Books and Learning

My self-declared holiday from school began on 19th April, when, having had the honour of being the grand prizewinner of the 2nd Annual Stanford Club of Singapore Bookprize, I boarded a North West flight to San Francisco for a 10 day reprieve at Stanford University; away from the stultifying heat of a certain tropical island. The first indication that the trip was going to be an eventful one came in the form of a saga in mid-air, when the plane encountered engine trouble and had to make a detour back to Narita Airport. Screaming fire engines and police cars surrounded the plane upon touchdown, with an accompanying message on board that this was standard procedure (to pre-empt mass hysteria?). The mechanics quickly hopped on board and within an hour we were above the clouds once more.

I was greeted at the San Francisco airport, sans placard with my name on it, by Wanrong - President of the 'Singaporeans at Stanford' Club and one of four hosts during my trip. Having not heard of the delay initially, she had become well acquainted with the layout of the airport in frantic search of her missing guest, and it was with much relief that we boarded the shuttle to Stanford.

I must confess I did not enter Stanford University in typical memorable fashion - that is, through the magnificent Palm Drive and around the Oval; Incidentally, the shuttle dropped us off near the dumpster at Serra House in Stern Hall, leaving me speculating about the arches and spanish architecture so commonly featured in the prospectus. Serra was to be home for the next two days, and I saw the arches in due course, when brought on a tour of campus (having slept off the insidious effects of jet lag). In typical tourist fashion, I moved through Memorial court toward the centre of the Main Quad, explored the buildings of the Inner Quad, had lunch at the coffeehouse in Tressider, investigated the bookstore (a department-store sized facility that houses everything ranging from computer supplies to photographic equipment to Stanford swimsuits), posed with Rodin's "The Thinker", and made the trip up Hoover Tower - which offered a panoramic aerial view of the sprawling campus and much of the Bay Area.

In the days that followed I managed to experience the various different 'lifestyles' at Stanford. On Wednesday morning I moved from Serra to Hammarksjold - the Georgian-style international house run by a co-operative of twenty-six students. Indeed, it had the cosy feel of home; I remember the floorboards creaking as I towed my suitcase into the house and up the stairs, and tinkering away on the grand piano that rested in the carpeted living room, in which also nestled a fireplace.

Having gotten acquainted with the Marguerite (the free shuttle service that runs from Stanford to various checkpoints), I also made trips down to the Stanford shopping mall, which houses up-market stores such as Macys, Bloomingdales, Neimen-Marcus and the like. Thursday morning saw a trip to Old Union for an informal chat with international admissions officer Jon Reider, following which I took a stroll down University Avenue in Palo Alto City, relishing the cool, slightly chilly breeze. In the evening, my host kindly undertook the hour's drive into downtown San Francisco for more shopping at Union Square, and after that we headed for Ghiradelli's at Fisherman's Wharf.

Lest you begin to think I spent all ten days buying up half the stores in San Francisco, much of my stay at Stanford also involved an immersion into the various academic programmes which Spring quarter had to offer. Clad in cotton casuals and sandals, I soon blended into the busy traffic of pedestrians, cyclists, roller-bladders and skateboarders, as I found my way to classrooms and auditoriums (albeit armed with a map). It was in attending lectures on Zen Buddhism to Imperfect Competition to cultural psychology and anthropology to Shakespeare, that I had my first taste of the climate of learning in campus - watching students make use of their freedom to eloquently challenge everyday assumptions and grasp hold of the numerous opportunities for growth, I soon understood what was meant by a golden age of education at Stanford. My visit also coincided with "Herstory" - a series of consciousness-raising events on feminism, during which I managed to attend Carol Lee Flinders' talk on 'femininity and spirituality through the ages', as well as another on "Women and Pacifism", both of which proved extremely enlightening.

The weekend was spent at Adam's House in Sterling Quad where I enjoyed two days of upper-class housing. Tucked away in Governor's Corner, this section of campus was so quiet it was not unlike a hotel resort. Incidentally, this weekend also coincided with Admit weekend (a period of orientation for prospective freshmen) and it was from Adam's that I heard the strains of loud cheering and laughter. The weekend also saw a drive down to Hot Pot City in Milpitas on Saturday evening where I attended the annual steamboat dinner for Singaporeans at Stanford, and further exploration of campus - I took the footpaths to Lake Lagunita (Lagunita incidentally means lake .. Lake lake?!), admired the houses belonging to faculty members along Mayfield Avenue, and even found time on Sunday afternoon to attend Mass at Memorial Church. With the sparkling gold leaf and California redwood ceiling, stained glass windows that provided a kaleidoscope of colours, and a choir befitting the splendour of the church, mass soon became a memory etched in my mind. The evening ended with the International dinner at Hammarksjold, and following that the weekly Sunday Flicks at Memorial Hall, where I was initiated into the traditional paper war that preceded the movie screening (paper aeroplanes being the most sophisticated form of the numerous paper bombs that whizzed back and forth the auditorium).

My last two days were spent at Toyon Hall, where I savoured the best of campus food at the famous Toyon eating clubs. By the end of my ten days on campus, I must admit I had grown accustomed to the friendly cosmopolitan culture unique to Stanford - one which embodies both carefree liberalism, decadence and academic rigour. I had done so much in the limited time that I had; I had lived each day as if there were no tomorrow.

I left campus late Wednesday morning, on 29 April, as the morning California sun turned the foothills golden and marked the beginning of yet another busy day of campus life.

It had truly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. My love affair with Stanford was not over. It had only just begun.