wireless

i having been posting for a long time now.

well that's because i haven't been able to.

in the past, when people told me that the uk is a bit backward with regards to computer and i.t., i didn't quite take them seriously.

the place where i stay doesn't have internet access. that in itself is a tragedy. there's only one telephone point in every flat, and that's for the incoming phone. it means no late night msn, no prompt e-mail checking and replying, no skype...

so now i'm in one of my school's public computer cluster rooms, furtively typing this and hoping that no one behind me stares over my shoulder to peer and read what i'm typing.

a lot of things have happened since i last posted. unfortunately i don't have time to narrate them, so this point-by-point list will have to suffice.

i've...

- got a roommate!

she's from derbyshire, friendly girl who seems neater and tidier than i am. my side of the room is looking increasingly messier than hers. *sheepish*

- gone out with my flatmates two nights in a row.

each time we've gone to pubs/bars. it is a new experience, i don't particularly enjoy arriving home smelling of cigarette smoke, but it is nice to meet and hang out with non-s'poreans. my flatmates are mostly from the uk, there's a girl from germany and another from holland but they both speak perfect, almost american-accented english. there are two guys as well. they're all friendly and nice, so it's a huge relief.

there is definitely a cultural barrier when i start conversing with uk students, and it takes a lot of effort to engage in a decent conversation with any of them, but i didn't come all the way here to be lazy. :)

and it's through conversations with them that i begin to understand a bit more about their psyche, their mindsets and their culture. there's some stuff i can't actually post here. it's pretty eye-opening.

- met my non-s'porean coursemates, and boy are they a diverse bunch. we've got people who are 3/4indian-1/4english, 1/4taiwanese-1/4chinese-1/4italian-1/4english (hope i got that one right), 1/2malaysianchinese-1/2english, 1/2french-1/4iraqi-1/4indian, etc... but except for the 5 of us from sg, the rest are from the uk.

- signed up for a 20-pound union-organised fresher's event at the ministry of sound. it's a hell lot of money but it is to students here what o-nite is to rj. haha that's a lame comparison.

at first i balked at the cost (20quid can buy me 6 saucepans. 10 sandwiches. or 10 vk oranges.) so i told myself 'no-no-no it's too expensive and anyway i don't want to go.'

but talking with my flatmates, i realised many of them view it as an event not to be missed, something they had to go for. and then i realised that i actually do want to go and see what it's like. plus it's at mos - i'll probably never be able to afford to go in there after this.

i kept recalling one thing in my mind - wing & tabi telling me that night at botanic gardens to try anything and everything while i'm in london.

while there are some things i absolutely won't try (like drugs for example - organic or otherwise ;P), i do want to do a whole lot of crazy things while i'm here. things that i won't be able to do anywhere else.

things i haven't even thought of yet. :)

it is going to be one hell of a ride after all.