updates
Too many things happened during my 6 months hiatus, so long story
short, and in point forms.
1. I pulled through semester 2.
But not without any hardwork, of course. Second semester's
subjects were anatomy(neuroanatomy), inorganic chemistry, histology &
embryology, chinese and medical chinese.
I was alert and focused in anatomy classes as usual, with the
occasional eye-watering yawns. I practically slept through most of inorganic
chemistry, gave full attention for histo but I died in embryo. I skipped most
Chinese classes. I just drifted through medical chinese classes because the
lecturer just read from the slides, and trust me, the slides wasn't one bit
interesting at all.
I liked the chemistry labs despite the lab reports(I secretly
enjoy writing lab reports), although we didn't really learn anything from the
experiments. I also liked histo labs because I actually learned and remember
the structures of various types of tissues.
My least favourite class will definitely be medical chinese. One
word to describe it - pointless.
2. I learned to love God.
I've been hovering between being a Christian and an aethist until
I came to China. As if it's an arrangement He made, I've naturally stepped into
a life of being a Christian. I attended church and cell group regularly, I have
a friend(who is now my boyfriend) who guided me and solving all my doubts and
insecurities. I also believe my friend - Daniel, is also part of God's arrangement.
I'm truly grateful for what He's done for me, and I'm sure a lot of people had it
a lot harder when they met God. I know I don't need to be
afraid of anything because He's always watching over me, and blessing me in
everything I do.
It's not easy to be a Christian, I have the responsibility to
reflect God's image into everyone else's eyes. But it's worth it, it makes me
to want to be a better person - makes me want to be the better person.
3. Met my honey bee.
Daniel was a friend. We were good friends. But he
became more than that when we started doing things more than friends. He
would ask me out, buy me food, sing me songs, helping me even when it's unnecessary, and listening to me 诉苦。I personally think our story was pretty epic, from how we met to how we became friends to more than friends, and the best part was how he confessed. HE SERENADED. It was my happiest day ever.
Getting to know Daniel is one of my greatest blessing, he has not just made my days more cheerful, but he also brings the best out of me. He understands me, what I need, and he understands why I do what I do. He was always there when I needed help. He gives the best advice, which made him a little like an old man. But I like that, it's exactly what I need. Sometimes I think I benefit more from him than him me. The most enjoyable time with him was our night walks on the school tracks because that's when we get to know each other better.
Being with Daniel is ABC, it's easy as 1 2 3, or simple as Do Re Mi. We can talk about anything. We may not agree on everything(like how he actually kinda like cats, which I cannot possibly understand WHY), but we respect each other. We're different people afterall.
4. Famalia in China
My family has been here in Chengdu since 27th of July. Yee yee, popo, mee mee, dee dee, aunty Karen, uncle Koh, and Zhe came here to visit me and also to experience my life here. Heheh. However much I miss home, I can't help but feel touched by their visit. We visited more than half of Sichuan the past 3 weeks.
In Chengdu - 熊猫基地，武侯祠，锦里街，琴台路，杜甫草堂，青羊宫，文殊院，昭觉寺。
We visited all the parks too - 人民公园，百花潭公园，望江楼。
Apart from these tourism spots, we discovered some really good restaurants - 钦善斋，赖汤圆，玉林串串香，皇城老妈。
钦善斋was by far the best of all, and we went there three times. It's one of the best restaurants in Chengdu I believe, and it promotes healthy meals that includes various herbs. It's also famous because it also serves mild food that soothes the stomach and throat, because Sichuan is known for its extremely spicy food.
Of course, how could we miss out shopping? Among 盐市口，春熙路，荷花池市场，骡马市and 总府路，they bought the most from lotus market. It's the cheapest, explains why.
When the daddies arrived, we went outskirts. We split their 10 days visit into 2 parts, each comprised of 4 days. The first 4 days, we went to 九寨沟，黄龙，大草原（若盖尔），and the other 4 days, we visited 峨眉山，乐山大佛，蜀南竹海。
Obviously, 九寨沟 is the best of all, but I also very much enjoyed 若盖尔, besides their restrooms. They shouldn't even be called restrooms. They're just a roof and walls surrounding a big hole.
峨眉山was the most exhausting of all, and I personally think it's not even that worth going. All of us fell sick after that visit. The journey was quite light and easy at the beginning, until the the day was sweltering with heat. I don't know if I should laugh or cry about this, but the experience of boarding-the-cable-car-with-the-Chinese was epic. EPIC. People just rushed into the thing like they've never even seen a cable car before, and they allow so many people to aboard the car that it was worse than canned sardine.
Tolerating their smoking EVERYWHERE was already my limit, but blowing their snot out directly from their nostrils right in front of us when we're trying to eat? Unacceptable.
And I thought the spitting was the worst.
乐山大佛 is a famous tourist spot, especially for the Buddhist. It's mainly comprised of a large statue of a Buddha next to a quick flowing river. It was carved because there were frequent flooding caused by the river and many people died, so the people decided to build this statue in hope for support from the Buddha. And just to their wishes, there were no more floods. And the place became a very famous place for all Buddhists to pay their respects, and eventually became a tourism spot.
We started at the top at the head, then we had to queue up to make our way down to the feet. Fortunately for us, we only had to queue for one hour. It usually takes three hours. On our way down, we can observe the statue in various angles and also enjoy the view of the river. The steep stairs made it difficult for us to enjoy the view without worrying for our safety. Along the way, there were tiny carvings of mini Buddhas on the walls lining the stairway. Mee mee, Yee Yee and Popo didn't follow us after they saw the line, wise of them. I doubt they could handle the stairs.
We had very interesting drivers. The one for our first 4 days was very... unrefined. He was a typical young man from Tibet, but he looked a lot like a Chinese. But of course his skin colour gave him away(added by Dee dee). Oh those 4 days of 山歌，and his best one - 那一夜。 And how could I forget his incessant smoking. Although his occupation was just a driver, he was a really busy man. He had two cellphones that rang endlessly whenever we get a signal. And I thought my dad had it worst. So don't look down on drivers you know, they can be busier than any of us.
Fortunately, our driver for the second trip was a lot better, in every sense - except for the singing part. He came with a bus that could fit 40 persons and he had a lot more courtesy. He became good friend with Uncle Koh, and he filled us up with a lot of information. Through him we found out that 宜宾, on the way to 峨眉山, was a a very unsafe place. No one could go out once night falls without getting into trouble.
When the daddies left, the four of us went to 都江堰，街子古镇，黄龙溪.
I loved 黄龙溪，and summer is the perfect season to go there. Children and even adults would buy water guns and play in the river(dirty river). Everyone was very laid back and relax, and by the river are shops selling all types of arts and crafts. The architecture resembles China old towns, and although most of the shop lots have turned commercial, they retained some buildings like the 赌坊，当铺，钱庄.
While we mostly had ups, we still have some downs during the trip. Regardless of how much I enjoyed visiting, it was too tiring.
I hate the fact that I am responsible of bringing everyone to destination. I may have lived here for months, but it doesn't mean I'm very familiar with the place. I was just as new to the place as they were! The worst bit of it was they blamed me once I make a mistake.
And despite how much fun I had here, I miss home terribly. Half of the time I just wish I could be home with my Baby and meeting my friends and stuff myself with food. Food I haven't had in months.
But I won't waste time sulking and pouting and whining about it - I'm coming home tomorrow! Another 26 more hours to go, Malaysia! xoxo
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