well, how about i start off by getting all the NON- AIESEC stuff out of the way: Ok umm...Friday, the day of rest. Hmm i have a midterm on tuesday..actually 2 of them. One is my Econ writing course which is about grammar (whoopee!) and the other one is a take-home midterm for my Poli Sci class! I've never had such a test. Heh, so many students in my Poli class were kinda freaking out because they didn't know what was going to be expected of them for the midterm. The teacher assured them that " you shouldn't worry about this test, it's supposed to be easy." U know, i think i've almost convinced myself that i can get away with minimum studying. I mean, not that i dont want to fulfil my academic potentials, but I don't have any GPA to keep up, so ...essentially my situation is Pass or Fail. Actually, i can't accept the fact that it has boiled down to this. For the past 2 years i've studied my ass off to get into the Business program. But once i decided NOT to join the faculty , marks didn't matter anymore. Now im not nervous about exams because i dont have to have such a high standard to match. Or maybe i'm just smart :P I've been getting into table tennis lately. Some of those ping pong players are just crazy. They can manipulate that ball like i've never seen. Also i've been going regularly to badminton training with one of Canada's top badminton coaches. Group classes...2 hours...only 6 bux. What a deal! so worth it and i'm gettting better technique and becoming fitter. I got 'side abs'! Racking leave in Fall : a futile cause? ok, every couple days, my mom makes me rake all the leaves and put them in bags then dump them in the back to decompose....what i dont get is why do i have to do i so often. arg! the leaves are just going to come back again and then i have to waste more time racking them. U should just wait until the leaves havefallen THEN pick them up. now im just starting to sound weird ok next will be AIESEC stuff...or not

Western Regional Conference (in Victoria) pictures

I actually enjoyed WRC a lot. It wasn't such a 'shock' like NLDC. Though I talked to a lot of people, i didn't actually make a lot of new friends. I talked mostly with the older members rather than the newbies with the exception of my local. I wish the conference wasn't in Victoria because then i could focus on being a delegate rather than an organizer (it feels different) and also because it feels more exciting to travel abroad. But overall I had a lot of fun.

My little bro bought (another) game for him Gamecube, Paper Mario. I was surprised that the game was strikingly similar to the N64 version. The interface and the graphics had a few improvements in it but basically it was the same game but different storyline. What's wrong with Nintendo? Where are all the new ideas? I think Nintendo isn't performing and innovating as well as it used to in the 'good old days' (when i was a young lad). nintendo is releasing their next generation hand held game system and when i saw it i immediately thought "Nintendo... bankrupt". But then i questioned my opinions last night. I thought to myself "why does nintendo not appeal to me anymore?". Could it possibily be that my tastes have outgrown my childhood pasttime? Well, Nintendo is known for producing games designed for children to teenagers because most of their games are all colourful and are extremely straightforward to play (not to menion the cliché ridden storyline). ...and I'm not into that.
Ok, i admit I am a young man and I shouldn't be wasting my time playing time wasting video games... i'm just observing some of my changing interests.

it never occured to me that people would actually read my blog. who knew the thoughts of an emerging young professional (not to mention a young man) would be so interesting. Over the last few months i've given regular updates from my trip in china as well as from my personal life. the reason i'm writing this is because i've just realized how 'personal' i've become on my blogs. i think blogs should summarize life and also provide a few 'knee deep' insights but nothing more. I hope i don't get carried away with my words. nevertheless i can't hold my thoughts in:

I'm concerned (and i know i shouldnt be) about misinterpretation of information. This blog's purpose was to get a direct perspective from my life. There are many people in my life, many have not seen certain aspects of it and might be shocking to some. It's weird...somehow my parent's friends know about this blog which makes me think 'what can i say on this blog?'. Who is the blog for? What is appropriate?

You know, sometimes i just stand still and wonder what is going on in my life. you know thoughts that i know everyone gets like 'am i happy with where i'm going? do l like who ive become? i should do this...i should do that". What kind of job do i want? Why do i want this job? Does it bring me happiness? "It's not the job that brings you happiness, it's the money from the job that's supposed to make you happy". I'm trying to block those Capitalist motives out of my head. The sole pursue of wealth as a means to happiness is not the way to go!

as u can tell...there are many things going on in my mind...way too many. sure on the outside it might seem calm, but on the inside it's an endless bee hive..that doesnt turn off! ..?

Well, school is in full session now. I've been keeping my hands full with Aiesec stuff like recruitment and event planning. I'm enjoying the semester so far well... the lack of work i like. We're in our second week of recruitment which is when we have to do classroom presentations (which is up to me to organize plus all the meetings etc). Anyways it's good organizational experience so don't mind it. We also have a an intern from India who came in last week and stayed at my house until his homestay was ready to take him in. I've really learned a lot about Indian culture these past few days (considering I barely knew anything about the culture before he came). It's important I learn as much as I can about India because i plan to go there next summer for a conference. I'll be prepared now! Speaking of random foreigners coming to Victoria a girl from Germany is coming early next month to work for the univerisity for 4 months. Also, another girl from Holland is coming around the same time to help out with Aiesec for 2 months. So, this fall will be really exciting!

Still wondering if i should work this semester. I do seem to have time to spare so i could give it a shot. I applied to work at an on-campus job but the university only assigned me 32 hours. I said i had financial needs...and the office gave me a measly 32 hours! GAH! I guess i'll find a 'real' job. hmmm, 5 medium course loads plus job...plus aiesec...it could work.

I've just realized i've been in Canada for a month now and sometimes i can't believe i was actually gone for 3 months. I'm embarrased to say that i'm forgetting how it felt like to live in China. It seemed like a dream. Now it's back to the daily grind. There are so many things i have to keep track of; so many opportunities that i must choose to pursue or not. Ah decisions make life so interested. I'm trying not to be spend so much these days. It feels good now to always satisfy my wants by buying goods.

if you still haven't checked out my pics from china go to my pictures link on the left menu.
Shoot i'm gonna be late for school!

so school is starting up again. same old same old. contemplating if i should buy text books or not cause theyre expensive..probably will ...less hassle. lots of aiesec stuff to do, its going so slow though. its hard to find people to that actually go out and ask if they can help u so im stuck doing many things by myself. but hopefully it should change soon.

life seems pretty boring right now. i feel like ive converted back to the lazy person i was before i left china. i thought i was a pretty proactive person in asia and i thought it would carry over back home but i guess i was wrong. the environment...my house...it just makes me lazy. gotta change that.

nothing really to say these days...nothing really special...helping someone move...go to church...stay at home...have meetings....just sitting and waiting.

You can't imagine the smile on my face as i landed in Victoria after 3 months in China. What a trip it's been! I took the airport bus from UIBE, then i found out my flight was delayed an hour. So i had to wait a total of 4 and half hours (ok i came really early). Not fun at all. The flight from Beijing to Vancouver went pretty fast. the plane landed 1230pm which was exactly half an hour before my transfer to Victoria, so i missed that. I took the 4 oclock flight out of Vancouver and arrive at 430 in vic.

so now i'm back, time to get things sorted out.

Final thoughts looking back.

This will be my last entry from China, enjoy!

I’ve been thinking about how I’ve changed during this trip and realized that this trip has been filled with positive times as well as negative ones. I’ve noticed that I’ve gone through some phases. In the first six weeks was very exciting because I travelled a lot and met a lot of really interesting people. I felt that my Chinese improved significantly during this time because I was really enthusiastic about it and would practice it whenever I could. I think I was a more ‘open’ person both to meeting new people as well as to various aspects of Chinese culture. The first half was what my mom calls the ‘honeymoon’ phase. It what’s absolutely unforgettable! I had the time of my life in May and June. Aiesec JiaoTong had an excellent reception for me that I’ll never forget. They helped me get connected with the rest of the other Aiesecers in China. When meeting up with some Aiesecers from Beijing at Aiesec Shanghai’s annual report, I felt that many opportunities had opened up. I initially planned to stay in Beijing for a week but I because I had so much fun with the people there my stay was actually a month. Also, for a week I when I stayed in TianJin, I got the opportunity to live with a Chinese family. That experience I will never forget. My Chinese improved a lot during that time even though it was filled with very embarrassing and uncomfortable moments when my language fell through. But still, I had a blast and I certainly would like to do that again. But unfortunately, with good times comes hard times and that’s what July and August were.

Leaving Beijing was very difficult for me. I had become emotionally attached to the city, the food and the people (yes, emotionally attached to food). As I left on the train to Shanghai I felt like a part of me was left behind in Beijing. It took me a couple days to realize that I was back in Shanghai and to adapt to the life there. I sort of felt isolated from the people around, like I wasn’t connecting with any of them.

When I started my study in Fudan University, I quickly realized that it would be very difficult to communicate with other Aiesecers. The Aiesecers were my gateway into Shanghai. I was left with the task of figuring how to ‘survive’ by myself (yes, it was a new concept to me then). I had to figure out where good places were to eat, how to order food…how to order GOOD food, how to get around the city, how to get a haircut and various other problems. School itself was OK in the beginning. My only regret was that I should’ve strengthened my basic skills before I moved up to an advanced level. The classes were very fast; too fast to actually learn anything unless you studied all afternoon (which I wasn’t prepared to do). I learned mostly through conversation with the teacher and other foreign and Chinese students. I didn’t like the dorms from day one. The building was at the top corner of Fudan away from all the other student dorms. All my necessities were located within my room, so there was no need to go outside to get anything which meant it wasn’t easy to meet other students living at the dorm. Fortunately, I met some really interesting people early on which helped a lot. My roommate in the July semester was at times a pain in the butt but also made my stay at Fudan a lot better. I can go on forever listing all the things I hate about him but he had connections to Shanghai (he’s Shanghainese). His relatives showed us around the city, so I’m grateful for that. Communication wise, his Chinese was awful, but nevertheless, better than mine and for some reason, his Chinese was so confusing that he could confuse the clerk at the store to give extra money when receiving change.

I think I was really anti social in July. The reason was that there were so many Americans studying at the time and I just didn’t feel comfortable talking with them and hanging out with them. I resented the fact that I was learning Chinese in China but I was still learning it surrounded by foreigners. I didn’t have my Aiesecers to practice my Chinese with and to help me find other locals to practice with. I was turning grumpier by the day and got frustrated at how difficult the class had become. I just didn’t feel comfortable with learning anymore.
August was a lot better compared to July because I met many interesting people and was more comfortable participating in class. I didn’t have a roommate anymore so I didn’t feel like I was obligated to bring him along (unlike my old roommate). The Aiesecers in Shanghai finally started running training sessions and having social events. I finally felt like I was adapting to life in Shanghai. I could travel to many places by myself as well as understand the Shanghainese accent of mandarin Chinese. Yes, I felt that I was making progress in my Chinese! But…then I had to leave for Beijing.

Many people have told me that once you leave a place, and come back later, you won’t feel the same way you felt the first time and I totally agree! Sure I came back to Beijing where I had a blast six weeks earlier but it just didn’t feel the same. I had to get to know everyone again and still it felt different than before. The things I did that excited me the first time in Beijing (like going to parties) didn’t as much the second time around. I guess I’ve just gotten used to the life here. I remember that I always pictured my trip to China to be three months of pure fun but that wasn’t the case. I guess the concept of ‘fun’ has changed during my stay here. I enjoy going out and exploring the city by myself or hanging just with some close friends instead of with a big group.

With the date of my departure looming closer every day, I find myself more and more wondering about how life will be when I’m back in Canada and how my trip in China influenced the way I will live my life with my family. I wonder how much everyone has changed (especially my little brother Vincent), how my room looks like, and how life as a student will feel like again. Yes, I’m ready to leave China. It’s time to go on with my life and work hard for my career. Would I consider living or working in China in the future? You bet I would! China is too rich in history and culture to learn in a summer or even a year or two. I know I probably will never ‘understand’ China but I sure darn hope I’ll get the gist of it!

David

Saturday
I woke up at 6 am to get to the airport by 10. I ended up being there at 930 and the plane was delayed an hour so i left Shanghai at 1230. Anyways, after a relaxing plane ride with lots of food i arrived in Beijing and was picked up by Antoni, Sofia and Donatella. Later that afternoon we went to the MC house of Mainland China. They were getting ready for the conference in Germany. After that we went to a restaurant to eat Sichan food and watch the Olympics. After we went to Houhai park to meet some more aiesecers. It was a goodbye party for the Chinese deligates going to the conference. We were going to go on a boat cruise but we couldnt get everyone together. So we went to a have drinks instead.

Sunday
Woke up at 8 to say good bye to Sofia who was leaving for Germany with the others. Then i went back to bed. At noon Antoni had to babysit some American kids for a few hours, so i went with him. The mom gave us so many numbers to call incase of emergency, and even money for the taxi to drive the kids to the hostital incase they 'cracked open their skull'. Anyways, the kids were more than a handful and when it was time to go (4 hours later) we were pooped. After that we went to pick up Bastian and have some dinner by the university.

Monday
Went to see the World Carnival. Played some games and tried to win some stuffed animals, but we failed. It's interesting to see a carnival in china, but its the same like back in canada. This week we're planning to go see another section of the Great Wall, shopping, go to the pacific ocean which is 3 hours away but it will be worth it since i've never seen the ocean from china. I have a couple of people i want to visit, and a couple things to buy and then...i'm ready to go home!

Excited to go back! I think it's time.

So I've said my good bye's, packed my bags and am ready to go. Just looking back on my time in Shanghai. I arrived here almost 3 monthes ago. Everything seemed like a blur. It was hot and loud outside. Now it's still the same but things don't seem as fast as it was before. I will miss this place because I've grown so much as a person here. I've really done many things I never thought i could do like ordering food, going in taxi alone, and figuring out problems in chinese. I've made so many great friends here and had many unforgetable experiences. Yah, i'll miss Shanghai, i'll say that...i'll miss my friends from shanghai...i miss everyone! I've learned so much from these guys, it's just....awesome! can't sleep, olympics are on...