Whirlwind of a Couple of Days

Wow! Seriously, wow, it's been a few crazy days. In short:

Friday Oct 3, 9am:
*ring* *ring* hk : "hellloooo.. (in a raspy, broken, voice)"
mom: "wai ah keet... doe jui la" (or for those who don't speak Cantonese, "hk, it's here")
hk: "haa? lei gone met yei ah?" ("huh? what are you talking about")
mom: "lei phone shun doe jui la" ("your letter has arrived!")
hk: "oh okay la, heeg dee tone lei goun la" ("okay, call you later")

Friday Oct 3, 10:30am:
hk: so i wake up, email a few people that i got my visa, and started working out my strategy to leave town.
12:30pm:
hk: return product on lone such as 407 transponder!
1:00pm to 3pm
hk: trying to book ticket through RBC to redeem my visa points for a last minute ticket... BOY IT's a tedious process. But finally done.
5pm -11pm
hk: saying some good byes with OMEers and CPCers.

Friday Oct 3 11:30pm - Sat Oct 4, 4am
hk: Reformat and clean up hard drive in prep for school, also packing!
2pm - hk: Pearson

Oct 5 - 6am: Heathrow
7am: lining up for customs
8am: still lining up for customs
~8:30am: "You are holy, holy holy.... so here i am, all of me, finally, everything..." (iPod and Sennheiser make a good combo!"
10am: National Express to Cambridge
12pm: Register at Cambridge (Smooth :D)
2pm: College Meeting
3:30pm: Matriculation photo? What the?
6pm: Dinner! FORMAL? CRaP! (to do: buy shoes)
7pm-10pm: Force mingling :)

Oct 6 - 10am - missed registration :S
20 minutes walk to campus! oh boy!
10:30am - intro to cambridge eng grad programs
11:30 ditched intro to find office for registering! (Boy I love exploring new places, there's this great open concept office in the engineering department on the 3rd floor... absolutely gives off this Green, and forward thinking environment! but too bad it wasn't the sustainable development office :)
12pm-5pm: Eat and Shopping! bowls, groceries (pasta sauce for 22p?!), duvet covers, ethernet cable, etc. (40GBP)
6pm-10pm: Didn't want to walk back to college, it'd take 30+ minutes! Met the Christian Chinese Fellowship in Cambridge... nice to sing praises and pray! Really amazing! One of the person is holding a bike over the year for a friend! YES saved 50GBP for a used bike as i biked home!
10 minutes later I got home! Now everything seems reachable!

Oct 7: 10am - still jet lagged
11:30 - missed safety lecture
2pm - finally met class mates
3pm - library, and hung out with class mates
4pm - finally feel like i'm fitting in.... talking sports... ambition, and what we were doing before taking this MPhil

So in summary.. it's been pretty frantic over the first few days. Haven't even really had a chance to settle down in Cambridge as I just really LEFT Toronto. Seriously, i really miss Toronto over the pass few days. I should be ecstatics getting into Cambridge and meeting new people with similar interest. Maybe it was because I got to see most of my friends during work hours, and being able to hangout really late with my roommates. But life seem like it was at a pinnacle, good friends, had enough money, getting things done, playing games at night. I guess I had this fleeing feeling that life would not be the same, not even when I get back to Toronto as one of my close friend and roommate will be married! Good on ya mate :D but that means no more late night conversation and Starcrafting with roomies. Furthermore, seems like we will be leaving 152 St. Patrick, and boy, I never really knew how attached I've grown to the place. *tears* :(

Once I got here, I felt like a stranger. I spoke the language, but knew no one, and no-one knew me. The events the college threw were nice, some people were constantly looking for the next person to meet, while some I got to know, but we really didn't have too much to chat about. Realize i didn't pack some important items like formal wear shoes and duvet covers. Thought i was going to have a chance to pick up these things, but never realize how much a car helps! Because i couldn't fit everything i needed to get, and it was such a LONG walk home... i was like... CRAP! well, either way, God provided! Found some Christian brothers and sisters, and they provided a Bike! WOW... my mood was completely lifted! I can get around now!

Now a second issue that's been bothering me. I was really hoping to be able to room all my friends that wanted to visit! Really... maybe it was living at 152 St. Patrick, but I really enjoy being hospitable. But i realize i can't do that here, my room is probably 3x4m, and the common area between my other flatmate is literally a kitchen and bathroom... so yup, needless to say, i was disappointed. But over the past couple of days, i realize there is a guest house here at Wolfson :D not sure how much it'd be, but i hear it's big, and capable of housing more than one :D So that's cool.

As the issue started to resolve itself, I must say, walking through the town, through the mall, and just absorbing the town, it is absolutely picturesque! I keep having to remind myself, as I walk through King or Trinity college, I'm walking on the same ground that Sir Issac Newton walked on. Looking into the 800 year old chapel, it was the same site that Darwin once looked at. Anyway, I must say it was very humbling as I walked through the bumpy inner streets of Cambridge's market square. I am beginning to be overwhelm with excitement of this upcoming year, a little sad that I won't be able to share it with everyone back at home in Toronto, and even sadder that I will not have the strong support that I have grown so accustom to back at home. But I guess I need to look forward as this year will pass by very quickly.

Anyway, I promise my post in the future will be shorter and have a better story telling format, I will attempt to bring you into Cambridge, what it's like to see, taste, touch, this town. Yes, i will do this with my surprub English writing abilities! :P

Cheers,
hk