First Day of Third Term
Today we begin our third term. The seating has been rearranged and I am seated right at the back in a row of 12 (the ND Hall may be viewed here). Any further back, I will be joining the Commandant, as he seats right behind me. No more sleeping during lecture for me. Sucks!! It is a bit far to the screen for my comfort but I guess for this term not much time will be spent in the hall as we will have two major exercises and visits to the provinces. The day starts with a lecture on Debt Management. About the IMF, the lecturer quipped that at one time, this country is so much dependence on its loan that even his children knew whenever the IMF is in town. One factor he stressed was that, Âexchange rate stability is very vital to debt management of a countryÂ.
In the morning we greeted each other and exchanged eid-adha greetings. During this time, my Palestinian colleague noticed my Montblanc and exclaimed that I should not be using that pen as it is made in Israel. He pointed to the logo of the pen and said that it represents the Star of David (Magen David). I tried to explain to him that as far as I know, the signet actually represents the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe - but I know he is not convinced. Well not sure if I should auction off my precious Montblanc (this is my second set, as I lost my first one upon arrival).
In the local daily today, a news on Moscow Circus caught my attention. The circus is visiting Ulan Bator, Mongolia and currently the cold weather has effected the circus elephants. To keep them warm, they were given plenty of vodka. I remembered plenty of stories about vodka when we were in Moscow. We used to call vodka, Âminyak cap kapakÂ. Not only it serves the Russian craze for highly spirited drinks, but also a cure for all. It was once used on me by my Russian colleagues when I accidentally bruised my forehead in a swimming pool during one of the banya sessions. However, the most hilarious occasion was when it was used by our bus driver when the demister was not working. It was in the middle of winter, during one of our family outing, when the bus developed the problem. The windscreen was misting up, causing him to loose his visibility. He took a bottle of vodka, poured it on a piece of cloth, and spread it throughout the windscreen. Walla the mist cleared and he chugged along, leaving the whole bus smelling of vodka. I remembered arriving at the destination with the children almost intoxicated. There was another time when I developed a bad cold. My driver prescribed me a mixture of honey, eggs and plenty of vodka. After taking that concoction, I went to sleep (almost stone), and only to wake-up when I felt so hot under the covers and my whole body was drenched with sweat. The prescription actually works. Yum Seng to minyak cap kapak!!!
This afternoon I finally managed to continue with my jogging routine with a break in the dreadful weather. Been out of routine for the last one week whilst I was in KL, the 5 km jog seems to be a slow drag. My feet felt like lead. Continue with some exercises in the gym and found out that our gym has been equipped with a new treadmill. A welcome addition, in the event when the weather sucks.
This evening, we (German and Nigerian colleagues) were invited by our American friends to join them for dinner at their house at F8. It was a indeed wonderful dinnerbelievedelived they can cook very well.
In the morning we greeted each other and exchanged eid-adha greetings. During this time, my Palestinian colleague noticed my Montblanc and exclaimed that I should not be using that pen as it is made in Israel. He pointed to the logo of the pen and said that it represents the Star of David (Magen David). I tried to explain to him that as far as I know, the signet actually represents the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe - but I know he is not convinced. Well not sure if I should auction off my precious Montblanc (this is my second set, as I lost my first one upon arrival).
In the local daily today, a news on Moscow Circus caught my attention. The circus is visiting Ulan Bator, Mongolia and currently the cold weather has effected the circus elephants. To keep them warm, they were given plenty of vodka. I remembered plenty of stories about vodka when we were in Moscow. We used to call vodka, Âminyak cap kapakÂ. Not only it serves the Russian craze for highly spirited drinks, but also a cure for all. It was once used on me by my Russian colleagues when I accidentally bruised my forehead in a swimming pool during one of the banya sessions. However, the most hilarious occasion was when it was used by our bus driver when the demister was not working. It was in the middle of winter, during one of our family outing, when the bus developed the problem. The windscreen was misting up, causing him to loose his visibility. He took a bottle of vodka, poured it on a piece of cloth, and spread it throughout the windscreen. Walla the mist cleared and he chugged along, leaving the whole bus smelling of vodka. I remembered arriving at the destination with the children almost intoxicated. There was another time when I developed a bad cold. My driver prescribed me a mixture of honey, eggs and plenty of vodka. After taking that concoction, I went to sleep (almost stone), and only to wake-up when I felt so hot under the covers and my whole body was drenched with sweat. The prescription actually works. Yum Seng to minyak cap kapak!!!
This afternoon I finally managed to continue with my jogging routine with a break in the dreadful weather. Been out of routine for the last one week whilst I was in KL, the 5 km jog seems to be a slow drag. My feet felt like lead. Continue with some exercises in the gym and found out that our gym has been equipped with a new treadmill. A welcome addition, in the event when the weather sucks.
This evening, we (German and Nigerian colleagues) were invited by our American friends to join them for dinner at their house at F8. It was a indeed wonderful dinnerbelievedelived they can cook very well.
posted by besutian at 6:03 PM
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