Siagara or Fiagara

Overheard over dinner... ...

A Vietnamese, an Indian and another gentleman (couldn't quite catch the nationality of the third HERO) embarked on a GUIDED tour to Niagara Falls. Upon drop off, they wandered to the Falls, took "breathtaking" photos of each other posing. Then off they went for some pizzas and booze feeling quite cheated as they reckoned that the creeks at Ithaca were much more splendid that what they just caught on photos ... ...

Half an hour before departure, at the sight of mist some distance away, the slightly smarter (but alot fatter)Vietnamese sensed something was amiss, especially seeing crowds walking towards the mist. The Indian and the third gentleman sent the Vietnamese scounting in the direction of the mist as they were too tired from the pizzas and booze to make the trip.

Then came the Vietnamese shouting, "Hey the REAL falls is at the mist! The one we took photos with was FAKE!" Scurrying to the REAL falls did the three gentlemen go, but emotionally and physically all too drained to pose decent photos with the REAL falls and of course deleting the photos they took earlier with the FAKE one or so they named, should it be SIAGARA (Small Niagara) or FIAGARA (Fake Niagara).

One thing for sure, they were NOT our classmates, even if they were, they would have been DISOWNED by now.

Memory Collection

- Searched through the ‘amazing’ building for our classroom. If you didn’t see me in the class on time, I must have lost in the building.

- Shared kitchen and bathroom with the hugest cockroaches and geckoes ever seen. (Ask Ju Yeon, she has the pictures of these monsters.)

- Walked along under the pedestrian roof between the dorm and the school. You’ll love it especially when it’s raining hard... it always rains in Singapore.

- Cha Sui Rice and Lime Juice in Canteen B, that's the lunch menu in 3/4 of my school days. How can I forget them?

Orientation....Bonding....

This week started of with a campus tour using a specially charted bus...yes NTU is that big that we needed a bus to tour it. Also it was a hot day and the airconditioned ride was a welcome luxury. But if we knew before hand that there was a model of the campus, we might have opted to just have a look at that to save some sweat!

First Stop....Chinese Heritage Center. Some of us could really ponder the question posted at the exhibition in the museum: "How Chinese am I?" Any answers yet?

Next stop....The Auditorium and the Lee Wee Nam Library. The library where later in the week we would sit through a very dry but nonetheless useful lecture on how to use the many resources. Did we see some fall asleep?!

To make sure we would continue to "feel" this tour in the form of sore muscles for a few days after, we tried out dragon boating for 3 hours on the Kallang River water front. Christy was so excited in leading her team along with pacer Belinda to victory in the 3 short races that she couldn't stop shaking hands with the instructors...or was there another reason!?

The tour would not be complete without the snacks and beer at Brewerkz! Which beer to try?!? Golden Ale? Wheat Ale? India Pale Ale? Pumpkin Ale? Singapore Ale? Or the night's real special Cherry Ale, which only the special few got to try! Some too scared to drink in front of the Dean, had a dry evening. You don't know what you missed out on!

This orientation week was not all fun and games. Classes on resume writing, networking and library resources were part of the program. Those of us with brown suits, remember to shop for the "appropriate" colors so as not to risk being labeled as liars (or is it too late for that already?). We (excpet for those who got stuck in traffic downtown)also met our Ithaca MMH counterparts through a video conference. Poor guys & gals had to be up real early on their very first day (they are 12hrs behind Singapore time). After our presentation, Marcus had to assure them that we are not as "crazy" as we came across. They most probably got a good idea of how much fun we have been having so far! Check out the photo album link to see more....

We had a chance to practice the networking tips at the Cornell Hotel Society gathering at the Oriental Hotel. Of course food and drinks have to be part of any group outing. After the exhausting handshakes at the CHS event those that did not have to run off to their loved ones topped of the evening with dinner and drinks, guided by our trusty Chew & Co. Tours! At the dinner we got a taste of Michael's 'R' rated joke bank, which some were real quick to tune into!

Ps. News in from the 'grapevine' that one of those 'yebta' ladies pictured above got a few free drinks out of a much older suitor at the bar! Go Girl!

"United Colours of MMH2007"

Cliché it may sound, but that's us.

"19 strangers gathered at Conference Room 2 of Block S3.2 of NTU, feeling relieved that we actually managed to find the place", borrowing a quote from Amruda in her opening address during the class presentation to the staff of CNI, guests and Cornell Alumni.

Amidst our diverse cultural (with representations from China, Korea, India, Pakistan, Amercia, Netherlands, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam) and professional (hospitality, engineering, events management, IT project management, accounting & finance, politics) backgrounds, the class hit it off really well during the first week of orientation activities and communication classes.

From the gracious act during the tug-of-war competition, which earned us our early dinner on the first day, to the open discussions and kind words of encouragement during the writing, communication and presentation drills, we really walked our talks as hoteliers-to-be. The highlight of the week was seafood and drinks at East Coast Beach, maybe not to the delight of some or is it one?