About me
Since this website is about me, I thought I’d include a page where you can find out some factual information about myself without having to read my entire blog - although you’re more than welcome to do so.
Name
Robert Liu
Date of Birth
21st May 1984 - which makes me 24.
Sex
Male
Height
Approximately 173cm / 5′8″ depending on my mood.
Nationality
I’m British by birth but Chinese by blood. My parents are from Hong Kong but moved to the UK well before I was born. Basically, I’m a BBC - British Born Chinese. And yes, I have a British accent.
Occupation
Student. Shortly after graduating, I joined a small company (Alphametrics Financial Systems Ltd) in Royston as a Treasury Support Analyst. I support and develop one of our treasury packages used by one of the worlds largest banks. As of February 2008, I have been seconded to work with that big bank in Tokyo, Japan.
Education
Robert Liu MSci ARCS AMInstP, is my new name. I graduated from Imperial College London in June 2006 with a master’s degree in MSci Physics. The extra letters mean I am an Associate of the Royal College of Science and an Associate Member of the Institute of Physics.
Schools and Colleges
Primary school, <1995: Arbury Primary School, Cambridge, UK
Secondary school, 1995 – 2000: Chesterton Community College, Cambridge, UK
Sixth Form, 2000 – 2002: Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge, UK
University, 2002 – 2006: Imperial College London, London, UK
Where do you live?
I currently live in Chuo-Ku, Tokyo. I grew up in Cambridge, which I still consider home, but other memorable places I’ve spent some time at include Dübendorf (Switzerland in 2004), Vienna (Austria in 2005) and London (uni).
Mobile
Whilst in Japan, you can reach me on my usual mobile number or via Skype. Just drop me an email if you need my Japanese address/mobile.
Religion
Christian. I was baptized in 2002 and grew up in a very Christian environment - Cambridge Chinese Christian Church. I must admit I haven’t been to church recently…but Christianity has been a large part of my childhood and teen years.
You must speak many languages?
If you say so! English is the only language I know fluently. I can speak two Chinese dialects, Cantonese and Hakka, but I’m clueless when it comes to written Chinese. I’ll also have a vague idea of what you are saying if you talk (about me) in Mandarin (yet another Chinese dialect) thanks to living with Chinese friends at university. I did study French and German in the past but I am currently focusing my efforts on learning Japanese!
I hear you did an IAESTE internship in Switzerland. Tell me about it.
That’s correct. In summer 2004, I went on a placement with a company called “EMPA” – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research. It is located in a nice little town called Dübendorf, about 15 minutes by train from Zürich, in the German speaking part of Switzerland. Dübendorf became my home for the three months I was there, but my memories are of the people I met and the places I visited in the short time I had. It was organised through an international organisation known as IAESTE (International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience).
It was the first time I went abroad on my own and I had one of the best times of my life. It has opened up a lot of doors and I realised that I love to travel! I think the work will be at a suitable level but the real challenge is living with a different culture, exploring a strange country and meeting new people.
If you’re thinking about IAESTE – go for it! Search my blog to see what I wrote about or check out the thousands of my pictures on Flickr. If you’ve got any questions then feel free to ask me or even your local IAESTE committee.
Tell me a bit about your family then.
I have two brothers. My older brother, Garfay is married to Kwan and they had a baby girl, Annabelle, in July 2007. My younger brother, Garming is about to complete his Physiotherapy degree at UEA. We all seem to get on pretty well now that we’ve all grown up. And of course, there are our parents. They’ve had a local Chinese take away for several years now and my Dad’s been in the catering business for as long as I can remember. They work long hours all week and although there are things I wish were different, I can’t really complain, they’ve been great parents.
Say you have some nice pictures there.
Why thank you. The latest pictures are taken with my Canon IXUS 800IS. I like the creativity and quality of digital SLR’s but I don’t think it would be worth me getting it and only taking a few shots with it. Compactness and point-and-shoot-ability is more me. I’ve bought and sold several older versions of Canon cameras including the IXUS 50, IXUS 400 and PowerShot 40. Let’s just say I’m a Canon fan. Also, given the amount of photos I have, I’ve given up on trying to store them on my website. Instead they’re all hosted on Flickr.
Want to know more? Then send me an e-mail or leave a message!