Rediscovering Eden
Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the bright and morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart
Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours
Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
and watch me rise again
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
I am Yours
dailies
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
I got into blogger!
-7:14 PM
Yippee!I managed to get into blogger by downloading NTU's VPN. Yay! But I cant upload pictures.:(((
1. I've joined the gym at the my estate since 2-3 weeks ago. It cost 700RMB for a year,200bucks more ex than the one that most of the classmates go to but that is like way too far away. I want a gym that is in my estate so that I can go home quickly to bathe.Haha,I've not integrated myself into the local culture to the extent that I can shower in toilets without doors or even some kind of cloth to close up the cubicle. I dont even change in the toilet. There is a swimming pool too but I decided against paying an extra 300RMB to use it cos it seriously reeks of chlorine and the pool is sooo small..i think its 50MX25M, with only 3 lanes.
I've only gone on the treadmill and the eliptical machines. Each treadmill has a television set in front of it and i can watch lotsa channels while running. I think its unhealthy to do so,but hee, it keeps me going! I once did 1 cycle of eliptical which is 20 mins, followed by 30 minutes on the treadmill.The eliptical doesnt have a tv infront of it but haah,the body-building and weights area is directly infront and i have to control my laughter sometimes when I watch the MEN to their weights. Just 2 days ago, I saw MEN(haha) holding 2 dumbells,one on each hand, facing their side to the mirror, stick out their butt while raising and lowering the dumbells. I thought it was the strangest thing on earth when the first guy did so and to my suprise/horror haha, another guy and another guy did so too! And when they go onto machines that require them to lie down and lift up the v v big dumbell, they erm, make groaning sounds as they lift it up. Well, i suppose the generation of sound helps them to lift the dumbells up cos thats what the weight-lifters do at the Olympics. But the protruding of butts and you can see them really trying to tone and lift their behinds..hahaha,its an eye-opener for someone who has never been to the gym regularly.
And as I was on the eliptical that day, this guy who was at the body-building area kept looking my way and he used the machines along the way until he was at the weights machine nearest to me and he was still miao-ing me. I glared back I think, I cant remember, but I know I have a super dao and fierce face. Ha.It din help and I continued for a 2nd round on the eliptical and he walked around the gym and came back to the machine nearest me. It wasnt that I was noticing him but I've learn to be more aware of my surroundings in a foreign land. I've acquired quite acute senses. And so when I got off the machine, he got off his, took his bottle and walked to me and with me. I hurried to the ladies, in case he starts talking. I think this isn the first time I've seen him around though, I cant remember.Haha,I suddenly recall something else that happen in Spore, I have an ability to attract body-builders?haha.
The general attire of the people at my gym is long pants or pants till knee-length with a racer-back top for guys and tee shirts for females. THe only ppl in the gyms around my estates and in my estate that wear dry-fits and SHORTS, are us. I saw this woman wearing pants and sports bra and a half-cardigan,the kind you can tie a ribbon infront, the korean kind of cardigan, thereby exposing her abdomen area while walking around in the gym. It wasnt flat. Hmm,and one of the coaches stared.
Its really interesting to see grannies and grandpas coming to the gyms too! I actually like the way the older people behave in CHina. They are not rude (well, they cant be otherwise the younger generation will bully them) and the grandpas hold the hands of the grannies (their wife) along the road and when crossing the road. I seldom see this in Singapore.
Oh oh, and the very first time I went to the gym, they got this coach to attend to me and to measure my BMI and talk about why i wanted to go the gym etc. He kept asking me if it was to lose weight and I 'huh' him and said its because I want to be healthy. Haha,actually yes, its to lose weight. Despite what my classmates say, that I am nothing near fat, I know for myself that I am gaining some extra stuff which I seriously wanna lose.haha. Anyway, the coach mentioned that I had fats around my waist and down(and i seriously think its because I told him that I was a student and he came to that conclusion cos a china student always has to sit and keep sitting) and asked me which part of my figure I wasnt too satisfied with, to which I said I am satisfied with how I am. He didnt believe I was satisfied and asked me again and I gave the same answer. Determined, he took a ruler to measure me and finally, quietly wrote a '正常' in the column required, to which I was secretly happy.haha~. He kept emphasising that I had to come regularly 2-3 times a week to get rid of my fats and if I continued my 'luxurious lifestyle' I would have high BP and fatty stuff around my whole body and yada yada. TO conclude, he said he could be my coach for a small fee and in return, I told him that I am, but a poor student. And he said that it wasnt expensive, and i re-emphasise that I am poor and said 'sorry'. He never bugged me again. Beams*.
2. Its getting WAY WAY WAY too HOT in China! I'm wearing even lesser than what I do in Spore. The temperature currently is 33degrees at its highest and 16 at its lowest in ONE day. My classroom has air-con and so I'll still have to bring a jacket along but man, its really hot and worse than Spore. Its just the beginning though. But all of us are already coming to school in shorts and spags and sleeve-less tops. Even wearing a tee-shirt at home is hot. We'll change to wearing spags and sleeve-less at home soon.
3. Last weekend, a group of us went for a Charity Walk organised by HUILING(haha) Organisation for the Deaf and the Dumb. We couldn register ourselves in the end cos of some issues but we went anyway to support. It was at 前海and we alighted at the wrong stop and walked walked walked there, to watch the performances and give our support. THere were many foreigners there helping out too!I was a tad embarrassed when they kept shouting '我们支持你慧灵！or 我爱你慧灵！' and similar statements. My friends kept directing the statements at me too and I was even more paiseh lar. We signed up to be volunteers though at the 彩虹组near our school and we met these 2 Singaporeans. One lady looked really familiar to us and we were trying to recall whether we've seen her on TV or whether we've see her in NTU. THe other lady said that her son works as an accountant for PWC, China and so she is here with him. She passed us her namecard and pointed to the card and said 'This is my boss.' We peered over and I saw in the background, a person that normally represents Jesus in paintings. My friend, A, was so delighted and she said 'He's our boss too!' haha.
4.I've shopped way too much, bought like er, 4 pairs of shoes recently, a new bag, many new tops/dresses/shorts. Cos we went 五道口 and its even cheaper than the wholesale market that we normally go. But must dress down when we go. The first time I went, I wore a dress and they gave me high prices and I had difficulty bargaining. The second time I went, I look like a student and haha, I really had the best bargains since I reached beijing and I love my new stuff!
On our way back, we met a Negro who was so interesting. She heard A and I conversing in English and complaining how squeezy the train was and how people would still push to enter and she remarked in our direction that its really hot and so we turned around and started chatting with her. She is really waiting to go home soon, on 25th June and she was wearing a mask and was asking why we were not. She said that Beijing has 1 suspected case and they are trying to track down 15 other people who had been in contact with that person. It was really fun talking to her, she was soo funny and we had to get off cos we realise that we were on the wrong train!!! -.-
5. I'm getting quite used to independent life over here, no need to account to anything and all the freedom I can get. I feel myself changing in terms of perspectives, personality and outlook to life. Whether for the good or for the worse I dont know, hopefully its for the good. Through my past months alone in a foreign land, I've grown to realise that not everything in life comes the way you want, you just have to learn to get around it and accept it. I've learn to do what I want regardless of what people think, as long as God says ok;I've learn to accept situations for what they are; I've learned that humans change and what may seem to you the first day you know a person or what appears to you may not be them in reality; I've learned that I'm not that all too good a person myself after all; I've learned that humans fail you, even I fail myself, but God never fails.
It was in China 3 years ago during the Yunnan MEET trip that I truly understand 'Unity in Christ across Denominations' and really understood 'God loved us, He sent His Son,who was willing, to die for us on the cross. Now,3 years later, still in China, I understand the essence behind 'Man fails,but God never fails,His love endures forever'. Simple statements that we mumble and memorise since Sunday School but to understand, it takes experiences.
I thank You Father for bringing me through tough times yet showing me Your love and assurance through these times, that I know for sure that there is a rainbow after the storm. Friday, May 08, 2009
-8:36 PM
It's the time of visiting cos its summer.Friends,Boyfriends and Families are all coming over from Singapore to visit the class,regardless of the Swine Flu, and regardless of whatever our form teacher told us. Singapore is not affected anyway. I cant wait for my family or whoever to come visit me again. My family would probably be coming in winter? At least after 'A' and 'O' Levels.
He's the Lord of the sunshine,
The Lord of the rain,
He's the Lord of the good times,
The Lord of the pain;
He's the Lord of the mountains,
The Lord of the sea;
He's the Lord of the music,
The Lord of the children,
The Lord of you and me. Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Post Exams..
-11:05 PM
After the Surgery exam on monday,A,XQ,M and I went to Xidan to shop. Our main purpose was to go to H&M!!! Its the one and only H&M which had just opened on Labour Day! Apparently, theres another in the making in Beijing. Its has 3 storeys and it was soooooo crowded and clothes were like all over the place. But there was no shouting or whatsoever we normally see in the wholesale market. While I was browsing through the racks of clothes, I saw a woman trying on one of the clothes because the queue at the fitting room was super long. Then I saw a salesgirl come over and politely told that woman not do so coz its quite unsightly and uncultured. The PRC woman gave a stunned look and stared at the girl. Wow.I support the salesgirl of course and I cant believe that even the atas area, ppl change in public.
I went through 2 levels and didnt go to the lowest level cos its the kids section. After browsing, I had ta-da,a grand total of 7 pieces of clothing..actually 8 cos A was holding on to one of mine. So we head to queue for the fitting room which allows a maximum of 7 clothes per try. While queuing, one salesgirl was on the line and she was complaining in a funny manner that she cant believe that Beijing ppl throw clothes everywhere even on the ground. Apparently the sales ppl are all Hongkongers brought over because its the first outlet in Beijing. It would take a while before local people can be employed as staff. She said that the staff had packed and arranged all the clothes neatly the night before and this morning, within 2 hours everything was in a mess and clothes were everywhere and on the floor. She said that if this carries on,she'll have to admit herself into the Mental Hospital. A and I burst out laughing.
I finally went down to 4 after trying and then to 2. I was looking for this gray top but could only find the white one. I asked the salesgirl and she said that there is that piece of clothing but it must have been left at other places by customers and so she asked me to look around. In the end i didnt buy that piece so I only have one piece! I saw another dress which i like too but no occasion to wear so didnt buy.
We then went to a cafe to eat before going for ice-shavings and then to the opposite buildings to check out shoes. Was really really fun shopping..something I need to de-stress and take my mind off stuff.
'When the stars refuse to shine,and time is no more..You still be faithful, You still be faithful, O Lord.' Thank You Jesus.
UPdates!
-9:01 PM
7.Last Sunday,3rd May2009 was the first time in my life wearing a mask on the streets. I've nv worn one in Spore when it was the SARS period but bcos its China and because I go to the international church,and because my friends were wearing,I took one from my friend and wore one too. Esp when there is so much close contact on the ever-squeezy bus. I wonder if there are cases in Beijing cos China is known to not report when they have cases..I dont know.
My form teacher keeps insisting that there is one case confirmed in Singapore but apparently, its just a suspected case that has been cleared. As Singaporeans,we were quite irritated that she kept drumming into us that Singapore has a case when all of us know that it is untrue. She continued saying that we should not fly back to Spore and even if people from Singapore come to visit us, we should try our best not to be in contact with them so much. All of us gave a unanimous 'huh' and she gave a paiseh smile for 1 sec and then gave her but-i'm-correct smile and tone and continued saying that its for our own safety and that if we go back to Spore,being a country with a case,we have to be quarantined for 2wks upon return. We were like!?!?! cos China probably has cases which are not reported considering the flow of human traffic,esp in Beijing and Shanghai. What more, in Singapore, all hospital staffs are on orange alert and NUS medical students have all their hospital electives and overseas electives all cancelled,they are all on 'leave' while we in Beijing still have to go to the hospital everyday and there are no orange or yellow or whatever alerts. Everything is as per normal in Beijing,as if there is no swine flu.
Anyway, my exams are over now,at least for 2months. In 2months,i'll have my final 3 papers and yay,it would be the next year of full-time hospital duties,before I sit for the major final graduation exam the next year. I wonder how that is going to go cos it requires studying everything I've done since year one plus there will be practical examinations!
UPdates!
-6:24 PM
6.Dad's birthday falls on 28th April and so I decided to make him and mummy 2 birthday cards using materials I bought from Singapore!
I had to weigh the letter at the Post Office and it cost more than a normal letter.I like the stamps!
UPdates!
-5:41 PM
5. Peijia and Feng U's 23rd Birthdays!
It was the birthdays of my 2 closest friends in the TCM course.PJ's is on 12/4 while Feng U's is on 13/4. They always fall on the exam period of the 2nd semester in NTU and I would have to get presents in advance. This time,I brought Beggar's Chicken from Hangzhou for them. It was a suprise dinner planned between Peijing and myself.
At 630pm,me,sm and mt knocked on their door. Peijing was still cooking while FU was on the phone. PJ was using the hairdryer and so we decided to knock harder. The hairdryer stopped and we thought that someone was going to open the door and so we kept quiet. 1sec..2secs..5secs..10secs and we were wondering what was going on when the hairdryer came on again!!!muahahah...we burst in laughter outside while we banged on the door. This time PJ came to check it out but I placed my thumb over the view-hole on the door and so she had to open the door!:P
Dinner.
Beggar's Chicken.
FU trying to avoid the camera by using Mr.Pillow.
PJ first to blow candles!
FU getting ready to blow hers!
气虚！The last candle wasnt blown off while we were all laughing..
THe cake and the knife.
We watched some chinese drama till 10 and it wouldn end and i would have continued watching if it was for the fact that I had internship at the hospital the next morn!
UPdates!
-10:04 AM
4.On 18th April 09,Saturday.
In the afternoon, a group of us went for a guided tour in Tsing Hua University by ZX,my friend's Hwa Chong's friend who is studying in the University. Its at 五道口 and when we reached the train station of that place,we had a suprise. SO many young people,SO many shopping malls,SO many foreigners,SO HAPPENING! Its a self-sufficient place where students dont have to travel to town at all.If you are not adventurous or dont like to move around,you can just stay there and get your supplies. ITs not suprising considering that Tsing Hua and BeiDa are both there.We concluded that we stay in the 老人区 whose shops which arent that nice to shop closes at 5-7pm,save for Carrefour.Anyway,Tsing Hua is really a proper campus,ours is a far cry from theirs,but we dont go our campus anyway.I really love the architecture and the grass.Very European-like. They have long canals,big grass fields which really has grass for students so sit or lie.It looks really like a nice place to sit and just read a book.We really should have rented bikes cos the place is really big and with bikes,we could have covered more places.
CE,YY,Me,YT at one of the entrances.THe university itself is a tourist attraction can.They even have stores to buy sovenirs and I bought erm..haha,we'll leave that for later on.
I think this is the long canal that runs through the entire campus, which is I think,3 times the size of NTU?
Grass.More than that in Singpore's uni cos we dont have the land.
All of us!
The BOok of Knowledge in the University.Says that if you want knowledge then touch it and my fren tried to hug it.
I think its the same canal as the above one,just at another location.
THey have nice flowerssss.
In front of their main library. It has steps that look as if I can place a grand piano on to make the whole place look classy.
Sports and Recreation.
And now for the highlight:OLIVER TWIST PLAY BY TNT PRODUCTIONS!at Beida University's Cultural Theatre.
We paid 100RMB for circus seats and my group got the best seats. We were first row,middle aisle,super duper good view.The other groups that paid 100RMB had the back part of the circus seats which are not so good.
I LOVE plays,dramas,classical performances be it ballet or music. Like LOVE IT,dont think many people know that about me,cos I dont attend the performances at the Esplanade cos its super duper expensive.I was very upset that I couldnt make it for the Cinderella play at the beginning of the year cos Cinderella was my fave storybook when I was a kid.And what more, it was a Broadway Production.We couldnt make it for the one held in Beijing cos we had classes till really late in the evening and we didnt make it for the one in Spore except for one classmate who's bf helped her. THe rest of us just gave up trying.haha.
Anyway,there were only 6 ppl in the TNT Oliver Twist production. They are all very talented,can act,dance etc but i really love their singing.Really really really good,even though there were certain glitches that could be forgiven. Each person held more than one role except for Oliver of course and yet,they did their roles quite well.I was disappointed that the play lasted only slightly more than an hour.But for 100RMB,it was sufficient i suppose. There were chinese subtitles on the sides of the stage and the chinese seating behind was commenting how come they could use just 2 or 3 props for the whole play.But its just 100RMB so..cant expect much. The funniest thing was that a coffin was doubled up as a door after the coffin was held up vertically.All of us were like..urh.:P.
It was a fun time though. Really wanna attend the classical and ballet performances.
