Date: 17/08/05
And now I understand why they say Malaysians are warm and friendly. Well I came to the conclusion that the whites are awfully polite but pretty cold at times. I’m not exactly criticizing them, but I guess it’s just their way of treating people. There’s nothing wrong to it. In fact, maybe it’s just me who has all along been too pampered by the Malaysian culture of warmth. Or maybe I just really miss the familiarity of having black hair people around. Or maybe, this tinge of inferiority complex of being a short Asian just birthed in me when I was confronted with that whole hallway of towering ang-mohs.

Went through the first day of term proper with all the Dundee students coming back. Was a miracle I survived the day. Realized how much I really hate crowds. Especially the type where everyone knows everyone except you. Well, guess my inner pride just couldn’t take the fact of me being reduced to an insignificance twit once more. Well, yes, maybe I AM an attention seeker. But hey, let’s face it. I’m sure it’ll be hard for anyone to be plugged out of a place where you know almost everyone to a totally foreign land where everyone’s a stranger. So us IMU fellas just kinda sticked to our own people. And please don’t give me that crap about ‘go and mix around and make friends’. Hah, try doing that when all the whites are standing in their cliques talking so animatedly to each other about their summer hols in some exotic lands. And can I remind you that these people have been in the same batch and have known each other since 3 years ago? It’s not as easy as it seems, alright. Oh man, now I know how it feels to be a repeat student mixing with a new batch back in IMU. Except that it’s like 100x worse.

But as the day wore on, I couldn’t take being insignificant anymore. And it’s pretty obvious that the day an ang-moh comes up to you and says: ‘Hi, I’m so-and-so. What’s your name?’ will be the day Lena starts eating fruits again. So I decided to stop acting as Violet in the Incredibles (was that her name?) and asked the people in my subgroup to at least introduce themselves. Oh well, at least that’s a start. So maybe we’ll work from there. But yea, I really dislike change. And I hate not being able to just voice my thoughts without having the fear of them not understanding my English when I am actually speaking perfectly fine English. Oh well, it’s just an inner fear that I got to deal with in due time. Ah, but knowing me, I’ll get through it. I hope. God won’t have sent me here if he knew I couldn’t have taken it.

Ah now, let me show you our new house.


my room


the state-of-the-art kitchen. but during meal times when all 9 of us are down, it's pretty much becomes a war zone. i don't think we've survived a dinner without at least one fight. verbally i mean. but nothing serious. we still love each other. oops, anyone heard me snickering? heh...alright alright we do love each other.





and lastly, a pic of us on the way to visit Scone Palace in Perth, Scotland (not Aust)

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL WAS A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

right finally figured out how to post pictures online. so i think this time, i will let the pictures do some blogging. well basically we were down for 2 days for the festivals. lots of them going on: Edinburgh International Festival, Fringe Fest, International Book Fest, Film Fest, Military Tattoo. oh man i have never seen so many people in my life. and the streets of Edinburgh and the buildings! no words can describe how amazed I was. alright alright, maybe i am just one who has never been around the world much. but seriously, i was just so taken away by their architecture. all the buildings are historical with monuments around.really, all of them!




(can you spot me? heh...the small little figure in purple.)


well this street is basically where all the performers come to give previews to their shows. so even if u don't have the money to go watch their shows, you can just linger here and soak in the atmosphere (which was what i did most of the time). oh and they have lotsa people trying to attract you to watch their shows, so they will do almost anything to get you to be interested.

and the ultimate

more weird stuff..

i caught 3 shows, which cost me 1 week meal time money. but it was more than worth it! 1st one was an authentic flamenco dance from Spain. it was so good i really don mind seeing it again. the dancer was such a beauty. every one of her dance moves were so powerful and her facial expression was so intense. and of course it didn't hurt that one of the accompanying musicians was quite something to look at. heh. well, esther's still drooling over him even right now. and i imagine it is really quite a feat to coordinate the beat of 3 separate musicians to the tapping of the dancer's steps.

and the next day, i was walking by my own on the streets, guess who i met?? heh, esther was turning green when she saw this pic.

the flamenco musicians!!

caught 2 more plays. 1st was 'Scotland has an evil face'. was a play making fun of Scotland's history. couldn't catch parts of it. but it started off with 'Ladies, Gentlemen and Englishmen' thought that was quite brilliant. and they composed their own songs for the play, which is now still stuck in my head.

the 2nd i watched was shakespeare's 12th night. had to go toilet for a bit after the show but it paid off coz when i stepped out of the theatre, i met the 12th night cast going off as well. so took a pic with them. they looked pretty glum. think their director must not have liked their performance. but i thought it was good n told them so

yeap, so wraps up my trip. oh and yes, Bobby I found it!

was really a coincidence. b4 i left for edinburgh, bobby sent me this exact same shot he took last yr while he was here. and he challenged me to find it. at that time i was like:crazy! edinburgh is so huge you expect me to find it?? but i did! was rushing off to catch the plays and couldn't find the theatre. so was walking really fast plus looking at the map at the same time. and when i looked up, wahla! right in front starring at me was BOBBY'S BAR.

while we were in Edinburgh, Lena was having loads n loads of fun in London too. wonder if she has blogged bout it. but yea, go read hers. London, according to her, is the land of shopping and cute guys i think. heh...

testing again...re-sizing problem. but if this turns out fine, it is a pic of Edinburgh.

And this is what you call a real Medical uni...
day by day Dundee medical uni never fails to impress me. am doing a research paper now on surgical treatment of Nasal Septal Perforation and went to the library to look at the journal articles written about it. oh man was I amazed or was I amazed by the vast collection of their journals! 3 floors full of journals. can you believe that? eh-hem, shall I tell you the state of IMU's journal collection? but then again, maybe there's no basis of comparison since the library here has to support a whole school of undergrad, postgrad, profs etc while IMU's journals are just there for moths to devour.

well they arrange the journals here in such a way that even dummies can find the articles they want easily. but it is pretty scary though. for journals date 1965-1990, i have to go one floor below to the lower basement and be greeted by aisles and aisles of journals with only narrow alleys between the shelves. and it is dead quiet there. only the sound of your footsteps to accompany you. good setting for a Scot horror film i would say. [you are so engrossed in your research work and reading through journals, you look up and you see a small girl clad in white peering through the books at you] great, i have just given myself the shivers. and i still need to go there for other references. urgh, shall just pull lena or esther along next time.

Of eccentric professors and Albus Dumbledore
Dundonian lecturers are walking encyclopedias. And they can really teach. IMU lecturers...right...I seriously do not think there are any grounds of comparison at all. the lecturers here are in an upper league of their own.
had a class on CNS physical examination with one really eccentric professor. long floppy hair, hunched back, short neck. looks a bit like Hugh Grant in 40 yrs time. and he was just bursting in knowledge. pity he was talking in the usual monotonous scottish accent. couldn't really catch him in some parts and we were all leaning forward trying to decipher his words.
our professor tutor is Albus Dumbledore in real life. kind, gentle, old with white hair, tall and lean, walking encyclopedia (again), slightly hoarse voice. and he gives off this calm aura as if everything is alright and nothing is too hard for him to handle. and he always has time for us IMU students amidst all his busy work as the head of curriculum.
speaking of which...heard some unfavourable ending of Harry Potter, thanks to either Zhao Kang/Kathleen/Yvinne who couldn't keep her/his mouths shut.