Do you know that nervous frozen up feeling that comes when you're waiting for life-changing news to arrive? It struck me so badly last week that I couldn't open my inbox for a whole evening. When I forced myself to click the mouse the next morning, prepared for failure but with a glimmer of hope underneath, the news was good. I got accepted by the university in Brussels for the biz course in September! I was SO relieved by this. Rejection would have meant studying in the UK (as this year WILL be the year Sam goes back to school) and piling up a heap of debt. Tuition is heavily subsidised for EU students, a bargain at 540 euros per year. My course in International Business Economics and Management sounds rather a mouthful, and will certainly be challenging to cram into one year.
Should I wish to, I can continue for a further year and finally graduate with an MBA. I'm thrilled at the thought of living in Belgium as it will be everything China isn't. After almost four years here I'm pining for things like; cheese, real bread, tasty beers, proper chocolate, peace/quiet, personal space, politeness on the streets, no staring/name-calling/laughing, stylish clothes/shoes readily available, beautiful old buildings, reliable hygiene/safety standards. My standards have dropped so much that the smallest, pokiest student room in Belgium seems like heaven compared to some of the apartments here in Dalian...But I know I'll miss many things about Dalian. It's been a major part of my life and I've had lots of really worthwhile experiences here, also made some exceptional friends. When leaving a place forever becomes imminent, you begin to look upon everything with sentimental eyes - "the last time I'll ever walk down this street/eat at this restaurant/get stared at on this corner" etc.
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Monday, 15 June 2009
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Quest for Health, Wealth and Wisdom (and cheap education)
The philosopher Aristotle once said, "It is wise to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth and wisdom."
I have never been fond of lying in bed till noon, but the idea of gaining an entire working month of extra time each year sounded fantastic. My usual getting-up time ranges between 6.30 and 8am, but on Steve Pavlina's life improvement blog he discusses how you can train yourself to rise at 5am, every single morning, forever. Even 30 minutes earlier adds up to a full working month per year, but that extra 90 minutes per day adds up to three full working months, 120 hours per year. That's an awful lot of useful and potentially productive time. Like Steve, I find that my motivation levels rise higher when I am up early and they remain high the whole day. Being a fan of multi-tasking and methods to squeeze more out of each day, I've decided to try out Steve's suggestions. Today I managed to get up at 6.30. As it's my day off today and I had a late night yesterday, I think this is not bad. But from tomorrow on, the 5am regime will begin.
Steve's blog is at: www.stevepavlina.com and is totally worth checking out.
Today is Qing Ming Jie, or Tomb-sweeping Fesitival. On this day, Chinese people visit and take care of their deceased relatives' graves. They also burn paper money on street crossroads. The belief is that this sends the cash to the "other side" where it can be used by dead family members." In reality, many of my students told me that they live too far from the location of the graveyards and will just be using this day as a fine chance for a long relaxing weekend. The kind Chinese govt. gives everyone an extra Monday off work. I've planned a productive day, involving intensive university research and a few applications.
The choices (so far) are as follows:
MSc in International Management at Exeter or Roborough, MSc in Process and Project Management at Warwick, MA in Modern Chinese Studies at Oxford; and a variety of similar courses at universities in the Netherlands and Germany. Studying in the Netherlands is
my most recent idea, because the tuition fees are a fraction of those in the UK. Back home, I'd have to spend at least 5000 pounds for a year's tuition. Universities can charge whatever they like for postgrad education. However in the Netherlands, I found many equivalent masters courses, in English, for around 1500 euros. Also, as they are also EU, I can easily and freely find part-time work without the need for any visa documentation. Unlike Sweden's, which has already passed, the Netherlands' uni application deadline is still far off in May or June. Sweden offers undergrad and postgrad education entirely free of charge even to foreigners and even has a huge selection of subjects taught in English. But I guess it's pretty competitive, as for anything free, and they close the application window in January of the same year. Oxford is on my list just because it would be amazing to study there, if I could ever get accepted onto any programme. I picked Modern Chinese Studies because it seems like I might have a fighting chance of acceptance. Four years experience in the field plus language skills must mean something...
I already feel very motivated and productive by writing this blog post at 7.40 am, so now I'm going to continue my disciplined new lifestyle by NOT drinking coffee for breakfast. Even the civet variety... ;-)
I have never been fond of lying in bed till noon, but the idea of gaining an entire working month of extra time each year sounded fantastic. My usual getting-up time ranges between 6.30 and 8am, but on Steve Pavlina's life improvement blog he discusses how you can train yourself to rise at 5am, every single morning, forever. Even 30 minutes earlier adds up to a full working month per year, but that extra 90 minutes per day adds up to three full working months, 120 hours per year. That's an awful lot of useful and potentially productive time. Like Steve, I find that my motivation levels rise higher when I am up early and they remain high the whole day. Being a fan of multi-tasking and methods to squeeze more out of each day, I've decided to try out Steve's suggestions. Today I managed to get up at 6.30. As it's my day off today and I had a late night yesterday, I think this is not bad. But from tomorrow on, the 5am regime will begin.
Steve's blog is at: www.stevepavlina.com and is totally worth checking out.
Today is Qing Ming Jie, or Tomb-sweeping Fesitival. On this day, Chinese people visit and take care of their deceased relatives' graves. They also burn paper money on street crossroads. The belief is that this sends the cash to the "other side" where it can be used by dead family members." In reality, many of my students told me that they live too far from the location of the graveyards and will just be using this day as a fine chance for a long relaxing weekend. The kind Chinese govt. gives everyone an extra Monday off work. I've planned a productive day, involving intensive university research and a few applications.
The choices (so far) are as follows:
MSc in International Management at Exeter or Roborough, MSc in Process and Project Management at Warwick, MA in Modern Chinese Studies at Oxford; and a variety of similar courses at universities in the Netherlands and Germany. Studying in the Netherlands is
my most recent idea, because the tuition fees are a fraction of those in the UK. Back home, I'd have to spend at least 5000 pounds for a year's tuition. Universities can charge whatever they like for postgrad education. However in the Netherlands, I found many equivalent masters courses, in English, for around 1500 euros. Also, as they are also EU, I can easily and freely find part-time work without the need for any visa documentation. Unlike Sweden's, which has already passed, the Netherlands' uni application deadline is still far off in May or June. Sweden offers undergrad and postgrad education entirely free of charge even to foreigners and even has a huge selection of subjects taught in English. But I guess it's pretty competitive, as for anything free, and they close the application window in January of the same year. Oxford is on my list just because it would be amazing to study there, if I could ever get accepted onto any programme. I picked Modern Chinese Studies because it seems like I might have a fighting chance of acceptance. Four years experience in the field plus language skills must mean something...
I already feel very motivated and productive by writing this blog post at 7.40 am, so now I'm going to continue my disciplined new lifestyle by NOT drinking coffee for breakfast. Even the civet variety... ;-)
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Civet Coffee and Chinese CVs,
Do you know which coffee is the world's most expensive? I bet you couldn't guess where it comes from...I love coffee, so I was intrigued to discover that this prime brew comes out of a cat's arse. Yes, literally. The Kopi Luwak coffee is made from coffee beans, which is nothing unusual. But the difference is that these beans pass through the digestive tract of a civet cat before being excreted onto the ground for easy collection by coffee farmers. This mainly happens in Sumatra and surrounding areas (wherever civet cats and coffee beans are in close proximity). The coffee is made by separating the beans from the rest of the dung, washing them thoroughly (whew!) then processing them like normal coffee beans. The taste of Kopi Luwak has been described variously as 'gamey', 'rich, strong and full-bodied', 'syrupy with a hint of chocolate' and 'like crap'.So how much does a cup of this stuff cost? In London's Sloane Square, a snooty coffee shop sells Kopi Lumak for 50 pounds a cup. Various online stockists also sell it and it seems to be surprisingly popular in its coffee-snob niche market. I'd be keen to try it, but 50 pounds a cup of anything would make me cringe. If I ever get to Indonesia, I'll go hunt me some civet cats.
After wasting a lot of valuable time Googling 'crap' coffee, I got myself sufficiently motivated to finish the day's main task - translating my CV into Chinese. This was a challenging job and took me at least two hours to complete. But the end result is definitely worth it, it will certainly impress Chinese employers and what's more - it looks really, really cool. ;-) I'm quite proud of myself (although www.nciku.com did get surfed now and then...) I've got a job interview at Dalian Software Park this week. I'll have to learn the CV by heart or make myself a pinyin crib sheet for some of the new words, hehe.
I'm making plans for a return to the UK this autumn. The postgrad education idea is still firmly lodged in my mind and there are some great courses on offer. My question to myself is: would it be better to study a practical subject (MSc in International Management,Business Administration or Programme and Project Management), or go for the MA in Modern Chinese Studies at Oxford University? I think that my China experience can get me onto the Oxford course, how cool to study at Oxford! But in reality, the practical applications of an MA in Modern Chinese Studies might not be so apparent to a prospective employer, what's more, am I sufficiently fascinated by China to spend even more of my time studying it? Recently it has begun to annoy me in a whole bunch of ways. Realistically, it's time to get serious and choose a degree subject that is directly related to career. Career, Career, Career. I don't want to make the same mistake I made when picking my undergrad degree:
Dad: "You should really study business/management/computing/engineering."
Daughter: "But Sociology really interests me and it will give me good career prospects, honest!"
The future's looking colourful.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
"How to Avoid Flirting" - some advice from ehow.com
Maybe there's someone you know likes you, and you don't want to give the wrong impression that the feeling's mutual. Or maybe you're in a relationship and don't want it to look like you're thinking of cheating. For whatever reason, sometimes you'll need to avoid flirtatious behavior -- here's how to do it.
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Step 1: Share your problems with this person, moan, and sulk about things. When you flirt, you are supposed to be positive and smile.
Step 2: If this person starts to flirt, block it. Ignore him or her, or just give back no signals.
Step 3: Don't look the person in the eye. Concentrate on something else while you talk to him or her, and if you do look at the person, don't hold the gaze, but don't look nervous or scared either.
Step 4: Motion a friend to come over. If a friend senses your discomfort, they'll often intervene.
Step 5: Leave. Politely tell them that you have somewhere else to get to or someone else you need to talk to.
Step 6: Talk about how great your significant other is.
Step 2: If this person starts to flirt, block it. Ignore him or her, or just give back no signals.
Step 3: Don't look the person in the eye. Concentrate on something else while you talk to him or her, and if you do look at the person, don't hold the gaze, but don't look nervous or scared either.
Step 4: Motion a friend to come over. If a friend senses your discomfort, they'll often intervene.
Step 5: Leave. Politely tell them that you have somewhere else to get to or someone else you need to talk to.
Step 6: Talk about how great your significant other is.
Monday, 9 March 2009
Beauty and the Beast
blogging on the move 2: is this guy teaching a one-to-one English class or just trying to pick up a girl...
Here I am still sitting in Starbucks waiting for my interview and doing a spot of sneaky people-watching from behind my laptop.
There's an old Western guy sitting alone at a table looking a tad shifty. A girl shows up and joins him. The American, because as soon as he opens his mouth this is unmistakable, declares to his new companion, "I have two degrees and my resume is all over with business experience. I don't know any Chinese because when I went to school they didn't teach it, haha chortle chortle". The young pretty Chinese girl sitting with him sounds less than impressed. She giggles in a nervous and insincere way as she answers his next question - "So, may I ask you what you do?" She is an English teacher but trying to start up her own business in something. Now they have started discussing salaries. This could be a match made in heaven - Beauty and the Beast. Passport and dollars meet youth and beauty. Just another normal day in China.
Oh, here we go, here's another gem...The American says to the girl, "Did you study English under a German? Why, because you keep saying "Ja" and that is what Germans say, not us Americans, oh no, we say "Yeah".
Hilarious. Although I must confess, since working for and hanging round with Germans, I have also developed a new habit of saying "Ja" instead of "Yes", as we English say.
Gem Number 2: The American asks loudly to the girl, "Suppose you have a company and you die, what happens to the company?"
Gem Number 3: "Education in America is, probably, better than education in China", declares our favourite American, loudly of course.
Unfortunately I'm going to miss out on the rest of the drama, because I have an interview to go to. But I'm sure there will be many more situations like this to amuse and enlighten me...
Here I am still sitting in Starbucks waiting for my interview and doing a spot of sneaky people-watching from behind my laptop.
There's an old Western guy sitting alone at a table looking a tad shifty. A girl shows up and joins him. The American, because as soon as he opens his mouth this is unmistakable, declares to his new companion, "I have two degrees and my resume is all over with business experience. I don't know any Chinese because when I went to school they didn't teach it, haha chortle chortle". The young pretty Chinese girl sitting with him sounds less than impressed. She giggles in a nervous and insincere way as she answers his next question - "So, may I ask you what you do?" She is an English teacher but trying to start up her own business in something. Now they have started discussing salaries. This could be a match made in heaven - Beauty and the Beast. Passport and dollars meet youth and beauty. Just another normal day in China.
Oh, here we go, here's another gem...The American says to the girl, "Did you study English under a German? Why, because you keep saying "Ja" and that is what Germans say, not us Americans, oh no, we say "Yeah".
Hilarious. Although I must confess, since working for and hanging round with Germans, I have also developed a new habit of saying "Ja" instead of "Yes", as we English say.
Gem Number 2: The American asks loudly to the girl, "Suppose you have a company and you die, what happens to the company?"
Gem Number 3: "Education in America is, probably, better than education in China", declares our favourite American, loudly of course.
Unfortunately I'm going to miss out on the rest of the drama, because I have an interview to go to. But I'm sure there will be many more situations like this to amuse and enlighten me...
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