I ought to be doing my Chinese homework and my other essays instead of blogging, but what the heck, I will just type it out.
The United States of America is diverse. Amherst College is diverse, too. Even the FOBs. For readers who are unfamiliar with FOBs, it stands for Fresh Off the Boat (or as my senior Jez pointed out, Fresh Off Boeing, since no one really travels around in boats anymore), a (somewhat) xenophobic term that refers to an international who just came to USA. FOBs are usually characterized by their inept English Language, their stubbornness to cling to their original culture, and their unwillingness (or lack of) adaptation to the American culture (or whatever the host culture is).
However, for the sake of this post, I am going to argue that a foreigner, who did not grow up in the country, is a FOB nonetheless. I am, therefore, an FOB. And I'm kinda cool with that, as long as I still make friends and try to reach out to the Americans here. Hahaha. And yes, I'm doing fine too, because in a lot of sense the American culture espouses values similar to those I hold: Friendliness, Openness, and Political Correctness (although yes, I sometimes complain that people at Amherst tend to be too politically correct, but I appreciate their efforts.)
Anyhow, I met my badminton senior, Shanghui, for dinner as we wanted to discuss about our cooking plans for the badminton team. Two other Singaporean seniors, Jacob and Jez joined us as we are halfway finishing our food, making the table an unofficial Singaporean table to talk cock and sing song. Unfortunately, Jez has just broken up with his girlfriend. My planned 30 minutes dinner turned into an hour and a half as we shared stories to try and cheer Jez up.
This is when I discovered that among us FOBs there's diversity too, there's a spectrum. Let's begin with Shanghui. Shanghui is your stereotypical conservative Singaporean Chinese, who doesn't go to parties (well he goes to study parties, but which Asian doesn't?), is very industrious, and goes to bed (for the most nights) before midnight. He's someone I respect for keeping his values firm and intact even after studying abroad for (almost) four full years. Jacob was rather conservative too, he shared that he did not want an angmoh girlfriend as the cultural gap would be too big.
On the other side of the spectrum, we have Jez (and Nich, but Nich wasn't there with us). These two Singaporean men are probably as American as they could: Both are dating (well, dated for Jez) ang moh girls, both go to real parties with real booze, they practice hook-ups, and are very liberal in their views. I respect them as they are willing to change at least some parts of their identity in order to fully immerse into the American culture and integrate with the Americans. We even have Shamira, a Singaporean junior currently in the Frisbee team, who does not even say hi to her fellow countrymen. I suspect it has something to do with her wanting to integrate with the American society, but I can't say much since I haven't seen her yet.
Where do I fall? I guess I am a little bit in between. I have my own personal standards and lines I do not intend to cross, but I like the freedom United States offers. It is really interesting. Too bad they're graduating real soon.
Truly Indonesia's Finest,
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Shenanigans, Youth, and Birdies
This Sunday is probably the most slacksessful Sunday. I woke up at 11am as I slept at 4 on the previous day (no, I promise I wasn't up doing work), went to Valentine and ate early lunch. My badminton friends planned to celebrate Jack's birthday (another member of badminton, and a good friend of Sarah and Xiaoling, my badminton bosses) by "kidnapping" him to a Korean restaurant in Northampton.
The plan goes something like this: We prepare the AAS Van and ride up to the Webster Circle, where we hide behind some bush. Sarah will then pass by and pretend to have some business with Jack in the Buckley Hall, and after the two exited the building, we are supposed to strike, blindfold him, and throw him to the van. It was a fail in many levels: 1) He saw us when we tried to surprise him. 2) We were a group of nine people trying to ride a campus van that fits 8, there's no way we can throw him flat on the couch or something. 3) We only blindfolded him and tied his hands after we started proceeding to NoHo.
It was a fun journey, however, as we teased one another and exchanged banters on the way to NoHo. (Such as how I cannot pronounce 'three' properly. Sobs) We arrived to the Korean restaurant, Sola, without a hitch. Afterward, we ordered a bunch of food (however it's individualized eating though, I miss the center table eating style), and talked about random nonsense (apart from the possible Spring Break plans). It's very enjoyable to spend time with these bunch of people although they can be secretive and sensitive sometimes, as I feel that I can be really "myself" around them.
Food was not too shabby, but not spicy enough (heh, expected) and we ended it by giving Jack a birthday cake and made him drink Sake as he just turned 21. Well, it's kinda sad that the group I am hanging with is made up of a bunch of Seniors and Juniors, who will graduate real soon. However, I am grateful to be able to spend more time with them :D Thank you for the great day, the amazing meal, and the company! I appreciate being able to eat out as in Amherst, I only do so at most twice a week. Hahaha.
Thank you,
-Truly Indonesia's Finest
PS: Note to future self: Remember that whenever you order your BMT from Subway, don't ask for random sauces. Just request for salt, pepper, and olive oil. Tastes majestic.
Saturday, 1 March 2014
of Ties and Dinners
So Amherst College has this fancy dinner event, named as Pindar Dinner, which apparently serves to encourage "students of different academic and social backgrounds" to mingle around with one another. Apparently, the students of Amherst receive the chance to attend such dinners at random. It as another opportunity to eat good food (although it was the same guy in Val who cooked it, the food was really good!), to suit up (I'm kinda surprised that I have as little opportunity to dress fancily here in the States as I had back then in Singapore), and to meet up with new friends, so I replied yes without batting an eyelid.
Therefore, after a long week (3 tests, 3 quizzes, and a few more essays to write) I walked to Lord Jeff's Inn in the fanciest attire I could possibly don, which is a dark blue suit, a neon blue skinny tie, a light blue shirt, black pants, and a pair of black pantoufles. It was awkward in the beginning because the dinner is flooded by upperclassmen and I barely know any of them, and I was stuck with Matthew, another freshman who frequents my dorm. It's fortunate he was there though, because he helped me fix the tie.
We were assigned into seven tables, and I got the table number seven. Again, it was kinda awkward in the beginning as I tried to start a conversation with the two ladies sitting by my side, but they got very responsive after a while. On my left was Stephanie, a junior in the swimming team who speaks fluent Spanish. She is super friendly, and was one of the primary conversation keeper in the table. Jennifer was sitting on my right, she's a sophomore from Korea who apparently had plenty of friends from the Raffles Institution of Singapore, and whose primary hobby is partying.
Oh right, the dinner began with a speaker. A particular history professor with a very difficult surname (therefore I couldn't remember it, sorry prof!) shared her experience and the lessons she learned as she tried to earn money in Alaska by working in the fishing industry. It was outrageous. She had friends who came together with her, but she was alone in the end. She slept in a tent for the six months of her job, and she worked for 16 hours everyday in all conditions. As I hear her story, I remembered that I read somewhere: Bad decisions make good stories. Her decision was not bad, it was bold and brave, and it really made a good story.
Anyway, as the dinner progressed, the conversation expanded to throughout the whole table. We actually went around and introduced ourselves, in the midst of drinking several non alcoholic "wines" (yes, in the States, the legal age for alcohols is 21 years old) which are supposed to serve as aperitifs paired with the crab cake, salad, chicken, and the mousse we had. I am lucky to be placed in the table no. 7. Not only the people are talkative, funny, and friendly, the ladies are rather cute as well. So on Stephanie's left was Ike Zhang, a sophomore from Canada who sings for DQ. (Double Quartets, Amherst College's famous acapella group) Next to Ike was Arthri, a superb violinist, then there was Emily (I have met her, she volunteered for Splash before), and Gabriel, a super friendly sophomore originally from Bolivia who moved a lot as he grew up. Next to Gabriel was Seewai, who looks like a halfie and is an English major. Next to Seewai was George Tepe, who was the president of Amherst's Students Association, and a very charming overall. After that, we are back to Jeniffer.
It was truly fun. I learned first hand on how Americans can be super passionate about calzones, that calzones are not quite substitutes for pizza (wow). I also learned that Valentine used to be way worse than it is today (I am in fact a big fan of valentine, but not when I miss Asian food though), and also how grab and go only started to exist last year. To those unfamiliar to Amherst, Grab n Go is a lunch alternative provided in Amherst College, where you grab a sandwich/salad, three sides, and a drink, and you can nom your food while doing work. It is a godsend. I have a pact with Jordan to barter my three sides and one drink for another sandwich or salad, which I think is way more worth it, but more about it someday.
Anyway, thank you very much for the dinner. I really enjoyed it, and hopefully I will get to know the people I met better.
-Truly Indonesia's Finest
Therefore, after a long week (3 tests, 3 quizzes, and a few more essays to write) I walked to Lord Jeff's Inn in the fanciest attire I could possibly don, which is a dark blue suit, a neon blue skinny tie, a light blue shirt, black pants, and a pair of black pantoufles. It was awkward in the beginning because the dinner is flooded by upperclassmen and I barely know any of them, and I was stuck with Matthew, another freshman who frequents my dorm. It's fortunate he was there though, because he helped me fix the tie.
We were assigned into seven tables, and I got the table number seven. Again, it was kinda awkward in the beginning as I tried to start a conversation with the two ladies sitting by my side, but they got very responsive after a while. On my left was Stephanie, a junior in the swimming team who speaks fluent Spanish. She is super friendly, and was one of the primary conversation keeper in the table. Jennifer was sitting on my right, she's a sophomore from Korea who apparently had plenty of friends from the Raffles Institution of Singapore, and whose primary hobby is partying.
Oh right, the dinner began with a speaker. A particular history professor with a very difficult surname (therefore I couldn't remember it, sorry prof!) shared her experience and the lessons she learned as she tried to earn money in Alaska by working in the fishing industry. It was outrageous. She had friends who came together with her, but she was alone in the end. She slept in a tent for the six months of her job, and she worked for 16 hours everyday in all conditions. As I hear her story, I remembered that I read somewhere: Bad decisions make good stories. Her decision was not bad, it was bold and brave, and it really made a good story.
Anyway, as the dinner progressed, the conversation expanded to throughout the whole table. We actually went around and introduced ourselves, in the midst of drinking several non alcoholic "wines" (yes, in the States, the legal age for alcohols is 21 years old) which are supposed to serve as aperitifs paired with the crab cake, salad, chicken, and the mousse we had. I am lucky to be placed in the table no. 7. Not only the people are talkative, funny, and friendly, the ladies are rather cute as well. So on Stephanie's left was Ike Zhang, a sophomore from Canada who sings for DQ. (Double Quartets, Amherst College's famous acapella group) Next to Ike was Arthri, a superb violinist, then there was Emily (I have met her, she volunteered for Splash before), and Gabriel, a super friendly sophomore originally from Bolivia who moved a lot as he grew up. Next to Gabriel was Seewai, who looks like a halfie and is an English major. Next to Seewai was George Tepe, who was the president of Amherst's Students Association, and a very charming overall. After that, we are back to Jeniffer.
It was truly fun. I learned first hand on how Americans can be super passionate about calzones, that calzones are not quite substitutes for pizza (wow). I also learned that Valentine used to be way worse than it is today (I am in fact a big fan of valentine, but not when I miss Asian food though), and also how grab and go only started to exist last year. To those unfamiliar to Amherst, Grab n Go is a lunch alternative provided in Amherst College, where you grab a sandwich/salad, three sides, and a drink, and you can nom your food while doing work. It is a godsend. I have a pact with Jordan to barter my three sides and one drink for another sandwich or salad, which I think is way more worth it, but more about it someday.
Anyway, thank you very much for the dinner. I really enjoyed it, and hopefully I will get to know the people I met better.
-Truly Indonesia's Finest
Friday, 28 February 2014
Dharma
Sesusah apapun, walaupun sampai berjungkir balik, ditendang, dicacimaki, difitnah, berdarah-darah, kita harus tetap tersenyum dan menjalankan tugas kita. Kita tetap menjalani jalan yang harus dijalani, sebab kita telah diutus. Diutus dari jauh, sejak kita lahir, untuk keluar dan berkarya. Untuk menjalankan tugas dan kewajiban kita. Itulah dimana kita bisa menjadi seorang yang konsekuen. Itu namanya menjalankan dharma, kesetiaan kita untuk menjalankan dan memprioritaskan tugas kita. Dengan kita mengerti, kita pahami, dan kita sadari, maka yang tadinya berat akan jadi ringan, yang tadinya sengsara akan mulai kita bisa nikmati. Toh kita hanyalah seorang utusan, yang berusaha sebaik mungkin untuk menjalankan tugas kita, inilah yang disebut dharma.
Kita nggak takut gagal. Kita nggak takut kalah. Sebab semuanya sudah dijamin, sudah diselenggarakan. Sebab apapun yang akan terjadi besok sudah terjadi kemarin, apapun yang akan terjadi seribu tahun kedepan sudah terjadi seribu tahun yang lalu. Jadi ya, maju saja. Biasa aja, jalanin terus. Semua sudah diatur, tinggal kita jalankan tok. Inilah persembahanku, dari Indonesia, untuk dunia dan semua umat manusia.
Rahayu,
-Truly Indonesia's Finest
Kita nggak takut gagal. Kita nggak takut kalah. Sebab semuanya sudah dijamin, sudah diselenggarakan. Sebab apapun yang akan terjadi besok sudah terjadi kemarin, apapun yang akan terjadi seribu tahun kedepan sudah terjadi seribu tahun yang lalu. Jadi ya, maju saja. Biasa aja, jalanin terus. Semua sudah diatur, tinggal kita jalankan tok. Inilah persembahanku, dari Indonesia, untuk dunia dan semua umat manusia.
Rahayu,
-Truly Indonesia's Finest
Thursday, 27 February 2014
Lesson
Honestly, although this post is part of a series of gratitude posts, I feel kinda messed up posting this one. Okay, here goes.. I decided to take an introduction to psychology class in Amherst as I am always intrigued by the subject. I wanted a better insight to the human behavior. And guess what I got? A very pretty professor; and honestly, I feel so messed up (but grateful for saying this), she is among the prettiest ang moh ladies I have encountered in Amherst College.
I look forward to her lessons every Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I am grateful because she is such a nice person as well. (Well, professors do have an obligation to attend to the queries of the students though) And the best part is the fact that she's the one who lecture us, so I have an excuse to look at her throughout the whole lecture. Staring is rude, but hey, I've got to pay attention in class! Hehe.
I know, it's messed up. She's at least 30 years old as she had her PhD and at least taught for a few years in Amherst, but she looks like she's in her twentysomethings. Oh no, probably she is a vampire who doesn't age! Lol. However, I am grateful to have her as my Psych professor, because apart from her beauty, she actually teaches the class very well. I look forward to her examples and anecdotes about the various phenomena we go through in class, and I like coming to her office hours to ask random questions about people. As a person, she's kinda playful and a bit careless too.
I just had the first psychology mid-term just now, and it went rather well. Dear professor, I look forward to your lessons :) thank you!
Truly Indonesia's Finest,
I look forward to her lessons every Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I am grateful because she is such a nice person as well. (Well, professors do have an obligation to attend to the queries of the students though) And the best part is the fact that she's the one who lecture us, so I have an excuse to look at her throughout the whole lecture. Staring is rude, but hey, I've got to pay attention in class! Hehe.
I know, it's messed up. She's at least 30 years old as she had her PhD and at least taught for a few years in Amherst, but she looks like she's in her twentysomethings. Oh no, probably she is a vampire who doesn't age! Lol. However, I am grateful to have her as my Psych professor, because apart from her beauty, she actually teaches the class very well. I look forward to her examples and anecdotes about the various phenomena we go through in class, and I like coming to her office hours to ask random questions about people. As a person, she's kinda playful and a bit careless too.
I just had the first psychology mid-term just now, and it went rather well. Dear professor, I look forward to your lessons :) thank you!
Truly Indonesia's Finest,
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Fella
Hehe. I would like to begin this post by saying that today went really interesting and great too. Before I skip to the details, I just wanted to be grateful because I managed to stay relatively alive throughout my classes and even understood what the math professor was saying on the board. Psych and Chinese was awesome too. (The history of China was kinda bloody though.) hahaha. I talked to new people, made a new friend from my math class, helped out another friend as she was trying to complete her economics problem set.. Life's good.
Let me detail to you a story about a particular fella. You see, everytime I tell my friends back home that I am going to / am in the United States to study, there is a fifty fifty chance that I will hear something along the lines of "you should get an Ang Moh girlfriend!" Hearing such a phrase leads to a confusing muddle of amusement, embarrassment, and a little bit of despair. You see, although I am highly exposed to non-Asians in Amherst College, building a relatively deeper connection is not as easy as it seems. We have different cultural preferences. We have differing food choices. And call me racist but it seems that I am more attracted to Asian ladies than any others.
This is not to say that there are no Ang Moh ladies I find stunningly beautiful. There definitely are quite a few. And it took me almost a semester and a half to realize that I'd better make use of this opportunity to get in touch with these princesses while there is a relatively much more abundant supply of them. (Omg. Now I am commodifying ladies. The feminists will shoot me. Not do I really care though, thankfully this blog has low enough readership which makes me sure that I will live to see tomorrow)
I have several ang moh ladies who I deem as friends, but since the beginning of the year there is only one who is quite close to me. She lives in the same floor of my dormitory, and she is a very nice and warm person indeed. Let's just use her initial, YG (sorry bro, I know it's a promise, but still.. hahaha). YG is always so kind to me. She never fails to smile and say hi to me every time we come across each other (which is almost everyday as we live in the same floor of a tiny dorm made up of less than 30 people) and there is a good chance (more than 50%) that she will offer me a hug (or rather hug me by force. hahahaha) However, there was a point in time when I felt that she is slightly too friendly, and I was kind of afraid that she may actually like me. I tried to distance away a bit by hanging out less with her (which is also mandated by the multitude of tasks I have these past few weeks anyway).
Nonetheless, I got a breakfast together with her this morning. It was a nice meal (I think every following Tuesdays Valentine dining hall serves quiches, and this morning's quiche is Salmon and cheese quiche, yumm) and we caught up as I haven't seen her for a few days. I think one of the reasons that we are close to one another is the fact that she is very nice and is always willing to listen to whatever things I have to say, and vice versa. The girl I was talking about in yesterday's post actually appeared as I was about to take my third round of quiche, and I was hesitant so I did not say hi to her. Anyway, when we walked out of Valentine, I told her briefly about the girl, and she started teasing me. And when I teased her back she actually told me that two days ago, she was drunk and hit on another one of my friends (CW). Things are getting interesting! (And I am safe in the friend zone! :D)
So anyway, what is the point of the story? Nothing. I am just grateful for all the friends I have made, and for the fun small things that are happening within my daily interactions with other people. And no, I don't think I will get any ang moh girlfriends anytime soon. ;)
Truly Indonesia's Finest.
Let me detail to you a story about a particular fella. You see, everytime I tell my friends back home that I am going to / am in the United States to study, there is a fifty fifty chance that I will hear something along the lines of "you should get an Ang Moh girlfriend!" Hearing such a phrase leads to a confusing muddle of amusement, embarrassment, and a little bit of despair. You see, although I am highly exposed to non-Asians in Amherst College, building a relatively deeper connection is not as easy as it seems. We have different cultural preferences. We have differing food choices. And call me racist but it seems that I am more attracted to Asian ladies than any others.
This is not to say that there are no Ang Moh ladies I find stunningly beautiful. There definitely are quite a few. And it took me almost a semester and a half to realize that I'd better make use of this opportunity to get in touch with these princesses while there is a relatively much more abundant supply of them. (Omg. Now I am commodifying ladies. The feminists will shoot me. Not do I really care though, thankfully this blog has low enough readership which makes me sure that I will live to see tomorrow)
I have several ang moh ladies who I deem as friends, but since the beginning of the year there is only one who is quite close to me. She lives in the same floor of my dormitory, and she is a very nice and warm person indeed. Let's just use her initial, YG (sorry bro, I know it's a promise, but still.. hahaha). YG is always so kind to me. She never fails to smile and say hi to me every time we come across each other (which is almost everyday as we live in the same floor of a tiny dorm made up of less than 30 people) and there is a good chance (more than 50%) that she will offer me a hug (or rather hug me by force. hahahaha) However, there was a point in time when I felt that she is slightly too friendly, and I was kind of afraid that she may actually like me. I tried to distance away a bit by hanging out less with her (which is also mandated by the multitude of tasks I have these past few weeks anyway).
Nonetheless, I got a breakfast together with her this morning. It was a nice meal (I think every following Tuesdays Valentine dining hall serves quiches, and this morning's quiche is Salmon and cheese quiche, yumm) and we caught up as I haven't seen her for a few days. I think one of the reasons that we are close to one another is the fact that she is very nice and is always willing to listen to whatever things I have to say, and vice versa. The girl I was talking about in yesterday's post actually appeared as I was about to take my third round of quiche, and I was hesitant so I did not say hi to her. Anyway, when we walked out of Valentine, I told her briefly about the girl, and she started teasing me. And when I teased her back she actually told me that two days ago, she was drunk and hit on another one of my friends (CW). Things are getting interesting! (And I am safe in the friend zone! :D)
So anyway, what is the point of the story? Nothing. I am just grateful for all the friends I have made, and for the fun small things that are happening within my daily interactions with other people. And no, I don't think I will get any ang moh girlfriends anytime soon. ;)
Truly Indonesia's Finest.
Monday, 24 February 2014
Invigorate
Whew. I had just participated in a psych study that made me recall vividly (for eight minutes each) TWO particularly saddening experiences. I don't think recalling such sad memories is beneficial to the soul and sanity of a person, so I shall attempt to counteract it by vividly journalling about a recent positive experience I had within 24 hours today. Why did the ethics committee allow such a cruel torture on Amherst students? haha just kidding.
Firstly, I am so proud of myself as I managed to stay alive and alert throughout today. I believe it is quite a feat, with a math exam, an Astro quiz and a Mandarin dictation. All of them went well, I hope :) well, at least I felt rather confident when I left the classroom haha. I am also grateful because I am growing closer to a certain friend. (sorry, I know that I have promised one of my readers to be more specific in my posts, but I have to conceal this friend's name for a while. hehehe)
She is a Sophomore who always sits a seat away in Microeconomics lectures, and at the beginning of the term, I never talked to her at all. We're both quite shy, apparently;) However, I remember breaking the silence about a week ago when I asked her if she was helping out for the desserts night the ASEAN student's association is going to hold. And although she doesn't talk too much, she is undeniably a friendly and nice person. I always look for her and talk to her on the pretext of comparing our P-set answers, and she always responded happily whenever I do so. When I asked her if she wants to study together for the upcoming Microeconomics exam, she even offered her phone number without me asking to. ;) I feel legend - wait for it - dary! HAHAHAHA.
Anyway, she makes me look forward to my Microeconomics class, as now we engage in small talks before and after the lecture. And no, she's not the only reason I like my Microeconomics class. I have to add that I have an amazing and hilarious professor for the class, Professor Christopher Kingston. He is from Dublin, speaks with a slight Irish accent, and always makes witty (but rather wry) English jokes that the students are half afraid to laugh to. My friend Corry and I are probably the only two people in the lecture hall who dared to let out our laughs. He gives very clear explanations too, and I really look forward to the segment of the class that covers Game Theory.
So yeah, life is Amherst is really good, especially if you can somehow manage a decent amount of sleep to sustain alertness throughout the day, which is necessary to keep afloat of the academic challenges offered by the school. Oh my Laoshi also talked about interesting Chinese history today, too. He mentioned how among the countries who waged war against China, the United States is the least cruel, as the American government decided to return the money pillaged from China without China even asking them. (Of course, the money needs to be used to send Chinese students to study in the US but I think it is still very noble of the States.) Haha fun stuff.
Truly Indonesia's Finest,
Firstly, I am so proud of myself as I managed to stay alive and alert throughout today. I believe it is quite a feat, with a math exam, an Astro quiz and a Mandarin dictation. All of them went well, I hope :) well, at least I felt rather confident when I left the classroom haha. I am also grateful because I am growing closer to a certain friend. (sorry, I know that I have promised one of my readers to be more specific in my posts, but I have to conceal this friend's name for a while. hehehe)
She is a Sophomore who always sits a seat away in Microeconomics lectures, and at the beginning of the term, I never talked to her at all. We're both quite shy, apparently;) However, I remember breaking the silence about a week ago when I asked her if she was helping out for the desserts night the ASEAN student's association is going to hold. And although she doesn't talk too much, she is undeniably a friendly and nice person. I always look for her and talk to her on the pretext of comparing our P-set answers, and she always responded happily whenever I do so. When I asked her if she wants to study together for the upcoming Microeconomics exam, she even offered her phone number without me asking to. ;) I feel legend - wait for it - dary! HAHAHAHA.
Anyway, she makes me look forward to my Microeconomics class, as now we engage in small talks before and after the lecture. And no, she's not the only reason I like my Microeconomics class. I have to add that I have an amazing and hilarious professor for the class, Professor Christopher Kingston. He is from Dublin, speaks with a slight Irish accent, and always makes witty (but rather wry) English jokes that the students are half afraid to laugh to. My friend Corry and I are probably the only two people in the lecture hall who dared to let out our laughs. He gives very clear explanations too, and I really look forward to the segment of the class that covers Game Theory.
So yeah, life is Amherst is really good, especially if you can somehow manage a decent amount of sleep to sustain alertness throughout the day, which is necessary to keep afloat of the academic challenges offered by the school. Oh my Laoshi also talked about interesting Chinese history today, too. He mentioned how among the countries who waged war against China, the United States is the least cruel, as the American government decided to return the money pillaged from China without China even asking them. (Of course, the money needs to be used to send Chinese students to study in the US but I think it is still very noble of the States.) Haha fun stuff.
Truly Indonesia's Finest,
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