Day 1: Youth Leadership Camp '09

When I first got to know about the Youth Leadership Camp, I didn't exactly think that it would be anything special as it was mostly about talks and spiritual stuff, yadi, yadi, ya....

For a start, allow me to tell you briefly about the camp. Two youth leaders from each BEC zone are only allowed to join this camp. The camp was to be held at Dominic Villa, Genting from the 16th Oct till the 18th. About 36 youths from the Holy Family Kajang Church participated.

I arrived at the church with Greg, our zone youth leader where we were to assemble before we left for Genting at 5p.m. The chosen youths who participated came from different language groups like the Mandarin and Tamil group.

When the bus arrived, we were kinda behind schedule. To make things worst, during the journey, there was a massive traffic jam and apparently, somebody had to use the loo!

Eventually, we stopped at a nearby Shell station. Christine told us, "Make it quick and be back in 2 minutes!"

As soon as the door opened, everybody went out of the bus! So much for those 2 minute quickies...

By the time the whole bus was empty(even the bus driver was gone), I finally got out with only RM 5 on me and walked towards the shop. I looked at the shop to find that the whole place was (not surprisingly) full of people! I went over to the chips section, chose a tomato flavoured packet, and went right to the counter without looking out for anything else I might be interested in.

Boy am I glad I was quick! As soon as I got out of the shop, there was a long cue at the counter.

We were very late when we arrived at Dominic villa. We were actually scheduled to arrive by 7p.m or earlier, but we arrived at 9 instead. So, the speakers weren't so happy about that. Dragging our luggages up the many staircases, we were first shown to our dormitry.







Isn't it lovely? The last time I've ever slept in a dormitry was terrible! The HUGE dormitry that the people I shared with have to use ONE toilet! ONE! That means we have to wait one by one to use the toilet, which is ridiculous! Speaking about toilets, this is our dormitry toilet.



Hmmm....... I think I'm gonna like it here!

We hastily had a cold dinner(beacuse we came late) and went down the hall to meet our speakers. The speaker of the night was Alvin, and he's so awesome! Everybody enjoyed his talks about God's love (and his love stories since childhood). We stayed up late that night because we had to cramp 2 sessions into one as we had already missed the 1st session before we arrived.

Day 2: Inner Healing

I cracked open an eye, wondering where was I by the sound of a loud alarm at 5 in the morning. It took me a moment to realize that I was in Genting for the Youth Leadership Camp! Then I fell asleep again because there's NO WAY I'm waking up as early as 5 in the morning, thank you very much.

I woke up once again at 6.30 a.m. Man, those girls sure are desperate to bath in the morning! I heaved myself off the bed and got ready for the day. For breakfast, Nasi Lemak is served. Apparently, I found out that it was Angelina's alarm that woke me up. As expected, she wanted to take a bath *rolls eyes*.

Being one of the first few who finished their breakfast, I took a stroll round the place outside the house. Outside the dormitry, I saw a flight of stairs leading downwards so, I went there first.

There was nothing much to see down there, so I went upstairs again. At first, I thought the stairs that led upwards goes to the dormitry upstairs. Being curious, I discovered that it leads to the top of a hill!

As I climbed up the stairs, my mind was whirling with imaginations; would there be a playground? A jungle trekking pathway, or better, the way to the Theme Park!

As soon as I've reached the top of the hill, my heart was beating fast, beads of sweat formed on my back, the wind blew on my face and the hot sun was battering against me. Putting on my sunglasses, I was disappointed to find that it was just an empty field!

When I returned to the house, I joined the others at the hall to begin our day with the morning rosary. Each time we said the rosary, a different person will lead us using different languages.

To make things exciting, we started off with a game called Simon Says. We have three actions; pray, go to confession, and fast. By round two, half of the group lost. Not long after, it all came down between Greg and Victor. (I'm not sure what's up with those 'campur' actions...)

In the end, nobody won because it would probably take too much time to determine the winner. During the lecture, we were then sent out to fetch something from nature that represents us. I found an unbloomed flower (to show that I have yet to bloom someday). Even this guy Rudy, went all the way to this Karoke shop to look for bamboos? I know, weird....

And there's this guy who found a 'Moses stick'! Hahaha!

There's this game that I really enjoyed called 'charades' where 6 leaders have to act out a certain ambition. The 6 leaders were Freddie, Daniel, Tasha, Catherine, Annie, and Christopher.

What they didn't know about this game was that they were actually acting out their ambition while taking a dump in the toilet!

First off was Freddie, the cowboy,

Next was Daniel as a Mat rempit! His acting was hilarious especially when he shouted "OH SHIT!" That really cracked me up!

And there was Catherine as a model.

Followed by Annie the Magician,

Chris, the DJ.

And finally, Tasha the Ballerina!

In the end, Daniel won thus making him the proud owner of..... (drum rolls)

A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER!!

Later in the evening, we celebrated mass in the hall with Father George Harrison (no, he's not one of the Beatles, just a priest). Before we began, we were given half an hour to get ready for mass and dress up decently. As I was about to get ready to take a bath, I discovered that to my horror, I forgot to bring my soap and shampoo!

Well, in the end, I ended up with a soapless shower but at least I remembered to bring my facial wash, toner and moisturizer.... the things I do to keep a pretty face...

After dinner, we had this Inner healing session. Alvin started off with his experience with God when he had trouble with his anger management and how he became closer to Him. Then we saw a skit which really touched our hearts. By then, I already heard a few sniffels, even I was close to crying.

Then there's the main bit where we were about to experience 'Resting in the Spirit'. This is when the Holy Spirit comes down upon you, making you fall to the ground.

As we prayed, giving praises to the Lord, a few leaders came by to pray over us by chanting some strange language that I have never heard of. During their chanting, I felt myself swaying backwards, trying to make me fall to the ground. I was so scared that I tried my best not to fall despite hearing the leaders say "Just let go, there's no need to be afraid. Jesus loves you!"

In the end, they've finished and told me to sit down. I turned around to find a few people lying on the floor with their eyes closed and many others crying their eyes out. At first, I thought the people who were down on the floor was tired and decided to take a nap on the floor. But isn't it a bit odd for them to do so?

Soon, I became frightened when I saw a few more people dropping onto the floor! Some people were even crying to the extent that even their snot started dropping out, which makes things pretty gross. It truly was an exciting experience for me(minus the snot part) because it made me feel a bit closer to Jesus, even though I did not shed a tear, nor did I rest in the Spirit. I retired to bed when all is over while others went downstairs to share some spine chilling ghost stories.

Day 3: I Rested In the Spirit

I woke up early in the morning by the sound of a loud snore and angelina's alarm. As I lay on the bed turning my head onto the lumpy pillow, I realized that it was the last day of the camp!

After heaving myself off the bed, I changed, washed up, and had a hearty breakfast of fried mee hoon and Milo. Once again, I went up the steep stairway for the last time up the empty field. My heart was pounding, the cold wind blew against my face, and I breathed in the delicious fresh air, thanking the Lord for all the wonders he has created.

It was only then that I realized that I was late for the morning rosary! Luckily, nobody seemed to care. When the time came for us to praise the Lord, I chanted Hallelujah repeatedly ( I think I have the gift of tongues). As I was chanting those words, my fingers started twitching and I could feel my pulse pounding through me! And when I stopped, so did my fingers.



When the leaders came over me and did that weird chanting again, I felt myself leaning backwards. This time, I did not fight back and decided to go with it and let myself fall. When I was safely on the ground, I felt a strange energy going around in my body; it felt like my body was moving when I was not. A few minutes later, I got up and sat on the floor. Once again, I felt this strange presence on my right, yet, there was nobody there!



Ever since that experience, I saw Jesus in a new light; he listens and he was always there with me. I could not forget Juan's words when she came up and shared her experience with us, "When I was resting in the spirit, I heard a voice that said 'I was with you, I am with you, and I will always be with you.'" Trying her best not to cry, she continued, but I totally forgot about what else she said.

Not long after lunch, we collected our camp T-shirts. I rather liked the design of this T-shirt, don't you think? I was told that Alfred designed it, but then again, I was told that somebody else designed it....so, whatever...

All in all, this camp is definately one of the most unique camps I've ever been to and I have learned so much from what has been happening these past few days. Thank you to all the speakers who sacrificed their time for us, and thank you Daniel, Alfred and Christine for making this happen. God bless!

My Impressions

It has been a bit over a month and a half since I arrived to my new life here as an English teacher in South Korea. Aside from a few stumbles during the first little while on my own, things have, for the most part, been pretty smooth. The following are some of my impression of my life thus far.

I have been finding it to be somewhat of a shock to my system after having not worked for a bit over two years to be back into a full tiime job again. But, I'm acclimating slowly to the new routine. Although, after a long day I really have no energy or desire to do anything else after getting home other than to veg. The work itself is actually not as difficult as I had originally expected it to be. Lesson plannig is actually very simple as I just take them straight out of the textbooks I brought with me. All the students are at such a low level that nothing has to be too complex for me to teach. This makes my job much easier. Some classes are more difficult in terms of discipline than others. But, for the most part, they run fairly smoothly.

As for living here, I like it. I finally found clothes that actually fit me properly as opposed to being too big for me like they are back in Canada and the USA. I replaced almost ALL the clothing I brought with me already with stuff that fits. This is quite ironic as I spent so much money and effort on new clothes to bring here only to end up givng them all away. But, that's ok. I'm happier with my new stuff. I seem to be redefining/remaking myself all the time. LOL

Food and eating are great. I can now eat "normally" and not have the same digestive issues I used to have back in Canada. I think it's because of much less chemicals, preservatives, growth hormones, etc., that is so prevelant in the foods back in Canada. It seems more natural here and that is a GOOD thing. Spoilage occurs much quicker though, but that just means the food is more untainted here. People here are very, very, conscious about the QUALITY of the food and the ingredients that make up the food they eat. People back in Canada seem pretty oblivious to what they put into their systems in comparison. I can now drink juices again, eat good TASTY fruits, and rice again without any problems. I also eat out all the time! It's so cheap! Not like back in Canada where a meal costs a small fortune (unless you eat in Chinatown), a meal here will set you back only a few dollars, and for good food, too.

Transportation is also very good here without a car, too. Buses and subways take me everywhere I want to go. And, it's cheap. A bus ride is less than $0.60 and a subway ride is about $1.50 or less (depends on distance) usually. I've not used a taxi by myself yet. Although, they are very cheap. Not like back in Canada where the starting fare there is usually the ending fare here! I also walk to a lot of places, too. I walk to and from school. It's about about half an hour one way. Good exercise!

But, things are not as cheap for everything, though. Internationally known brand-name clothes, shoes, and electronices are just as expensive here, if not more, than they are back in Canada. It seems cameras and computers are less expensive in the USA, where I usally buy those things. As there are large import tarrifs for these techno toys here, they are epxensive here. It's to protect their own manufactureres no doubt as everything is also made here in competing brands. Although, I do not find the home grown makers items any less expensive than imported items in this regard. Dunno. In any case, if I want some new toys, I'll have to wait until I go to Japan or Hong Kong on holiday to buy them at a decent price.

My apartment is also feeling like home now, too. For the most part it is clean and quiet. Although, I have had the occasional bug(s) once in a while, they are rare. And, sometimes someone has their TV/stereo too loud. But, this only happens about once or twice a month and does not last too long. I can live with that. As the plumbing is somewhat different here, there is sometimes the slight smell of sewage in my apartment, but this is something I have gotten used to by now. And, it is not as bad as the description makes it seem to be either. Plus, and this is the BEST part, I have my own laundry machine right in my own unit. No more having to go the laundry room and just hope no inconsiderate ass doesn't usurp all the machines. Laundry back in Canada could take all day to do if this happens. And, for a only a single load!

As for my health, like I said earlier, my ability to eat a wider variety of foods without problems has been great. My skin had also revitalized during the warmer moister weather of late summer and I did not need any creams, etc. to prevent it from cracking. But, now that the colder drier weather has arrived, I find myself needing creams for my skin again. At least I know I won't need them year round like I did back in Canada. That's another plus. Allergies are somewhat indeterminate presently. The fall changing of the leaves has arrived and I have had some days of bad allergy reactions, but nothing that lasted longer than a few days. It's more off and on right now. I hope I do not need meds for it that lasts for months at a time (spring and fall) like it did back in Canada. So far, it's been bearable. I'll have to see how the rest of the season goes.

Well, there you have, my impressions and life here thus far.

Bupyeong At Night

After spending the day in Seoul, we all headed back to Incheon and dinner at our favorite Korean BBQ place. The food was excellent as usual. I also had the chance to take some night shots of Bupyeong Market at night. This is still my favorite place to eat and shop. Seoul is a nice place to visit, but I like living in Incheon. It's less crowded and the pace is easier and more laid back.

And, as you might also have noticed, I have finally caught up to my posts. My internet is more stable again and I have a bit of time as this month is exam month. WooHoo!

Another Day In Seoul

It seems a weekend in Seoul has become somewhat of a semi-regular occurrence now. This saturday just passed (yesterday) was another such trip. Again there was the trip into Yongsan, and again no pix of the area. Sorry, my company was not conducive to picture taking. I'll have to venture out myself for that. Oh, well.

The next stop was Dongdaemun, a shopping district with more stores than the eye can see stretching down the street. We ended up inside a very upscale and trendy department store. Not as expensive as some other department stores I have seen, but fairly reasonable for such a nice place. There is a rooftop patio (it was quite cool out this day) with a great view of Seoul and lounge/rest area as well as food court. As this place was accessed via some underground complex, I'm not sure what exactly it is called. Although, it is only a stone's throw from the Pyoung Hwa Clothing Market (it is attached to it).

The pix are of the surrounding area, inside the department store with its rooftop patio, and the store itself from the outside near dusk. Plus, a few shots (beginning and end shots) of the recently unearthed canal in the middle of the city. This canal was originally buried underground and was part of the sewer system until fairly recently when it was uncovered as part of an urban beautification project. It is very nice and should never have been buried to in the first place.

Seoul - Dinner

The trip into Seoul on the Chuseok long weekend was tiring, but enjoyable. I had seen small glimpses of a really big metropolitan city that seemed to have a lot to offer. And, way too much to see in a few days time. Dinner later that night was at an Arabian restaurant in the Itaewan district of Seoul. This area is where all the foreigners gather. It was like being back in Canada!

This is also the final post regarding my adventures in Seoul during the Chuseok long weekend. I will hopefully be more timely with future posts.

Seoul - The National Folk Museum Of Korea

Right next door to Gyeongbokgung Palace is the National Folk Museum Of Korea. I didn't go inside the museum as it was getting late and was about to close, other than to use the bathroom. But, on the outside of it was this nicely preserved pagoda that I had seen from a distance while inside the palace grounds. It looked like you could climb up to the top, but it was roped off. And, on the museum grounds were these Chinese zodiac figures for the respective signs. Mine was kinda cute looking. LOL