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for one more day 9:22 PM

As many of you might already have known, I'm currently stuck in North America for one more day, and it really feels like one of the longest days in my life. Really, it is the result of travel fatigue coupled with a 16 hours time difference with Singapore. Well well.. it was all a mad rush this morning, and we had to clear Canada and US customs twice within half an hour, and were just being pushed around from airline agent to agent who refused to render proper assistance in re-booking our flights back home.

Still, being stranded in Portland for an additional night has allowed me to keep up with all my blogposts, although I'm really quite sick (literally fever and flu) and drained out. We're now waiting for our next flight which is in 18 hours' time, without anything to shower nor to brush our teeth (the customs officer threw the remaining 5g of my toothpaste away) and we'll probably end up in Singapore all smelly and stinky. Haha. :(

So well, just for an update, I'll be touching down in Changi on Thursday, 8 January, at 12.35am instead - effectively 1 whole day later than the previous scheduled itinerary. Undeniably I'm still quite upset over missing out on the LTM workshop and having my plans disrupted for my first 2 days in Singapore, but at least our delay ain't that bad and we don't have to spend that much time stuck in this other part of the world. Heh.. see you all soon.

Life is a journey that's homeward-bounddddddd.

the last of snow.. 9:11 PM

Vancouver doesn't usually snow during winter due to insufficiently low temperatures, but this year the weather all across Canada has been bizarre and unpredictable that nothing's impossible. Vancouver apparently surprised us with a very beautiful blanket of fresh soft snow, although sometimes it was so wet that lots of slosh was created instead, making roads slippery and dangerous just like in Toronto.

But for most part it was really beautiful; flurries were moderate (not too light nor heavy and irritable) and the snow was moist enough to be pressed into snowballs and other shapes, heh. We were quite excited to feast our eyes on such a pretty sight during our last stop, and I guess we do realize how much we'll miss snow when we leave. :(

These are what we saw along Vancouver's waterfront and in Stanley Park.. even though we were totally drenched and caught terrible chills later, it was all worth the while especially in our final moments of our trip. :)

 

 

See how deep the snow is..!

  

Someone built this snow-man which looked very much like a huge monkey, haha

I kinda heart snow, I think. Haha.. even though it's quite irritating at times. In fact, instead of exclaiming "Wahhh it's snowing!" we are more accustomed to grumbling "Eeyer it's snowing.. bleah." Haha.

a belated happy new year from new york 5:53 PM

It's already 5 Jan now that I'm writing this - haven't had internet access till at the Vancouver airport, hours before embarking on the long restless trans-Pacific flight(s) back home. I'm hoping to do up a brief recollection of the past few days right now cos I know I'll be quite bogged down by work the moment I touch down; I even did LTM work for Prof on New Year's Day for TA workshop! So yep.. these will prolly be the very last of "Wini in Winnipeg" I guess, since I don't usually blog in Singapore and had only set this up for exchange. Haha.. I'm kinda relieved actually, cos maintaining a blog with utmost perfectionism is admittedly tiring at times. :S

xx

New Year's Eve
Looking back now I'd say I didn't know quite how to feel visiting New York City for the 2nd time in 2 years; it felt strangely familiar yet weirdly different. I felt as though I'd visited most of the significant must-sees in the city already, and that reliving them didn't feel too real nor excitable as it would be for my friends. Still, it was great that I managed to see the Statue of Liberty for real this time round, meaning not just seeing a 10cm figurine from afar in Battery Park. Haha.. the last time we came it was getting dark and the ferries weren't in operation anymore so we could only make out the Statue in the distance. I'm really glad we went to Liberty Island on this trip! :)

The lines were crazy that day, I think everyone wanted to make their New Year resolutions in front of the Statue or something, haha. We actually had to queue for about an hour in the cold - New York's winter is unusually cold this year too. But we did make a silly mistake in underestimating the weather, cos we forgot that America uses degF instead of degC, so we'd thought "0 deg" was definitely bearable but it turned out to be rather chilly! Roar.

 

 

I really loved the Statue of Liberty somehow, especially after learning about its history. Everything on the Statue is significant - her torch resembling truth and light, her crown revealing her divine status, her broken shackles on the ankles a sign of freedom, and her stride to symbolize her striving forward towards greater things. We were greatly in awe and respect of this beautiful and melancholic National Monument.

 

Wall Street and Ground Zero, the crash site has had "improvements" since the last time I visited! Oh yes, we even "prayed" in Wall Street and tolong-ed that the market will turn for the better for us to-be graduates. Haha. Regrettably though I didn't find Wall Street as nice as the last time; the streets were crowded and many constructions and roadblocks present, prolly in light of the holiday peak period. So it just felt really squeezy and we weren't able to take nice pics without interference, bleah.

New York Stock Exchange and St Patrick's Cathedral

Empire State Building, the one where King Kong climbed atop and wreaked havoc, haha

Times Square Countdown
Many contend New York to be the place to spend New Year's Eve/Day for its iconic and highly-anticipated countdown at Times Square. And yes, I'd say it was quite an experience, but it wasn't all that easy nor fun either. For one, people usually head to the area about 10-12 hours before midnight (!!!) itself, just to chope their places and ensure they get to see the heart of the action. But of course we weren't prepared to stand in the cold and wait for so long (you can't even leave the area to pee or anything else your spot'll be gone), so we tried my friend's strategy - to wait around the area by hanging out at some random cafe/restaurant, then run in when the barricades are released near midnight.

Yet things weren't so simple (the policemen got smarter). The "ball-drop" - typical of New York's annual countdown - was rumoured to be on 42nd Street, and the police'd sealed off the whole Times Square area and limited it only to VIPs or people with reservations. They kept dissing us and told us to move on to further-away streets in the cold, streets that were a whole 15 blocks away! We had to jostle with hordes of people and were consecutively refused entry into every single barricade.. rah. So yea, it really wasn't that enjoyable at all. But that night we persisted, and after a prolonged period of defrosting in a cafe we finally sought to brave the cold, eventually wedging past a barricade at 59th Street (yes thats damn far away); there was so much pushing we really didn't know where we were going. Haha.. but at least we got into Times Square and did our countdown somewhere in the area, though we never saw the ball itself la, heh.

  

The policemen were really excited to have their pictures taken with us too.. haha,

The huge mob of people pushing their way through! To the right is the iconic ball on-screen.

We love our funky specs..! Happy New Year everyone!

Of simple blessings
Earlier I'd mentioned not knowing how to feel about visiting New York yet again, so I'd sought to venture out on my own on New Year's Day. I figured it might be nice to see places I didn't see last time, or to re-explore and relearn what I've previously experienced, roaming the streets of a "dream city" on the first day of the New Year itself.

And really, on hindsight I must say it was a really enjoyable day revisiting Broadway and Times Square (despite the area being superbly crowded and pushy) more thoroughly and carefully. It was undeniably a day to myself amidst the travel fatigue; a day where everything was set to my own pace and I achieved whatever I wanted. Yet more importantly it was also a period of self-reflection and revelation, where I thought about things and issues and took a step back to appreciate a slower pace of life, rethinking over my goals and wishes for 2009. I must say I have many ambitions for myself in this coming year; no doubt it'll be a tough term ahead but I do perceive it a challenge, yep.

And I guess I really ought to be thankful for what I've got; many people literally dream of visiting New York but have never done so in their lives, and who am I to comment about boredom when I'm accorded such a privilege! So yep, I dispelled my reservations, maximized my time in the city and counted my blessings. Along the way I also talked to some New Yorkers and Taiwanese, and even got my favourite Fossil watch strap fixed at a store! Haha. The only thing I prolly regret is that I never got to watch a Broadway musical the 2 times I visited - tried getting seats to Mamma Mia but they were fully booked. :(

28-29 dec - niagara falls 1:38 AM

It is true that life is full of unexpected moments. I almost had the opportunity to visit the Falls in summer 2006, but had not eventually due to car-pooling problems. I remembered being quite disappointed about it, knowing I was already halfway across the globe yet unable to experience one of the most miraculous wonders of nature in the world. Yet perhaps things really do or do not happen for a reason - I'd told myself I'd be back here again in the future, but little did I know the future would just be 2 years down the road.

Many contend summer to be the best time to visit the Niagara Falls, due to its vibrant horticulture and mass display of festivals and events. Yet there are some who prefer the quiet winter, which, despite the cold, exudes a form of melancholy and solitude which allows one to connect to nature and appreciate its sights and sounds better. The white snow blanket also adds to the beauty of it all, of course.

The weather wasn't good at all when we arrived at the Niagara region on the Ontario side. Windchill warnings were on full alert that day; the area had also experienced some rather treacherous gales that'd destroyed a couple of houses and vehicles. Despite the very strong winds, temperatures were still insufficiently low for snow to fall. I guess it was indeed a weird first-time combination for a Winnipegger (very low temperatures with strong but not-so-strong winds), haha.

A trunk had fallen and crushed the top of a car, and that's me swaying in the wind with the plants. Haha.. but really, sometimes the wind was so strong we felt like we were going to be blown away any minute! :(

Niagara Falls from afar - the 2 waterfalls that make up the Niagara are the American Falls (left of the left pic), and the Horseshoe Falls (right of the left pic, which allegedly "belongs" to Canada).

  

Niagara Falls at dusk. Notably we are on the Canadian side of the Falls; it's also well-reputed that Niagara is prettier when admired from Canada as compared to from the US side. Better than what I'd have experienced 2 years ago if I'd come then! Haha.

  

Table Rock, known to be the best place to admire the Horseshoe Falls. We'd walked quite a distance in the cold just to get here, but the view was so incredibly spectacular it was all worth the effort. See the Falls up-close - we could even see the top of the rapids leading to the drop-off point!

  

Winter Festival of Lights, Niagara's primary attraction during the season. The Maid of the Mist (a boat ride that brings you very close to the bottom of the falls so you're "under"-looking them) and other tours had closed by October, so we weren't able to venture out in the waters.

 

Niagara's tourist attractions, including the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cinema, Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not Museum, and Guinness World Records Hall of Fame amongst others. Frankly the whole area'd felt too over-commercialized like LA's Hollywood so it didn't feel too novel to me, heh.

I had my first "official" time in the casinos though - earlier in the day I'd randomly walked past a Dream-Catcher machine which dropped me a lolly for no reason, so I was feeling lucky. Haha.. I did win some money at first but eventually lost it all, bleah. :(

Day 2 was mostly spent outlet-store shopping and visiting the IMAX theatre, which featured a movie titled "Niagara Falls - Myths, Miracles and Magic". It featured several legendary stories about people who were inspired by/drawn to the Falls, as well as some weird fanatical daredevils who'd challenged Nature by attempting to go over the Falls in reinforced beer barrels and/or other devices. All to prove courage and might, or to gain fame and riches. And of the 15 who'd ever tried, 10 had survived. All of them were miracles indeed, if you'd read about the strength and velocity of the Niagara like me at the gallery..!

The right pic above shows Pat, the very amiable and friendly lady at Simon's Diner where we'd patronized on 2 consecutive mornings for breakfast. Around for 125 years now, Simon's is a nice family-style diner which brings back lotsa fond memories for the many people who've lived and grown up here - all the other customers were middle-aged and elderly men! Haha. Pat is a really grandmotherly figure and we'd enjoyed her service so much that I'm put in-charge of emailing her our picture (yes, she uses email for her age!) and keeping in touch after this, heh. :)

chapalang update 12:55 AM

I'm on the go right now, aboard the AmTrak Rail from Niagara Falls (US side) to New York City. It's going to be a rocky 9-hr ride, and I figured I should get back in touch with my diligent blogging. Haha.. I've been seriously lacking sleep the past 10 days, making sure photos are uploaded and people are updated. So much so that my friends've affectionately referred to me as the Tamagotchi - I can sleep anytime anywhere I want - bus stops, restaurants, any random chair while waiting for people, even for just 5 min! Heh.

Still, I'm kinda glad I'd kept to the "discipline" of doing these things; the inertia to start would be even greater after I return home (just look at Luyi, haha). But really, on top of that I do also believe in a better appreciation of my travel experiences when I relive them in fresh memory, logging my adventures while simultaneously embarking on my journeys. And I'm still meticulously keeping track of my daily expenditures k, even after 4 months! *beams* Fortunately I can survive on little sleep and am quite good at remembering things la, haha.

So well, I stopped at Boxing Day in Toronto, but there really isn't much to talk about our last day in the city. We'd visited a few random places, so here's a log of the chapalang things we'd seen and done. I guess this is more of a recovery and disclaimer post; haha, as well as a pit-stop to re-adjust my thoughts (instead of mere reporting what I've done) before I set foot on the really-final few days of my exchange journey.

27 Dec - Last day in Toronto

St Lawrence Market, one of Toronto's oldest and most historic places to visit

Yet another historic site of interest - the Distillery District featuring the city's finest breweries

SOMA chocolate maker, a must-visit for chocoholics! Said to be one of the best choc makers in the world, SOMA features both gourmet and "normal" chocs at their best (and atas prices), heh. :)

One of Toronto's best attractions..! To the right is the very delicious hot choc I've gotten for Vicki - so glad to have come to SOMA and not settled for some random Christmasey hot choc mix for my best friend, heh.

 

Interesting stuff - a German Schnauzer with winter boots, and a duh pedestrian-crossing sign. Check out the last part - "If flashing, do not start. Finish crossing if already started." (!?)

We re-visited Chinatown in the evening, I finally had my first bubble tea in 4 months! Couldn't resist la, the shop played Chinese songs and even screened some Taiwanese variety show, heh. And then I couldn't help but take a pic of the bittergourds I saw at some market, I miss bittergourd-egg so much! Bleah. :(

Dinner that day was the best thus far in Toronto, we headed to a Lonely Planet-recommended Rice Bar, where we created customized rice bowls by selecting our grain type, protein, sauce and garnish of choice. Quite an infusion cuisine I guess, though we selected ingredients that'd seemed more Asian than Western, heh. Beats me why I didn't take a photo of the rice bowls, but of the yummy desserts instead! :)

boxing day frenzy 1:24 AM

The sales on Boxing Day were crazy enough, yet the crowds even more so. In fact, shops opened as early as 7am, and we'd already seen people carrying Forever 21 and H&M shopping bags when we left our hostel at 9am (i.e. they must'd been the really super early birds!) Omg.. it was snowing flurries too, but despite weather conditions people still ran from building to building, shop to shop. Check out the crowds both on the open streets and inside the Toronto Eaton Centre - some shops even had people waiting in line outside, and security guards had to regulate the inflow and outflow of customers..! Tskk.. scary sight.

 

I'd suggested a Christmas gift exchange amongst the 6 of us by way of drawing lots. I was supposed to get something for Pompidou, and'd set my eyes on a very classic Levi's tee. I even requested for Shuwen to vet it in the end before confirming my purchase, so it was good! Haha.. Huilin got me an *erhermz* below-stipulated-budget top too, haha. But it was nice la, though we had some fun niao-ing her about it heh. :) Unfortunately though I didn't manage to get anything else for myself! ROAR. Not that the sales weren't great enough, but I really didn't find what I liked to be sufficiently value-for-money, and the long lines just turned me off at times haha. On top of that, the items on sale were mostly Fall and Winter clothing too, so they didn't appeal that much to me.. yep.

After shopping we attempted to do some sightseeing, though nothing much was achieved eventually. Even the Toronto CN Tower was kinda disappointing despite the hoo-ha about it being the world's tallest building as well as one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World. We even had to pay CAD 20 to go up the tower! Bleah. :(

The view from almost 553.34 metres way up above

At the souvenir shop, where we took a pic of the souvenir pic we took (which cost a whole CAD 20!) Haha.

It was Iryna's last night with us before returning to Europe, so we spent some time chillin' at a bar and went to Yuk Yuk's, a stand-up comedy club with rather crude yet entertaining comedians

 

Pretending to be King Kong or some gigantic monster on a rampage, haha

Happy Belated Boxing Day everyone! :)

toronto - a white christmas turned grey 1:05 AM

Toronto has by far the warmest climate we've experienced, and by warmest I mean -7 degC! HAHA. No really, "cold" has evolved to a whole new level for us after experiencing temperatures/windchills all the way down to -48, and I foresee difficulties getting used to Singapore's weather again (though undeniably I'm indeed looking forward to sunny weather and more daylight hours). But if only my aircon back home can go all the way down to 0 degC..! Haha.. I reckon 16 will still be quite warm for me for a start, hmm. And on a random sidenote, I think I've experienced so many different winters in the various parts of Canada that I prolly can write a Wini's Winter Survival Guide in Canada or something la, hahaha.

Anyhow, Toronto's climate is moderate for Canada due to its southern location within the country and close proximity to Lake Ontario. Yet Toronto winters sometimes feature short cold snaps with strong windchills; snowstorms mixed with ice and rain can also result in really heavy snowfalls. In fact, we are fortunate enough to have escaped the storm that'd occurred just a few days ago, and is now moving on to Quebec or something (lucky us we're done with that)! Heh. Temperatures these days in Toronto are not that low, and somehow this'd resulted in the city experiencing incessant rainfall instead of snow, making everything seem rather dreary and gloomy. In fact, the streets of Toronto are lined with slippery slosh and ice, rather than a pure white sheet of fluffy snow, making our dream white Christmas a grey one. :(

xx

Christmas Eve
We'd spent our Christmas Eve evening in Toronto looking for food, literally. Apparently there weren't many restaurants nor food places open, so our hopes of reserving a place for a warm and cosy Christmas dinner were dashed. I guess we were really disappointed initially knowing that our Christmas wasn't as nice as previously perceived, haha. But everything worked out well in the end, we finally found a diner and had a rather decent meal in a friendly ambience, heh.

 

Wet weather and sloshy roads on Christmas Eve

Toronto's a place with high immigrant influx, and we actually discovered lots of Asian food places while walking around! Here we see a shop featuring Singopore noodles, which is hilarious. Haha.

Downtown Yonge, and our nice Christmas meal where Huilin and I shared most of our food, just the spirit of the season!

xx

Christmas Day
To our dismay, almost all shops and food places are closed on Christmas Day in Canada, particularly cos people spend time with their families and stay home! So we couldn't do any form of sightseeing at all (yes, even the tourist attractions were closed)! Yet lo and behold, we found out that Chinatown was still fully open (in fact, the only place that's even open), so off we went to seek good food and cheap deals! Haha.. :)

 

We were attracted to a signboard which had Singapore chilli crabs, mee pok, laksa etc., and it turns out to be a place offering Singaporean/Thai/Malaysian cuisine..!

Dim sum for breakfast, my long-craved century egg porridge!

 

Pompidou and Jinsheng (affectionately known as Ah-Pong and Ah-Jin these days), and woots, wife biscuits (lao po bing) and green bean pastries! Yummmmmy.

Interesting stuff - foot reflexology sign with gross hairy feet (!!!), and a Chinese police signage

After Chinatown we sought to explore Toronto on foot, in light of the good -7 warm weather, heh. We could only visit the open parks and spaces of course, but the weather was so good we didn't mind taking long walks, admiring Toronto's sights even though everywhere was just empty and quiet in general.

Queen's Park Legislative Building

 

University of Toronto campus

 

Downtown Toronto and the Gay District - check out the picture on the left, which depicts books for "comrades", haha. Nude bars are also abundant in the city.

 

So yep, that's Christmas Eve/Day for us in Toronto, simple yet interesting in its own way. It's Boxing Day tomorrow, which signifies a day of shopping in light of crazy sales. According to Laura, we must prepare ourselves for the battle against the most aggressive Canadian shoppers..! I can almost foresee a day of auntie-ness and kiasu-ism at work, haha. :D

23 december - ottawa, capital of canada 11:12 PM

Despite the incessant horror stories surrounding the Greyhound bus, we finally embarked on our first Greyhound-Canada journey from Quebec to Ottawa. It wasn't all that bad though, or perhaps I've just been accustomed to travelling on coaches since I was young (and anyway, nothing can be as bad as standing 4 hours when I took the Greyhound from New York to Jersey 2 years ago, haha). But yep, my experience'd allowed me to share lots of lil' tips with my friends, about how to take care of personal belongings when asleep on the bus, as well as the weird mechanisms of Greyhound - apparently tickets for the bus have no timings stamped on them, so everyone has to go early and get into line to ensure you get a seat and depart at your desired timing, haha.

So it all worked out well for us, it's already been more than a week since we started on our travel itinerary. I guess travelling in a group always entails some form of learning - be it dependence, independence, or looking out for your friends. Cultural sensitivity perhaps comes into play too, since Iryna (Shuwen and Huilin's friend from Ukraine/Czech) is here with us as well. Yep.. it's gonna be a tiring 19 days altogether but I'm sure we'll enjoy one another's company and keep each other sane, heh.

xx

Few people actually know that Ottawa's the capital of Canada; many people mistake it for Toronto or Vancouver. But yep, we've heard it's not a very exciting place, since it is renowned only as home to a wealth of national museums, official residences, government buildings, memorials and heritage structures. Still, Ottawa was an interesting and beautiful place to see even though we spent only 1 night there, and personally I'm just so thankful and amazed that every part of Canada is so different and displays a unique culture of its own, so much so that every place we visit is a new discovery for us. Winter conditions here are also slightly different from Quebec's; snow and ice (and snowstorms) are super dominant in the province of Ontario, and Ottawa itself receives about 235cm of snowfall on average every year! So yep, coupled with the humid continental climate the city can get very very cold, bleah.

  

Ottawa Backpackers' Inn

ByWard Market with its exciting food variety (see below) and souvenir shops!

 

 

Left: cafeteria in Byward Market / Right: pasar-malam in the cold, haha

 

National Gallery of Canada (Musee des beaux-arts du Canada), with its iconic gigantic spider (the Maman). I think I look like a teddy bear there! Haha.

 

  

 

Ottawa's castle-like Parliament House and City Hall.. simply beautiful with the snowfall. :)

  

The frozen canal in Ottawa, known to be the 2nd longest skating rink in the world (once again, Winnipeg's 1st! Haha.)

merry christmas from canada! 1:57 AM

It's already Christmas Eve and it took me quite awhile to realize that, particularly cos I'm constantly on the go these days and have lost track of time, bleah. Still, here's a shout-out to all my family and friends in Singapore and the one in China, and of course to my friends everywhere in the world too - Merry Christmas and may your holidays be filled with lotsa love, laughter, joy and festive cheer! :D

    

Sharing my white Christmas with all of you back home - we hope it's not a snowstorm that we'll experience on Silent Night in Toronto.. haha.

21 to 22 december - quebec city 1:35 AM

Our short 2-night stint at Quebec City was initially greeted by a near-snowstorm, which admittedly dampened our spirits a lil' as we were rather apprehensive towards what to expect, and didn't quite know how to cope with the damp cold and snow-piercing drifts. I guess we were really getting tired of the weather somehow, and what made it worse was to realize we had yet 2 weeks more to put up with it. :(

Our 233km journey on the VIA Rail from Montreal - we finally took a Hwachongian picture! Haha.

  

A better hostel this time round, with a 6-bed mixed dorm all to ourselves. At least it's warmer, heh.

xx

Nevertheless, Quebec City was still a beautiful stopover for us, where we spent all our time exploring what's called "Old Quebec", one of the city's neighbourhoods and a renowned UNESCO-declared world heritage site. Generally speaking, Old Quebec refers to the historic area of interest which lies within the city's fort walls, and possesses much of the city's best architecture. The area exudes a distinct European feel with its stone buildings and winding streets lined with shops and restaurants; everything everywhere was just quaint yet rustic and aesthetically-pleasing.

Streets of Old Quebec

 

  

Left: check out the icicles hanging from the rooftops - I think they look like mini stalactites, haha.
Right: A "bar" made entirely out of ice. Speaking of ice structures, there is even a Hotel du Glace (Ice Hotel) in Quebec City which, as its name suggests, is a hotel made entirely out of ice..! We tried to visit that but were told it is currently non-existent cos it's rebuilt only every end-Dec and stays open for Jan-Apr (after which it melts down), haha. Interesting eh, and how cool too - accommodation is CAD 600 per night!

  

Brunch at Paillard le Boulangerie, known for its tantalizing array of breads and pastries, yummm.

 

Randomly sitting on a huge heap of snow right in the middle of the road, haha.

Old Quebec's sloping alleys

xx

Chateau Frontenac Hotel, Marche de Noel
Quebec City's skyline is dominated by the massive Chateau Frontenac Hotel, perched atop Cap-Diamant. It is apparently the most-photographed hotel in the world, and "Catch Me If You Can" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks was also filmed here, haha.

 

  

The snow blanket looked so inviting that JS and I couldn't help but trudge in it ourselves, haha. The snow's really more than knee-deep though, I can even sink my body into it! Heh.. had a little bit of fun rolling about, but got all snow-covered, cold and dripping wet thereafter. :S

  

Chateau Frontenac is alongside the Terrasse Dufferin, a walkway along the edge of the cliff which offers beautiful views of the Saint Lawrence River - see the large floating pieces of thin ice!

   

Taffy on Snow, a local delight simply made by pouring boiling maple syrup over snow and rolling it onto a stick when frozen, something like 麦芽糖 though it's really much tastier, heh. To the right's a huge tobogganing slide, spans over a large distance though it ain't as steep as the one I tried in Winnipeg.

 

And this is for Vicki.. :)

  

A really huge fir tree - it's probably fascinating somehow to see "real" Christmas trees covered in "real" snow scattered all across town this year (compared to what we have back home)!

   

Marche de Noel, the country-styled Christmas market which sells all kinds of handicrafts and foodstuffs

xx

Petit Champlain
This is the highlight of our 2nd and last night in Quebec City, where we chanced upon Petit Champlain, a touristy yet amazingly beautiful area with quaint shophouses. We;d wanted to visit the area earlier in the day, but had trouble keeping to schedule (it was simply too cold we had to defrost indoors time to time to regain feeling in our fingers and toes), but it was a blessing indeed to have ventured here at night, just cos of its brilliant Christmas lightings and decor!

 

 

    

 

Some people contend that Christmas is over-commercialized with fake decor and lightings, and perhaps that is true to a certain extent. But I guess in a place where fir trees and hollies are 100% natural and every sight is just so amazingly beautiful, one just momentarily immerses himself into the Christmasy atmosphere and takes in the season's aura in awe. It was as if we were transported to a different fantasy world, a wonderland where only the present mattered - and it is probably in these moments that you'd wish the scene were complete with a close friend or loved one.. :)

P/S: I'd almost wanted to apply for Universite Laval for exchange initially, but was deterred by the decision cos I didn't have time to pick up French to be able to live in Quebec City. But imagine if Shuwen and I did apply for Laval together..! We'll be in a fairyland every day! Haha.

let it snow 9:48 PM

 

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It doesn't show signs of pausing
And I've bought some corn for popping
The lights are turned way down low
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

When we finally kiss goodnight
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight
All the way home I'll be warm

The fire is slowly dying
And, my dear, we're still goodbye-ing
But as long as you love me so
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

xx

Snow storm in Quebec City now! Roar. Yet we ventured out all the same, despite the strong winds (though not as ghastly as Winnipeg's) gushing snowflakes all over our faces and into our eyes. We even had to walk up and down slopes/hills while braving the storm! But Hui Lin suddenly broke out into this song, and I'd say her random singing with Christmas cheer made it all cheery again somehow, heh. I guess we must all brave this weather together before we miss it (weirdly) soon.. hmm.

a morning at macdonald's in montreal 9:38 PM

Christmas is just around the corner, everywhere cafes and restaurants are playing light Christmas tunes and livening up the holiday spirit. And even amidst all this busy travelling it was here, on a random morning in Macdonald's at Montreal's rue Notre-Dame, where the Thanksgiving and appreciative spirit of the season kicked into me.

JS and I'd sought to start our 2nd full day in Montreal early, stopping by to grab a simple light snack. Over breakfast we chatted about how it'd been amazing to have embarked on this exchange journey, and that it was sadly coming to an end in a matter of days. And yes, I'm really fortunate to have come so far to North America over the past 3 years, but it wasn't all easy on me nor my family to have enabled me to do that. I don't come from a very well-to-do family, yet I do know that I'm privileged indeed to have my parents love me and agree to what I've chosen for myself during my undergraduate studies, and I'm really thankful towards them for that.

I remember how my mum always contends Christmas to be her favourite holiday of the year - not that we celebrate it in any elaborate manner, but it is always a heartwarming and heartfelt occasion indeed. Thinking about her amidst the incessant Christmas music, hence, had stirred up such a great sense of longing and nostalgia in me that I teared and wished I were near my friends and family close to heart. :(

The cold too is getting quite cumbersome for us to embrace our travel plans as much as we'd love to, and knowing that it'll drag on for the next 15 days or so isn't good nor healthy for our mindsets at all. I guess as much as it'd be nice to be home and warm again, I should start psyching myself up and really treasure the remaining time left in this cold white place, although no one can really understand how extreme it gets in Canada. Snow is still beautiful, yet sloshy snow (no, you don't get to see that in Hollywood my friends) is different altogether. Trudging in snow is fun, but walking in snow storms is no easy feat at all.

Yet I know I'll miss all of this when i return to Singapore. I'll even miss wearing my scarf and "automatically" reaching into my gloves.

Talk about life's ironic moments, sigh. I miss all of youuu.

17 to 20 december - montreal 8:46 PM

Montreal is the second largest city in Canada, and the largest in the province of Quebec itself. The official language here is French as defined by the city's charter, making Montreal among the top 3 largest French-speaking cities (second after Paris) in the world.

Being engulfed in a world of French'd made me miss Julie quite abit; I miss learning random conversational words and phrases from her, as well as her animated gestures and antics over our regular coffee sessions. Coincidentally, one of the employees at our hostel is named Julie as well, and speaks in a unique accent the way she does! I just feel kinda nostalgic now to have left some of my closest international friends, and to realize that my exchange experience is so about to be over.. :(

Montreal's weather conditions are very different as compared to Winnipeg's. Winnipeg is actually the coldest major city (i.e. population over 500,000) in the world, and JS and I'd thought we're invincible now to have survived Winterpeg and nowhere we're visiting on this trip would be as bad. Yet Montreal's climate is more humid, so instead of dry crisp winds and piercing painful temperatures, it exudes a vastly different, moist-kinda cold which can be unbearable as well. Streets in Montreal are also very slippery and sloshy in light of wetter snow, making walking equally uncomfortable and extremely dangerous at times, bleah.

Anyway, I'd love to share a tad of Montreal's culture, architecture and history in this post, but given the need to keep up with daily updates it seems virtually impossible to achieve that, so I'll just be posting up pics along the way for all of you back home (and in China)! :)

 

17-18 Dec - Le Sous-Bois, Parc du Mont-Royal

  

Left: Singapore reunites! Pompidou (Shuwen's bf) joins us in our travel plans as well
Right: Le Sous-Bois, our hostel with quaint lil' cabins (though these are not ours, haha) - see below!

 

Our very budget (CAD 15 per night) mixed dorm, which really looks like a barnyard la, haha. It gets really chilly at night here cos of the wooden floors, cold air-beds and not very efficient heating system, hmm.

 

Left: At a Metro station / Right: A tobogganing snow-slope at Parc du Mont-Royal (Mount Royal Park)

  

Atop the observatory chalet of Parc du Mont-Royal, overlooking downtown Montreal

 

19 Dec - Montreal's Underground City, Quartier-Latin

Random streets of Quartier-Latin, an area downtown bustling with night-life

 

Interesting stuff - my humps and penis pasta at a random plaything shop, haha

  

Left: Winnie the Pooh has a French name..?!
Right: TAO-GEY at a Vietnamese pho restaurant, which I haven't seen in 4 months!

Je t'aime - I love you.

 

20 Dec - Old Montreal, Montreal's waterfront

Notre-Dame Church (Basilique Notre-Dame), the largest in Montreal - Celine Dion got married here!

Interior of Notre-Dame, exquisite and beautiful - spot me in the pictures!

 

The historic area of Old Montreal (Vieux-Montreal), where architecture and cobbled streets are well-maintained, restored and frequented by horse-drawn caleches carrying tourists

Fireworks display at Montreal's waterfront to usher in the Christmas season. The scene was simply breathtaking, beautiful and romantic; I teared when Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" came on, and now I finally understand why people use "感动" to describe fireworks displays. Apart from that, this is the first time I'm watching fireworks under freezin' cold conditions, as compared to being amidst a sea of red and white sweaty bodies, haha.

My last night in Montreal ended on a rather interesting note; we actually bumped into some of our U of M international friends at the hostel! Dennis (Holland), Ayumi (Japan), MiJoong and Minji (Korea) arrived in Montreal late last night, and we'd all coincidentally ended up at Le Sous-Bois, heh. Unfortunately it was already our last night in the city, so JS and I spent some time with them over breakfast this morning before bidding farewell (we'll be meeting them again in 10 days' time on New Year's Eve).

xx

The above is really a highly-summarized account of the sights and sounds of Montreal. :( But I figured it's the best I can do while I'm on the go - not bad already okay, I'm actually aboard the VIA Rail right now headed for Quebec City, my friends are all sleeping but I'm faithfully blogging away! Haha.

On a side note, I've got a single window-seat and everywhere's a pure sheet of white when I look outside. I know it sounds romantic and beautiful, but a snow storm seems to be brewing right now so it actually looks quite scary as well. We're earnestly hoping for good weather conditions in the other cities, though we're told not to be too optimistic as places like Toronto'll be much worse with its cold humid climate and knee-deep snowfalls.. Winnipeg too is currently experiencing near -40 blizzards! Omg.. :S

life is a journey that's homeward-bound 8:59 PM

P/S: I'm already at Montreal, this post was written on Wed 17 Dec, at 5+ pm, and is published late as there was no wireless network available.

xx

I'm at the Winnipeg International Airport now, writing this while sipping a mint chocolate latte and marvelling at the final Xmas cards and cookies received from our international friends and Laura's mum, who'd fetched us to the airport.

I quote Luyi, that life is indeed a journey that's homeward-bound. After being in this strangely foreign yet friendly place over the past 4 months, experiencing cold I never thought I'd survive, embarking on adventures and activities big and small alike, making the many close friends and reaching out to them, and reflecting and learning about life's little lessons - it's time to put a temporal resolution on it all and prepare for my final journey before heading back to warm and sunny island set in the sea.

My exchange experience had been wonderfully fulfilling, it's not easy penning my thoughts and summing up 4 months in a few paragraphs. I'm proud of myself for having stepped out of my comfort zone in many aspects, and for what I've learnt about myself during time. Prof Kong says she believes what one takes away from exchange is a direct result of what one puts in prior to the trip. Yes, I did not only study hard but also play hard as well, and Chris, I didn't mean to top my class for Small Business Management nor score 28/30 for my Personal Financial Planning project! Haha. I'm just glad I've balanced and cherished my time fully in Canada, and seek solace in that I'll be meeting some of my friends in Singapore again - Laura and Judy in SMU, Dylan in July, and possibly Julie and Lindsay in August. :)

My flight has been delayed for over an hour due to bad weather and icy-snowy conditions in Montreal, giving me the time to relax and catch up with myself for once after the rushed packing, thank-yous and goodbyes. There were so many people sending us off just now, people who'd come specially to see us for the final time before we meet somewhere again, sometime in the future. I will definitely miss my friends and the times spent with them. I'll miss Winnipeg too, no matter how cold and miserable it sometimes felt that I wished I were never here.. sigh.

Here's my travel itinerary for everyone's reference:

17 to 20 Dec - Montreal, Quebec province
20 to 22 Dec - Quebec City, Quebec province
23 to 24 Dec - Ottawa, Ontario province
25-28 Dec - Toronto, Ontario province
29 to 30 Dec - Niagara Falls (Canada), Ontario province
31 Dec to 2 Jan - Niagara Falls (U.S.), New York City
3 to 5 Jan - Vancouver, British Columbia province

A map of Canada if anyone'd like to picture my travel route

19 days before flying home, so I guess factoring in the time difference that'll be 19 to 20 days before touching down in Singapore! And Chris, you'd better be more excited receiving me than receiving Eric! Haha.. still can't believe we'll be on the same flight.. so cool! Heh. :)

last 3 nights in winnipeg 8:45 PM

The past few days had been a frenzy; it wasn't just the repeat episode of squeezing 4 months of memories into 2 suitcases. But yes, settling final travel itineraries, settling accommodation for Laura and Judy, tying up LTM admin issues for Prof and Edwin, calling home, writing Christmas cards and gifts too of course, for friends both here and back home.. all these kept me real busy after the exams. And I'm just glad I've managed to do it all, squeezing in some time to also catch up with everyone else before leaving home. So amidst all the adventures of getting lost downtown (and I got stranded yet again yesterday!), here's a summary of my last 3 nights in Winnipeg.

xx

Sun, 14 Dec - Christmas and farewell party at Laura's
Dinners at Laura's always entail tantalizing spreads and splendid decor, and what more for a double-occasion during this holiday season! Mr Fox started dinner off with a toast to all of us who were either going home or going away, and it was just heartwarming to have gathered together one final time in the heart of this festive cheer, soaking up the spirit of this season filled with love, friendships, joy and laughter. :)

I finally tried drinking egg nog for the first time in my life! Sweet, rich and creamy.. delicioso.

Feasting (our eyes and mouths) on the fascinating gifts and goodies that Mrs Fox'd specially prepared - the scroll-like thingy on the left is a Christmas cracker, something I've always wanted to see and have a go at popping! Haha.. I've wondered about them since I was young, when I was still in the age of Enid-Blyton fairytale short stories, heh. The cracker contained a Christmas joke, a pack of "Believe" xmas tissue paper and chocolate. The baby mitten held a Starbucks gift card from Mrs Fox as well. To the right is homemade dessert trifle and shortbread cookies, yummy!

The generational divide, haha - Laura's grandparents and Judy's mum and dad were at the party too

Left: A final picture with the Mexicans and Laura/Judy (before we meet again in January)
Right: The Fox Family, who has been superbly kind, hospitable and thoughtful in taking care of us. They'd integrated me into their family right from the very first time we met, and I'm just so thankful to have come to this very cold place with very warm people. :)

 

We'd gotten Mrs Fox a set of cute Christmas side plates as a token of appreciation, and in return we received lots of Christmas gifts from Judy and Laura's parents as well. Mrs Fox also gave me a special handmade snow-doll from a crafts shop, something she said will remind me of the cold weather and Winnipeg. :)

Christmas Riddles from the Christmas Crackers - scroll all the way to the end of the post for answers!
1) What do you call someone who's afraid of Santa Claus?
2) Which animal doesn't eat?

xx

Mon, 15 Dec - Exchange students' dinner at Earl's
Monday night we organized a final exchange students' get-together at Earl's on Pembina Highway, wasn't a very large gathering but uber fun all the same. For some of us, it was catching up in the longest time ever as everyone'd been caught up in the exam stress, and it was indeed a night of getting to know and re-know people better. :)

Chocolate lattes served in cups that looked like soup mugs

L-R: Sandy (Holland), Adriana (Mexican), Lindsay (AIMS vice-president ), Momo and Marcel (Germany)

Julie (France) and Ayumi (Japan), I wrote a letter to her entirely in Japanese!

 

Momo and Jin Wook (Korea), and all of us with the bubble-like decorations hanging overhead

 

An illegal Asian gangsters gathering at the AVM elevator landing, heh. Thereafter we hung out at the AVM Level 4 Lounge, chatting, making random videos and showing off judo/aikido moves, haha. :)

xx

Tue, 16 Dec - Farewell dinner at Natalie's, Get-together at Tavern
Tuesday started off quite horrid for JS and I actually. We were both seriously lacking in sleep due to the previous night, and had to stay up too to pack our luggages. It was all quite rushed as we'd planned to send a suitcase to Vancouver via Greyhound on Tuesday, but there just wasn't time to get started on packing. We'd needed to head to CIBC too to terminate our bank accounts and arrange for a wiring of the fund balance back home, so there were just too many things to settle in such a short period of time.

But yea, we kinda got stranded downtown, 2nd time for me in -48 conditions and strong winds, please try to imagine the 2 of us shivering in pain from frostbites and rolling our suitcases in snow. I think we looked really pitiful indeed.. bleah. Haha.. but yes, somehow we couldn't find the bus stop I'd searched on Navigo (supposed to take the cursed #55 bus which got me lost last Sunday and yet again)! ROAR. But yea, we decided to call for a cab while defrosting in MTS Centre, but cabs were all busy they couldn't get us one. Time was running out for us to meet Natalie back on-campus as well, bleah. Eventually I managed to call Laura to get Nat's number, and coincidentally/fortunately Nat was downtown so she came by to pick us up and fetched us to the Greyhound Terminal before heading to her place for dinner.

What a day, and what a saviour Nat was to have turned our mishap around! Haha. We had good homecooked dinner and desserts at her place, and a friendly chat with her parents too. Found out that she's half-Dutch, so I flaunted some of the Dutch words I've learnt, and amazingly her parents could understand what I said (Dutch phonetics are very hard to pronounce)!

After dinner we headed to Tavern's for drinks, the AIMS execs actually came specially to see the 2 of us, and we're just so touched they made time on our final night in Winnipeg.

Left to right: Julie, Chantale, Dylan, Natalie

 

The Singaporean gang, as we proudly and affectionately call ourselves

Thereafter Julie surprised me by delivering IQ's hot choc to my room in the middle of the night. IQ's is a place where we'd hung out quite often to read, study and chill, so her gesture was utmost significant. Her message on the cup was uber sweet and heartfelt too - "You really change my way of considering people and especially friends".. aww. Tuva me manque!

xx

Answers for Christmas Riddles
1) A claustrophobic
2) Turkey, cos it's always stuffed!

Heh.. Merry Christmas and Happy 2009 to all of you back home in advance! I'm coming home soon..! :)

an adventure on the coldest day of the year 7:14 PM

I've had quite an adventure over my final weekend in Winnipeg. Apart from tobogganing, I had my first extreme love-hate relationship with Winnipeg on Sunday, when I got helplessly lost and stranded in an all-time low of -48 degC and 40km/h winds. So here goes, presenting my survival recount..

xx

It was the coldest day of the year, Sunday that is (although for the next 2 weeks every day will probably be a new coldest day, haha). Anyway I was supposed to have met Ron downtown as he'd agreed to go skiing with me - again, it was a crazy idea to have wanted to attempt skiing but I figured there won't be time to do that while travelling! So yes, according to Winnipeg Transit's Navigo system (akin to Singapore's gothere.sg which tells you what bus to take from your origin to destination), I could transfer to another bus downtown and meet Ron on board itself. But bus stops in Winnipeg ain't very obvious (most of the time there's just a pole sticking out to indicate its existence), and coupled with the weather it was horrible to just walk around trying to find my way.

Winds deadlier than temperature, cold that can kill
I didn't know if it was the cold piercing my eyes, or that I was just too upset and miserable that I teared uncontrollably. Really, I don't know how to put it into words cos the cold's just simply unimaginable. Ice crystals were attacking my face, no matter how wrapped up it was with my scarf, and the winds just kept piercing through right to the bones it was intensely painful. At that point in time, there and then, I hated myself for having come to Winnipeg.

I eventually found the right bus-stop, but upon boarding the driver horribly said his bus-route didn't travel to where I wanted to go! Worse still, he'd never heard of the place before, the Windsor Park Nordic Centre. TADANG. I felt seriously battered by everything - a foreigner who was cold, lost (and hungry, like the matchstick girl, haha), and I didn't quite know what to do. The driver called transit headquarters and they deduced that Navigo'd conveyed the wrong info, so yea.. instead of going with the flow and getting even more lost, I decided to return to U of M (but first for a soothing cuppa). The bus driver really empathized with me though, and I was indeed thankful that he was nice and tried to help.

After coffee I headed back to AVM, and to my horror and/or surprise JS exclaimed that Ron'd facebooked him, saying he was coming to AVM soon and was worried about me. Seriously I didn't know what was happening either, but here's a summary - He apparently tried looking for me downtown and looped back on the bus, while doing so he coincidentally bumped into the previous kind bus driver! Haha.. it was quite hilarious cos the driver said "I know who you're looking for, the girl! She went back to U of M!" and Ron tried to take the same bus that I did, only to run after it and see me aboard - go, going, gone. He took the next bus (30 min later) and because I'd chosen to go to Julie's room before coming up to mine, he'd heard from JS that I wasn't home and therefore got uber worried. He even searched the coffee hangouts on-campus to look for me, and said he'd have felt seriously guilty if I were to be lost and missing in my last 4 days in Winnipeg. Haha.. but yea, apparently the bus driver hadn't known of that place cos it's only called "Nordic Centre" in winter, but normally everyone refers to it as Windsor Park Golf Course, wth. Haha.. we had a good laugh over this whole adventure, though it really wasn't funny getting lost downtown at 8.30am in such weather. And I almost got blown away while walking on uneven snow (ice) by the way! :(

Skiing at long last

  

Weather forecast for today, haha.

 

Truly battered from the cold - frost all over and ice on eyes (click to enlarge and you'll see the icicles on my frozen eyelashes..!) One of the worst things I've ever experienced thus far cos you really can't open your eyes nor do anything about them, and rubbing will just cut your lids and worsen the frostbite.

 

I confess that I did fall down once while skiing, but it wasn't cos I'd slipped. In fact I was trying to shift onto the trail and stepped onto my own ski, and momentarily lost balance, hahaha.

 

Taking a break and warming up, using the Singaporean-essential heat packs. I've heard that only Singaporeans bring such stuff to cold countries, heh. I only opened my heat packs recently (yes I am that accustomed to anywhere above -30)! And my local friends are all very fascinated by them, though they really don't seem useful at all under -40 conditions.

 

Below was what I consoled myself with in the morning after getting lost and deciding to head home..

 

Second Cup's mint-chocolate latte and blueberry muffin, your essentials for a cold winter morning (note the ear muffs and gloves behind). I'm just so glad I survived, phew. :)

P/S: Again, you can watch my slightly-unglam skiing video on Facebook, hehe. That was a result of going against very strong winds and getting slightly over-confident with my skills! Judo helps in balance I think.. but I hit against a hard piece of ice or something, bleah. Remember to listen for the howling winds.. :)

tobogganing - rollin' tumblin' fun! 5:10 PM

The weather was crazy over the weekend, and unfortunately will continue to be. It was an unbelievably -42 degC (-26 plus windchill!), and weather forecasts are now filled with multiple warnings, cautioning everyone against severe windchills.

Click on these and try to imagine what I'm experiencing..!

Yet despite the weather, we were gung-ho enough to attempt tobogganing last Saturday. Dylan brought us to Crescent Drive Park near his place; there was a slide ready for use so we didn't have to toboggan along some random hilly slope, haha. No seriously, that'd have been uber fun too, but not when most surface snow actually freezes and hardens into solid ice in this extreme cold. Imagine the bumps and bruises we'll suffer! Yikes. And actually I do have a blue-black on my lower back/butt area right now, haha. :(

 

Notice the bits of frost that actually stay on our toques, scarves and jackets; some were undoubtedly snowflakes caused by the constant rollin' and tumblin', but most were actually random ice crystals drifting in the strong winds! I think Dylan seemed more wrapped up than we were anyway, and he looks like a lion with bits of frost on his furry hood, haha.

We also tried 3-man tobogganing, squeezing onto the 2 blue "sleds", huddling one another's legs and sliding down simultaneously. HAHA. Damn fun, although the front person suffered the most cos of the huge amount of snow that gushed right onto us upon landing and numbed our faces. Heh.. but we all had a go at being the first, and it was just plain silly and hilarious when we tumbled all over (or maybe we were seriously numbed by the cold; our hands, feet and faces so sore it no longer mattered anymore).

Me at the bottom, with a W for whee and woots! Haha. Check out my tobogganing vids on Facebook!

  

I like the picture on the left, heh. This red mat thingy gives you more speed and thrill; so you end up sliding further than you normally would! The blanket of snow was soo thick (and fluffy if you find the right patch) that it was just nice rolling in it, hehe. (P/S: Yes Chris, I know you're jealous!)

The sign sounded so dangerous! So yep.. what weather to go tobogganing! But it was undeniably exciting just screaming down the slides and rolling, hehe. Thereafter we had liquer hot chocolate at Dylan's, a perfect way to soothe and calm down after getting cold feet (literally), sore toes and fingers. Ahhh.. :)

xx

Farewell gathering

 

Later in the night we had a lil' drinking session in our room with some of the AIMS execs and exchange students. I received the hockey stick above as a xmas present by Ayumi (Japan), and she kinda left the "I Love Winni" sticking out of the bag, so I initially thought it was customized for me! Bleah.. it turned out to be Winnipeg of course, haha.

snippets of everyday life 10:22 PM

The academic term had officially come to an end earlier this month. During the final week of classes my trusty camera had followed me everywhere on-campus, while I seized every opportunity to take pictures of the familiar people and places I'd seen and visited over the past 4 months. Here I share some little snippets of my everyday life in U of M. :)

FILM 1290 - Art of the Film
Undoubtedly my favourite and most insightful course on exchange, film studies has exposed me to greater perspectives and an appreciation for the history of film and cinema. Apart from being a more informed viewer, I've also learnt to admire filmmakers for/and their techniques deployed in creating their works.

For these reasons, I've put in alot of effort for the course as I genuinely want to take away from it - the Prof too thinks I have potential! Heh. I had my film exam yesterday, and I'd say it was manageable, though there were sections where one's required to write essays which encourage out-of-the-box critical thinking in relation to film themes. I discussed the Coming of Age of young women as depicted in some of the films we'd watched.. a very draining exam, 3 hours and I'd to write non-stop. :S

Prof Gene Walz, an internationally-recognized film critic with vast knowledge and experience. He sometimes calls himself Uncle Gene, acknowledging the fact that some may find him long-winded. Haha.. I do admire and respect Gene very much, and am indeed thankful to have benefited alot from his teachings. We'd spoken on several occasions, discussing  Singapore's (amateur but rising) film industry, and after mentioning Jack Neo's themes (Money No Enough and I Not Stupid especially), as well as Royston Tan's works, Gene'd expressed interest to come to Singapore one day! Haha.

160 Elizabeth Dafoe Library - the theatre where we watch our films on Thursdays, and 241 University College - our classroom for Tuesday discussions. Notice that they still use the chalkboard here, the chairs too are very squeezy (you can't fit in comfortably with your winter jackets on, haha), and the TV and DVD system are always faulty. Hmm.

FIN 3270 - Personal Financial Planning / ENTR 3100 - Small Business Management

  

Left: Melissa, my Personal Financial Planning groupmate. Right: Small Business project group with Prof Nathan Greidanus, a previous investment banker and entrepreneur

 

Small Business classmates - Gaby, Katie and Allie from left to right. Katie and Allie are really friendly and chatty; we've had lots of fun in class during the small-group discussions and presentations. Heh.. Allie works at Baked Expectations too, she cuts larger slices whenever I visit! :)

 

A typical classroom in the Asper School of Business - this's already a newer room as compared to the one with brown chairs above (venue for my Small Business class). Old-school OHPs are commonplace here; screens aren't fancy the way we know it too. But worst of all..

 

The chairs, which are hinged to table legs, providing very restricted movement! They also creak and squeak constantly, and slide away from the tables all the time! Really uncomfy, haha.

Asper School of Business

Classroom hallway at the basement

   

Study area on 2nd level and booths on the main floor - yes, they don't have to move their own tables and chairs when setting up booths! Heh.

  

Couches at the Fishbowl on the main level - the name "Fishbowl" is attributed to the glass surrounding the area. The Asper computer lab on the right gives us CAD 50 worth of printing credits for the term, so we don't really pay for printing! (Printing's damn ex at 10 cents per page, heh.)

  

Tunnel leading from Asper to the other buildings, just like SMU's Concourse. Mostly utilized in winter!

 

Exterior of University College and Drake Centre (Asper School of Business)

Ahhh. I think I'll miss the wonderful people and places in U of M somehow, no matter how chui the latter may be compared to back home.. :(

tada.. the chocolate advent calendar! 6:32 PM

What's Christmas without chocolates?

 

Heh.. I love the chocolate Advent calendar. Essentially a special calendar used to count the days in anticipation of Christmas, it usually takes the form of a large rectangular card with many "windows" or doors, one of which is opened every day during the 24 days before Christmas. Haha.. I guess this ain't that popular in Singapore (although I believe it can be found at atas candy shops such as Candy Empire or something), so it was still considered quite novel to me. :)

The above is a gift from the Fox family. Spot my 1st December snowman choc! Haha.. the dates on each Advent calendar are all jumbled up too, so it adds to the excitement of one eagerly finding which window to rip off. Ho.. my local friends keep sharing how they've cheated when they were young; they'd open more doors than they're supposed to and eat what's meant for the next few days! Haha.. and yes you can guess, I'm totally falling into that trap too! ROAR.

So now that I'm here - what's Christmas without a chocolate Advent calendar? :)

7 december - ice-skating at the forks 5:15 PM

One thing rarely known about Winnipeg - it is home to the longest skating rink in the world. At the heart and confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, The Forks offers a spectacular 8.54km-long ice rink when the two river canals freeze in January's Winterpeg. Sadly though, despite the already -30 degC cold (and yesterday it was -38..), temperatures are still insufficient for the rivers to solidify thoroughly, and we thus had to settle for the outdoor "manmade" rink instead. :(

There was quite a huge amount of snow that day, I think it was either flurrying heavily or it was just proper snowing, haha - can't tell the difference; lack of experience! But yep.. it was an incredibly beautiful and fascinating sight, and I was greatly charmed and touched indeed. :)

  

While waiting for the bus on-campus - it was really cold that day, but that didn't hinder us from capturing the beautiful scene. The pic on the right depicts somewhere downtown, along the route to The Forks. (Yes, JS and I totally PLONKED onto the huge pile of snow in public, haha.) What thick snow! And it's fortunate that Winnipeg snow's drier than the rest of Canada's; we'd be terribly frozen from the water seeping through our jeans otherwise! Heh.

 

The "manmade" skating rink - not that it's artificial really, cos we were indeed on real frozen ground. I guess it was really quite cool to attempt skating on natural ice, but it was sooooo scary too! Nothing like the Jurong East rink of course, there are no handles at the sides and the ice is never smooth! So yep.. for an amateur 2nd-time skater like me, the ice surface's rough edges and ridges were enough to freak me out, haha. See me wobbling and trying to maintain balance! :S

But thankfully though I wasn't THAT noob considering I first skated (hmm..) 14 months ago? (Eh actually that's quite long ago, haha.) On my 21st birthday that is, where Vicki'd insisted I do something dare-devilish and never done before. I must say that despite my friends' support and help me last Sunday, I think Vicki's still the best instructor ever! Haha. (And you untied the irritating shoelaces for me leh, which I realize (after doing it on my own) can be very frustrating!)

 

  

I eventually managed to skate around on my own, gradually gaining speed (but still slower than most of my friends, heh). I could even pose for pictures with one leg off-ground! *beams* haha. Apparently the news crew came that day to film the rink too, but I hadn't noticed them cos I was too concentrated on watching my feet in motion, haha.. I hope they didn't catch me wobbling from side-to-side! ROAR.

The person (who slipped and fell) on the ground is JS! Haha.. not that he couldn't skate well, but he really enjoyed himself so much he didn't mind stumbling and falling all over amidst the fun! Heh.. but it was a good day indeed, a well-deserved break from the stressful exam period. We ended the day off with dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory with Lindsay, Steph and Ron.

 

Seeee the hugeeee amount of mist below.. it is THAT cold..! Brrrrr..

   

So cold that I had to keep running indoors every 10-15 min of skating, just to warm my feet at the fireplace. Coupled with the tight-fitting skates, my toes were just numb and seriously icy..! And that's my first snow angel on a hill, but it looks kinda dead and fat..? Bleah.. what an angel! Haha.

everyone needs star-dee breaks 9:18 PM

This was me last week, studying for my Personal Financial Planning exam -

 

Yes, I now realize the 2nd picture didn't help cos of what my computer screen depicted, haha. I must say I was really stressed up over this exam, not just cos it was Finance (revolving around Canadian laws and regulations somemore), but also cos of lack of preparation. I'd spent most of my time compiling, editing and rewriting project reports, and it didn't help that there was no study break so it was all rushed and frustrating! :(

  

Since my days are numbered in Winnipeg, I'd cleverly worked around this by studying with some of my friends as a form of spending time together, resorting to our own self-entertainment when we got bored..

 

Left: God(dess)-zillas attacking the world! The AVM study lounge offers a good view of the white, wide snow blanket on-campus. Somehow it reminds me of SMU - "Book SOB GSR 3.11, got good view!" Haha.
Right: IQ's on-campus, which prides itself on offering (cheaper) Starbucks coffee, albeit quite limited in variety. I'm seriously becoming a caffeine-addict hanging out here, haha.. but it's the only place that's open for legitimate hours (everywhere else closes at 4 or 5pm), and IQ's stays open till 2am every day!

   

Oh anyway, I'd also made a video, "How to Study Effectively with Wini", which was a very impromptu spark of inspiration on my part. Go check it out on my Facebook! And omg.. I suddenly realize that the ratio of my studious to non-studious pictures is horrendous!!! HAHA.

29 november - the aims farewell gala 7:35 PM

Ahhh. Time flies; the term had come to an end before we knew it! Roar. We had our last official AIMS event two weeks ago, the very-much anticipated farewell gala dinner. There wasn't any kind of formal dress code, but everyone dressed up more than usual to commemorate the final time we'll all hang out together as an entire group of exchange students. :(

AIMS Gala Awards
I guess the night was a mixture of euphoria and nostalgia - part of the excitement was attributed to the pre-dinner award "ceremony", where we gathered at Asper (School of Business) for the prize presentation and screening of a video that AIMS had specially made for us. The award categories were predetermined prior, and we had to submit our nominations/votes to the execs via email.

  

See what I won! Miss Got-Around, for the person who travelled the most! Actually there were several other good contenders, but I reckon most people knew I'd gone to the Rockies (coupled with all my pictures..) and I prolly outshone the rest. Hehe.. thought I might have won Miss Photographer though.. oh btw JS won "Most likely to have ID checked even when turned 25"..! HAHA.

The farewell video was really sweet too, bringing back lotsa fond memories. Essentially a montage of the many pictures we'd taken over the past 4 months, it was heartwarming to revisit what we did and witness the many friendships forged. Yep.. I teared too while watching it.. haha. It was just so touching, even though I kept laughing too cos they took alot of pictures off my facebook to create the vid! Tskk.

  

The female AIMS execs - Natalie, Chantale, Steph and Lindsay. To the right is the very old (school) bus that took us to our dinnerplace! I think it looks like the magic school-bus, albeit too ancient to be magic eh.

 

Lexy's Restaurant

  

Lexy's Restaurant - a buffet spread of salad, pasta and pizza. It wasn't all that good though, primarily cos we waited so long for dinner to start and they didn't replenish the food in time either. Bleah.. and they have a weird pizza with green (long) beans on it! Haha.. not exactly easily palatable.

Chantale and Julie, probably 2 of my closest friends here. We hang out for weekly coffee sessions, and Julie's also my unofficial French teacher (though she learns Mandarin/Jap/English from me too).. I'm drinking a red cosmo martini btw, Carrie Bradshaw's favourite! Haha.

 

Blush! Ultraclub

Dylan and I along the Christmas-lit Main Street downtown. Sure doesn't look as elaborate as Orchard's!

I'd mentioned in a previous post that Blush's amongst the most high-end atas clubs in Winnipeg, being considerably bigger with more professional lightings. And no country music! Haha.

And ooh I must mention this too, that I'd wanted to try a new and unique drink, so I requested for the bartender to make me something "semi-strong, easy to drink and preferably unique" - he made a fascinating concoction right in front of my eyes, then beamed proudly and declared, "This is a very special drink, one-of-a-kind, the Singapore Sling!" And my jaw immediately dropped open, literally haha. I mean it was just so amusing and ironic, and after Dylan revealed I'm Singaporean, the bartender kinda disclaimed that it doesn't taste like the original cos he'd added apple juice to it. HAHA. In the end I shared my Uniquely Singaporean drink with many people, repeating my interesting story time and again. :)

I actually drank quite abit that night (cosmo martini, half of Julie's pina colada, Malibu pineapple, Skyberry vodka cranberry, Singapore Sling, Skyberry vodka shots..), but I was still widely sober though tipsy! (P/S: Luyi, I know you are still waiting to get me drunk yea, so many years still never succeed! Haha.)

  

On the bus-journey home, and nua-ing at the AVM lobby. :)

of puffy puffs and flying flurries 4:30 PM

These days temperatures are rapidly dropping; it's amazing how even the slightest breath creates a whole lot of mist (yes, even through the nose!) Haha. And to that effect, I think it's really funny and cute watching layered, puffed-up figures exhale great amounts of mist at regular intervals, blurring in the white. And of course it's even more amusing watching those rushing to class with their heavier breathing! Cos like what Nic'd contended, the Michelin-type marshmallow down jacket seriously makes anyone look deceivingly-un-runnable, heh.

On another note, I really love flurries. Not so much of walking in than watching them, though. Just that on the morning after sending Nic off, I'd journeyed back in a delightfully-surprising flight of flurries - and since it was so quiet on-campus on an early Saturday morning, I'd decided to stroll and enjoy the rare lil' bit of Winnipeg sun peeking through the clouds..

I've always thought walkways covered in snow to be romantic, heh. And that's me being "drenched" in snow (what word do you use for snow?!) - you can see flurries in my hair and scarf!

 

The not-so-nice things about snow though (or maybe it only applies to snow-amateurs like me) - is that I'm always tempted to trudge in/step on seeming-ly thick and large heaps. But it's true you never know what lies beneath; I've stepped into sharp hollies and random plants and the edges of kerbs, its really embarrassing at times! Haha. It's also annoying whenever I don my specs and metal earrings out, cos they get extremely cold and hence the eyes/nose/earlobes suffer. And not to forget having to check the weather forecast before going out too, just to gauge windchill for the day! :(

xx

A funny email exchange between Chris (who's in Beijing now) and I
P/S: Pardon the grammar, it's Singlish!

Chris: And it's super cold out today! The wind keep blowing! Can see my breath when I breathe.. it's just so cold and windy today! Later tonight definitely must buy boots or shoes or I think my feet will really freeze and fall out. ROAR.
Wini: Haha hello I don't think it's as cold as here is it??? How cold is it? I have damn low temps plus damn strong winds! And yea, slight breath can see mist!
Chris: Yah it's not as cold as Winnipeg definitely, but I still feel cold cannnnn.. only your side can feel cold is it.. other people cannot. Haha. Roar. It's -3 degrees apparently!
Wini: Haha -3 is nothing to meeeeee already!!!! it's -30 today!
Chris: It's something to me la can! Wah lau, no sympathy one lor you!

Haha.. I miss you Chris! I can send you warm mittens from Canada..! Hehe.

the niche of singlish 11:29 AM

Why ah, tell me why is Singlish such a great language to converse in?

No wait, it's not even a language right? According to Prof Wiki hor, Singlish is the English-based creole spoken and written colloquially in Singapore leh. And of course English is the lexifier language la, but Singlish has its unique slang and syntax ma, so is more commonly used in informal speech lor.

xx

I'm pretty sure my international friends don't understand the above; sometimes they think JS and I are speaking in a different language altogether! Haha. And for that matter, and for the many fascinating things I've shared with people here about Singapore, I was randomly inspired to come up with my very own list of favourite Singlish words/phrases:

#1 Chart Toppers (for most Singaporeans, apart from the usual la/lor/leh/meh/ouis)

• sian - tell me, which other word encompasses the combined meaning of boredom, fatigue and so much more?  I wouldn't know what to do without it! Haha.
• nua - we taught Laura and Judy how to use it, and they pronounce it in a sophisticated, "noir". Heh.
• wah lau - I'm quite sure people use this 3564789590 times a day!
• chui - the universal word for anything that's cmi (cannot-make-it)
• gian - as in the craving for prata kinda gee-anne..
• shiok - for all kinds of food we have
• zai, skarli, paisay, simi, jialat, suey, siao, gao wei, chiong, pia
• "eh dun lidat leh"

Other personal favourites I often use include chope, kope, ka jiao, chapalang, machiam, cheem.. and the adding of tenses behind words - nua-ing, sian-ness etc. Haha.. ok sheesh I can't stand all the red curly wurly lines on my screen anymore!

I seriously think most Singaporeans abroad are proud and most comfortable conversing in Singlish with their fellow mates; as long as one knows when/how to distinguish this from standard English, I'd contend Singlish to be a Uniquely Singaporean identity for all of us. :)

my favourite*7 junior 1:43 PM

So my dearest junior was sooo nice to visit me in Canada during the American Thanksgiving weekend! Or maybe she only wanted to take advantage of free accommodation while seeing new places la, tskkk.. haha. But it was just so unbelievable that she'd chosen to visit Winnipeg for her first time to Canada! (P/S: People don't visit Winnipeg because it's an amazing city you know, haha.)

But I must say I was stressed over planning a "travel itinerary" for Nic, though it all turned out well in the end. I guess it was really the spending time together and catching up that made her 3D2N stay (actually more of 2D2N cos of the very early departure) most memorable for us. And at least I brought Nic to the food places she'd specifically requested to go, Baked Expectations at Osborne Village and The Original Pancake House! Oh and not to forget shopping at the country-style Forks Market like amateur aunties..! Haha :)

Nic mentioned she'd never imagined going to a place colder (or worse, windier) than Ann Arbor, even though she was already in her puffy Michelin-marshmallow-ed jacket, heh. Made me very proud of the fact that I'm probably one of the.. hmm, 2% of Singaporeans who can ever imagine or experience -30 degC in their entire lifetimes? Haha.. even -10 sounds scary to frequent winter vacationers back home!

After a very anti-climax hug at the AVM lobby and nua-ing on my nice luxurious 5-star hotel bed. Haha.

Desart Shop and Happy Cooker, with all sorts of cute funky lil' things like ABC Cookies - Already Been Chewed!

Cup Cakery! Super yums, look at the gigantic cupcake (which weighs 2.5kg or something)..

 

Happily auntie-ing away.. woots!

I must say it's really exciting to meet a friend (a close friend somemore whom I care alot about) in a different part of the world halfway across the globe. I know this sounds silly, but Nic, it was really nice having an old friend trudge in the Winnipeg snow/slush with me, heh.

And I'm sure you also enjoyed your first legal-drinking experience in North America ya? Thanks too for instigating me to use the fake bus transfer (the validity timing on our tickets'd expired but we hun4-ed through all the same), and the facebook snooping (rem how we jian4 gui3 when we scrolled through his pics?), and just spending quality time with me talking about anything/everything from our lives to the good ol' days in the dojo. It's just heartwarming indeed to also converse in our typical HC-style Singlish/Chinese and reminiscing over everything, including imitating auntie Pheywa's actions, hahaha.

 

Baked Expectations sinful dessert indulgence, and atop The Forks' observation tower

Spot me waving to dear Santa! :D

 

Candy-created snow sleighs and snowman tealight candles at the Forks Market

  

Earl's - Nic's first legal-drinking experience in North America, haha

I'm glad I sent Nic off at the airport in the wee hours too, had a good quiet time sipping Tim's coffee and looking up tourist guides, to facilitate planning my post-exam schedule while waiting for JS to finish his papers. :) I love you my dearest junior, see you next summer in sunny Singapore! (P/S: I'll also start a countdown like him k? Haha.)

one great thing about doing film studies.. 9:24 PM

is that I get to borrow DVDs anytime to watch for leisure (and erm, in-depth studies into film/scene analysis of course, haha.) I took a peek at University College's Media Lab library today, and to my delight there is a whole assortment of films I'd wanted to and would love to watch! Tsk. Silly me didn't take advantage of this "free rental" service earlier la, bleah - to think I only started borrowing films recently for my individual film paper, as well as to entertain Nic when she arrives in Winnipeg tomorrow!

But anyway, after working so hard for the monstrous Small Business presentation today (yes it's finally over, phew..), I suppose it'll do me good for now to snuggle and feast my eyes on Anthony Asquith's The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, heh.

There are still many titles that'd caught my attention; I reckon I'll revisit the Media Lab quite often before the end of exams. I hope to watch the films Prof'd mentioned in class too, especially those that were censored/not featured in Singapore; it's such a rare opportunity.. Yay! :)

Quotable Quote:
“How can you still enjoy movies, I am often asked, when you spend all your time analyzing them and researching them? All I can say in response is that I enjoy movies more than ever, but admittedly, in a very different way from my very first excursions into the illuminated darkness.” – Andrew Sarris

Off to Bunbury-ing!!

piano in the wild 8:40 AM





Hey, I like Jay. I've been listening to his newest songs almost everyday for the past month; I like how this album mixes bittersweet ballads, cute funky tunes and encouraging songs for every mood. I also love how he plays pianos in the wilderness as evident in this and many of his previous MTVs.. I wish I could do that too. Heh.


passion; it's a girls' thing. 7:54 AM

"Having a Passion Party is a great way to spend an evening with your friends. You'll giggle and learn as we show you ways to spice up your love life with lotions, potions, lingerie, and things that go buzz in the night. Discover intriguing secrets of sensuality as you learn the top 5 secrets to SEXCESS from The Party Lady." - adapted from the Passion Parties website.

xx

Haha.. so one night Laura and Judy just said, "Wini, there's a Passion Party on 21st Nov, and you're going!" and at that time I was obviously clueless as to what that was. They tried explaining (and JS was around btw) by describing it as a "Tupperware party, just that they aren't selling Tupperware.." - tskkk. But I would have wanted to come anyway, just for the unique experience and seeing what kinda interesting stuff they have in North America, haha.

So Judy was excited about making some exotic-erotic-looking baked goods for the party, and I was roped in to help out. Amber (the Party Lady) lent us her one-of-a-kind cake mould (as shown below), and I also suggested making boob cookies! Heh.. it's my 2nd time making them now, pressing choc chips into mini mounds/domes of dough of all sizes - I think they can become my signature one day, ho!

 

 

Lo and behold! Notice that for nips we had both chocolate and butterscotch chips, the latter of a nude colour for variety. Haha.. Judy also insisted we make "hair" for the cake so I suggested choc rice sprinkles; it also has 2 lil' silver studs! Hehe. Everything's homemade by the 2 of us, even the icing! :)

Judy and I had had many funny encounters and accidents with the mould and cake by the way. No matter how self-conscious we were in holding the mould, it always looked suggestive in some way when held near to our bodies/faces! Haha.. I was so afraid of denting it too cos I kept accidentally knocking it against random pillars and walls - imagine if the cake were dented?! Judy also unintentionally made "wrong" comments when the cake was in the oven, like "Oh look, it's RISING!" and "It looks so good in there!" - HAHA.

  

We all wore nametags for the night, each with a (supposedly) kinky name like "Flexible Fox", or "Juicy Julie", which I thought were very good names. But I was so busy making final touch-ups to the cake, I wasn't able to have a say in mine! The only W words I could think of for this were "wild", "wacky", erm maybe even "wet" la - yikes - so the others decided to help by consulting a website that created personalized nicknames with letters from your first/middle/last names. WAHHHH. I became some random Princess Tush, I dono where it came from and it doesn't resemble my name too la! Haha.. tsktsk.

Passion Parties are designed to inform and educate women through tasteful in-home presentations where you have an opportunity to experience sensual products specifically created to enhance your romantic relationship - "tasteful" here is a pun cos there are obviously many edible products amongst the massage lotions and creams, haha. Amongst these were the Edible Body Pen (comes in choc or strawberry somemore), White Chocolate Passion Powder, Fireworks Hot Fudge Surprise etc; you basically use them to write/dust sexy messages on your partner and erm, lick them off anytime. Heh.. so we had a tasteful experience since Amber made us test these products on ourselves and see how yummy they all were! It was a whole night of squeezing and licking for us (haha), and it's amusing how Amber had to disclaim "this is yet another edible product", or on some occasions, "don't eat this it doesn't taste good!"

 

The Passion Hot Heart Massager and Nipple Nibblers, which is actually a fruity-menthol balm which creates luscious lips and nips for a tasty kiss and whatever-else you want. And since it was the cheapest of all products, most of us did buy nip-nibs (to use as lip balm..) Haha.. and to the right is Love Smitten, essentially a mitten with ridges to serve as a massager, it's damn ticklish! Hehe.

Passion Products are listed in 2 separate catalogues - one consists of all the nice, sweet, sensual products which help enhance a romantic relationship, while the other has all the kinky stuff la, haha. I really like the former though, while the latter is just scary. We were all extremely amused yet disgusted when shown monstrous "designs" of everything, with all its different vibrating and swiveling functions can! Haha.. the Japanese models were the most exciting; power-packed with various features - though they looked kinda weird since they had "faces" imprinted on them to help look more subtle and less threatening. :S

And if you ever watch the TV series of Sex and the City, you'll know that The Rabbit was featured in one of the seasons. According to Amber though, this product is only mediocre although it became popular for awhile because of SATC, yep. Oh and lastly, we also played Dic-Tac-Toe at the end, where we each wrote 9 of our favourite products in the grid and Amber shouted out random product names for us to cross out, something like Bingo. And I won! Haha.. I was actually set for a 3-way win somemore leh, and I had a 15% discount on whatever I bought that night, which meant 45 cents off my nip nibs. Haha. Still a discount!

  

 

Earls
Thereafter we joined Judy and her high-school friends at Earls, an upbeat restaurant bar. We'd wanted to chill longer after most people left, and since it was Tyler's birthday Judy and I decided on popping by Baked Expectations. It was a good choice too, cos it turned out that Tyler (despite being a Winnipegger all his life) had never tried its cakes, and it was Julie's first time as well! :)

 

sophisticated stereotyping 10:43 PM

"The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and, instead of thinking of how things may be, to see them as they are." - Samuel Johnson

To me, this is more than just taking in the sights and sounds of new unfamiliar places; it is also about seeking to understand one's international friends, their thoughts and behaviour and why they are as such. This is where sensitivity, empathy and Osland and Bird's theory of sophisticated stereotyping come in. :)

 

The Duckworth Quad in fall and winter (though both do not depict the same building in the distance, haha). Notice there isn't any sunshine in the 2nd picture, though it was only 1pm. :(

looong update 8:46 PM

People back home are surprised my blog hasn't been updated over the past 10 days, and I can't believe it either; it feels like I haven't written in the longest time ever! But it was a hectic week with the Small Business exam and Personal Financial Planning presentation, the latter which went quite well - I think it might be the best finance presentation I've ever done in my undergraduate years! Haha.

So well, this is just a shout-out to everyone that I'm surviving; and just a couple of things that'd caught my thoughts and attention that I'd like to share. :)

Weather Report

I figured it makes complete sense to first chart my progress in the battle between all-summer-Singaporean and colder-than-cold-Winnipeg, haha. I know it's raining alot in Singapore now that the NE monsoon's arrived, and it's prolly cold on some nights I guess. But eh, I think that just means 20 degC the most (least), whereas I'm standing at -20! Haha.. I just think it's amusing somehow, and maybe after this stint in Canada I no longer have to wear jackets in class, heh.

So well, the cold is really as usual, just cold beyond description. Brr.. it stands at around -25 everyday now, and frankly I'd never have imagined myself to survive in such a climate. The thing is, the temperature itself is bearable, it's usually about -12 or -15, but the wind is what's making it really bad. With Winnipeg located on Manitoba's flat prairies, we experience the strongest and chilliest of winds, and a typical day at -15 can easily "feel like" -28! The weather forecast always has separate "actual" and "feels like" columns, by the way. Haha.. last week I tried walking to another building one night in the -17 cold, without a down jacket cos it wasn't with me - felt okay at first, but halfway through it got so bad I was chattering and couldn't think nor talk coherently anymore! Omg.. it's quite an experience really. But somehow I'd felt proud of my dare-devillish act thereafter, haha. :) I think an average Singaporean would cringe even at the thought of -10 la.. and that day I laughed at Vicki for wearing a ski mask in China last time (it makes you look like a robber cos it covers up everything except your eyes), cos I bet I'm going through something worse than her without any beanie, toque nor ear muff - I only wear 1-2 normal tops with my scarf and jacket! Heh.

The sun hasn't been shining these days too, not just for the fact that it sets at 5pm and leaves us all in a bleak dark state. Cloud cover has been slightly more than usual, affecting sun activity even in the daytime! So it's kinda miserable and gloomy at times when everywhere's a bluish-grey slate when you're out, and worse still when you're trying to do work in the late afternoons and it just feels like it's already 10pm! So I end up nua-ing most of the time instead, my brain tricked into thinking it should be preparing for bed. Rah. :(

Snowfall hasn't been abundant either - we've only had 2 nights of snowfall thus far, though temperatures are sufficiently low for it to stay on the grounds without melting. But Canada's winter has been weirdly fluctuating in recent years - according to locals, it's supposed to snow heavier now with optimal sunshine. Bleah.. I do hope it'll snow again soon. I've yet to make my first snowman, snow angel, and even an ice kachang in the open (which my friends were surprised was a dessert back home, cos they'd only suggested pouring food colouring in snow to be a pretty thing to do..)! I also want to go tobogganing and skiing before I leave Winnipeg..

And finally, I want it to snow too cos I like to watch flurries. They'd caught me unawares on a couple of occasions now, and it's such a dreamy comforting feeling to gaze out of the window, just marveling at the beauty of falling snowflakes while sipping on a cuppa in the Starbucks at Dafoe Library. :)

Thoughts on a Pod

On Relationships
Recently several couples have sprouted amongst the exchange students; true love blossoming for some, and perhaps for some others a mere surge of feelings and flings, which kinda sparked off some thought in me. From a cultural standpoint, it seems Asian societies aren't as liberal as Europeans/North Americans in the way they regard love and sex. But it probably remains true that every one, Asian or not, longs to have someone to call his/her own at some point in life. But if this solace were to come in the form of a fling, would or should one accept it? Perhaps the answer boils down to personality and the way one handles emotions and relationships, but yea.. it was a whole night of thought and reflection for me, understanding my perspectives towards matters of the heart and branching that out to bigger issues in general. I'm thankful Christine was around to be my engaging discussion partner too; we were sharing views and firing emails so spontaneously in the unearthly wee hours on a Winnipeg morning, haha.

On Friends and Graduation
In the past 10 days there was a period of time when I felt rather nostalgic and started revisiting Facebook profiles of friends from NY and HC, just to see how everyone's doing and erm, maybe kaypoh abit la haha. I remember having told Kaykey about it (while entertaining her during her boring Knowledge Management class), and suddenly I felt like just meeting and catching up with everyone when I return home! Haha.

While doing so I also came across many NTU Convocation pics, and I wondered how my own graduation will be like. Where I'll end up, and the whole revelation about job-hunting, what-ifs and what-nots. I remembered asking myself back in 2005 when deciding between SMU and NTU, whether I should go for an attractive accelerated 3-year program - and of course if I'd done so I'd never've been set to graduate into a recession.. Still, I don't regret having come to SMU; I believe in whom I've turned out to be, and I know I've definitely become a better person as such. I must cherish my final semester as a student before I set foot into the corporate world in less than 6 months!!

P/S: I may have many things to take on next sem, and many people to catch up with and bring around, but I won't neglect anyone I promise. :D

the manitoba moose: big screen, big time! 11:30 AM

Ice hockey is one of the four major North American professional sports, and the national winter sport of Canada. Given the country's level of emphasis and high regard for the game, thousands of Canadians flock to watch their favourite teams in action every season.

Winnipeg is home to The Manitoba Moose (which is really very-cute a name for an ice hockey team, haha) - I've heard of others such as the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks, which really sound more cool! But oh oh, here's another also listed under the National Hockey League, the Pittsburgh Penguins! Haha.

So this was last Friday (14 Nov), and we were scheduled for a homecoming game at the MTS Centre between the Manitoba Moose and Toronto Marlies. AIMS organizes a trip to the games every season at this time of the year for us exchange students. Along with their group ticket purchases are lil' freebies that serve as souvenirs; this year we each took a hockey puck home! And of course - as some of you'd prolly know by now - I was selected to go onto the big screen too, and my stint at guessing that night's attendance granted me more collectibles than others! Haha.. quite cool for a virgin experience at a live hockey game! :)

The night was just exciting and adrenaline-rushing, especially for first-timers like us. We just felt so thrilled to be watching a live game in action in this part of the world, where everyone's so crazy and "patriotic" about their own provincial teams! The atmosphere was professionally created too - fascinating myraid of lights and hyped-up music which greatly heightened audience expectations and mood. I felt like I haven't watched anything of such magnitude in years; the only thing that comes close is probably Jay's concert (!?!) Haha, I know it's a bad comparison, but the ambience was sooooo intense it was as if we're watching a live concert! Haha.

Manitoba Moose vs Toronto Marlies - 2:1 - we won!

It's fun when there's a bus-stop/bus full of your friends - we had about 60 people altogether, all super enthu and rah-rah in initiating waves and cheers during the game! Heh.. to the right is the SMU gang.

 

See! Even the pre-games ambience was fascinating, and that's the iconic Moose hyping up the audience

 

Canadians singing the National Anthem with pride (while I snapped away, quite disrespectful!)

 

The screen up there is very cool, it plays ads and even introduces the various groups of people who'd come to the game on a company initiative or school event (like us)! Sometimes it also displays captions such as "GOAL!" or "NOISE!" to erm, instigate the crowd to be rowdy. Haha. But yea, the spurts of ads at random timings was weird at times though, talking about washing machines and sponsors.. tskk. But all in all a really cool big screen..

  

Especially when you see yourself up there big time! HAHA. My answer for the night's attendance was 7,422 people (it was multiple-choice) - and erm, according to tips from the AIMS execs, just go for the largest number la. Haha.. just very exciting to be "interviewed" and tell people where you come from!

The Moose's signature cheer - "Let's go Moo-oose, let's go!" *clap clap* - sometimes the word "Moose" is also replaced by "Bisons", cos both are iconic symbols of the Manitoban province. Heh.

 

Really hardcore hockey la - it's so violent! Players deliberately crash into one another at the sides, and although the rink's all "fenced" up with some hardy plastic/glass material, front-row spectators had to be constantly on the alert, heh. We kept exclaiming "oohs" and "ahhs" so loudly whenever they crashed..!

  

My loot for the day - souvenir hockey puck, Manitoba Moose Mug (that wasn't supposed to be free cos you had to buy the beer with it), and the prize for the question, an autographed picture of erm, I-dono-who from the team! Haha. :)

 

Whiskey Dix
After the game w proceeded to Whiskey Dix, a Western cowboy-themed  club downtown. It's actually a popular hangout cos it's one of the bigger bars around - 2-storeyed, although the larger foyer plays country music (again, an all-time favourite here somehow), and there's only a small dance floor downstairs for pop or R&B..

Bathroom sign says "Chix" and "Dix" respectively, quite novel I think! Haha.

i miss... 10:58 PM

• My family and friends in Singapore. You, you and you. (open to interpretation, haha)
• The food back home, and especially hanging out at 24-hour supper places
• The ez-link card, together with our very efficient MRT and bus networks
• Our warm and sunny island, cos it's subzero every day here now
• Nice long slim A4 papers, instead of short broad letter-sized ones that don't fit snugly into my files
• Knowing beforehand the after-tax prices of stuff I'm buying
• Wearing my comfy airy Birks out
• Wearing my pyjamas gowns to sleep
• The tap in Singapore - yes, no need for hot or cold; just the main one
• Jogging outside comfortably in singlet and shorts
• Better complexion and skin condition, it's simply too dry here
• Nua-ing in bed with my 4 fluffy pillows, especially my duck-feathered ones..

And many many more. :(

I can't decide if I should be looking forward to going home in 8 weeks, or to dread that my exchange experience is about to end in 2 months. Yes, I may be sentimental and homely, but I'll definitely miss Winnipeg, its slower pace of life and the many friends I've made here too. Maybe I'll even miss snow, although it's starting to get messy and ugly at times (sand is scattered over snow-covered walkways to increase traction, causing it to be brown and murky), and I think I might get tired of trudging in snow in 1-2 weeks' time. Haha.. but yes, part of me is really excited to be going home and meeting up with everyone again.

The list above is totally random, and it's amazing how small little things here can be different from back home yea? I was inspired to come up with it after my sleepover at Judy's place, when she asked all about Singapore and forced me to zoom into the tiny details. Heh.. 8 weeks my dear friends, 54 days more..!

xx

The recent little snippets of life in Winnipeg which I'll also miss:

 

Sleepover at Judy's place over the Remembrance Day public hol (11 Nov), where we attempted to make pecan pie. It was erm.. tasty, just that we didn't know why the middle was marshy and soft when it's supposed to set on its own. HAHA. We made a "home-cooked' dinner and a great hearty breakfast too! (Note: Dinner was made mostly with instant foods, even the salad was prepared using a salad starter kit pre-mixed with dressing and croutons..) But breakfast was a good spread, cos I was the head chef! Heh.

  

Booze and snacks pot-luck - the get-together we'd held at our place for our fellow international friends, during which we introduced Indian Poker and Circle of Death to the lot.

This is just a random choc bar that I tried recently - the Mr. 2 Big! Haha. :)

music and lyrics 8:50 PM

Which catches your attention first - music or lyrics?

the meaning of life through judo 12:14 PM

This was what inspired me to write this post:

In reading up and researching for my film paper, I'd chanced across many interesting reviews and facts about the movies I'm writing about - Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950) and Sin City (Frank Miller, 2005) - and that's when I saw this! - "Kurosawa began his career in 1943 with a movie called Sugata Sanshiro, about a boy learning the meaning of life through Judo."

Haha.. that totally increased my respect and love for Kurosawa. Cos really, Rashomon's one of the most significant films in the history of cinema to date, an eloquent masterpiece which twisted and diverged from the usual narrative structure. It was also the single movie which, upon shooting to international stardom, revolutionized film language and turned the world's attention to Japanese (Asian) films, increasing their respect and appreciation for the East and their filmmakers.

Uh-oh, strayed a lil' too much. Supposed to write about Judo and its impact on me! Haha. Actually I just wanted to say that Judo'd been a most meaningful part of my life for the past 10 years from Sec 1 till now. It's not just about the people I've met, really, but whom I've become as a result of taking up the martial art. I've matured alot these years, knowingly and unknowingly. Being there for my juniors; helping and taking care of others - those were what'd shaped my personality, character and satisfaction in life - to be, or want to be a mentor and provide guidance to others. And of course, the dojo had been the single place where I've met some of my most cherished friends:

My teammates, having gone through thick and thin for many years we stood at the frontline together (literally, haha). My countless batches of juniors, whom I still cherish and hold dear after many years of graduation. And of course, and perhaps most importantly, Vicki, who was and is still more than a junior and friend to me. It all started when I became her training partner (who used to be 2 sacks of rice heavier than her), HAHA.. bleah. :)

So really, I would say Judo'd been (albeit dreary and tough at times) where I've forged many meaningful friendships and learnt about myself; it'd indeed taught me valuable lessons on motivation, discipline, endurance, relationships and many more. And now I suddenly feel like revisiting the dojo with familiar faces again..

crunch-cunch-crunch; first taste of winterpeg 4:26 PM

So after an erratic fluctuation in temperatures last week (went back up to 10 deg C four days ago, then back to 0 deg C) - and trudging through the sloshy ice which felt like my favourite ice-blended frappuccino beneath my feet, haha - winter has officially arrived, and snow is here to stay! The below documents what I've done over my first winter weekend in Winnipeg..

 

Friday morning, 7 Nov - this was what I awoke to, though it no longer felt as euphoric as the time I first saw snow in Banff, haha. I practically drew the curtains and went, "Oh.. it's snowing.." - just like that, heh. But it was a pretty sight nevertheless; everywhere on-campus was wet/icy/snowy, and it's fun to walk through snow cos Winnipeg's snow really goes crunch-crunch-crunch (it's supposed to be driest amongst all Canadian snow!)! Haha.

  

  

I like the snow-covered tree trunks/branches and plants! It's all pretty and romantic somehow, though the unsightly heaps of piled-up shoveled snow along the sidewalks kinda spoil the scenery at times. I'd been so tempted to "sink deeply" into thick snow that I stepped unto one huge pile, only to find that it was just snow covering some sharp plants underneath :( Haha.

 

Noir Wine Bar, Osborne Village
Friday night we headed out to nua at Noir (haha sheesh, pardon the pun!). Judy drove us there; and omg, it was really scary to experience winter driving! We've heard that even locals themselves aren't too used to driving in initial winter road conditions when the first snowfall comes, cos it's hard to estimate start/stop timings effectively and people may  just be over-confident of their driving. Whatever it is, our car too kept sliding and skidding, imagine a car ice-skating on the thin sheen of frost on the roads! Haha.. acceleration was difficult whenever we stopped too, cos the tyres get stuck most of the time - and oh, it was so cold that the car doors were frozen, we had to yank them out before they could open! Yikes.

We didn't take many pics for the night, and I think these are by far the nicest, haha.

 

After dinner we headed to Anne's place, hoping to build a nice big snowman in her backyard - we even made sure she had carrots for the nose la. Haha.. sadly though the snow wasn't sticky yet, so we couldn't and ended up trying to snowball fight instead. "Trying" is the word, cos it's really damn hard to roll a nice big snowball that wouldn't crumble! So I tried to be smart and made peace with the rest but, erm, I got backstabbed and no one listened to me. Bleah.. so I was defeated through and through! Even got snow splattered and smothered all over my face by Judy (see pic on the right for evidence).. ROAR! :(

P/S: See how adequately prepared we were with Anne's mittens and toques. Haha.. mittens are actually really cute and warm - no fingers, just grabbers. Christine, so no matter how funny we used to think they look, I might really go buy a pair in due time! Hehe.

 

Polo Park
Polo Park is Winnipeg's largest shopping mall, a place I'd wanted to visit and explore to see how it's like. Turned out my friends wanted to get some winter supplies over the weekend, so I tagged along!

Marcel and Momo from Germany, and Sepi my coffee + study partner, from Holland

I really didn't want to spend much money on winter stuff, even though I only had a bare minimum of supplies. But it wouldn't be practical to get something for such extreme weather and leave them lying around at home, right? Haha.. still, I was really tempted to try stuff on so I did. I think winter boots are really quite cool to strut around in (left pic), and the toque I'm wearing with those dangly lil' side things - used to think they looked weird but they are actually rather cute! Heh. :)

Left: Christine kept saying I should go vandalize cars by drawing on them! Tsk.. bad influence lor! Haha.
Right: These are 2 very cool liquors - Godiva white choc cream liquer, and Goldschlager (I think it's whiskey), but it has real gold bits floating in them! Akin to a giant (gold) snowglobe! We stocked up a little on liquor cos it's convenient to drink a little to keep warm, and we were hoping to have more chillaxing sessions with one another since the term's ending pretty soon. :(

xx

So I guess it's colder than cold right now, so cold it's hard to describe in words. Haha.. and it'll only get worse from now on!! I actually shiver quite a bit outside and am normally still shaken for awhile when I reach home.. :( 救命啊.

j'adore les films français 11:36 AM

Cinemental, Winnipeg's annual French film festival - 5 to 9 Nov 08.

Hey, I like French films. Not that I know much about them, but watching Mr. Average back in Cathay's Cinema Europa, and learning about the French New Wave and Neo Noir genre in film class - I just really like the unique plot and aesthetic appeal of such Films. And, even more so, to put what I've learnt to practice and interpret films in a different perspective. So when I heard of Cinemental from my Prof, I decided to rope in a couple exchange students to join the fun and engage in a little "cultural immersion".

The screening was to be held near St. Boniface, the French settlement in the city, at the CCFM, the Center-Culturel-Franco-Manitobain (pronounced saun-terr-koo-choo-rare-l-frung-ko-manito-bung, haha). We ventured out on a long and arduous journey under the treacherous weather - yes, it was a horrible and scary adventure cos of the icy rains and fast chilly winds that hurt our faces and ears. It was supposed to start snowing the following day (Friday), so precipitation was expected. But the temperatures were not sufficiently low enough to turn the ice into snow, so it all fell as sleet and my, it was damn painful! We also had to walk in the murky sloshy ice (which is really ugly btw) and it was all slippery and wet.. rah. :(

Ok la, it was just horrid at that point in time, but in retrospect a unique experience after all (though once is enough, but I foresee more coming..). And all was good and worthwhile too, when we caught a good meal in a mid-atas French restaurant, Resto-Gare! Oh my.. haven't had proper meals in ages! Haha.

Left to right: Serene (Canadian and AIMS buddy to Julie), Julie (French - first person I invited cos we'd been wanting to hang out and I know she'd be interested in this, haha), Marleen (Dutch)

  

As with all French restaurants, Resto-Gare serves good wines (I didn't try though!) and breads. When the owner first saw us coming in, he commented "Wow, you look like you just came from the Arctic!" - hence the picture.

 

Cinemental poster - I like the watermelon piano, heh.

We watched Delice Paloma, a feature film by Nadir Mokneche. I won't go into detail on story and plot here, but I just feel that French films provide a very intriguing perspective and heighten audience's expectations with their twists in climaxes. Definitely not the usual Hollywood Classical style of filmmaking we're conditioned and used to (which, to put simply and summarize from film class - is about getting the narrative over and done with, paying little attention to aesthetics, cinematography and the beauty of the image). Yep.. French filmmakers adopt a Formalist style most of the time; the storyline may develop slow and gradual, but whatever's onscreen can always be appreciated on a deeper level through their use of various subtle techniques. Heh. I'm actually putting what I've learnt to interpret stuff better onscreen now, and I'm proud of that. :)

xx

I'd thought of sharing some interesting stuff I'd learnt, since I'm at the topic of films. But this is already long overdue and I don't really want to bore you out, so I won't. :( I do hope to do well for film class anyway - sometimes I feel inadequate and struggling just cos of the limited exposure I've had to films - but my Prof'd mentioned it's prolly cos of the censorship in Singapore that I haven't heard of movies he discusses. Still, it's reassuring to hear that he doesn't worry about me cos I'm genuinely interested and keen on learning. So that's nice. The course is just so reflective and enriching; one day I'll try to revisit and re-evaluate films I'd passed off previously as juvenile, dumb, or cheap flicks! Haha.

Trivia on horror films from the West
The evil never dies in Western horror films just because filmmakers always attempt to go for a sequel - and really, it's just that and nothing else. In fact, sometimes the Director has no say at all cos the Producer's the money guy, and is in fact more important than the Director in determining many things that'll develop in a movie. Oh, and I commented that Asian horror flicks are always so much better than Western ones, and my Prof agrees - filmmakers here attempt to model their horror films after the Asians', but they are never as good (just look at The Ring, tsk).. haha.

Au voir for now!

it's all about change 5:42 PM

Yes, this post is a few days late. But yes, Obama for President. I love Obama.

What a charismatic guy he is indeed. For the longest time ever; the whole talk about "change". And who knows exactly what this change will be? I don't know - maybe nobody knows, but everybody certainly loves him. And I love him too. Such is the power of charisma.

So perhaps people were fed up with the Republican policies for the past 8 years, which'd led to the country going down the drain and the world a rather unsafe place to live in. Or maybe they were just happy to see Bush go, haha. Whatever it is, change is definitely good for now, though it should prove to be a real gradual process in tough times like this.

The euphoria is now over, and Obama has to be down-to-earth and prove himself to the world. After all, US is still (considered) a superpower to which the rest of the world continues to look up to and admire. His performance is crucial to how people will view US in the future, or whether there will be a levelling of powers across the globe. Interesting times indeed - and putting everything into perspective, perhaps things aren't as bleak as what they'd seemed just a couple of months back. Maybe the prospects of the job market will turn around by early next year, with more optimism brimming in the air. :)

Freeze our Tuition Fees!
And just like how Americans'd stepped forth to initiate the revolutionary change for their own good - further up north, too, students in Canada'd stepped forward in an effort to make things better for themselves. The provincial government of Manitoba had recently announced a lift of the tuition freeze, leading to a possible dramatic hike in tuition fees commencing 2009.

So last Wednesday, some hundreds of university students all across Manitoba gathered in front of the Winnipeg Legislative Building, in an attempt to rally and petition against the provincial decision. I don't know what the outcome is or will be, but it's intriguing seeing how people here stand up and speak up for/against matters close to their hearts..

3 november - the royal canadian mint's centennial 1:18 AM

The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) is one of the world's most well-renowned. Apart from producing all of Canada's circulation coins, it also designs/manufactures collector coins, customized medals and tokens, high-end watches and jewellery, and even circulation coins for some 60 other countries around the world. (In fact, Singapore's 1¢ and 10¢ coins used to be minted here too!)

RCM's Winnipeg plant is the pride of the city, and in fact one of its best-known tourist destinations too. The mint marked its 100th anniversary on Monday, and a function was organized specially for its investors and employees to acknowledge their contributions and celebrate the facility's successes to date. Employees were encouraged to bring their families along, and since Judy's dad holds a rather prominent position at RCM, Js and I were fortunate to be "adopted" by him to be part of this unique and significant event.

It was all impressive, really. The mint has always been at the forefront of currency innovation - the most recent/significant among these being the world's first coloured circulation coin, the 2004 Remembrance Day quarter which featured a red poppy on its reverse. And for my pioneer visit, just listening to the VIPs' keynote addresses and speeches - even I as a tourist was touched by and proud of the mint's achievements. It was heartwarming too, to know how much the organization values its human capital. And really, Winnipeggers - actually Canadians in general - certainly take utmost pride in the RCM.

Highlight of the day - we had a go at striking our own coins! (Ok la, it was a mere push of a button really, but hey, I struck and manufactured the coin k! Haha.) We each had the opportunity to make a shiny 2008 nickel (5¢) - it's REAL money and can be used, not just a bogus momento! But yep, we also struck "fake" souvenir coins with the event name and date imprinted, just for keepsake purposes. :)

 

Left: Here's where I struck my own coin!
Right: This gold bar's really heavy, it even has a warning to say attempting to lift the load may involve risk of injury..! See the gold rays reflecting off my face too! Haha.

A super cool machine - it measures your weight in whatever "dimensions" you want - gold, platinum, and even different coin denominations (hence weight = no. of coins * value of each coin) - I'm worth so much more money than Js! (Of course it's both a good and bad thing la, if you know what I mean. HAHA.)

Having a feel of the different coin materials - aluminium, wood, gold, platinum.

   

Hmm.. I think their gold-coin chocs are much tastier than the Chinatown ones for CNY lor, haha. Cake's really good too!

 

Investors and employees based overseas flew into Winnipeg from all over the world just to celebrate this momentous occasion. Oh and the buffet spread was good too, heh.

For me, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have visited the premises and witnessed the coin-making process from scratch (metal) to end-product. No, it's not just because I've flown here from halfway across the globe, but that under normal conditions, even local non-employees are never allowed access into the facility's high-security areas. Yet on this very special day, the site was open to members of the public, exempt from the usual scrutiny and security checks! So we took an informative guided tour (by Judy and her dad) around the entire facility; I must say it felt very much like an applied BP lesson, where things like process layout, cycle time, number of defects in a million etc. popped up, haha. Oh, and given the "harsh and adverse" work conditions (extreme heat, and sometimes dangerous due to highly-flammable materials), I even applied HR com and ben theories to estimate employees' salaries leh. Haha.. it's something noteworthy too, cos I did meet a few of Judy's dad's friends, who were able HR-industry professionals and activists who'd initiated many movements for appropriate workers' compensation over the years..! A really eventful and unique evening indeed :)

-$$$-

silly big sister roars 7:56 PM

Daylight saving has just started in Winnipeg today, 2 November - so I'm now yet another hour behind, bringing time difference between Winnipeg and Singapore to 14 hours! I guess it ain't that easy for us Singaporeans to grasp this "foreign" concept readily, so for informative purposes, daylight saving time (DST) is the convention of advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight, while mornings have less. Clocks are typically adjusted forward one hour near the start of spring, and adjusted backward in autumn. :)

And as I'd expected, DST kinda slipped Js and my mind today, and we went to the Superstore early to do our groceries. Turned out that we had to wait another 1.5 hours (also because it's Sunday, they open later) before it opened! ROAR. Totally ruined our plans to start the day early, do laundry and complete our piled-up work. :( And speaking of Superstore too, it's amazing how they're already selling Christmas turkeys, goodies and decorations now, just right after Halloween! Heh.

I'm thinking time change must really be a hassle for people in these countries - doesn't it mess up everything from meeting schedules, keeping record, to things like travelling? Laura and Judy had to adhere to SMU deadlines too, and just adapting to Manitoba's time change and an updated international time difference simultaneously can get quite confusing I guess. Haha.. btw I helped them look up course timings and exam schedules last night (since we're in the midst of doing it too right..) - and now they think bidding is a really complex thing to manage -

Which is really true by the way. Apparently I was unable to bid (we students on exchange are supposed to deposit our own e$, but the link to do so itself is not accessible)! Yea.. so I called the Registrar's Office and informed them about it, and I guess I was the catalyst la, they responded to my appeal and now it's all fixed (for all current exchange students). Heh.

On the SMU Concourse
Laura: Why does SMU have tunnels (they call it "tunnels" in U of M), when it is never too cold to walk?
Wini: Ehh.. *pause and think hard hard* Hmm.. cos sometimes it is too hot to walk?
Judy: OHHHHHH! I never thought of that!

Hahaha.. it was just really hilarious at that point in time. And I'm kinda excited that I'm going home soon (quite soon, somehow) :)

boo.. trick-or-treat! 5:37 PM

P/S: This is a very informative post on Halloween (万圣节) in North America. It's lengthy, but read on!

Halloween in North America - as we all know and would expect - is indeed a huge blast every year. And of course, I was really excited to be able to experience it right here in this very part of the world, where the holiday's full-blown with all its hoo-ha, yet unfortunately a tad too over-commercialized in certain ways (Laura and Judy agree with me, too).

Swamped by tonnes of both academic-related and non-school work, I didn't really opt for a costume party thing - no time to conjure one up, nor felt like doing alcohol over the weekend - and we do have those back in Singapore too, albeit on a smaller scale. But after all, there's always a party somewhere..? (Haha.. ok maybe I was also trying to convince myself I won't be missing out much too.. :S)

But still, I chose to do something really cute and one-of-a-kind - I spent the night with Judy at Anne's place, watching little trick-or-treaters come by and gave out candies to them! Woots. Haha.. it's something I won't get to experience back home anyway, and oh my, the kids were really all-dressed-up and super cute! Whenever a kid came by, knocked and shouted "trick-or-treat!", we'd swoon over them instantaneously and Judy Anne and I would go "awwwww" simultaneously, haha. :)

 

Trick-or-treat?

Trick or Treat, Smell my feet
Give me something good to eat

If you don't, I don't care
I'll pull down your underwear

Not too big, Not too small
Just the size of Montreal

Judy taught me this little rhyme they'd known since kindergarten, thought it's cute to share! :) I think "Montreal" (mon-tree-elle) doesn't rhyme though, and it could've been something more rhymey like "Just enough to fill it all" or something, haha.

xx

Anyway Friday night was kinda cold, so I really empathized with some of the kids who wore costumes that didn't look that warm, heh. Apparently though in Winnipeg, it's supposed to have started snowing by Halloween every year - if that happens, parents usually bring their children to malls for trick-or-treating instead, taking candies from shop assistants. It's cute how this works too; people bring all kinds of things to store their candies - plastic bags, backpacks, little baskets (damn cute!), even pillowcases! Haha.

Anne's family (the Thorimberts) have a smart way of "regulating" their candy inventory - they count the number of people who knock on their door every year, so as to plan the subsequent year's purchases. Also, younger kids (9 and below) will be given more snacks and sweets; bigger kids (10 to 12) get slightly lesser; while the really older ones (13 and above) only take a choc bar or something. And these old kids must still sing or perform something before they're given candy! Haha.. they're quite open with it though, and I'm pretty sure a 16-year old faked his age (he hesitated and said, "err, 14") just to get a little choc. Tskk. And he sang a "mature" song! Omg.. haha. I think if I were him I'll go get my own goodies instead of being shot weird dirty looks door-to-door lor, hehe.

Anyway, the Thorimberts receive more than 100 trick-or-treaters every year, and Judy and I were tasked with counting the number of people - they had 98 this year (I certainly hope we didn't miss any, cos I was also slightly distracted with swooning and taking pictures)! In fact, I was so afraid that people might remember their house as the one "with the weird girl who wanted to take pictures with random people". Haha.. really, what if they don't dare to come anymore next year! Haha.. bleah.. and really, all my pictures are of random children leh..

How to regulate candy inventory with Adriana Thalia and I munching on them ever-so-often? Heh.

 

Personal favourites: Wini with Winnie the Pooh in Winnipeg, and a really cool gumball machine!

The guy on the right looked damn freaky when he walked down the streets.. eeyer.

 

2-year-old Spongebob and some butterfly (her wings were very pretty from the back, heh).

 

Anne's nieces, 3-year-old Hadley the parrot and 5-year-old Trysten the fairy. The witches look cute too!

 

Funny episodes for the night

1. Messed-up spotted dog
(Enters a regularly-spotted costumed boy, black spots on white body)
Anne: Ohhh.. what an awesome cow outfit you have!
Boy: (snarls) I'm not a cow, I'm a DOG.
Anne: Oh okay, sorry.. (sheepishly) Boy shakes head and walks away.
I guess he was a Dalmatian la, but he didn't put on the headgear what! So we didn't dare pretend we knew what people were anymore, which leads us to (2) below!

2. Oh-whatever
(Enters 8-year-old boy)
Judy: Oh, what are you today?
Boy: I'm a goblin, (shrugs and looks away) oh whatever (just give me my candy..)?
OH MY GOD. Haha.. Judy and I were speechless after that!

3. Hello pumpkin
Judy: (points to a kid that parent is holding; kid's dressed up as a lil' pumpkin) Hi, I'm sorry, but my friend here is having her first Halloween ever. Can she take a picture of THE pumpkin please?
I think the parent was kinda shocked by the way Judy asked.. haha.

So here's THE pumpkin referred to above.. haha.

xx

Hello-wee-nee wants to say something..

Anyways, there were many people who came all dressed up for lessons on Friday itself - quite a sight! And you know, my pumpkin is now so shriveled up, it's really bogey now and looks damn ah ma-ish! :(

And by Judy and Anne's brilliant suggestion, maybe I should bring trick-or-treating to Singapore, working with my mum's kindergarten kids! Haha.. and yea, I guess kids are always happy during Halloween ba, they have their bags at least 75% full leh! But we're also happy during Chinese New Year ma right? Don't need to sing songs (even at our age) and still get money! Hahaha. :D

AIMS Move Night on Thursday, where we watched 3 horror shows - but the typical ang-moh types, where the evil never dies and it's just all gory and bloody only.. yikes. But it was fun to have so many people cringing in the couches together la, haha. To the right's a damn cute cartoon - yes, being a banker is sooooo scary in current times! BOO.

enjoy, not end joy 7:57 AM

I've been whirled into many thoughts lately, many random thoughts. Somehow I'm feeling quite excited to be more than halfway through the term, and that very soon (2 months 5 days to be exact) - I'll be homeward-bound. Maybe it's attributed to the melancholy of being connected, wanting to be there for people back home, and undoubtedly missing the familiarity of things. Yet that'd mean swinging back to reality, and final term's gonna be all scary and stressful in its many ways, especially when it'll take alot of discipline and motivation on my part.

But yea, it's all good actually; I'm not nostalgic to the point of being extremely homesick. Haha.. and considering the effort I've put into both academics and relating to people here, I should be thankful for where I've come, and really enjoy it all, not end joy (that's brilliant anyway Chris, haha). But putting that aside, I wrote this post really  to pen some of the little snippets of what I've heard/done/felt over the past few days. They are really random spurts but still significant to me la, heh.

On no particular category at all

- I'd like to think I'm better-trained for winter these days; temperatures have been falling to near zero or subzero ranges, and I've not been wearing as much as I thought I would. I mostly only wear 2-3 "normal" layers now! Though yea, winds are chilly and still unbearable sometimes, but I guess it's good that I'm not so tempted to put on more layers for now (partly cos I'm lazy too), so that I'll be better-adapted to what's upcoming in winter. I hope.

- Sepi gave me a Tim Horton's gift certificate worth CAD 10 on Monday, which was really sweet of her cos she knows I'm a frequent patron and would appreciate it. The gesture was done in part as a belated birthday gift, as well as to incentivize and encourage me on for my hectic November schedule.

- Speaking about Tim Horton's, they have a must-try drink here, the double-double. Sounds quite cool right, but it's actually just regular coffee with 2 creams + 2 sugars..! By default, the first "double" refers to the amount of cream, so you can go for "single-double", "triple-double" etc. too, haha. I just think it's quite cool to order that la, though I don't really like it after awhile.

- I sent a pressed maple leaf in a card to Vicki yesterday, and asked if the post office was able to affix a "handle with care" caution on the envelope. And yea, turns out that the FRAGILE warning took up half the envelope itself, and I was kinda embarrassed when I revealed it was only a leaf. Haha.

- Last night particularly I missed so many of my friends (from NY to HC to SMU!) Had the sudden urge to catch up with them and find out how everyone's doing. Had random shocks too when I browsed through pictures and checked out mutual friends between people and myself, heh.

- What should I do for Halloween tomorrow?! I really want to experience trick-or-treating, since Halloween parties are found in Singapore too (albeit of a smaller scale). But there's always a party somewhere..? I should prolly stick to my own idea to truly experience the holiday over here. (P/S: I know I'm a little too old for trick-or-treating, I'd meant to stay at someone's place and wait for the dressed-up kids to come by and I'll give out candies, haha.)

- I was thinking maybe I should teach Laura and Judy how to, erm, make lanterns out of red packets - to return the favour for the pumpkin-carving lesson. Haha.

On classes

- Small Business Management on Monday - the Prof screened my video assignment (the one that I fretted so much over and spent utmost effort on) in class! He said the theory-fit of my analysis was good, and editing commendable. Haha.. it was embarrassing to hear my own voiceover in class though.

- Art of the Film on Tuesday - I learnt that subtitles are sometimes perceived as an intrusion into the viewer's thoughts; a subconscious imposition of the filmmaker's interpretations on us, so they should actually be excluded from movies for audience to feel the natural exposition of the film and not be distracted. This reminds me of Vicki really, cos she'd prefer subtitles anytime, haha. :) And quotes from my Prof - I seriously hope these don't pop up in some search tool, I'm trying to be very subtle about it already:

- "The A. Awards are all bullshit... they used to call me for my critique and opinion in predicting the winners. But it's all about who'd been sick and had gained the audience's sympathy, who'd pumped in the most money, or who'd gotten it before.. it's all BS. And now they don't call me that often anymore."

- "I was called to comment on (the series) that wanted to film its episode in Winnipeg. The Sun (national newspaper for the city) revealed that I was worried the show'd ruin the image of our city, but I wasn't worried at all. Why, people don't come to Winnipeg and film something because it is the greatest city of the world; this show's a comedy for goodness' sake! They just made me say what they'd like me to say; a game of charades that people play."

xx

Bleah.. such a disengaged post! Haha.. and suddenly 2 months 5 days don't seem that soon after all. Hmm.

my happy pumpkin! 1:59 PM

I know the title sounds weird, haha. Still, I'm just uber fascinated over my first shot at carving my own Halloween pumpkin; and a rather cute and happy one at that! And I know my cheery end-product brightened up some of you too when I uploaded the pics right? Haha. :D

So yes, it was yet another first-time Halloween party experience at Laura's last Sunday. And really, her parents had extended this invitation just because I'd mentioned (when we first met 2 months ago) that we don't celebrate Halloween proper in Singapore, and I'd love to know how it's like to carve a pumpkin. I guess it's just so heartwarming and sweet that they remembered and organized this specially for us international students. And since we've been hanging out these days, Laura asked Thalia, Adriana, Judy and Anne over as well to join in the fun.

 

Once again, Mrs. Fox'd put in utmost effort in decorating the house, taking care of lil' details like laying out glow-in-the-dark spiders, ghost confetti and other things on the dinner table - even the butter was in the shape of mummies and bats! There were also make-believe tombstones and cobwebs draped over the staircase railings.. Laura says her mum loves holidays and tends to over-decorate, heh.

 

Playing around and fiddling with the little ornaments here and there..

 

Mini pumpkin gourds and ghost-buster nametags. And these are some really neat witches' finger cookies, with sharp almond bits sticking out for long fingernails, and little spurts of red jam for blood!

 

PC 101: Pumpkin-Carving by Prof Wini
I've gotten many questions regarding this, whether it's difficult to master pumpkin-carving and if I could teach it. So I've decided to log the process in a foolproof guide, complete with pictures! HAHA.

Step 1 - Choose your pumpkin 
  

Choosing your pumpkin is important - grab a big, brightly-coloured, maybe even a flawless looking one! (Of course, if you intend to make an evil-faced pumpkin you can prolly forgo the last part.) Haha.. but yea, that's us rushing to grab our pumpkins! Mrs. Fox prepared 1 each for us international students, whereas the locals shared (Laura and Dave to 1, Judy and Anne to another).

Step 2 - Draw the lid and cut it out

It's important to note the lid must neither be too small nor too big! The former makes it difficult for you to stick your arm in thereafter, while the latter just makes your pumpkin look weird, heh. Do place the blade at an angle while cutting too, so the lid doesn't fall right through when it's done! Oh, and you're supposed to cut away the "hairy" gutter on the inside of the finished lid, too..

Step 3 - Clean the insides, inside-out!
    

Using a spoon, scrape the insides and remove all the spaghetti-looking strands and pumpkin seeds (these can either be roasted or made into pumpkin pie at the end, so I've heard). But yep, this really requires you to get down and dirty - no matter how wrong it sounds - so be prepared for a dirty job that'll possibly stain your arms, clothes, or leave random pumpkin bits in your hair (which was what happened to me, I dono whose pumpkin bits kept flying across the table..)!

      

Mr. Fox, our shifu at pumpkin-carving. He was like holding a craft workshop for all of us la, heh. My pumpkin had the cleanest inside anyway! :)

Step 4 - Draw and carve your desired pumpkin-face
  

It'll be wise to use a non-permanent marker for this step, so you can make revisions to your drawing. Mrs. Fox thoughtfully prepared sample pictures of Halloween pumpkins so we could draw inspiration from them, and I decided to go for a bug-toothed happy pumpkin - tada, see the before and after effect!

Oh oh, I need to say that one of its teeth actually dropped out cos I pressed it too hard from the inside! But Mr. Fox taught me how to do pumpkin-surgery by sticking a toothpick into the broken piece and attaching it back, heh. See my pumpkin's just like me, it visits the dentist - now the tooth's flawless..!

Step 5 - Show off, compare (and even name) your pumpkins!
 

Left: Judy and Anne's evil pumpkin, versus mine
Right: Joyous friendly pumpkins - direct replicas of their owners, haha

Anne then asked me what I'd like to name my pumpkin (no, you don't actually have to if you don't wish to) - I thought of naming it after Vicki or Christine initially, which I thought might be cute. But I didn't think Vicki'd like to have a pumpkin named after her somehow, haha. And Chris, I guess you're probably the only one who'll find it an honour lor!! But ya, I guess my pumpkin does have nice big eyes like Vicki's (wah), and a killer-toothy-grin like Chris's (she contended it herself too, haha). Then Judy and Anne told me people don't usually name pumpkins after their friends.. boo. :( By the way, theirs has a cool name - the one above on the left side - called Eli Frank Jthor the First (?!)! Haha.

 

AND FINALLY.. lights out and lighting up! 

Tea-light candles are carefully placed inside then lit. It's like a Western mid-autumn festival!

 

Before/after.. really WAH. We marveled at them glowing in the dark for a long time.. they were so pretty!

Getting high on pumpkins! The enormous one in the middle is Mr. Fox's - he loves carving gigantic ones every year so his is specially purchased from a farm! Heh.

    

Getting into some action with my prized possession (this is the only "thing" I've kissed ever since I came to Canada anyway, haha). Btw I had a shot of me on the broomstick but it didn't look too good, hehe.

Halloween celebrations are such a blast in North America! :)

the 120 jello-vodka-shooter stayover 10:15 PM

My past weekend was filled with several fresh and unique first-time experiences. I was looking forward to the 2 days really - not just for what was planned out, but also cos November's gonna be hectic with its many deadlines and presentations, so it was probably the last time to enjoy before getting into the swing of things.

1. First movie + sleepover in Canada
Just like how couchsurfing was for some of my friends in Europe, I had my first Canadian sleepover! In light of Thalia's 21st, we'd planned for an all-girls movie night and to bunk at the Mexicans' place thereafter, a cosy little house off-campus. It's really interesting how it all worked out too - I've talked about how Judy (Adriana's buddy) is also Laura's good friend and coming to SMU next term, but it happened that the Mexicans' neighbour 2 houses down, Anne, is also Judy's childhood friend! A little confusing I know, but it just means that we're all linked to one another in some way or other! Haha.

   

We sparked the night off with a Dairy Queen's extreme chocolate blizzard cake, then a movie at Kenaston's "Cheap Seats" theatre. Look at the really huge jumbo popcorn bag - this must be the first time ever that I haven't finished my popcorn even after the movie ends, albeit sharing with Laura!

As its name suggests, Cheap Seats tickets are of a lower rate, an unbelievable CAD 3 (!!!). Haha.. sheesh my auntie instinct's acting up again; but really, it's normally at least CAD 8 in other places you know! And although it screens relatively older films no longer showing in other silver screen cinemas,  ambience and comfort here aren't compromised either, so the movie experience's still enjoyable all the same. A pity though, we settled for a cheap flick cos everyone'd watched different movies previously, so we gave up better choices like Hancock, Get Smart, Mamamia etc. for a no-brainer comedy, Stepbrothers. :(

Interestingly too, movie theatres in Canada (and Mexico) don't have seat numbers at all; the rest kinda stared at me in surprise when I asked them about it! I also mentioned how we aren't allowed to exit the theatre from the entrance just to prevent people from free-riding on another movie, and now they all think Singaporeans are all prim and proper and super law-abiding, haha.

 

2. First homemade jello-vodka shooters
Homemade jello-vodka shooters are a hit here. To make them, you can really mix vodka and jello powder in any proportion to your liking. But Anne'd concocted really strong ones for this sleepover, and a total of 120 shots at that!

We decided to surprise Thalia by making a nice birthday message out of them - notice the "Y" in "birthday" is just made up of 3 shots cos there weren't enough, haha. And yep, it appears you have to really suck and lick around quite abit to get the gelatine out, so it was quite an experience for my first, haha.

  

A fun and intimate night of drinking games and sharing secrets. We played Sociables (which is really Circle of Death we'd always played back in Year 1). They all made a desperate attempt in getting me drunk (making rules such as "Wini must drink twice whenever so-and-so drinks")..

But it turned out that they were all gone before me! Haha.. I downed about 30 shots and 3-4 beers that night, got kinda high but still sober. Hehe. Anyway come to think of it, I really dono why people like to try making me drunk (and then fail terribly eventually) - Evi and Luyi especially! Tskkk.. haha.

   

My masterpiece of the leftover shooters for Sociables Round 2. Anyway I think this sleepover'd made me miss all my friends alot, especially the all-girls-night-drinking-and-pigging-out thing, and I wish I were doing it with people back home too. :( Oh btw, Laura and Judy want to make jello-vodka shooters in Singapore too, so maybe we could all get together and do something like that again, hehe.

 

3. First atas brunch at the famous Original Pancake House
I don't have to say more about this, but yep, we had a really hearty pancakes/waffles/toast brunch here. Yummy-licious!

 

Buttermilk pancakes + toast + poached eggs + hashbrowns - (omg Chris this breakfast reminds me of you!). Ehh and my monster hot choc with its mountain of whipped cream/chocolate chips, as well as my friends' strawberries and whipped cream topping for their pancakes. Oh my.. sluurrrrp. Burp.

gone with the wind 10:21 AM

I finally went jogging in the open last Saturday, outside of any enclosed fitness room or gym!

I've been wanting to do this ever since I arrived in Winnipeg (yes "wanting", and I know it's already nearing the end of my 2nd month..), but the cold winds have always deterred me from trying. The weather that day was drastic actually - 3 deg C, very windy, light showers - sufficient to give myself excuses to stay indoors again. Yet I figured if I didn't do it anytime now I'll probably never be able to once it starts snowing, which it may over the next few days..! So I'm just thankful I did drag the lazybones out and can put my mind at ease now, heh.

Anyway, in my singlet + tee + windbreaker + shorts + track pants, I'd explored the school compound on little paths and routes never taken before, finding delightfully strange new buildings on-campus (U of M is really huge by the way). Oh, I also chased a squirrel till it bobbed up the tree and disappeared, haha. And there goes, my lazy Saturday afternoon transformed to something more productive! :)

To me at least, running does challenge one's physical and mental limits, and especially so in an entirely new environment altogether. It wasn't easy getting used to running in layers and not perspiring as much yet feeling the heat radiate from within (ok actually it was really disgusting, feeling the jacket stick to my flushed-but-not-sweaty skin, haha). Yet more importantly, as running is to me - it is with every continual step you keep going, that you discover just how vulnerable yet strong you can actually be. It is a form of self-discovery/reflection when you take your mind off issues and concentrate on the fresh air, sights and sounds around you, better appreciating the quiet beauty of your surroundings and yourself -

And that is why I like running in the open. Well, I'm not sure if this first-time experience will possibly end up to be my last, but at least now I'll not return home regretting I'd never tried. After all, you'll never get air this fresh in Singapore, too. :)

24 october - aims international food night 2:05 AM

Every term AIMS organizes its inaugural pot-luck International Food Night for the buddies and exchange students, where we all contribute something from our cultures to share. This year, the event was said to be its best and biggest, cos we were all really enthusiastic and there was just so much food..!

 

Drawing the Singapore flag to don our yummy-looking 锅贴. Everyone was impressed by 1) the Chinese words I wrote, and 2) our "talent" in using the chopsticks, cos we brought to show off! Haha.

  

Mains (left) and desserts (right) - the former consisted mostly of finger foods like ours, German bratwurst sausages and Mexican chilaquiles. Desserts were aplenty though, ranging from French crepes, pancakes, to all kinds of other cakes and cookies.

 

Huge frenzy for food (which just makes me such an atypically un-kiasu Singaporean who's taking pics for the event before eating!) Heh. To the right is Tara, the exchange coordinator at U of M.

 

We headed to Blush thereafter, apparently the most atas nightclub in Winnipeg. It's probably one of the cooler and bigger clubs we've been around here - does have a 2nd storey patio like MOS, though it really isn't as big.The music got boring after awhile too, and eventually miffing cos it was both booming and weird.. bleah. I totally retreated to the couches to chat and chillax towards the end la.

A special cocktail with Malibu, and from left to right - Chantale, Julie, Marleen

xx

A Bear Named Winnie
Chantale (AIMS buddy coordinator who planned my surprise party the other time) was really sweet to surprise me with yet another birthday present that night - a DVD of the origin and story behind Winnie the Pooh! Haha.. I reckon some of you might've already known that Winnie the Pooh was named after Winnipeg itself, so I guess the gift does serve as quite a momento for me. From the synopsis I read how Winnie became a symbol of friendship and hope during World War I too.. heh interesting. I do hope to have some time to watch it soon, though assignments and projects are piling up! Roar. :(

wini's survival guide to surviving winter in winnipeg 4:14 PM

Here are some self-formulated tried-and-tested tips I personally undertake, now that it's getting visibly chillier and winter's ever so near. I actually think I'm better-trained to withstand the cold now! Well, slightly at least. (Note: Steps are written in chronological order.)

1. Pretend it's not cold, and I'm serious. The first step is to psych yourself.
2. If you're alone, tell yourself it is not cold.
3. If you're with a friend, talk to your friend and distract yourselves. Chances are your friend's equally cold as you, so don't mention anything about the wind, temperature, winter, or anything related to the weather elements at all.
4. Stick your hands into your pockets. Everyone walking around does that anyway.
5. Walk fast. Hum a tune; encourage yourself. Whatever you do, keep the end in mind - remember your aim is to get to your destination as quickly as you possibly can.
6. Look around and see how some people are wearing even more layers than you are - then beam and give yourself a pat on the back. But wait, don't do it yet and keep those hands in the pockets!
7. Once again, if you're alone, marvel at the amount of mist you're breathing out. Its amazing, really.
8. Pretend it's not cold.

And they work, really. Haha.. sometimes I wish I didn't have to stick my hand out to say hello when I bump into people in school, bleah. Or that the wind wasn't so strong that my hair's all over the place and sticking to my glossy Vaseline-coated lips. Yikes.

And speaking of life here, I'm pretty sure I'll take one month (like the last time) to get used to crossing the roads in Singapore again. And that I can prepare my money beforehand when standing in line, cos tax has already been accounted for in the menu prices. And that 20 cents are actually not quarters.

... And so much more, still.

no more excuses 3:08 PM

This post is going to be so disengaged. *breathes in and out and calms down*

I don't know why I've been feeling stressed up and frustrated lately. It isn't over work, though I did complete a killer make-your-own-video assignment all by myself last weekend and am very proud of it. And there was Personal Financial Planning and Film mid-terms too, the former for which I managed to pass in the B-range. (Pass! Haha.. and I'm not exclaiming this just because I'm an exchange student and there are lotsa confusing Canadian tax laws in the paper, but just from the position of a lousy Finance major.. bleah.)

Anyhow, I've not been very engaged in things that are constructive or productive; maybe I just gave myself an excuse to slack off after the Alberta trip since there were just too many chapalang things to do anyway. So after the mid-terms and video submission, I just wanted to give myself some space to breathe before getting into the swing of things. But Prof painted a very bleak picture of the job market for me a few days ago, and she'd apologized for dampening my moods on exchange - but yes, it's not that I wasn't aware of it, and I guess her reality check totally jolted me from my senses indeed. What am I doing?!

Maybe it's all a vicious cycle:

You feel listless and lethargic - you just want to chillax - which means not doing anything worthwhile, and that's on top of just munching your frustrations off - you feel unhealthy - you feel listless and lethargic. ROAR.

Still, I'm not alone. Reading Christine's emails and Luyi's letter and birthday card, we're all in the same boat after all. And though mine's right across the Atlantic and my friends' are, erm, along the Straits of Malacca, we're still drifting and trying to keep our oars together, holding on to each other for support. And I guess that's what matters, and what keeps me sane somehow. That we all understand and seek solace in encouraging and comforting each other. So to my best friend and close friends back home who are caught up in things and feeling dreadful, let's all keep our heads up and jia you together. We will get there, eventually.

On a random note, I just picked some maple leaves from the courtyard to press; they aren't very beautiful since they're all starting to wilt by this time. And I miss my coffee partners, and my best friend too. :(

xx

Rediscovering Downtown

Tuesday after the Film test - I had to head Chinatown and buy some jiao zi and guo tie for the upcoming AIMS International Food Night, so I took the chance to take a breather, walk around and engage in retail therapy. At least it was a whole day to myself, which I was thankful for. So once again, I was taking in and appreciating the sights and sounds of downtown Winnipeg - only this time more carefully.

 

Winnipeg's Millennium Library, the largest in the city (so something like our National Library?)

 

Mall at Portage Place - thought the Campbell soups look cute, haha. I bought a pair of waterproof gloves here too, at Dress for Less, and it actually says "-20 degrees!" on it, so I guess they're good for my snowball fights when the time comes, heh.

 

Top left pic: "Winnipeg's Free Press" along the Skywalk- a collection of press stories mounted on the walls for viewing pleasure. The others depict streets around Winnipeg's Exchange District, which is actually an attraction for tourists cos it's the oldest across Canada. Unlike the financial buildings and brightly-lit skyscrapers in other Canadian cities, Winnipeg's consists of a large number of preserved brick buildings, which are majestic and nice really.

 

Winnipeg's Chinatown. Says "established in 1986", so as old (young) as me! And seriously I didn't know Winnipeg's called 温尼伯 too; it's like 微尼夫拉得 for Winifred, haha.

 

It's exciting to see freezers and vegetables like this after a very very long time.. and while scanning across the labels I saw Tasty Brand sotong balls from Singapore LEH - I wonder if this brand really exists?

Btw I was so tempted to buy Asian foodstuffs and snacks here too, but didn't cos of the melamine scandal. One article I read said this though - "So far it appears that only Asian products are affected - therefore if you live in Europe or North America, your Snickers bar is probably safe to eat.  For now." - but I guess better be safe than sorry ba. :(

 

Halloween's coming! This was taken on another occasion while grocery shopping, and the sheer size and number of pumpkins in the grocery stores are just.. large. Haha.. limited vocabulary right now. Bleah.

and the winners are... 12:47 AM

The results of the Wish-Wini-and-Win contest are out! Haha.. it's really backdated by now, but I'd promised to reveal the winners after writing about Alberta, so here goes:

Christine, for most accurate timing (Singapore) - and you probably also earn the title of wishing me the most number of times with the countless smses/emails/e-cards/phone convos, and of course, the bounced-and-yet-to-arrive-snail-mail. Haha.. I still remember you saying I'm the only one who'd bother wishing you that many times when you were in Paris too! :) And yea, you almost did win the Calgary timing as well but Vicki beat you to it by a teeny wini bit!

Vicki, for most accurate timing (Calgary) - and for so many years you've always been the first to wish me (I think). Haha.. and even though this year's different and I do have many time zones to factor in, you picked (and won!) the one that I was physically in at the moment! So that's significant too. :) Anyway I did think you might win more than 1 prize though, but you insisted on sleeping before my birthday arrived in Singapore.. tskkk. Haha.. cheer up hor.

Tey, for most accurate timing (Winnipeg) - though I know you really wanted to wish me at Calgary timing and just totally screwed that up by being 1 hour earlier right, HAHA. Still, thank you for your sms! I think it was very nicely written and kinda heartwarming, heh. Not to forget the 2nd sms to reveal that the 1st was wrong, which was downright hilarious.. haha. Remember that we have a business plan to complete when I return k! :)

And of course, thank you all who bothered to contend for the above titles! For just bothering, caring, loving, sending your well-wishes and spreading the warmth from Singapore to wherever I am, I am truly touched and blessed.

I guess I will never thank everyone enough; I received 20 birthday emails and 50 facebook messages when I returned! Heh.. but really, it was a unique birthday for a whole myriad of reasons - and even though I didn't receive any surprise tutti-frutti bouquet (which I'd really love and am envious of someone for that), I still have a whole lot of cards, little gifts and parcels! Haha.. :D

Yayyyyy!

post-trip revelations 5:58 PM

I really didn't think I'd get here anytime soon.. but here I am finally, at the last entry for Alberta! Haha.

Hmm.. I guess this trip'd brought me to a whole new level and approach to reaching out and making friends - and international ones at that - genuinely learning more about/from them. And really, with just the few of us looking out for one another, it was essential that people escalate efforts in keeping things cheery and in harmony for everyone else. I wouldn't deny it wasn't tiring, but I guess even little things like these do play a part in a learning experience. From the cranky word games played while driving to the personable issues discussed over meals, we'd learnt alot indeed from one another's past experiences. I believe it really is through talking to people and sharing viewpoints that one develops newer broader perspectives; even more so if they aren't from the same place and origin as you are.

For me, it was discovering what I wanted and could do for others in extending a listening ear and offering advice, which was particularly significant since I hadn't known them for long. Yet sometimes, too, things became a real test to my patience when goals, beliefs and itineraries clashed. In Prof Kong and Meimei's words, I almost always don't have trouble being around with people, given my approachable personality and erm, sincere ways - but I do believe it takes more than a cheerful and chatty disposition to go beyond the small talk and forge relationships. So yes, my first-ever experience of travelling with international friends has also served as a practical platform for me to develop CQ, to learn how to be more culturally-sensitive and appreciate others for who they are, just by where they come from.

At the risk of sounding super serious I'll stop at that for now, bleah.. it just happens whenever I settle down and think about issues and ideas. On a lighter note, though, I'd learnt quite some Spanish and the Mexicans say I have a flair for the language! Haha.. me gusta mucho! :)

xx

Ehh I know I've written alot in the past few entries, so I'm sorry if anyone finds that quite an overdose, haha. I guess I also wanted to pen details down for keepsake purposes, yep. Speaking of which, Yitian very brilliantly suggested that I should probably print out all my entries at the end of exchange and compile them into a book! Wah.. actually I think that'd be quite cool leh. Hahaha.. :) Anyway here're the final few pictures of our journey back to Winnipeg, the last of them all!

 

Air Canada Jazz, the company's regional airline which specializes in routes to/from Canada and US destinations. The 2 flight wasn't that comfortable really - undersized overhead cabins, bad turbulences, rocky landings, and the worst of all - Js's seatbelt actually broke halfway through the 1st flight! Omg.. so yea, just felt they weren't professional (dangerous in fact!) although it was funny for us la, heh. I think the only good thing I can remember was that the flight attendant gave us extra packets of corn chips cos we kept hinting that they were so good..

 

We took a limo from Winnipeg Airport back to residence - we didn't deliberately call for one; the driver wanted a last customer for the night and offered a pretty good deal (CAD 40 for 2 locations). Also, cabs in Winnipeg ain't readily available plus it was already 2am when we touched down, so yep..

And of course, this is my 2nd time in a limo, the previous one being that from Wildwood to Newark Airport 2 years ago. I'd say both limos were really the same inside-out, just that back then we were all like that..

     

Squeezed like sardines! Like really, I could jolly well boast that I've taken a limo - only that our baggages took up more space than us?! (Cos that's 6 people's 12 suitcases altogether!) But seriously, for a huge and spacious limo, we were damn unglam and more cramped than anything la! Hahaha.

    

Eh I decided to include this cos my brother'd thought my pic was that of a short and fat penguin (if you don't look closely it does seem like the side-profile of one - the snowball being its belly and the brown thing behind my head its beak)! Haha.. tskkk. But quite cute hor.. I like that huge snowball. :)

13-14 october, edmonton 2:46 AM

Edmonton's really the capital of the Alberta province, though most non-Canadians may easily mistake that for Calgary. A cultural, governmental and educational centre, Edmonton plays host to a year-round slate of world-class festivals, earning it the title of "The Festival City". Apart from that, it is also home to the largest mall in the whole of North America, the West Edmonton Mall - one of our reasons too to come explore and see it for ourselves, heh.

xx

Alberta Legislature Building and Muttart Conservatory

 

   

The structural concept of the Alberta Legislature Building was based on Paris's Beaux Arts style, making use of Greek, Roman and Egyptian elements to convey permanence, power and tradition. It did look majestic and melancholic indeed, perhaps save for the pulling off our best balancing moves, hehe.

  

The Muttart Conservatory, essentially a botanical garden which consists of 4 glass pyramid structures showcasing plants from all arid, tropical and temperate climates. Sadly though it was closed for renovation when we popped by.

 

Old Strathcona
Old Strathcona is reputed as a cool district to hang out, where numerous shops, restaurants, nightlife spots and buskers can be found. So yep, as tourists we had to check it out, and not forgetting that we too are hip-and-haps youngsters of course! Haha.

 

    

Whyte Avenue on Old Strathcona. The shops here are indeed unique though a little atas, so prices are extravagant. Fashion boutiques play on all sorts of interesting designs and concepts; some even pertain to "sustainable fashion" - fashion that lasts in the sense that it's made from some kind of biodegradable material or something, haha. Wacky gifts shops are also abundant here, but of all of them there's Le Papier (bottom-left pic above), my personal favourite!

  

Le Papier's really big and sells all sorts of nice papers, cards and gifts. We spent almost a whole hour just fiddling with all the things they have here!

 

13 Oct - Canada's Thanksgiving Day
Anyway, it was also Canada's Thanksgiving Day, so the 4 of us decided to do a little gift-exchange thingy where we'll draw lots and get something for the "secret person", who'll only be revealed that night before we leave for Winnipeg. Then we all started hinting and disclaiming what we'd NOT like from the other person, It was quite exciting though it wasn't really that hard to guess who's who, especially when people started consulting one another in private about what the other party likes! Haha.

I was supposed to get something for Thalia, and for this I actually observed her discreetly (see, head TA skills at work again!) to see what she fancied. Eventually I got a meaningful ornament that she really liked, yep. Anw Js bought mine, which we both thought was a boring combination. Haha.. but it were a pair of puny gun-shaped reusable heat packs (so you place them in your pockets in winter and scare people by drawing the guns out??), which were cute la. Heh.

 

Foodies
Okay on to food next! Haha.. we dined at a couple of the Lonely Planet recommendations here, which were really located all over Old Strathcona..

    

Left: an interesting ice-hockey "foosball" game at some pub-like place
Right: Da-De-O, a casual hip diner with a 50's decor like Billy Bomber's, serving up cajun-spiced food

    

Da-De-O has this unique starter - a combination of choux biscuits with jalapeno jam. So it's weird that the jam was of a green tint, with a hint of spice to it! Haha.. tasted weird but interesting nevertheless.
And I know I look greedy and unglam in the 2nd candid shot, but that's a really very very good eggplant-parmesan sandwich! Affectionately known as "Po-Boys", these sandwiches are served with cajun sweet-potato fries, a must-try at Da-De-O!

 

Poutine, a fast-food staple in Canada. Also termed as a quintessential comfort food, this is a dish consisting of french fries topped with fresh cheese curds and covered in brown gravy. I've long heard of and seen this word pop up in many casual restaurants, and finally got to try it! Note: people trying poutine for their first time are called "poutine virgins", haha. And the right pic shows a nice little pot of tea I had in Hi-Level Diner's, a value-for-money breakfast place.

 

West Edmonton Mall (WEM)

As mentioned, WEM's the largest shopping mall in North America, and 4th largest in the world (used to be the world's largest for a 23-year period from 1981 to 2004). With an approximate area of 570,000 sq metres, it has 800 stores and receives 28.2 million visitors per year; an estimated average of 60,000 to 150,000 shoppers patron the mall daily!

WEM's a hit with the whole family, with amenities pertaining to people of all ages:

   

Galaxyland, the indoor amusement park

 

An indoor water park

   

An indoor full-size ice-skating rink

I keep repeating "indoor" cos well, the mall really spans over such a huge area that such facilities could be located indoors! Haha.. the Mall of America that I visited in Minneapolis also had a Nickelodeon park, but that was not exactly inside the mall premises. In fact, many of the other exchange students went to Minneapolis over the same weekend (that we're in Alberta), and have been swooning over how big the Mall of America is. But now they're jealous with all our pics of the Rockies and WEM! Haha.

The mall also sanctions off special areas to infuse a multicultural, cosmopolitan flavour:

    

Little Europa, with some atas shops and modelled make-believe "sidewalk" cafes

 

Chinatown - they have a supermarket here with all sorts of Oriental food and snacks, and Chinese-looking cakes for once! Anyway the lady kinda snapped at me in Mandarin that photo-taking wasn't allowed, and I quickly pacified her by buying Portugese egg-tarts from her (conversing in Mandarin too). But the point here is the egg-tarts la, not the language k. Haha.

 

"A Piece of Cake" - an exquisite bakery owned by a Chinese lady; she makes really cool extravagant Western wedding cakes, as well as the red cute prosperous-looking (maybe gaudy) Chinese ones!

 

 

I spent alot of time in the Yamaha Music School browsing through scores. One of the promoters was also playing the piano, and his varying techniques and expression were just captivating. Now I miss playing my piano too.. roar.

   

The mall directory did look very complicated and different colours represent various themed sections. The 2 gentlemen here are a Mexican actor and football player respectively - I didn't know who they were but Thalia and Adriana were swooning over them, so I decided to take a picture as well! Haha.

xx

So much for the mall! Yet despite all the above, though, its exterior really looked kinda plain and dull, nothing splendid nor wow from the outside at all. Yep.. actually I felt it looked like Times Square or 1-Utama in KL or even an enlarged version of Parkway Parade.. heh. And so out of curiosity to that, I googled "world's largest malls" - see them here - and as many as 14 out of the 24 listed in the tops are in Asia (China, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines)! And I've visited some of them before without even knowing that, haha.

So really, I guess for urban dwellers like us who're used to high-rise luxuriant shopping centres, the 2-storeyed (but vast and wide) WEM really didn't appeal as much to Js and I, as it did to Thalia and Adriana. I think Taka or most other places along Orchard Road can beat it hands-down in terms of decor and design.. :)

P/S: Oh yes yes, let me just say that I didn't buy anything here at all, save for the egg-tarts and coffee! Amazing leh, haha.

12-13 october, jasper national park 12:01 PM

Jasper, in comparison to Banff, is the largest national park in the Rockies. It'll be our last stop in this roadtrip for a final dose of mountains, lakes and nature, before we continue heading east for the city of Edmonton. Apart from the usual, Jasper's also well-known for its great diversity of wildlife varieties - interestingly, these animals don't only appear in the wilderness; people usually see them strutting just alongside shops and roads in Jasper town!

xx

Jasper Town

   

I still find it amazing how mountains surround and envelop these towns; they're so near yet so far..

 

Jasper's Chaba Theatre and Rail Station are also places of interest here. We did think of catching a film (thought it might be cool and Chaba was screening Richard Gere somemore, haha) but the timing was bad; they only screen 1-2 movies every day.

It was good that Jasper ain't as commercialized nor touristy and overcrowded like Banff, which felt refreshingly quiet for a change. Things generally aren't as expensive too. So yep, although the shops here are kinda similar to Banff's and I don't need to spend time talking about them, there was a cafe here that got me hooked that I went there twice within 5 hours! Haha.

  

Tada! Highly recommended in Lonely Planet, this is The Other Paw Bakery Cafe. It was named as such cos this is already its 2nd outlet in Jasper; the 1st was called "Bear's Paw" and located at the end of the street. I visited that too but didn't find the ambience as nice, heh.

   

See the sumptuous myraid of baked goods they offer! There's a wide variety of gourmet blended coffees too, that's my 2nd cuppa of the day, a big yummylicious caramel macchiato!

 

The warmth and cosiness of the interior, with bright colours in just the right places

         

My breakfast for that day - mochaccino and raspberry white scone. The scone's HUGE (nothing like the Old Granny Raisin scone at Starbucks, nor My Mother's scone in Coffee Bean - did I get the names right?) and only CAD 2.10! Very cheap and value-for-money. Okay I sound very auntie here, haha. Breakfast was nice too cos I met and chatted with an elderly English couple, they were on an amazing 2-month travel trip (though barely a quarter done at that time). But it was heartwarming to see the way they cared and looked out for each other as partners and soul mates. They enthusiastically narrated their travel plans to me too, which I think are even more exciting than mine, haha. It was nice talking to them, and one day too - as I've always wished - I want to grant my parents the opportunity to travel around at their own pace as well. Not too far from that I hope! :)

And oh oh, to the right's a cute cookie souvenir I saw, you can actually build your own Inukshuk from the little rectangles! Haha.. so quite a 2-in-1 Canadian momento, since it's maple-flavoured as well. But I didn't buy it la.. yep.

P/S: Eeyer.. I just realized I blogged ALOT about food, ROAR. Tskk.. okay back to geography! Haha.

 

The Mystery of Medicine Lake
Medicine Lake is geologic anomaly; it is not actually a lake but instead an area in which the Maligne River backs up and suddenly disappears underground. The phenomenon is explained as such:

In the summer months of intensified icecap meltdown, the lake fills to levels which fluctuate over time with varying runoff events. Most of the time during that period, it is often filled too quickly for drainage to take place, resulting in the flooding of its basin and hence the formation of Medicine Lake. The lake remains laden with water until it can slowly drain off and reduce to a river prior to winter, when runoff levels are low once more.

P/S: If you'd read the above and understand what I'm saying, you'd know I'd caught Medicine Lake when it no longer looks like a lake. But even if you didn't bother/understand what I wrote, you can see from this picture too, haha.

 

Channels and streams of muddy murky waters.. seemingly the ugliest but most interesting "lake" we've seen thus far, haha. We also read that Indians used to believe the disappearance of the lake was due to "big medicine" or black magic, and they feared it..!

 

Maligne Lake
Maligne Lake is a favourite attraction, particularly cos boat trips run from here to Spirit Island, which is one of the most beautiful and popular sights in Jasper. To our disappointment, though, boat trips are already closed by this time of the year! :(

 

 

So it became pretty much a normal lake that we saw. Still turquoise and vast like Lake Louise, although it's very much quieter here (but I reckon it's cos the boat trips are closed that's why, haha).

xx

To speak the truth, we didn't do nor see much in Jasper itself. We were probably tired by this time since we were constantly on the go; it was also drizzling that morning in Jasper so things felt a little dreary and gloomy. We (the girls) actually intended to go horseback riding too but couldn't cos of the weather; and my initial plans of possibly trying whitewater rafting were ruined as well. There were other attractions too like the Pyramid and Patricia Lakes, but I guess as much as lakes are nice to gaze at, I think we were all quite tired of them by then, haha.

Oh, but we did see wildlife as we were about to leave Jasper! This was a family of (I-seriously-dono-what), and they were about to cross the road from the gas station to reach the grasslands on the other side! Haha.. and they did stop to look left and right you know, unless my eyes were playing tricks and they were just taking their own sweet time (since no one will dare knock them anyway, it's an offence)!

 

 

It's quite exciting to come that close to widlife - though it was scary too, haha.

   

And while on the highway we saw mountain goats as well (actually we saw many cars pulling over so we decided to join in the crowd; typically Singaporean la! Haha..) There were many photojournalists and all as well everywhere we went, they seemed to be from National Geographic or the like with the kinds of equipment they had, heh. So well, it'd been a good break in the national parks - for now, we're off and back to urbanization! :)

11-12 october, the columbia icefield 4:12 AM

Ice fields are formed by a large accumulation of snow which, through years of compression and freezing, turns into ice. Due to ice’s susceptibility to gravity, ice fields usually form over large areas that are basins or atop plateaus, thus allowing a continuum of ice to form over the landscape and not be interrupted by glacial channels. - Wikipedia, 2008. (P/S: I could turn my blog into a brief-mini-encyclopedia on Canadian history and geography at the end of my trip, haha.)

xx

Athabasca Glacier
The Columbia Icefield lies between both Banff and Jasper National Parks. Spanning over 325 sq km in area, it is surrounded by some of the highest Rocky Mountains and feeds 8 major glaciers. Of these, the Athabasca Glacier is closest and most accessible from the Icefields Parkway (i.e. the highway leading to Jasper), hence it's the most visited and a popular tourist destination. In fact, I saw lots of Asians that day on the tour, from Chinese to Koreans to Japanese.. kinda nice to see them for a change, heh.

   

The Brewster Ice Explorer that took us up the Athabasca. And the ticket cost us CAD 38 each, pricey but definitely an adventure of a lifetime!

  

Left: the glacier from afar. I'm trying to make the journey as visual as possible here - so basically the Brewster took us along rough trails, up and down steep slopes (like the white strip that looks like a slide in the pic), and finally we found ourselves on the vast whites on the right!

  

    

Standing on ice that runs 365m deep, even the Eiffel Tower could be buried in it!
(Aww sorry Chris, I win! Hahaha.)

 

The Brewster driver, a knowledgeable and humorous (and I think quite charismatic) guy in his 40s.

 

Sunwapta and Athabasca Falls

Ehh.. we randomly stopped by 2 waterfalls on our way to Jasper as well, but nothing much to say about them, heh.

 

Sunwapta Falls

 

Cliff at the Athabasca Falls (the cut of the rocks was so unique we couldn't resist scrambling up repeatedly just for pictures), and the Inukshuk on the beach

   

Lake Athabasca

 

It'd be a 2-hour drive hereon to Jasper National Park - pic on the right shows what lies ahead while you cruise along the highway, though every bend really entails a different sight that leaves you in the same awe and wonder..

10-11 october, banff national park 6:19 PM

Readers beware! The pictures you see in this entry and hereafter probably won't do justice to the actual sights I'd witnessed, but I hope you'll be able to sense my excitement and just how breathtaking it was to come so close to the spectacular alpine landscape of the Rockies. And yea, especially when I spent my birthday here and experienced my first snowfall ever! - we heard it still wasn't time yet to get this cold nor snow here, but 老天爷 was kind enough to create that magic for me, haha :) 

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Canadian Rockies. Located 110-180km west of Calgary, it is about an hour's drive from the city. We were told that by cruising along the Trans-Canada Highway, we'd be given the unique opportunity of initially gazing at the Rockies in awe from afar, then experiencing the euphoria as the alpines gradually increase in size upon our approach, and eventually just over-towering alongside us! So yes, it was cool indeed to have witnessed that for real..

 

From inside the car - you can see the mountainous terrains here vary greatly place to place, ranging from snow-capped to duller-looking ones (like what we normally see in Batu Caves in KL..). But yea, at the risk of sounding silly, I must still say that the Rockies do look very rocky indeed! Haha.

 

Banff Town
Banff Town is a resort town and one of Canada's most popular tourist destinations, well-reputed for its mountainous surroundings, hot springs and variety of outdoor sports facilities such as hiking, biking and skiing. Standing at 1463m, it is also the town with the highest elevation in the country.

    

We explored a little trail near our hostel, where we had a chance (and very close) encounter to wildlife here - I think it was the elk. And I know I look really wrapped up here, but it went down to almost -8 deg C that night, so better be prepared and toasty! I think I had difficulty walking up and down the steps though, just felt like a fluffy puffball, haha.

   

Street of Banff Town, complete with quaint fancy shophouses (mostly selling food, gifts, cards and books).

   

Birthday dinner at Wild Bill's, slightly pricey though mine was free cos Thalia and Adriana treated me! Haha.. I had their specialty "Legendary Fajitas", and the Mexicans taught me how to hold, wrap and appreciate this dish from their home country.

     

Highlight of the night - bumping into Shuwen and Huilin once more on the streets of Banff! It was hilarious cos we'd spotted 2 Asians from a distance; they did too, and we all suddenly realized it were us! Totally pounced on one another and there was alot of screaming and hugging yet again, haha.

And then we did silly things like dancing in the snow and tasting the flakes, and..

 

Touching our boobs.. 

Anyway, Banff Town is also well-reputed for its abundance of nightlife and we went to one of their two famous nightclubs, Hoodoo's, where I got a specially-concocted cocktail on the house (cos Adriana and I announced the occasion to the bartender, whee!). It was a blend of Malibu lychee and others; very sweet and palatable.

 

"It's snowing!" - actually everyone'd expected me to only perform this "snow-dance" in end-October, when Winnipeg will experience its first light snowfall, heh. Now they won't see me create such a scene on-campus anymore (I hope). :)

And yea, our car was so covered in snow we didn't know how to drive anymore..!

 

The Banff Gondola
Saturday morning we took the Banff Gondola (essentially a cable car), scaling the eastern slope of Sulphur Mountain to its summit ridge. Up here, visitors are treated to a 360-deg spectacular view of the Bow Valley. A boardwalk can also be followed on foot, leading to the top of Sanson Peak, a whole 2256m above sea level!

    

The gondola and its very long boardwalk. It was -8 deg C that morning; we had to walk on very slippery ice and snow ground without proper footwear nor insulation! Suffered from some frostbites and cold feet, LITERALLY. Heh.

 

View of Bow Valley and many other peaks in the surrounding area

 

 

It was amazing just watching the alpine landscape, really. Anyway, we were niao-ed by our Canadian friends for wearing so much compared to Adriana and Thalia (we were said to have layered as if it was already -30 deg C!) -_-  Haha, but I think Js looked more like an abominable snowman compared to me! Hahaha :)

 

Lake Louise
Lake Louise was our next stopover, being on the way to the Icefields Parkway and Jasper National Park. It is said that Lake Louise has one of the most scenic views of the numerous lakes in this region. And it was pretty indeed, though we caught it at a bad timing of 4-5pm, where the sun was at its brightest and there was just too much backlight for good pictures. :(

   

    

The vast turquoise waters, simply refreshing and breathtaking to admire

 

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a luxurious hotel and popular tourist destination

 

This looks very much like the shot I took back in Vancouver's Stanley Park! Haha.

So well, completing our 2nd leg of travel in Banff, I must contend it was a simply unforgettable 22nd birthday, spending it amidst 游山玩水-ing in the wonders of Nature. :)

9-10 october, calgary 3:39 AM

While on the roads over the past weekend, I kept wondering how I'd be able to blog about this entire trip with all the spectacular sights and first-time experiences - yes, I'd uploaded 10 new albums on facebook - imagine the amount of effort I'll have to spend on this! Omg.. haha.

But still, here I am, 1 day after returning from Alberta; the 6-day road trip which entailed a never-ending-on-the-go itinerary. Albeit the tonnes of emails, unfinished assignments and mid-terms ahead, I'm taking time to revisit my travel journal, scribbled with all the little things and beautiful moments I'd like to share with everyone back home. :)

xx

Reunion dinner and Countdown to 10/10
I understand perfectly what Kaykey'd meant when she said she was always excited to meet fellow Singaporeans when travelling in Europe. I guess it was even more so for our case; somehow we really missed Shuwen and Huilin, and the initial euphoria of travelling in Vancouver together. I was super restless the few hours before we departed for Calgary, harping on the fact that we're all meeting up and counting down to my birthday! Haha.

So well, a reunion after 1.5 months! We really screamed when we saw one another, and our Mexican friends (Adriana and Thalia) were kinda amazed/amused at how close-knit we were. We went for a good Japanese dinner at Globefish Sushi, a highly-recommended restaurant - well, it wasn't like we hadn't tasted anything like this before back home (okay, not at least in ages), but it was the reunion and great company that made this dinner so very significant and special. As for our Mexican friends, it was that of tasting proper Japanese food for the first time, as well as learning basic Jap phrases and etiquette, as well as how to use the Asian "deep-welled" spoon and chopsticks etc - I taught them all!

   

  

"Ita-daki-masu!" with the chopsticks resting on the notch between thumb and forefinger - Japs do this before each meal, signifying "Let's eat!" We had a Rocky Mountains sushi platter, which was drowned in mayo to render its snowcapped effect, haha. Absolutely o-ishii!

The 4 of us then chilled and caught up over some drinks at a pub called Bungalow in downtown (no we didn't abandon our friends, they were tired so we sent them home to rest, heh). Anyway, the pub had a 25 year-old age limit and dress code policy sign at its entrance; it was freezing cold that night (-1 deg C) so we tried asking the bouncer if there was anywhere near that'd take us in. But it turned out that the sign was there just to "keep off the bad guys", so in we went, and settled down in a secluded comfortable spot totally in our own world, haha.

 

 

We had a very good time catching up, sharing our lives in Calgary and Winnipeg and just reminiscing about things back home. My martini was on Shuwen and Huilin too, haha. I guess I just felt blessed to have the company of fellow friends in the wee hours of my birthday.. yep. And of course, the smses from friends back home! I'll reveal the winners for most-accurate-timing in a separate post!

    

Then we kinda wanted to play SMU games but realized we couldn't with only 4 people around! :( Took silly pictures of tiu-tiu, bloop and big titty town girls (girl) nevertheless.. and I'm supposed to look/feel xing fu and warm with the 2 of them hugging me, since they were in their winter jackets, heh.

 

We all spent the night at their place - the 3 of us shared Shuwen's bed while Adriana and Thalia took Huilin's, and Js had a makeshift bed out of 4 chairs in the kitchen. To the right is the view from Shuwen's room, the green glass looks like SMU library's!

We bade farewell to our friends early next morning for the 2nd leg of our travel itinerary, although they were going to drive up to Banff that evening with their friends too, where we'd be, and might probably meet up. :)

 

Canada Olympic Park
The ski resort at the Canada Olympic Park was one of the best-known legacies for the XV Olympic Winter Games, which were held in Calgary in 1988. It was the primary venue for this event, hosting ski-jumping, bobsleigh and luge, amongst others. Currently, the Park is used both for high performance athletic training and recreational purposes by the general public, providing facilities for winter sports such as downhill/cross-country skiing and snowboarding. The 25km biking trail in the Park grounds also renders it a favourable site for cycling and other warm-weather sports in summer.

 

 

The difference between being the best of the best and the worst of the best..

   

Left: This is for ski-jumping (I think, haha). So yep, skiers go down the "in-run" and glide through at the take-off ramp, attempting to go as far as possible with style. Right: View of the city from the Park's hilltop.

 

Zooming into one of the ski-jump ramps with the Olympic Rings

 

The pic on the right depicts 10-2, so it kinda symbolizes 10/10 for me. HAHA.

 

Calgary Tower
The Calgary Tower is a 191m free-standing observation tower in downtown Calgary - "Free-standing" apparently means it sways from time to time, up to 16.5cm in any direction in the occurrence of strong winds! No wonder I felt so giddy while I was up there! Haha.. seriously.

   

Calgary Tower from afar, and inside the observation tower. You actually have the whole of Calgary beneath your feet when you're up there!

 

Up up and away, from 0 to 525 feet high!

 

Scene-shots of downtown Calgary as observed from the Tower

xx

Well well, so this pretty much concludes our short stint in Calgary! It's definitely more of a bustling city here compared to Winnipeg, though I feel it offers more of shopping/dining/pubbing than actual sites of interest. Or perhaps I've become accustomed to the Winnipeggers' slower pace of life (..??) Omg, I wonder if I'll feel shocked returning to Singapore and experiencing its hustle-bustle all over again! :(

good things come in twos - 1010 / 22 2:09 AM

   

22 and 2.

I'll be setting off for Calgary this afternoon; what a pity I can't have a post dated 10 October! :( Haha.

But of course, this entry really entails more than just self-illustrated well-wishes. Perhaps as the clock ticks away and entrances me in a whirl of repeated birthday wishes from vastly different time zones, I've been made to regard all of this as as a personal reminder, that I really am more than just an adult now, 22 and facing major choices in my life.

I've embarked on a long journey and come far this year, literally and figuratively. There're of course certain aspects I hope I'd achieved more and done better; yet on the positive side I'm nevertheless encouraged by my actions and efforts in learning to love and give, improving facilitation and mentoring, reaching out and advocating relationship management. Yes, give yourself a pat on the back Wini, you deserve it on your day. From now, I just need to make sure I'll eventually fulfill my goals at the end of the trip, and upon my return in January be all prepared for the final lap.

At this point there's also a lot I want to say to my best and closest friends - you know who you are - thank you all for always being there, for caring, for knowing exactly what to say at the right times, for everything that's made me the Wini you all know (and love!). I wanted to write personal messages here but I'm afraid of leaving people out and I guess it'd be more significant if I write in person. :) Oh, and I made very long wishes on my birthday cakes, cos I wished many good things for all of you back home as well. :)

So well, I'll be spending my birthday on the Rocky Mountains (the way some of Blewky spent theirs on famous landmarks all over the world). Be back this coming Wednesday with all of you soon, after the weekend's crazy and ambitious travel itinerary. TTFN (tata for now)!

P/S: Keep the smses coming when the clock strikes 12! FYI:

- Singapore, Fri 12am = Winnipeg, Thurs 11am
- Winnipeg, Fri 12am = Singapore, Fri 1pm
- Calgary, Fri 12am = Singapore, Fri 2pm

The confusing thing's that I'll be at Calgary when it strikes 10 October here. Let's see who gets the timing perfect, I'll reveal the winner next week! HAHA.. and if you're thoughtful enough, you could wish me twice! :)

xx

人生偶尔会走上一条陌路   像是没有指标的地图

别让他们说你该知足   只有你知道什么是你的幸福

她今年阳历十月十日刚满二十二   刚甩开课本要离开家看看这世界   却发现许多烦恼要面对

她常会想望能回到那年她一十二   只需要好好上学生活单纯没忧愁

她一直满怀希望   她笑着想过未来.

她应该得到幸福   如此的简单的梦

有没有实现

...

a special day 12:45 AM

   

Happy Birthday Mummy! I'm glad you liked the video I made specially for you - I'm glad I managed to finish it too - and I'd have guessed you brought it to office to show off as well. Haha.. I've penned whatever I wanted to say in your birthday card, so hope you receive it soon! :) Lots of love!

on fighting bouts (of emotions) 11:16 PM

bout (noun)

1. A contest between antagonists; a match: a judo bout.
2. A period of time spent in a particular way; a spell: a bout of emotions.

Maybe as a judoka this word's been most commonly used by and on me for the longest time ever - "how many bouts do you have?" / "which bout are you?" / "jia you for your bout!"

Yea, now that my mind's wandering it seems wittily pun-nish that I'm suddenly thrown into a a bout I need to fight, only this time it's one of negative and dreary emotions. To risk sounding overly pessimistic, it's probably just a rather stressful period of time given that I'll be away in Alberta the next few days over the Thanksgiving weekend, only to return with tough assignment deadlines and a Finance mid-term exam the next day. FINANCE! Omg. Coupled with the inherent lack of sleep and the need to rush over planning and packing, I've evolved into quite a grouch and worrywart today.

The Art of Travel

I tried making things better, settling down in the quiet of the Dafoe library revising Finance (with the intermittent power-napping and reading The Art of Travel). And Christine, I now understand why you said the book spoke to you, and I really appreciate your getting it for me though I've been having difficulty finding time to read. Given my state of emotions today, the following did appeal greatly:

"I felt lonely, but for once it was a gentle, even pleasant kind of loneliness, because rather than unfolding against a backdrop of laughter and fellowship, which would have caused me to suffer from the contrast between my mood and the environment, it had as its locus a place where everyone was a stranger, where the difficulties of communication and the frustrated longing for love seemed to be acknowledged and brutally celebrated by the architecture and lighting.

The collective loneliness brought to mind certain canvases by Edward Hopper, which, despite the bleakness they depict, are not themselves bleak to look at but rather allow the viewer to witness an echo of his or her own grief and thereby to feel less personally persecuted and beset by it. It is perhaps sad books that best console us when we are sad, and to lonely service stations that we should drive when there is no one for us to hold or love."

-- Somehow it felt bittersweet reading the above; the book enlightened, yet granted me omniscience (film jargon, haha) from a third person's perspective, observing myself and acknowledging I'm indeed lonely and lost today. And reading just made it both better and worse with the hike in emotions involved, yep. Oh, and I came across the part you wrote to me!

"At the end of hours of train-dreaming, we may feel we have been returned to ourselves - that is, brought back into contact with emotions and ideas of importance to us. It is not necessarily at home that we best encounter our true selves. The furniture insists that we cannot change because it does not; the domestic setting keeps us tethered to the person we are in ordinary life, who may not be who we essentially are."

-- It did set me thinking essentially if I've managed to find that space to make things better - sometimes I feel I do, but perhaps at times like this (stress/fatigue?) I'm just unsure and need some kind of assurance. After all, I haven't yet completed anything concrete about career management, and I'm definitely becoming increasingly unhealthy. ROAR.

Epilogue

I had an extremely long shower just now, scrubbing away at dry skin cells and applying my facial mask, as if to literally detox and wash it all off. Then I downed 2 red plums, munching on something healthier for a change. With my birthday coming soon, I ought to stop falling into Sisyphus and think positive thoughts.

I just need to do it all better, too.

wini loves surprises! 2:54 AM

The Mysterious Parcel

I thought it'd be nice to check my mailbox for unexpected (and expected) birthday mail today, if any that is. And tada, to my sheer delight I received an exciting parcel!

The sender was named "Your Loves!", and for a moment it got me wondering. But "Choa Chu Kang" on the sender's address somehow gave it away, and I kinda thought it'd be my teammates, heh.

 

And it was indeed! They'd sent the HC tee gotten at MAF, which was really very sweet of them. The postcards they chose also depicted festivals in Singapore, just so to send me snippets of home and make me feel warm and loved. :)

It's such a coincidence too that I was thinking about them just this morning, when I did up the previous post with our team pictures atop. It just feels so heartwarming to know you're remembered, and to discover something exciting in an almost-always-empty mailbox. Thank you my dearest teammates! 我爱你们！

 

Birthday Surprise at AVM

Coupled with the above, this surprise birthday party has made today so superbly unexpected, eventful and most heartfelt. I never expected Chantale (AIMS buddy coordinator) and Js to plan a mini secret party, not at least sometime so early nor something planned specially for me alone (from what I know previously, we only had a joint celebration for all September babies during the Clear Lake weekend; I'd thought mine'd be at the next upcoming event in end-October)! Nevertheless, it started like this:

I returned home late this evening and Js was noisier than usual, prancing around the house, which I passed off as his probably feeling stressed over midterms. Suddenly, though, he disappeared from home without warning, a behaviour very atypical of him. (But yea, it turned out that he had difficulty containing his excitement, that's why he became kinda hyperactive, hahaha.)

Well, he actually went to the AVM lounge to help with the decor, before reappearing suddenly to "lure" me downstairs. It really sounded fishy though, cos he claimed to be "baking a cake for me in the kitchen downstairs but needed some help" (?!?) Haha.. and I kept thinking if I should change out before heading down, but I didn't want to appear as if I'm overthinking as well..

So yep, upon my arrival the lights flicked on and a whole bunch of buddies and exchange students were there, both closer friends and others who just came to send their well-wishes. And I must admit even though amidst the fishiness I'd expected something to happen, I didn't think it was of such a scale and that there were so many who cared and bothered, even amidst the midterms period! Oh, they did catch me in my pyjamas (i.e. tee + track pants) though, so erm, I went back up to change and they redid the lights-flicking-surprise-shouting thingy all over again, HAHA.

A very cute Winnie the Pooh birthday cake. Presents today included 2 cards, some chapalang Pooh stationery and books amongst others, heh.

 

I think I look like a little kid in such photos, haha. It's nice that everyone had a go at signing the card and penning their well-wishes, which I find very meaningful and sweet :)

  

Chantale, the lady behind it all, bringing everything together and making this possible. This pillar was decorated by the Germans - Momo, Marcel and Christian.

From left to right: Sepi (my coffee partner, and she really never takes photos so this's a rare one), Sandy, Adriana, Thalia, Christian, Momo

Clockwise from top right: Germans, Canadians and Mexicans vying against one another for my attention to appear in their photos, haha

My current stash of balloons in the corner

Something interesting about the figurine on my cake - initially everyone was disappointed there wasn't a Winnie the Pooh; Js fiddled with it and accidentally pressed a catch which popped Pooh out from the hunny-pot! Haha. And here's a confession: I'd always had this secret desire to have one of those big big candles on my birthday cake, and here they are! Not to mention, my birthday badge flickers too!

Haha, apart from all the above, I'm just really sporting today too cos they made me do a birthday speech as well as play Truth-or-Truth; people just bombarded me with questions one after another, which I took coolly with utmost composure.

Wini really loves surprises! :D

my 22nd birthday bash 10:46 AM

This is my first time ever celebrating my birthday away from home - at least, to as far back as I can remember but it should be - and definitely my first time celebrating it separately from my Mum, since hers is just 2 days before mine.

So I'm turning 22 soon, many crossroads passed and choices made. Recently I've been thinking a lot about how far I've come in these recent years (cos I was making a video as a surprise for my Mum's birthday). And yes, who'd not agree it'd been a dramatic change for me, both physically and mentally? Haha.. and just for trivia purposes:

I'm super paisay-ed by the unglam pic on the left, but it's funny how I (we) used to look! So to depict the contrast I've put them side-by-side. Time lapse between both shots = 5 years.

Anyway, Chris says I must make my Mum feel "what a fine daughter I've raised", so now I'm just thinking what a fine person I've developed into and grown to be. HAHA. Okay la, I was just kidding. But I probably do have some reflections to pen at this point in my life, which I will hopefully over the next few days before I leave for Calgary.

xx

So well, despite being away from home, Laura's parents hosted a heartwarming birthday dinner for me at their place last Saturday, in their most thoughtful way to make me feel at home and loved even when I'm far away from friends and family.

I do think I'm really fortunate to have had so many wonderful birthdays in a row - yes, Vicki's annual "party plans" (simple yet sweet), Blewky's little celebrations (though this year we've spent our birthdays all over the world on different continents), birthday buffets with Evi and Luyi (we must make up for it when I return)! And last year I'd celebrated mine with tonnes of people; this year's simple yet nevertheless unique and memorable, and will undoubtedly be one of the greatest highlights of my exchange experience.

Mrs Fox does up the interior decor of her house on her own! An avid fan of IKEA, her efforts in creating the perfect home makes her guests (us) feel so warmly welcomed all the time.

   

Laura says because it is my birthday (and hence "a special occasion"), her mum'd specially prepared appetizers like cheese + crackers + fruit for us!

The nicely-decorated dinner table - Js and I are holding up our name-tags, which Mrs Fox always prepares for each meal.

Dinner started off with a champagne toast to me, which made me feel really special and at the centre of attention, haha. It was all nice and sweet, and dessert was tea, and of course, my yummy birthday cake. :)

Top left to right: Mr and Mrs Fox (John and Patricia), Dave (Laura's boyfriend)

Cheesecake with strawberries and blueberries, homemade by Mrs Fox.

We were then made to proceed to the family room while everyone watched me unwrap presents. I guess it's something I've never done in many years for now, just everyone sitting around watching the birthday girl in anticipation. I think I last did something like this in Primary 6 or something, haha. I was made to read every card aloud (I had 3 of them that night!) and show off all the presents!

After dinner we went up to help Laura and Judy find a space for rent in Singapore, going through the MRT system and possible locations with them. They also wanted to learn abit of SInglish so we taught them a little; now they know we were "nua-ing" on Laura's bed. Haha.

    

满载而归！I took the bunch of white balloons home so they're now lying in my room, haha. My loot of presents includes the following:

From Mr and Mrs Fox - a birthday card, U of M recyclable bag, U of M Bookstore gift certificate. From Laura and Dave - a cute pop-up monkey birthday card, an Inukshuk figurine, a scarf. From Judy - a birthday card, card-holder, Gold Card Mints and Starbucks gift card.

 

It's really sweet to receive homemade birthday cakes

 

So this is my 2nd homemade birthday cake ever, and I thought it'd be nice to show off my piano cake again from 2 years ago on my 20th. Vicki made it from the Betty Crocker piano cake recipe I saw online, and is to date one of my best birthday cakes ever. :)

lower fort garry and the manitoba museum 8:58 AM

Lower Fort Garry

Last Saturday, Laura took us, Adriana and Thalia on a 1-hour drive to Lower Fort Garry for a guided tour at this national historic site. Adriana and Thalia are these 2 cheery Mexican girls who'll be going to Calgary with us (coincidentally, their buddy is Judy, who'll be going to SMU with Laura next term, haha)

Lower Fort Garry was built in 1831 by the Hudson's Bay Company on the western bank of the Red River, 20 miles north of the original Fort Garry (now Winnipeg). The fort was a significant trading settlement for the European fur traders back then who arrived via the waters; it became an industrial centre by the 1860s, and is now the oldest intact stone fort in North America.

 

The Red River bank and then trading boat, restored

Farm manager's house, Aboriginals' tipi and Governor's House - the settlement consisted of peoples of all statuses

Inside one of the warehouses and a tipi

 

The fort itself and its bastions and warehouses

An ancient piano and a copy of its score. I'm reading the Lady's Newspaper - women back then shipped these all the way from Europe just to follow its fashions and trends - ironically though, they took a whole year to reach them and were always outdated by then, haha

 

Inside the Governor's House, clockwise from top left - The Gentleman's room, Ladies' room, Study rooms

A peek into the warehouse - boxes of tea, barrels of meats, crates of rum, fur lofts and many more

 

The trader's shop, with real beaver fur hats, textiles and other authentic things

 

I thought the bottom-left picture's quite cute! As usual I came up with it, haha

 

The Manitoba Museum

The Manitoba Museum is the largest museum in Winnipeg, and really, the largest heritage centre in the province of Manitoba. Focusing on human and natural heritage, the galleries and collections here explore the history and environment of the province from its northern Arctic coast to its southern prairie grasslands. These included aspects pertaining to Earth History, the Arctic/sub-Arctic climate, the Boreal Forest, Hudson's Bay Company and Manitoba's urbanization, amongst others.

Christine said the attractions I've visited somehow relate more to geographical history and culture; "natural" landscapes, as compared to what seems mostly man-made in Europe. Haha.. to that extent I agree, and I did appreciate learning about Manitoba's heritage and am just amazed how a vast piece of land could be so different from one end to its other. A pity though that my camera died on me, followed by JS's and Laura's! So we didn't take much here.. bleah.

 

Haha.. that's my SMILE featured through some special-effect eyeglasses, thought it looked creepy yet cool!

Life of the early hunters, animals showcased here are stuffed (i.e. once-real!) Kinda spooky.

The Inukshuk, a symbol of life and rite of passage for the Aboriginal peoples

The full-size replica ship Nonsuch, whose voyage in 1668 led to the founding of the Hudson's Bay Company, is the museum's showcase piece

   

Really rare object from abroad leh! Hahaha.

yes, it's one-of-a-kind 12:48 AM

I guess I've always advocated the need for one to recreate a home away from home - just finding ways to strike the internal balance and harmony that one needs, when being overseas gets unfamiliar and crappy at times. To that end, Js and I'll oft discuss how our exchange experience's been like, how we feel and perceive it, and even how to possibly make things better for ourselves.

Through these simple discussions, I've discovered my experience to be rather different and uniquefrom the others'. And I do want to pen these thoughts here cos one day when I revisit this blog and relive my memories in Canada, I want to know how I've exactly felt about the way I'm leading my life right now.

Every international student here has his/her own personal goal for exchange - I've come across an entire multitude just talking to the many new friends I've made thus far. And I know too that my friends who went on exchange last semester'd led their own fulfilling lives overseas as well, albeit in different ways.

So what makes mine one-of-a-kind?

After all, I'm not the permanent party-goer that a great handful here are, nor am I always the one opening my doors to the many impromptu-ly organized house-parties and socials. But one thing's definitely different though, which are my efforts in being willing to talk to anyone and everyone (well, almost!), and to reach out to those whom I feel I could interact on a more personable level. And of course, anyone who knows me'd understand that relationship management's something I find most satisfying and enriching for my personal development.

But more recently though, I've realized that it's too our buddies who've made exchange life so much more excitable for us. In fact, Js and I are really fortunate to have fantastic buddies whom we get along very well with. From the several chillax sessions and invitations to home dinners over the past few days - now, which other exchange student has had the same amount of VIP treatment like us, sitting down with a Canadian family and experiencing it all? Haha.. so yes, to this end, I think we've led very different exchanges lives from most others (though my point here is really not to compare); it's merely a revelation I thought I'd want to remind myself and be thankful for.

 

IQ's Cafe on-campus, with Laura and Judy

 

"We proudly serve Starbucks Coffee" is IQ's tag-line, though they're really not as good, heh.

  

Yet another place to chill - IQ's got couches, a TV, many pool tables and even a mini-arcade! A bigger version of Frujch or Screme I guess.

 

To Natalie's place for dinner

Nat's a really funny person who loves taking cranky pics as well! And she still constantly talks about her SMU exchange experience, which makes us really excited and happy to reminisce about things back home!

Behind her house is a beautiful park by the Assiniboine River.. whoa.

 

And being the swakoo Singaporean who's only seen home basements on Debbie Travis Facelift and other TV programmes, here's finally exploring a real one - Nat's got her own personal room/space there!

 

So well, even though life here's dreary at times and I do yearn to be back home in certain ways, ultimately it's these little things that will form an integral part of my life over here. Definitely one-of-a-kind? After all, I'm from SMU; I'm different! HAHA.

clear lake weekend 8:26 PM

The Clear Lake Integration Weekend is AIMS' largest event every term, where some 35 of us embark on a bus trip to the Riding Mountain National Park, bunk in cabins near the infamous Clear Lake and engage in various games and activities. The park sits atop the highest part of the Manitoba Escarpment, and is home to a variety of wildlife including wolves, moose, black bears, bisons and hundreds of bird species, amongst others. We were headed towards the townsite of Wasagaming at its southern end, which is also the only commercial centre within the park boundaries.

Map of Riding Mountain National Park, well-known for its gun-shaped landscape

 

Interior of our cabin (complete with couches and kitchenette), little cottages and souvenir shops

 

The past 3 days were a good break from the city and school - not that Winnipeg's that bustling nor I've been studying much on exchange - but the fascinating sights, gorgeous scenery, fresh air and refreshing touch of nature were rejuvenating for a change. There was something beautiful to admire any time of each day - quaint town sightings, waters and clouds at dusk, the awesome night sky embellished with uncountable twinkling stars (I've never seen that many stars before, and it's a pity nothing we had on us could capture those sparkling pictures effectively).

The only thing that probably made the weekend less enjoyable at times was the chilly weather, it was so cold (about 8 deg C or less) that frost formed on the grass at night. Coupled with the evening windchills, even the Canadians themselves couldn't quite withstand it!

  

I really love the unique combination of both deciduous and evergreen coniferous vegetation in this part of the world. The pictures below are that of Clear Lake, a popular destination for swimming, scuba diving, fishing etc. especially in the summer.