September  4th 2012

The captain informed us of  our descent and within 20 mins of announcement, the passengers of flight MI 986 SilkAir safely descended onto Wuhan, China. Rather unceremoniously we hopped onto a bus that transported us to the immigration checkpoint. The journey afterwards was rather smooth and we retrieved our luggage  and went to meet  the representatives and lectures from Wuhan Normal University.  The introduction was brief and we were than herded onto the bus and away to our hotel! 

 The city lights were so beautiful  and reminded me greatly of  the Hong Kong skyline. I took a quick snap with my camera,only to realize that no picture was taken! My trusty camera  had failed me , for some unknown reason the button had turn faulty and I could not take any pictures!  I settled with snapping pictures with my phone. On arrival at the hotel we checked in and soon after a good meal we could rest for the day.

This was the city night view when we were on our way to the hotel and what startled me was that mentally I assumed that it was probably 9pm already as the place seemed so dark. However a quick check from my phone made me realize it was not 9 pm but 7 15 pm! 

September 5th 2012

 At precisely 8 50am we started our breakfast in the dining hall of the hotel. Breakfast consisted of ; fried eggs, large mantous, fried rice, stir-fried noodles, vegetables, porridge and glass-noodle with soup.

 I enjoyed the glass-noodles the most unlike Singapore's thin and soft glass-noodles, the noodles here had a slight chewy texture which I enjoyed. The soup's broth was rich with luchen meat and  the fishcake was fragrant.  

After a full and hearty meal I took a much needed walk along the car park of the hotel and observed a young cat that slept on a white mat just beside the hotel lift. It was very adorable and I found myself cooing over it for a good 5 mins. It was also than did I realized it was time to leave  to Wuhan university.

The Campus Orientation Begins!

It was quite considerate that they gave us a map of the school grounds and a much needed bottle of mineral water.( I  had foolishly left my bottle in my hotel room.) I believe perhaps many of us were nervous as we were so unsure of what to expect. I for one knew i was rigid , seating straight and trying very hard to look perfectly at ease. The introductory talk on Wuhan was quite useful with explanations and I finally understood the reason why the universities of Wuhan were situated on a hill. Wuhan is deemed an educational hub besides an industrial hub and thus I begin my adventure in exploring the school grounds.

LUNCH TIME!

We had a fine lunch  in a restaurant above the canteen of one of the food cafeteria. The waitresses  marched in, presenting one dish after the other, quickly shouting orders before disappearing to whisk in yet another dish.  Dish after dish was piled arranged around the lazy susan  as  a worrying thought crossed my mind "Would we be able to finish it?". These two pictures are of dishes that i have never seen in singapore before.

This dish is pig trotters I believe stir-fried in peanut and chili with spring onions as a garnish.

This was quite an intriguing dish to me, I asked one of the waitresses what it was and she said it consisted of 2 types of eggs. The dish contained normal omelets with spring onions century eggs and what looked like boiled zucchine in chicken broth.  The soup was very refreshing and flavorful, not to oily with just a hint of black pepper that tickles your throat.

Meng Ying was our group leader and she showed  us around the campus grounds as we snapped photos after photos 

Taking the School Shuttle Bus

 The school's shuttle bus fare  is around 1 yuan therefore for those who want to travel around the campus quickly and in comfort,  I propose taking the shuttle bus.

This is Wuhan University's Sports Complex.

Meng Ting told me that the sports complex had a range of services and facilities at a reasonable price. perhaps this weekend, we could go have a quick look.

These houses reminded me so much of Hong Kong!

On our way to buy daily necessities.

This was where we witnessed the watering of roadside trees and flowers. A long hose connecting to a truck would spray water at the flowers and trees and in the process wetting the pavements as well. It also slowed traffic and thus the ride was noisy as the cars honked loudly to move the traffic. I have never witnessed such an incident in Singpore which made this incident all the more hilarious but very intriguing as well.

What Happened Here?

 I blurted out the quick question  to Meng Ying as I hopped over muddy crates and wooden planks that made up a make-shift bridge over muddy soil. Meng Ying gave a slight smile ,replying that  due to the construction of the subway, there has been much debris lying around. Her reply  was " Its  quite crazy and messy " lead me to understand why she was worried that taking this route to the supermarket might be  slightly difficult as we weave past building after building, running across busy streets and hopping over crates as we followed closely behind her.

I have never seen this before in Singapore, can you guess what it is? Do you think Singapore would require a sign like this?

The man seems fearless as he walks in the middle of the street!
 How I wish I had his confidence!

China's overhead bridge is indeed impressive!

I feel  I must praise, China's overhead bridge. The structure of the bridge makes it easy for cyclists  to push their bikes along the ramps. The steps are spacious  and not steep, making it easy for the elderly to walk up and down without feeling too much fatigue.

Dinner was simple as we browsed along the shops near the hotel. Our lessons will begin tomorrow and I hope I will continue to discover more about Wuhan.  Meng Ying Jie Jie  has kindly offered to bring us to many of the fun places near the campus. I hope that we will share a lesson with her  as it would be great to  be able to talk to her and get to learn more about her lifestyle as a student at the Wuhan Huazhong Normal University.