POSTED ON Wednesday, October 16, 2013 AT 7:54 PM \\
Yesterday (Tuesday) we had our path II block 2 exam, which went fairly well. There will be one last path block in three weeks before the shelf!!! Later that night I got together with some people from class for dinner at Bamboo Bernies for sushi. I ordered the sashimi plate, which was 20 pieces of four different types of sashimi (raw fish).
Sashimi!!!
After dinner we headed to the movie theatre to watch Gravity in 3D. The theatre was decent, just like ones back home except smaller. We got there just as the movie started. The entire movie is essentially about one woman (Sandra Bullock) trying to survive in space and somehow make it back to Earth in one piece, which is rather hard to do while debris is whizzing about at hundreds of miles per hour. It was a very dizzying theatre experience because the camera kept spinning around to stimulate zero-gravity. I can't imagine how much of a headache I would have gotten if it was in IMAX! At times it felt like I was watching the Discovery channel or National Geographic because of the magnificent views of planet Earth from space. Despite the beauty of it all, the viewer was constantly reminded of the perils of being up in space, including running out of oxygen, being flung into space without being attached to anything, the difficulty of maneuvering around in zero-gravity, and of course, the silence. It was a very suspenseful movie, and I liked how it echoed the classic beloved Aliens movies where the female protagonist is the one who finds the courage and strength to soldier on and survive. Anyways after the movie it was about 11 PM and we were all tired so I went home. When I got to my house I saw the cat, and it followed me to my door. I opened the door to go inside and it walked right by me and inside! I was surprised and didn't know what to do at first. It helped itself to a quick tour of my place and promptly made itself at home by sprawling out on the living floor. It turned out to be a super friendly cat, letting me pet it and purring loudly the whole time. I tried to feed it turkey slices and water but it seemed picky/not hungry and only had some water. The funny part was it kept dipping its paw into the water before lapping it up, as if to test the temperature. So cute! I played with it for a good hour before I decided that I had to let it go in case the owner was looking for it. Also, what if it makes a mess on my floor! So I opened my door and pretended to run outside. It followed me outside, and quickly I dashed back inside and closed the door. I opened it a crack to check on it and sure enough it was right outside my door waiting to be let in again! I felt so bad but I had to say good night to it and leave it outside. But that was very unexpected and fun!
It was parked right on the lagoon just outside where I live. My friends and I drove to the pier next to the bridge and we took so many pictures of it. We spent a good half hour just staring at it, amazed by its vast size, the elegance and simplicity, and the possibility that Steve Jobs's wife and kids might be on board! Anyways that was the definite highlight of my day.
Until today I've never actually explored my place the Yacht Club. This afternoon two of my friends and I decided to go pool lounging/swimming at my place. We met up, threw on our swimming suits and walked to the middle of the Yacht Club where we discovered this pool side right next to the lagoon. It was beautiful!
On Sunday my friend and I went out for dim sum at the one and only dim sum place here on St Martin, called White Swan. It was about a 5-10 minute walk from my place, but it always feels longer because it's so hot and the road is so rough to walk on. Anyways the restaurant is located across the bridge, and this is the view when I was crossing:
The restaurant is called White Swan, and it looked clean and proper, at least for a Chinese restaurant in the Caribbean. We asked for the dim sum menu (only available Sundays) and this is what we got:
We asked for a pot of jasmine tea, but it was very weak and diluted. We made out selections and the food started coming out one by one at the fifteen minute mark. The har gao (upper left) with shrimp filling didn't have as much shrimp as I'm used to, but the rice wrapping was delicate and chewy. The congee was really good, and the fried dough was a great topping that we didn't even have to ask for. The turnip cakes were very disappointing because it was doughy and bland and very very oily. The rice rolls (lower right) were alright. We ordered about 6 dishes, not pictured here is the char siu bao and another steamed bun that had a sweet yellow centre. All in all it was a decent meal. A little pricier than back home in TO, but it is the best and only dim sum on this island!
POSTED ON Wednesday, October 16, 2013 AT 7:54 PM \\
Yesterday (Tuesday) we had our path II block 2 exam, which went fairly well. There will be one last path block in three weeks before the shelf!!! Later that night I got together with some people from class for dinner at Bamboo Bernies for sushi. I ordered the sashimi plate, which was 20 pieces of four different types of sashimi (raw fish).
Sashimi!!!
After dinner we headed to the movie theatre to watch Gravity in 3D. The theatre was decent, just like ones back home except smaller. We got there just as the movie started. The entire movie is essentially about one woman (Sandra Bullock) trying to survive in space and somehow make it back to Earth in one piece, which is rather hard to do while debris is whizzing about at hundreds of miles per hour. It was a very dizzying theatre experience because the camera kept spinning around to stimulate zero-gravity. I can't imagine how much of a headache I would have gotten if it was in IMAX! At times it felt like I was watching the Discovery channel or National Geographic because of the magnificent views of planet Earth from space. Despite the beauty of it all, the viewer was constantly reminded of the perils of being up in space, including running out of oxygen, being flung into space without being attached to anything, the difficulty of maneuvering around in zero-gravity, and of course, the silence. It was a very suspenseful movie, and I liked how it echoed the classic beloved Aliens movies where the female protagonist is the one who finds the courage and strength to soldier on and survive. Anyways after the movie it was about 11 PM and we were all tired so I went home. When I got to my house I saw the cat, and it followed me to my door. I opened the door to go inside and it walked right by me and inside! I was surprised and didn't know what to do at first. It helped itself to a quick tour of my place and promptly made itself at home by sprawling out on the living floor. It turned out to be a super friendly cat, letting me pet it and purring loudly the whole time. I tried to feed it turkey slices and water but it seemed picky/not hungry and only had some water. The funny part was it kept dipping its paw into the water before lapping it up, as if to test the temperature. So cute! I played with it for a good hour before I decided that I had to let it go in case the owner was looking for it. Also, what if it makes a mess on my floor! So I opened my door and pretended to run outside. It followed me outside, and quickly I dashed back inside and closed the door. I opened it a crack to check on it and sure enough it was right outside my door waiting to be let in again! I felt so bad but I had to say good night to it and leave it outside. But that was very unexpected and fun!
It was parked right on the lagoon just outside where I live. My friends and I drove to the pier next to the bridge and we took so many pictures of it. We spent a good half hour just staring at it, amazed by its vast size, the elegance and simplicity, and the possibility that Steve Jobs's wife and kids might be on board! Anyways that was the definite highlight of my day.
Until today I've never actually explored my place the Yacht Club. This afternoon two of my friends and I decided to go pool lounging/swimming at my place. We met up, threw on our swimming suits and walked to the middle of the Yacht Club where we discovered this pool side right next to the lagoon. It was beautiful!
On Sunday my friend and I went out for dim sum at the one and only dim sum place here on St Martin, called White Swan. It was about a 5-10 minute walk from my place, but it always feels longer because it's so hot and the road is so rough to walk on. Anyways the restaurant is located across the bridge, and this is the view when I was crossing:
The restaurant is called White Swan, and it looked clean and proper, at least for a Chinese restaurant in the Caribbean. We asked for the dim sum menu (only available Sundays) and this is what we got:
We asked for a pot of jasmine tea, but it was very weak and diluted. We made out selections and the food started coming out one by one at the fifteen minute mark. The har gao (upper left) with shrimp filling didn't have as much shrimp as I'm used to, but the rice wrapping was delicate and chewy. The congee was really good, and the fried dough was a great topping that we didn't even have to ask for. The turnip cakes were very disappointing because it was doughy and bland and very very oily. The rice rolls (lower right) were alright. We ordered about 6 dishes, not pictured here is the char siu bao and another steamed bun that had a sweet yellow centre. All in all it was a decent meal. A little pricier than back home in TO, but it is the best and only dim sum on this island!
