More and more homesick by the hour.
I don't know when it started, this morning? Last night? But I think the reality of everything has finally sunk in -- that I'm away from familiar friends and family, that I can't have a hug from peewee when I need it, that my loved ones aren't as accessible as they used to be... but oh well, I guess technology has filled the void of communication alright. It could've been worse.
Ailin called this morning to let me know that her mom can get tickets for December and I was really excited. After some consideration I told her I wanted it but now I don't know if I've made the right choice. Kor told me it may not be a very good idea because that would mean even greater difficulty in settling down once I get back to school. And I think I'll cry even worse when I leave early January for York again... but I miss home terribly. Just as well that I'm going home because I get to spend my birthday and Christmas around family and friends.
I need God's strength all the more... and it's only been 1 week. Heh. The realist in me says it'll get worse... but I must remember that God is looking after me yeah? :)
'twas my first lecture today. It started 15 minutes late (terribly late, as Ms Palmer put it. JC lecs always start that late. The Brits are obsessed with punctuality...) because of some technical difficulty with the mike, but anyway, she zipped through the information in the handouts in 45 minutes. It went by so fast! But it was interesting anyhow, about English language as a language of imperialism. The colonisation of countries also meant the colonisation of their language and identities, and at this moment about 1 language is officially extinct every 2 weeks. Hm. I better drown my kids in Chinese and a 3rd lang...
Speaking of 3rd lang, I'm not doing a foreign literature module in German anymore. The profs said it'll be a rather tall order (yes I managed to pluck up the courage to speak in a hall of Brits. aarrghh.) when I asked them if it was possible to start from scratch and take a foreign lit module in my 3rd year. Yeah I agree I s'pose. What made me think I could do that? That's crazy. Anyhow, I'll be choosing an Anglo-Saxon module for my 3rd year, and preparatory classes are next year. So I'll stick to German Level 1 this year for interest's sake. I was caught in a fix because I really didn't know what foreign module, which is compulsory, I can do. I know no other language but Chinese and they definitely don't have a Chinese literature module. So I prayed and prayed... and when I took out my coursebook (listing and describing all the modules) and flipped, I came to the Anglo-Saxon page. Read about it and apparently the period we're working on is the period when Christianity is just being introduced in Scandinavia and spreading rapidly. Hence religion will be a large influence on texts and other literary works! Hurrah... I was so happy when I read that. Praise God!
I've been cooking... though not very well. Ok, they suck, really. But I don't have a choice right... I ate them up all the same and anyway, I'm not really picky about the standards of food nowadays. Did my laundry today, and I realise the dryers in the laundrette don't work really well. My room is decorated with unsightly paraphernalia on hangers...... how homely can it get? :)
Oh, oh! An incredible thing happened... which speaks of God's wonderful provision. I've been looking high and low for a printer because it's really troublesome to go to the computer room if I want to print stuff. Came close to buying a Lexmark one in town but Jason told me that 40 quid for a Lexmark printer isn't really worth it. So I decided against it and wanted to look even further. When I went to church with Emily on Sunday I asked her afterward where I could get a reasonably-priced and good printer. It so happened that she was supposed to help a senior sell a HP printer/scanner/copier that was left in storage... and it's almost brand new! Bought it for 35 quid... oh yeahhhhhhhh. God is gracious!
The stress is getting on. I haven't read my books yet and I've got 2 group presentations coming up on thursday. It's really not very exciting. I admit that I really don't have confidence to speak up in a room of Brits (it's ok in a hall, not everyone sees me) because my accent already puts me at a disadvantage. "Must be thick-skinned. Must be confident of my work." But anyway, I met up with my group today, to discuss the points for the presentation. They're not very good in organising... the discussion could have gone on and on aimlessly and this German girl was just airing her views without focussing on the question. The Science person in me kicked up and I did a little organising. But anyway, the German is quite a difficult person...... very, erm, domineering. Oh well.
My parcel's not here yet! ARGH! My chicken rice mix, chicken stock, vitamin tea, my presents, contact lens solution, etc etc....... bleagh. Fedex is disappointing. Tsktsk.
