Another take on international relations

Another way to relax i found off Lemuel's blog =)

Wouldn't it be nice if we could just get all the world leaders into a boxing ring and let them settle it, without hassling us?

Faith Fighter



Click here to play this game

Normal service is resumed

Started raining as I was walking back home from uni... sigh...
Anyways, I'm quite happy today - firstly, I got some IPL readings done, which is a good thing, given I'd procrastinated the whole weekend).

Secondly, my keyboard's now working relatively properly (after a weekend of being a tool). Basically, the whole weekend, the letter 't' was just going missing. You never realise how important something is, until you miss it (eg the letter 't') - sounds like a Sesame Street commercial =P

On a lighter note, only God knows what some ppl would have made of it if the malfunctioning letter was the one before "w".

Things to be thankful for

Having been in Scotland for 3 weeks, I've so much to be thankful for:

• So far this week, the weather's been awesome =) hasn't rained that much.
• Great housemates - 2 guys and one girl from Quebec, and Mohan from India - awesome ppl. We've just had a nice, long pot luck (started 930, finished just now). Anyways, it was a great time of just hanging out, learning different things about each others' cultures (including the joys of maple syrup), and yeah laughing at the same time. Its funny how a bunch of ppl who didn't know each other beforehand can get along almost instantly haha...
• A ministry to serve - I've been signed up to guitar for GCCC in 2 weeks! looking forward to it. You would not believe how weird it was knowing that there was a J-life service on today and that I wasn't playing.
• Things to do - i fear boredom =)... but I'm taking up fencing, and hoping to play football for CU. Oh, and today I played cricket with some guys from the subcontinent. They play every weekend so I'm hoping to join them regularly. I also proved today that not all Australians can play cricket well.
  
• Great sermons. The past few weeks, I've really been blessed by being able to hear from Ps Gordon at GCCC. Today's sermon was from Psalm 107:23-32. Basically, if you want to see God really act in your life, you've got to go out of your comfort zone. God comes where He's at stake.
  

Anyways, that's enough for now. Got some readings to catch up with =)

Skye High - Part 2

Classes finally started this week, and so I've been busy learning about the weird and wonderful world of Jurisprudence, Medieval Legal History and International Private Law. I've also made my first curry...

Anyways, last Saturday, we went to the Isle of Skye... and proceeded to do some pretty interesting stuff. Visited Eileen Dornan Castle, as I've mentioned earlier, and we also went to this place called Kilt Rock.
basically, the rocks in the background are meant to resemble the back of a kilt. Chad was good enough to model this one.


Anyways, let's get back to the list. The tour guides (the aforesaid Tony and Mikey) got us to write up a list of things we wanted to do. The list, at the end included things like trying on kilts (Chad), sipping some water of life (whisky), seeing Loch Ness, getting plastered, kissing a Scotsman (not my wish), and swinging a claymore (mine).

No 4: Swing a claymore

I got a bit more than i bargained for... the claymore got upsized to a lochaber axe...


The man wanted to demonstrate what happened to traitors, and i realised something
Blades that don't look sharp often are - basically, pull upwards.

But at the end...

It was worth it.
Ok that's a lochaber axe, not a claymore. Claymores went out of fashion (like bell-bottoms ... oh wait those are coming back). Anyways, claymores they went out of style because swinging large, sharp, double-edged swords at high speeds while running down hills (the Highlanders' favourite modus operandi) meant that you often chopped off the ears of the person next to you.

There's probably a moral in there somewhere.

Skye High

I've just returned from a weekend trip to the Isle of Skye... at the moment, my legs are a tad sore, given a spur of the moment decision to walk all the way back from Buchanan St Bus Station in the CBD to the West End (took me around 40 mins)... I'd swear the city is uphill most of the way.

Anyways, I got home, greeted the Canadian housemates and made a quick dinner. Clan Campbell made the soup for me =P
I realise that this could be a long, long post. A lot happened on this weekend. Anyways, I went to Scotland with a list of things to do... and managed to cut through a good swathe of the list this weekend =)


No. 1: Eat some haggis (Evan's suggestion)

For those not in the know, haggis is basically a sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs), minced with some other stuff, and boiled in the sheep's stomach. Doesn't that just make you hungry thinking about it? Here's the dish the traditional way: "Haggis, 'neeps and tatties"

I had it with some friends at the Royal Mile. I was told it didn't taste bad. Our guide Tony said: "if it tasted bad, we wouldn't eat it". Well, it actually didn't taste that bad...
Tasted like a slightly spicier sausage roll filling...if you close your eyes, you can almost taste the lungs... it's abit chewy (actually to be honest, I quite like it)

Actually, the Scots are quite similar to us Chinese people. We don't waste food. If they did, the Highlanders would have starved to death. And us Chinese? We're just cheap =P


No 2: See some castles...

Urquhart Castle

• Random fact no 1: The castle sits on the banks of Loch Ness
• Random fact no 2: There's a trebuchet on the castle grounds (can't see it in this pic)
  

Ruthwen Castle

• Random fact no 1: The castle is close to the battlefield of Culloden - possibly a battle that changed the face of the earth as we know it.
  
• Random fact no 2: 12 Redcoats once held this castle against a besieging force of 200 Jacobite troops through some improvisation - using spare uniforms to make it look as if the castle was bristling with troops...

Eileen Dornan

• Random fact no 1: This is the most romantic castle of all time... apparently
  
• Random fact no 2: The movie "Highlander" was shot here
• Random fact no 3: This was my favourite place in the whole trip. And no. Don't even think that way. Random fact no 1 is completely irrelevant to why this was my favourite place.

Obviously, there's a load of history to go with these castles (which I won't bore you with). Actually I love history so I was just soaking it in as Tony told us about the Stuarts, Robert the Bruce, William Wallace and the Highlanders.

But I'll leave you all with one of the highlights =)


No 3: See Hamish the Highland 'cou'...
Obviously beef was on the menu that night...

Skye-time

Currently packing for a weekend trip to the Isle of Skye. The trip was arranged in literally 10 minutes last Friday - not a bad effort eh? Who says guys can't do admin?

Mind you... i honestly can't wait to go - just have to sit through a 2 hour law lecture first (intro to the Scots legal system). Last night I watched The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas with Chad, Gianni and Nana. It was an amazing film about the Holocaust, seen through the eyes of Bruno, the 8-year old son of the commandant of a concentration camp. Slowly he gets a glimpse of the true realities behind making his nation "great", as he befriends a young Jewish boy. Anyways, had a tear in my eye as the movie ended. It's highly recommended.

Its raining

Incredible how much it rains here. Other than during the first 3 days I arrived (when it only rained once), its rained almost everyday since then. For the last 48 hours ... it's been pouring.

Crazy weather - and yes, I was warned. Thank God for raincoats.

1 + 1 = 3?

Part of the fun of being an exchange student is meeting many new students from overseas. Glasgow's a hub for students from all over the world - including those from the fairer sex. With so many people new to the environment... sometimes 1 + 1 = 3?

Never fear though. The University is prepared for most eventualities, as Dani found out.

After all, you never know where that hot French girl has been (the label on the poster: you may have had more partners than you think):

It's an interesting university. That's all I'll say about it.

On another note... sometimes serendipity happens. It did today for me. There she was across the room =)

Castles and Whisky

The first week in Glasgow has flown by. I've been attending introductory lectures in sweltering lecture halls, meeting more exchange students, and gradually getting a feel for the place.

The uni took us on various tours yesterday, and I went to Stirling Castle and the Glengoyne Distillery. The castle is an amazing place, having been taken and retaken countless times by English and Scottish forces over the years.

You can understand why, after seeing the view from the castle. It controls the countryside for miles and miles.
The monument on the hill in the centre is dedicated to William Wallace. The weather was... Scottish yesterday. Had Scottish dew (light rain) throughout.

A succession of Scottish kings (Chad and I included) have set up their thrones at the castle over the years.

Anyways, we also went to the Glengoyne distillery. At that point, my camera ran out of juice, and so I'll have to keep it short. The whisky here is good stuff =). Nothing quite like single malt when it's free. The men working there must be the happiest men in the world - well at least the quality control guy must be.

Ceilidh

Last night I went dancing the Scottish way last night in Bute Hall. The University organised a ceilidh night for the international students. Admittedly, it's harder than it looks =) yours truly made the mistake of wearing boots there.
Anyways, ceilidh is tiring, requires coordination, and is also incredibly fun =). Strongly recommended (but don't wear boots)

On another note, I've met some pretty cool people here - a lot of Americans (some claiming Canadian nationality), some French, some Germans... and so forth. The University's pretty cosmopolitan. Oh and I ran into my first Malaysian last night. Here are Nadine (NZ) and Melanie (US) at the Glasgow Cathedral.Basically, aside from keeping Guinness in business, I've also been around the city. The cathedral at Glasgow is just amazing. The University organised a bus tour just yesterday and I'll be back again. Church services at the start of every month =)

Anyways, off to cooking dinner - having a pot luck tonight with some people. Cyas!

When it rains it pours

Unfortunately the near perfect weather I had enjoyed couldn't last forever. The honeymoon is over - might as well blog.

On Sunday, I attended Glasgow Chinese Christian Church (the church of a friend of a friend). The English service wasn't bad. Pastor's name was Gordon Cheung, but he doesn't sound like a Cheung. Sermons are even more interesting in a Scots accent. Anyways he spoke from Psalm 107:4-9 about wanderers. Actually I loved the way he structured it - he just went through the passage verse-by-verse, and elucidated. It's amazing how the Bible is just so accessible. You don't need a doctorate in theology to know God - just a heart for Him.

Prior to that, i had the pleasure of having a vegetarian brunch - some of the ppl from the church met up prior to the "half-one" service - afternoon services anyone?

Anyways, today I proceeded to slice my thumb making soup... bled for abit, I kept cooking... and tonight's oxtail soup was made with sweat, blood (literally) and tears (onions) =P... didn't quite get the mix right though... possibly too much paprika and water.

What else did I get up to? Well I met up with Severine, a French architecture student to see the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Amazing place, featuring a famous painting by Dali, and various other brilliant pieces of artwork. I'll definitely be back again, this time with a working camera. Also, we were lucky enough to pay a visit when the organ recital was on - given I'm practically a philistine in the area of art, the only piece i recognised was the soundtrack from Babe =P. But honestly, I could probably spend 3 days in that museum.

Anyways, time to sign off for now. Planning to watch a comedy gig later (once it stops raining).

The Stew

Remember the stew I was making yesterday while waiting for the pork to cook?
Turned out pretty good =). Had a bit of a disaster boiling rice though, so had to fry some bread instead - I need to work out how to make rice properly.

Stew ingredients: some beef (preferably cuts meant for braising/stewing), carrots, spring onion, garlic, tomato, onion, soy sauce, sugar and plenty of pepper. Can't give the exact recipe, because I realise I'm turning into an agak-agak cook =P

But I cant really complain about today's meal. Another satisfied customer =)
Was in Matthews - a Chinese grocer in a less well-known part of Glasgow. While doing some shopping, came across this. Doesn't taste that good unfortunately (was feeling a tad homesick)
Lest you think that all i do is cook - well to be honest, until I left Perth I never really had the time to do it, what with ministry, work and study. But food is something I'm passionate about, along with photography.

In case you don't know, I was really into photography in high school, but I just let it fade (quite sad actually that most of us give up something we're passionate about when we enter adulthood). I'm slowly getting back into it though. I'm looking towards getting a new camera over the next few days. My current one just doesn't have the functionality I need. Given Glasgow is quite gloomy, the lighting is pretty bad and the camera doesn't have quite enough settings to tweak. Ahh well - here come's the shopping bug!

Cooking

One of the fun parts about living overseas is that you tend to cook often (to save $$$ for traveling around). Breakfasts aside, I've had to cook 2 meals thus far. Why don't breakfasts count? I could cook them with my eyes closed =P. Breakfast is one of those things men should naturally be able to do. Can't be that hard to fry an egg - well actually wait...


So on my first night, I pan-fried some salmon, and stir-fried long beans and garlic (along with some rice). The cooking was going fine, until i reached for some salt to cook the salmon with.






Then I realised that the plastic covering over the salt shaker (it was brand new) was quite tight. Unfortunately, the pan was getting too hot, and I was in a hurry (some other stuff was starting to burn). Rather than taking my time and getting a knife, I tried to rip it off... and successfully got a sea of sea salt over the kitchen.



Other than that though, tasted alright (aside from the soggy rice). I learnt some valuable lessons:

• To pan-fry salmon successfully, it needs to be well lubricated with olive oil and the pan must be flamin' hot.
  
• To get the skin crispy, coat it with salt (hence my accident) prior to frying (stole that idea from Chinese roast pork).
• Most importantly - I should never multitask.

So that was the first night. Tonight I felt more adventurous and attempted dad's signature pork dish: pork belly with sweet ginger and garlic sauce. Basically involves a nice long simmer of the sliced pork belly with sugar, kicap hitam and the rest of the ingredients. Easy - but takes time and you have to make sure the pork's cooked. Came out good (if I say so myself).


So while it was simmering, I figured I'd make a beef stew. Let's hope it turns out alright - it's still cooking away now. Note to self: add some flour tomorrow to thicken. Also, buy some herbs.

3 September - nearly a flight from hell.

After getting sent off by my parents and Yong and Michie, the flight from Perth to Glasgow started at 3:50pm Perth time, and culminated at 9:10am Glasgow time. I was bedraggled after the flight. Despite my pre-departure prayer.

Having lost an argument to Mum, I carried two pieces of hand carry luggage. Simple yes? Nevertheless, the increase in global terrorism means increased airport security. For me, it meant that at all 3 transit stops (Perth, Singapore, and Amsterdam), I had to remove my jacket, ipod, wallet, laptop, and drain my water. Was a tad embarrassing given it meant I held up the line for a good 10 minutes each time. It culminated at Schiphol (pronounced "schop-pel") Airport where, having nearly completely undressed, my boots set off the metal detector. Ever tried taking off boots quickly?

Oh and Changi airport was for some reason absent of air-cond - meant I reeked like a salted fish throughout the 13 hour flight to Amsterdam. I'd dressed thinking I was moving from winter (Perth) to autumn (Glasgow). Btw, the weather now's pretty similar to Perth.

Nevertheless, it wasn't all bad. Lest i sound like i'm complaining, most of the above events actually made me laugh quite a bit (after I'd arrived at my accomodation and taken a bath). Also, on the flight to Amsterdam (the 13 hour leg), I managed to get to know 2 of the guys sitting next to me - Derek P and Mark F, the former being a true blue Scotsman. Both were Aussie truckies in real life. They were hilarious. We had some hilarious discussions (Scottish words italicised)

me: I heard Glasgow's a pretty good place and the people are friendly.
D [looks quizzical]: No. [long pause] Wait... do yer drink?
me: Yeah
D: then yairss =)

And aside from the multitude of pubs in Glasgow, another thing I'll have to contend with is the accent.

me: D, could you teach me some slang?

D: Nae... even if i sporke to you all the way to Glasgow, I couldn't even start
me: Ahh... so how do i deal with it?
D [serious expression]: Don't say yes. Not until you're sure what you're hearing.

mind you, at times i struggled to make out what he was saying. Nevertheless, they were nice guys. They bought me a coffee (obviously it's quite easy to get on my good side).

Anyways... this is turning out to be a long post. Let's just say the journey from the airport to my accomodation wasn't straightforward either, owing to

1. A road block
2. A blur secretary running the Accommodation office
   
3. My failure to get a proper address for where I was staying
   
4. A very blur secretary

But on the other hand... at least the taxi driver got me there.

Today, I went out with some other overseas students - Markus L (Ger), Hannes K (Ger) and Vilde A (Nor). It was educational, as I learnt a new word at a place called Committee Room 9:

Tanqueray - pronounced "tan-ker-ri" with the last 2 syllables rushed.
"Tanqueray & tonic" is synonymous with another famous beverage that also goes with tonic. Was cheap too, at 2pounds a hit.

But rest assured, I'm not becoming an alcoholic. I'm just trying to keep Guinness in business.

Last day

Flying off to Glasgow tomorrow evening, and today's turning out to be more rushed than I anticipated. Still have to clear my room, sort out the IC posters, and pack last minute... breathe...

Caught up with A last night - good to catch up with her before I fly off. One of the things discussed was the fact that things would in general be different when I come back. Situations change anyways, but often you don't realise it because you're living through it. But going away and coming back means you're often going to be confronted with different things as you return. All good... I'm quite excited about going =)

Am absolutely going to miss my friends here though. You know who you are. Everyone's been really special. Rae made me an absolutely fabulous cake - and it came with a pot =P. Oh and thanks for the shirt, you J-lifers