Friday, December 01, 2006
At the invitation of NTUMUN delegates who had represented Singapore at the recent conference, I went for a reading activity(读书会) held in the premises of the NTUMUN club. I heard from club members that their main objectives of participating at the conference include improving their standard of English and thus the chances of successful employment by American and European firms after graduation. Anyway, we did close-reading of excerpts from Newsweek, and it was reminiscent of what I have always done in USP discussions.
We went for supper after the club activities, and the mee sua was great!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Commuters should find it a breeze to use the Taipei Metro. However, train frequency is lower than that of Singapore's SMRT, and stations become cans of live sardines at peak hours, so the subway must be avoided at all costs at such timings.
Special carriages are reserved for female passengers at late nights:

Monday, November 27, 2006
Today is the third and last day of NTUMUN 2006. We discussed draft resolutions, cast votes, and on a lighter note, took photos together. After lunch, we attended the Closing Ceremony, and frankly speaking, I almost dozed off when the distinguished guests were speaking on stage. Later, we were shown captions and footages in a video clip produced to depict the past few days of activities, and a sense of loss overwhelmed us as we knew that all had finally come to an end. Nevertheless, negotiations (at our own initiative this time) are underway for us to travel on trips to other parts of Taiwan in December, and I certainly look forward to such a gathering. I was glad that amid the heated debates, we had not lost our cool and had instead pledged to keep in touch.

Andrew (an American representing Peru), Bing and I were asked to share our reflections and thoughts on stage in the Ceremony, and I offered some comic relief by expressing boldly in the presence of the guests that I had achieved little at the conference, but beyond which, I had forged enduring friendships that I am sure will last for many years to come. Ultimately, who really cares about the clauses or points raised in the discussions? Therefore, I was lucky to have received the Award of Diplomatic Excellence (I think it's due to the fact that I always have something to say at the conference) for the conference. Francoise is a prophet who had guessed this last week, and thanks! In our committee of 24 member states, the delegations of Indonesia (Bing), Japan (myself) and Turkey were presented this award in the Ceremony. Thanks again to my USP friends and others who had helped me in preparation for the conference!


Both Bing and I agree that it had been meaningful and significant for us to participate in NTUMUN 2006, because it was a model UN conference organized by a political pariah of the global community, namely the Republic of China. I have no wish to step onto minefields by expressing my political views here, but I believe that the Republic of China has taken an affirmative and bold step forward with regards to global politics and international relations.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Our assembly continued to debate on the issues of pluralism and minority groups, and Japan had once again contributed much to the discussions. However, some of the points raised by Japan were actually crappy, and again I was really trying hard not to fall asleep in the conference room. Anyway, I had emphasized numerous times the importance of economics in solving the problems of discrimination and marginalization of dispossessed entities, and some delegates had disagreed with that. Nonetheless I had worked on the working paper with Bing (Indonesia) and a native American, Andrew (Peru), so hopefully we will submit a wonderful draft resolution for further discourse tomorrow.

After a long day of seemingly endless debates, the Taiwanese delegates kindly brought Bing and I to the Shida Night Market (师大夜市)for dinner. We had gorged ourselves silly with smelly beancurd, marinated assortment(卤味), and ice desserts(刨冰), and were really appreciative of the efforts and time of the Taiwanese delegates to make us feel comfortable and happy. By the way, I heard that Evan Yo(蔡旻佑), a newcomer to the Mando-pop scene, is actually a student of the National Taiwan Normal University(国立台湾师范大学). More importantly, his talents have been discovered and realized by Jacky Wu(吴宗宪!)
Last but not least, I had finally appeared in the latest Taiwanese variety show of 我猜我猜我猜猜猜 hosted by Jacky Wu (aired on 25 November 2006) in the evening! For eager and interested friends who may wanna catch a glimpse of NTU foreign students like myself in the programme, please visit some of the "illegal" websites for more details (especially so for Yuting!). Anyway, it had been both exciting and weird seeing myself on national TV here!

Friday, November 24, 2006
It had been a long day for me. After an early breakfast with Marvin, I went to the NTU activity centre for the NTU Model United Nations 2006 Opening Ceremony with Bing and Rafael. After some entertaining speeches by our distinguished guests, we finally proceeded with the conference proper. I had completed my agenda and position papers just in time for this conference, and heartfelt thanks goes to my USP friends such as Crystal, Gail, Soon Kit and William, who had gathered the necessary information and resources for me to draft the papers last night. My sincere gratitude to Marvin too, who had been a great friend accompanying me through the silent hours of breaking dawn. Thanks to all here!
Bing and I happen to be in the committee of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and we represent Indonesia and Japan respectively. I had voiced countless opinions in both the general speeches and moderated caucuses, and Bing remarked that I may be awarded "Most Enthusiatic Delegate" by the committee body of the conference. I don't really hanker after that, because I speak up for the simple reason of keeping myself awake in the conference proceedings.
In the late afternoon, I bade farewell to Markus' girlfriend Angie, who had stayed with us in Taiwan for the past month and would be heading back for Austria later tonight. She will be missed!
In the evening, Bing, Rafael and I went to the Ambassador's Hotel for a Diplomatic Soiree, which is similar to a high-table dinner in a formal setting. Curious Taiwanese delegates had bombarded me with questions about Singapore, and Bing seemed to know more about my country than I do, having done much of the explanation for me. Bing actually likes Singapore very much and contemplates doing an internship there. Indeed, he is more "Singaporean" than I am. The dinner ended with delegates dancing to their hearts' content on the ballroom floor.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
I'm doomed. I have yet to complete my agenda papers and conference scripts. I may need to blabber nonsense and crap my way through when the time comes. At the meantime, I hope that this worst scenerio will not happen.
I hope that my blog can allow my friends to know more about the wonderful place of Taiwan. In this entry I shall talk about the cafes in Taiwan. Taiwan is a nation of cafes. These cafes have good ambience and setting, serving good brew and great snacks. Everywhere is a Holland Village. Moreover, their cheese cakes and chocolates are cheaper than those found in Singapore. Many of Taiwan's cafes operate on a 24-hr basis, and students burning the midnight oil can always be found in these places, mugging hard through the night. When the cafes play songs such as Daniel Chan's 比我幸福 and the like in the wee hours of the morning, it sets an atmosphere of serenity. I can describe this feeling experienced more aptly in Chinese--淡淡的忧伤. Not that I had eaten too many cheese cakes to behave cheesy here, nor am I emotionally dampened in Taiwan, but this is the mood or sentiment felt when few or no one is around in a cafe, at one night in Taipei.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
I will be leaving Taiwan in about two months' time. In my future posts, I shall emphasize the culture and society of the Taiwanese and upload pictures depicting their daily lives here (if I have the time to). Many friends had asked me if I spend much time blogging, and my answer is negative. Boredin, Jacky and Yuting had remarked that all my posts seemed grammatically correct (and "formal"), and some of these were long enough to match the length of USP response papers. Well, I usually spend an average of 5-10 minutes on each post, and uploading the photos actually takes longer. Anyway, I believe that I must have committed some grammatical errors here and there, as I only proofread once before publishing a post. Here's a photo of Yeliu's famous "Queen's Crowned Head" (I heard that it's breaking apart), as mentioned by Hogzilla. I had missed this out in my Yeliu post donkey weeks ago. And Hogzilla, Nothing is Impossible, and as I have always mentioned, I can never match your interest and proficiency in Chinese (especially the former), so I have full faith in you pursuing your passion in life.

I have a couple of essays (both NTU and non-NTU others) to complete here, and my spinning headache is becoming a hindrance to their completion. Anyway, Ciao!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
21 November has always been a memorable date for me. Recounting my entire academic life, most of my final-year examinations had ended coincidentally on this date. The more notable ones happened to fall on my 'A' Levels examinations and my first semester of the last academic year (that is, exactly a year ago). I finally bade a complete farewell to rigid rote learning in both high school and junior college after my Physics 'S' Paper in 2001, and that was the last time I was seen donning a school uniform. Since then, I have been enjoying a sense (and perhaps culture too) of intellectual liberty. In the latter case, I (remarkably to me) finished sitting for 4 examinations in a matter of 3 days, so it was a mad rush of catching up (I AM lazy at times) and reading up. After that, I actually felt a sense of loss that it was all over.
I heard that it is now the so-called "study week" for NUS students. May all five caps be worn when you meet Dean in person.
Joe Hisaishi had begun his Asia performance tour in Taipei! Francoise, Jasmine and I went to catch this only concert in Taiwan in the evening, and the philharmonic orchestra (judging from the instrumental setting and the number of musicians) had been stunning! I know very little about symphonic music, but had felt really great listening to the beautiful melodies and tunes from soundtracks of popular animated films such as Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Howl's Moving Castle. And yes Daniel (the Tuba King!), they had played those pieces from Princess Mononoke too! I wish you were here to catch this concert with me, so that you could educate me on the technical aspects!

Joe Hisaishi was fond of giving solo piano performances, and I was slightly disappointed at the fact that he did not engage and conduct the musical ensemble for the pieces from Spirited Away. Nonetheless, I had enjoyed almost every second of the 2-hr concert. There were alogether 3 encores, and when the orchestra performed music from My Neighbour Totoro the audience was thrilled. I guess the movie is an evergreen that evokes our childhood qualities and memories, and these are things which we can identify ourselves with. Joe Hisaishi himself gave another solo performance on the piano in the last encore, and the audience responded with thunderous applause and a standing ovation befitting a gifted composer of his calibre.

We went for dessert at a restaurant named 糖朝 after the concert. If I am not gravely mistaken, it is part of a franchise marketed from Hong Kong. The dim sum and the desserts were delectable, and indeed I had not eaten them for the past three months. All in all, it had been an enjoyable night for the three of us here.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Jasmine and I went to Leofoo Village(六福村)with a group of foreign students of NTU. This was my second time there in four years, and little had changed. Leofoo Village is known as the "Disneyland of Taiwan", but I think it may not be as fun as Disneyland.

Leofoo Village is divided into four main sectors, namely "Arabian Kingdom", "South Pacific", "Wild West", and "African Safari". In a nutshell, the Village is a miniature world showcasing features of different regions on the globe. As in all other amusement parks, there are theme rides for either the frail-hearted or the daredevils to enjoy. We had taken some of them, but our emphasis remained on the stage performances of dance, magic and music in the "Arabian Kingdom".

Jasmine and I love the "African Safari", because it was there that we had enjoyed a train ride through the plains and savannas of free-roaming wild animals (well, still in limited captivity), such as antelopes, bisons, deers, giraffes, ostriches, rhinos, and zebras. After which, we took a bus tour in the carnivora area, where we had seen gibbons, lions, and tigers. It was about lunchtime then, and my stomach growled with every sight of these animals. I am not into wild game though.

Our activities ended at dusk, and it had been an enjoyable day.

Saturday, November 18, 2006
I have not been selected for both Norway's ISFIT and America's GWU. I have been receiving mediocre grades for my assignments. This half of the year has been a total contrast of the first one for me.
Jingmin told me, "You're a Dean's Lister", and had even sent me some weblinks that show my name on the lists. Yeah true, but all these things are transient. It was about then that Sharon said, "You're Ying Kit leh." Now that had brought my spirit back.
Life is not a bed of roses. Even if it is, there are still thorns around us that we have to look out for. We may be pricked at times, but all of us need to have the confidence of treading well in this crimson sea of hope. I am who I am, and I know that I will do fine one day. Thanks for the encouragement, Jingmin and Sharon. All the best for your exams.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Oh my gosh. I was just informed that I had not been selected for the 2007 George Washington University Dialogue on HIV/AIDS. This dialogue will take the form of two electronic conferences, one in January and the other in March. The magical part of these all is the highly-sponsored trip of selected delegates to Washington in February, and we USP students will in turn host a group of students from their Dean's Scholars Program in June.
Jianhao and I had applied for the Dialogue, and just last week USP sent us both an email asking for our return dates from SEP. Later, Jianhao told me on MSN that the fact that they had bothered asking for them meant that our chances ran high. By default, I believed so. However, USP had just informed me today that I can't join the GWU 2007 because I will be returning too late in January. I am slightly disappointed now, but all along I had known to keep my fingers crossed for the simple reason that the exact dates on which the electronic conferences will take place have yet to be confirmed, and I may not be able to return on time for the first one. My worst fears have finally come true. If Jianhao is chosen to go (I will ask him soon), it would have proven precisely my point.
Simply put, the NTU academic calender has been my bane. I will miss the first two weeks of lessons in NUS. I have also lost the opportunity to go to the States on heavy subsidy. Finally, I will not be able to contribute to the discussions on global health issues, a matter that I have more interest in than studying the classics.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
We are doomed to die, let us spend. We will live long, let us save.
I have always believed in this, and I think we should all adopt a relaxed outlook in life. I never like to think much into things, and would love to follow my heart so long as circumstances allow me to. All ambitions and dreams are transient, but I bear them, for aiming to achieve them proves my very existence on this planet.
Here's adding a tinge of "feelings" to this space. Regards.
Monday, November 13, 2006
The much dreaded mid-term tests have finally arrived, and it's really time for me to study. My NUS peers are now mugging hard for their final papers, and I wish them the best of luck. I will still be stuck here in Taiwan when they fly free into the arms of freedom and leisure in December. Haiz.
Autumn has passed, and winter with its cold winds has forced us to wear our coats or jackets even in broad daylight (sometimes, at least). Apparently, autumn in Taiwan lasts from September to November, and both it and winter are short seasons in the span of a year in Taiwan.


This is just for the benefit of those who have yet to see it. I have been trying to get more photos of Jacky Wu from other foreign students who went for the live recording with us last week.



