The US Travel Wrap Up 3.2 (East Coast: New York)

I have been to 6 states by following the tour. The only reason I join the tour, so that I could travel to most places in shortest time. And my experience upholds the reason, I travelled to New York City, Princeton, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Niagara Falls and Boston.

One day for New York City is definitely not enough. Times Square itself probably has taken one day, not to mention the museums, central park and Liberty Statue.

The tour guide brought us to Wall Street and New York Stock Exchange as our first stop of the day. But I personally don’t think it is worthwhile to go to Wall Street and NYSE. There nothing much you can do in Wall Street, you are not allowed to enter NYSE building. The only thing you can do is cam-whoring. Haha

Empire State building is a MUST-GO if you want to have a bird-view of Manhattan. I wish the sky was clearer on that day, but it wasn’t as bad as the time in San Francisco. Manhattan is a really big city. There are thousands of yellow cabs “crawling” on the road. It is so convenience to get a cab in NYC, unlike in LA, you need to call and get charged.

I didn’t go to Liberty Statue but I went near Statue of Liberty when I took the cruise. It is pointless to visit to Statue of Liberty as it will be too tall for photo taking. Taking a cruise will be a better choice but you really need to be fast enough to catch the good angle. However, I heard from the news that Statue of Liberty’s crown is reopened to the crowd again after terrorists’ attack in year 2001. It will be another good spot to view Manhattan Skyline.

Another way to enjoy skyline view of Manhattan is to take a cruise from any seaport in New York City. I feel it is quite worthwhile to take the cruise as the cruise will pass through Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty. Meanwhile, you can also enjoy the scenery along the bay.

Times Square is also a MUST-GO place. The is more than shopping that you can do at Times Square. Visit to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum and take photos with the celebrities. But if you have been to other Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museums, you can opt not to visit this one. I think all Madame Tussaud’s Museums are the same. Get a ‘I heart NY’ shirt from the souvenir shops, there are several souvenir shops at Time Square, so you can compare the price before you made the purchase. Besides, there is one really GOOD pizza house near Times Square. Pizza is the MUST-TRY food in New York. Pizza in the US always come in big slide, normally people will try the plain one like cheese pizza. O ya, you shouldn’t miss Hershey Chocolate World and M&M’s World if you are a chocolate lover!!!

Museums, I don’t know how many museums are there in NYC, but if you want to visit one or two, I shall recommend you The Metropolitan Museum of Art located in Uptown Manhattan and American Museum of Natural History located at Central Park. The first museum is my favorite museum of all the museums that I have visited in the US. Because it is a art museum, I get to see one of my favorite paintings, 'Venus and Adonis' and Van Gogh’s masterpiece. The second museum located at Central Park, which is also the museum in Night at Museum 1. I didn’t visit to that museum but I am sure it will be nice too.

Central Park is a really good place for recreation. I love the atmosphere there, it was so relaxing. Young people jogging, children playing, old folks sitting at the benches, everything harmonizes with the nature. I only spend 2 hours at Central Park. Actually the tour didn’t bring us to Central Park, but my friends and I decided to extend another day at the end of our tour so that we could have time to revisit to the places we love in NYC. So for the extra day I have, I went to Grand Central Station, Columbia University, Central Park and Times Square.

Basically I think NYC is the city that you will never feel bored. Imagine having an evening walk in Central Park, (window) shopping at Times Square or Fifth Avenue, visiting museums, dinning at Pizza house etc. There are thousands of activities to do in NYC, 2 days for me is seriously not enough. >.<

*I hear NY*

The US Travel Wrap Up 3.1 (East Coast)

Spring break~~~~

After 9 weeks of school, finally I could have a breakaway from study. Ehem, perhaps I not really study but isn’t that you should get excited with spring break? My third trip in the US was going to East Coast. I have been longing the spring break to come, New York is one of my dream destinations, I was so excited about going to New York!!!!

Actually I feel resistant to write the travel wrap up for this East Coast trip, because I have travelled to a lot of cities for just 7 days and I am pretty sure I have plenty of things to write. >.< I could not finish this trip in just one blog post, the best way to help me achieve this task is divide the story into different parts. Haha! OK, no more smiley faces, I should start writing now….

It takes 5 hour from LA to New York by plane, equivalent to the flight from Malaysia to Australia/Taiwan. Flying from LA to New York is like drawing a diagonal line, crossing the US map. The airline we took was American Airlines, a budget airline likes Air Asia. (Haha, just found out that both of them have the acronym of AA) AA is really a “budget” airline, passengers only allowed to bring a carry-on bag, if you want to check in your luggage, you need to pay, USD25 for the first piece and USD 50 for the second piece. BLOOD SUCKING airline!!!! But the worst thing about the flight wasn’t because of the long travelling hour or the luggage fee that I need to pay but the no-meal served service. Luckily for humanitarian reasons, they serve drinks. This is the thing that you need to scarify when you are on budget, either food or money. 5 hour no food and no entertainment in the cabin, I survived that by sleeping all the way.

We took the flight at 11.00am in the morning and by the time we reached in New York, it was 7.00pm in New York. LA is in Pacific Standard Time while East Coast is in Eastern Standard Time, 3 hours time difference. [Fun Fact: there are 9 time zones in the US, Atlantic Standard Time (AST), Eastern Standard Time (EST), Central Standard Time (CST), Mountain Standard Time (MST), Pacific Standard Time (PST), Alaskan Standard Time (AKST), Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST), Samoa standard time (UTC-11) and Chamorro Standard Time (UTC+10)]

We were starving by the time we reached in New York. The travel agency sent a staff to pick us up at JFK airport. At first, I felt that the tour agency is so considerate but then I learned that this is because our hotel is located in New Jersey, there is no way we can travel to the hotel by ourselves. It took us 3 hour from JFK Airport in New York to our hotel in New Jersey. Some more this is not a “direct” van to New Jersey, it dropped some of the passengers in other hotel before it drove us to ours.

We were dying for food when we reached at the hotel. At the end, we decided to have our dinner/supper (or maybe lunch since we didn’t have lunch) at an Italian restaurant.

This is considered as the first day of our tour. The tour agency is damn smart, just brings us from airport to hotel and counted it as a day. And you need to pay tips also… for the driver who bring you to your hotel…That's why people always say tourism is a profitable business.

-------------------------------------------

Coming up: Manhattan

The US Travel Wrap Up 2 (San Francisco)

2. San Francisco @ 14/02/09 - 16/02/09

Is Valentine Day!!!! And I had my second trip on second long weekend, President's day f on Feb 16. Actually I will have my first mid-term after that weekend, but as an exchange student, I really should not waste my time on study. So, San Francisco won, I signed up the tour and left my mid-terms behind.

This was my first time joining a guided tour in the US. It will be easier to get around and if you want to visit more places in shortest time, tour would be the only alternative that you will have. Having free and easy required time on planning the trip, figuring out the public transport and finding the hotel. It will be more convenient by joining a tour, but it comes with price. There are a lot of hidden fees after we get on the coach. I paid additional USD55 for the cruise ride. And according to the tour agency, we need to pay our own meal, which I thought I can opt not to eat if I want to. But it turned out that the tour guide will bring us to one isolated restaurant that is located in the middle of nowhere. By no choice, we were forced to eat at the restaurant the tour guide 'recommends'. The restaurant must be a Chinese restaurant, with all-you-can-eat buffet. Sounds not bad? 1. Chinese food in the US basically just sucks; 2. Food in the US is always salty, no matter it is a Chinese food or American food; 3. It cost me at least USD10 to have a meal, I would rather have some fast food.

Looks like I keep complaining about the tour agency. Haha, sorry, I should really talk about my trip now. It takes around 6 hours from Los Angeles to San Francisco. We had a few stops along the way. First, after around 2 hours bus ride, we stopped at a small town named Solvang. Solvang is a Danish town, located in Santa Barbara County (still in California). In Solvang, you can find bakeries, restaurants and merchants that offer Denmark taste. Even the architecture of buildings also follow traditional Danish style. I suddenly felt like I am in Europe.

After Solvang, we had another stop at Monterey Bay, located south of San Francisco. Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, i think there is a different between Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea that I familiar with. Before that, I thought ocean and sea would be indifferent but now I know ocean is bluer and has higher wave. There is nothing much to do at Monterey Bay, the weather still cold in San Francisco, we just took a few photos and left.

There are four MUST-GO places in San Francisco: Lombard Street, Golden Gate Bride, Twin Peaks and Fisherman's Wharf.

Lombard Street is nothing but just a street. It is famous of having a steep and 9 tight hairpin turns. The twists would be nicer in spring when the flowers blossom. But I went during winter, what i saw was flower bed with no flower....

Well, I do not need to talk much about Golden Gate Bridge. Golden Gate Bridge is the landmark that defines San Francisco. However, besides taking photos with the bridge, there is no other activities that we can do. But if you are on free and easy, I would suggest you to rent a bicycle and bike across this famous bridge.

Twin Peaks, oh I love Twin Peaks so much. I enjoyed the 360 degree bird's-eye view of San Francisco from Twin Peaks. San Francisco is famous for its hills, so when I view the city from top, I could see all the slopes, steep roads and how the houses are built on the hills. Unfortunately, that was a little bit foggy on that day. But I still managed to take good pictures. :)

There are quite a lot of things you can do in Fisherman's Wharf. We took a cruise, the weather was so cold at that time, and I barely felt my cheek and hands when I was on the ship. Besides the cruise, the Sourdough Bread Bowl of soup from Boudin is also a MUST-TRY. The bread bowl has a crispy crust but the bread is soft. And after the bread bowl absorbs the soup, it tastes really delicious. The bread bowl I ordered was English Clam Chowder, the soup tastes so nice, I think Boudin has a better Clam Chowder than the one I tried in Boston.

Last day of our tour, we went to Hearst Castle on our way back to Los Angeles. I don't think Hearst Castle is a must-go place, so I would not waste my time talk about it. Haha.

Trip to San Francisco, THE END.

The US Travel Wrap Up 1 (San Diego)

Well, I have traveled a lot in the US.

Just for a record purpose, this will be the list of places that I have been to for the past 5 months.

I wanted to put all the the places in one post initially but then I realized that if I want to do so, I will have a never-ending post. LOL

Therefore, I will break them down into parts.
I hope it is not too late for me to do the record, hopefully I still can recall where I been to and what I have done.

1. San Diego @ 17/01/09 - 19/01/09

The first long weekend of spring semester, Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. This is also my first travel trip to a city that is out of Los Angeles County. Well, probably that was not my travel plan, Stacey (one of my exchange peeps) was the one who plans. I just pack my bag and pay her whatever I need to pay.

San Diego is a border city near Mexico, it only takes 20 minutes from San Diego to Tijuana, Mexico. This little city has pretty beaches but unfortunately I didn't go for it. San Diego has really nice beaches, I am quite regret that I missed it.

Instead, we went to their famous SeaWorld amusement park with the clever sea animals performaning several shows. Their ironic show is "Believe" which performed by killer whales with a character named Shamu. Shamu is the name of the character, not the name of the killer whale. The name "Shamu" is used in all SeaWorld in the US, there are in total three SeaWorld's in the US.

Besides SeaWorld, we also visited San Diego Zoo and saw chubby panda. That was my first time seeing panda, they are so cute and have the innocent look on their face. They just adorable. (obviously not when they become violent!). I think the zoo is bigger than Singapore Zoo and we couldn't find our way out when we wanted to exit.

We also visited USS Midway Museum, Midway Museum was a aircraft carrier for the United State Navy during Vietnam War. Visiting this museum was interesting, firstly I have never boarded on aircraft carrier and secondly I get to see and touch the aircrafts that really served in war before.

Near Midway Museum is San Diego Port. San Diego Port has a "Unconditional Surrender", the kiss statue. [Quick Wiki: “Unconditional Surrender,” by artist Seward Johnson, is a famous photograph from World War II’s V-J Day celebration in Times Square. Nazis defeated, Japs down for the count! A nameless serviceman dipped an unknown nurse for a victory kiss.] Guess what, they are still kissng, LOL!

San Diego is a really nice place to visit. It has several attractions even though it is just a small city (as compare to Los Angeles). The city is really laid back and the people there are friendly and always helpful. However, most of the shops close at 5pm (close at 9pm during summer) and the shopping mall close before 9pm during winter. It was really bad as we have nothing to do after 9pm, so we walking up and down at downtown, luckily the restaurants operate until night. As compare to Los Angeles, San Diego is safer and it has less homeless folks.

We received a warning from a police in San Diego because we crossed the rail after we got down from tram at night. The policeman was talking to a young man when we walked pass him. We didn't pay attention to him as we didn't know that our behaviour earlier was seen. As we walked pass him, He stopped us and asked us did we just cross the rail in a really loud voice. We were shocked and quickly apologized to him. But he threaten to issue us a ticket, we explained to him that we are tourist and promised we won't do it again. Then, he started to smile and said he was just kidding. (=.=|||) He is nice anyway.

The Motel we stayed in San Diego was not expensive and free shuttle service is provided to downtown and airport. Even we pay only USD65+ for our room per night, but the room is equipped with fridge and coffee maker. The staff are friendly and they really tried to satisfy all our request. I had a enjoyable stay in San Diego. I love San Diego~~~~

After Story

I have backed in Singapore for few days.
Well, I really would like to talk about how I adjust myself in these few days.

On the day I arrived in Changi Airport, my mum and dad gave me a big surprise.
I was expecting to see them one week later when I get back to Malaysia but they actually came to Singapore to pick me up.
I did not know they were there when I called my bro.
I was so surprise to see them and when I saw my dad, I just cried.
OMG, I am so loser, cried at the airport when I am home (erm....half-home...).

I miss my family so much and I just can't control my tears dropping.

The first thing I need to adjust is my bio clock.

I had jet lag and my body is functioning according to LA time.

I slept at 5pm and woke up around 3am, equivalent to LA time 2am and 12am.

Luckily after 2 days, my bio clock started to follow Singapore time.

Thank godness, now I do not need to wake up and cook my own meal at 3am in the morning.

I feel so lonely now.

In LA, I was always surrounded by all my exchange peeps but in Singapore, I just stay at home and surf net...BORING....

Meanwhile, I lost my sim card, cannot make phone call or texting....

ARGGGGGG, I can't wait to go back to Malaysia now.

I want to meet my Malaysia friends and go out together!!!!

I started to miss my exchange peeps.
Awwww, I miss Tu, Lillian, Tracy.....
(Singapore friends, sorry not really miss you all as we will see each other really soon, lolz)
I am so bored in Singapore.....

Life in Singapore is so dull....

Time To Say Goodbye

awwwww, I am going back to Singapore tomorrow.
Time really files, 5 months exchange life has came to the end.
Well, I must say that I would not be the Shu Ling today if I didn't come to US.
I changed.

1. I am more willing to spend....in other words...i shop a lot in US. I am not saying that I didn't shop when i was in Singapore but i am more money consious in Singapore. I think Sheryl, Stacey and Yayi influence me and they always persude me to buy, buy, buy.

2. I drink more in US. Back in Singapore or Malaysia, I seldom drink. This is because myy friends don't drink so liquor is not part of my beverage choices. But, thanks to Weiyang, i really dirnk a lot here. haha

3. My English imporved. OMG, my english really improved a lot. I am totally chinese educated before i came to Singapore, my English get improved after 3 semester in NUS but I improve more in US. Even though Weiyang always makes fun of my pronunciation, whatever, at least i speak better English now.

4. I have better cooking skills now. And I am considering baking after go back to Malaysia. Thanks to Sheryl~~~

5. I am dare to take roller coaster now. haha, I am damn scared of roller coaster before that. But California Screaming and 6 Flags really changed me.

6. I study less in US...I am quite hardworking back in NUS. But in USC, I am really slacked (but I get better grades =.=|||).

7. I love the way Americans greet people when we enter the store or we line for food. I feel warm everytime they greet. I think most of the (NOT all) Americans are friendly and polite.

8. I love our family tree. OMG, i think we need to create a group on fb for our family. I enjoy being a nanny but i hate cleaning up edmund's kicthen...haha

9. I appreciate all the memories we have together. Our potluck gatherings, chill sessions, birthday parites, outlet/ shopping trips, roller coaster rides, cam-whoring activities....I will miss you~~~~

10. I love you, people. You give me the sweetest memory ever. So many things happened and it just too harsh for me to say goodbye. Love you and will never forget you.

Finally, KEEP IN TOUCH!!!!!!!!!!

:)))))))))
(probably a sad face will be better.)

被人讨钱+搭讪的一天

昨天我单独去了Beverly Hill。
从Downtown LA到Beverly Hill搭巴士大概要45 分钟。
当我从hostel走去巴士站的时候，好死不死居然被一个黑人盯上。
原本我应该戴着黑眼镜、听着iPod的，但是那时候为了找巴士站，看地图，所以就把黑眼镜脱了。
就这样，被他盯上了。
（戴黑眼镜是避免和他们有眼神接触，听iPod是为了当他们叫你的时候，你可以假装听不到。）
他跟我说他很饿，跟我讨USD5，给他去Subway买东西吃。
那时候，刚好subway就在我身后。
TMD，我当然不想给他USD5，但是又无法摆脱他。
只好从钱包里拿出两块钱，跟她说我没有散钱。
他居然还说，要买subway至少也USD5。
我说我只有USD2，问他要不要。
最后他还是拿了。
算了，当作花钱消灾！

到了Beverly Hill，那里真的跟Downtown LA很不一样。
比Downtown干净，没看见有什么流浪者，没有讨钱或搔扰人的黑人。
总之整个城市给我的印象就是比downtown好。
不过我还是被搔扰了。。。如果你要用好听一点的名词，那么就是“搭讪”。
有一个墨西哥籍中年人，原本他是看我在看地图，就问我需不需要他帮忙。
其实美国人的思想就是，他们要成为所有人的好朋友。
所以，也有不少美国人是很热心助人。
但对于我们这些亚洲人来说，他们就是热心的有点过了头，有时候你真的不知道他是真的那么好心，还是另有企图。
我告诉他，我已经找到我要去的地方了。
我以为这样就完了嘛，因为那时候我戴着黑眼镜，也听着iPod，照例来说应该就这样结束才对。
没想到他居然和我聊了起来。
问我从哪里来，喜不喜欢这个城市，是不是第一次到这里。
我就很有礼貌地回答他一些问题。
没想到，他居然问我要不要和他一起吃晚饭。
哇唠，神经病！我跟你连认识都算不上，就要我跟你一起去吃饭，你在饭里面下药我都不知道！
我当然是拒绝他啊，他就说他在Beverly Hill住了十年啊，说这里他很熟悉啦，还问我说有没有男朋友。
我当然是说我有啦，还骗他说晚上九时跟男朋友吃饭。
昨天跟他说的话除了名字是真的以外，其它全部都是假的。
包括他问我从哪里来的时候，我说我是新加玻人。。。。（这句半真不假。。。）
真的是吓到，不过他是比较gentlemen啦，不像downtown的黑人。

唉，昨天不懂是走了什么霉运，总是惹上这些有的没的！
（起码如果搭讪的是帅哥的话，还叫有一点幸运，但是怪叔叔。。。还是算了吧）

Beverly Hill不愧是有钱人住的城市，有很多明星啊，有钱的生意人啊，都住在半山区。
而我去的只不过是Beverly Hill里，一个高级的购物区，Rodeo Drive。
世界上最高级的名牌，几乎都可以那里找到。
所以我只有window shopping的份，一间店都不敢进去。
我觉得里面的销售员穿的都比我高级吧，而且当天我只穿了一件普通的T-shirt，牛仔裙，脚上还只是一双人字拖，怎么好意思进去。
那里的销售员一个个都穿得好专业，套装、领带。你进去的时候会为你开门，反正就是高级的商店提供高级的服务就对了。
还好接下来并没有再遇到什么奇怪的人，而且Beverly Hill也不想Downtown那么杂。
起码在街道上走的时候，会觉得很安全，不用担心什么时候有个人从旁边冲出来向你要钱。

大概逛了两个小时吧，反正什么都不能买，看完了就回家了。
不过没有看到明星哪，我住在LA这么久都没有遇到过什么明星，都不懂那些明星躲到哪里去了。哈哈

Get to Huntington Library with new friends.

May 13^th is move out day.
Sadddd, I need to move out from my apartment.
Oh Annenberg, I will miss you.

After one day of packing and cleaning the apartment, I am really tried.
But good news is I found that I can still squeeze more stuffs into my luggage.
And I just receive my housing deposit and insurance refund from USC.
Well, now I have money and space in my luggage, I want to do more shopping.
Hohohohohoho~~~~

Moving out to downtown is really troublesome, especially I don’t have transport and it is impossible to take public bus as I have 3 luggages.
But luckily, Kai Jian (a USC student from Singapore)is willing to help me.
He rented a car and helped me brought all my luggages to the hostel I stay.
My hostel located at south main street in Downtown LA.
The hostel is nice, with really modern renovation.
Orange, white and baby blue are their main colour.
When I was online at the lobby, some people came in and asked me whether this is an art gallery.
I answered him, nope, this is a hostel. He looked impressed.
The hostel is really nice, they provide free internet access at lobby, the reception is friendly.

I live in a shared bedroom with 2 sinks. Well, probably it is not very nice to have 5 people sharing a bedroom with you.
But I only have a roommate who moved in later than me on the same day.
So, when I first moved in to my room, there is nobody in there.
Well I don’t think shared room is a big problem, I have been here for 2 days, and I only have a roommate.
So I probably won’t have a full room.

The hostel is nice, but the environment around my hostel is not very nice.
I don’t mean that the area is unsafe, just there are a lot of homeless people (most of them are Blacks).
They won’t commit a crime but they will disturb you, like begging money from you, trying to talk to you.
I get freaked out on the first day when I walked around that area.
Cause normally i walk in a big group with my exchange peeps but they are no longer with me, I alone in downtown LA.
On the other hand, I not really loitering around Downtown LA, downtown LA is not as attractive as it may sounds.
Just like Hollywood, Hollywood is over-rated, I get disappointed when I visited Hollywood.
I got approach by two or three blacks, they are not homeless but they just tried to disturb.
it was so scary and I get cursed as “Chinese Bitch” by one of them…..
After that, I figured out that in order to avoid this people, I need to walk in the opposite direction and get to other street then walking back to the direction I want after crossing to the next block which has less these crazy people.

Later in the day, I have a new roommate.
Her name is Anatasyia, from Russian, just reach in LA.
We have a short talk, she is on Work and Travel program and is her first time in US.
She asked me whether it is safe to walk around at the area.
I told her that maybe those homeless people will disturb you but they will not commit a crime.
And, the same thing happened, she got freaked out like me.
The blacks and homeless people are really annoying.

I get to know that they are going to work at The Huntington Library, which located at San Marina, another city in California. (Not in LA but somewhere near LA.)
We (exchange students) wanted to go to Huntington but we don’t have time.
After knowing that she has totally no idea how to get around in LA, I volunteer to help.
I help her to check with Metro (bus service provider in LA), how to get to The Huntington Library in San Marino and provide her some tips how to get around in LA.
Since I have nothing to do on the next day, I asked whether I can tag along with them (she and the other 2 friends) to go to Huntington.
And she agreed.
SEE, it was not that bad to stay in hostel. You get to know some random people, but isn’t it fun!!!

The next day, we get to San Marino by Metro, it took us 1 hour to get to San Marino from Downtown LA.
After 15 minutes walk, we finally reached in The Huntington Library.
It is named library but inside Huntington, it is actually a combination of art galleries, botanical garden and library.
I got a free ticket, haha.
The ticket cost USD 15, I really saved a lot.
I wouldn’t go in if I need to pay by myself.
Haha, but why I get the free ticket at the first place.
This is because that three Russian girls need to enter the park to meet the manager. So the officer at the reception office just gave us 4 tickets in order to enter the park. YEAHHHHHH!!!

Huntington garden is so beautiful, especially their Chinese garden and Japanese garden.
I love their art galleries, I love to see the paintings.
But art galleries in New York is the best, no one can beat New York. Haha
I walked around Huntington garden when they are filling their paper work.
So I tour around by myself, cannot cam-whore, just take photo for the surrounding.
Their Rose garden also very beautiful, this is my first time being surounded by thousand of rose plants and the natural roses scent.

chinese garden

japanese garden

bee and flower

a painting in art gallery

After they finished paper work, we went back to LA at around 5pm.
Such a fruitful day~~~~~

:)))))))

May 11: Exchange Finale

Today is Lillian's birthday (my exchange peep from Hong Kong).
(I just had my last paper this morning, yahooo, now i can really celebrate!!!!)

Therefore, we will have a party for her birthday and this party will also be our farewell party.
Sean (our coordinator) supposed to organize a farewell party for us but he failed.
As compesation, he brought us to Dodgers Game (pls refers to my previous blog.)
Well, we won't let ourselves down, we are going to have a farewell party tonight.
We invited him, but he didn't show up that night.

The party is supposed to start at 9pm but since most of us are Asians, the party "officially" starts at 10pm. haha
Our party has the dress code of BLACK and WHITE.
OMG, i love this dress code, black and white made all of us look so glamour~~~
(hmmmm....should i set a dress code for my bday party???)
Some of the guys brought some liquors, turn out the party is a drinking party again.
But i didn't drink....well...maybe some sips of beer.

As we are playing some drinking games, a jerk appeared and claimed himself as RC.
(Because we left our door opened, so that guy just appeared in front of the door and said he is RC)
exxxxcusssse meeee, what is "RC"????
I know what is RA...Residence Advisor but who is RC????
he said he oversee 5 housing buildings, and he came down because we are too loud and we are distrubing people.
well, prabably it is still exam period, but come on, you americans have party all the time no matter it is a exam period or not.
This is the first time we exchange students have party and you complaint about us???
WTF, do you guys really study???
I am an exchange student, I don't study a lot, but I get A- for my course.
Do you guys really study? If so, how can I still score better than you when I am not really study?
Don't pretend, you guys are just jealous!!!!!!!

That jerk saw there are a few liqours on the table and asked us whether all of us are 21.
(In US, you need to be 21 to drink. a stupid law, everyone in US has a fake ID so that they can get in to pub to drink even though they are underage.)
Some of us are underage and he insisted to get everyone USC ID.
2 guys (one italian and one canadian) started to argue with him.
In the end, he asked us to pour away all the liquors (WTH!!!), and some of us (those who have passed 21, including me) handed our USC ID to him.
He took down our USC ID no. then he said he will check with the school about our age. (WTH)
And for those who didn't summit their ID, that jerk asked the resident of that apartment, who is the birthday girl, is she willing to take responsible for those who didn't summit their ID?
He asked in a really rude attitude, our birthday girl get pissed and said she will.
OMG, please lar, we told you we are exchange students already, do you think we really afraid of the consequences?
We are leaving at the end of the month, most of us are probably won't enter US again in the next few years.
Who cares!!!!!

After that jerk leave, we have no more alcohol left.
One USC student asked whether we would like to switch to his apartment to continue the party.
Of course we would like to.
So we moved to his apartment and continue the party.
We started to cam-whore at his apartment, I took photos with everyone.
And whoever with camera basically just take as many photos as he/she can.
haha, what a photo-whoring party.
The italian is really impress by the Asians' self-shooting skill.
He wondered how can we always catch the correct angle when we can't look at the camera.
LOL, practice makes perfect!!!
We have a few group photos, all exchange students take photo together in different pose.
I like taking photo now, after i back to msia, i will be #1 cam-whore queen.

At 12am, we celebrate Lillian's birthday.
We have a Oreo cake from a supermarket nearby.
Actually I am suprise with the cake, it tastes better than i thought.
Because it is from Superior (one really low cost supermarket which i don't think they will have good pastries but in fact they have.)
The party ended at around 1am.

OMG, it is the end of my exchange program~~~~
I will really miss my exchange peeps and USC!!!!!

HOT POT after fountain run

其实原本应该和foutain run那篇blog一起的。
不过等下又有人complain我每次写blog写到好像短篇小说一样，所以我就把它们分成两篇罗。

又一次的potluck聚会。
我们几乎每个星期都会聚在一起，搞一个大吃会。
这个星期，我们吃hot pot。
hot pot就是火锅，不懂为什么美国人叫火锅做hot pot，所以就我们就跟着叫hot pot罗！

而这一次聚会也有更多的USC学生来参与。
其中一个是美国和俄罗斯的混血帅哥，还有几个是来自新加玻但是在USC读书的学生。
其中两个超级厉害啦，跟我们差不多年纪已经是PhD的学生，哗~~~~~~~

除了之外，还有两个女生从加拿大来，所以这一次的聚会也跟往常有点不一样。

那个混血儿做了俄罗斯的水饺给我们吃，我只能说这些水饺的味道有些特别，不是我吃过的味道。哈哈
还有一个做了日本味增豆腐，那个就很好吃了。哈哈

哦，对了。
我们昨天8.30pm采取买火锅的料，买到来已经10点了。
然后我们就去fountain run，因为fountain run 10点开始。
当我们从fountain run回来时，就已经吃了。
而当我们真正的开始吃东西时，时间是半夜12点30分。
哈哈，够力，我们吃完的时候就已经2点多了。

大家吃吃喝喝啊，玩牌，听歌，讲话。
我觉得exchange本来就是要这样。

我回到家冲凉的时候已经3点多了。
所以我是4.30am才睡觉~~~~~
（我知道对身体不好>.<）

不过又是充实的一天！！！！！！！！

我们拍了video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=102153110335&ref=nf

P/S: 嗯，我承认我昨晚喝了一些韩国烧酒。。。不过比起上次 ，我这一次很清醒哟！

USC tradition: fountain run

4月30号，是我在USC上课的最后一天。
哇，这么快，一个学期就过去了。
天啊，在LA的时间就这么短，三个礼拜后，我就会回到马来西亚了。
在LA的日子真的很开心，读书没有压力，每个周末都会出去玩。
我五个月的假期就快要结束了，啊啊啊啊啊！

好了，不要说无聊的事。

昨天，我去参加了USC的一个传统，叫fountain run。

就是应届的毕业生，会跳进学校的每一个喷泉。
当然不只这么简单拉，他们会在活动开始之前喝酒，然后穿上泳衣，再跳到喷泉里去玩。

虽然我不是即将毕业，但是我下个学期也不在USC了，所以当然不会错过这么有意义的活动！

USC有很多喷泉，但是可以让人跳进去的不多。
我大概跳进了5、6个吧，可能更多，但是不记得了，哈哈。

刚开始的几个，喷泉的水还不算很肮脏，但也不能算干净了。

我们还爬上喷泉的雕像，跟雕像一齐合照。
到了后面的几个喷泉，喷泉的水可说是又黑又臭。
之前不是说了他们会喝酒吗，其实他们跳入喷泉的时候，手上也是拿着酒在喝的。
所以喷泉有酒的味道，而且水肮脏得看不见底。。。。

所以最后几个，没有跳进去，只是在外面拍照。哈哈

昨天校园有很多LAPD，大概是担心有学生醉了之后会闹事吧。
也看到有些人，真的喝得很醉，所以LAPD就要他坐在一旁休息。
而我们学校的security，就在校园里，宿舍区里巡逻。
看到我们去学校的时候，还跟我们说congratulation。
哈哈，虽然我不是毕业生，但我还是跟他说thank you。

其实我觉得这样的传统还蛮不错了。

起码在你念大学的四年里，你会有个憧憬说，我在大学的最后一年有这么一个难忘的庆祝仪式。
而且，喝醉再穿上泳衣，在校园里面肆虐，哈哈，不用说，一定是一个疯狂的回忆。

唉，我只能说，新加玻太认真了。

猪流感

所以，报纸上写得很严重嘛，对不对？

世卫已经发出第五级的警告。

我想，在新加玻肯定是人心惶惶，在马来西亚可能大家都开始在做一些防备工作。

所以，在LA的话，大家又认为我们在做着什么事呢？

答案是，什么也没做。

学校只发过一封e-mail给我们，告诉我们猪流感有什么症状，要怎么预防。

并且呼吁如果出现了这些症状，应该第一时间到学校的保健中心去。

其实在LA，目前还没有人感染到猪流感，不过这并不代表将来不会发生。

总之，现在的LA就如平常一般一样，只不过比一般更注重个人卫生而已。
猪肉？还是照吃！
人多的地方？还是照去！

学校？可当然还是照上，我也很想停课呀！

不过，希望猪流感不会肆虐到很严重，我可不想过了三个星期，机场因为猪流感而关闭呀！

I feel like I am floating in the sky after 8 roller coaster rides.

今天去了Six Flags Magic Moutain.

坐了8趟的云霄飞车。
跟马来西亚的Genting Theme Park比起来，马来西亚的大概就是给小孩子坐的。

之前还没去的时候，我朋友就上youtube看了一些它的游乐设施。

然后就拼命和我说有多可怕。
其实我是不太想去看的，没有看之前就已经知道它的刺激程度不是一般般，看了之后除了怕你也不能做什么。

而且知道了有什么游乐设施，去到那里就没有惊喜了。
所以，在还没有去之前，我只是我那个朋友说有多可怕，也有去它的网站看了一下，心理上的准备都是去到那边一定要坐上云霄飞车，但是对于究竟它的云霄飞车有多高有多快，心里根本没有谱。
昨天我们有个potluck，在朋友家呆到1点半，回到自己的房间已经是2点了，冲完凉已经是2点45分（因为洗头嘛），等到头发干，再去睡觉的时候，已经是4点15分了。

今天早上9点半就爬起来，10点半有朋友来接我们去6 flags。

从LA到6 flags大概有一个小时的车程，在车上，我就忍不住睡着了。
当醒来的时候，我们已经到了。

我张开眼睛，看到的居然是一座又一座，平均高度都是超过20层楼的云霄飞车。
我看到的时候，我简直就是惊呆了。
我的脚在发抖，看来我是underestimated 6 flags的云霄飞车了。

同行的朋友中，有一个是敢死队，至今我还没有看过他说怕的云霄飞车。
（明天他还要去sky diving，omg，真的是敢死队。）

刚开始的时候，我们做了一个等级中等的云霄飞车，Revolution。

第一个云霄飞车还好，我没有很怕。

都说等级中等了，所以感觉上就还好。

坐了这个之后，有几个朋友就想要去坐最恐怖的云霄飞车。
那时候，我只能都不敢去坐，因为我觉得我心理上没有准备好，冒冒然去做我一定会怕到象鬼酱。
还有另外几个也是不想去坐的，所以我和那几个朋友就去玩了其它东西。
我们做了两个水上游乐设施和一个等级轻微的云霄飞车。
等我们和另一批回合的时候，那些敢死队又要去做站着的云霄飞车。

你没有看错，传统的云霄飞车都是坐着的，而这个是站着的。
我也不知道究竟感觉是怎样，因为我还是怕死，所以这个也没上去。
（但是后来我是有点后悔，因为他们讲说这个云霄飞车很慢，没有想象中的可怕。）

过后，我们又去做了等级中等的木栅型云霄飞车，colossus。
还没上去之前，我真的很怕。因为人数的关系，我们没办法凑足两人一组。
那些男生想玩我，叫我一个人坐，如果我想要跟他们所的话，就必须要坐在第一排。
我当然不依，第一排不用说也知道有多可怕。
看到那些轨道，简直就是把云霄飞车的可怕程度增加一倍。
结果我居然用了我一生中最渴求的态度来求其中一个坐在我旁边。
他们当然也是不同意，不过最后当我们上云霄飞车的时候，我紧紧抓住其中一个的袖子，把他抓来我旁边坐。
不过，条件是，我坐在第二排，还是可以看到轨道。

讲真那个云霄飞车其实没有我想象中的可怕，我也不知道为什么我当时这么怕。
不过看到轨道那个，不是说假的，还真的蛮可怕的。

坐了这个之后，那些敢死队就选了更刺激的Scream。
Scream就是那种只有椅子，没有车的，然后你的脚就可以感觉到空气在你的脚下快速的流动。
其实我本身之前没试过这种脚下没有踏板的云霄飞车。心理怕怕的。

本来不想去的，不过那个被我抓到我旁边坐的男生就抓我去坐。

不过，幸好他抓我去坐，不然可能我后来就不会坐那么多extreme的云霄飞车了。

Scream的前半段我真的在scream，因为我还不习惯那种感觉。

但是到了后半段，我就开始麻木了，反而因为这个云霄飞车有15层楼高，我还欣赏周边的风景。
哈哈。

这个之后我还坐了Goliath，这个云霄飞车的卖点就是从26层楼高的高度，以61度的斜度往下冲到underground tunnel，最高速度可以达到135km/h。
不懂为什么，这一次我坐在第三排，虽然我没看到那个轨道。

不过心里还是很紧张，尤其云霄飞车在往下冲之前，停留在最高点的那段时间。

由于它停留的时间还不是一般的短，结果我就忍不住大喊：just let me go down!!!!

要下就快点下，停在那边只是吓人而已，因为你不知道几时它会往下冲。
但是有一点尴尬的是，坐在我前面的人是我不认识的，做完之后前面的人有翻过来看我一下。
因为我除了说以上那句话之外，我还在最后的时候说了：this is not that scary, is damn fun!

而他反过来看我的表情时，看得出他有一点怕。哈哈！

不过老实说，这个云霄飞车的速度是最好的，而且冲下去真的很爽。

之后，我尝试有7个loops的Viper，也是很刺激。
其实我发现我还蛮喜欢loops的，而且7个loops真的很过瘾，云顶的spider好像只有2个loops吧？
Sunway Lagoon的有几个loops？太久没去了，不记得了。
马来西亚还有哪里有云霄飞车？

而我今天的最后两个云霄飞车简直就是今天的highlight。
一个是X2，另一个是Tatsu。
X2恐怖的地方在于，一般的云霄飞车不管多恐怖，起码座位还是固定的。
如果是悬吊式的座椅，那么你的头上一定会是轨道，而如果是普通列车型的，脚下一定会是轨道。

而X2是轨道在中间，座椅在轨道的两边。
因此这个座椅是没有任何东西支撑的，座椅会随着轨道的上下而360度旋转。

我觉得这个最恐怖的就是当你的人是180度的时候，你看到是地上，感觉就好像要掉下去一样。
我永远都不会忘记，当你的人是180度在空中的时候，往下看是什么样的一回事。

噢，对了，这个云霄飞车不是向前走的，是向反方向走的。

不过就算它是向前走，也不会有什么差别，因为你的人是360度旋转的。
Tatsu在最后做是完全正确的，如果Tatsu在之前做，那么可能接下来就不用坐了。

如果说X2的360度旋转式可怕的话，那么Tatsu的卖点就是全程都是我在X2是最怕的一部分。
没错，Tatsu是让你以180度，面向地下来完成这趟旅程。
不过，它可不是有东西让你爬着，而是当你坐上椅子之后，再把椅子弄成180度。

简单来说，你就像是被锁在一个横放的椅子，然后椅子在被轨道吊着。
不过这个云霄飞车真的很屌，因为它的轨道本身有些部分是flip over的。
怎么说的，就是它的轨道自己360度旋转（不是loop的那种），原本是面朝下的，有时候就会面朝上。
所以，我的视象是：这是地上，这是天空。又再地上，天空，地上，天空。
但是这个真的很刺激，真的很值得一坐，也是唯一让我有怎么这么久还没有结束的感觉。
（其他的都是，啊，这么快就结束了！）
坐完之后，我还真的有点觉得受不了。
不过幸好是最后一个，坐完就可以回家了。

我现在的感觉是，我觉得我整个人都很漂浮。

好像还在空中转来转去一样。
呵呵，关起眼睛的时候，会感觉自己还坐在云霄飞车上。
看来今天真的坐太多云霄飞车了。
不过，入门票只有USD26，我玩了十项游乐设施，一项大概USD2.60，简直就是值回票价！！！

p/s：这是X2和Tatsu在youtube的video。X2的有两个，一个是看那个椅子怎么转，一个是有人拿照相机拍得。Tatsu也是有两个，一个是官方网站上的，另一个也是照相机拍得，真不懂他们是怎么办到的。如果你想看其他云霄飞车的话，也可以在related video里找到。

X2：http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n15HEYQkKM；http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Y3uBgC0cg

Tatsu：http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBNaWnu7I_A；http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_eKfNi2T24

原来喝醉真的会出事

昨天，我们这班交换学生中，有一个女生终于２１岁了。
２１岁，不是一个普通的生日，而且难得在美国，所以她就办了一个"drinking party"。
从字面上也知道，这个派对是没有提供食物，唯一提供的就是酒精饮品。
哈哈，很符合美国的文化！

既然是一个drinking party，当然除了喝酒，还能做什么。
不对，我们也有做其它的东西。
因为我和几个朋友到的比较早，所以那个女生的几个室友，就和我们玩了music chair的游戏。
后来，那个birthday girl还和我们玩taxes hold'em。
其实我们一到的时候，就塞给每人一支酒精只有５％的果汁香槟。
玩扑克牌的时候，赌注其实就是喝酒。
后来更多人来的时候，就真正地开始了喝酒大会。
那晚上我和的酒比起以前的浅尝即止，昨晚我真的是喝得太多了。
我喝了两支果汁香槟，一支啤酒（很小的，不是calsberg的那种），还有tequila、volka、韩国烧酒（有个韩国的交换学生很喜欢请我们和韩国的烧酒，不过韩国烧酒还真的是不错喝）。
喝到某一个程度，我就知道自己差不多了，不可以再喝下去。
再喝下去的话，就真的是喝醉了。

事先声明，我是有喝酒，但是我没醉啊，我脑袋还是很清醒，还知道什么可以做什么不可以做。
确实的说，我这种是叫“微醺”。
微醺的意思就是说，喝到７、８分醉，有点飘飘然的感觉。
对，就是有点飘飘然的感觉。
其实我还蛮喜欢这种感觉的，头脑意识清醒，心情很高兴，会不自觉地傻笑。

而经过了有点喝醉这么一回事之后，我才发现原来酒精真的可以壮胆。
虽然昨天是没做过什么尴尬的事，但那时候却觉得不管现在做出什么事，我都不会觉得害羞。
难怪有很多人在喝酒后，都做出很多傻事。
而电视剧也很喜欢演男主角在喝酒之后，才向他们喜欢的女生告白，哈哈！

大概喝到１点多，我就和几个朋友先离场了。
听后来的人说，派对大概维持到早上４点多才结束。
不过我们走了之后，他们大多也是在聊天而已，不是在喝。

而我回到自己的apartment后，就觉得很爱睡。
其实在派对的时候就觉得很困了，只不过那时候张开眼睛，还是觉得很清醒。
不过回到房间之后，就真的很不一样了。
眼睛一关，觉得整个房间好像在旋转一样，而我的床好像摇篮一样轻轻摇摆。
摇啊摇啊，我就慢慢地入睡了。

老实说，到美国之后，我真的是喝了蛮多的酒。
不懂是不是因为“山高皇帝远”，爸爸妈妈管不到的关系，总是放心的喝。
还有另一方面的原因就是，在新加玻和马来西亚的朋友都很“单纯”，不烟不酒。
但是美国就不一样了，什么样的人都有，而且喝酒和派对也算是美国的文化之一。

各位在马来西亚的朋友们，我生日的时候，一定要喝酒啊。
而且今年的生日是星期六，我不管，你们全部都一定要喝！！！！

变化无常的气温

LA的冬天终于过去了！
虽然说三月中的时候，就开始正式入春，但是三月的天气其实和一、二月的温度没什么差别。
终于，好不容易熬到四月，四月初的时候，还是蛮冷的，但是却没有一、二月这么冷。

所以说，现在是春天了~~~~
但是，真的是春天吗？
上个星期的温度，还是在14度C和23度C中徘徊，有点冷，但是比10度C好多了。
可是，从昨天起，温度就开始有点怪怪了。所天气温，34度C。新马一带的温度通常都是介于26度C（夜晚）和32度C（白天）之间。
为什么我会知道？Window Vista的Sidebar不是有温度计吗！昨
天的温度虽然比较高，但是好在晚上有风，所以感觉上不是很热。

但是今天的温度简直可以用“变态”来形容！
今天温度最高39度C，我的天啊，真的很热！！！！！
还没突破40度C，算是好事吧？现在是晚上11点30分，温度是28度C，无风。
28度C看起来好像没问题对不对？
重点是我房间没有风扇，也没有冷气，我的天花板就只有一盏灯。
而且是一盏亮度很低的灯（所以我被逼买了一盏台灯）。整间房子只有客厅有一架冷气而已。
真的好热好热好热好热！！！！
今晚我要怎么入睡，天啊！

Weather forecast的网站上写道：Tomorrow is forecast to be Cooler than today.
I hope you are right!!!!

P.S.总觉得这篇blog写的很支离破碎……

Involved in accident after Mama Mia!

omg, it should be a happy day for me.
but the accident spoiled my mood.

i went to watch mama mia musical in Pantages Theater, located at Hollywood.
the musical was so nice and ABBA songs were so good.
even though my seat is quite far from the stage but because i sat at the balcony level so i can still see it clearly.
the architecture of the theater is also really nice, the theatre is kind of "the phantom of the opera" style.
the performance was so amazing and i enjoyed the show.
everything was so great until on our way home.

coz i went with my apartment resident, so basically those who don't have transpont will tag along those who have car.
therefore, I rode on someone's car, and i didn't know the driver until today.
because this Mama Mia musical is organized by our residence.
we can buy the ticket in really cheap price, only USD 10 and transportation is provided by car pool.
as the drivers are the students in USC, so it is safe.
i joined this kind of activities before, so today juz like another normal outing for me.
as we reached some where near our apartment, the driver missed our apartment entrance.
so he need to do a big turn at the next road to go bac to our apartment.
just as he turn into another road, suddenly the passengers in the car (but not the driver) screamed.
I was sitting behind the driver seat so i could not see anything.
before i figure out what was happening, the next thing i saw is somebody crashed on the windscreen.
it was f*cking scary, it happened so sudden, all i saw was something knocked on the windscreen and the windscreen cracked.
the accident happened around 11.20pm. i was so shocked and stunted, it was so terrible.

the driver get down and checked out the victim.
a guy in our car called the police and the driver behind our car also helped out.after i get off the car, i did not feel scared.
i think i not really feel anything at that time.
i was shivering but i m not sure is because of the weather or because of the accident.
i saw the victim from far and i think the victim is seriously injured.
his right foot is broken, the leg bend into the shape that normal human leg can't.and his hindbrain is injured too.
the driver who helped us keep talking to the victim to make him stay concious.

the fire department reached really fast.
2 fire trucks and 1 fire deparment ambulance arrived in less than one minute.
LAPD reached after this, while the police officer was taking down the statement from the driver who helped us, the fire department rushed the victim to the hospital.
after that, more officers reached at the scence.they started to do their work, like taking photos, estimating the speed at the time, measuring the distance, checking for the hit marks.
the officer also asked us to leave the contact to LAPD but because we are passengers so he also said we will not in trouble.
we stayed at the scence for approximately 45 minutes, freezing in the wind (temperature is still cold at night in LA).
after the officer allowed us to leave, we walked back to our apartment.

i think i am somehow lucky cause i could not see anything as the driver blocked my view.
but according to the girl sat in the middle, she said the victim ran out from the roadside to cross.
the officer also said the victim was illegaly crossing the road.
there is no traffic light, no perdestrain crosing line, no pedestrain crossing sign.
even though the victim might be have fault but i think the driver was not completely right.
he was not really focus when he was driving.
he was talking to us and because the music a bit loud, he need to turn his head to the right so tat we can hear him.

it was such a horrible night.
everything was so nice at the begining, this is my first musical and the accident ruined the night.
omg, i m still a little bit of nervous.
omg.hopefully the victim is alright. god bless him.
drivers must drive carefully, the accident was so scary.
omg, now i really won't forget my first musical.
it was such a long night.

不知不觉，在美国的时间只剩下短短的一个月多。
这里有太多美好的因素，让我不想回到马来西亚，不想回到新加玻。

其实直到今天，我还是无法相信我就是生活在LA。
一想到我人生中，曾经有一个城市，虽然只在那里短短的生活了五个月，但是这五个月的回忆，永远都是这么的珍贵，这么得叫我难以忘怀。
当我还是十几岁的丫头时，除了大哥到新加玻念书之外，我的生活圈子里，包括亲戚包括朋友，出国念书对我们来说是很遥远的事。
之所以觉得新加玻其实并没有给我出国的感觉是因为连接着新马的那一个海峡，还不如槟城与北海向各的那一片海洋。
车子开过新马海峡只不过是五分钟的时间，加上人种、语言、食物的相近，新加玻是一个比起东马更令人熟悉的一个城市。

所以，这一次到美国做交换学生，才是真真正正的“出国念书”。
所见到的人与事，都是新鲜的。文化、学习经验、考试制度、生活态度都是和马来西亚，和新加玻完全不一样的。
因此，我一直有种不可思议的感觉，不仅因为还无法相信自己能够来到美国，也因为点影中的种种都在日常生活里一直活生生地上演着。

其实在美国住了一段时间之后，才惊觉，美国其实不如外界所看得那么美好。
在国际舞台上，美国总是裹着一层“战无不胜”的糖衣。
好莱坞电影里，一旦世界发生了什么动乱或灾难，总是由美国人来拯救这个世界。
渐渐地，美国在我的脑海里，就被塑造成一个superhero。
然而，到了美国之后，才慢慢地发现，这个国家的另外一面。有他们不美好的一面，也有比电影里更美好的一面。

不知大家有没有听过有关于小丑的一个小故事。
故事就说一个中国的孩子长大后像要当小丑，没想到父母一听，就马上把巴掌呼过去。
而美国的孩子长大后想要当小丑，父母听到了，便对他说：愿你把欢乐带给别人。
这种大概就是美国的一种态度吧，总是正面地鼓励孩子，不挫败孩子的心，不让孩子失望，永远都想办法圆孩子最迫切的愿望。
不管发生什么事，在美国，爸爸妈妈永远都是他们最温暖的避风港。
但是，也因为这样的态度，我总觉得美国人有时候在生活上是个彻底的孩子。
而在学习上，教授也总是不让学生失望。5分满分的作业，4.5分时最低分，而教授还因为只能给你4.5分感到内疚和抱歉。
所以，我觉得美国的孩子有时候真的是活在一个很大很安全的泡泡里，最好的最想要的，大人总是不会让你失望。

这也是我为什么不想回到新加玻的原因。
比起美国，新加玻所采取的态度大概就是“置之死地而后生”、“弃弱留强”。
我也想要一个永远都不会破的泡泡，为什么新加玻就不能有像美国一样的系统呢！

我不想回新加玻呀！