Friday, June 22, 2007 . 12:13 PM
What do you think?| You Are a Good Friend Because You're Honest |
 Like it or not, your friends are going to hear the truth from you. You know that the truth hurts, but living a life of lies is much worse. So while you're definitely kind and supportive, you don't pull any punches with your friends. Everyone knows where they stand with you. And what you like and dislike about them. While some may be initially turned off by your honesty, your friends have come to consider it a virtue. After all, in world of white lies and deceptive politeness, you can be counted on for honesty and integrity. Your friends need you most when: They need good advice or an intelligent opinion You really can't be friends with: Needy, emotional people Your friendship quote: "True friendship can afford true knowledge. It does not depend on darkness and ignorance." |
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 . 11:10 AM
This is how I feel... :(after finding out my uni course, i was really disappointed. but God has his own way of work. was really touched when i heard this song, and i think this should be my attitude.
Praise You In The Storm
Casting Crowns
I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
Wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
And once again
I said Amen
It's still raining
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear you whisper through the rain
I'm with you
As Your mercy falls
I raise my hands to praise the God
Who gives and takes away
I will praise you in the storm
I will lift my hands
You are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear i cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
Though my heart is torn
I will praise you in the storm
I remember when
I stumble in the wind
You heard my cry
You raise me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can i carry on
If I can't find You
I lift My eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The maker of Heaven and Earth...
God, here is my praise.
Friday, June 15, 2007 . 10:34 AM
31 MayWe took a 2 hour bus ride to the district of Baray. On the way, we stopped to eat crickets and spiders. I, only tried the cricket. No spidey for me ever. NO. There we stayed at aunty esther's home stay area. This is where outside people come and experience kampung life Cambodia style. Honestly,I was shocked cause we have to sleep in mosquito nets. Technically, I never used one of those, so I did not know how to, and that explained the horrifying night later. Well, I did not know we have to stuff all the nets under the bed. So I happily go in and out without stuffing it. Then night came. The bugs were everywhere, including the inside of it. Luckily there were 2 beds, so we were able to sleep in the other one. but nonetheless, lesson learnt.
1 June
Woke up at 6am. It was as bright as 8 in Malaysia. Anyway, one of the best things about a simple life is you are able to just sit and relax. In hammocks. Life at its best. We took a horse cart(more like pony cart) to go to sight seeing. We even went to a kindergarten where we played games and gave out clothings to the children. Then, we went to a nearby village to give out clothings to the people around. One lady, (i think she is mentally unstable, no disrespect) came and snatched away my mum's jacket, which she did not intend to give away. oh well.....
in the afternoon, we were able to paint our very own t shirts. And the best part is having the artist to do all the leaves printing which is way cool.
in the evening, we took a buffalo cart,(really disgusting. i got front view of how they actually poop and walk at the same time) to a paddy field, where we played football, Malaysia versus Cambodia. I scored the first goal, but they equalized later. it was decided with penalty kicks. We lost. That night, the generator failed, so had nothing much to do but to go to sleep.
2 June
like i said, simple life. so after breakfast, we took the bus to go fishing. at this lake, we went fishing at around 12.30... smart ole me, sapu sunblock lotion everywhere but the leg... and by the time we were done burning ourselves, i came to the horrible realisation that i got sunburn on my leg. the worst aftermath was i got this ugly tanline on my leg which is oh-so-visible... the horrors...
Later, we went to the dam, where they actually allow people to swim in it. so fun, just walking on the dam wall(no pun intended). We had lunch there, just enjoying the scenery.
that night, we had a cultural dance show by the local children. quite nicelah. but the fun part came when they asked us to join in their dance. did the uncles and auntys go wild. they were having more fun than the kids themselves. i just took photos. that night, i went to bed early.
3 June
visiting the local church was an eye opener. the church may be small, but yet it was inspiring. they had a session of just sharing about their life experience. Different people came forth and shared. I was encouraged. that afternoon, after all the farewells and goodbyes, we departed to Siam Reap, another 2 hour bus ride north. It was raining then, and everyone just slept.
upon arrival, we stayed at Lock Yinh hotel. not a bad place. its cable tv would put ASTRO to shame. we had dinner at Khmer kitchen. the food there is marvelous.
4 June
we were greeted by our tour guide, Mr Sok Korng. he speaks thai and english quite well. we went to Angkor Wat. amazing place. even though it was old, it's amazing to see the structure itself after reading about it so much in our text books. i climbed all the way up to the third tier, the view is just breathtaking. but of coz, the descend is another adventure by itself. had lunch at this chinese restaurant, where we had 10 course meal, and i had 3 bowls of rice. talk about weight gain.
spent the rest of the afternoon exploring all the temples around town. and also visited this carving and sculpting school. quite cool to see how those patungs were actually made by them using comparison of the naked eye. they take one done product, and then they follow. the dexterity is definitely a skill acquired after much practice. the souvenir shop however was a cut throat. so no one really bothered to buy anything, but to find a spot where the air conditioning is the strongest.
at night, we went to this place where we had buffet dinner, while watching a cultural show about something... can't remember what... but i know it has something to do with an apsara.(is dat how u spell the word?)
5 june
after breakfast, really nothing much to do. adults went shopping. we packed and left for the airport.
-end of trip-
Wednesday, June 06, 2007 . 11:56 AM
Chiam reap su... (hello in khmer(pronounced ke mai, not ke mere))finally, after 8 days of traveling... i am back from the land of Cambodia... but before that, i must surely update from the day of 26th may till now...
26 may
we had speakers from the EQUIP network (headed by John C Maxwell) Tim Elmore and Doug Carter to speak on "The Power Of Team Leadership". was a wonderful learning experience, especially the session on youths... the 4 type of damaging parenting styles... how to change the methods yet keep the message. ask me bout the four parenting styles, i will tell you, quite funny, i am sure some of you can identify with it.
27 may
Workshop sessions started. i was at duh, the youth workshop. Tim Elmore really shared his heart when it comes to youth and of course, i learnt a lot about habitudes, the habits and attitudes of a leader.
28 may
continued with session and workshops. Pr Foo asked me to do Ice Breaker. so i did one on youth lingos... see how well the youth workers actually know us mileenial generation. so they were tested on stuff like swt, wtv, rotfl, brb, gtg etc. at the end of it all, pr Foo crowned me SVL.... SO VERY LAME... ( i can see kp and chiox clapping and laughing)*grumbles*
29 may
too tired to go for the last session. so i slept at home and packed my stuff. at approx 11.30am, we departed for the LCCT to go to the Kingdom of Cambodia.
upon arrivalin Phnom Penh(pronounced punom pen), 24 of us comprising of 6 families, were greeted by our missionary in Cambodia, Aunty Esther. we were taken to our hotel, mekong palace hotel, overlooking the mekong river. one thing i must say, because electricity and petrol is so expensive in Cambodia, they really jimat electric. like when u leave the air con on so that your room will be cold when u come back, they go to your room and switch it off... anyways, the cable tv there is so much better than ASTRO. as they have all sorts of channels, cambodian, thai, malaysian, australian, and british. anyways, our first meal was at Khmer corner, a small restaurant opened by aunty esther to train locals to earn money. the foos there was heavily influenced by the vietnamese. the food was really good except for the beef satay. it was like eating rubber.
30 may
had breakfast at this vietnamese restaurant. my, the food was so delicious that my friend and i single handedly sapu all the food on the table meant for 6. i was like, man i am gonna gain weight again(true enough, i gain 2 kilos in 8 days) haihs...
then we went to the Toul Sleng Museum, also known as the Genocide Museum, where 3 million Khmers were killed during the Khmer Rouge reign in 1975 to 1979. we saw the rooms they used for interrogation and torture, pictures of how they were tortured and also all the pictures of the victims. it was saddening that those things had to happen, even small kids and babies. apparently, those that were killed first were the educated and bespectacled(because they say wear specs means very smart). the living conditions were horrible. of the millions captured, only 7 survived.
after that, we had lunch. we had this really delicious treat of French loaf stuffed with minced meat(or so we thought, it turned out to be minced liver) ham, meat and papaya salad. to top it off, we had ice cream in coconut with atap chee. next, we went to the Central Market to shop. ladies, this place is for you, if you liked jewelry. as for me, I had nothing to do, so i walked around aimlessly for an hour or so. finally decided to try my bargaining skills. i could have bought a watch for 4 USD, a reduction of 6 USD from the original. not bad eh, my skills. anyway, after that, we rushed to the Rusian market, which is like literally, an oven filled with items for sale to lure people in so that it can cook and digest people in it. it was so hot and stuffy by the time we came out from the other end, everyone was sweating like a mad dog. my mum, as usual, managed to find a bargain in that short period. didn't buy tho as she was coming back to that place tomolo.
at night, we had dinner on a boat as we cruised around in the mekong river. tonights special guest were another missionary family, Yew Onn and Chern Chern, dental lecturers in one of the Uni. we had fun as we were eating and playing on the biat, while cruising down the river. it was raining at that time, so we couldn't reslly see the sunset. but oh well, the cruise itself was good. how many ppl can say they went to the mekong river before?
after the trip, and sending them off. we went to the casino, just for a look see. and man, the security is loose. as long as you do not wear slippers, you can enter as long as you look old enough. i am legal to enter his place, but 2 other friends of mine, aged 16 and 17 walked in and out with ease. oh btw, we went there in a cyclo (trishaw) and it was quite fun and scary. we took 12 cyclos because each one can only accomodate 2. as it was the city, cars were everywhere. so this cyclist was zooming in and out of traffic to avoid cars. and they drive on the right side, so it is weird for me to see them turn right in a round about. and when 12 cyclos traveled together, suddenly i felt like i was in the amazing race, racing towards the next clue. one more thing about cambodia, the rich is very rich and the poor is very poor. so in phnom penh, all the cars we see were like lexus and 4WD, toyota and nissan and honda, which would cost a bomb in Malaysia thanks to the tax they charge.
cambodian also deal in USD, which is approx 4100 rials.
anyway, after that, we went to the fun fair, which honestly wasn't much fun. then we went back in a tuk tuk.(cart with seats driven by a motorcylist)
31 may
had breakfast in Khmer corner. visited Khmer life, an income generating project started by the church to help locals earn income through arts and crafts. went back to hotel to babysit kids as the adults went shopping. after lunch at this chinese restaurant, where i got a visit from my long long long faraway related cousin, sieu keong, we met with another missionary fmaily from our church, Pr Kenneth and Pr Yin Meng, placed in Kampot. they were in Phnom Penh to greet the mission team from the church. we boarded the bus and went to Baray, a 2 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh, where we would have our home stay, to experience how the poor lived.
we arrived at CMS, the place where missions works were carried out. behind that place is where houses were built to accomodate home stay people. we stayed in this kampung house which had no fan, 2 lights, mosquito net covering a 1 inch matress. note that electricity is very expensive, so the generator will be switched off by 10pm. oh, the time diff is 1 hour behind ours. that night had nothing much to do, except get over the shock of the amount of bugs that were above the nets.
--end of part 1--
0 STYLED
Post a Comment
<< Home