One of the highlights of being an SDSU art student - getting up close and personal with all kinds of rare books!!! We had a mini presentation at the library today regarding various types of books from the really old ones (those written in Latin from the 16th century), to the fairly recent ones (button books from the Nazi era) to the modern day books made by contemporary artists...
I must have been drooling at the entire display because we get none of such privileges back home in ADM. The fact that I touched an illustrated manuscript written in Latin made me so happy I almost cried... Even when the lady from the archives gave a presentation on how to handle the books, mentioning things like "you have to listen to the book, and open them the way they want to be opened" made everything seem so poetic.
Ahhhh books... I just love books too much. Looking and analyzing the structure and content of any well-made book just makes me smile from ear to ear.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Poo Poo Water
It's really funny how each time I come to America, I have to deal with an overflowing toilet with poo poo leaking all around you.
This time poo poo water wasn't our fault.. I think some other girl must have flooded the toilet bowl with too much tissue paper. Or..... there could be another reason for it.
In any case, nobody wants to deal with poo poo water, but there wasn't any choice this time, and my friend and I had to soak up the poo poo water that leaked onto the carpet outside the bathroom, before our landlord's son came over to help us suck up the water with a highly powerful vaccum cleaner.
But it's good that our landlord is so ready to provide service, and I'm glad that poo poo water is over.. for now.
This time poo poo water wasn't our fault.. I think some other girl must have flooded the toilet bowl with too much tissue paper. Or..... there could be another reason for it.
In any case, nobody wants to deal with poo poo water, but there wasn't any choice this time, and my friend and I had to soak up the poo poo water that leaked onto the carpet outside the bathroom, before our landlord's son came over to help us suck up the water with a highly powerful vaccum cleaner.
But it's good that our landlord is so ready to provide service, and I'm glad that poo poo water is over.. for now.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
More Pictures of San Diego
Met up with the 2nd last exchange student within our group, and his friend was able to drive us to Old Town for Mexican cuisine (with the address that I found in Frommer's Guidebook). Every single tourist must have read that guidebook since the restaurant was extremely crowded, compared to their neighbouring eateries.
Despite the hype and crowd, I'm still not a fan of Mexican cuisine, apart from their guacamole (avocado mush)...
We have been going out almost every single day with our housemate, a German girl by the name of Anne (pronounced as 'Ah-Nuh'). She's quite the funny housemate, but I think she finds us rather amusing as well. We're pretty short compared to her, she's about 172cm I think. There are 2 other Germans in our house other than her, a couple by the names of Tom and Katerin. When we (the Singaporean girls) stand between them, it'll be like comparing midgets to giants.
Our other housemates are the Americans - Liz, Cassandra, Nicole, Jeanette, Tyler; a Korean guy named Shin and some I've yet to remember... Not all of our housemates are here yet, but they'll be arriving soon, by Sunday at least since school begins on the 22nd.
So far, we've been to La Jolla beach.. very very cold, but really awesome. I think I might be learning surfing, if there's enough money for me to do so, since its offered as a 1-unit course at SDSU. I just can't wait for orientation soon... Gonna be meeting so many foreign students!!!
And for the past few dinners we had home cooked fare, such as spaghetti, stir-fried noodles, Japanese chicken curry, and yesterday we had the honor of eating a German dish done by Anne - baked cauliflower topped with cheese with potatoes as a side dish. Really really really really delicious I must say.
Despite the hype and crowd, I'm still not a fan of Mexican cuisine, apart from their guacamole (avocado mush)...
We have been going out almost every single day with our housemate, a German girl by the name of Anne (pronounced as 'Ah-Nuh'). She's quite the funny housemate, but I think she finds us rather amusing as well. We're pretty short compared to her, she's about 172cm I think. There are 2 other Germans in our house other than her, a couple by the names of Tom and Katerin. When we (the Singaporean girls) stand between them, it'll be like comparing midgets to giants.
Our other housemates are the Americans - Liz, Cassandra, Nicole, Jeanette, Tyler; a Korean guy named Shin and some I've yet to remember... Not all of our housemates are here yet, but they'll be arriving soon, by Sunday at least since school begins on the 22nd.
So far, we've been to La Jolla beach.. very very cold, but really awesome. I think I might be learning surfing, if there's enough money for me to do so, since its offered as a 1-unit course at SDSU. I just can't wait for orientation soon... Gonna be meeting so many foreign students!!!
And for the past few dinners we had home cooked fare, such as spaghetti, stir-fried noodles, Japanese chicken curry, and yesterday we had the honor of eating a German dish done by Anne - baked cauliflower topped with cheese with potatoes as a side dish. Really really really really delicious I must say.
Our Room
We've finished furnishing our room with bedding and all.. Now it's beginning to look like home. Thank God for the cheap comforters!!!! Usually a comforter set would cost about US $40 or so... But Yun Hua's radar eyes managed to see 3 sets of comforters on sale.. for only US $9.98!!!! That's even cheaper than what Singapore would've offered.
Gonna put pictures up soon!
Gonna put pictures up soon!
AMTRAK
I'm really sorry for the lack of updated posts... Apparently we have been shopping too much for groceries and other necessities, and by the time we return, it's already 9pm and dark!
Anyways, these pictures are taken onboard the Amtrak from LA to San Diego. The train was pretty spacious, rather comfy I must say. Cleaner than I thought it would be. The total time for the ride was 2hrs 45mins. And the train route took us past scenic views of the ocean. I think about one-third of the train track was along the Californian coast...
What's amazing about the view was the infinite horizon of sea. Unlike in Singapore, you can't even see anything beyond the horizon, except for fog... No islands, no rocks jutting out in random spots.. just the flat ocean beyond.
Anyways, these pictures are taken onboard the Amtrak from LA to San Diego. The train was pretty spacious, rather comfy I must say. Cleaner than I thought it would be. The total time for the ride was 2hrs 45mins. And the train route took us past scenic views of the ocean. I think about one-third of the train track was along the Californian coast...
What's amazing about the view was the infinite horizon of sea. Unlike in Singapore, you can't even see anything beyond the horizon, except for fog... No islands, no rocks jutting out in random spots.. just the flat ocean beyond.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
So cold so cold so cold
Gosh.... The weather in San Diego is surprisingly COLD!!! Especially when it comes to the night. We just arrived at our house yesterday, and sleeping was torturous. We had no bed sheets, blankets and pillows... So we're buying all of them today. All we had to cover ourselves with were our extra clothes, jackets and towels. Never in my life would I have imagined that I'd one day sleep in 5 layers of fabric:
Shirt
Adidas Jacket
Thick fleeced hoodie
Thin Spongebob towel
Black shawl
It's pretty amazing considering the fact that I love the cold, and that I've lived on a freezing mountain at 7000ft high. The heating system in the house is rather crappy. It doesn't seem to be working in our room, because the temperature feels like its 10 to 12 degrees celsius. Consolation comes from the bathroom with the hot water and working heating system.
I'll be posting new pictures soon, so keep watching this blog!
Shirt
Adidas Jacket
Thick fleeced hoodie
Thin Spongebob towel
Black shawl
It's pretty amazing considering the fact that I love the cold, and that I've lived on a freezing mountain at 7000ft high. The heating system in the house is rather crappy. It doesn't seem to be working in our room, because the temperature feels like its 10 to 12 degrees celsius. Consolation comes from the bathroom with the hot water and working heating system.
I'll be posting new pictures soon, so keep watching this blog!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Arrived!
Woo Hooo!!!! We just arrived in LA from our 13hr flight via Hong Kong. We're currently resting our tired bodies at the Best Western Hotel... Room's pretty small, but cosy. The price is pretty resonable, considering that we're just students with little money on us.
But again, America's a country where tips decide your likeability because if you do not tip the people who are working in the service industry, they'll most probably swear and cuss right in front of you.
Being a Singaporean, tipping is uncustomary for most situations. Right now, we've yet to buy anything and we're poorer by USD$3 per person.
But I really thank God for presenting me with the opportunity to come to America again, and I pray that I'll continue to witness His miracles and kindness from time to time!
Cathay Pacific Airlines was surely better than China Airlines (we had Hagen Daz for dessert), the plane ride went smoothly, with little turbulence.
But again, America's a country where tips decide your likeability because if you do not tip the people who are working in the service industry, they'll most probably swear and cuss right in front of you.
Being a Singaporean, tipping is uncustomary for most situations. Right now, we've yet to buy anything and we're poorer by USD$3 per person.
But I really thank God for presenting me with the opportunity to come to America again, and I pray that I'll continue to witness His miracles and kindness from time to time!
Cathay Pacific Airlines was surely better than China Airlines (we had Hagen Daz for dessert), the plane ride went smoothly, with little turbulence.
Monday, January 7, 2008
The Very First Entry
Hi there...
This is my 2nd blog about being away in America. As of now, I'm still in Singapore making preparations for my long awaited journey to San Diego. So far, the only states I've been to are in Washington and California, although my train did pass by Oregon (but that's cheating since I didn't get off the 26hr train ride).
I'll definitely love to visit Seattle and San Francisco again but for now, my group will be heading towards Los Angeles once more (dreadful place). LA would definitely NOT be one of my favorited places to visit, although the factory outlet that I went to aided in my finances (cheap branded goods!). I'm looking forward to the city of San Diego in Cali, but it's too bad that I'd most probably not make it for the ComicCon Fest '08 as my school ends in May.
It's gonna be stressful making independent decisions with my limited monetary funds (I do accept charity *hint hint*), and I hope that I won't overspend the money that my parents forked out, and I'd definitely want them to be proud of me. So I pray that I'd even have some money left when I get back in June! I even bought a 2008 diary so I can keep track of the money I'll be spending!!!!! That'll be a new forced habit of mine, a good habit hopefully.
Anyways, for more details about my flight number, refer to my main blog:
la-jolie-sirene.blogspot.com
Yours truly,
May Yue
This is my 2nd blog about being away in America. As of now, I'm still in Singapore making preparations for my long awaited journey to San Diego. So far, the only states I've been to are in Washington and California, although my train did pass by Oregon (but that's cheating since I didn't get off the 26hr train ride).
I'll definitely love to visit Seattle and San Francisco again but for now, my group will be heading towards Los Angeles once more (dreadful place). LA would definitely NOT be one of my favorited places to visit, although the factory outlet that I went to aided in my finances (cheap branded goods!). I'm looking forward to the city of San Diego in Cali, but it's too bad that I'd most probably not make it for the ComicCon Fest '08 as my school ends in May.
It's gonna be stressful making independent decisions with my limited monetary funds (I do accept charity *hint hint*), and I hope that I won't overspend the money that my parents forked out, and I'd definitely want them to be proud of me. So I pray that I'd even have some money left when I get back in June! I even bought a 2008 diary so I can keep track of the money I'll be spending!!!!! That'll be a new forced habit of mine, a good habit hopefully.
Anyways, for more details about my flight number, refer to my main blog:
la-jolie-sirene.blogspot.com
Yours truly,
May Yue
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