last Friday. I will put up pics later today but most are on Val's camera so I don't know how I am gonna upload them.

Other then that, lessons have started but nothing much the first week as usual. Will be having a relaxed week as I am only taking 3 mods. We are gonna do laundry today and try to do some of our readings later.

Food here at the Hall, is fine. There is enough of veg food and even otherwise, the salads and bread selection are good. Everyday there is a different buffet menu which is going to change from Monday.

The weather is nice, and a little cold. The cold is fine when there is no wind but with wind our ears, nose and cheeks become frozen. I think it will take some time for these body parts to get used to the harsh weather.

Below are pictures as promised :)

At Frankfurt while we were in transit. We were already half-dead.

Reaching JFK in NY and trying to call my cousin to pick us up

The view outside my room. The block across the road is another residence complex

This is my residence.

My room

My dressing area

The great timetable to plan our trips and write exam schedules

Guess which room is mine and which is Val's?

The kitchenette

The door on the left is my room, the middle one is Val's and the right one is the bathroom

When we enter, we have a mini table

Our corridor. The room is on the right

:)

The lift we always take altho we life on the 2nd floor

The main entrance to my suite

The bus stop in the far distance just across my residence

That's Pembina Hall behind Valerie where we eat!

There! The 2nd floor rooms on the extreme left are Val's and mine

Now this is a very interesting sign on a structure just outside our place. We will check it regularly to see whether ice really falls

Friendship beyond explanations........

2007-08-23T01:23:00.000+08:00

The 1st Day

of the 1st Term

of the 4th and Final year

as SMU undergraduates

at the most common hang out spot

Pick-n-Bite

Thanks to Jun, I can look at this picture 24/7 coz it now sits in my wallet.

It's a wonder how the 4 of us became friends,

to remain such good friends.

I pray that we will always be there.

No matter where we are.

The 4 of us,

in our usual 2's of J & M

and C & K.

I love you guys.

The never ending To-Do List

2007-08-15T16:54:00.000+08:00

1. Replace the cracked glass of my HP.
2. Camera stuff
3. Buy pouch to carry important items, like wallet, passport, camera, HP, pen, etc. I like the Kipling one, but it's exxxxx
4. Waterproof backpack for carrying to school and even when travelling.
5. Large multipurpose duffel bag. Can be carried on the back, in the hand or even be dragged as a trolley bag.
6. Heat packs
7. Mufflers and Snowcaps - maybe I should get these in Canada itself.
8. Tighten my boots at the calf area if I get the chance. They are huge for me.
9. Photocopy some documents
10. FOOD for survival. Cup noodles and Milo. Ziplog bags.
11. See the doctor to get enough medication for half a year. Get other stuff from Guardian.
12. Laundry bag from Watsons
13. Lonely Planet USA? Or maybe just East coast.
14. Water bottle! Mine is now in terrible condition.

Sigh. So many things. I'm sure I am missing out even more stuff but for now I am going to worry about the French exam which ends on Friday. After which I will be meeting many many people! Yeayyyy. I hope I have time to meet those peeps!

I haven't even started packing. I don't feel like I'm leaving in 2 weeks. But I am!! I can't believe it as yet, that I'll be away for so long.

Looking forward to my new life!

NDP 2007!

2007-08-10T10:08:00.000+08:00

My sis & I

The family

Us wearing the animal caps

With my Purple bag

The rows of spectators

The parents

The grand arrival of the hosts. They came by boat and were driven away in shiny cars

The dragon boat race

Some dance

The orchestra, choir for the night

Very pretty

It says Singapore in red & NDP 07. However the N and 7 are a little cut off

I love you Singapore!

This was my favourite of the whole evening. They had fireworks on ECP

The Dynamic Sea Defense

Dynamic Air Defence

Urban Pulse!

2007-07-25T20:41:00.000+08:00

Guess which bunch came from Cel, Mich, Jun & Vida?

Yes, the largest and prettiest one! With such nice words of encouragement

My fav pic of clean shaven armpits of the emix boys! And that's the jacket I lost at VT

The darling who came to watch

The one who's too busy to meet

The Feminist

2007-07-18T13:41:00.000+08:00

Something for the men out there to ponder over...

Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.
~Timothy Leary

There are very few jobs that actually require a penis or vagina. All other jobs should be open to everybody.
~Florynce Kennedy

I'm tough, I'm ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.
~Madonna Ciccone

Why is it that men can be bastards and women must wear pearls and smile?
~Lynn Hecht Schafren

Easy is an adjective used to describe a woman who has the sexual morals of a man.
~Nancy Linn-Desmond

And the best for last...

If women are supposed to be less rational and more emotional at the beginning of our menstrual cycle when the female hormone is at its lowest level, then why isn't it logical to say that, in those few days, women behave the most like the way men behave all month long?
~ Gloria Steinem

K n A goes to Dinner

2007-06-29T19:21:00.000+08:00

I've not been blogging about what's been happening so now is a good time. I finally met up with the whole of K n A, yes not just double K and single A or any variations of them along those lines. Everyone was finally free to meet and the whole night out felt really good.

We started out to go to this new Chinese veg place in Upper Serangoon, but our dear friend didn't know the way there, so after navigating around for the longest time, we ended up at our all time favourite place at Bugis.

I think it's been a long time since I've actually been happy to laugh at the sillyness of all my good friends. From pregnancy kits to pads to ATNM to having 31 days in June. It was really a great yet simple night out which ended at BFD. We didn't even stay out late, but it was the company that made the evening a perfect one.

I want more times like these with friends. Esp K n A. They have been the best group that I've had and that has not deteriorated as yet.

Bowling? Iguanas? O Bar?

What's next?

Paris - with friends

2007-06-24T15:10:00.000+08:00

Grand Palais

The Eiffel tower in the distance

The cruise on river Seine that we took at night

Arc de Triomphe (don't know if the spelling's right)

Disneyland Paris!

The beautiful castle that I wish were my home :)

While waiting for some ride

The famous space mountain 2 that I dared to ride...Twice!

Walt Disney Studios that we didn't have a chance to go to coz it was closed by the time we were saturated with sitting in all the rides

Disney Village, we had our dinner in Rainforest cafe which is really cool

Louvre Museum

The entrance inside

Cupid

Venus di Milo - the most beautiful woman

This structure became famous since the movie - The Da Vinci Code

Eiffel at night

A glittering Eiffel

The cousins from Mumbai for a visit

2007-06-23T12:05:00.000+08:00

Before I continue with more pictures of my travels in Europe, I shall just put these up first.

My sisters and I had been looking forward to the day these boys Adi & Varun could come to spend some time with us in Singapore and they finally did! Unlike most people, they wanted to shop and eat so that's what I did with them for the 10 days they were here. I took some pictures to remember these wonderful days we had together.

Ourside G2000 at Suntec. They were super embarassed but really good sports to let me take a picture :)

In the bus, on the way to Vivocity with my mum

On the top floor of Vivo, the part that overlooks the cable cars to Sentosa

Inside Marche at Vivo

At the shooting gallery in Discovery Centre

There, Adi concentrating heavily on his targets

And that's Varun

Their last weekend, where we went to Clark Quay to try out the reverse bungee. It was thrilling! This picture was taken from my phone as none of us had the foresight to bring a camera

Italy - Firenze, Venezia, Roma

2007-06-09T16:01:00.000+08:00

Here are the pictures of my trip to Italy. I'm so sorry for the lag but I have been really busy and uploading pictures takes such a long time that I got lazy in midst of putting them up. Enjoy!

Florence (Pisa) :

The view from my hotel in Florence

Having really cheap and tasty mushroom pizzas in Pisa

Here is the world famous piece of architecture gone wrong.

The people waiting to go up the tower

Bored while shopping in Florence

The Basilica and the tower that we climbed. All 463 steps of them.

Inside the tower

The magnificent view of Florence from the tower

This was the famous museum which holds the statue made by Michaelangelo. We didn't have time to go inside.

Venice :

The only mode of transportation in Venice - Boats. We had to lug our 20 kg luggage up and down the river taxis. A tough feat.

Inside the taxi, on our way to the hotel

On the gondola having the Italian Gelato

That's the Grand Canal with the famous bridge

JJ and Me

Anthony & Dyane

Having a candlelight dinner

...with wine of course :)

Standing on the bridge that overlooks Venice

There is some history behind these painted faces

St Mark's Square. There is the Basilica (Church) and the tower, which we climbed, behind me. And there are a million pigeons that this picture somehow doesn't seem to show.

There were these girls giving out free hugs, which the boys couldn't resist taking

Rome :

Our hotel in Rome. The bed is tiny, like the size of a super single but they expect 2 people to sleep on it. Also, we had breakfast in bed.

This was the painting done by Michaelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican

The architecture inside the Vatican

The view from the Church

That's the church

Moving on to ancient Rome

The outfit of the guards of the Colloseum (pardon my spelling)

The view inside the Colloseum from the 1st level

The view from the 2nd level

The area that overlooks the ancient ruins of Rome in the distance

That's how the Colloseum looks like. Did you know it was considered to be one of the 7 man-made wonders of the world?

The ruins

Posing with the guard!

Back to Sunny Singapore

2007-06-07T01:29:00.000+08:00

I can finally breathe a sigh of great relief. I am home.

I love travelling. I loved all of Europe, especially Switzerland and London.

But there is nothing like home. Absolutely nothing. Even though there is so much pending work to be done, responsibilities to fulfill, I am looking forward to it all.

I miss the food. I miss the people. And I miss the weather. Yes, me of all people saying that. I know, I know. I wanted to experience the cold to be grateful for the warmth and now I am.

I will post pictures of all my travels after I left St Gallen, once I have the time. I have about a 1000 over pictures of the 20 days in Italy, Paris, Swiss, and London. I think it's gonna take me awhile to post them all on this blog.

I can't wait for the next few months to come. So many things are happening. Like Urban Pulse, my cousins coming for a visit, learning French, dancing, watching all my shows which I have neglected so far. Good luck to me!

Random Pictures

2007-05-17T21:10:00.000+08:00

My last day in St Gallen having hot cocoa and chocolates with Huiyi

Inside the church

What it looks like half - eaten is as below

My annoying little housemate, Mandy

Our last session, the debriefing

On our way to Austria for the closing dinner

At our house bus-stop

The first time I met Huiyi & ZM, at Orange Bar for a beer and pizza

The famous Rosti with cheese, at Restaurant Gartenhaus - the before picture

The after picture

At Zurich when we watched Spidey 3

Our gift from HSG - A mug filled with chocolates

One of my groupmates - Michael

The other 2 boys from my group - Dan & Koni

Poker chips - I finally learnt Texas Hodem

Our first day at the HSG canteen

The Italian place near our house that saved us from starvation

Zermatt - Matterhorn

2007-05-15T03:14:00.000+08:00

I finally saw a real mountain and real snow after 22 years of my life. It was a fantastic experience and I'll never forget the day I went up to Matterhorn. Not because it was beautiful, but also because I was sick and it was such a bad day minus the snow capped alps.

I was having bad cramps when we were up there and on our way back I was sick in the train. I really felt terrible, but I survived on my own. No mum/dad to help me or look after me. But all those who went up there with me were really very nice and took very good care of me, so it was alright. Also, the pictures might not be a good gauge of how I was feeling coz I am smiling in all of them. It shows what a good actresss I can be. :)

Please excuse the excessive pictures of nothing but snow and snow capped alps. It is really the first time I've seen all this and I should be allowed to be a little excited over beautiful mother nature.

At brig station

Playing bridge on our long long train ride to Zermatt

A souvenier shop in Zermatt

Zermatt

In the 1st cable car up to Matterhorn

Still feeling alright at this point

Our cable car

The first sights of snow

At 3883m high, the highest point of Matterhorn. My hair is proof of how windy it was. Behind is all fog and we couldn't really see the tip of the horn

See the miniature waterfall that the melting snow makes?

All tired from the long day

All finally happy to leave or not

The wonderful day which ended badly

Shopping!

2007-05-15T02:55:00.000+08:00

Finally come the pictures all of you have been waiting for! Well, all except my parents. I'm sure they are going to send me a long email regarding spending habits when they see this. I can only say that I have been cautious as this is ALL I bought over the last month I have been here! Since I am on some sort of holiday I do deserve to buy some pretty things and my dad said not to buy anything unless I don't find it in Singapore. Well, there is no Claire's or H & M or Southpole in SG, so I guess this counts as possible purchases. Haha.

Ok, so I like round/hoop earrings

Necklaces and Bracelet

Wallets

tees and shorts - which by the way are really cheap unlike SG.

My fav type of tees, with 1 liners

I got this cap at a discount and a southpole tee

Company visits to Munich, Basel & Zurich

2007-05-13T01:27:00.000+08:00

Day 1: Munich

We visited Siemens in the morning, but were not allowed to take any pictures. At night we had a city tour, but unfortunately for us it was raining very heavily so we could not walk and the tour was conducted on the bus. The pictures below are taken from the bus and in the rain, hence the poor quality.

The olympic stadium. Too bad we could not walk around it.

Dinner in Munich

Asparagus with cheese and potatoes

Not having beer in when you are in Germany is like committing a crime :)

A beer house in Munich. I love the concept, it's something different

JJ, Klaus & Me

Koni, Anthony, Mabel, Me & Andy above

Konstantin & Me

The beer mug I am holding is 1 litre and NOT mine :)

Day 2: Transfer to Basel

We visited IWC, the watch manufacturing company in the morning and had to wake up at an ungodly hour of 5am for that. After which we proceeded to Syngenta. At night we had a tour of Basel by night. It was pretty cool. Was too tired to take pictures. Everyone still drank after that but I went back to sleep. No point falling ill again.

Tour of the glasshouse

We had to wear some protective robes

Day 3: Basel

We visited Novartis in the morning and Ciba in the afternoon. After which we set back to St Gallen. It was a long 3 days. I am pretty much sick of sitting in a bus.

Day 4: Zurich

We had our last company visit to Contraves in Zurich on Friday. It ended with an Asian lunch of noodles and Miso soup. Everyone went back with the coach to St Gallen, but I stayed with A & K to shop and watch Spiderman 3 in Zurich.

Contraves

Koni & Anthony

At the back in his BM convertible having a blast!

Company Visits in Geneva

2007-05-05T18:12:00.000+08:00

At night, when we had beer after the company visits & city tour

Mandy, Gerald, Abu & Me

Du Pont

The inside

The talk

Reuters

Raphael our TA, nanny etc. Was sitting next to him during the ride to Geneva

Our hotel room in Geneva

Pretty nice. Had internet access too

Our hotel from across the street

On the bus, on a city tour of Geneva

I didn't know I was a watch brand. Hmmm...

The UN - where we had another talk abt SG

Typical french architecture found in a lot of buildings in Geneva

A flower clock that actually works! The flowers are changed according to the seasons

Driving to the lake of Geneva

Those are the French alps in the distance

Having cheese fondue and raclett with the birthday boy, Pasqual.

What else to do but drink beer at night? This contains 5 litres of beer. Isn't it cool?

Trip to Zurich

2007-05-05T17:35:00.000+08:00

In the train on the way to Zurich

Zurich at night

The trams

Zurich train station

Mandy my roommate!

Mabel

Outside the train station

Our hostel

Met up with the Swiss people

In the tram on the way to club

Everyone who came

The next day near the train station

On one of the bridges that crosses the lake

Such a pretty picture with the lake of Zurich behind us

Too lazy to get up...

People relaxing by the lake

See the square patch in the middle of the lake? You can swim up there to tan in the sun. Pretty cool huh?

We had a grill by the lake and the boys decided to take a dip. The water was freezing.

All of us!

Trip to Appenzell (smallest state in Swiss)

2007-04-28T01:12:00.000+08:00

Our train

View of St Gallen from the train

View from the train

A pretty house sitting in the middle of nowhere

The alps in the distance

Enjoying the half hour train ride

Drawings on the wall of a building. They have the months in words and the pics show what happens in each month, like in April(the middle pic) is voting month in Appenzell

The famous cowbell

A log house

All the buildings look like this

Their town, which is tiny

Finally settled down to chill after the tour

Of course, had to have Appenzeller beer :)

Got scolded for taking a pic in the middle of the railway tracks

The potluck dinner at night at the 5 guys & a girl's place

Eating and having fun

We couldn't have had a better night

Day Trip to Lake Constance

2007-04-24T01:22:00.000+08:00

I'm getting lazy to blog, coz the number of pictures are increasing. I have yet to blog about Appenzell which I will do some other time or later.

Yesterday after the trip down to Appenzell, we had a potluck dinner at one of the SMU guys' house. It was amazing. Everyone cooked something and the hosts had the booze and made asparagus soup for us. We played murderer and all sorts of wierd games. It was really fun. This group is turning out to be really cool. Hope to keep in touch with all of them after this stay.

School started today and it was very slow. This week is full of lessons and the following weeks have company visits where we get to stay overnight in Geneva, Basel and Munich. For now I'm pretty much settling down into routine. Wake up, go to Uni, have lunch there; which by the way is so expensive, I rather make a sandwich at home and bring it along. Even drinks, it's cheaper to buy from the supermarket in bulk and then carry to school. In fact a lot of people bring home food to school. I guess coz the canteen food sucks and there is limited variety.

I have to change 2 busses to get to school. Takes about 20 mins in all, but the walk up is really a steep climb.

Oh yah so where was I? Yes, about my day, so after lunch we have another lecture and then go home, or stop by Migros (supermarket) to buy any grocery required for home. Then we all rest, check mail (coz school internet sucks), do laundry, cook or eat out and play games. Like a lot of card games! Yeay! I'm so glad I brought books to read as well as have many shows to watch on my laptop.

So anyway, here are the pics of my 1st Saturday here:

Us on the way to Lake Constance

Trying to be funny

The lake looks small right?

Look at how huge it is! And it's called a lake. The white specs in the distance are sailboats

A huge deparmental store in Germany. Looks a bit like Vivo city from inside

Sailboats

A very pretty sight

The flowers are just amazing. I can't stop looking at them

On the jetty of the main region of Lake Constance

People chilling on the grass

The city of Constanz

Perfect weather to sit outside and chill

...and finally! We settled for dinner at a Kebab place near home, tho I had pizza :)

2007-04-21T16:43:00.000+08:00

My backyard. There is a bbq pit, a place to sit and relax and the wooden doors are access to our laundry room, which is also fully equipped

Our house from the street

On the bus

The main train station of St Gallen

The bus stop in town

A red carpet area in town

Switzerland was known for its textile exports many many years ago

The famous bank

Town

Beautiful architecture on the buildings in town

This architecture is seen on almost all buildings

Penny & Dyane

This dome shaped thing is where the police work. It can open and close depending on how sunny it is

The cathedral - Picture perfect

We cannot resist sittin on a perfectly manicured lawn to take pics

The boys

Thats our tour guide, inside the church

A huge organ

One of the 16 confession stands

The interior

More of the architecture

The climb to our University. It is not an easy feat I tell you

Finally reached!

The view from my Uni

City Tour of St Gallen

2007-04-21T16:21:00.000+08:00

Day 2 started out with a tour of the whole place of St Gallen. It is a tiny town, so small that you can walk from one end to the other within 45mins. We live about 15 minutes walking distance from the city centre.

After that, we had a campus tour. Again the Uni is damn small, probably the size of the largest JC in Singapore. Only difference is that it's uphill and downhill. We had to walk like 220 steps upward to get to HSG. If I had to walk that much up everyday, I wouldn't go to school man. So good thing we have a bus that takes us there.

We had some free time, so some of us walked around the town to shop and chill. It was wonderfull really. I mean where do you get the time to chill in great weather in Singapore? It's too hot to sit outside.

At night we had a welcome dinner and got to know a Swedish guy as well as a German who will be taking the courses with us. Then we went to a party especially for all the exchange students in St Gallen. I'm finally settling down to the time here, but I was so sleepy at 9pm. I felt like the world would end if I didn't sleep then. But I made it to the party and back so it was good. I'm still waking up damn early though.

Will put up pics soon!