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The Party on Friday

I arrived to the school in the afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to find the hallway and ground floor decorated with candles and colourful roses.  The tables were set with tray after tray of yummy looking cheese and an assortment of cold cuts. The official ceremony, which started around 4pm was touching, funny and sometimes cheesy. Afterwards, we were treated to the lavish apero. The candle light certainly enhanced the cosy atmosphere. Some of us ran upstairs to decorate the upstairs room for the after party which included a short Indian dance for the graduating students -which I think I've talked about before. I had a lot of fun dressing up for the dance: trying to fix my sari so that it was secure and sticking the bhindi on my forehead while gulping down a shared glass of wine. We continued to dance and drink after our performance, taking only a short break to savour our self-cooked dinner of curry, lasagna and salad before continuing to dance and drink. The party took some effort to organise and prepare but was so totally worth it.  

Preparing for the closing ceremony

Last class over: Some of us (like me) will be taking a long break, reconvening only at the end of February. Others will leave for new pastures. I think I've mentioned here (a few times even) that I've grown attached to a number of the gals who are leaving. Sniff sniff.

Well, the closing ceremony is tomorrow and we (the remaining students) have been busy preparing for the party tomorrow.

First - we have a surprise Indian dance - with sari et al. Our rehearsal which went badly last few times suddenly came together today. Very pleasing for us who are involved.

 

Second -  we are planning to cook dinner and have divided ourselves to the "curry team", "lasagna team" and "salad and drinks" (Can you guess which team I'm heading?). Four of us who had the time, hopped into B's rustic car to go shopping in Germany to buy the stuff from the discounted supermarket there. Hah, I felt like a student all over again  (that I am) - with B's erratic driving, us getting lost and Jimi Hendrix playing too loud on the iPod (I couldnt stand it and had to disappoint B by pressing the stop button). At Treasure Island, I discovered that the prices of wine were staggeringly low - especially compared to the ones I've been picking from co-op in Basel. At least 50-60 per cent less! Truly amazing.

We forgot about the decorations! My friend "I" pointed this out when we were unpacking back at school. Too true. I agreed to pick some up on the way home as I had parked the car in front of a home decor shop. Well, I went into the store and couldn't find anything suitable but did see a lot of art supplies. I've bought some and I'm going to spend tonight assembling something fun. I will keep you posted.

 

A new week beckons

Last week at school for this semester: I have several essays pending and a mountain of paper to read for tomorrow's class.  But I procrastinate. Lots happening this week:  preparation for the closing ceremony, 1-1 meetings, finalisation of marks etc. It will certainly be sad to say goodbye to some of my class mates who are finishing and going back to their respective countries. Thankfully, we have emails and face-book to ease the transition and separation.  

Saturday night out: So, E and I went out last night for a birthday party of an acquantaince. It was meant to start at 10 pm. We arrived to the venue on time... but apparently not anyone else as we found ourselves alone.  We ditched the bar for another one after half an hour where we had a good time chatting about all sorts of things (what is it about quality chats happening outside the home environment - is it the lack of the usual distractions?).

It also felt good to be out and about in town: the saturday night feel-good ambiance lifted our spirits and made us reflect on so many happy stuff (we realised we were so maudlin about life after saying goodbye to LE).

We woke up in good spirits this morning and had a wonderful "just-the-two-of-us" (vs. parenthood) Sunday. 

Good morning

I'm waiting for the door to the school to open and it's freaking cold - at least I'm burning calories staying warm. It was -3c earlier this morning - probably 0-1c now.

The joys of having an iPhone -What did I do before while waiting? I started reading Ghandi on my kindle app but then remembered the existence of this typepad application - much better at distracting me from the cold and the wait I fink.

This week, we are learning about religion - potential for conflict and reconciliation. It's been much more interesting than I expected and I'm looking forward to writing the required reflection paper. Our lecturer is a Swiss professor who is 74. I would like to be like him and others like him when I'm at the same age.

Life

1. E is down with the dreaded ManFlu. He started feeling unwell on Saturday and by Sunday afternoon was down, out and MIA, except for driving us to school and back today.  LE is with us so it was my first time of managing and organising him by my own this weekend/today.  It has been tiring but surprisingly fuss free [for most of the time]. LE followed my suggestions and even came over for a gracias hug and kiss after dinner (my jaw dropped; my heart melted). Bed time was a little bit challenging with request for another story. I did better this evening than yesterday (when I succumbed) being wiser and having more resolve from the experience.  

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2. On schoolwork:  I received 2 grades back today. The first was 5.5 (very good) and the second 6 (excellent).

Half cup of POISON? Possibly. I was fixated on the 5.5 (only!) even though the 6 came with lovely comments. I browsed the intranet and examined the grading system to make me feel better. It did not (argh to not delivering an outstanding piece) so I constructed an excel model which lined up all my previous grades while LE was watching Mickey Mouse. This didnt work too well: (1) I saw how my average had slipped and (2) it made me fret about the grades for the papers that I've submitted.  

I shared my anxiety to poorly E  (who was in bed) after putting on LE's pyjamas and on the way out, reluctantly admitted to being semi-obsessed (ok, fully obsessed) and that my grrr feeling was attributed it to the fact that "not much else is going on in my life at the moment*". I had to come back into the bedroom and explain myself better to E (who had perked up from his manflu positioning) to ask "Eh? Wot? Really - Not much? Even with the upcoming marriage and having to care for 2 people?" 

 [* I had honestly meant work wise or I should say the lack off it]

It's cold outside

It's colder today than the last few days. I'm glad I bought the duvet-like jacket from Mulhouse a few weeks ago. My whole body would be frozen otherwise (as opposed to just my bottom half).

We wrapped up the workshop on "commitment" a few hours ago. It provided me with some more fodder to think. I admitted my dislike (fear) of animals yesterday to the facilitator who is a big animal (dog) lover so there were some animal jokes directed to me which garnered a few laughs.

I partnered a much younger class mate from Africa for one of the "tapping into your consciousness" exercises. We had a chat about our commitment to our values in the course of our personal and professional lives. Hearing and writing down what he said moved me - and reminded me of how each of us want the same things when living up to our potential, even though we come from such different places, background, age etc.

Commitment

We are learning about "commitment" this week in school.

1. I like the fact that the course offers these sort of softer subjects in addition to the more academic ones. I don't think all my classmates share this view. 

2. The discussion on this topic earlier in school made me think about the concept of commitment and the value I'm bringing to my commitments. What about my intention to help children who are under privileged some day - how committed am I to this cause for example.  

3. I brought up the topic with E at home* and this prompted a chat about we have committed to.  It was fruitful and a nice reminder about what we expect from each other. 

 

*Yes-- E is back home (hurrah) and so am I (after another night at the students' house). 

 

Where am I?

These last few days of not having any classes and E around, traveling to Germany and communicating with my HK mates (to tell them I would be in town) has made me confused about where I am and where I'm going to be. I realise that classes (a temporary replacement for a career) play a significant part in grounding me - it gives me a sense of purpose and without the classes (and classmates) I feel like I'm drifting.

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I'm only now seriously thinking about what to wear for the occasion when E and I sign the official deed in Europe. Considerations: it's going to be cold and I would like to be warm; I would like to incorporate a vibe of playful and fun; I need to have the dress by 2 weeks. I've been scouring websites and my own wardrobe (I'm ashamed to tell you that I still have more than 10 new-unworn formal dresses - even after giving away half my wardrobe when leaving HK). Your creative ideas would be appreciated. Email me if you don't feel like leaving comments here.

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It's been a good week

1. Classes this week have for the most part been fun. We had a number of games and sketches based on the methodology of the theater of the oppression. These sessions and reflection afterwards made me feel closer to the group.

2. I enjoyed some sweet moments when LE was very affectionate and reached out to me. I've realized now that with LE, it can be hot or cold for any given moment. I've learned to manage my expectations - still can't help but feel good when LE rushes to me to show me somefink or ask me to come closer e.g, when we listen to his favourite songs (currently: a feel good sounding song called "Son Mis Amigos" by a spanish group from Zaragoza called Amaral and "Dance of Death" by Iron Maiden.

3. I received top marks for one of the essay I had been labouring over these past few weeks. Relief more than pleased. I'm trying to remind myself grades doesn't matter - it's the process of learning and assembling my thoughts that's important but still my heart goes thump everytime I click on the link which provides our grades.

4. Had a lovely time with LE and BE at home, in the mornings despite rushing to get out and evenings notwithstanding the tantrums (mostly LE with us; or sometimes me with BE).

Thanks Universe - I'm a lucky gal.

An essay a day

   Apparently,one of the lecturers on the course, a prominent and prolific researcher, writer, professor,  human-right activist had mentioned in one of his earlier classes that to develop intellectually, "one should read at least 50 pages and write a reflection paper every day".  

 I don't know whether he meant it in the context of being a full time academician, after many years of training  (and as additional activity, after a full day's work - using the time slot before going to bed and having dinner) - or whether he meant us mere mortals = students.  

 I do  like the idea of churning out a reflection paper on a daily basis (like a blog entry, almost) but imagine it would be tough to do if the topic is academic.  At the moment, I'm finding myself out of breath writing an essay per week. Gasping even on the days we finish late and have LE with us.