CJ Lim
It is easy to understand why CJ Lim, Professor of Architecture and Cultural Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture, has a special insight into the emotions of international students contemplating life at UCL. Rewind the tape about a quarter of a century and the future Pro-Provost for Canada, Mexico and the USA has just stepped off a plane at Heathrow. He speaks a few words of English; he is 16 years old; he is utterly alone. The teenager managed to catch the Piccadilly Line into the heart of the city, but disaster struck when he changed trains at Leicester Square. 'I have this vivid memory of standing at the top of the escalators at Leicester Square, so very, very steep. It was the first time I had ever seen or been on an escalator, and my luggage was so large and heavy that I tumbled down the stairs.' Tumbling down a flight of stairs is an apt metaphor for the tumult of new experiences Professor Lim faced as he entered an alien world. The world he had left behind extended no further than the limits of a small Malaysian village stalked by chickens and surrounded by orchards.
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