DAY 680 & 681

July 13 & 14

1) Today was an intriguing day for me. Right after dinner, Chris came to me and asked if I was interested in joining him for a tour of the church and surrounding lake. Always eager for an adventure, I instantly agreed. The plan was to reach the area before the sunset, which according to Chris is phenomenal! Unfortunately, as luck would have it, we were a tad late and the sun had set by the time we got there ):

2) Still, it was not a wasted trip as the evening glow of the skyline, contrasted with the deep blue sky made for some amazing pictures. Chris promised to show me some photos of the sunset if we ever visited again. Meanwhile, we were walking along the pier, where rows of citizens were having a dip in the shallow waters (although a sign saying "No Swimming" was clearly visible XD). While walking along the pier, Chris recounted his adventures during his "youth", including his many trials and tribulations. It was very touching to hear someone recount their entire life story, and it really made me reflect on my choices in life thus far.

3) Soon, we reached the Church near Dushu Lake. I wish I knew the proper name, but it should basically be the Dushu Lake Church. There were loads of couples getting their wedding shots here, in the gleam of the evening sun. The giant cross in the waters, bathed by the golden rays of the evening sun, truly made it seem like a divine experience altogether. We went into the church for a bit, before coming out and sitting on the grass. After some chit-chatting, the mosquitoes made their presence felt. So we decided to make a move to our next destination - another spot by the lake!

4) It was very dark when we reached, as the sun had completely set by now. We walked along the wooden pier where families and couples were congregated at, and took a slow stroll to the other side. All this time, I was snapping away at some truly surreal photos. Soon, it was time to head back, so Chris dropped me off at the pharmaceutical building. It was a short and nice trip, and it took away from the hours of being holed up in the labs doing experiments. It also reminded me to be appreciative of the little things in life, as sometimes they could mean the most.

5) That is the gist of my day today, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks for tuning in as always, and have a great week ahead. Cheers! :D

Chris and I at the pier (with a row of swimmers behind us :)

Brilliant view of the sunset, very graciously supplied to me by Chris (after he came back another day)

The majestic Sun in all it's glory ^^

What a contrast between the above picture and this!

Statue of Jesus Christ at the Dushu Lake Church

How beautiful the view, how surreal the image :)

A couple getting their wedding photos taken in front of the church :)

Inside the church

Fishing by the lake

The huge cross greets viewers from across the lake

DAY 677 & 678

Jul 10 & 11

1) Back at it with the lab experiments. Honestly I'm not sure there's much more to write about that I haven't written about before, as it's basically the same rigmarole over and over again. Not that I'm complaining - I've learnt so much ever since coming here! So maybe instead of writing about the things I did these two days, I will write about how my perception of China (and Suzhou!) has changed drastically ever since coming here.

2) I have been welcomed with open arms ever since arriving in China. I've made tonnes of new friends, some of which are my lab mates, and others from various labs etc. As an outsider, my initial expectation of China was that of a country which is an economic superpower, at the expense of the sociability of the locals. I was (to my own detriment) perhaps expecting a pressure cooker system - one in which the citizens were caught up in, hence their social development and demeanour would take a back seat. How wrong I was.

3) I also expected a lot of pollution, and for many people to be wearing masks. My vision was of large industrial plants, with chimneys bellowing thick plumes of black tarry smoke, and the cityscape devoid of any greenery whatsoever. Again, I could not be more wrong about this. Meticulously planted rows of trees, shrubs, and bushes adorn the streets of Suzhou. Literally everyone uses electric vehicles for commute, with the rest opting for public transport. I recently learnt from Chris that even open barbecues are not permitted due to the environmental impact they may have.

4) All this just goes to show one thing - you can never trust what you see or read in the news. The best way is to decide for yourself. By travelling there and physically experiencing everything first hand, you will have an unbiased view of the life and culture of the netizens, and you can make up your own mind once and for all. For this reason, I encourage everyone to travel often, and travel far. Widen your horizons and become a well travelled individual. Then you will gain a better appreciation of the myriad of customs and variety that each country has to offer. And variety, as they say, is the spice of life! :)

5) And that's about it for today's blog. I hope you enjoyed it, and hope to see you in the next one. Thanks very much for visiting, and have a great week ahead. Cheers! :D

Look - you can have fun with chemistry - just look at that huge balloon! :)

Shi Zi Tou (Lion's Head) is very common.  The poetic name of this dish results from its appearance: large meatballs in a bed of cooked cabbage suggests, with a little imagination, a lion's head surrounded by his mane!

Claypot rice - so effing good! ^^

Too much goodness in one pic - the soup was heavenly as well in case you were wondering...

It's been a while since I've been back in the "教工食堂" (Teaching Staff Dining Hall), but one staff member card and five hungry stomachs later, and here we are! :)

Some sweet treats from my lab friends in the biology lab! Thanks again yo :))

I couldn't resist another pic XD

Day 650

June 13

1) Yet another fine day in the labs, and today I'm learning more about the equipment and techniques from Chris and the others. I've even started synthesising compounds to be used for further reactions. The routine is gradually starting to sink in - it's 8.30am in the labs, and then around 11.30am everyone makes a beeline for the cafeterias, and we're back in at around 1.30pm, after which we have dinner at 5.30pm.

2) It's a routine that is new to me, as I am not used to having lunch or dinner this early. But according to my friends, it is important to go early or the food in the cafeteria will run out, leaving less variety if you go late. So this afternoon, I went with Linda and her boyfriend to have lunch. In addition to the rice with three sides, I got some cold "mung bean soup" (綠豆汤) which made a very nice dessert in the hot weather. 

3) While chatting about our hobbies, I found out that many of them enjoyed playing badminton (in addition to table tennis) and they actually invited me for a round of badminton that evening! While I wasn't entirely dressed for the occasion, I wasn't about to miss an opportunity to play badminton, while at the same time getting to know each other better. So after our light dinner (just simple noodles with egg and tomatoes), we walked to the campus gymnasium. Turns out they only charge after 7.00pm, and that too a very reasonable 5 yuan per hour. 

4) We played doubles for the most part due to the lack of available courts and because there was so many of us. It was so fun playing badminton after more than a year of not picking up a racquet (my racquet string broke during a particularly intense game of badminton in Ireland last year and I have yet to replace it). We ended up playing almost three hours (from 6-9pm) and after that I was completely done! The long walk back home (around 35-40 min) felt even longer as my muscles ached from the vigorous activity. But it was a heck of a nice time that I had, and I'm looking forward to our meeting again next week. Until then, thanks very much for visiting my blog, and have a nice day. Cheers! :)

The Pharmaceutical Sciences Building

(I'm on the top floor :))

Rice with two meats and one veggie, accompanied by a nice cold dessert :)

Having lunch with Linda and her boyfriend

Noodles with egg and tomato - my dinner! ^^

My lab buddies (soon to be badminton buddies too ^^)

Unfortunately, I don't have pics of the gymnasium or the badminton courts, but I will in the future. :)

DAY 649

June 12

1) Today was another exciting day for me, as I helped out in the labs. Prof. Long has not returned yet, so I do not have my own research topic to focus on. As such, I'm helping out as best as I can with the others' experiments, while simultaneously learning the ropes. I'm very lucky to have undertaken a similar chemistry-based subject last year, so the concepts and ideas behind a lot of the things they do in the lab is not something new to me. Handy when everything down to the chemicals is written in Chinese :)

2) I've received my own log book, which is used to record all experiments. I've started my first experiment, which is to synthesise a compound which Chris needs for his experiments. It's a really long process, and a bit like watching paint dry, which means most of the time I'm just waiting for it to finish. Which gives me a lot of opportunity to chat with the others in the lab, and to find out what they are doing. Turns out many of them are doing their PhDs or Masters, and that they find it boring after doing the same experiments over and over again haha. At least 2 months for me will not be enough to dissuade me from liking the research that I'm undertaking.

3) In the afternoon, my friend Nina and I went for lunch together. I had asked her if she could help me with fixing my laptop, as for some strange reason the screen was flickering on and off. After lunch we went to the hardware shop, where the guy had a look at my laptop and couldn't find anything strange with it. He shut down the computer and after 5 minutes, they laptop was back to it's old self. He then asked me to bring it back should the problem arise again. Touchwood it's been three days now and no problem yet...

4) During one of our conversations, Chris had recommended for me to try out something called 烤鸭泡饭(roast duck with rice), which is one of his favourite dishes in the campus. So I went to Cafeteria No. 5, which sells this dish, to try it out for myself. The taste is really quite unique - it's roasted duck on a bed of rice, with three choices of vegetables, and all drenched in a rich soup broth. I absolutely love it! Took a slow stroll back to the apartment, and here I am, whiling away time till the next blog update. Thanks for visiting my blog, and have a lovely weekend ahead. Cheers! :D

Having lunch with Nina in Cafeteria No. 6 :)

My very own log book

(just like old times ^^)

The lounge room (for the researchers)

Curry chicken chop rice, with two choices of vegetables

(cauliflower and beansprouts)

Mixed fruits

(You pick as much or as little as you want, and pay up :)

Good enough for a food advert?

I definitely think so XD

(Roast duck with rice)

DAY 648

June 11

1) Today marks the first day of our work in the labs. We were told to wait for someone to pick us up at 8.00am at our apartment, and sure enough, Dr. Wang introduced himself to us and gave us a lift to the college campus. We were taken into the pharmaceutical building and given a tour of all five floors. I was informed that Prof. Long (who is my Principal Investigator for this research project) was not in and would not be back until around next week. Niamh's lab would be on the third floor, while mine would be on the fifth.

2) I was shown around the labs and introduced to all the lab members who were mostly PhD students and post-doc researchers. A PhD student, Chris, would be supervising my project and helping me settle in to the new environment. The first thing to get used to was all the chemical names were in Mandarin! Imagine re-learning the Periodic Table in Chinese. Thankfully, most of the bottles had an English translation as well, presumably for people like me haha.

3) Chris showed me around the labs and where all the equipment and apparatus were kept. He also showed me the chemical techniques that they used in the lab, and helped me understand these techniques better. Finally, he gave me some published articles regarding my project (which coincidentally, is also his thesis) to read and digest. Predictably, the papers were above my understanding, but it provided that bit of context needed to understand my research project better.

4) I found out that lunch is quite long here in the labs, and early too! (from 11.30am - 1.30pm). According to my lab mates, this is the time to have a nice meal and a quick nap, before resuming work till late at night! Yes, these poor researchers work till around 10.30pm each day. They most definitely deserved a long lunch to compensate. Anyway, for lunch, Dr. Hu and some research students went with me to the teacher's cafeteria, as I did not have a student card to eat at the school cafeteria.

5) For lunch (in the teacher's cafeteria at least), you get to choose a number of side dishes, which is served with steamed rice and a bowl of soup. You can also add beverages like soft drinks and yogurt. The rest of the day consisted of me observing Chris carry out his reactions (as I didn't have any of my own yet) and experiments. In the evening, Niamh and I went with another one of our Soochow friends, Ming Mei, who brought us to collect our student cards. Niamh then went home to have dinner while I had dinner with Mei. Then she helped me buy a SIM card for my phone, so I would have access to Wi-Fi in my room.

6) That is the gist of my day today, and hopefully you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks as always for visiting, and have a great day. Cheers! :)

Group photo with everyone :)

Introduction to Soochow University, in the meeting room

Having lunch with Dr. Hu and other lab mates

Finally got my student card! ^^

铁板饭 (hot plate rice with sausage and poached egg)

Dinner with Ming Mei

There's a StarBucks right here, just beside my accommodation