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I went to Shanghai Ge Cheng (KTV) last week. I had just returned to my room on campus when my new friend phoned me asking me if I’d like to go there with his friends and him. I dragged Rosemary and Joanne with me. I’ve never been into singing at karaoke bars and I don’t read Traditional Chinese characters either but it was a nice experience. I was impressed with the place. If I ever go there again, I’ll make sure I learn a few songs beforehand. The people here sure love singing….. and they sing well too!

I think I’ll be buying a desktop computer for the time being. I’m having a hard time deciding which laptop to buy and some people advised me to buy a desktop instead. When my friend comes to China in December,maybe he can help me choose a laptop. There’s 国庆节coming up in a few days. During that one week off, I will go and have a look in computer shops.
I really don’t like going online using the computers on the campus. Some websites take ages to load or don’t load at all and they don’t have MSN on most computers. :weeping: Downloading MSN messenger will take one hour. I just tried. Even if going online for an hour costs only one or two kuai (depending on which computer room it is) , I don’t want to wait that long.
I’ve tried the MSN Web Messenger but I ran into a few problems with it.

I haven’t bought a laptop yet. I haven’t seen any computer stores near my university. I’ll try to go to Wu jiao chang asap. I’ve heard that there’s a computer store around there. I don’t like having to use the computer on the campus. I’ve been to the two computer rooms here. One is a big strange. It’s kinda in the underground. I don’t know how to describe it exactly but anyway, it’s a bit dark there. I’m in the other one today and it’s my first time here. Guess what i have to wear? Blue plastic bags. Not as clothes… :laugh: but on my feet. I think it’s like this here because they don’t want the students to dirty the floor. Fortunately we are allowed to keep our shoes on but still, it feels weird.
I’m still living alone. According to that list I’ve seen, I’m supposed to share a room with a girl who’s from Thailand. However she still hasn’t arrived yet and now I doubt that she’ll even come. Classes have started since Monday 13th and she still hasn’t showed up. I have no idea what happened to her.

My birthday……
I turned 20 last week on the 9th Sept. I got early birthday gifts before I left Mauritius and I wasn’t expecting any in Shanghai(at least not this year) but I got presents from Joanne and Rosemary.

I can’t stay online for long. I really need to buy a laptop asap. I’d rather go online from my own room.

I’ve reached Shanghai yesterday. I had said that I’d be very happy to leave Mauritius. In a way, I am. Still, I couldn’t help feeling a bit sad. Sad at leaving all these people behind. My two little sisters didn’t go with me to the airport. They said Goodbye to me at home and hugged me tight. Then I left. 5 minutes later,one of my sisters sent me a message on the cell phone she lent me and told me ‘Guete ki tone fer la.. to fer moi et Yen plorer’ (translation: Look at what you’ve done now… you made Yen and me cry. ) Aww.. I didn’t think that they’d be that sad when I leave. My cousin who came with my parents to the airport also cried. My parents.. hmm.. I didn’t see any tears but I was surprised (but happy! ) that my dad came.

In the car, I started sending messages to people I know but halfway through my phone book, I had no more credits left on my sister’s cell phone. Some people didn’t even know that I was leaving. They haven’t read my blog. I haven’t given the url to everyone. Only those on my MSN contact list and a few other people on a community I belong to know about it. I didn’t have enough time to contact everyone I know to tell them that I’m leaving Mauritius.
I’m glad that Rosemary and Joanne were both with me. I’ve never felt that lost before. I didn’t know what I had to do and they helped me a lot. My flight from Mauritius to Hong Kong was too long. My knees started to hurt just before I reached Hong Kong. I guess I just don’t like having to sit that long. I love the duty free shops at the airport in Hong Kong. :love: Wahh. I caught sight of an ipod banner somewhere but resisted the urge to go have a look. I’ve been wanting a mini ipod since months. :worried: Too bad I left Hong Kong after two hours. I’d like to go back to HK one day. My flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai on Dragonair was way better than my previous flight. Only two hours and the food was great too.
We had three big suitcases, two big sports bags, two small suitcases and four handbags in all and were wondering how exactly we were going to reach our university from the airport. In the end, we took the Shuttle line no. 4 at the airport ( we paid 16 yuan each ) to go to the Wu jiao chang stop. The taxi drivers at the airport kept following me and giving me their business cards. I had a really hard time shaking them off. :faint: Then from Wu jiao chang we took two taxis. I’ve heard so much about the taxis in Shanghai. The taxi drivers looked really smart with their ties. If I remember correctly we paid 10 yuan (each taxi) .

Anyway I already got a room on the campus. My roommate hasn’t arrived yet so I’m alone for the time being.

Gonna write more later. I’m in the internet cafe on the campus. Took a few pics but don’t know if I’ll be able to upload them. I have to buy my laptop first.

I’m leaving Mauritius tomorrow evening and I haven’t even finished packing. It’s the first time that I’ll be away from home for a period of 4 years. I’m trying to pack wisely but there are certain things which I really can’t bear to leave behind, especially the gifts I received from my friends. I’m even taking my majorette twirling baton with me. I’ve been very busy this week with packing,shopping and meeting my friends. I feel bad about not being able to meet up with everyone . Sometimes I wish that I could be in two places at the same time. I’ve been out almost every night since most of my friends are free at night only. When I meet my friends, we always go have lunch or dinner. I can feel the extra pounds coming. ah well.. I can work these off after I leave Mauritius.
A few pics taken during my nights out:

At Caudan Waterfront
I took a few pics there while waiting for Diana to arrive.

At Spur, me and Stephanie.

I’ve had a pretty long day, meeting friends here and there; Chinatown,Gladiator,Rodeo,Pizza hut Caudan,McDonald….

Today, I finally met James. I ‘know’ him since February but it’s only today that we managed to meet. In fact, I was wondering if he was scared of me or something like that but today, I was pleasantly surprised.

I’ve just returned home. I had dinner at Marina with Eliette and Dar. I have to admit that I was feeling very tired and I had my packing on my mind. I always worry about everything. Still, I had a lovely time. :laugh:
There’s one thing which will never change; I still think a lot. There’s so many things I’d like to do or say before leaving Mauritius but some of them are just too difficult for me to talk about. I’m gonna let time work its magic. Maybe.. maybe one day.