2 months

From 2 wks in Oulu to 2 months here and how things had changed.
It is snowing relatively heavy now because visibility has dropped a bit and the google forecast informed minus zero temperature for the entire week.
The daytime is shorter as well, from the sun setting at 9pm when I first came to now at around 4-5pm. The only good thing the early nightfall was that I can do more work since I concentrates better "at night". My room is also done up now with posters and lamps from ikea. Oh yea! I went to Helsinki and Stockholm last week when it was my autumn break. Ooooo....IKEA stuff from Sweden, totally authentic. I got H&M stuff there too which I realised was Sweden-export :). I would have gotten absolut vodka too except that I don't drink that stuff. mm not much anyway. :P I will prefer my sweet cider.

Thus far, I already had 2 examinations and a paper submission. The last exam was on Friday actually so I was really chiong-ing to read the assigned two books before the exams since I could not manage it during the break. But I think I will pass the exams. hopefully, if not I will have to take it another time which I sincerely hope not to. :P
Life as a student is really different but I think that is also because of a more mature outlook of life. Last night I invited frens over for dinner and to lounge in my sofa. That was just so nice and comfortable instead of the partying (which I had not been to one yet actually). On one hand I wished we could talk longer but on the other, work awaited as I seriously need to do some catching up after my trip - yes, i am definitely procrastinating with a blog entry now :P

I heard OP is around the corner - so good luck to all!! I will probably not do so well for OP here because they claimed that my singaporean accent is very strong. Accent? I was confused until I heard two Singaporeans in Stockholm ahhah. So ok, sometimes I tried to accommodate with clear pronunciation instead of letting my words tumble over my singaporean way. last night I was going to show my frens my travel trips videos when I stumbled upon the clip I made for 3L. The memories of a great time and I could not help it but watch it again before I head for bed. Then Deng also started to post 'My Dear Class' - I must say his camera is really pro hahha. 3G is really camwhorish but I really enjoyed the photos and others have such funny stuff like GL's hysterial rabbit talk and G's updates on hilarious stuff in class and his comic strips (I am not stalking!! serious!!)
As I wrote all these, I started to wonder, who read this blog now as it slowly sinks into oblivion like the titanic. But I will hold on to it a little longer as the name chansensei gets immortalize even in this little city oso I am holding on to this link.

Hugs to all, from the little oulu city. :)

2 weeks in Oulu

It has been 2 official weeks and somewhat it still feel a bit surreal but also like it has been so for quite a while. Lessons have started this week and while they are still mainly introductory except for Survival Finnish, I am excited by them all and remains keen to share my thoughts and experiences. Yah, experiences are truly something that can come with age though one classmate of mine refuses to believe that I am older than her, maybe because of my camwhoring antics. But others sense my subtle behavioral manners that spoke otherwise I think because I am composed most of the time and I will get things organised or facilitate interactions between people. Somehow, I still find myself very much in the teacher mode, taking care of my fellow classmates like staying behind to make sure everyone is accounted for when we move as a bunch, taking their pictures at random moments and sometimes dispense advice to them.
@ wk 2, I am happy to have known some of my classmates better and I now hang out regularly with an international bunch of Japanese, Russians, Turks, Iranians, Taiwanese, Brazilian and Indians. Perhaps there will be more to come.
But what school goes into full steam for all of us, let's hope that we still get to meet up occasionally.
School-wise, I really think it is a bigger world out here. With so many international students and with the quality of teachers here, I really feel like part of a global population and I realised that I can, too, contribute to a wider, global community. Here, our dreams get a little bigger. Still, for those who are doing your degrees overseas, while it could be the same for you too but don't forget to keep the heart and motivation true and clear. Egos and dreams do not have to correlate. But still, I do miss classroom teaching.
Perhaps some highlights:
- went to a Finnish sauna!
- Got a bicycle after a week at a steal!! :): In Oulu, cycling is a basic mode of transport and is supported by a good extensive cycling tracks! And here, the vehicles do give way to pedestrians and cyclists at junctions! This will of cos save me 6Euro for a roundtrip to downtown and time to walk to visit my friends.
- I can walk to school in 10 mins!! (isn't that all familiar :P) and I am happy to have the city library branch opposite my block! =) - and yes, they have some English books! :P
- bought a study table and chair from the recycle center yesterday. In Finland/Oulu, with things being so expensive, it is common to buy things from 2ndhand stores (definitely true for the poor students!) and recycle center. Next thing I need to get is a bigger bed, after which I can stop renting the same things and save costs. Shopping has thus become quite a pasttime for me now, in such stores and also in supermarkets.
- it is really like building an identity and creating space for yourself, getting everything from scratch. I am glad that previous occupants have left plenty of stuff for me to utilise like frying pan, pots and plates etc. At least I don't have to buy them. But just like last week, I cleaned out the kitchen and bathrooms, and bought stuff to make them more...homely? My flatmate does not care that much about the common area but I think it is important. And I managed to make him smile twice ahah. He looks a bit too serious but I supposed he found it amusing that I am buying things for the kitchen and I made him potato salad specially too when I made some for a bbq the other day. That is one point to me! :P
- Last wk was Oulu Day over the weekend. It is a day when museums are opened for free and there are performances in various venues of the city. There are banners and the market place gets more crowded. (see pics!). I went on Sat but skipped the Sunday to do work. :P
- This Friday, there was a simple reception in the city hall where the mayor of the city came to give a speech and there was food and drinks (champagne included :P) to welcome the international students. So cool! But what was nice was for a bunch of us to head down to coffee house later on for a nice chit-chat session :).
- Yesterday, my turkish fren brought us to play mini-golf!

While everything seems like fun and play but there was adjustment made and is still being made.
- I need to plan for my meals, from preparation to eating. Sure you can survive by getting take-out all the time but I also saw coming here as an opportunity to do my own cooking since I can use the kitchen. you should see my share of the cupboard. There are many stuff in there! Perhaps I should stop going to the supermarkets otherwise I will keep thinking of new dishes that I can do (and so I bought the stuff) but don't have that much time to cook really haha. But this really also means adjusting how I use time. There will not be food waiting for me anymore.
- cold weather. I was feeling cold when I first got here. The skin got dry and I felt tired. But now I have gotten used to the weather. In fact, I wore less these days, even less than my classmates and most Finns.
- The sun sets at 9pm. It is so weird that my dinner time gets screwed up.
- Like I said before, feeling a spot for myself in this apartment.
- Being by myself like this. I think I am too used to having pple around me.
I suppose all this will only get better with time. Let's see how things go.

this post came late

This post came late because there was the packing to do, the endless meet-up sessions with friends and to really try to be at home.
Then really, there were the ceaseless waves of affections from students that caught me off-guard and I was touched by them all - before I leave, on the day i leave and for Teachers' Day. They are all reminders of years meaningfully and well-spent in a vocation that I will surely missed. When a friend/colleague of mine bought me dinner and I started to relate how I saw on my own development as a teacher over past few years and how I enjoyed the lessons and lectures when I unexpectedly teared and had to pause for a break. How will this new change turn out? I have no idea as I tried to get used to the whole idea of studying again, adapt to a new environment and rewire my brain. One of my colleague said, because it is me, he was sure I can manage - well, I hope so. This morning I felt rather sad then I realised that I missed my own laughter = my usual dose of endorphin!! There is surely not many things I can laugh at or with here now. What are my students whom I can bully?! :P. The only thing I could do was smile and asked strangers what are all the stuff in finnish that I am buying. I must say that the people do look kind of serious here but they will drop that seriousness and smile with helpfulness. That is fun!!! :). I also make sure I smile first. No point having a sulky face yar? :) I still want to hahaha tho kekeke.

Mmm...I am deviating a little but I am really not too sure what to put down on this post because there was so many things.
First, I thank all of my students who taught me alot, who made me laugh (btw 3G - I watched the video many times hahahaha), who believed in me and who allowed me to linger in their memories longer.
There are also things I noted like how C will come up to me after every lesson to say thank you. It was an effort made to do so personally and I know. So I thank C. A couple of students said that they wanted to do well in biology to show their appreciation. But I value not your grades as much as you as a person with a heart of gold and resilience to take on new challenges. I saw and sensed that in many of you so I am already thankful. Don't belittle yourself for you have many strengths but you need to recognise them.

So on this TD, I also thank you for being part of my life.
now.. I can start blogging about Finland!! ;P

point to note

in the last piece of work:
1) thanks to KT, it should be icosahedral head. it is ICO.

2)

3)know that virus can take its envelope from any fellow of the endomembrane system. It doesn't have to be plasma memb all the time!!
But when describing in general, for the syllabus, we will stick to plasma memb as the one best studied.

Eg. Herpes Virus - the nucleocapsid is assembled in the nucleus. The capsid buds off from the inner nuclear memb trasiently before fusing with the outer memb so that you get the nucleocapsid into the cytoplasm where it bud into golgi vesicles containing the viral proteins --> you get an enveloped virus (with membrane) enclosed by the membrane of the golgi vesicles. The virus is released by exocytosis/fusion with cell membrane.
It is pretty cool! If u are confused, you got to draw it out!

4) Hijack - what does it possibly entail? (this is not a comprehensive list)
a) destroy the host's genome --> no competition
b) modify host's RNA polymerase for its own use
c) produces its own viral polymerase and disable host polymerase
d) produce viral-related sigma factor and destroy host cell sigma factor (for phages) - linked to b) ; you are going to learn about sigma factor soon!


Ok!! That's all I have !!

Sorry folks but was away in Hongkong with my parents until Wed. Great trip but no need to do my travel blog since I fell sick on Day 1. But it was a great trip! :)

Cheers

Clearing Up

Was told that I should update this blog more often.
I did not realise that pple do drop in because this blog has gone relatively quiet for about 2 years before the unexpected surge in traffic this year due to the pressing need for more time to discuss several topics.
Also, even since I started my lecture series, there was barely enough time to sleep, eat and mark so blogging has to take a back seat.=)
yesterday felt like the end of a marathon when I collapsed on Thurs night after NDP celebration and dinner with my class. I finally see more of the camwhoring side of them with the 1-8 poses :).
Even the next day on Friday when I slept in a little later, I felt a little wasted in the afternoon and a short nap just to get back into the rhythm again. It was too much for me lah - staying up until 3-4am for the entire wk and not including those usual late nights that accompanied lectures last wk.

But I was glad that lectures went well and most of the students seemed to be able to get the big idea. And with it, I felt my own development and growth as a lecturer over the past few years. The ability to draw connections and try to convey materials in its beautiful simplicity without assaulting the senses with too much details. well...at least two students from another class told me that they were able to understand and did not sleep in my lectures. It was actually always exciting to lecture just that the preparation could be really exhausting. Haha, I think I am just slow in that because I like to imagine and rehearse my lectures in my head as I prepared the powerpoint slides. But like my bro said, this flow of ideas and thoughts can be very important - just the way I would expect my student to be thinking as they process the information or write it down. The logic and beauty of life.
I think I am going to miss lectures for a while.

This wk was spent on clearing my backlog of marking and reorganising the virus material(and preparing bacterial answers and mcqs). I would get home in the evening, slept for an hour or slightly more just so that I could be awake later in the night and wee hours of the morning to clear the marking and to work out some notes/amendments I promised to provide. So much to work on so that I can leave in peace, knowing that I have wrapped up this challenging topic nicely so that students will have an easier time studying it and therefore appreciating it. Virus can be quite cool! Sighz...so much more I want to and can teach them. But then I know they will be in good hands :)

Got to stop here. too tired. hahah will write on the farewells another time. I still have a list of stuff to clear :) Eeks!