San San's diary (July, 2003)

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

July 2, 2003 (Wed)

Confirmation

Got another chance to see how others presented their ideas. This time it was my friend's turn. She did very well in her confirmation meeting. I had a feeling that she became more mature.

July 4, 2003 (Fri)

Countdown: 5 days left

Went to the bank with mom; had lunch with supervisor; had dinner with two good friends...

July 7, 2003 (Mon)

Countdown: 48 hours

Lunch with my friend and a woman whom I admire; dinner with one of my best friend; struggled about whether to return to HK shortly after my registration with my study...

July 8, 2003 (Tue)

Countdown: 24 hours

10a.m. Workplace

3p.m. Bank

8p.m. Home

2a.m. Bed... 21600 seconds left... 21599 sec... 21588 sec...

July 9, 2003 (Wed)

Back to the past - Manchester

I arrived at the airport three hours prior to the departure time of the flight.  As last night I had decided to return to HK after my registration for various reasons (luggage and accommodation problems), I had no sad feelings but just felt cheerful and excited at the airport.  As it was a weekday, I didn't expect anyone to see me off.  After taking a few pics with my parents, my eldest brother and his girlfriend, I said 'goodbye' to them and went into the departure hall.  There was a little problem when I had my hand luggage checked. I forgot that I had put two small screws into my backpack and was asked to take them out. I arrived at the boarding gate a bit later than the required boarding time. But it wasn't a big problem as other passengers were queuing up to get on board when I got there.

The flight was 12 hours long from HK to Amsterdam, and an hour and 20 minutes from Amsterdam to Manchester. It was really boring indeed. The guy sitting next to me looked quite cool.  When we wanted to watch TV we had to watch the one hanging high up with others. In the whole journey I was either sleeping or eating.  I don't know why I felt so sleepy then. The food was okay, not too bad; and the services of the air hostesses were great.

After arrival, I took a bus to the university where my friend lived. A guy sitting behind me on the bus was nice to offer me any help. When I arrived at my friend's hall it was still light. We had a long chat in the room before going to bed.

July 10, 2003 (Thur)

'Big headed shrimp' = careless girl

I seemed to have lost memories about things here.  I forgot the PIN number for my ATM cards. As it took me a week to get the PIN number through mail to my HK address, I had to rely on the 10-pound coins (but later I found out that there were no 10-pound coins; they were one-pound coin indeed!!) I had with me. I forgot to bring the charger for my notebook computer with me and that means I can only use my computer for 3 hours with its battery! Ha, how can I survive without a charger for the computer and a rice cooker!!!  I don't know why I had forgotten to bring so many important things with me from HK and even forgot many important numbers like the PIN for my ATM cards here! A friend of mine called me 'Big Head Shrimp'!

I made an appointment to see my supervisor tomorrow afternoon. I'm very nervous and worried...

Some changes seems to have taken place in the university, e.g. there were more new buildings and some renovation had been done. I took some pics of the surroundings to show as a friend of mine how much the area has changed. I met a friend of mine who was having her graduation ceremony today at the university and I took a few pics with her.  I saw Martin Li! Later I went to the supermarket to buy some foodstuff.  Since I hadn't brought the rice cooker with me, I bought bread for my meals.  Initially I planned to start preparing for my meeting with my supervisor but I was so tired that I went to bed very early.

I really miss home, my family and friends!  Although I've got a few friends here, I didn't contact them yet and I'm sort of frightened and scared after having a chat with my Taiwanese PhD friend who told me how hard her student life has been. I really don't feel confident in myself being able to make it with my study. :(

July 11, 2003 (Fri)

Two different 'Sandy'

Before I met my supervisor, I felt worried, wondering what would be worked out between my supervisor and me and the uncertainties had terrified me.  I thought a lot... A weak, worried Sandy with lack of self-confidence was inside me.

But after my meeting with him, I felt relieved and it seemed all my doubts had gone and my worries were unnecessary. A strong, tough Sandy had come back.

Wanna keep my return to HK low-profile but it seems to have turned out that more and more people know about my return.  Anyway, let's see how my study will be going then.

July 12, 2003 (Sat)

A nominal bookworm

What a sunny but cool day in Manchester! Borrowed a few books from the library in the morning and then chose to spend my day indoors (at home) and slept a lot like a pig...

July 13, 2003 (Sun)

The Dark Ages

Stayed at home all day long although it's still very sunny outside; not motivated to go to the computer centre while the library was closed; no contact with people outside...

July 14, 2003 (Mon)

Familiar faces with old memories

Met my two MA classmates in the library when tying email to friends.  They came to say hello to me and asked when I had arrived and how I was doing.  Really surprised to see them and it was as if I had seen them not a long time ago.

Planned to meet my postgraduate tutor in his office in the afternoon but he was not there then.

Been to the city centre to buy some foodstuff and to meet people in the Chinese community centre.  At first no one at the reception desk in the community centre knew me and some people I knew there were having a meeting. So I had to leave a message.  I had a look into some shops including Body Shop, WhSmiths & Anytime to check the prices. Some items (esp. stationery) were really more expensive than those in HK.

After shopping at Marks & Spencer I went to the community centre again and this time I met a staff I knew. She told me some people had left, while some people had joined the organisation.  There was a full grant for a PhD study on an elderly project but unfortunately I wasn't doing social studies!

Got to know the hourly rate for the RA was further down!  Poor me...

July 15, 2003 (Tue)

Breadlover is breadhater

Still slept a lot whenever I was home.

Still not yet got a chance to talk to my flatmates, 3 of whom I guess were from Spain, and I met them at the stairs outside the house but they seemed unable to recognize me (I had met two of them in the flat before). They liked to go out and go back home late.

It's become very very hot in Manchester. I now don't like to walk through the corridors of the South Wing of the Arts Building as all the heat was accumulated there, like a sauna!

My contact with family was mainly through the Internet - I sent messages to my eldest brother or a friend of mine who then told my parents.  The technology was really advanced now.  Communication could be done via the Internet, which had become so common and convenient.  The times of writing letters and later making long distance phone calls had gone...

July 16, 2003 (Wed)

It's all about chatting, shopping and gathering

I found hot water wasn't available in the early morning in my accommodation, when I planned to take a morning shower.

Met a friend of mine for a chat and drink at the city centre and shared her experience in the trip to Paris.  I wish I could have a chance to travel like many of my friends did.  My study forces me to reduce the expense on travelling to the minimum (and my plan to travel around the world has to be deferred)... :(

Felt hungry in the middle of the night.  In fact I doubt if I got used to the time here - I slept in the early morning and woke up at midnight. My biological clock was basically based on the HK time!

July 17, 2003 (Thur)

Short vacation

So finally the cloudy and rainy weather came back to Manchester after a week of sunshine and blue sky. I told my friend yesterday in our meeting that I didn't like the weather being so sunny and hot. But I don't like a rainy weather either. It makes you feel dull and bored. I'd prefer a sunny weather with blue sky.

The progress of my reading was very slow. Every time when I was home, I tended to go to bed. I guess I slept for around 12 hours a day.  Perhaps this was an opportunity for me to take a rest before I work hard again for my study, a sort of transition period from my full-time job to my full-time study?

What did I do today?  Made some photocopies at the department and then went to the library to do what I always did - checking and replying to email, and it seemed a lot of things had happened in HK these days. I got to know through my friends that Anthony Leung and Regina Ip had resigned from their posts. Was I happy with their resignation? Not really. Just wondering who will succeed them. And some famous/leading people in the showbiz had been arrested or asked to help in a case of suspected corruption for the interest of some singers.

My flatmates were young, energetic girls who always went out and when they came back, they always made a lot of noises - speaking, opening/closing the door, running up and down the floors, etc. I could still hear their voices in my sleep!

Two more days to go...

July 18, 2003 (Fri)

New flatmate

Uncle Sunny came back today. But it was a bit cooler than before.

I made photocopies at the department again in the morning and then checked email at the library and had a chat with both friends on icq. Then went to the post office to buy a stamp to send a letter with a cheque as I had given a wrong amount of money to my friend before - I thought one-pound coins valued ten pounds and so...

I was always worried if my room would be broken into and if my notebook computer had been stolen, etc. Today, which was the last day, for which I had paid the accommodation fee, I was worried if anyone from the office would come to ask me to leave, although the guy at the reception said I could stay until Sunday without a further charge.

This afternoon after I had come back home, a new flatmate moved in. I'm wondering if she came from the Chinese mainland - either Guang Zhou or Shen Zhen because I heard her speak Mandarin with her friends and she was listening to Cantonese pop songs by HK singers! Her existence (I haven't seen her indeed) reminded me of my former flatmate. I could smell something like rice while I was sleeping (yeah, in the middle of the night in HK Time), and I guess it came from that girl's room.

This afternoon I met a woman, not much older than me, who asked me where she could find a student advisor.  She wanted to become a doctor here but she didn't know the correct way to do so.  So I took her to the International Society which I think may be able to give her some help.  She was from the Chinese mainland and she first spoke to me in Mandarin after knowing that I was a Chinese.  But I responded to her in English and I told her my Mandarin was too poor for a native speaker to understand.

When I was cleaning up my email account today, I found what a long process it was for me to finally get started with my study (with the financial problem being the main obstacle).

July 19, 2003 (Sat)

Countdown

Couldn't wait for the morning to come. I had already packed up my stuff this early morning and went to say goodbye to my friend. Had a long chat and then checked email for the last time before my flight back to HK tomorrow.

Counting down the time...

July 20, 2003 (Sun)

What a long day!

I woke up very early and got myself ready to leave. I arrived at the airport three hours prior to the departure time. Didn't know how to kill these three hours. I strolled around in some shops at the airport but there wasn't much I could see. So, I found a seat and did some reading. 1 hour, 2 hours... the boarding time arrived and I carried my stuff with a cheerful mood...

There was another three hours to go before the departure time for the flight to HK when I arrived at Amsterdam. Taken a look into some shops at the airport but soon I lost my interest and so had a seat, doing some reading and listening to music. The flight was further delayed for half an hour and finally I could go on baord.

When I got seated, I found someone who looked like a secondary school classmate of mine... Oh, that's really her!! An air hostess who was standing right in front of me talking with a male member of air crew.  While I was wondering if she was my secondary school classmate, she initiated a conversation with me and asked me if we were once classmates at secondary school when she got seated opposite me during the set-off.  We had a chat before she started doing her job.  I was told she was going to France in late September for a two-year study.  Wow, France!! And I couldn't believe when she told me how low the tuition fee was, compared with that in the UK - around HK$20000!!  At that moment I really wanted to quit my course in the UK and apply to study in France! (no knowledge in French was required)

The flight was full and some passengers were children.  According to my air hostess friend, those children were born in Holland and then their Chinese parents would send them back to China for their growing up. They didn't behave well and caused some noises, which led my neighouring passenger to find it difficult to get into sleep. I didn't sleep much on this flight.

We arrived in Hong Kong in the morning and I could see a pair of sleeping bags in my friend's eyes. Imagine how tiring it would be to serve people for 12 hours without a stop! And she gave me a souvenir, which was usually a gift to the business travllers as shown before.

a lovely house as a souvenir given by my friend

July 21, 2003 (Mon)

Home again

When I got back home, I didn't find much difference from before. After all, I was away for no more than two weeks. I couldn't wait to pack up my luggage again and spent the whole day doing so instead of going to bed after a long flight...

July 23, 2003 (Wed)

Be a strong and tough girl

I was still sorting out my stuff and notes these days and the typhoon Imbedo forced me to go back home soon after I had borrowed some books from the university library. Met a colleague when I went back to my office to get some books. Not plan to let many people know of my return yet and so I asked her not to tell anyone else she had seen me...

July 25, 2003 (Fri)

New life

Tried to do reading in the nearby public library, as I knew I wouldn't concentrate when I was home. The progress of my reading was good.

Liverpool arrived in Hong Kong and my favourite footballer Michael Owen was with his team mates.

July 27, 2003 (Sun)

Oh! Michael Owen's in HK!

Liverpool had a game with the HK team this afternoon. I didn't buy tickets to watch the show even though Owen was in the team. I hadn't expected I'd be back to HK when then tickets were on sale.

The results of the games were expected as no one would deny Liverpool were much better than the HK team in terms of skills and experience. Whatever the results, I enjoyed the game as I could see Michael Owen (on TV). He had looked much more mature and was no longer the same young boy; in fact he was a dad of a new born baby girl!

July 28, 2003 (Mon)

A dishonest travel agent?

I went to the same travel agent where I had bought my return ticket in June. They offered a very cheap single ticket from HK to Manchester. They said the fare was much lower than that offered by other travel agents because it was a group ticket. The offer sounded very attractive (with around HK$800 being the fare difference) but I decided not to take a risk again after my experience of last time, in which I felt I was cheated.

July 30, 2003 (Wed)

That's what student's life is about

My student life in HK was not much different from my working life previously; it was like going for a nine-to-five office job. Just that I was even lazier.  I had a nap in the afternoon and then in the evening I watched TV with my family.

This page was last updated on Saturday, 18 October 2003.

Copyright © 2000 - 2003 - Sandy Lo has the "property rights" of this homepage. All rights reserved.