All posts filed under: Blog

Sunday School, Part 2

Published by Sula H.

Like I told you the other day: Holidays always come with one little downer – extra work, which this semester usually means school on Sunday for me, or what others may call Sunday School. But hey, I don’t want to get too fussy about this, because overall I get to have another day to sleep in that way, except, of course, that recently we haven’t been able to sleep in anyway, because of all the construction noise. So, it doesn’t make that much of a difference anyway, does it, to have school on a Sunday morning …?

May Day

Published by Sula H.

May 1st is always a great day to look forward to. After all, it’s one of the big holidays in this nation, which also means that we usually get to have a couple of days off. Of course, that also means we have to work at little harder instead at other times, more particularly on the weekend before or after the holiday. But then you get to enjoy a nice couple of quiet days. And quiet is always good on a campus that is otherwise fairly overpopulated. So, I’m off to celebrate my May Day!

Repairs

Published by Sula H.

Isn’t it amazing? Here I am, waiting for months for the workers to come and fix the leak in my floor (see my post “The Wait” for a first hint at some problems in my apartment), and yet nothing ever happens. Workers come and go (examining the damage, of course), but nothing ever happens. And then there is this fire. Which cracks my windows. And I’m preparing myself already that for the next couple of weeks or months I’ll have to live with a blackened and broken window. But guess what happened! Right. The very next day workers come. And they don’t just come to inspect. They actually come ready for action, bringing with them a new pane and highly motivated to get things fixed right then and there! So things can move fast here. If it’s the right kind of damage. I guess, soaking wet floors don’t count as as dramatic as fire damaged windows do!

A Little Scare

Published by Sula H.

  Picture this scene: I’m in the lobby having a meeting with a visitor when my phone rings. Thinking to myself how impolite it is  to answer, I still pick up the phone, and it’s my friend, panic stricken: Sula! Your home is on fire! Me (turning around to look out of the glass front of the lobby): What are you talking about? Then I see a big black cloud of smoke rising from the front of the building. I’m starting to feel a little concern for the family living above me and whatever construction work is going on on the roof of the building. So, I turn to my friend on the phone and say: No, that’s not my home. Looks like something on the roof is on fire. Friend: No! It’s your home! Your home is on fire! And as people start to panic, and workers begin to yell – Fire! Everyone out! Everyone out! – I begin to realize that … maybe my friend is right. Maybe I should go and check …

Driving Me Crazy

Published by Sula H.

One of the reasons for why I’m trying to avoid going into the city is because of the traffic. It simply drives me crazy. While I can definitely tell that there must be some kind of rules to driving (they do have street signs), when you see the way people drive around here, you quickly begin to doubt that those rules have any kind of effect on people. Or, maybe it’s really like what we hear others tell us that you follow the rules when the police is around, but that no one really cares when there’s no one there to monitor it. Who knows. I’ve come up with a solution for the problem that works pretty well for me: stay away from the big traffic areas, and then no one’s going to drive me crazy …

Surviving the Physicals

Published by Sula H.

We did it! We made it through our annual hospital and we survived without any major disasters. Of course, we’re still amused at how haphazardly some of the examinations are done (take for example the eye test: all you’re asked to do is tell the doctor which number you are able to make out from a bunch of colored dots, despite the fact that you can hear the person before you say the number already), and of course I get nervous when the person right in front of me gets poked all over her arms for the blood test and I keep hoping they may do mine with a little more confidence. But then, we really did survive yet another dreaded physical exam, and having gotten smart from years of experience, we actually were done in no time. Yay, for another year of health!

Daily Visits

Published by Sula H.

I’m learning something these days. Learning to stay calm at the sight of my daily visitors. Of course, it’s one thing if those visitors were announced and would show up at my door. It’s another thing altogether when those visitors show up at any given time at my bedroom window. But, as I said, I’m learning to not freak out any time a strange face shows up right by my window with curious looks on their faces, and I learn to pretend that nothing curious is ever happening here. Yes, yes, the woes of living in a construction zone …

Your Presence is Requested …

Published by Sula H.

Spring is always an exciting season. The reason? Because it’s the time for butterflies, and love, and … … well, wedding invitations. Every year, someone among my dear colleagues decides to get married here, and the other day, I received an invitation to another wedding yet again. Time to get out those pretty dresses again, and time to give you a heads-up that soon you’ll be able to learn more about yet another wedding around here.

Rain Proof

Published by Sula H.

It’s raining. How I know? Well, the tell-tale sign is when you look out of the window, of course. I, however, have another way of telling that it’s raining. All I need to do is … … go down to the lobby. And then I know. I know by the number of buckets set up everywhere. And by the numbers of additional puddles collecting slowly on the floor of our, yes, brand-new lobby! Puddles that could also do with their own buckets. But I’m learning these days that “brand-new” doesn’t always mean rainproof. And I’m learning that rainproof doesn’t always mean what you think it may mean. “Rainproof” in our lobby means that our lobby will always do a good job proving to us that – in fact – it’s raining outside!

Weather the Storms

Published by Sula H.

This year’s sports days are on the rough side of things. Yesterday, we got quite the storm blowing over us, and today, it’s been rainy. Poor freshman students who are required to participate in all events, either as athletes, or as part of the audience. My advice to my freshman students earlier this week therefore was: dress warm and take something to keep you from being all too bored for two whole days with you (a good book will always do, in my opinion).