July 13th, 2010
The 4th of July is a day in which Americans regardless of faith, race or even ideology set aside their differences to celebrate their victory against evil alien invaders that blasted most major cities around the globe independence from British colonial rule and at this year’s celebration we got a taste of what it is like to celebrate Independence Day.
To see and experience how a small community celebrate the 4th of July, we were taken to Kaskaskia Island located in Randolph County in Southern Illinois. Kaskaskia Island was once a major French colonial town and then it became the first state capital of Illinois. Now it just has a very sparse population surrounded by farmland.
Continue reading
July 10th, 2010
Apparently, if you ever had a physical education while growing up in the US you would have definitely learned, heard or even most probably played baseball. Alongside Basketball and (American) Football it has one of the biggest followings here in the United States and is also the official national sport of the country.
Continue reading
July 7th, 2010
After a short briefing/orientation session and getting our documents in checked, we finally started our classes located at the social science building called Faner Hall a short walk away from the dorms. The Study of the U.S. Institute’s New Media program is spearheaded by Dr.John Foster and Dr.John Jackson both from the Political Science Department of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Continue reading
July 3rd, 2010
After 20 hours sitting on an airplane I think I have reached my yearly quota for air travel. Sleep was almost impossible for me with the cramp seats and the loud engine noise but I persevered non-the-less. After transiting at Changi Airport in Singapore we had a 6+ hour flight in a Boeing 777 to Narnia Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Then it was a 9+ hour flight on a very cramped Boeing 747 to San Francisco plus another almost 4 hours of additional flight time on an Airbus that has seats that are not screwed/attached onto the plane. Lost my confidence on United Airlines by the way. Lastly it was a 2 hour drive from St.Louis Airport to the small town of Carbondale.
Continue reading
June 26th, 2010
After so many months, it is finally clear that I am still not ready nor accepted the fact that I am going to America for Study of the US Institute’s New Media program. I’m starting the journey by having an argument with my sister and this is not what I had expected it to be. *think happy thoughts* This was a bad sign as something was gonna happen…and it did.
Arriving at Changi we checked in at a transit hotel but because we checked in our bags earlier we cannot collect them unless we leave the transit area pass immigration. The problem was if we went out to collect our bags we cannot go back in as our boarding passes was only allowed to be collected before the flight itself. Due to that really incredible rule I’m now left with the same T-shirt I’ve been wearing the entire day without a change of clothes or even my long sleeve shirt for the long duration flight.
Seriously, WTF???!!!! and FML!. On the bright side, the airport offers free Wifi and the inside of the duty free area looks like a mini shopping mall. Damn the liquor and cigarettes are cheap. So gonna get a few bottles on the way home after this.
Looks like football fever does not stop even the busiest of travelers. There’s a few spots in the airport organised by the airport authorities itself that gives guest an opportunity to watch the World Cup live. A great idea if I do say so myself if you’re on the go. Thats actually quite considerate of them.
Looking how I do not have anything/anyone to hug to keep the cold away I hope they would give me a blanket soon. Gonna try to stay awake tonight so I can sleep on the plane. Plane departs at 7am and its gonna be a 20 hour flight to St.Louis’s airport. I predict my butt is gonna die and my entertainment supply will only last me for so long. I think I’m gonna dread this journey…I really think so….
Next stop…Narita Airport.
