DAY 673 - 675

Jul 6 - 8

1) These past couple of days have been quite similar actually. If you've noticed in the previous blogs, my adventures tend to peak in the weekdays, and fizzle out in the weekends. That is probably due to the lack of travelling that we get done during the weekends. And this weekend was no exception. I was in the labs on Saturday as usual, learning stuff and jotting down notes as I often do (I really can't remember things well so...) Anyway, it did dawn on me that my time here in Suzhou is coming to an end soon, and that I really should make the most of it other than just burying myself in the labs...

2) So in the afternoon, I took a sabbatical and decided to just walk around the huge campus, and to explore its many buildings. Indeed, I never entered any of them, but it was nice to just walk around and discover. As luck would have it, the weather has been absolutely perfect, especially on Saturday. The mild weather made it perfect for walking, as it meant one didn't get tired easily due to the heat.

3) As for what I did on Sunday, that's a bit lacklustre. I literally spent the whole day in the apartment, idling about and only leaving to get lunch and dinner from the convenience store. One of the main incentives for going to the labs (other than to meet with everyone and learn new things of course ^^) is to get access to good ol' (did I mention free? XD) WiFi. As it happens, they do provide WiFi in the dorm room, in the form of a cable that connects to the laptop. But because I use an Apple laptop, the cable is too large to fit properly! Just my luck then...

4) Anyway, I'll end on that note and let you enjoy some pictures of the beautiful campus. It's a huge university (by my standards anyway haha) so there's always something just around the corner, waiting to be photographed. Hopefully you can appreciate the natural, eco-friendly environment of the campus as much as I've enjoyed walking around exploring it. That's it for today, and thanks for visiting my blog. Have a great day, cheers! :)

Individual practice rooms for the music students

A little souvenir from our Hospital Visit :))

"香锅" - stir-fry hotpot - served with as much rice as you want, and soup :)

That's a lot of fire extinguishers if you ask me! 

Are they preparing for a huge fire? XD

"老干妈炒饭" - "Old Godmother" (a famous brand that makes chilli sauces) 

Fried Rice

10/10 would have again! ^^

Got to get those fruit/ dessert cravings satisfied

The Molecular Cancer Research Lab (3F) is where I currently lead a double life, alternating between this and the Medicinal Chemical Biology Lab (5F)

(Probably) my last taste of "烤鸭泡饭" - roast duck with rice soup (cut me some slack I couldn't do a better translation XD)

College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

The ever so majestic and lotus-shaped Binglin Library binglint

I honestly can't remember the name of this building haha but I am pretty sure it's about animal lab research

Every time I walk along the streets of Suzhou I am reminded of the care taken towards the environment, and in particular, the multitude of trees stretching as far as the eye can see

National University of Singapore Suzhou Research Institute (NUSRI)

A very appetising "onigiri" (おにぎり) - Japanese rice balls

DAY 670

July 3

1) Today it has been pouring since morning till evening. Not a good time to go out, but luckily I was at the school gates when the first drops hit me. I made a dash to the building, but the rain has not stopped since. So we're in a bit of a situation here - on one hand it's raining cats and dogs, and on the other, we've got to eat. The nearest canteen (Cafeteria No. 7/8) is a good 10 minutes' walk/ 2 minutes' bike ride away, so that would not do. So what do we do? Order delivery of course! Through an app called "饿了么" ('Hungry Yet?'), we ordered food delivery from a nearby restaurant.

2) My lab mates sure know how to order good food. Shredded potatoes, red braised pork belly, chicken strips, fried egg with chilies - it was a thoroughly enjoyable meal, and one that reminded me of the culture of sitting and eating together at mealtime. Meanwhile, everyone probed me with questions about Malaysia, and especially the culture and types of people there. Apparently, while many mainland Chinese (the ones who I spoke to, anyway) have not set foot out of the country before, a lot of them are familiar with something called the "新马泰" (Sin-Ma-Thai) which is basically a tour covering three countries - Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand! How cool is that?

3) Meanwhile, for the rest of the day, I was privileged to be able to attend two conferences, one large and one small. The large one involved all labs on the 3rd floor, with me and Dr. Yang (yes, he's the doctor with 15 years experience and currently pursuing his Masters) from our lab attending. The topics were very abroad, including research on Traditional Chinese Medicine - a field that may be less often heard in Western countries, but which is very heavily researched here. After this talk, we went for a smaller seminar, one which involved only our lab members and Prof. Zhang (the professor of the Molecular Cancer Research Lab). Basically, everyone other than me presented a paper, with Prof. Zhang giving his feedback afterwards. Essentially, the same thing as the morning seminar that I attend in the chemistry lab.

4) That has been a brief recall of my day today (I know I'm still a couple of days away from the current date but do bear with me), and thank you very much for visiting. Have a nice week ahead, and stay tuned for the next post. Cheers! :D

Everyone gathered round for a feast in the student lounge :)

This is "stone pot tofu" (Cafeteria No. 7)

delicate slices of beancurd cooked in a hot and savoury sauce in a stone pot, served with as much rice as you want, and soup!

Having stone pot lunch at Cafeteria No. 7

Large conference with everyone from the 3F labs

  

  

Mini-seminar with Prof Zhang (seated left) and everyone in our lab...

Close up of the delicious food! ^^