My CNY

Turns out I wasn't exactly CNY-less after all, but the story of which is pretty interesting. Let Tris relate.

On Monday afternoon, I was walking back to Law School after my IR class, alone and depressed and telling basically myself, "God, I feel suckily alone. I wish I had some company."... When I met Luc, the Taiwanese dude on exchange, with another guy Bob, who was also on exchange from Taiwan. Upon their kind invite I had lunch with them at a Chinese restaurant nearby. As the convo developed, we got to talking about CNY and how we were celebrating it, and they basically invited me to join their Taiwanese contingent for huo guo on Thursday.

Sure, there was a little language difficulty since my Chinese wasn't as fantastic as I'd like to believe, BUT it was fun, full of laughter and jokes and joy, and basically filled up the otherwise dominating silence that has been my life thus far. Hard to imagine otherwise in a Chinese restaurant with 17 other people in the party, a very cute old lady who was asking us a lot of questions about CNY and our huo guo, and basically good company. Thank God indeed - it was a glorious evening, and I felt very fuzzy though it was cold as heck outside.

Didn't take as many photos as I'd liked, but the 2 that I do have, I share with you:


The 3 girls who dominated the laughter at our table: Joanne, Angie and Lily. Lily being exceedingly loud at every juncture.


Bob, Shouyang (I think that was his name), Luc and me - crazy Chinese boys who had a heck of a night.

So it was simple, and food wasn't fantastic. But over CNY, as I told Wendy, it's all about company - and the ending MSN video call with my family back home made this CNY one to remember. :) Almost made me feel like I never left at all.

17-14: The World's Most Beautiful Numbers

The storyline dominated my day, really. We had the undefeated New England Patriots, who had beat all before them in 18 straight games with unstoppable offense, quarterback protection and a new running game they didn't know they had; against the upstart New York Giants, who were not expected to be at SuperBowl 42 when the season started, who had a shaky quarterback, dubious secondary defence and a feeling of luck with them throughout the playoffs. The Pats were 14 point favourites to win.

And Eli Manning did it.

(c) ESPN and AP

Shaking off his 1st half interception, with less than a minute to go, Eli pulled off the ultimate captain's heroism and drove his team all the way into the endzone for a touchdown, after this piece of magic. The Giants defence were the MVP for me in the game - led by the ageless Michael Strahan, they kept sacking and harrying and forcing Tom Brady about and around, making the Pats look useless and Brady magic-less. Though they could've done a better job on the 2nd touchdown that forced Eli's magic act - perhaps it is only in the face of adversity do mortals become legends.

So, kudos to the New York Giants - for beating the Patriots (I shall leave my venom for another day) and for doing what no one thought you could.

Presenting your SuperBowl 42 Champions: The New York Giants.

All above images courtesy of Yahoo! Sports and Getty Images

Incidentally, that makes back-to-back Superbowl MVP brothers in Peyton and Eli Manning. Archie Manning must be a pretty proud dad, his sons came good in consecutive years. :)

Oh, and for my girlfriend: I thought this ad was right up her alley. Happy VDay Poo! :) -muah-

Just a short note to say:

I'M GONNA MISS CNY WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

-breathe- While you all take some fancy long holiday. Shptttttt. I know that sound's impossible to make but it ain't. You try it. Shptttttt. And don't stretch the t's, there're only 6 of them.

Sorry, am a bit high on homework. :p Happy CNY all, and think of us who still need to go to school on those few days. Shptttttt.

I've been called a nerd (not inaccurate la, so I don't mind) for listing down what I actually studied during exchange, because everyone knows we do exchange to play. Apparently.

So, this is one thought I had to share.

First, click on this video and watch the young man talk about his experience.

And this interview:


Am I the only one to think he's not really that charismatic, and that he's just a silly college kid who is quite... Dumb? If you can be bothered to sit through the 7 minutes of each - I just wonder why people are all up in arms about his charisma and his charm and his interview, which frankly was not in the least impressive. And if you're wondering, I actually supported Hawaii when they went up against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. BUT, I think for all his play, he should go without a microphone for a long long time because he sounds ignorant and stupid - like many of his ilk.

I suppose I shall never quite understand American sports and what passes for charisman. -shrug-

Compare it to this video interview with Peyton Manning:


There's a world of difference - it may be experience, but there's a lot more class in Mr. Manning.

Oh, another video, taken when Peyton was about the same age as aforementioned QB.



There's a lot more sense and class out of his mouth, even if it is gat-toothed. But, what do I know - I'm not American eh.

Short addendum on courses

For those who were wondering, my subjects -

Fall Quarter:

Environmental Law (Rodgers)
- A good course with a teacher who loves the subject and loves teaching, and it's innately interesting because of all the stories you hear about the government. BUT very statutory and technical, a lot of emphasis on the technical doctrines of case law, and the cases are frustrating like heck.

Freedom of Expression (Walsh)
- Prof Walsh is on sabbatical, so I'm not sure if he'll be back. The course is interesting if you like constitutional issues and like reading conflicting cases that reveal how messed up the common law can be. A bit too socratic but it's a cute course and Volokh (coursebook author) does a fine job in the textbook.

International Law (Kang'ara)
- The teaching isn't fantastic, I'll be honest. But the course itself is run well, and the discussion in class is very revealing, and a lot of learning goes on when you listen and when you share. If you like discussion and you like theory of international politics and law, this is a pretty decent run at it.

EU / US E-Commerce (Wynn/Daemen)
- If you like comparative law - fantastic course. I don't know if this will be offered (see note), but if it is and you want a quick intro to EU Law and comparative study, this is a good place to start. Mr. Daemen is from Microsoft so his views are interesting, while Prof Wynn has a lotta info bubbling out her head, so it makes for a fun class.

Winter Quarter:

Intro to IR (Strausz - Political Science cross-fac module)
- I'm not going to say much about the specific course since it's a cross-fac and whoever reads this may not want to take it, BUT a note about cross-fac udnergrad modules - can be particularly frustrating when general knowledge is required. Many American students have a talent for being ignorant and poorly-read, and may not get the material the way you do. Be prepared for frustration if you take a very knowledge-intensive course and you're like me: i.e. highly arrogant but with a complete right to be that because you're so damn smart. Like me. :p

Alternate Dispute Resolution (Kirtley)
- Good course, must take. It's kinda like an intro to all the different forms of ADR available - negotiation, mediation, arbitration and the funky mixes that America is coming up with in betweem. A lot of class exercises and group projects, you meet new people, you learn about the processes - a good course if I do say so myself.

International Criminal Law (Allen)
- As I warned in the previous post, this is not international crim law in the sense of the International Criminal Court, European Court of Justice - none of those. Instead, looks at how specific US laws apply to extra-territorial crimes and the doctrines that govern. Starts at breakneck speed but once you get into the swing it's actually comprehensible and at times enjoyable.

Legislation and Public Policy (Andersen)
- Seminar course. 've only gone for 2 lessons so I don't feel at liberty to comment - save that you should be prepared to do a lot of work given the 2 class presentations and 40-page research paper due at the end of it.

NOTE:
UW has this freaky tendency to drop courses from year to year. I don't know if it's to do with the size or the school, but NUS has some regularity from year to year, usually only seminars drop off the radar. The ONLY courses that are certain are Property, Contracts, Torts, that kind of thing. It's just a warning - it might work in your favour but also may work against you, especially if you're like me, who foolishly goes for exchange to actually learn. :p

P.S: For all that muggerness, got back 2 grades. They were good. :) HA!

UW - A short note

For any of my potentially intrepid exchange-mates to be (namely the Year 2's and the future legions of generations who will see this blog) - a short introduction to UW, which will probably be reiterated at next year's exhange talk.

[Yes, this to fill space. Complain not, eager ones.]

So what do you want to know about UW?

What's good about UW?
Generally, its IP and Comparative Masters' program, both of which have attracted students from the world over.

That said, as an exchange student, UW is a great place to

i) Learn about American Constitutional Law and its progeny.

You probably won't want to take Consti Law per se since it's a first-year compulsory course, but I took First Amendment last quarter, and am taking a Legislation and Public Policy seminar now which goes into the technical workings of the Legislative system of the U.S.A.

Prof Jay was on leave last quarter, but he's a leading constitutional teacher and is one of the best in his field. Prof Andersen is also excellent, and Prof Walsh has fascinating insights about the First Amendment issues the text brings up (though he is a little too Socratic). In short, UW features some excellent Constitution teaching - which will interest you if you like Comparative Law or want to know how the US government is supposed to run.

ii) Do Comparative Law over a wide range.

When I say this, I mean that due to the LLM on Comp Law, there's a range of Comp. Law courses available. I was a bit unlucky to miss out Conflict of Laws among others, but I did take US / EU E-Commerce Law which was a direct comparison of US and EU E-commerce law. I can't name others off-hand, but I'm convinced that the presence of the LLM means there should be sufficient Comp Law courses if that's your thing.

Ooh, ooh, link! Clickee linkee to see which comp. law courses are nominally offered. Oh right, there are international law courses which have you teleconferencing with Jap students, as well as Int'l Business Transactions by Prof Kang. So, pretty cool opportunities which I don't think NUS offers. (could be wrong)

iii) Seminars

Expanding on the theme of having leaders in their fields (and a big shout-out to Professor Rodgers who is one of THE leaders in Environmental Law in the US), UW has a heck lot of seminars and invited guests who will speak on their pet topics. There's a lot of focus on social justice, hence a litany of programs; and appellate courts sometimes hold hearings right in UW. It's like CJ Chan hearing a case in NUS! So, pretty exciting stuff.

iv) West Coast weather and travel

I cannot stress this enough - West coast weather is a literal breeze compared to the utter frigidity of the East Coast. Sure, New York's nice and Boston's famous, but West Coast weather is f-awesome in comparison. Winter here is a relative cakewalk and the comparatively milder temperatures mean good for you as a student.

Furthermore, you're 2 hours by flight to San Francisco, another hour away from Los Angeles and Vegas (by flight again), 3 hours from Vancouver by bus. LA and SF may not get the same press as grand ol' New York, but you can see New York in Vegas. :p Seriously though, SF is great and LA is nice too.

Sounds good! So what's not to love about UW?
Well, there are a couple things I should provide as due diligent notice:

a) International Law isn't quite international.

I don't believe this is purely a problem of UW, but let me not speak of other universities since I am ignorant. The 2 courses I've taken thus far about International Law (Int'l Law and Int'l Crim Law) have a very strong focus on what Prof Allen calls Transnational Law, i.e. law regarding issues across state borders, AND from a US perspective (i.e. how the US will act for an international issue e.g. me killing an american in Dubai - what happens?) So know what you're getting into - it sounds a lot nicer than it is.

AND for some reason (could be me), not all international law students are very internationally minded, a lot of them seem happily closeted in their little enclaves of American superiority. Ah well.

b) IP is chiefly off-bounds, removing a whole portion of potentially takeable courses.

This is a mix of friendly advice and practicality. I was informed before I left by a good friend that the IP regime in USA is rather different, and unless it was under the auspices of the LLM, it wouldn't make sense (in a I-wanna-sell-myself-to-a-firm way) to do IP here. Furthermore, most IP courses require you to have taken the base IP course - which as I understand is limited to the IP LLM folk and a few others, which probably will not include you within that range.

What this means is that a whole range of potential courses is removed IF you don't take the base IP course. And to be frank, it makes little sense to burn 8 credits which could be spent doing something else on one course, THOUGH it is pure papers and you have a heads-up over the other students who don't have English as a first language. You get my personal bias here, but do ask your academic advisor if you can do IP if you really think it worthwhile.

c) Wind is the enemy.

The cold may not be as biting as NY, and the weather doesn't get channelled to your bones the way NY buildings do. BUT the proximity to the fricking Pacific Ocean means strong winds. Strong wind + Cold = not good. I blame the Pacific winds for my cheeks (if my cheeks stay where they are by May, then I blame the food. :p), and as Lynn can attest, the winds are potentially fatal and threaten to blow you off your feet as you climb down the sidewalk.

So, wind sucks. And...

d) Uni Way is one of the oddest places in the world.

I don't want to slag, so I won't say much, but that I don't walk alone at night on Uni Way where possible and I try to stay on the other side of the road.

Anything else I ought to know?

Just this: You don't need to pay fees, but you do need to pay 484 every quarter for student insurance and your U-Pass, the latter which gives you free travel on Metro buses through Seattle, the former... Which is really better to buy than to go through the hassle of proving you have adequate equivalent insurance.

Oh, and books average about 500 a quarter. So be prepared to pay about 1000 in September, January and April. PLUS, taxes here are 8.9%, so be ready with some extra moolah when you think of buying whatever you want to. :)


For the moment, that's it for the rundown - buzz me to-be-exchangers with questions. Why no one post on my tagboard ah? :(

Still alive y'all. Apologies for the lack of updates, have been busy with exams. Girlfriend has arrived to take care of me!



She couldn't recognize me initially but hey! We all get fat during exchange. -looks about hopefully-

Am burnt out now so let me post some photos to keep you happy. :p





As you can see, much of our life has revolved around eating. :p More pics from tomorrow when we go out gai gai, after my wonderful girlfriend spent a whole week just cooking. Amazing. :)

Ok, off to bed now I think. -yawn- Inexplicably tired. -yawns again-