Okay, I know I haven't posted for 2 weeks. And I haven't called home for a week+++
I feel so bad. Okay, I shall call tomorrow before I go to school... =P
Anyway, I passed my Dutch Exam!! Muahaha, I feel slightly more proficient in Dutch now! Not that I can read the newspaper, but I'm like 75-80% accurate when I'm reading short passages. Haha.. I scored a 7.1/10 and the passing was 5.5. Well, I'm just happy that I passed. Now I have to mug for 3 more exams... argh.. *stress*
I know the stress here is nothing compared to the stress experienced in SMU but because I've been travelling and haven't been as diligent throughout the term, I need to make up for lost time. Whenever I travel, I actually do bring my readings/notes along and read on the bus/train/airport!
It's possible only when I travel alone though. I feel like I can be quite used to travelling alone, but I don't like the inconvenience of it. I'm a lot more alert when I'm alone (which is probably a good thing) and I know why... it's called the 'spotlight' effect. I think everyone's looking at me... "the asian", but they are in fact not bothered about my presence.
I received a message from my Cousin (Jialiang) saying he wants to come to Europe! I told him just come! It'd be really fun to travel together in France/Spain/Portugal. Well, depends on how long he can be here for. Air tix seems to be much cheaper... apparently emirates have tickets as low as $800 to London and Airasia $1200! That's really cheap... I think it's the swine flu that resulted in it, which spells good news for people on a budget to travel!
Maybe papa and mama wants to come to Italy, France or Spain? I miss travelling with my family! The last time we travelled together (in my memory) was probably Hong Kong when I was 9 or 10 years old! I remember insisting on swimming in the rooftop swimming pool of the hotel at 15 degress celsius!! Mum was so worried I might catch a cold. Haha.. Yah, that was when we last went overseas (Malaysia not counted) together as a whole family!
Subsequent trips with papa and mama...
1999: Australia (Sydney/Melbourne) - I think kor kor didn't go
2000: Thailand (Bangkok) - I think kor kor didn't go again, not that I remember la.
Probably because of NS or something.
I really want to go on a family trip again!! Like join a tour group so that we don't have to bother with transport, bookings etc. Then we can spend some time together as a family.. We could go to China! Like.. Lijiang! Banyan tree at Shangri-La county.. http://www.banyantree.com/lijiang/gallery.html
Okay.. it's quite expensive.. haha.. but now Kor kor and Jie jie got earning power!
Oh well.. I should get back to studying and stop thinking about all these holidays...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Critic
I was on google searching for "invisible children" cause I was hoping to read some critics and follow if there are any progression.. and I stumbled upon this...
"And the cast, whose task it is to not just perform, but support the narratives and carry the film’s emotional tare, by and large deliver – with the sole exception of the Army storyline, which is makeshift and seems like a scaffolding to support some jabs at disciplinary maneuvering, and how it can backfire. Here, it is an officer’s struggle with his emotional self as he gets caught between frustration in his relationship and the urge to compensate for the lack of human connection – credible, but sketchy."
http://www.sinema.sg/2008/11/02/review-of-invisible-children-debut-feature-by-brian-gothong-tan-2008/
Hmm, maybe I wasn't sure what Brian was trying to convey. Haha, sketchy? *shrugs*
"And the cast, whose task it is to not just perform, but support the narratives and carry the film’s emotional tare, by and large deliver – with the sole exception of the Army storyline, which is makeshift and seems like a scaffolding to support some jabs at disciplinary maneuvering, and how it can backfire. Here, it is an officer’s struggle with his emotional self as he gets caught between frustration in his relationship and the urge to compensate for the lack of human connection – credible, but sketchy."
http://www.sinema.sg/2008/11/02/review-of-invisible-children-debut-feature-by-brian-gothong-tan-2008/
Hmm, maybe I wasn't sure what Brian was trying to convey. Haha, sketchy? *shrugs*
Pain in the big O.
O stands for Oral.
My wisdom tooth is inching out and it is pushing my molar and has caused me a lot of pain. The pain comes and go and today it decided to come. And came it did, I've been suffering a 5/10 pain since morning and it just won't go away. I knew it was my wisdom tooth when I stuck a finger into my mouth and felt for my wisdom tooth. It grew by quite a bit, I can feel the part that has grown out of my gums has become larger. I pushed it away with my finger and felt an instant relief of pain. But as soon as I let go, the pain continued.
I hope the pain will subside soon so that I don't have to see a dentist here. I don't think they can do anything here except to extract it but that would cost a few thousand euros which I don't think I want (my parents) to spend that kind of money. I may just live on pain killers for now and when I get back to Singapore, I'll go for an extraction.
My flatmate gave me some ibuprofen and I took half a tablet. I'm feeling much better now. Geez, hope the pain goes away!! >_<
My wisdom tooth is inching out and it is pushing my molar and has caused me a lot of pain. The pain comes and go and today it decided to come. And came it did, I've been suffering a 5/10 pain since morning and it just won't go away. I knew it was my wisdom tooth when I stuck a finger into my mouth and felt for my wisdom tooth. It grew by quite a bit, I can feel the part that has grown out of my gums has become larger. I pushed it away with my finger and felt an instant relief of pain. But as soon as I let go, the pain continued.
I hope the pain will subside soon so that I don't have to see a dentist here. I don't think they can do anything here except to extract it but that would cost a few thousand euros which I don't think I want (my parents) to spend that kind of money. I may just live on pain killers for now and when I get back to Singapore, I'll go for an extraction.
My flatmate gave me some ibuprofen and I took half a tablet. I'm feeling much better now. Geez, hope the pain goes away!! >_<
Saturday, May 9, 2009
More pictures!
I'm back in Tilburg already and I'm gonna be here for exams in 10 days time. So I really should be studying hard now. A little bit worried and panicky, cause the volume seems quite scary.
Anyway, I was at Zurich and Berlin, my first overnight train in Europe. Not the most comfortable but it's alright. I got to Zurich early in the morning and I kept my luggage in the train station's lockers. Then I started walking at 8.30 in the morning when everything was still closed. So my first stop was at this restaurant in a supermarket called Manor and I got some supposedly cheap breakfast. And I got to use clean toilet plus refill my water bottle... Zurich is quite clean, like Singapore. Things are expensive in Zurich though. I withdrew 60 swiss francs (around 40 euros) and told myself I better be careful on my expenditure. After breakfast, I went on to explore their main street bahnhofstrasse. It's not that long, but it's lined with expensive places... nice watch shops and clothing shops. I reached the end where there's a flea market going on and it was where the zurich sea is. Then I took a boat ride around the zurich see to take a look at the regions around the sea.
The Zurich central station
My breakfast, which in the end I "da pao" the crossiants for snacks on the way.
The flea market near Zurich Sea
That's the boat I didn't board. It was another boat I boarded. Haha..
I got off before it made a complete loop and I walked back so that I could explore other areas apart from the city centre. The morning weather was beautiful. As I was nearing the city centre again, I popped into a supermarket to get lunch. There's this part of the supermarket which serves express hot food and they had a "buffet" thing. They charge for the weight you have on the plate, but the selection was pretty good. There's melted cheese asparagus, pork chop, broccoli with cheese (the swiss love cheese they put chesse in everything). I ended up paying 10CHF for my lunch.. and I didn't think I took a lot...
Some metal sculpture in a nice garden
I continued exploring the city centre, this time on the east side of the river that runs through the city centre. I went into a nice looking church, walked through the happening streets and ended back at the train station. Then it started raining so I stayed in the station and there was a beach volleyball match going on! So I happily sat there to watch the match. It was quite exciting la.
After a while when the rain stopped, I went out again to the spots which I missed earlier. Took more photos and had dinner.
There were many fountains like this in Zurich. According to the guidebook, you can drink from it! Nice...
Beach volleyball in the station!
A narrow stretch of bridge along the river that runs through the city.
Largest clockface in Europe! Or so the guidebook says.
The beautiful night view of the river. But my camera not good enough to capture. Haha.
The train to Berlin was nice. I sat in a compartment which was initially empty, then a man came in, then a family came in, then another woman came in. The compartment was now full and not that comfortable anymore.. Urgh.
When I got to Berlin, it looks huge. I bought a day ticket which allowed me to take bus/train/metro all day till 3am. I got to my hostel and checked in, had to pay an extra 2.5 euros for bed linens and it's compulsory. And found out Wi-Fi costs money. Was so disappointed! Apart from that, the hostel is clean so I won't complain.
Berlin!
This must be one of the coolest advertisement ever. The red arrow is not added digitally, it's actually a real balloon in the air!
East side galley with all the graffiti on the berlin wall.
After that I went out exploring Berlin, and bumped into a few Spanish friends near East Side Gallery. We were suppose to meet later in the evening together with the Finnish girls so we split up and met up again later in the evening. The Spanish have friends in Berlin who brought us to a nice restaurant for dinner. It was cheap and served traditional German food. I had a pork knuckle but it was not fried! It looks kinda gross but it tasted really nice. Then I had an apple struddel which was suppose to be good but it turned out so-so..
The next day I met up with the Finnish girls for breakfast, because the Spanish weren't interested in breakfast that early (10.30am). We went to a cafe recommended by the guide book and it was a huge breakfast. It kept us full through lunch. That day, we went to Charlottenburg Schloss which is a palace, had a nice walk and had our lunch digested. Then we went to the Zoologische Garten area for sightseeing. We went to a church which was bombed during WWII and kept in its state of rubbles to remind people of the atrocity of the world. Next to it was a stretch of shops and a huge departmental store called KaDeWe for short. It's Berlin's "harrods". When the Berlin wall fell, many "east berliners" went there to buy things they couldn't get before the wall came down.
The super huge breakfast that is served with a big basket of bread.
Such a dramatic photo of the Charlottenburg palace
Satu in the foreground. Yes, her name is Satu and she's Finnish.
The church that was bombed during WWII. Quite an interesting building.
The inside of the new Church next to the bombed church.
We went for coffee in the afternoon, had a pastry each before we set off for more sightseeing. We walked through another shopping street and passed by Deutsche Bank. The difference is, this branch has a shop in it! There's a shop selling nicely designed household items in a bank! I thought it's a really cool idea. Customers can browse through the items while waiting to be served!
Following that we went to a few landmarks in Berlin like the Humboldt univeristy where Einstein taught, the Berliner Dom, Babel Platz, Russian Embassy, Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (parliament house). We saw a long queue outside Reichstag and it was drizzling, so we decided to eat dinner before coming back again. We went to a place recommended by Clarisse for Currywurst and kebap. It was SO GOOD. And cheap too. Haha. less than 5 euros for a very full dinner, but no place to sit la. When we got to the Reichstag, the Spanish were there queueing, so we just joined in the queue to get inside. It's a really beautifully designed parliament house. As I was there, I thought about my history lesson during Sec 3. I actually learned about the Reichstag and there it was right in front of my eyes. The feeling is incredible, getting to see what I learnt.
It was a very fulfilling day indeed.
The berliner dom. Or Berlin Cathedral.
Pinja, Satu and me in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
According to Clarisse: The best kebap in the world.
The super famous Curry wurst. It's really really good. 1.40Eur for a curry wurst.
Big lips on the east side gallery!
Night view of the brandenburg gate.
On top of the Reichstag.
Close up of the dome of the Reichstag. Beautiful architecture.
The next day I went on a walking tour, but the weather wasn't fantastic so I couldn't enjoy as much because it was really cold and it was drizzling/raining. I saw a few more sights of Berlin and felt really happy to see so much in Berlin despite only being there for 2.5 days. People in Berlin were really friendly, they would come up to help us when we were looking for directions. It happened more than 3 times! And they spoke fluent English.
The statue on top of Brandenburg Gate.
The monument for the persecuted jews.
Propaganda left behind from East Berlin days.
Street art in Berlin. Posing next to the queen of england is the tour guide.. Summer..
Sony centre in the middle of commercial centre Potsdam Platz.
I took an overnight train back to Netherlands and went for class right after school. After class I was cycling home with a huge haversack on my back. Then suddenly my bike wobbled and I braked immediately to see what's wrong. I realised my bike broke. The frame broke!! I couldn't cycle on it and it can't be repaired! I walked back home pushing my stupid bike and my heavy bag, only to found out that my residence permit is missing! I was feeling really shitty, so I called the hostel and asked if they found it but they said no. Now I have to replace my residence permit, and I think it's going to be troublesome. The worst thing is, i don't have a scanned copy. What shitty luck. Well, that's the update for now. Gotta study!!
I miss my family back in Singapore!! Will be home in 2 months! Yay.
Anyway, I was at Zurich and Berlin, my first overnight train in Europe. Not the most comfortable but it's alright. I got to Zurich early in the morning and I kept my luggage in the train station's lockers. Then I started walking at 8.30 in the morning when everything was still closed. So my first stop was at this restaurant in a supermarket called Manor and I got some supposedly cheap breakfast. And I got to use clean toilet plus refill my water bottle... Zurich is quite clean, like Singapore. Things are expensive in Zurich though. I withdrew 60 swiss francs (around 40 euros) and told myself I better be careful on my expenditure. After breakfast, I went on to explore their main street bahnhofstrasse. It's not that long, but it's lined with expensive places... nice watch shops and clothing shops. I reached the end where there's a flea market going on and it was where the zurich sea is. Then I took a boat ride around the zurich see to take a look at the regions around the sea.
The Zurich central station
My breakfast, which in the end I "da pao" the crossiants for snacks on the way.
The flea market near Zurich Sea
That's the boat I didn't board. It was another boat I boarded. Haha..
I got off before it made a complete loop and I walked back so that I could explore other areas apart from the city centre. The morning weather was beautiful. As I was nearing the city centre again, I popped into a supermarket to get lunch. There's this part of the supermarket which serves express hot food and they had a "buffet" thing. They charge for the weight you have on the plate, but the selection was pretty good. There's melted cheese asparagus, pork chop, broccoli with cheese (the swiss love cheese they put chesse in everything). I ended up paying 10CHF for my lunch.. and I didn't think I took a lot...
Some metal sculpture in a nice garden
I continued exploring the city centre, this time on the east side of the river that runs through the city centre. I went into a nice looking church, walked through the happening streets and ended back at the train station. Then it started raining so I stayed in the station and there was a beach volleyball match going on! So I happily sat there to watch the match. It was quite exciting la.After a while when the rain stopped, I went out again to the spots which I missed earlier. Took more photos and had dinner.
There were many fountains like this in Zurich. According to the guidebook, you can drink from it! Nice...
Beach volleyball in the station!
A narrow stretch of bridge along the river that runs through the city.
Largest clockface in Europe! Or so the guidebook says.
The beautiful night view of the river. But my camera not good enough to capture. Haha.The train to Berlin was nice. I sat in a compartment which was initially empty, then a man came in, then a family came in, then another woman came in. The compartment was now full and not that comfortable anymore.. Urgh.
When I got to Berlin, it looks huge. I bought a day ticket which allowed me to take bus/train/metro all day till 3am. I got to my hostel and checked in, had to pay an extra 2.5 euros for bed linens and it's compulsory. And found out Wi-Fi costs money. Was so disappointed! Apart from that, the hostel is clean so I won't complain.
Berlin!
This must be one of the coolest advertisement ever. The red arrow is not added digitally, it's actually a real balloon in the air!
East side galley with all the graffiti on the berlin wall.
After that I went out exploring Berlin, and bumped into a few Spanish friends near East Side Gallery. We were suppose to meet later in the evening together with the Finnish girls so we split up and met up again later in the evening. The Spanish have friends in Berlin who brought us to a nice restaurant for dinner. It was cheap and served traditional German food. I had a pork knuckle but it was not fried! It looks kinda gross but it tasted really nice. Then I had an apple struddel which was suppose to be good but it turned out so-so..The next day I met up with the Finnish girls for breakfast, because the Spanish weren't interested in breakfast that early (10.30am). We went to a cafe recommended by the guide book and it was a huge breakfast. It kept us full through lunch. That day, we went to Charlottenburg Schloss which is a palace, had a nice walk and had our lunch digested. Then we went to the Zoologische Garten area for sightseeing. We went to a church which was bombed during WWII and kept in its state of rubbles to remind people of the atrocity of the world. Next to it was a stretch of shops and a huge departmental store called KaDeWe for short. It's Berlin's "harrods". When the Berlin wall fell, many "east berliners" went there to buy things they couldn't get before the wall came down.
The super huge breakfast that is served with a big basket of bread.
Such a dramatic photo of the Charlottenburg palace
Satu in the foreground. Yes, her name is Satu and she's Finnish.
The church that was bombed during WWII. Quite an interesting building.
The inside of the new Church next to the bombed church.
We went for coffee in the afternoon, had a pastry each before we set off for more sightseeing. We walked through another shopping street and passed by Deutsche Bank. The difference is, this branch has a shop in it! There's a shop selling nicely designed household items in a bank! I thought it's a really cool idea. Customers can browse through the items while waiting to be served!Following that we went to a few landmarks in Berlin like the Humboldt univeristy where Einstein taught, the Berliner Dom, Babel Platz, Russian Embassy, Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (parliament house). We saw a long queue outside Reichstag and it was drizzling, so we decided to eat dinner before coming back again. We went to a place recommended by Clarisse for Currywurst and kebap. It was SO GOOD. And cheap too. Haha. less than 5 euros for a very full dinner, but no place to sit la. When we got to the Reichstag, the Spanish were there queueing, so we just joined in the queue to get inside. It's a really beautifully designed parliament house. As I was there, I thought about my history lesson during Sec 3. I actually learned about the Reichstag and there it was right in front of my eyes. The feeling is incredible, getting to see what I learnt.
It was a very fulfilling day indeed.
The berliner dom. Or Berlin Cathedral.
Pinja, Satu and me in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
According to Clarisse: The best kebap in the world.
The super famous Curry wurst. It's really really good. 1.40Eur for a curry wurst.
Big lips on the east side gallery!
Night view of the brandenburg gate.
On top of the Reichstag.
Close up of the dome of the Reichstag. Beautiful architecture.The next day I went on a walking tour, but the weather wasn't fantastic so I couldn't enjoy as much because it was really cold and it was drizzling/raining. I saw a few more sights of Berlin and felt really happy to see so much in Berlin despite only being there for 2.5 days. People in Berlin were really friendly, they would come up to help us when we were looking for directions. It happened more than 3 times! And they spoke fluent English.
The statue on top of Brandenburg Gate.
The monument for the persecuted jews.
Propaganda left behind from East Berlin days.
Street art in Berlin. Posing next to the queen of england is the tour guide.. Summer..
Sony centre in the middle of commercial centre Potsdam Platz.
I took an overnight train back to Netherlands and went for class right after school. After class I was cycling home with a huge haversack on my back. Then suddenly my bike wobbled and I braked immediately to see what's wrong. I realised my bike broke. The frame broke!! I couldn't cycle on it and it can't be repaired! I walked back home pushing my stupid bike and my heavy bag, only to found out that my residence permit is missing! I was feeling really shitty, so I called the hostel and asked if they found it but they said no. Now I have to replace my residence permit, and I think it's going to be troublesome. The worst thing is, i don't have a scanned copy. What shitty luck. Well, that's the update for now. Gotta study!!
I miss my family back in Singapore!! Will be home in 2 months! Yay.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
To my sis.
The Marni Bag.
I know you can't wait, but you'll only get to caress the soft black lamb skin in July when I'm back. Meanwhile, here are the photos so that you know where the pounds went.
I know you can't wait, but you'll only get to caress the soft black lamb skin in July when I'm back. Meanwhile, here are the photos so that you know where the pounds went.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Way too behind
Wah, it's Labour day and I'm super behind in my updating of posts!
Since April 10.. it has been a mad rush for me. No internet access for almost 3 weeks! Seems like I won't be able to update much until I'm back form Berlin next wednesday. I'll first upload the photos I guess. =)
Always start a tour with a full stomach... by taking in all of the Lourve.
Of course I didn't get put off by all the anti-hype. I went to the Eiffel..
Caught me in a hungry state!
The solution... crepes with parma ham and melted cheese...
In the Lourve, I fought my way through.. Mona Lisa and Whistler's mother. Why all women?
Palace of Versailles... huge and overwhelming.
I had to do it. Everyone would. =P
How can I resist.. sundried tomatoes and basil flavoured pringles! It was so-so...
Cube houses in Rotterdam. Living in a tilted world? Slanted vision..
"I AMSTERDAM" had kids climbing all over it. I could only hold on to "I"
Swans and ducks in Keukenhof. It was mating season! Seen ducks mate? Quite a sight.
Never seen so many flowers in my life. After a while, I got an overdose. Unfortunate for my companion, he has an allergy to pollen. He kept sneezing...
and I thought he might have caught the swine flu... *gasp*.
Sir Wellington the Iron Duke. The inspiration for wellies!
Change of guards at Bukingham, red uniforms and microphone headdress.
Pompidou in Paris. The queue puts me off.
Modern art in a pond!
Random shot in Paris.
The oxford trio.
Some old structure in oxford.
Some college in Oxford.
Emo oxford.
Street shot of oxford. Quite a condusive place to study. Nothing much going on though.
Since April 10.. it has been a mad rush for me. No internet access for almost 3 weeks! Seems like I won't be able to update much until I'm back form Berlin next wednesday. I'll first upload the photos I guess. =)
Always start a tour with a full stomach... by taking in all of the Lourve.
Of course I didn't get put off by all the anti-hype. I went to the Eiffel..
Caught me in a hungry state!
The solution... crepes with parma ham and melted cheese...
In the Lourve, I fought my way through.. Mona Lisa and Whistler's mother. Why all women?
Palace of Versailles... huge and overwhelming.
I had to do it. Everyone would. =P
How can I resist.. sundried tomatoes and basil flavoured pringles! It was so-so...
Cube houses in Rotterdam. Living in a tilted world? Slanted vision..
"I AMSTERDAM" had kids climbing all over it. I could only hold on to "I"
Swans and ducks in Keukenhof. It was mating season! Seen ducks mate? Quite a sight.
Never seen so many flowers in my life. After a while, I got an overdose. Unfortunate for my companion, he has an allergy to pollen. He kept sneezing...
and I thought he might have caught the swine flu... *gasp*.
Sir Wellington the Iron Duke. The inspiration for wellies!
Change of guards at Bukingham, red uniforms and microphone headdress.
Pompidou in Paris. The queue puts me off.
Modern art in a pond!
Random shot in Paris.
The oxford trio.
Some old structure in oxford.
Some college in Oxford.
Emo oxford.
Street shot of oxford. Quite a condusive place to study. Nothing much going on though.
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