The trip up to Chicago was uneventful. I only knew a couple other people in the class from our group presentations, so the bus ride was admittedly a little awkward. At the O'Hare airport, some guy tried to cut our group in the check-in line. I'm not sure what nationality he was, but he looked African and had an accent. He insisted to the ticketing/check-in baggage guy that we had cut him and that he had been there long before us, but the check-in guy wasn't that dumb. He knew we had been waiting there a long time. The cutter started raising his voice and--I was afraid this was coming--he said, "You're treating me like this because I'm black!" This guy was ridiculous! The ticketing guy replied, "Have a nice day, sir," and then under his breath muttered, "Go to hell." It was quite the exchange. The cutter finally settled down and got behind us in line. It's funny because the ticketing guy isn't someone you want to piss off, considering he could probably do anything he wants with your flight assignment. Not even in Europe yet and the excitement already started.
After the professors started checking us in, I was called over regarding my passport. I have a Taiwanese passport, so I had to get a Schengen visa to travel in France and Italy. However, we would be transiting in England on our way to France, and Britain isn't a part of the Schengen states. The attendant asked me, "Do you have a British visa?" I replied that I didn't need one since we'd be in England for less than 24 hours. He said that since I was leaving the airport and actually setting foot on British soil to take a bus between airports, I did in fact need a visa. He said there wasn't anything I could do about it at that point. Oh sh*t!!! A few minutes later, he said, "Oh sorry, I'm looking at another page now, and it looks like you're okay." It was a pretty harrowing few minutes, but at least now I'll be able to appreciate going on this trip so much more.
When we finally boarded our plane, our passports were checked by some attendants, as usual. I handed my passport to an attendant who said, "Hello, sir" with an English accent, and it sounded like he had a gay lisp as well (not that I have anything against people with different orientations). I had just never heard such an accent before. As he checked my passport picture, he said, "Oh, very nice... Very handsome." I said, "Thanks." I mean, what else could I say?
The plane ride was a little quicker than expected, but I mean, it was trans-Atlantic, so it wasn't exactly the shortest ride either. I got to watch Pan's Labyrinth and ate one of the best airplane meals I've ever had. It consisted of roast beef, mashed potatoes, a salad, roll, and an amazing fudge brownie. Totally unexpected. I wonder if I can have airplane food delivered to my door. I slept through most of the plane ride and woke up to breakfast being served. I love it when that happens. It was a 6+ hour flight, and I somehow managed to not have to pee despite drinking quite a bit. That was a personal victory for me.
England wasn't too exciting. We landed in Heathrow and took a bus to Gatwick. We didn't get to see much of the country at all since we just followed a highway the whole time. The local roads were a little loopy, though, and riding on the wrong side of the road was a first for me. When we arrived at the Gatwick airport, our driver got off the bus and asked me, "Do you need a trolley?" I was confused for a moment. Weren't we just on a bus? And didn't we just arrive at our destination? No thanks, I don't need a trolley. Turns out a trolley is a cart, as in, "In the interest of safety, children are not permitted to ride in the baggage trolleys," as heard over the intercom. Those English are no fun.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
79: Europe Day 0: West Lafayette
Posted: 6-25-07
I guess we'll start with day zero to set up the background a bit for this trip. In fact, I wrote most of this entry in Europe, but I had to edit it quite a bit afterwards because the keyboards in France were all funny.
Okay, so I'm going to France and Italy for three weeks as part of a Maymester class. It's through Purdue's agriculture department, so that pretty much means I'm hanging out with a bunch of farm dorks. Okay, just kidding. They're all right. Agriculture is actually much more than farms and stuff. Nowadays it's fairly integrated with science and engineering, and there are a lot of new technologies and innovations being implemented. It's really quite complex when you start peeling apart the layers. Our class is focused on comparing methods of conventional and organic agriculture. It's a rapidly growing field, and organics are a much bigger thing in Europe than in the United States.
Over the course of the spring semester, we had a few class sessions to cover the classroom instruction requirements and to leave more time for exploration in Europe. We took a test over the technical aspects of organic agriculture the day before we left for Europe. I think I did all right for being a biochem major. I missed a question about cows since didn't know much about them besides the fact they are tasty and can be cooked in many ways.
I cleaned up my room and finally finished packing that night. I guess most travellers tend to overpack, but I'm kind of the opposite. Clothes confuse me sometimes. Sometimes I think we should just do without them. When I went to Ecuador over spring break, I actually underpacked. I borrowed Axe spray from a friend to get by. At least now I know what my lower limit is in terms of clothing. This time I did pack a few extra items for Europe just in case, and I brought nicer clothes as well. I know that Europeans tend to dress a little more nicely than most Americans, and most Americans tend to dress a little more nicely than me.
This trip will be my first foray into European society. Ever since high school, I've wanted to study abroad in France. I took 3.5 years of French in high school (I used that remaining 0.5 year to take AP biology instead). I took French at Purdue only during my freshman year, so my French has gotten très rusty these past few years. I wish I had remembered to bring a French dictionary up to Purdue to brush up, but I'm pretty sure a couple people are bringing phrase books. At least I still remember how to say "Where is the restroom?" and I vaguely recall a few lines of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem. It was written during the French Revolution and subsequently banned a few times. Here are some juicy bits from it, translated to English:
Pretty catchy, huh? Speaking of which, I do believe blood counts as organic fertilizer, as long as it's handled properly. I think those revolutionaries were on to something.
I guess we'll start with day zero to set up the background a bit for this trip. In fact, I wrote most of this entry in Europe, but I had to edit it quite a bit afterwards because the keyboards in France were all funny.
Okay, so I'm going to France and Italy for three weeks as part of a Maymester class. It's through Purdue's agriculture department, so that pretty much means I'm hanging out with a bunch of farm dorks. Okay, just kidding. They're all right. Agriculture is actually much more than farms and stuff. Nowadays it's fairly integrated with science and engineering, and there are a lot of new technologies and innovations being implemented. It's really quite complex when you start peeling apart the layers. Our class is focused on comparing methods of conventional and organic agriculture. It's a rapidly growing field, and organics are a much bigger thing in Europe than in the United States.
Over the course of the spring semester, we had a few class sessions to cover the classroom instruction requirements and to leave more time for exploration in Europe. We took a test over the technical aspects of organic agriculture the day before we left for Europe. I think I did all right for being a biochem major. I missed a question about cows since didn't know much about them besides the fact they are tasty and can be cooked in many ways.
I cleaned up my room and finally finished packing that night. I guess most travellers tend to overpack, but I'm kind of the opposite. Clothes confuse me sometimes. Sometimes I think we should just do without them. When I went to Ecuador over spring break, I actually underpacked. I borrowed Axe spray from a friend to get by. At least now I know what my lower limit is in terms of clothing. This time I did pack a few extra items for Europe just in case, and I brought nicer clothes as well. I know that Europeans tend to dress a little more nicely than most Americans, and most Americans tend to dress a little more nicely than me.
This trip will be my first foray into European society. Ever since high school, I've wanted to study abroad in France. I took 3.5 years of French in high school (I used that remaining 0.5 year to take AP biology instead). I took French at Purdue only during my freshman year, so my French has gotten très rusty these past few years. I wish I had remembered to bring a French dictionary up to Purdue to brush up, but I'm pretty sure a couple people are bringing phrase books. At least I still remember how to say "Where is the restroom?" and I vaguely recall a few lines of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem. It was written during the French Revolution and subsequently banned a few times. Here are some juicy bits from it, translated to English:
Let's go, the children of the fatherland.
The day of glory is here.
Against us is tyrrany.
The bloody flag is raised.
The bloody flag is raised.
Let's go! Let's go!
May impure blood
water our fields.
The day of glory is here.
Against us is tyrrany.
The bloody flag is raised.
The bloody flag is raised.
Let's go! Let's go!
May impure blood
water our fields.
Pretty catchy, huh? Speaking of which, I do believe blood counts as organic fertilizer, as long as it's handled properly. I think those revolutionaries were on to something.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
78: Congraduations
It's a strange feeling to be officially done. Four years later, and most of what I have to show for it is intangible. At least I have a diploma. That counts for something, I guess. It was exhilarating to deliver my commencement address. I love that this speech was the first thing I did as a college graduate. I spent a few minutes doing breathing exercises before my speech because I felt like my heart was about to explode. I like being on stage, but it's the anticipation that always kills me. I've never practiced so much for a speech, though. One thing I discovered in the process is that a small room is an ideal place for practicing because the echo really helps with my enunciation and pacing. I didn't discover this until last night when I was rehearsing my speech while taking a shower.
Over 6000 people were in attendance for the Science/Liberal Arts commencement, and it was also streamed live online and broadcasted on a local channel. I won't let it get to my head, but it's a wonderful feeling when strangers come up to you afterwards to congratulate you on a job well done and to wish you well. I wanted to do standup comedy in Elliott Hall for BGR last summer, but my request was denied. At least I got to end up on that stage one more time before leaving Purdue, and I got to tell jokes, too, so that makes up for BGR. I even got to use a teleprompter. The lady who ran that also does it for the U.S. President and other bigwigs like that. It was so cool.
Well, I'm officially a college graduate, and I have another degree under my belt. It's been a good run, but it's nice to be retired from college and its responsibilities. Well, I do have some stuff to take care of before I leave for good, but hey, I'm done for the most part. Now if only I could motivate myself to clean my room. I think would be my greatest accomplishment.
It's sad to know that my Purdue class is going to be all broken up next year. There are so many people whom I wish I had gotten to know earlier. Purdue has four graduations, and mine was the third. I attended the last half of the first one (I kind of snuck in, since I didn't have a ticket), and I watched part of the second one online. I guess I'm more interested in my fellow responders rather than the graduation itself, but it is nice to see your friends walking across the stage. I'll either sneak into the final one tomorrow or stream that one online. I really love knowing such amazing people. So much has changed in 4 years that it's really intriguing to think how we might all turn out 20 years later. Scary.
Over 6000 people were in attendance for the Science/Liberal Arts commencement, and it was also streamed live online and broadcasted on a local channel. I won't let it get to my head, but it's a wonderful feeling when strangers come up to you afterwards to congratulate you on a job well done and to wish you well. I wanted to do standup comedy in Elliott Hall for BGR last summer, but my request was denied. At least I got to end up on that stage one more time before leaving Purdue, and I got to tell jokes, too, so that makes up for BGR. I even got to use a teleprompter. The lady who ran that also does it for the U.S. President and other bigwigs like that. It was so cool.
Well, I'm officially a college graduate, and I have another degree under my belt. It's been a good run, but it's nice to be retired from college and its responsibilities. Well, I do have some stuff to take care of before I leave for good, but hey, I'm done for the most part. Now if only I could motivate myself to clean my room. I think would be my greatest accomplishment.
It's sad to know that my Purdue class is going to be all broken up next year. There are so many people whom I wish I had gotten to know earlier. Purdue has four graduations, and mine was the third. I attended the last half of the first one (I kind of snuck in, since I didn't have a ticket), and I watched part of the second one online. I guess I'm more interested in my fellow responders rather than the graduation itself, but it is nice to see your friends walking across the stage. I'll either sneak into the final one tomorrow or stream that one online. I really love knowing such amazing people. So much has changed in 4 years that it's really intriguing to think how we might all turn out 20 years later. Scary.
Friday, May 11, 2007
77: Last Night Out
Last night I went out for the last time as an undergrad. The piano man at the Cactus played some senior farewell songs, and I got to dance with an engineering advisor who was maybe in her 50s. Please don't take that last statement the wrong way. My only hope is that I will be able to rock like that when I'm that old. I closed down the bars for the first time in my college career, not that I go to the bars that often anyway. But I hung around Harry's until after 3am, but not before R.C. bought some of us a round of rumblemintz. That freaking burned for a good 10 minutes. Then I grabbed a chili cheese dog from a foodcart afterwards with some friends. They walked me home, W.D. passed out on my futon for about an hour, and J.B. and I talked for a while and rocked out on the guitar. I went to bed at 6am. All in all, a good near conclusion to senior week.
I woke up at 10 today. I don't know why. I practiced my speech a bit and then headed out to A.P.'s graduation party. Man, that food was so good. She made it all herself, apparently. The pulled pork sandwiches were amazing. And it was nice to catch up with some friends, too. I know I've said this before, but I love just being able to chill out and hang back with friends without a care in the world. Afterwards, I tutored L.H. for a couple of hours. We're about halfway done with her 25 tutoring hours. Considering I'm leaving next Tuesday, I kind of doubt that I'll be able to devote another 12 hours to tutoring before I leave. We burned through 6.7 hours in the past three days. I can't get enough of that MCAT. It's actually quite enjoyable. Sometimes I wonder how well I would do on the MCAT if I were to take it now after teaching so many classes. But I think my critical reading ability has decreased a bit recently.
Well, I'm graduating tomorrow. Thankfully it's an afternoon convocation and not a morning one. I could totally see myself sleeping through my own graduation if it were in the morning.
I woke up at 10 today. I don't know why. I practiced my speech a bit and then headed out to A.P.'s graduation party. Man, that food was so good. She made it all herself, apparently. The pulled pork sandwiches were amazing. And it was nice to catch up with some friends, too. I know I've said this before, but I love just being able to chill out and hang back with friends without a care in the world. Afterwards, I tutored L.H. for a couple of hours. We're about halfway done with her 25 tutoring hours. Considering I'm leaving next Tuesday, I kind of doubt that I'll be able to devote another 12 hours to tutoring before I leave. We burned through 6.7 hours in the past three days. I can't get enough of that MCAT. It's actually quite enjoyable. Sometimes I wonder how well I would do on the MCAT if I were to take it now after teaching so many classes. But I think my critical reading ability has decreased a bit recently.
Well, I'm graduating tomorrow. Thankfully it's an afternoon convocation and not a morning one. I could totally see myself sleeping through my own graduation if it were in the morning.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
76: More Sleep, Less Speech
I think this is the closest I've come to pulling an all-nighter during my senior year. Was working on my speech. Going to bed now though. I hope I don't read that speech in the morning and have to wonder what the hell I just submitted. I guess it sounds coherent enough.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
75: Last Humpday of Undergrad Ever
Not that there's anything special about humpday. It's just fun to say. Humpday.
I had lunch today with Sandy (Asst. VP for Student Services), Bob Kubat (the university registrar), Sandy's assistant, and the other commencement responders. It wasn't until then I realized just how cool it was that the four responders were all on Mortar Board, and we were having a casual lunch with Sandy and Bob, two really influential people at Purdue. I just looked online for the definition of "registrar." I probably should have known Bob's job description beforehand, but hey, I do now. I had some stuffed roasted chicken with risotto. Man, good stuff. I love free meals.
Some of my graduating peers are still extra busy with research and stuff. I feel bad for them. It shouldn't be like that. I still have some business to finish with my extracurricular activities, but I'm taking it easy for the most part. I finally found time yesterday to go to the corec. I practiced some racquetball shots and lifted. I tried jogging back from the corec to my apartment, but I gave up after a couple blocks. Yeah, sad, right? I was so physically drained because I hadn't worked out for so long. I took a small detour on the way back to do a fountain run. Well, more like five fountain runs. It was hot as hell out. It was the first time I had done a fountain run in a year or two, and it was the first time I had done one by myself. I wish someone had been there to see me besides that random guy reading in the grass. I bet my glistening gut was pretty sexy. Me + water = chick magnet.
Oh yeah, grades came out today. Finishing strong! My overall GPA went up .02 points. Score! It's a great feeling when you can look back and say, "I worked just hard enough for that A." Right on. I wouldn't want to overexert myself.
I had lunch today with Sandy (Asst. VP for Student Services), Bob Kubat (the university registrar), Sandy's assistant, and the other commencement responders. It wasn't until then I realized just how cool it was that the four responders were all on Mortar Board, and we were having a casual lunch with Sandy and Bob, two really influential people at Purdue. I just looked online for the definition of "registrar." I probably should have known Bob's job description beforehand, but hey, I do now. I had some stuffed roasted chicken with risotto. Man, good stuff. I love free meals.
Some of my graduating peers are still extra busy with research and stuff. I feel bad for them. It shouldn't be like that. I still have some business to finish with my extracurricular activities, but I'm taking it easy for the most part. I finally found time yesterday to go to the corec. I practiced some racquetball shots and lifted. I tried jogging back from the corec to my apartment, but I gave up after a couple blocks. Yeah, sad, right? I was so physically drained because I hadn't worked out for so long. I took a small detour on the way back to do a fountain run. Well, more like five fountain runs. It was hot as hell out. It was the first time I had done a fountain run in a year or two, and it was the first time I had done one by myself. I wish someone had been there to see me besides that random guy reading in the grass. I bet my glistening gut was pretty sexy. Me + water = chick magnet.
Oh yeah, grades came out today. Finishing strong! My overall GPA went up .02 points. Score! It's a great feeling when you can look back and say, "I worked just hard enough for that A." Right on. I wouldn't want to overexert myself.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
74: No Yolk
Just minutes ago, I successfully air-flipped an egg without breaking the yolk for the first time in my life. Granted, some of the egg white jumped out of the pan and exploded into flames upon contact with the stove, but it's the final product that matters. This is one of the little victorious moments I will remember for the rest of my life. I couldn't figure out what to eat for dinner tonight, so I thought to myself, hey, breakfast sounds good. But it was more than good! It was egg-cellent.
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