Caltech

Home, For a Minute

Well, I’m back in Colorful Colorado! Although at this time of year, it’s not all to colorful. I have to say, it’s a bit weird being back. In Colorado, definitely, but more so just being in the US. I think the biggest shock for me was walking into the Safeway grocery store that’s about a half mile from my house. It’s… huge. I never really realized this until I was abroad but American stores in general are just massive. It was the first time I’d seen a butcher’s counter inside a store in who knows how long. Even at the giant FairPrice in Singapore I don’t remember seeing anything like that. FairPrice was more like a miniature target. And then the UK stores were all TINY compared to that. It’s just a strange and different model.

(decidedly not a grocery store, but one of the last pictures with my Scotland friends)

Anyways, that’s probably enough about grocery stores for now. I also went to the local Asian market and man oh man have I missed being surrounded by every sort of Asian food that I could physically ask to have.

I’m sure you’re probably wondering how it is adjusting in general though. First, Colorado is a lot warmer than Scotland. Not physically, actually it dropped about ten degrees colder within a couple days of me being back. But, there’s no humidity here. In-fact, it’s so dry that writing this a week after being back (and countless gallons of water) I am STILL dehydrated. This makes it feel infinitely less cold than Scotland does. There’s also no windchill and that helps too. Secondly, everyone here is… American. Everything is American. And that’s not a bad thing. There are big portion sizes of food. Soft drinks that don’t have artificial sweeteners.

Also, I’m ridiculously jetlagged. I have been for a week. It’s not awful, but I’ve been getting tired at 8PM and waking up around 7AM (very different from my typical 2AM-10AM sleep schedule). Either way it’s certainly nice being back. After half a year outside of the US it’s a bit refreshing to be back in a culture that’s familiar. And where I don’t constantly have to explain why I pronounce things all funny-like.

Finally, it snowed. I don’t like snow. It’s all wet and cold, and irritating. And it GETS EVERYWHERE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tLf1JO5bvE

--Chandrew

LA Zoo Lights

There's nothing more festive than beautiful holiday decor. Something that has gotten quite popular in recent years is light displays. Around Pasadena, the LA Zoo, LA Arboretum are a few venues that have elaborate holiday light displays. This past weekend, I went to check out the LA Zoo Lights. The general admission is ~$15 on weekdays and ~$20 on weekends, which is certainly not cheap, so if you do go, be sure to take a ton of photos.

I went with two of my friends, one of whom has a pro photography gear. He brought two sets of lenses and a tripod. We never got to use the tripod since it was rather crowded. However, his two sets of lenses were quite useful. One was suited for panoramic shots, the other for close ups and special effects.

Right when you walk in, you are blinded by all the LEDs. There is a center piece that looks like a float at a parade. Surrounding the display are little pop-ups where local artisans sell their goods, including fancy salsa, jewelry and prints. We got some churros and hot chocolate since it was fairly chilly out.

Most of the animal exhibits were closed, with the exception of the snakes exhibit. We saw a variety of baby snakes, but did not see any pythons or cobras. Outside, was this massive web and spider made of lights. There were also light sculptures of flamingos, frogs and elephants along the path. One thing I really like about the displays is how well-planned they are. There are arrows guiding you from one exhibit to the next so you walk and optimized path without repeating sights.

The highlight of the place is this light tunnel. It's essentially just a ~100 meter tunnel lined with fairy lights of all colors. The beginning is white lights, then rainbow lights, before ending in golden lights. This is where everyone takes photos and shares to social media. We managed to get some nice pictures here, but it was quite touch to wait for the moments when the background is not filled with people. We left soon after that since it was freezing out. Well, freezing by LA standards, so like in the 50s temperature-wise.

 

The Zoo Lights were definitely beautiful, but I don't think I would go back again. I think they recycle the same displays year after year, so I wouldn't pay to see the same thing again. However, if you have never been, I do think it's a worthwhile experience.

New Years in Amsterdam

I visited Amsterdam for a brief two and a half days during my vacation. There were a few landmarks and neighborhoods I wanted to checkout, but did not plan the visit in detail. As such, when it came down to destinations with ticketed entries, I had to skip most of them, since they did not have day-of tickets left for sale. Fortunately, I was able to walk around most of the city and it was generally a good time.

I'll start out with the worst part of Amsterdam, the cold. According to the weather website, it was supposed to be in the low 40s. However, we found that the weather was actually around the 30s. Furthermore, due to the fog, the air is quite humid, so it felt even colder than it actually was.

We arrived early afternoon on NYE and checked into Generator, our hostel. After grabbing a quick dinner at the hostel restaurant, we walked into the city to checkout De Wallen, or Red Light District as we know it. Although there is a lot of controversy surrounding that neighborhood, it is one of the most historic and iconic parts of the city. Regardless of your political stance on the issues, it's worth checking out.

There were a few "city squares" there where many roads intersected. In these squares, people lit fireworks and fire crackers on their own. Apparently, there were no official NYE fireworks, so these local festivities were sought after instead. While the fireworks were exciting and pretty, it left the streets super smoky. Along with the fog, we could barely a few meters in from of us. However, on our walk to the district, we had seen a lot of the pretty bridges and canals. Also, walking in the fog is a different vibe. It made the city seem even more mysterious and intriguing.

The day after, we took a day trip to Old Holland, which I will cover in a different post. During our remaining in Amsterdam though, we visited the Albert Cuyp Market, a famous outdoor market open daily from 9am-5pm that is comparable to Borough Market in London. Market vendors sold everything from leather jackets to green juices to stroopwaffles. The waffles were certainly what you should go for. A lot of the booths had XXL waffles for 1.50 euros, and these waffles were the size of my head. I heard that the Original Stroopwaffle stall is where you should go, but it was still setting up when we were there. I'm sure the other places are delicious as well. If I did not have a big brunch right before, I would have eaten a giant one or two, easily.

If we had more time to spend in the city, we would have visited several museums. We were interested in the Anne Frank House, but unfortunately, the tickets were sold out. For that museum, tickets for 2 weeks from today are released. 80% of the tickets are sold online prior to the day, and the remaining 20% is sold on the day of at 9am. I tried queueing online for day of tickets, but ended up on the waitlist at position 320. Right when it got down to 14 people in the queue, we were kicked out of line as the tickets were completely sold out. Other notable museums include the Rembrandt house and the R*** Museum. There's a super cool "I Amsterdam" sign on the lawns of the R** Museum that you have probably seen all over instagram. I wish I had gotten a photo myself, but it was out of my way.

Snowboarding at Cypress

Snowboarding with my friend Cecilia is an annual occasion when I go home for the holidays. Cecilia and I actually learned snowboarding a few years ago. We signed up for these intro lessons, but arrived at the slopes early and thought that we would try a run before the lesson to see where we at. We were slightly confused, so took the lift to a green run instead of the bunny hills. We got down that run 80% on our butt and 20% on our feet, but it was a great start. By the end of that day's lesson, we were getting down that same run 80% on our feet. Of course, now we are much better.

We chose to go during peak season. Even though we had purchased lift tickets and rentals well ahead, we had to wait ~1hr in line to pick everything up. There were just that many people that day. I was almost concerned that they would run out of equipment. Anyways, if you visit Cyprus, I would highly recommend purchasing online ahead of time since there is at least a 10% discount and it saves you so much hassle on the day of. Also, for adults, rentals do not include a helmet, but if you value your head and its health, you should probably rent one for an additional 10 dollars.

Getting back on the slopes felt quite strange. I feel like I never use my quads that much in real life, after a few runs, my legs felt like jelly. Also, since there were a lot of people, it was difficult trying to go fast and avoid everyone. It's terrifying going down a run with inexperienced snowboarders and skiers since you don't know if they will suddenly slide to a stop or will lose control and come flying at you. In addition, it was sunny that day, so the conditions were rather icy. Another hinderance were the clouds that eventually became fog. Not being able to see far ahead on a crowded slope was quite a challenge.

I think I was able to get about 6 runs in before we had to take the bus back home. I also don't think I could go for any longer since I had taken a few falls by that point and my entire lower body was sore. Although the conditions were not ideal, it felt good to be back. I wished I could go a couple more times, but I had other plans for the remainder of my break. Perhaps I will visit Big Bear or Mammoth in the new year, or will go more next winter.

 

Goodbye, Old Chang Kee

 

Well. I’m on a flight out of the UK right now. I’m going from London to Iceland, and then heading back home to Denver for a couple weeks.

 

I didn’t do much in London; I had a very specific agenda and didn’t have a lot of time leftover for anything else. I really only had one day there, and spent most of it getting to and exploring the Royal Botanic Gardens, or Kew Gardens as it’s often called. The gardens were everything I could’ve ever wanted. Tranquil greenhouses, a huge, expansive arboretum. And, my personal favorite: not one, but TWO rooms entirely dedicated to carnivorous plants. And the bonus, it was a bit dreary that day, so the entire grounds were deserted. A tranquil and perfect way to spend my last day in the UK. But, of course, I didn’t stop there. Justin, David, and I all went out for a spot of tea and ended the day by seeing Les Misérables, the last of my favorite musicals that I hadn’t seen live. Les Mis was excellent. Honestly one of the best theater performances I’ve ever seen. I had chills during the entire performance and the singing was so good that it made me seriously doubt the credentials of whoever cast the movie.

 

All in all though, it was hard to say goodbye. Maybe even harder than with Singapore. I really am going to miss everything. The fencing team workouts. Nanyang with Justin. Having professors that exclusively speak in Scottish accents (not even lying, this makes classes at least 2x as exciting). But I think it’s time for me to go home. I think it has been for awhile now. I’m not horribly cold tolerant and it’s about time I return to the land of palm trees, sunshine, and bubble tea that’s actually worth the $4 you pay for it. And food. I definitely won’t miss Scottish food. Honestly can’t say I’d be heartbroken if I didn’t cross paths with IRN BRU (Scotland’s national drink) for a bit.

 

And so for my last meal in the United Kingdom I ate Old Chang Kee curry puffs. Everything came full circle. 6 months ago, getting off a plane in Singapore and thinking to my self “what on earth am I doing with my life?” All the way to now. 12 countries (not including layovers). 6 months. One very tired, but not quite homesick 20 year-old. And his final curry puff.

 

Until next time,

 

— Chandrew

Sent from my iPhone

One *Final* Time

 

AHHH it’s FINALS WEEK!!! And yes, unlike at Caltech where I have been known to take the occasional 100 mile trip to go to the beach and get Korean-American fusion during finals week, I am STRESSED.

 

Actually though, this has been quite likely the most stressful week of my life since my last week of IB exams in high school. Granted though, I had reason for that. I had four exams this season, three of which were this week, and two of which were yesterday. A normal Edinburgh student usually takes three classes and only has one or two of those with exams. So let’s just say it was a bit of a heavy load for me this term. Even my other caltech friends didn’t have 4 tests.

 

And it’s further stressful because the testing format is about as dissimilar from Caltech’s as one could physically get. All but one of my exams were closed book. I already learned the hard way on hydrogeology that that doesn’t mean that the exams are any less comprehensive on material, they just expect you to memorize legitimately everything (which is something I am historically bad at). Furthermore, the exams are all held in lecture halls in very strict, proctored exams. The sort of place where you have to raise your hand if you want to go to the bathroom.

 

Actually it really is funny how much these tests resembled my IB tests. Even the pink paper they used for the answer books was exactly the same. I was even able to recreate my high school pre-test ritual, with a new Scottish twist. Usually in high school I would drink an energy drink and listen to pump-up tunes ending with Eminem’s ‘Till I Collapse (dorky, I know). In Scotland I’ve now added the LIDL brand chocolate chip muffin as the healthy and nutritious breakfast that I need to fuel my brain through an exam. Realistically, they’re pretty mediocre muffins, but I’ve had a minor addiction to chocolate muffins and they’re the most price-per-quality-efficient option given my rate of consumption. Anyways, I have one more exam tomorrow: Land-Atmosphere Interactions. This is going to be my second hardest test, but luckily I only need a 31 on it to pass, so I’m luckily a bit less stressed. But also, I have to finish packing today (which is what I’ve procrastinated). So cheers to that haha. Also enjoy the assortment of random Edinburgh pictures. They wouldn’t let me take selfies in the exam room.

 

To passing all my classes! And thank goodness I’ll never have to sit finals like this again.

 

— Chandrew

 

 

Castle to E4, Checkmate

(Yes, I know they’re called rooks, but I needed a pun)

 

Hiya lads and lasses! I did my final wee bit of Scotland exploration this week, which is to say, I finally did the one touristy thing I’d been avoiding doing for all too long. I went to Edinburgh Castle. AND I went INSIDE Edinburgh Castle.

 

I’ve been avoiding this a bit for a few reasons. First, it’s rather cold and windy in Edinburgh, and the castle is at the top of a hill, where it is colder, and windier (lame excuse, but I’m cold constantly here). Second, it’s actually a bit pricey to get in (£17) and I can buy a lot of food for that much money (also a lame excuse, but eating helps ease the pain of the cold). And third, there’s a stigma that if you visit the castle before graduation you will fail your exams. Which, I know, I’m not a full time student here. Or superstitious. But that would be a very unfortunate outcome.

 

Anyways. To the details. The castle isn’t really a palace or anything like that. It’s more of a series of small building protected by a wall, and sitting atop of one of Edinburgh’s 3 extinct volcanos. Each of the little building has been converted into a museum of sorts, with different information about the history of the castle, famous assaults on t he defended, and a few oddities (like the history of the Scottish guard). There was also one really big cannon that could apparently fire about two miles. That’s just a wild concept to me. The entire castle had gorgeous overlooks of the city and stunning architecture. Anyways, I figure it’s a bit better explained through pictures, so enjoy!

 

The highlight of the day was seeing the ORIGINAL stone of scone, you know, the thing that Justin and I took the train all the way to Perth to see the replica of. Funny enough, it was just sitting in a glass case, a casual block of metamorphic rock chilling with the Scottish Crown Jewels. Of course, they wouldn’t let us have a scone with this one so that trip was still very much worth it. But it was a bit of a shock to see it here, especially because I thought it was in London.

 

Anyways, we did make it to the castle. And, even through wind that almost knocked us off our feet a few times, we crushed being tourists.

 

Checkmate.

 

— Chandrew

#1

It was a farewell dinner today. The beginning of the end. Crazy to think in less than a week I’ll be back in Denver and this entire country hopping adventure will be completely over.

 

 

Justin and I went to the Balmoral Hotel. As a birthday gift I’d received a gift certificate for their restaurant, and there really wouldn’t have been any better way to use it than taking my best lad out for dinner.

 

The Balmoral’s restaurant is legitimately called “Number One”. And it’s frequently regarded as the best restaurant in Edinburgh (if not the best in Scotland). It has a Michelin Star, a tasting menu, and basically everything I’ve come to love about fine dining.

 

So let’s talk menu. The amuse bouche’s were a tasty pastry cup fish mousse, roe deer raw, and the most delicious “truffle bomb” a rice shell filled with truffly goodness.

 

Course one was an oyster from nearby.

 

Followed by my first time eating foie gras, with a delicious licorice bread (that really just tasted like gingerbread but was black)

 

Then was a scallop kedigree which is really just a fancy way of saying seared scallop on potatoes.

 

We continued with North Sea cod, served with surprisingly delightful chanterelle mushrooms and crispy chicken skin.

 

Continuing on, the main course was roe deer, chervil root, and pear. This was a delightfully tender and game-flavor-free cut of meat.

 

After this it was on to the cheese course, where we had an interesting mix of French and Scottish cheeses, served with truffled honey.

 

Finally, dessert of a sea buckthorn sherbet served with carrot puree and browned butter crust. Sea buckthorn apparently tastes like tangerine.

 

But wait! There’s more! Last up was a bramble sherbet soufflé with apple pie ice cream.

 

And we got some post-dinner sweets to go along with it. A nice bit of tablet and a pineapple candy.

 

My favorite? Strongly the last course, the soufflé. It was by far the most technically perfect baked dish I’d ever consumed. And the flavors balanced and played with each other unlike any dessert I’ve had. This meal was a stark contrast to the Michelin street food I had in Singapore, and a similar contrast to Providence in LA. This menu was united around the theme of Scotland at the holidays. Not the general theme of seafood. Or the singular dish of the hawker stalls in Singapore. And it was a perfect goodbye meal.

 

Food is love,

 

— Chandrew

Drizzles in Durham

There, and back again. A Caltech student’s tale.

I went back to the land of my enemy, my mortal nemesis. Or at least, the nemesis of our school. Durham, the only team currently ranked above us on the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) point list. Only, this time, I went with open arms.

I believe I mentioned somewhere deep buried in this land of blogs that my dad had studied abroad in Durham, 40 years ago precisely. And on this 40-year anniversary, it seems only fitting that his son would make a return to the land of his old haunts and continue the Chan family tradition in (chilly) Durham, England.

I dragged along one of my fencing teammates with me. Well, not exactly dragged. Ardy is from Durham, and he was actually rather excited to get the opportunity to take a tourist around his home and reminisce about the wonderfully cute city he grew up in.

Yet again though, this weekend adventure started with some train drama. They cancelled our train. But before too long we were on a later train and made our way into an overcast day in Durham.

We started out by diving headfirst into the market. We picked up some wonderful gingerbread. Gingerbread is a bit different in the UK, it is soft with hard edges, instead of being entirely soft. We also picked up some sour sweets which Ardy loved and I could barely keep in my mouth for 15 seconds.

We then proceeded to the cathedral and the castle – both very prominent sites of Harry Potter filming, and old haunts of my dad’s. We had a nice solid walkthrough and spent some time enjoying the scenery before heading to a lunch at Zapatista Burrito Bar. I’ve really been craving Mexican food for the last few weeks in Scotland, so it just had to happen.

It was a whirlwind of a day, with no time for stopping. After this, we went on a mile or so journey out to the oriental museum. This fascinating little gem held a shockingly large collection of Asian Artifacts, some of which were similar to what I’d seen in China freshman year. Then we hiked the nearby hill and got a gorgeous view of the Durham castle and cathedral. It did really pay off to have an insider with me.

And like any good day, we ended it with a Tesco meal deal and a train ride back. It had been a long day, and we had earned our rest.

There’s a storm a’comin

And it’s us.

--Chandrew

 

 

It’s Studying Time

Well, the week before finals week is finally here. And I spent that studying, but also, doing the ever-important finishing of reports, and honestly, taking a couple of much-needed naps to catch up on everything else.

Studying is a bit different here in Edinburgh. The biggest difference is that every single lecture is usually recorded. This means it’s very easy to have a lazy day of staying in bed and re-watching the lectures you missed or that you zoned out during. The most helpful part of this is that you can repeat parts of the lecture you don’t understand. So instead of getting pointlessly lost, you can repeat the same 5-second clip until the cows come home. The other major difference is that every past exam from any year this course has been taught is posted online. They change the exams significantly every year, so they’re able to put up all the past papers for you to do. This is quite helpful, as the exams have certain trends that allow you to pick out what the instructors think are important topics, and thus hone the area you’re studying around those subjects.

And, as with any good week of studying, David and I decided to take a bit of a study break and spend some time at the holiday Christmas party. The student union (basically the student government) runs this giant venue that got out a snow machine and some sick early 2000s tunes. And free santa hats. We have a lovely photo of us sipping water and looking up and to the left. I don’t know why they felt the need to post that but who knows ahahaha.

And I designed a guitar body! Just for fun aha.

Oh! And we got free tickets to see the dress rehearsal of The Lion King in Edinburgh. This amazing experience was courtesy of the Singapore society, and we got to go out see it just a few days before anyone else. It was a wonderfully put on show, beautiful puppets (which weirded me out for most of the time) and generally great singing – although the kids did pronounce the “can’t” in “just can’t wait to be king” with an extremely heavy London accent which was a bit odd.

More theater soon! (we just got tickets to Les Mis in London – the dream of my theater life to see.)

--Chandrew