All posts filed under: Blog

Going for Gold

Published by Sula H.

Sports day is always an important event at every university in this part of the world. My contribution to sports day is that I stand in the crowds watching the great parade of school representatives marching into the stadium, and then I usually try to catch an extra hour of tennis myself (since for once the courts aren’t taken up with classes). At any rate, as much as I love being in class with my students, I don’t mind getting an extra day off work, and getting to spend that time with a racket and a ball. It’s sports day after all …

The Blessings and Curses of a Washing Machine

Published by Sula H.

Yes, I’m aware that I’m more blessed than other people around me. At least in some areas. Take, for example, the fact that I have my own washing machine. Yes, while you may wonder what’s so special about owning a washing machine, I can assure you that around here, I’m rather an exception, being – as I am – the happy owner of my own little laundry wonder. Well, except when my laundry dream turns into a nightmare, which happens to be the case whenever I forget something very essential. One of the essentials when it comes to doing my laundry is that I should never, NEVER forget to put the hose in the drain – or else, much more than just my clothes will get a thorough wash. The other day, however, that great essential just simply slipped my mind, and that’s when my whole bathroom experienced the blessing of a good wash. I guess, the good news of it is that now my bathroom floors have gotten a little rinse even in those …

Water Stories – Part 1: A Cup Half Full

Published by Sula H.

You can always tell when I’ve had visitors. How? Well, by the cups. The cups sitting on my coffee table in the living room. The cups which are usually half full. Or half empty. Or whichever way you prefer to look at it. You see, local custom has it that you don’t empty whatever the host has set before you. That’s impolite. Instead, every time after people have visited me, I have a bunch of cups filled with whatever drinks I’ve offered (usually water, the preferred beverage around here). And I am left to deal with that. I guess, my plants are happy, though. Because instead of normal (filthy) tap water, they get the privilege of being served good and fine drinking water. What a treat!

That Dreaded Note

Published by Sula H.

It’s that time of the year again. The time for the dreaded physical exam which we have to endure every year that we want to stay in the country. Well, granted: things have gotten a lot better compared to the first time we had to get them – being herded in crowds along corridors through which you had to carry your urine samples up to the next floor etc. Yep. You may get the point why we all cringe at the first sign of the next physicals approaching. So, finding this email in my inbox the other day did not quite cause me to flip with excitement at the prospect of yet another opportunity to be poked and stripped and all those other dreadful things. But as always with such things: better to get it over with, sooner rather than later!

The Bicycle Quest

Published by Sula H.

I had to go on a quest again. In search of my bicycle. Well, what had happened was that I’d received an email the other day requesting us to go and move our bikes from the place we’re currently allowed to store them. Of course, it took me a couple of days until I actually got to take care of that, and when I finally managed to go deal with the matter, I discovered that my bike wasn’t where I’d last put it anymore. Fortunately, I knew where to go look first, and there it was … … my poor bicycle, squeezed in among all the other faculty transportation devices, and almost impossible to get to. (Note the bike with the little red bell. That’s the one!) But for the time being, I know it’s at least save where it is, and I won’t have to worry about going on another quest anytime soon!

Seven AM Alarm

Published by Sula H.

These days, I need neither a watch nor an alarm clock to know that it’s 7 am in the morning. Why? Because the workers, who finally decided to actually do something with the scaffolding they’ve been setting up for a month now, are kind enough to notify me of when it’s about time to get up. They do so, by banging and drilling, hammering and knocking on the other side of the wall that makes up my bedroom, bathroom, and living room walls. Yay, for the fact that neither on weekdays, nor on weekends, I ever get to sleep in again. But then, I’m fully aware that there’s no reason to complain. 7 am, after all, isn’t 6 am, right?

The Birthday Cake And Other Pleasures

Published by Sula H.

I had myself a birthday cake today. Of course, it goes without saying that the birthday came along with it. And so, aside from eating strawberry chocolate cake, I had a lot of fun going for a walk on campus with one of my friends in the morning, playing table tennis with some other friends in the afternoon, and having a little celebration with some more friends at night, a celebration which even included a dancing performance a la “If I were a wealthy man” (as seen in the “The Fiddler on the Roof”), which my friends were kind enough to put on just for the sake of my amusement, and theirs along with it, of course! And in case you need more convincing data that today, in fact, was actually a lot of fun, here you go:

It’s That Time Again …

Published by Sula H.

… that time, which is called “midterm exam”. And while I really don’t like exams (despite the fact that I’m on the other end of it, meaning, I’m giving the exam, not taking it), there’s one thing I do like about exams. It’s the fact that I get to have an extra day off, and that again means, I’m still in the middle of the holiday season. So, taking into consideration this aspect of it, I do have to say that may I do like exams, and even if it’s just a little …

Feasting Chinese Style

Published by Sula H.

Undoubtedly, you will know many ways of how to conduct a real feast. We for our part have discovered a great way of feasting ourselves in recent months. Instead of going to a restaurant together, we’ve started taking out food from the various restaurants around campus, and I can guarantee you: there’s always loads to eat when we come together this way, and every bit of it is delicious. Or almost every bit, because I have not yet found the courage to try the chicken hearts some of my colleagues are very fond of. But fortunately, there’s usually such a great assortment of noodle and other dishes, that I’ll gladly leave the chicken hearts to my friends!

Good to Know …

Published by Sula H.

Notices. They come as unexpected as you would think. And they come frequently. Good to know that I didn’t know about this specific notice until after the fact, or else it might have ruined my day. You see, with the holiday and all, I went to play tennis right around lunch time. And of course, after playing tennis, I really needed a shower. Go figure. And the time I took the shower was right between 2 and 3 pm. Had I known about the notice, of course, I would’ve delayed the shower, which would have made me feel rather uncomfortable all afternoon. As I didn’t know about the alleged lack of water in the pipes, however, I was just perfectly content to scrub off the dust and dirt from the exercise, never even noticing that we weren’t supposed to have any water. Well, I guess, sometimes it’s good you don’t know of any notices, right? Or else you might be tempted to actually take them serious …