Friday, April 30, 2004
im back!!! the airlines thankfully did not mess up again n we got back on a nice plane (relative to the others we took). this one didnt make me feel so claustrophobic n there was no fat man spilling over to our seats. anyway, aft all the other long rides we've gone thru, this actually is quite good already.
the feeling of euphoria when we touched down in singapore was amazing!
"we're home!!!!!!!!!! ahhhhhh!!!!!! i cant believe it!!!!"
after travelling so much, the flight just felt like we were moving on to another place again, but seeing the singapore control tower n the airport confirmed that we were finally home!!! while we were still on the runway, i was just staring out the window n embarassingly, national day songs were running thru my head! lol. that was until i heard, "never see singapore b4 ar?" haha.
1.5mths isnt really very long, but now that im back, everything seems a little strange to me. the tv seems huge, my hands arent used to turning taps that way, n the roads seem way too tidy. lol.
looking back, time flew by real quick, but i can also remember me counting down the days (my every journal entry records the number of days we have been away). it was the experience on the whole that was great. if any part was taken out, it just wouldnt seem complete, n the trip out of balance. if i ever get the oppertunity, i'll definatly go back again!
more reflections n updates another time. im too tired now. but for now, im just thankful for the safe trip back!
the feeling of euphoria when we touched down in singapore was amazing!
"we're home!!!!!!!!!! ahhhhhh!!!!!! i cant believe it!!!!"
after travelling so much, the flight just felt like we were moving on to another place again, but seeing the singapore control tower n the airport confirmed that we were finally home!!! while we were still on the runway, i was just staring out the window n embarassingly, national day songs were running thru my head! lol. that was until i heard, "never see singapore b4 ar?" haha.
1.5mths isnt really very long, but now that im back, everything seems a little strange to me. the tv seems huge, my hands arent used to turning taps that way, n the roads seem way too tidy. lol.
looking back, time flew by real quick, but i can also remember me counting down the days (my every journal entry records the number of days we have been away). it was the experience on the whole that was great. if any part was taken out, it just wouldnt seem complete, n the trip out of balance. if i ever get the oppertunity, i'll definatly go back again!
more reflections n updates another time. im too tired now. but for now, im just thankful for the safe trip back!
Thursday, April 22, 2004
ok, if anyone cares, i'll put your minds at rest n say that we have successfully reached our last stop, where we will be for abt a week.
so this is the home stretch. the final lap. BUT as the yearly 2.4km runs has taught me, the last lap is always the hardest, and yet also the one i run with the most fervour. just like 2.4, giving all the remainder of my energy in the last lap makes all the difference, though it's also so easy to give in to the weariness.
so it is with the situation now. the frustration n irritation of the last few days has kinda worn me out, the travelling n physical labour has taken its toll on my body, n haveing spent so much time here already, the sian-ness is just abt setting in, and it'sso easy to just give in n drag my feet the rest of the way. but if i do, i dont think i'll be making the most of this oppertunity to be a belssing, n be blessed. so im just gonna try to keep going n not be sian, n find strenght in the fact that His grace is sufficient for me.
so this is the home stretch. the final lap. BUT as the yearly 2.4km runs has taught me, the last lap is always the hardest, and yet also the one i run with the most fervour. just like 2.4, giving all the remainder of my energy in the last lap makes all the difference, though it's also so easy to give in to the weariness.
so it is with the situation now. the frustration n irritation of the last few days has kinda worn me out, the travelling n physical labour has taken its toll on my body, n haveing spent so much time here already, the sian-ness is just abt setting in, and it'sso easy to just give in n drag my feet the rest of the way. but if i do, i dont think i'll be making the most of this oppertunity to be a belssing, n be blessed. so im just gonna try to keep going n not be sian, n find strenght in the fact that His grace is sufficient for me.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
in my last post, i think i said i was kinda sad to go. guess wat? i havent! the airlines had conveniently cancelled the flight and nobody seems to know why, and since we have been here for so long, they had no way of contacting us... so the 2 of us were lugging our huge, terribly heavy cases to the airport to kind we didnt have a flight! had to wait an hour for them to just tell us, "your flight has been cancelled, and we cant do anything for you now cos the working hours are over"!!!! so, we had to go back fr where we came.... it was an hour+ journey all the way back to the city, n no taxi wanted to take us cos of the huge cases... sigh...
wait, the story gets better... the next whole day was spent waiting for calls, making calls, waiting for people to make calls. so the whole day was spent home, trying to get new tickets out n trying to get at least one party to be responsible. but, at the end of the day, we were still waiting for calls, still had no tickets, and everybody was still trying to push responsibility to each other... talking to the travel agency n and 2 airlines involved was the worst! especially when i had to speak chinese. one side wanted a letter fr the other side so that they wld have a reason for cancellation and the other side just refused to give it to us! AND, i had to be stuck in the middle, explaining the situation a million times over to all the diff parties invloved! the mid afternoon was the most frustrating time of all cos we were still waiting for calls, and working hours were almost over, and every side was telling me a diff story! one side said they have no record of our names on the flight at all, another said the flight had been cancelled a long time ago, and yet another said, there was no such direct flight, and i had to tell her we had got here the same way, and she said, "oh dear, this cannot be." that was the quote of the day! if it cannot be, how did i ever get here? and she absolutely didnt believe i had genuine tickets! exasperating!!! the curt n impatient way the airline people spoke to me becasue i was struggling in my limited language ability did not make things any easier for me too...
trying to get the next flight out was another problem... the "earliest" date that we could get a flight out kept changing. one moment was today, the next, it was 26th! then 22nd, then it became 24th. they cannot make up their mind! cannot take it. so this morning, we managed to book flights out on the 22nd but it wasnt a direct trip, which means more money, n had to rush down to collect the tickets, then just as we thot everything was settled, n we just got to the shopping area, the other airlines calls n says they have book 2 tickets on a flight on the 24th for us! i really couldnt believe how bad the timing was! n these tics, we didnt have to pay at all! so we thot we wld return the tickest bought in the morn at a 5% penalty, n just take the 24th flight, so we had to rush back to the ticketing counter to return them, the just as we got there, we received instructions not to do so cos we had to get the earliest flight.... irritated and frustrated are understatements of what i was feeling at that moment. so my day was just spent rushing ard in cabs and it was totally unnecessary! i could have spent a nice day going shopping, but of course, life cant be that easy right? sigh...
paying for the new tickets have also busted our budget, and the multitudes of phone calls has added an extra $100 to my phone bill... so not enough money, no worries, just look for an atm that will allow me to use the card i have. that was easy to say. finding the atm was not very difficult, but once i got there, a glass cover came down in front of the machine, n then the machine read, "this machine is temporarily out of service. sorry for the inconvenience caused". im sure they have no idea excatly how much inconvenience has been caused...
so i've learnt some things fr this. graciousness, tolerance and patience are vital on such trips. ability to speak fluent chinese would help very much too. unfortunatly, my speaking ability is rather limited, but after repeating the same story for a few thousand times, i think im getting quite good at it. *grin*. BUT, after repeating the same story over and over again, the level of graciousness, tolerance n patience in me tends to fall. there's only so much i can take. even the physical hard labour fr sunrise to sundown was easier to bear than being stuck in the middle of this mess.
but in every thing, we must look on the bright side right? so, im thankful that at least after 2 days of problems, i have a flight for tmr, n hopefully nothing goes wrong, n we will be able to catch the connecting flight. im also very thankful that we have a nice place to stay in the mean time. after all the mess, i thot it was quite apt that i heard a song at night, with words that came as a strong reminder:
"all of my ambition, hopes and plans, i surrender these into your hands. for it's only in Your will that i am free"
wait, the story gets better... the next whole day was spent waiting for calls, making calls, waiting for people to make calls. so the whole day was spent home, trying to get new tickets out n trying to get at least one party to be responsible. but, at the end of the day, we were still waiting for calls, still had no tickets, and everybody was still trying to push responsibility to each other... talking to the travel agency n and 2 airlines involved was the worst! especially when i had to speak chinese. one side wanted a letter fr the other side so that they wld have a reason for cancellation and the other side just refused to give it to us! AND, i had to be stuck in the middle, explaining the situation a million times over to all the diff parties invloved! the mid afternoon was the most frustrating time of all cos we were still waiting for calls, and working hours were almost over, and every side was telling me a diff story! one side said they have no record of our names on the flight at all, another said the flight had been cancelled a long time ago, and yet another said, there was no such direct flight, and i had to tell her we had got here the same way, and she said, "oh dear, this cannot be." that was the quote of the day! if it cannot be, how did i ever get here? and she absolutely didnt believe i had genuine tickets! exasperating!!! the curt n impatient way the airline people spoke to me becasue i was struggling in my limited language ability did not make things any easier for me too...
trying to get the next flight out was another problem... the "earliest" date that we could get a flight out kept changing. one moment was today, the next, it was 26th! then 22nd, then it became 24th. they cannot make up their mind! cannot take it. so this morning, we managed to book flights out on the 22nd but it wasnt a direct trip, which means more money, n had to rush down to collect the tickets, then just as we thot everything was settled, n we just got to the shopping area, the other airlines calls n says they have book 2 tickets on a flight on the 24th for us! i really couldnt believe how bad the timing was! n these tics, we didnt have to pay at all! so we thot we wld return the tickest bought in the morn at a 5% penalty, n just take the 24th flight, so we had to rush back to the ticketing counter to return them, the just as we got there, we received instructions not to do so cos we had to get the earliest flight.... irritated and frustrated are understatements of what i was feeling at that moment. so my day was just spent rushing ard in cabs and it was totally unnecessary! i could have spent a nice day going shopping, but of course, life cant be that easy right? sigh...
paying for the new tickets have also busted our budget, and the multitudes of phone calls has added an extra $100 to my phone bill... so not enough money, no worries, just look for an atm that will allow me to use the card i have. that was easy to say. finding the atm was not very difficult, but once i got there, a glass cover came down in front of the machine, n then the machine read, "this machine is temporarily out of service. sorry for the inconvenience caused". im sure they have no idea excatly how much inconvenience has been caused...
so i've learnt some things fr this. graciousness, tolerance and patience are vital on such trips. ability to speak fluent chinese would help very much too. unfortunatly, my speaking ability is rather limited, but after repeating the same story for a few thousand times, i think im getting quite good at it. *grin*. BUT, after repeating the same story over and over again, the level of graciousness, tolerance n patience in me tends to fall. there's only so much i can take. even the physical hard labour fr sunrise to sundown was easier to bear than being stuck in the middle of this mess.
but in every thing, we must look on the bright side right? so, im thankful that at least after 2 days of problems, i have a flight for tmr, n hopefully nothing goes wrong, n we will be able to catch the connecting flight. im also very thankful that we have a nice place to stay in the mean time. after all the mess, i thot it was quite apt that i heard a song at night, with words that came as a strong reminder:
"all of my ambition, hopes and plans, i surrender these into your hands. for it's only in Your will that i am free"
Sunday, April 18, 2004
it has been a long time since i last updated n it has been more than a month since i have left. hope i havent been forgotten...
i've finally completed another leg of my trip n i'll be on a plane to my next destination in a few hours. lots has happened since, n i think i can say this portion of the trip hasbeen an experience of my life!
i never thot working on a farm can be this tough, and yet this fun. as i leave, it's really a mixed feeling. it's amazing to see how things can change in just a matter of days. 4 days ago, the farm helpers only intimidated me, didnt like me ard to help them do anything, and because of their strong local accent, communication was minimal. And yesterday, we were able to talk to them as if we were friends, n we were even invited for a meal at one of their houses. but geting that lunch was a feat in itself! that guy's house was at the top of a hill, so we had to climb almost 200m of very steep slope all the way up!!! the 2 of us wanted to die... the crumbling paths n no hand rails did not help... by the time we got up, we were all tired and panting, n the men were laughing away at us cos they said they climbed up and down there more than 3 times a day!
we were supposedly privilleged guests cos we were served mutton, but then minced mutton spare parts really isnt my idea of good food. so, we had to take a huge portion of bread, then a little of the mince, then swallow as fast as possible so as not to taste it. eeks! plus, we had to smile thru the meal and pretend it's really good! thankfully, the bread was really nice, so i had lots of it.
the other day, we were also privilleged to meet the mayor for a meal. we were already half way down our terribly bumpy ride to the farm on the tractor, n some govt pple came by car n insisted we go back for a meal... we werent too happy abt that, but, no choice la. i opted to go on the car back, cos i really couldnt take bumping anymore... guess wat we were served? u got it! mutton! 15 course meal, all tasting the same... i guess my suggestions to the cook didnt come thru...
for abt 5 days last week, we were doing nothing but cuting potatoes for 6hrs a day!!! super monotonous!!! the worst was the day when i was raining ice. we really couldnt take the cold. the cold damp room obviously had no heating, n the freezing temperatures were just too much for the 2 of us to take. i gave up halfway to go sit by the little fire in another room to defrost. my fingers were freezing een under 3 layers of gloves, n my toes were frozen in my shoes. we were so scared we wld get frost bite n out fingers n toes wld drop off! but if there's one thing i learnt abt this place, i have learnt that the weather can change drastically!!! besides snowing ice, we have also witnessed rain, strong wind, and blazing heat! yesterday, it was really hotter than back home at mid day, n i got super burnt... today somebody thot i was thai cos i looked so tan...
the recent few days have been the most draining n tiring ones. one whole day was spent just trying to draw a rectangle on the immense field and make it out so that the tractor can go in a straight line. sounds easy enough. but try making the rect 64m by 120m with only a 50m measuring tape that rfuses to come out, some rolls of string, n my passport to measure right angles... it took us the wole day of trudging thru the very soft soil n squatting half the day, n we still couldnt get the right angles n parallel lines!!! the next day, the men had to take over... sigh...
we were then given the job of cutting n pasting plastic sheets to make a machine work better. sounds easy again, the only prob was that the sticky tape refuses to stick onto the rubber of the machine!!! so it all kept coming off... working like that gets very frustrating!!!
our next job was to paint 1000+ steel rods that were abt 6m long. thankfully, by then, the men have become friendly n cooperative n did alot of the work. on our last day there, the even asked us to rest n they wld do the work. so sweet. this is coming from the group of men who took a smoking break every few mins n played their chess game even when there was lots to do. i thot that was quite amazing.
our last day at the farm was also planting day. those that the machine could not plant, we had to do by hand... that was the most tiring thing i ever did in my life!!! we had to squat along the furrows, n put in the little seedlings 2 or 3 at a time in 8cm intervals! n we were doing rows of 120m!!!! my legs could hardly take it... so, i got the slacker farm helpers to help, n amazingly, they did! they only did some slipshod work aft giving me some lame excuses, but the amazing thing was that they gave me face n actually came to help when asked.
im quite sad my stint here has come to an end. there's so much i have learnt, so many things i never thot i'd ever be doing in my life, and so many amazing sights i never thot i wld see with my own eyes. furthermore, i was just beginging to be able to understand the people when they speak, so we could actually hold coversations! and yet, im leaving, quite sad... but im sure there's still alot more in store of us on what i like to think of as an Amazing Race.
Sunday, April 04, 2004
Oh my poor fingers!!! I cut my thumb n index fingers quite badly today… I studied 12 years to become a construction worker! Lol. Anyway, im not good with spanners. The thing kept slipping, n twice, when it slipped, it sent my hand flying right into the sharp metal pieces we were trying to screw together to make a shelf. Never seen my fingers bleed that much in my life!
Anyway, the view from the mountain top is spectacular!!! The moon is so bright even an hour before dark! Looking up we see the beautiful moon n all the stars. Looking down, we see a sprinkling of lights from the little town below. It’s really so pretty!
Im getting used to the long bumpy rides now. An hour ride becomes effortless n short in comparison to all that we have gone thru. The beautiful scenery all ard helps too. The brown mountains, the valleys, the mountain passes, the rivers that lead to the sea. It’s sometimes surreal looking at all these magnificence n standing in awe of the creator. Everybody shld come man.
Oh ya, u noe the scenes in the movies where the people r travelling on the road, then suddenly they see a another vehicle going directly towards them, then there is loud screeching of tyres n blasting of horns n the next thing they know, the people see a bright light in the distance? Well, that’s a daily occurance here, just that the drivers here r amazing n they somehow always seem to miraculously avoid each other! They like to blast their horns all the time though. Strange people. At first I actually thot it was a form of greeting or smthning, cos they seem to blast their horn at every vehicle or person ard even if they are not in the way!
Hard work is starting to begin. I hope we survive…
Every so often, u think you’ve reached the top. but just ard the bend, u find another peak waiting to be scaled
Anyway, the view from the mountain top is spectacular!!! The moon is so bright even an hour before dark! Looking up we see the beautiful moon n all the stars. Looking down, we see a sprinkling of lights from the little town below. It’s really so pretty!
Im getting used to the long bumpy rides now. An hour ride becomes effortless n short in comparison to all that we have gone thru. The beautiful scenery all ard helps too. The brown mountains, the valleys, the mountain passes, the rivers that lead to the sea. It’s sometimes surreal looking at all these magnificence n standing in awe of the creator. Everybody shld come man.
Oh ya, u noe the scenes in the movies where the people r travelling on the road, then suddenly they see a another vehicle going directly towards them, then there is loud screeching of tyres n blasting of horns n the next thing they know, the people see a bright light in the distance? Well, that’s a daily occurance here, just that the drivers here r amazing n they somehow always seem to miraculously avoid each other! They like to blast their horns all the time though. Strange people. At first I actually thot it was a form of greeting or smthning, cos they seem to blast their horn at every vehicle or person ard even if they are not in the way!
Hard work is starting to begin. I hope we survive…
Every so often, u think you’ve reached the top. but just ard the bend, u find another peak waiting to be scaled
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