better day.

hello everyone, i'm more myself today. yay =) since i actually have time to spare (!) and since i have stuff to write about i thought i might as well update my blog now instead of holding it in and spewing it all out in one loong post like i did the last time. kinda like how it's apparently better to have 5 small meals a day instead of having 3 big ones. apparently la.

today i had an early start again... had a good, hot shower and stepped out into the cold air with freshly washed hair, ready to face the day. a bunch of us international students went on a bus tour of eugene, not so much to see places of interest cos there really aren't many here, but more to show us where the more "useful" places are - like departmental stores, the library, the main bus station (uo students get to ride free!)... stuff like that. i was really sleepy and was kinda bored cos i was sitting pretty far back and i couldn't really hear what our "tour guide" was saying, but i've decided it was a worthwhile trip cos i got to meet more people, including an indonesian, and i go my first taste of wal mart =P it was pretty big, and things really aren't all that expensive you know.. even when you convert it back to ringgit. i should've bought all my stationary here instead of lugging the whole lot of it accross the pacific! bought my first peaches today... had one and it was kinda crunchy - peggy later told me it wasn't ripe yet. how was i supposed to know! but it didn't taste too bad =) we also went into this asian store where they had a durian in the freezer, tinned rambutans, teh kindur and rabbit sweets! cool huh? didn't get anything tho, but again, i was surprised that things weren't more expensive. like i could get a jar of atap chi or nata de coco for about 5 ringgit?

the bus tour ended at the alton baker park, where the friendhip foundation for international students was hosting a picnic for all the international students and their host families. turned out to be really fun! they had a volleyball net up so i got to hit around for a bit, and then i had lunch with peggy and dick - had another hot dog! wanted to learn how to play ultimate frisbee but i got introduced to some of dick and peggy's friends so i had to small talk for a bit. met this guy (or rather pretty old man) who goes to thailand once a year to give medical aid, and he has a son who translates bibles in indonesia! his son has been there (or been going there, i'm not sure which) for about 20 years so he could speak bahasa indonesia, which was cool. also got a bit of the football rules explained to me by another man who was hosting an international student, so now i know a bit more =) everyone's always really surprised that i can speak english fluently! and they're always intrigued when i tell them i speak english at home, which is interesting cos it's something i never really thought about. but thank you mummy and daddy for speaking to me and anthea in english cos it really has made communication and meeting peopple so much easier! =D

also got to meet a few american students at the picnic, which was nice cos i could talk to them easily enough since i spoke english and they spoke english and we all spoke english. will be going for dinner with a bunch of them before going for my first mass at the catholic campus ministry. was feeling pretty guilty about not going to church this morning, so i was glad to find out they have mass this evening. and it's not too far away from my dorm too, so i can walk over easily. kay joon and yayoi just got back from the picnic, so it's just as well that that's pretty much all that has gone on today. see you soon!