Archive for the Category »Education «

Wishlist for University
18
April

Yes  I know it’s a bit belated for me to have a Wishlist for University, especially since it’s been almost 3 years…

But just like I wish I was 10 years old again so that I could have cool toys like a laptop, ps3, iphone, portable dvd player etc… I also wish I was 18 again so I could have cool gadgets for uni! And it would have been handy to have when I was on exchange in Beijing (Life as a student at BLCU).

Pepper Spray

I don’t think this is legal in Australia, but how cool would it be if we (girls) got some pepper spray?? Considering there’s always reports of sexual assault, armed theft, breaking and entering etc on Curtin’s Campus, I think this is a fantastic thing for a single female walking around campus.

Let’s be realistic, the University Campus Security is sparse and they can’t have eyes and ears everywhere. Do you really want to wait 30+minutes for the campus bus to take you to the parking lot? Yes! But this form of security is mostly for those who have nothing better to do. The rest of us take ass-kicking (self defense) classes and carry Pepper Spray!

Jogger Alarm

The jogger alarm is more like something I would get IF I actually jogged. But you know what, who says you can’t wear it on campus even if you’re not jogging? There’s been too many times when I found myself walking back alone to my car during late evenings and even a night. The pathways aren’t always clear and sometimes you have no choice but to walk past bushes and dodgy niches which attackers may hide.

So If you can’t get your hands on pepper spray the jogger alarm is probably the next best alternative. Most attackers are opportunists so if you start flashing and emitting a 105db alarm, chances are they will run and hide. But always have your keys between your knuckles ready incase they’re stupid.

Multi-Blade Shredder Scissors

A cool pair of scissors that speaks for itself. Why waste your effort snipping away when you can do it all in one snip? It’s useful for destroying evidence, private information, photos of enemies, and creating confetti fast! … if that’s what you’re into anyway…

Cable Coil

These funky cable coils are really handy to avoid trip hazards around the computer. I personally have trouble with all the cables around my desk and the coils can be handy just to keep things neat. You could also use those wire ties or clips, but these coils just look much cooler.

Cable Buddy

I bought a couple of cute teddy bear shaped ‘Cable Buddy’ holders over Christmas in Hong Kong. They had duck shaped ones too which I regret not buying. These are definitely worth buying to keep those annoying wires out of the way, it’s also a much cooler alternative to rubber bands (which I was previously using)!

Category: Education, Reviews  Tags:  Leave a Comment
Garbage In = Garbage Out!!
28
November

One of the few things that actually stuck with me from the good old days of Uni is that: if you put garbage in, you’ll always get garbage out.

Originally used to refer to the quality of our work: poor research and preparation leads to poor assignments, reports, presentations etc.
I now apply it for everything, from driving: bad navigation leads to bad shortcuts
to family: children see, children do
to work: bad habits = irreversible damage
to friends: alcohol in, alcohol out


So I’ve been driving myself crazy the past couple of months trying to figure out how to redirect and more importantly mask the directory WordPress is stored so it appears to be in the root directory. Searching… Searching… Searching…  and I discovered something called mod_rewrite and was reading up and doing a patchwork job applying it to the site.

It worked, barely (due to my severe lack of knowledge and understanding). I had huge issues with the links showing the directory folder name instead of being straight from the root. Reading up more on mod_rewrite made me realise there was no chance of using it to fix the bug, I was sure it could do the job but I just wasn’t g33ky enough to understand the process

As I was about to give up, something amazing appeared before my very eyes…
Under Settings – General next to the “Site Address (URL)” box is the following link “Enter the address here if you want your site homepage to be different from the directory you installed WordPress“.
I followed the instructions…

And FAILED! (again)

In hindsight I can see how stupified and simple the instructions are, and yet obviously not noob-proofed. The reason for failing? Not reading the instructions. Doh! I looked at the text and thought, “Ha! Piece of cake”

When that didn’t work I surfed the support forums to salvage my errors but unfortunately had no other choice but to restore everything. THANK GOD FOR BACKUPS! (even if it was a shoddy backup)

Taking a deep breath, and backing up EVERYTHING in the process, I gave it another shot. This time taking my time and actually reading the instructions from Moving WordPress from Within Your Site (which I found through the wordpress support forums)….

Piece.Of.Cake:)

Category: Education  Leave a Comment
Internet Access In China
10
November

It doesn’t take a genius to realise that the internet access to those living within China is quite different from the rest of the world. We all know about the China-bots and their task of blocking all anti-China websites, anything they don’t like or just because they feel like it.

So for someone who needs his/her daily internet fix, the lack of internet access could pose a problem. Thankfully though, BLCU (Beijing Language and Culture University) provides internet lines to dorms on campus, and it’s extremely easy to actually gain access to the internet even without those lines because of the multiple wireless internet cafe’s on and off campus.

The topic of what you can and can not access on the internet is another story though. During my time at BLCU I discovered that Xanga was fully blocked (I was going through my xanga stalking phase), and after a couple of days they blocked my blog too. On the other hand, I was able to access MySpace and Facebook.

My cousin told me to get around the China block by surfing the internet using Proxyless websites. This is the same thing you can do when you want to surf on blocked websites at work! There are quite a few around but they also seem to be riddled with pop-ups and overdosed on pay per click advertising. You have been warned.

If you happen to find a user friendly site…. Please let me know!!

Category: BLCU, Travelling in China  Leave a Comment
BLCU Accommodation: Scholarship Students
25
July

Due to the high demand from my BLCU Dorm Accommodation post, I thought it best to make another post in hopes of answering questions regarding accommodation for scholarship students going to BLCU.

Disclaimer: Although I received the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Scholarship, I was never a Chinese Government Scholarship Student and anything I post here is from what I have gathered from friends, friends of friends, aquaintances etc. which may or may not be accurate!

Dorm 1 & 2

More likely than not, scholarship students will be allocated to Dorms 1 and 2. These dorms have communal showers, toilets, kitchen, laundry etc per level, thus each floor alternates males and females. As a very general guide, the girls are usually in the lower levels and the guys are in the upper levels.

BLCU Dorm 1 & 2 Map

I don’t like the sound of Dorm 1 &2, is it possible to change accommodation?

The simple answer: Yes

It seems to be possible for a few persistant students to change to a different dorm within BLCU for a cost (money and/or time).

I’ve been told that some scholarship students have been successful in transfering from Dorms 1/2 to  Dorm 9 at no extra cost. You may possibly be able to ‘upgrade’ (and pay the difference) to another dorm, however I haven’t heard of anyone actually being allowed so it may not be possible afterall…

You can also stay in other dorms if you wish, but you will have to fork out the cost yourself (with no compensation from your scholarship) – This also applies for staying in apartments off-campus.

I still want to give it a go, what needs to be done?

The best way is to talk to the Housing Staff in charge of student accommodation, they had an office in Dorm 4 when I was there but may have moved to the new offices near Dorm 1 & 2. (Refer to BLCU Campus Map)

Another option is to talk to the fuyuans (staff) at the specific dorm, don’t assume that if you ask one fuyuan that all the fuyuans will give the same answer.



Although I have never asked about accommodation for scholarship students I have asked about changing dorms, and from experience they will say “No, it’s not possible” almost all the time. The trick is to get past the lower level fuyuans and talk to the person in charge – this way at least you have a chance! Unfortunately I don’t know any tricks to getting their attention, the only reason why our request was brought up to the higher level was because we had a justified reason to move.

Category: BLCU  Tags: , ,  One Comment
5 Quick Questions About Going To BLCU
02
July

As you know, I get emailed about BLCU and my experience in Beijing, so I thought I’ld share my answers to these questions a reader emailed me just in case other people are also curious (seems very likely).

Did you use an agent to go to BLCU?

No, I went through my university as a student exchange (which I was accredited for) and received the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Scholarship. My university arranged my tuition, via the scholarship,  but everything else was expected to be arranged by me (accommodation, transport, visa, flights etc).

How did you get a roomate at BLCU?

The BLCU staff at each dorm will automatically assign you to someone… generally they go by the country you are from. I think they try to pair up different countries to encourage a multicultural environment,  but if you have a someone you want to share with, you just need to let them know. They do NOT allow different sex sharing the same room, although the dorms are unisex.

Does BLCU take the students around the city (sightseeing, shopping, etc) during the weekend?

BLCU does arrange some touristy things to do (mostly for short term students), but you’re expected to do your own shopping. There’s so many shops in Beijing that you won’t even realise you’re in one!

Maybe going to Beijing with a friend made it easy?

Having a familiar face will definitely make it easier and less scary for a first timer in Beijing, and the best person to have around is someone who can translate for you!! My friend arrived before me and made all her arrangements, even finding the chaoshifa, without me around. It just saves you lots of misunderstandings, headaches and frustration if you have someone there to vent with =)
However, you can very easily go to BLCU without knowing a single person because it’s very very easy to make friends on campus.

How about reporting to the police about my arrival?

hAHa, to be honest I didn’t even think about reporting anything to the cops… I’m not sure if it’s even effective? Just remember that there are hundreds and thousands of students going on exchange to foreign countries all the time. You Are Not Alone! Worst case scenario, find your embassy and get their help. I don’t know about other countries, but (once you get past the check point) the Australian embassy is very friendly and helpful.



Category: BLCU  Tags: , , , ,  2 Comments
BLCU Accommodation Rates
01
July

Since I seem to get a lot of questions about the cost of accommodation at BLCU, I decided to make a post here. The rates at BLCU vary depending on which dorm you settle with and how long you plan to stay. Obviously the longer you stay the cheaper the rate, and the nicer the dorm the higher the rate.

All the dorm rooms are pretty standard, you can find out more in detail at BLCU Dorms.

The following information is from the BLCU website as of 1st July 2009:

Accommodation Rates for Beijing Language and Culture University

Housing Service Center (Tel:00861082303300)

Single Room / Rates (RMB)

Facilities

Double Room / Rates (RMB)

Facilities

91-149 per day

TV, phone (Phone bill is not included), air-conditioner, fridge, shower, closet

50-75 per person, per day and per bed

Phone (Phone bill is not included), TV, fridge, air-conditioner, shower, closet

37-41perperson, per day and per bed

TV, phone (Phone bill is not included), public closet and shower

Conference Center (00861082303778)

Accommodation

Room Rates (RMB)

Economical Single Room

160 per day

Luxury Single Room

280 per day

Luxury Double Room

320 per day

For more information go to the BLCU website.



Category: BLCU  Tags: , , ,  One Comment
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