Category Archives: Recreation

Stars and Sunshine!

Posted on 7 March 2008 | 2 comments

After straining my little head (actually it’s out of proportion, I think, and I just can’t decide if it’s bigger or smaller than usual) for a week, I have managed to complete the major parts of my homework due in this week. I can breathe now! For a few hours, anyway.

And yes, I like stars and sunshine very much. I am madly happy whenever it’s sunny. One of my disappointments is that I don’t know how to recognise any constellations. There were never enough stars in HK — or more like the lights were always too bright to see many — for me to know them. I was more excited about the stars during the lunar eclipse than seeing a red moon, the skies were so clear. I don’t even know where the North Star is, which is (according to literature) The Star Everyone Should Know. I’m plotting to amend that some day.

Right now I am more taken up by food and gardening. I’ve been madly obsessed with the 100-Mile Diet ever since I heard the talk and went off on a research-binge for ways to live this, so now I have many more resources under my bookmarks page. On the gardening side, herbs are my new interest. I’m cautious about how successful I’ll be when I get around to planting them — speaking of which, must find somewhere to plant them, and also find the seeds or whatever to actually plant with — because I tend to forget to water my plants. My current pot plant, whose name is Celestia, was made up of bright orange blossoms, but she’s currently withering away. Maybe the ability to eat my plants will motivate me to water them… Or I could always leave them to the Vancouver rains.

I will have a chat with my mother about this. I’m going over to stay with my mother for the weekend, so this may be toodles. Of course, with the Great Internet being what it is, I might be online anyway, in which case —

Pseudo-toodles!

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Posted in Recreation, Sustainability, Wellness

Summer School

Posted on 3 March 2008 | Comments Off on Summer School

Summer school? Now why would anyone want to do that? Summer’s meant for getting a tan down at the beach, hanging out, relaxing…

You can still do that. Summer school is split into two six-week sessions and one four-week one, so you can choose how long you want to do summer school for. It’s a good way of knocking off some credits (I need nine) and you still get the rest of your summer to have fun.

If you want to stick around UBC, there’s a deposit/registration fee you need to pay by March 26. You can view this in MyFinancial Account when you log into the Student Services Centre. That’s all you need to sign up for the 2008 Summer Session.

Me, I’m hoping to get into Herstmonceux in the UK. They have summer school there as well and easily transferable credits. Go Global said I’d find out the results in mid-March, so fingers crossed that I’ll find out before I need to pay the deposit. Either way, though, I’ll be done with school by mid-June. I’m hoping to visit friends in the UK and also to come back to Vancouver to enjoy myself a bit before I go back to Hong Kong.

And there’s still time for a job before I return in mid-August…

Ah, the wonders of a long summer.

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Posted in Academic, Careers / Work, International, Recreation

International Week: Festiva

Posted on 29 February 2008 | 2 comments

Tonight sees the end of a week of international festivities. Although school clashed with most of the events, I did manage to make it to the grand finale today.

I trotted off to arrive at I. House at 4, as the ticket told me. It was cold and rainy. We had to wait in a line outside because they were running late. They didn’t start until 15 minutes later. This West Coast tardiness grates on my nerves. If classes and buses can stick to their timetables, then so can everything else. If you are unable to open your doors before 4:15, then say so. Don’t expect others to do the courtesy of showing up on time and then do them the disrespect of keeping your doors closed in their faces. It’s lucky I had my iPod with me; I went for a walk because I have no faith in time these days.

Everything else fared better. The food wasn’t spectacular, but really, what can one expect? And I am a picky eater. The initial performances in the Upper Lounge of I. House were good to watch and it’s great to while away your time by talking to friends (read: Angeli).

The final performance, however, was the grand highlight of the evening. It was fantastic. The performances were almost invariably of an excellent quality and I’m very glad to see such good showmanship. My favourite performance was this absolutely incredible display of Korean drumming. This was the opening act and I was completely taken up by it. The performers all had different kinds of drums, but they worked with similar rhythms and threw their whole bodies into the beat. It was long — wonderfully long — and I was often afraid that they would stop because then I wouldn’t be able to hear it anymore. I can hardly imagine how long it must have taken the group to practice. It was an absolutely amazing start to a great evening, well worth my $10.

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Posted in International, Recreation

The UBC Farm

Posted on 22 February 2008 | Comments Off on The UBC Farm

Farming brings to mind the beginnings of human settlements. Ancient, in other words. “Common”. Waking up at 4 am. Hard work. Dirt. Lots of it.  And if, like me, you studied history at any point in your life, lots of half-starved, ignorant peasants.

In my mind, there were only two kinds of farms: the traditional, subsistence farms, and industrial ones.

One of the best things UBC has done for me is to have the UBC Farm. That was my first experience of learning outside the classroom, here. I went to visit it last August as part of my ASSIST (now Jump Start) orientation. For anyone who has ever thought like me, or who just wants a new experience, I really encourage you to go to the Farm.

It’s not in the least bit dirty or foul-smelling, two of my initial fears. The only animals there are chickens and they are very well-behaved. Legend has it that the manager of the farm knows all the chickens by their birthdates. The chickens are there to remove grubs; they’re an organic solution to pest problems. The entire Farm is organic and it’s wonderfully green in the summer.

There is also a Mayan garden, tragically called “Mayans in Exile”. It’s run by two Mayans who left their home. They talked to us about their history and their garden. It’s a grievous story, and you come to admire them so much.

We had different “stations” when we visited and had people talk not just about the Farm, but also of politics and the environment and all the wider issues. The manager, in particular, seems to be on top of everything. My complete ignorance on these topics made me realise how completely naive I was to think that farming isn’t as “intelligent” as other white-collar jobs. The only thing I was right about is that it takes a lot of hard work to be a good farmer — but so does everything. I learned more by going to the Farm than anything I’d learned in “class” at the orientation. Even now, none of my classes draw across so many disciplines to talk about real-world problems and possible solutions as the staff at the Farm did.

The UBC Farm is the only one of its kind in the city of Vancouver. In the summer, there are fresh-produce markets. There are volunteer programmes available, and educational classes for the young. Some courses at UBC are designed to include the hands-on experience and work that you can only get from going to a farm. It is very much a student-driven initiative to maintain the valuable experiences you get from going there, and it’s also a part of the community.

Were the UBC Farm to disappear, there will really be no other opportunity to create a new one again, yet that’s the very real possibility right now. Basically the university is considering to have housing built there. I don’t even know if it’s the university building housing there, or if they’re planning on selling it to a redevelopment company. Although I would like to have housing, I’m not willing to sacrifice the Farm for it.

Before you decide to go along with having housing built there, or even before you decide to side with me and keep the Farm, find out more about it yourself. Visit their website. Get in contact with Friends of the Farm. Most of all, go there in person. Go without expectations. It’s winter; I haven’t seen it and I daresay it’s not as green and lush as the height of summer. Don’t listen to my raving or you might be disappointed. I come from a very non-farming community and the only farms I’d been to before really were the subsistence onces I talk about with so much distaste. Go for a field trip. It’s definitely something different to do on a weekday.

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Posted in Academic, International, Involvement / Leadership, Orientation, Recreation, Sustainability, Wellness

In my dream world, there would be…

Posted on 17 February 2008 | 1 comment

A literary festival. That is what I think we should have. A week in the year when authors and poets are invited to come and talk, complete, perhaps, with book signings and special deals at the Bookstore so people will be encouraged to buy. Invite professors to lecture on a topic.

An annual literary and art magazine, with a different theme each year, for students from all faculties to submit their creative work to, run by students who aren’t only from the English or Creative Writing departments.

The chance to potter about in my garden early in the morning before sitting down to write, then taking a break for lunch before starting in on academic research, to finish up with working with children for some charitable or non-profit organisation, and still get paid enough to live without financial worry.

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Posted in Careers / Work, Faculty, Recreation