25 Oct 07 (Thursday, Delft)

I'm still alive! Haha, the sour noodles last night didnt kill me :) The morning doesnt feel as chilly as the past few days anymore, not sure wat is happening to the weather. Quickly took some bread and head for school for Group Work. My morning journey was filled with trepidation .. I guess the Group presentation about to take place in the afternoon is starting to take its toll on me ..

The Group meeting in the morning was filled with slides amendments & more rehearsals. I'm now quite used to the daily dosage of having people coming in late (but not the least apologetic), people passionately voicing their opinions, people dishing out suggestions (but not as keen in carrying out the associated follow-ups). Haha .. reflecting back now, I'm feeling really amused tat this is happening to us - a supposedly group of professionals :)

After a hectic morning, we break for lunch. I had lunch with Paul (the Team Leader from LA) and Mohan (the Deputy Team Leader from India). Had nasi goreng with calamari at the canteen. The food taste alright, although the only resemblence with SG's nasi goreng ends at the use of rice.

After lunch, we have the presentations starting! Wow, many of the teams threw in really amusing and creative plays!! There's a team pretending to be aliens observing Earth to bring out the story, you have people coming in with all kinds of costumes (1 even had leaves sticking out of her hair). Haha, we have a really hilarious time laughing at the many entertaining plays!!

My team was the last to present, and I thot it was quite a decent performance, although not as drama as many other teams. Not unexpectedly, my team did not come in the top 3. But still, it was an eye opening experience for me, and the team really did had a good time interacting. It was 530pm by the time the show ends. Well, the team didnt have plans to go for a little get-together celebration, something I rather quite unexpect. I guess I have to make plans to do dinner on my own. Before long, it was 6pm (12am, 26 Oct 07, SG time) - xiaoqi's birthday! So here's wishing xiaoqi a very happy 31th birthday - a little birthday song!!

Happy birthday to u ..

Happy birthday to u ..

Happy birthday to xiaoqi ..

Happy birthday to u!!

To celebrate the occasion, I decided to have a nice dinner, with or without company. I chose a restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet - De Zeven Zonden (interpreted as The Seven Sins). The decor was rather warm but find the male middle-aged waiter very stern. The young female waitress was much friendier though. I tried their Kangaroo steak (with potatoe pie & a spicy red wine sauce) complemented by a glass of Spain red wine (Arva Vitis 04 Tempranillo Merlot). It was my first time eating kangaroo meat, and it taste much like beef done medium-rare. The portion was quite big, which came at about 7-8 pieces of meat. It also came with a soup-bowl serving of salad & another soup-bowl serving of potatoes. Wow, with so much food, no wonder the Dutch as so tall and huge! But tats too much for me, and I left the potatoes half finished (partly also coz I dun have a likeness for potatoes). And no meal is complete without dessert. With no clue wat the desserts mentioned in the menu are, I took the waitress's recommendation and had the chocolat creme brulee with a kumquat. It came half filled with melted chocolate with the other half being some sweet creamy stuff. The white twirl u see in the photo is not cream, but actually something like a nouget (i.e. the australian sweet) - it is brittle like a biscuit, but when wet, it gets really chewy. Haha, definitely a new experience! The bill? €25 and a satisfied birthday boy.

After the unique dinner experience, I cycled my way back to hostel, marking the close of a long long day. I've plans to visit Den Hagg with Arman tomorrow, and hopefully will have several more enjoyable hours of my birthday :) Until then, adieos!

24 Oct 07 (Wednesday, Delft)

The morning was reportedly at 7 degrees, much better than yesterday's sub-zero temperature. But I still felt just as freezing! Maybe it's the cold wind blowing at me when I'm cycling. Oh, today no need for exceptional leg muscles to cycle to IHE, as the bike finally worked the way it is supposed to. Thank goodness it turned out this way as we were joined in the morning by 4 other female hostel-mates we met in the bicycle shed .. cant imagine how embarassing it'd be if my bike jammed again and I'll have to push the bike to IHE.

Class started at 845am as usual, and we had a video conference discussion this morning! We were connected to sanitation experts/professionals from 3 other locations - Uganda, Germany & Stokholm. It's my first time watching it - so fasinating!

After the morning lessons, I went to the ABN bank with Arman. He needed to activate his bankpass while I wanted to put cash into the pass so tat I can go cashless. I heard my cheque will be cleared only in 4-6 weeks' time. Looks like a cold & hungry future ahead..

I noticed this nice little cafe house opposite the ABN, with tables decked out in the streets. Imagine enjoying a cup of hot coffee with that special someone amid the falling golden leaves.. how romantic hor .. Well, at the moment, I could only hold tat thot..

Oh, I also saw Delft police patrolling the streets ... in horses!! Wow, the horses are already taller than me, and with the very tall Dutch policemen (Dutch men averaged 1.8m) perched on top, they probably could see as far as England!

Then we rushed back to IHE to grab a quick lunch - took stewed beef with rice + a cup of hot chocolate. Yummy!

After lunch, it was more lectures and Group Work. As the slides & props were not ready (sigh..), we rehearsed without them. Wa lau, we have people not knowing their roles, not knowing when to move or where to move to, we have people voicing their suggestions (they obviously believed that theirs was the better idea) - there was just chaos!! Then we went thru 2nd rehearsal, 3rd one, and so on, until all of us gradually get into the play. With that accomplished, the Group split into 2 teams to finish up the un-done slides & props. I was in the slides team, and did up my part of the slides pretty quickly. Then I went over to help out the props team. Wrapped up at 8pm, quite timely as IHE closes at 8pm too. Wow, so very tired ah .. reminded me of my JC/NUS schooldays when we would slogged late into the night to finish projects .. we were so young & carefree then .. .. ..

So thankful that I've got the bike to cycle home.. made the journey so much easier, especially after a long day. For dinner, I decided to finish up the pre-cooked noodles and realized they are beginning to smell sour. Thot it quite strange, hmm, maybe the fridge door wasnt closed tightly. Hope I'll be ok after eating it. I guess u all will find out soon, by whether this blog was being updated or not. Added 3 pieces of meat to reward myself for the hardwork .. haha! As usual, I had my fruit juice and an apple :)

23 Oct 07 (Tuesday, Delft)

Woke up at 7am today and since it was rather early (class is at 845am), I made myself bread (with hazelnut paste & jam) & piping hot coffee for breakfast .. not a bad start to a brand new day heh.

Wow, the morning temperature actually went down to minus 1 degree!! Aiyo, need to be so cold meh? But even this cold weather was unable to dampen my enthusiasm, as today marks my very 1st cycling ride to IHE! Cycling in this cold weather is actually more chilly than walking because the wind blows right onto your face and really numbs your eyes, nose & lips!! So I'm not taking any chances - I have my shawl round my neck, gloves protecting my fingers (the gloves leaves much to be desired) and put on my thick warm Zara coat! Very stylo-milo rite? :P

Well, the journey didnt turn out as well as I thot .. my bikestand keeps getting in the way of my tyre, so much so that at some point, my bike just jammed and I've to get down to check. After lotsa of determination & aching leg muscles, I finally got the bike to the IHE. Haha, so much for my virgin ride ... Here, bicycles get as much social status as cars (maybe even more), and bicycle sheds are built for parking bikes! Check out the underground bicycle shed at my shcool.

Class in the morning is Group Work. After that we adjourned for lunch - something I look forward to everyday as it is my only proper meal of the day.. kelian hor? I took vegetable soup and fish pieces/chunks. And this has got to be the least oily fried fish I ever had. As usual, I couldnt finish the very large serving of fries. Lunch was spent getting to know several Vietnamese fellow students.

Class ended at about 6pm, and I eagerly embarked on my return journey on my bike with Arman and a fellow coursemate - Franto. But my bike jammed again!! Shucks! After talking a good look, I realized that the back wheel has skewed to one side, and that caused the back wheel to abrase against the bikeframe, brake & bikestand. No wonder I had so much difficulty getting the bike to move. So my only recourse is to push the bike back to hostel. Felt apologetic to Arman and Franto who accompanied me in pushing their bikes too. So sorry .. I called up our trustworthy Mr Salama who got the bike fixed in a flash. Let u know if exceptional leg muscles are still called for tomorrow.

We have Franto staying for dinner with us. So we bring out our best food - bread, hazelnut paste, jam, juices, cookies and *drumroll* the bottled herring! Franto was quite apprehensive and thot the herrings look like snakes in the bottle, and politely insist that I try it first. To assure him that it is safe to eat, I tried first and found it to be really sour! He gingerly ate one while Arman took one too. Haha .. the garlic version still taste better.

22 Oct 07, Monday (Delft)

After a rather relaxing Sunday (except for doing the assignment, of course), this is Monday! And lessons starts at 845am .. ewww .. The morning is even colder than before .. feel cold even with the shawl protecting my neck. Today, I have to had it up till to cover my nose! Yes, it's tat cold :(

We have a Group Work to do, and the Group met up today. The gentleman (in suit) sitting down is our facilitator, and the person in white Polo Tee is the elected Group Deputy Leader. And introducing to you our elected Group Leader - the person in pink shirt :) Although he looks young, but he's a great people manager and he certainly has a wealth of knowledge about water issues too.

After the Group Work, it's lunch! Cant wait to check out today's selection. I took a tomato soup (with beef) & rice with chicken. Lunch was warm & fulfilling! :)

After class ended, me and Arman went for dinner at a halal eatery. It is called DonerKing (I also dun know wat it means) that serves grilled meat. I ordered the grilled chicken set that comes with spiced rice. Not bad at all heh, at least a break from home-heated noodles. I'm sorry about the coke, I know I shouldnt, but it came with the set .. and it's the 1st can I had since coming to Delft..


Oh, here at Delft, there are lotsa restaurants that offer waterfront dining, as there are so many canals running through Delft. Check out the one below. You can see people dining virtually next to the canal water level! How close can it get huh?

If you want to explore Delft, a good way is to take one of these canal cruise. The cruise driver doubles up as a guide, giving passengers a background of many of the interesting buildings the cruise passes through. And he's really knowledgable, not pian-jiak one.

As I look into the sky, something caught my eye - I saw the trail of a plane. Arman says he sees that all the time in Msia .. interesting why I dun see them in Singapore. Oh, then dusk approached and I saw the moon perched against the great waterway that leads to Rotterdam. the moon certainly seems bigger here ..

During my journey back to hostel (haha, seems like it's taking me forever to get home, isnt it?), I passed thru a tunnel and saw these really beautiful graffiti. Check out how realistic they look!

On the way back, we pass by a mini-mart to grab some groceries. It's called Aldi, and is much like our NTUC, jus a tad smaller in scale. Check out how cheap the wines are (yes, it's jus €2.79 for that bottle of red wine from Chile)!

I gave the wine a miss though, as I'm not keen to drink alone (my housemate Arman is a Muslim). I got myself some groceries (bread, hazelnut paste, blackberry jam, some cookies, a small pack of meat and a bottle of herrings) - and just cost me €5. It did not take me long to be tempted to try the bread with the hazelnut paste & jam :P

Day 6 at Delft (21 Oct 07, Sunday)

Today is Sunday - finally a day when there is no class, a day when I get to laze on my bed for as long as I want .. which I did with much pleasure :P When I woke up, I was greeted by a lovely morning with a clear blue sky & warm sunshine. Hmm, kinda miss the sunshine now after the past few days of cloudy (and sometimes rainy) weather.

Today is "Stay-Home-to-Do-Assignment Day", coz I have a one-page written assignment due tomorrow 10am. So I spent the morning and a good part of the afternoon putting together the writeup. As it is quite factual in nature, I looked up some past published papers in my laptop (my laptop finally comes in useful as I dun use it both at hostel or in school) and PUB webpage. Need to make sure the facts are rite, and the arguments coherent. Actually I not so guai also la, coz I half-msn/half-do the writeup :P Finally finished it close to 3pm.

I had an appointment with Mr Salama (the kind 2nd hand bicycle dealer who sold me my red bike) to finetune my gear box and install a bicycle stand. I then quickly took the opportunity to get ask to fix up my lights & bikelock holders! Haha, so thick-skin of me :) It was indeed kind of him to help me out - wonderful person! (Pl excuse my messy hair, coz today is my hair's rest day too since I have no appointment to meet anyone)

The rest of the day was spent catching up on Singapore's news & international news thru straitstime.com and PUB's webpage. Wow, without my usual daily dosage of news, I felt so cut-off from the outside world. Hmm, gotta proactively read up the news now tat I've more or less settled down.

Day 5 at Delft (20 Oct 07, Saturday)

Today is Day 5 already, time really flies. Although this is a Saturday, there're lessons today at 9am. awww.. The morning is especially chilly, reminding us that winter is fast approaching!

Class today is not quite related to our course, but rather is mainly to familiarise us with the resources of the school that is available to us, e.g. library, computer lab, intranet, emails, softwares, etc. (tats me and my house-mate & the lecture hall)

After class ended at 12pm, we went to visit the mini-"pasar malam". I believe this is the scaled down version of the Thu's one as several stall owners look really familiar. Being a Saturday and keen to experience Dutch's lifestyle, I've decided the best way is to start with their food! I tried their malt (or honey?) pancake (at €1), hmm quite good actually, with the melted malt sandwiched between 2 ultra crispy pancakes.

After the pancake, I came across a burger stall, and decided to try it too. The burger (called Broodje gehakt & cost €2.30) is so-so, maybe it's the bread tat I dun like. Then my housemate wanted to buy some fried herrings (he's a fish meat-lover), but instead came back with fried mussels dipped in mayo sauce (€3). This taste great too - very similar to soft shell crab!

Oh, there is also a stall selling herring - the herrings are prepared and consumed on the spot! I'm quite full already with the pancake & burger, guess I'll try it the next time :)

I left the pasar malam shortly coz I'm meeting a Malaysian chinese senior (Mr Wong) who is bringing me to buy bicycle lock & lights. Check out a few stalls, made some comparisons of the prices, and finally got them. Now just need to ask Mr Salama (2nd hand bicycle dealer-cum-repair man who sold me the bicycle) to help me fix up the lights, and I'm ready to cycle even at night. Wow, it's terribly cold to cycle in the evening .. the wind will very quickly freeze your hands. So I have my hands take turn to steer the bicycle, with the resting hand hiding behind my back to avoid the cold. Really very grateful to Senior Wong for sacrificing his time to bring me around & help me settle down!

I cooked my noodle dinner again :) I find it really convenient - jus heat it up and it's ready to fill my stomach in 10min! Oh, and today marks the opening ceremony of this blog! I decided to set up my blog, so tat all my frens can know what's happening to me here. So, stay tuned!!