Be strong, Japan

The images are shocking. Entire villages are destroyed, totally annihilated from the map. Cars float on water, as if they are toys. The saddest of all are those of the people affected. They have lost everything, maybe some of their loved ones. Their current and future are uncertain.

BUT it is Japan we are talking about here. They are the 3rd largest economy in the world, their buildings are designed to withstand strong Earthquakes, and their people are civilized and prepared for such disasters. If I were to name a country that can recover the quickest from a such a natural catastrophe, it would be Japan without a doubt. The problem is, it is not one, but 3 disasters, that struck almost immediately after the other. The earthquake was strong, but happened offshore, and most buildings were intact. Then there is the tsunami. I don't think any man-made structure can withstand a wave of 10m. And worst of all, all these are followed by the possible nuclear fallout from the power station. The nuclear part of the problem is still a ongoing battle. I wish all the best to the team behind it and you guys are heroes.

There might be some media hype about the radiation level. Rumors are rife that Japanese products are no longer safe, and there have been comparison of this with other nuclear accident. Certainly we cannot dismiss anything to do with a nuclear reaction as a "small thing", but we need to remain in perspective. Risk communication is vital during such crisis to prevent any unnecessary stress and irrational behaviour.

It is a test of unity and resolve. I sincerely hope that everything will be under control soon, and effort to be focused on rebuilding the affected areas, and offer support to the victims. The world is behind you Japan.

It is also very unfortunate that the Pembroke international programme is at this time of the year. The university part of it was cancelled, but the high school one will still go on. It can be a very delicate task to approach them at these time. But I hope they are not too affected by the events back home, and can enjoy their time in Cambridge.

Cambridge Diary XI

Pembroke Mile is an annual charity event held by the college. Like the London marathon, it is a day of funfair. Some people compete for the ultimate prize, while most others just turn up in fancy dresses and attempt to finish the race. Distance wise it is not particular challenging, but coming up with a good costume takes quite some preparation, and winning is not easy.

Matt suggested to me this crazy idea of completing the race as wheelbarrow. It sounded really ridiculous. There is no way that as a pair we can do that for a mile, so I turned it down. He then somehow persuaded Mark to do it with him, and started practicing on Saturday morning. They soon figured out it was quite difficult and instead of quitting, they asked me again if we can do it in the group of 3. I went down to try with them, and it wasn't THAT bad, and we sort of figured out some good ways of holding the crawling person. It was quite embarrassing as we inevitably drew some attention from some friends and a lot of tourists who were in college at that time. They really had a good laugh and definitely thought we were nuts. Even the Master saw us, and seemed unconvinced. At that point, we were not totally sure if it was all worthwhile. Naturally we thought of asking people for donation to our cause, which is a rather common thing here in the UK. That was the last persuasion needed, and I was on the team.

Matt put up some suggestive posters around the college. He also physically "pressured" quite a lot of friends to sign up. By the end of the day, we have around 100 pounds worth of pledges, which was pretty impressive for just one day of fund raising. He had done a really good job.

Then came the impossible task of completing the race itself. We started off really slowly, and had to stop much more frequently then we thought we would. The gloves we bought was torn well before the first 300 meters. However, there were some really supportive people with us and they encouraged us and cheered us along. We were really grateful for their support. We also tried different ways of doing it and just took a small distance at a time, and kept on rotating. My arms were hurting really badly almost right from the start, and I didn't know how I managed to continue to be able to doing all the carrying and crawling. A lot of people and small kids were literally laughing at us. The most difficult part of was the not the crawling but the carrying as there is no natural place to hold on to. I am also the weakest among the team and had to reply quite heavily on Matt and Mark, and somehow by sheer determination, craziness, the tolerance of pain and the thought of all the support we have received, we made it back to the College Hall to be received with applauses. And the free brunch was just awesome!

I would really like to thank everyone who has donated, and encouraged us. To be honest we looked really stupid, but I think it was worth it.

I'm off to collect my bike in the pitch now.

Cambridge Diary X

Nothing very interesting is happening in my life. Except I am having a Shadow for these few days, who is following to lectures and practicals. She has been to Cambridge before so things are not new to her. Think she was quite terrified by the 4 hours of lectures and 4 hours of practicals I had on Monday. Oh well. I am terrified myself.

There are some changes to people around me. A few of them got attached, and a few of them are not having too good a health. Wish them the best in everything.

Week 4 is coming to an end. I have now almost completed half of my undergraduate educations. These are the best years I am having, and so sad that days are kind of numbered now.

《劝学篇》

小时候总觉得自己很聪明，算数比班上大部分人都好；一起玩耍的同龄小孩中，象棋我从来没输过，一段时间甚至忘乎所以，以“天才”自称。年十三到了新加坡，令我出乎意料。英语听不懂，课跟不上，与同学无法交流。受了这打击后发奋图强，两年后情况大有好转，不过又开始得意忘形。东林并不是什么顶尖学校，虽然认识到了这个问题，但觉得也不太碍事。升学时出了很多状况，可以说是第二次打击，但这次不太一样。国初里多才多艺的人不在少数，我这井底之蛙突然感到十分无用，为什么别人能这么有效的利用他们的时间？我尽力弥补前几年的无所事事，效果终究有限。到了剑桥，这种自卑心理得到了另一种的升华。我可以说是虚度了二十多年的光阴，一无所成，能力有限是一方面，对事情认识的不够清楚是更大的障碍。

荀子的《劝学篇》有一句话是这么说的

"故不登高山，不知天之高也；不临深谿，不知地之厚也；不闻先王之遗言，不知学问之大也。"

每个人的经历都不同，有时候可能一辈子也没出过自己的村庄，但是却有“秀才不出门尽知天下事”的本领。原因在于他们对事情的好奇与关注，加上对世事和道理的认识，从接触的人中就能得到所有知识。反观现在信息科技这么发达，人们反而什么都不知道了。

每本书都有它的局限性。《劝学篇》鼓励人么好好读书，但在这个时代“万般皆下品，唯有读书高”这种观念已被淘汰。但我们可以从全方面发展的角度来理解它的含义，取得“青。取之于蓝，而青于蓝。”的效果。

The Hungarian bit

Now the Hungarian bit of the story.

I went to Budapest to visit a friend. He is the legendary and elusive Mate. I have him as supervision partner this year for all 3 of my supervisions. Other than making me look incredibly stupid during supervision, he is a very nice person. Very quiet, but great to talk to and very enthusiastic about Physics.

He has kindly agreed to let me stayed in his house, and also offered to pick me up from Keleti train station. However, there was a small drama before we met. I was sleeping during most the train ride. Subconsciously I knew I need to be alert and not miss my stop. So when I suddenly heard Budapest something, I just grabbed my bag and alighted. The place look surprisingly run-down. Mindless graffiti and wall posters are very not European like. Is Budapest so different from Vienna even though they are just two and half hours apart? After wandering about for a while, and not seeing a sign of him, I finally came to realize I'm at the wrong stop. It was Budapest Kelenfold. Oh what a start! Luckily I met a kind soul who spoke perfect English, and he told me the directions to Keleti by other public transport. Finally after 2 more transfers and an hour late, I arrived at Keleti to be warmly received by Mate.

I was first brought to his house. He lives in what looks like a suburb area. It is very peaceful and quiet, and very beautiful with all the snows. His mum was in to receive us. However, she doesn't speak much English, so the initial meeting was kind of awkward. Mate then showed me around the house and my room. It was not a very big place, but very cosy. His room is full of the medals and certificates he won in high school, and there are seriously loads of them. His brother and sister are living upstairs, and strangely they had a kitchen to themselves! As this is the case, I hardly saw two of them during my stay. We then had lunch prepared by her mum, and after a short rest, and went out.

Mate has to be the best tour guide in many ways. He knows the place at the tip of his fingertips. The history, the story and how in some ways he is connected to them. Throughout the 4 days, he showed vast knowledge of Budapest. Honestly, if I am supposed to do it, the only city I can possibly do a half decent job is Cambridge. I seem to have lost touch with Singapore, Shanghai, and my hometown. If there are any serious connection to begin with. Haiz this has set me to some pondering.

After a brief tour of city centre and then Margaret Island, we went back to home early. His mum was preparing a very Hungarian dinner for us. It was some sort of beef stew and was absolutely delicious. This has to be the first time I have eaten in a traditional meal in an European family. We played lots of puzzle and games after dinner. I have never seen so many of them in my life. They were intellectually challenging and interesting.

The rest of the days were pretty similar. There was touring the city with Mate's extraordinary explanations and the quiet evenings of puzzles. I have learned a huge amount about Hungarian history and random facts. It was also a very culturally enriching trip. Very grateful for Mate's family for hosting me and it was a very special trip.