Sandy's diary in Manchester (Feb, 2002)

Just click on any of the following underlined dates and you can get to know what's going on with me that day.

Feb 1, 02 (Fri)

Uncle Gales

Weather is what most people don't like about Britain and Manchester is well known for its windy, rainy weather. But the gales swept not only Manchester but across the whole country. If you want to know how strong the wind was, just imagine a girl of 115 lb was almost blown away!

Feb 4, 02 (Mon)

Volunteering

Happiness comes from helping others. I'm living proof. Standing out in the rain and the cold is not a great feeling but when it is about helping others it may be worth doing so. I helped a local Chinese community centre to distribute calendar cards to the Chinese students from universities in Manchester. It was not a good start with a rainy and windy weather but that didn't dwarf the enthusiasm of Sandy. Not a boring task. At least there's a guy talking to me when he felt interested to know what my cards were about while he was also distributing flyers.

Feb 5, 02 (Tue)

Unwelcome fire alarm

What'd you do when a fire alarm got off in the middle of the night? Jump out of your bed and run as quickly as you can? Or, ignore it and go on with your sweet dream? Maybe depending on how others respond? At around 4a.m. when the fire alarm got off, I didn't want to take the trouble to go downstairs, but having found a crowd and fire brigades in the open area between the buildings when I was looking out of my window, I didn't think I could take it lightly and so I joined the crowd who were waiting to see what was going on. 

It was not the first time that the fire alarm got off and it was always taken lightly by students. So it was not surprising to find some students waving cheerfully from their rooms to the people downstairs (not for help!). This moment was also captured by a student who successfully drew our attention to her to take a pic of us from her room. Half an hour gone. Still no idea what was going on. It was unlikely a fire had taken place. Maybe just a false alarm? The fire brigades went in and out of the building a few times. I started feeling cold, having stood for over half an hour. There were some raindrops on my face. Oh, no, were we going to get wet through? Thank god we were allowed to be back to our rooms before heavy rainstorm swept through the area. I didn't take me long to fall asleep like a pig again. What a nightmare!

The only thing I gained from this experience was a new British friend. Ha, what a funny way to make new friends!

N.B.: It was later revealed by the university that the false alarm was caused by some irresponsible students who deliberately damaged the fire alarm after getting drunk. 

Feb 12, 02 (Tue)

The Year of Horse has come!

Many people, including non-Chinese, know that today was the first day of the Chinese New Year. It is the Year of Horse but I always thought it was the year of Snake, which was last year. Maybe it's time that I keep myself updated on what's going on in HK and China. I didn't have any celebration indeed. Just gave a phone call to my family to say 'Kung Hei Fat Choy' (meaning 'wish you have loads of money'), a common greeting when people meet during the Chinese New Year. This is the second year I had my Chinese New Year abroad. 

Feb 16, 02 (Sat)

Am I a future Bridget Jones?

I was trying to make lasagne myself with the ingredients I had bought at the supermarket. The experiment was not so successful. Of course it couldn't be comparable with those eaten at restaurants. Maybe I should buy a ready-made lasagne next time...

Just started reading the paperback version of 'Bridget Jones's Diary'. I like the way Bridget Jones's diary is written. I may follow its style in my homepage! I'm wondering if I'd be the same as Bridget Jones when I'm at the age of 30 (a horrifying figure to me)...

Feb 20, 02 (Wed)

The education section of the China Consular in Manchester

I visited the education section of the China Consular for the first time for a friend of mine who needed a 'certificate' as a proof of her study in Manchester (in fact it looked more like a receipt!) . It was situated in a two-storey residential house. The person in charge initiated a conversation with me after I had got what I wanted for my friend.  It happened that he also graduated in Linguistics for his MA in China... 

Feb 26, 02 (Tue)

Sleepless Windy night

What could wake you up in the middle of the night when you are having a sweet dream? A phone call from a stranger who has nothing to do but just wants to make fun of you? The sound from somewhere when people are playing mahjong, a kind of Chinese gamble game (well, it's usually the case in HK!)? The noise from your next-door neighbour's house? A false fire alarm (as it happened to me one night in February)?  This time the 'criminal' was the gales who kept on knocking my window. I didn't sleep well that night because of the noise the gales made. Maybe it is not good to live on the high floor of a high-rise building...

Feb 28, 02 (Thur)

Great Teacher(s)

There are a few teachers I respect most in my life. My postgraduate tutor is one of them. He taught me one module only during my MA study but I got quite a lot of chance to talk to him as he dealt with anything concerning my study, including informing me of my exam results. He has been very nice and helpful to me, though he's always busy with his work. He's also a great lecturer and I regret that I only took one of his courses.

This page was last updated on Thursday, 16 October 2003.

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