Back to Civilization

I am finally back to civilization after ten days of working at Liyang Crazy English Summer Camp.This time, camp was unxpectedly amazing - better organized,more teachers,nicer camp spot, more fun time AND best of all, the Nazi director was absent most of the time! I remember the winter camp earlier this year involed too many classes and the kids were just like overstuffed ducks...
To share some camp fun, I've posted some pictures on facebook and 163.com, check it out!:D

Well, maybe a glimpse here first!:P




So August is a month for rest at home for me. By rest, I mean not constantly running around and doing stuff. I'll be studying Spanish by myself though. But the luxury of being lazy is occupying mind for the moment so we'll see how far I can go at the end of the month...

I really want to go on a short trip before school starts, but not sure where to go now, maybe Chamelong Waterpark with the summer camp staffs, or Hong kong or just somewhere with Vicky after her internship.We'll see...

C'est la vie

Walking out of the train station after saying goodbye to the team on Wednesday, I wiped the tears on my face and said to myself, “ C’est la vie!” Yeah…life rolls past many hellos and goodbyes before the sweet reunion party in heaven and I SO look forward to it! But it is between these countless Hellos and Goodbyes that we make friends, learn to encourage each other and in general
Experience life! I praise God for these Hellos and Goodbyes though Hellos are sweet and Goodbyes are sad. Another three words from my heart: I LOVE YAL!

I have gone through so much in the past few months that I don’t know where to start to talk about. But I am about to cry (a grateful cry) as I am organizing my memory. A song that the team sang most during worship was Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. It’s interesting how I used to lower my voice when it came to “You give and take away, you give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name!” You know, it’s something that I knew in my head and not being able to fully comprehend. I dare not say I understand it FULLY, but at least to a further extent. People often say after a few years you become a Christian, you’ll find yourself walking in the wilderness, namely, it’s not ALL about excitement. I think I am in the wilderness now yet, I truly feel that God is holding my hand walking me through…I’m trying to be patient and looking forward to seeing what is in the end of this wilderness!

My aunts came to visit Guangzhou from Hong Kong these two days. We went to visit Mr. Mario Marazzi yesterday at the school he managed for mentally disabled children. I’ve heard so much about Mr. Marazzi before I met him – he is a 79-year-old Italian Catholic priest who has sacrificed a comfortable life to contribute to many charities in mainland China and he is also my aunts old friend. I was so impressed by his fluent Cantonese! But after I saw where he lived, I was even more impressed by how much he has sacrificed. I told him I so appreciated what he did for the Chinese, and he simply replied, “It is all from the Lord!” Wow! The children lit up with tremendous excitement when we walked into the school, we shook hands and listened to them. Although I didn’t know what the kids were trying to tell me, but one message is for sure – WE LONG FOR LOVE!

My summer plan has been changed again. Summer school was canceled and I will be working at Crazy English Camp from 21st to 31st of July. So I will reply emails and facebook after that. Wish you have a great summer!

A Sunday Morning

Everybody has left for church except me staying in the apartment doing endless study… Raindrops are splashing on the porch outside and here I am procrastinating…In the past few weeks, school work and class project have kept me in a constantly crazy schedule, now combined with four finals looming the coming week and two more the week after next, I feel like I am completely a slave to school work! Sigh…

I got up at 6:30 this morning to study and in the meantime (in order to stay awake) listened to my favorite opera soundtrack – Snow Wolf Lake (it is still playing in my computer now). A song from it always encourages me so much, esp. during hard times, today is no exception. It is called HOPE. I couldn’t help but translate the lyrics as I was listening to it just now(it soaks deeper in me this way). Here it is:

Hope
Difficulty is unavoidable,
Sadness fills the process
As you look back, everything is heart-stirring
The road to the exit may not be smooth
The sky in the daytime may not be bright
(But) Tears are the buoyant force that lifts you up
After stumbles and falls can one become strong
Without uttering any complaint, you proclaim your perseverance
There is always someone to bring you hope
There is always something to warm your heart
It is this flame, it is this light
That help you forget the darkness before dawn
There is always someone for you to hold on to
Don’t let down the one who stands guidance for you
Keep the past firm and deep in your heart
Put aside all your worries
Set your eyes ahead

The rain outside has stopped but my thoughts continue…and (I have to say) SO is study…

Team Fun

As promised, I post some team pictures this time.:)

1)After worship last night, the guys decided to see who is stronger. Here-Kody VS Hassen. Kody won!


2)Go,Brittany! If you lose, no more peanut-butter sandwiches for you!" John was threatening. Oh,well...Brittany and Ervin were forced to involve in the game eventually. Guess peanut-butter sandwich was a magical inspiration, Brittany managed to win though it took so long! (from the pic, guess you can almost hear the loud noise in the room...)


3) Girl pic at the girl's apartment.(conter-clockwise from the first line: Anna, Me,Magan, Brittany,Megan,Amber,Erica,Stephanie,Elyse)"


I'd like to update about how my last week has been. I went to school in the morning and stayed with the girls at their apartments at nights. So COOL to just chill out together and have belly laughs! There're also many things of the team's aprartments that need settleing...Fortunately, things went well generally and we're expecting ADSL to get set up this week. But unfortunately,I "la-du-zi" (had diarrhea) so badly and had an upset stomach on Wednesday becasue of bad food and hot weather, so I was kinda dying that day. A 4-hour IV on Thursday saved me but surely NOT FUN! On Friday afternoon, I went to the fabric market to look for silk for Heather's wedding and then went shopping with Magan and Megan for my next day's interview. I had lunch with my teacher Melanie and my boss from Zachry on Saturday - I think my main job is to interprete for my boss and his Canadian partners on business talk this summer. A little nevous,but I think it should be fun!

The Team Is Here!

Yay! The Refuge team is BACK! This time, we have 13 people of which are 7 girls!! Think of that,what a treat to Samski! :-)
I met them up at the train station on Friday and when John and Critter came out,they hug and shake me like crazy, glad that my head wasn't shaken off! Then, guess who came out? AMBER MOSS! Oh,dear! What a surprise!:)

Then we just rented two vans and headed to our complex. Thanks to Tommy and Alex who went to Raymond's house to get the team's stuffs from last year, it saved A LOT of time! So, john just checked the apartments and I helped him sign contracts and deal with some other stuffs with the agent and landlord! I am so happy that the team love the apartments! Elyse and I are sharing a matress in a suite room with Megan and Magan (M&M,huh?), so that is sweet! Adam is also back, and there are other new poeple too who are rockingly awesome! I pray that God will bless me to be a blessing to them again this summer! I love them!

On the other hand, I think I am changing my summer plan now. I was thinking about working Liyang Crazy English camp and then learning Spanish. But my economic teacher just gave me a shock last Wednesday. She asked me to work on a project of her friend's American Constuction company named Zachry! Wow- what a challenge and i think I will learn so much from that! But i kinda question myself," Can I really do it?" Well, I will try my best!

I am actually using Amber's computer at Starbuck and the batery is running low, so post later (with pics maybe)! Adios!

Twins?

So here they are,Winnie and her twin sister Joanna! Don't they really look so alike?

-Just kidding! They are not twins and it was the first time they met! When I first met Winnie last year," I almost cried out,Joanna,why are you here?' "haha...

Last night, Neo,Winnie, Joanna and I had buffet at an Italian restaurant. The food was great, but somehow not as good as my first time there. But hey, the point is the about the people I was with!! Neo and Winnie managed to forget to come into Guangzhou till I mesaged them when I arrived at the restaurant. I told them ok and that we might hang out some other time. Then Joanna and I just headed straight up to the restaurant. But later, Neo called and said they were on their way! Wow - it took them less than an hour from Peizheng to Guangzhou! I felt so grateful and blessed that I have friends like them who cherish me so much! We ended dinner very late but it was GREAT time! :-)

A Lesson of Trust

Such a whirlwind has swept through my week that everything happened is becoming blurry in my head. But I am so impressed by a lesson of trust from the Lord…

Last Saturday, I went to my cousin Candy’s graduation ceremony

and it was so awesome! It kinda made me look forward to my day

next year. Candy got a degree in medicine and has found a job in a Chinese Traditional Medicine Hospital in Foshan. Congratulations again, Candy! It was interesting to look back at our sweet childhood together, which just seemed to happen yesterday. Yeah…time flies!

After Candy’s graduation, I continue to go hunting for apartments for the team. I was so exhilarated when I found two great apts in the complex that the team lived in two years ago.(They LOVE that complex!!) Then I took pictures of them and post the pics on facebook to let everyone see them. I thought the team would really like these two apts, so I told the landlords I might pay deposit the next day. But the things is, I needed John’s permission. So I ran back and tried every means to get hold of him, and I finally did. He liked the apts but wanted to see if there would be another apt with two bathrooms available. So there I went hunting again on Sunday afternoon…nothing much satisfactory was found though.

Then on Monday, John and I both thought we should just grab those two apts, so I called the agent and it was then a lesson of trust began! The agent said he would contact the landlord immediately. But a few minutes later, he called back saying, “Sorry, the 4000rmb apt has found a lessee.” (What?! A punch in the stomach…but not crashed!) I tried to calm myself, “Ok, just grab the 4600 one for me and look for another apt, please!” Then I went to the agent at noon and amazingly managed to find another apt on the top floor with a huge balcony overlooking a great view！(Praise God!) Without hesitation, I gave deposit to the agent and thought that curtains were finally drawn closed for the hunting drama. Well, drama is supposed to be dramatic, right? In the evening, the agent called again saying that the 4600rmb landlord changed his mind and didn’t want to rent his apt before he went to get our deposit, so we_LOST_ AGAIN! To be honest, I was really worried because we had so little time left and I kinda felt like I had been slaughtered twice in a single day! John’s IM went like, “God was simply preparing a good apt for us.” True! Knowing that it was a lesson of trust calmed the storm inside me. Just then, my phone rang and it was the agent again, “The potential lessee of the 4000 apt didn’t sign contract with the landlord and we have hope!” “Let’s get his apt!” I said. The agent was very helpful and was even willing to deliver my deposit to the landlord, but the landlord was drunk at a bar, so he couldn’t get the money till the next day. Wow- I couldn’t imagine what might happen in the next 24 hours! I just kept reminding myself it was a lesson of TRUST. The next day, although the landlord delayed everything a little, he eventually got our deposit in his hand and so did the other landlord! Wheh! Problem solved! God is good all the time, all the time God is good! :)

My roommates and I must take care of this week’s Tom’s project

assignment – to create an advertisement copy. I was in charge of poem writing and photo taking. And I’m proud of myself in taking this romantic photo for our copy. (kinda professional,huh?! :-) ) We also took some other funny pics.

I really look forward to this weekend, maybe swimming Saturday morning and then Italian dinner with Neo, Winnie and Joanna on Saturday evening. Can’t wait!

Must Win the Cough War

After I got a cold last month, a cough followed and has been haunting me back and forth. In the last two nights, it decided to take its full attack with the help of sleepy effect caused by medicine ...The result? Me–surrendered-lying in bed flat like a deflated ball. It’s actually interesting because I felt completely all right during the day and when it came to night, the Cough Ghost started to roar…Urggg! Hate it!!! But I woke up this morning feeling much better and energetic. Not sure if it’s a good sign or just another cycle there…Anyways, I’m seeing a doctor this afternoon. Need a life saver, need your prayer! Ha ha…: ) So, I MUST WIN this Cough War!

I had some fun time playing badminton after dinner with my classmates yesterday – a good way to shake off some tiredness! (Gotta do it more , girls!)

Since the beginning of this semester, Miss Melanie in our Business Correspondence Class has gotten us involved in Tom’s Project – six students make up a group and establish a company to do whatever business we want. Of course, this is not a real action in the real market, but she makes it REAL enough for us to know how to basically run a company. The girls in my dorm form a company called Elite Garment Co. Ltd and I am the CEO. We targeted to design, manufacture and sell garments to college girls in Guangzhou. At first, we thought it was just a fun game, but Melanie is rather serious about this and manages to make every assignment as unpredictable as the real market is. We’ve gone through tasks like job orientation, making budget, market survey etc… and this week’s assignment is the most challenging – to shoot an advertisement video! Wow! Gonna be fun? I think so! Do you have any good ideas? If so, please let me know!

This weekend is going to be a big one, for me, searching for apartments; for some of my friends, BEC test. So to all of us, Gan Ba De and Good luck!

中国话 – Chinese Language

扁担宽板凳长 Bian dan huan, ban deng chang, (tone:3,4,1,3,4,2)
( A shoulder pole is wide ; a bench is long )
扁担想绑在板凳上Bian dan xiang bang zai ban deng shang, (tone:3,4,3,3,4,3,4,4)
(The shoulder pole wants to be tied to the bench)

REPEAT THAT ONCE MORE

Ha ha…it’s a tongue twister from a song called中国话(Chinese Language) by S.H.E. I was introduced to this song in my interpretation class today. This song_WOW_totally cracked me up and made me feel so proud of being a Chinese and speaking Chinese! It uses many FUNNY tongue twisters (like the one above and below) in Rap music form and sends out a message – 全世界都在学中国话- People in the whole world are learning Chinese. Chinese is SO popular now!!!

Here’s the link for free download of the song:
http://play8.tom.com/uploadfile/song/200704/17/1176801075_274399.mp3

There’re more funny tongue twisters in the lyrics, check it out! Lyric link:
http://mp3.baidu.com/m?tn=baidump3lyric&word=中国话&ct=150994944&lm=-1&lf=3

P.S. If you have no problem with the above tongue twister, challenge yourself with the following one and not worry about the tone! (Even if you are a Chienese.) Enjoy! : )

板凳不让扁担绑在板凳上 Ban deng bu rang bian dan bang zai ban deng shang,
(The bench doesn’t let the shoulder pole be tie to the bench )

扁担偏要绑在板凳上 Bian dan pian yao bang zai ban deng shang
(The shoulder pole insists on being tied to the bench)

板凳偏偏不让扁担绑在那板凳上 Ban deng pian pian bu rang bian dan bang zai na ban deng shang
(The bench insists on not letting the shoulder pole be tied to the bench)

到底扁担宽还是板凳长 Dao di bian dan huan hai shi ban deng chang
(On earth, which is greater, the width of the shoulder pole or the length of the bench?)

Good Rest

I promised myself that I would go to bed before 12 tonight and it is now 12:10am(ha ha...yeah, I 'm a typical night owl!)...so this is gonna be a quick post.

The May Day Holidays was a really a good rest time for me. As I said in my last post, I decided to be lazy and I really DID! Sitting by the big window at home, either reading, thinking or just doing nothing (with music of course) is my definition of "Delicious". In the meantime, I managed to finish my intern report. Oh,wow! I re-read one of my favourite books- The Little Prince. That is a beautiful yet a little nostalgic story with profound messages. Love it!

I bought two great documentary DVDs today. They are two consecutive series about 14 HK TVB actors or actresses travelling to 14 different places in the world. Not only does each episode introduces the history, culture and places of interests of a certain place, but the hosts in each episode (one of the 14 stars) also talk about their feelings and life in a deep level. The episode which I really look forward to is the one in which Ada Cai travels to Israel and talks about how God has saved her from her melancholy childhood and how much she cherishes life now - a GREAT testimony. I've started the first episode about Cambodia...Two words - " heart stirring ".

I'll be back to the swing of classes and homework tomorrow, so time for bed. Night!:)