6 Nov 07 (Tuesday, Delft)

Today is another day of lessons at 8.45am .. in fact, tmr and Fri too .. ewww.. Have been turning in past midnight for the past few days, doing a mixture of stuff e.g. doing school assignments, revising my lecture notes (guai rite? :P), checking out SG news online or watching some drama serials/movies (yes, am sure u'll agree tat a bit of recreation is in order, ya?).

The 1st lesson was introduction to my course specialization - River Basin Development, with 2 lecturers giving us a broad overview of the modules tat we'll be learning in the course. Am particularly excited about the Flood Forecasting module as it is most relevant to my area of work back in SG. Will be good if there's something new here tat I can bring back to share with my colleagues and improve the work flow.


Then we break for lunch .. yeah, always the highlight of my day! I had the steak with rice & some broccoli soup. The steak looks like it was medium-done, with some traces of blood oozing out as I cut it up :P and the soup was creamy and good! Love the soup here! Had lunch with several course-mates, talked about the end-of-year holiday tours, and found out tat one of them is going skiing at the Alps, Switzerland! So envious ..


The lesson after lunch was Maths, talked all about matrix and stuff, and .. assignment 2! At this rate, how not to sleep late? This assignment requires some research on something tat is not covered in the lecture notes. So u can imagine why the library is suddenly especially popular today with so many Maths books being borrowed out! Haha ..


That brings us to the end of the day, and I headed to the computer lab to practice my Matlab (very onz hor?) . Haha .. quite determined to master this program, as I heard it's very powderful & useful! But only had little success as I was multi-tasking between msn-ing, emailing and helping out some fellow students with their Matlab exercises.. By 6pm, my mind starts to get goggy with the explosion of syntax & second-guessing their meanings .. decided to call it a day & continue tmr. Cycled back to hostel in the freezing evening ..

It's dinner time! I cooked some instant noodles to go with some canned curry chicken (leftovers from Sunday dinner). Hey, dun judge my noodles by its average looks, k? It is very tasty actually. And it is especially pleasurable to munch the food slowly, allowing the flavours to tantalize every part of the tastebuds, while doing some light reading ..


Continued my Maths revision after dinner, no thanks to the assignment given to us this afternoon. Luckily I have my favourite coffee and biscuits to keep me company thru this journey .. Ok, it's now 12.45am & xiaoqi needs to do up his Maths assignment. Adieos!

5 Nov 07 (Monday, Delft)

The weekend always seems to pass by so quickly .. Monday morning - the beginning of a new week. Sure hope it'll be a fulfilling week of learning, experiencing new things and establishing new friendships :)

Lessons are at 845am (I'd definitely prefer it to be 10am or later), so went to school shortly after waking up & msn-ing. First lesson is a hand-ons session on Matlab, a continuation of last Thu's lesson. While the logic of programming remains the same with Matlab and another programming language I learned previously, there's still a awful lot of syntex specific to Matlab that I've got to learn. So paying close attention & working hard I am (while msn-ing)! :P

After some 4hrs of Matlab-ing, we break for lunch - yes, lovely lunch. I had the salmon with vegetable soup, a really healthy combination that I promised myself last week. Lunched with a couple of fellow students and had a really fun time listening to their stories & conversation.

It was statistics lesson after lunch, and you can imagine how challenging it was to stay concentrated. I was expecting a terribly boring lesson .. I mean how interesting can the topic be? But I was really surprised by the lecturer, a tall young-looking guy, who managed to conduct the lesson in a most engaging way! I really enjoyed the lesson, but wouldn't say the same for a few other students whom I noticed had decided to declare a break for their eyes and mind.. :)

The statistic lesson was the last for the day. I then went to sit in a MSc presentation by a senior to get some idea what torture & pain is in store for me in 17 months' time. It was a 30min presentation, followed by Q&As by the 3-member examination panel - two from IHE & one from an external institution. The panel posed some really pertinent questions, challenging the senior on his assumptions, the limitations of his research, ways for improving it further, etc. Wish myself good luck when it's my turn on the hot seat some 17 months later!

After school, I went for dinner with Franto, a fellow student from Indonesia. We to the Döner King, a halal shop selling turkish (I think) dishes. The chicken drumlets with rice (€5.50) I had was flavourful and nice. I think my expression says it all :)

4 Nov 07 (Sunday, Delft)

Today is my self-declared rest day! Surely I deserve a rest after a week of hardwork, rite? So today I lazed in bed from 7am (when my alarm rang) until .. 10.30am! Many thanks to IHE for providing us with such a comfortable & cushy bed! Yes, I know my bed is kind of messy & I really could do with some help here. Any takers?

Today was rather peaceful & uneventful, as I stayed at home the whole day, reading up my Maths notes (it's getting tougher & tougher!) so that I wun be too far behind lessons. Thankfully a couple of frens are with me on msn keeping me comapny, updating me on their lives (a mix of good news and bad news), etc .. It's always heartwarming to hear from close frens when living alone in a far away & cold place ..

In the evening, I whipped up a sumptuous dinner for myself - with 2 packets of instant noodles, a can of curry chicken and some fine culinery skills (ok, I may have exaggerated it a little.. haha..) - and *da-da* :- A fine dish of delicious dry chicken noodles! Dun judge it based on its looks, cos it actually tased quite good! Ok, I know this is not a big deal, but at least this is a good start to the beginning of a greater variety of meals (beyond bread & pre-packed nasi goreng) for me, rite? So pls be generous with your encouragements! :)

The night was spent discussing the Maths assignment with 2 fellow students, followed by more revision on my own. So proud of myself for my discipline! (Actually it's more like Im lazy to go out. Haha ..) Hopefully I'll have something more exciting than this to share tomorrow!

3 Nov 07 (Saturday, Delft)

Lovely Saturday morning .. finally a day without lessons :) As usual, my trusty alarm rang at 7am, but my body wouldnt bulge, indulging myself to laze around for a moment. The moment lasted 45min before I pulled myself out of bed finally .. most reluctantly as u can imagine ..

For breakfast, I made myself some coffee, bread and took a window-seat with a lovely view. My hostel is nested behind a row of large trees, and their leaves have all but turned yellow to prepare themselves for the coming winter. This reminds me of the need to prepare myself with sufficiently warm clothings to brave the winter too.. certainly need to keep a lookout for those kind of really thick winter-coat!


I heard from my senior Wong that there's a Singapore Food Festival happening at a shopping mart in Delft .. something both of us felt quite unbelievable. I mean, why would anyone want to organize a SFF at Delft - a tiny town with few, if any, Singaporeans? So we planned to go check it out this morning. Before meeting Wong at his hostel, I made a little detour into the "downtown" to withdraw some cash. I also passed by IHE, the place that will be my 2nd home for the next 17 months. Lovely architecture, isnt it?


Ths journey to check out the SFF is pretty smooth and enjoyable with great scenery, although Im not sure Wong also finds it as enjoyable as he has to pillion his wife & young daughter.

After cycling for some 30min, we're finally at the shopping mart hosting the SFF. It is called Xotus & doesnt it look rather like our Expo?

Surprise surprise, there is indeed a Singapore Food Festival happening at this remote part of the world (check out the poster carrying the SG flag in the centre top)! It is rather small-scaled though, and are selling packed food instead of piping hot cooked food like Hainan chicken rice, laksa, bak kuteh, char kway teow .. haha, just my wishful thinking ..

I took the opportunity to get food tat lies within my capability to whip up - shrimp wantons & lotsa of instant noodles. Counting on them for my next few dinners! Just outside the mart, there is a stall selling Oliebollenkraam, a traditional Dutch food that is available only in these few months of the year. They taste very much like our hum-jin-pang sprinkled lightly with powdered sugar. Spongey & nice :P

Oh, here's introducing Wong, his wife and cute daughter! Such a happy family, ya?

Wong showed me to an Indonesian outlet where I bought my Indonesian food lunch box. Had their yellow rice, beef rendang, green cabbage & half an egg .. yummy! Especially taken at a window-seat table while leisurely reading the newspaper & my Lonely Planet..

In the evening, I was treated to my most enjoyable dinner since I came to Delft. Dinner, at the invitation of Wong, was sumptuous Msian/SG home-cooked food, served in the most homely ambience. Beyond the great cooking, the generous hospitality by Wong & family made the dinner tat much more heartwarming & memorable .. thanks man!

2 Nov 07 (Friday, Delft)

As usual, I pulled myself out of bed (abit with much struggling) as my alarm burst into life at 7am sharp. Somehow, my bed feels especially warm and cosy this morning, and it took exceptional determination and ill-power to part ways with "her" (warm & cosy - gotta to be a "she").

It has now become a routine that when I get out of bed, I log into msn to catch-up with my frens in SG (7am Delft time = 2pm SG time) while simultaneously (1) washing up; (2) getting myself some simple breakfast of bread and coffee; (3) getting dressed & (4) doing my hair (yes, Im still diligently maintaining my spiky hairstyle). A rather busy morning eh? :) 7am Delft time is 2pm SG time, so it is a rather convenient time to catch my frens online. It is also a good time to see if there's any urgent email to read/respond (none so far .. haha, as if Im so impt).

It was a morning with a slight drizzle .. sianz, I really hate it when it rains & Im outdoors (my closer frens will know tat it's because my hair will collapse when my hair gel dissolves in the rain) .. So braving the rain, I cycled really quickly to school - all the time observing proper road safety measures of course :P

The first lesson was at 8.45am, a very suitable time for the Maths lesson where a superbly fresh & clear mind is absolutely necessary to comprehend the lesson. I believe the lecturer has no doubt how lost we all are from our clueless eyes .. I would say today's lesson is by far the most challenging. It is only later I found out that several students has decided to meet up to study it together tomorrow! Now you see how potent the lesson is?

After the Maths lesson, we break for lunch - a time I so look forward to everyday as this is my only decent meal of the day. I noticed nasi-goreng with chicken/lamb on the menu and when I asked for the lamb, they said they will cook the lamb only after they've finished selling the chicken .. funny isnt it? So I took the chicken with a bit of disappointment, and also tried their "African pepper soup with chicken" - sounds exotic eh? Haha .. it taste great too :)

Lunchtime was totally enjoyable as I had this fellow student who told us how roads in his country are planned & designed. Firstly, they need no planning as they just lay the roads where the existing paths are. Then, when there is no existing path, you just put a donkey there. Why? Becos a donkey will help find the shortest path thru its instinct! Gosh, can u believe that?! Haha ..

After the good laugh at lunch, the next lesson is on engineering structures. It was in this really small classroom, and tats when I realize how small the class is - just 11 of us coming from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Nepal, Peru, Romania, Sri Lanka & USA. These are the people who'll brave thru the trails & tribulations of the demanding MSc course with me.

After class ended at 3.30pm & some loitering around (checking emails, having a hot drink in the canteen, etc), I went to the town centre to withdraw some cash. It was still drizzling outside .. a cold & wet evening really makes me miss home .. awwww..

In the evening, IHE screened the movie "Wild Hogs" - a comedy movie about 4 middle-aged frens setting out on a wild and free roadtrip on their motorbikes. It was screened from a DVD, and it came with a female voice describing every scene that has no people talking. It seems like a feature to benefit the visually handicapped. It was pretty strange watching it this way .. but I still very much appreciate the effort by the school and seniors in arranging all these recreational stuff for us lonely students.. thanks man!

1 Nov 07 (Thursday, Delft)

I was up at 7am this morning (yes, I'm still persevering with my wake-up-at-7am regime), and did some emailing and msn chatting. Pleasant times always pass by so fast, and before I knew it, it's 10am and time to get to IHE. Before school, I made a de-tour to check my bank account .. and when I saw that funds have been transferred over, I feel a sudden rush of emotions .. yes, Im finally been liberated from poverty & can live a normal life once again!

We have Maths lesson today, recap-ing some of the Maths stuff we were taught in the earlier part of our lives .. gosh, there were so much that I've clean forgotten .. jialat! Gotta work hard liao .. I'm quite impressed with the way my lecturer taught Maths - the clarity with which she conveys the concept across. I've been a Maths tuition teacher before and I know how tough it is to teach Maths.

It was lunch after the Maths lecture. I promised myself to cut down on red meat & fried stuff. So today I took the salmon and clear chicken soup - healthy rite? :) The salmon was very good, and lunch was most enjoyable, maybe because I no longer need to worry if I still have € to have my next meal :)

After lunch was almost 4 hours worth of lesson on Matlab, a type of programming tool. Matlab is totally new to me, and the lesson is really interesting. But 4 hours worth of lecture is really no joke, and before long, many students got really lost and the mind starts to get goggy with the commands and algorithms.

When lesson ended, it was 5.30pm, and I was very surprised by how dark the sky already was! It looked like it's 7.30pm! It wasnt like this yesterday .. goodness, is this normal?

With the place so dark now, I decided to head for hostel. Although Im no longer living under the poverty line, I've decided not to squander my money away. So I'll leave the dinner at some nice restaurants for another day and just make do with the humble nasi-goreng, fruit juice, 2 apples and a cup of coffee :) Hmm, taste good too!

The evening and night was spent doing up a Maths assignment. I didnt plan to finish it actually, but it was really engrossing and before long, I've finished it and it was ... 1130pm! Suddenly felt hungry and saw the pack of chocolate cookies seducing me. So decided bing on it while doing my last assignment of the day - updating this blog.

31 Oct 07 (Wednesday, Delft)

I got up at 7am as usual (it struck me that my time here is too precious to be wasted lazing in bed), and begin my day. Lesson is not due until 10.45am, so I still have a couple of hours of free time. I msn-ed for a while, and by 10am, I'm off to school with my trusted companion - my bicycle :)

I've a lecture today, and it is at the theatre with the wooden ceiling. It has been a long long time since I witnessed a class so attentive! All the students were following the lecturer closely, raising questions spontaneously whenever there is doubt .. amazing .. I wonder whether this is going to be the norm or an anomaly..

After about 2 hrs of lecture, it's my favourite time of the day - lunchtime! I had the chicken with fries & salad today, complete with a cup of coffee. Very nice .. :P At the same time however, I'm seeing my cash set back by another €3 .. now I very kelian, only have €12 in my wallet .. sure hope my funds can come quickly or else I really have to pack bread for lunch ..

As I cycle my way leisurely back to hostel, it struck me how lovely the journey is. Lining the roads and almost everywhere else, there are trees with their leaves having turned all golden.. the unmistakable sign that winter is fast approaching. I was told by seniors that the winter last year wasnt cold at all, while this year, we're already experiencing sub-zero temperature during autumn time. So they predict winter this year will be REALLY cold .. goodness ..

As the wind blows, you'll see the trees swaying in harmony, as the golden leaves falls slowly onto the ground (hope u can see from the photo) .. I guess this is how the word "fall" comes about..

Oh, I think I have not showed how my hostel (known as Mina) looks like. So here she is .. the place that's going to shelter me from wind, rain and sun for the next 18 months.

In the evening, we have a fellow student, Franto coming over to do dinner together. We cooked some meat, rice, potatoes & instant noodles .. and had a really fun time cooking together! After dinner, we spent some time discussing about some Maths problems, and that marks the end of the day.