I realised that I have been in Newcastle for a fortnight already. Glad to announce that I am more familiar with the school surroundings and have made more friends. However, the downside is that the deadlines of the many assignments are looming closer and closer with each passing day. But I have yet to start on any of them, really pray that my momentum to overcome the great inertia arrives soon.
Going to Adam’s CHEM 3310 lectures are strongly recommended, for most of the things he talks about cannot be found in the lecture notes. It can also help me jolt back some lost memories like the contents in CBC 113 and CBC 213, for I have forgot about almost all the content in these 2 modules. I made 3 new friends during CHEM 3310 lab yesterday. They are Jacob,James and Catherine. These 3 Australians are very helpful as they were more than willing to answer my questions and assist me in locating where the apparatus is. There are many differences between the chemistry lab in UoN and NTU. Firstly, you have to locate all the apparatus yourself, unlike in NTU where each and everyone of us gets a box containing all the necessary apparatus. Secondly, there is no fixed schedules for the completion of experiments, for Adam believes that more than 1 experiment takes place in a single laboratory lab. We can work our experiments at our own time and target, as long as we complete all the experiments by the end of the semester. Same goes for the lab reports. In NTU, there is a fixed schedule for every individual where experiments are concerned. Only one experiment can be done per week. I definitely prefer NTU’s method of assigning experiments, for it reduces confusion and disorganization significantly. Most of the machines in UoN operate in a different manner from NTU. We must record all our findings in a lab book and let the demonstrator in charge sign it. There are no postgraduate students walking around to help us with our experiments. Only Adam and a lab technician, Emily are present. Naturally, I felt very confused when I realised the stark difference in the management of lab sessions between UoN and NTU. So, whatever my friends did during the lab, I discreetly followed, to minimize any chances of screwing up the experimental parts. After all, they have been in UoN for two years already. Seems that going for lab also sparks off another phase of culture shock!
Since I arrived in Newcastle, I have cultivated a good habit to ensure that I eat fruits and vegetables everyday. As a result, I have no worries of getting constipation. And the food that I personally cook seems to taste better too, perhaps the reason behind this opinion is psychological. Went out with the Aarons, Hong Jun and Huifang to the House of Peking for dinner. We ordered beancurd with carrot, beef with vegetables, fish cakes with vegetables and chicken with vegetables, with white rice and Chinese tea to complement the dishes. The food was delicious as usual. The lady boss was polite as usual and recommended some desserts to us. However, we were too full after the dinner to ingest anymore desserts. However, I hope to try the deep fried ice-cream here someday. And yesterday evening was the first time I saw lightning streaks flash across the sky , n addition to experiencing rainfall in Newcastle. It can rain a few times in a day but the shower is usually short-lived. After the sumptuous dinner, we headed to Woolsworth. The Aarons bought 4 big bottles of soft drinks and some cleaning agents.
Could not fall into a deep slumber last night, for a whirlpool of thoughts was swirling in my mind. I was worried about not performing well for future assignments and being troubled over the fact that I had neither printed my important school documents nor completed most of the tasks on my checklist. Insomnia makes me feel restless, but yet I cannot do anything about it. But I did have weird dreams when I was in a semi sleeping mode, just before I woke up for school.
These days, Huifang has been interacting with me more than usual. Hope we can interact with each other even more in the future! The Australian mosquitos are incredibly strong, they can even fly into indoor areas like the library to bite unsuspecting victims like me and piercing through our clothes to suck our blood. Thankfully, dengue fever is almost non-existent here! It gets really annoying when you cannot access your Student mail and Blackboard from home to check for important notices. I wish Adam would minimize the number of errors in the things he puts up on Blackboard, it can make one feel very irritated and confused.
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