“…what we do in life echoes an eternity.”
       -Maximus Decimus Meridius

Thank you, friends, for leaving a lasting impression in my heart. Thank you for providing me with the strength to ‘believe’, the courage to ‘persist’ and the ‘will’ to survive. I am going to miss you all so much. As cliche as it sounds, words truly cannot (at least in my primitive vocabulary) express the love, respect, honour etc. I have for you.

As I reflect on the life that I’ve lived, I can start to see where the chapters of my life have begun and ended. Throughout my personal book of life, I’ve encountered many different people. I’ve realized and now appreciate that no matter how brief a role, they each play a role in shaping who I am, affecting every fibre of my being – and lasting an eternity. There are some that come and go. Some that arrive in chapter 3, make brief appearances through 4 and 5, and end up changing you in chapter 7. Others, you meet and stay with you for life.

Although I may be leaving you at this chapter in life, don’t think I’ve disappeared. If I don’t show up in the next chapter, you’ll see me in the one after that, or the one after that and so forth. And if, heaven forbid, you happen to be one of the ones whose book I do not appear in again later in life, know that the actions that I’ve done in our chapters together echoes in your eternity – just as yours, all of yours, already echoes in mine.

Missing you in Shanghai,
Simon Decimus Meridius Tung

Today I am feeling very nostalgic

Don’t Know When I’ll Be Back Again…

It is official. I just purchased my ticket and I’m leaving on a jet plane on August 28, 2001 bound for Shanghai.

The funniest thing happened to me last night though. Since I’m still working on getting my accomodations settled in Shanghai, I have had to call Shanghai quite a bit lately. The people on the other end at Fudan (the university I’ll be studying at) aren’t very helpful. I guess it would help if they picked up the phone. Well, last night, at 3am Toronto time, I made my usual call and was relieved when it was finally answered by someone. As relieved as I was, my biggest worry was me not being able to communicate with the person on the other end of the phone in Shanghai. I needed to confirm that they had rooms available for when I arrived in Shanghai! Where the hell am I going to sleep? I was certain that the foreign exchange school would have someone willing and able to speak English. I asked the gentleman if he spoke English in my best Mandarin, to which he replied to me with a mouthful of Mandarin and then, very slowly, “Yes, yes I do speak little English.”

I proceeded to tell him that I was an international student calling to see if they had any rooms available. It was difficult for me to explain it to him because I didn’t want to say something that misled him. I could have asked if they had any more rooms free for me, but he might have assumed that I was looking for a free ride. I didn’t want to say available because I wasn’t sure if he would understand what that meant. He asked me where I was calling from and upon hearing I was from Canada, asked me if I spoke French! I said yes, a little, and now it was my turn to stumble and bumble. This Shanghainese guy was busting out some crazy French left and right… I had to tell him to slow down! “Monsieur, peut-tu me parle lentement s’îl vous plait. Je ne peux pas le parle bien!” It was truly something else! His French was so good, it put my OAC class to shame. He spoke with such eloquence, I was baffled. And in all my years of being in Canada, never have I had to use French more.

I would never have thought that communication with the person in Shanghai would be something other than Chinese or English. It was kinda cool, haha… Well, I found out that there are rooms available. Pas-de problème was what he kept saying. I’m starting to get excited.

New Beginnings

This is my first official blog on Xanga’s site in anticipation, of course, of my journey to Shanghai.

In the case that I am there, the first person I shall look out for is Zhang Ziyi.  Even though she is from Beijing, who knows?  Maybe she will hear that I am in Shanghai and come visit.  Okay, so it’s a little wishful thinking.  For you other Zhang Ziyi fans out there, here’s a cool link for you.  It’s one of the better Zhang Ziyi Fan Sites out there.  Click here to view.

As of today, I’m 95% sure that Shanghai is going to happen.  My mom and dad are generally for the idea.  I guess I just have to decide when I’m going to leave.  I’m really going to fukken miss my friends.  sniff….

At any rate, this will be my new home, a log of my adventures in Shanghai for my friends and any lost wanderers.  Thank you for coming, the adventure begins on the other side of the planet in less than a month… please stay tuned.