Day Trip to Praire Grove

Today was different..I spent my day at a couple's new house today. Jaci and Michael were building their house from scratch, every plank cut and trim, every dirt poured, every single detail were personally done by the couple. It was amazing, how much effort and details went into the planning. When we got there, we were greeted by the dogs (surprise, surprise...more dogs...) I'm just not a big fan of overly excited/hyper dogs.. Anyways, they were so hospitable and friendly..i enjoyed my time. I learnt so much about animals, building a house, designing your house, nature and a bit of nature stuff..i hate never got so close to nature and animals as i did today. =)

I got to see 100s of hummingbirds up close. Did you know they hum and make sounds as they eat from the feeder..and they can fly backwards or stay at the same spot for some time? They fly at more than 34 mph..fast huh? I was enjoying the sight until one of it flew right into the glass door and fainted..it was so scary! I thought it broke its neck and died..luckily, it was alright. Jaci took it inside the house and it started gaining consciousness again..she brought it out for us to look up close and said it would come around in couple minutes..so i thought it'll be a great idea to lean in and admire the bird up close and personal..but that little thing flew right at my face and went back out to the feeder..i was so surprised when that happened that I flinched and spilled my drink all over me.. ^_^" (anyone who knows me knows this is NOT highly unusual..haha..) i felt so bad..oh, and they put away the dogs for me too..they brought them out one by one, well, not the big ones to say hi to us..Lucky impressed me the most. It's the sweetest thing ever..

We had a tour of the house and property..found lots of interesting stuff during our short hike..i got hit in the face by a grasshopper which was jumping way too high..didn't get to ride horses though, which was what i was looking forward to but it's ok..basically, i got to be out in nature, without getting allergies..it's an awesome feeling! At least for someone who grew up without animals and much nature..haha..oh, later, we cooked Bak Kut Teh, scramble eggs with tomatoes, stir-fry spicy chicken and rice for dinner for them. It was our treat, of course..I was afraid they would hate the food, but to my surprise, they loved it! =D I was so excited..hehe..after dinner, we played mahjong. Jaci bought the mahjong set from China, so we were learning it..they are really fast-learner and strategist..hehe..shows how much more i need to learn in reading people during the game. All said and done, I had an awesome time. I really appreciate them having me over today..it was quite an experience..although they probably think i'm weird because i never bother about animals or nature much before..haha..

BTW, their house is pretty awesome!!! esp, the kitchen. It's huge and oh, the recess lightings are amazing..and the large island..it's not quite done yet but i love the layout! =D

UB: Week 6..Final Week

This is our final week in Upward Bound 2010..6 weeks of drama and fun are about to come to an end. I'm relieved, yet a little sad. I'm going to miss these kids..spending 6 weeks with them, ALL day and night is tiring and fun..sometimes dramatic. But I'm glad it's going to be over, so I can spend time with my family and friends.

This week was eventful: first off, PROM!

Theme: Mardi Gras..

Venue: Uncle Gaylord's..(weird name? lol)

It was fun, dressing up and dancing like a puppet..those who know me know I can't really dance..so the kids had me like puppets..hahaha..esp Yuki..

(P.S. It's not alcohol..)

Second event: Memphis, TN trip

We spent 2 days 1 night there. It was a long 6 hours bus ride, uncomfortable one too. I had the noisy bunch sitting right behind me..i tried to sleep but was too uncomfortable. We had lots of authentic southern food (heaty food..sheryl's fav..all deep fried), visited Arkansas State University and then went to Southern Folklore for dinner and blues music..it was fun and entertaining. Food was not bad actually..

The next day, we walked to hard rock cafe for lunch..found a strand of hair in my plate which the waitress said it was cheese! drinks tasted weird, according to my table of girls..had a campus tour of University of Memphis which wasn't that great. We walked under the heat and did not even see the inside of the buildings. Later we visited the Civil Rights Museum which was educational and then had fried chicken for dinner..yes, more fried stuff *so heaty* ..then we boarded a sightseeing cruise on the Mississippi River..the river had a stench and it looked murky..it was horrible..but overall, it was relaxing and fun..I liked the breeze. Since most of the kids were busy partying and dancing in the cabin, the outdoors of the boat was relaxing..i liked it. But because of the long day and sweat and hot sun, i had heat rash and some type of allergy.. @.@ After all these, we started our journey back to Fayetteville. We got back at 3am! I'm so tired..and had to checked a girl out at 7am..which meant, after shower and all that stuff, I only had 4 hours of sleep all day today.. =(

Oh, the kids leave tomorrow! =)

Summer fun...week3

This week was fun with the kids..I think most mentors were worn out by this week. By Thursday, everyone was grumpy and tired, including me. Everyday is a routine. Hugs are getting more frequent, squeezes? Yes..those too..My nicknames are getting longer, including "sparkly" because I have a sparkling personality? lol..We had dinner on Dickson last Tuesday too. My family were planning to got o Kosmos with Anthony's family. Somehow, that place was mysteriously closed? haha..so we went to Feltner's Brothers. A burger place. Not too cheap, but not too expensive either. After that, we went to Orange Mango. Made my own ice cream with full of chocolates..not too bad. Somehow, I prefer Braum's ice cream..cheap and it comes with waffle cones! =D Since dinner and dessert ended pretty early, Anthony and I took our families on a long and exhausting campus tour..we went into at least 6 buildings, exploring each floors and rooms possible. You can imagine how tired my legs are after that fun, insight tour we had. Oh, and Thursday, we went to skate! Yes, I did try to skate. The mentors were going for the 80's look, so Jessica lent me a bright neon orange shirt and Chandra applied some extremely bright neon apple green eye shadows for me, which pretty much made me "eye-catching"..As for skating, having 2 girls holding my hands and going round in circles was definitely fun..but I wish my balance was better so I could have enjoyed it more. The feeling when skating reminded me of skiing in SD..maybe one day, I can try again.. =) Theme dance is next week. I think I can pull off the Sailormoon costume..we'll see about that one.

Today, I went to Beaver Lake for sightseeing..or at least attempted to. GPS has no clue where it was either..sigh..later this evening, we went to ISCA for some delicious homemade ice-cream..Sheryl put so much chocolate toppings on hers that I can feel a sore throat coming soon...After dessert, everyone headed down to Dickson Street for July 4th fireworks! We managed to get a pretty good spot at the Bikes, Babes and Bling (BBB) site. Apart from cigarettes and smokes, it was pretty good. I really enjoyed the sight. Pictures should be up later on, on FB...when I remember...

UB Week 1

So the kids have left..the hallways are so empty and quiet! this week has been a super long week, it feels as if it's been more than 2 weeks already. maybe it's all the walking under the heat, keeping up with the kids, HPER trips and lack of sleep..as you can tell, I'm worn out. and there's 5 more exciting week! haha..132 kids is hard to keep up with.

This week's been fun so far. We had a birthday bash and dinner on dickson. The birthday bash was awkward for me, since i don't dance. The songs were really loud, which lead to a bad headache. But the kids seemed to had a lot of fun..which was the entire point of the party. Anyway, Jessica's mentor family and mine decided to haed to Blu Fin for dinner. Blu fin on Dickson was expensive! Gladly, I'm not paying it out of my own pocket. =p The sushi was ok (i've had better ones, but not here in Fayetteville), but I think a lot of the girls had a bad culture shock! Some of them were willing to try new food, but others, not so much. Couple of girls were, of course, disgusted by the food..One even claimed that seaweed was fish poop-ing place and miso soup to be weird and disgusting..oh, and yet the best is..tofu is mini french toast bread! It's definitely an eye-opening for some and interesting dinner conversation for me and Jessica..lol..I even had Tamago sushi. Everyone thought it was weird because the egg looked different than regular eggs... ^_^""" I guess if you're from a rural place, it's normal reaction..but I just felt the entire dinner was interesting to see their reactions..lol..something normal to me is definitely a huge culture shock for a lot of the kids..

Anyway, kids are off for the weekend and will be back before I know it. So, adios everyone..I'm gonna go enjoy my days off....

Summer fun

I spent the last few days hanging out with my friends, catching up with friends here and everywhere else, studying GMAT, baking and other fun stuff..hehe. So far, we had steamboat/ hot pot (yes, we ate it during this horribly hot weather! XD ) and bak kut teh..what's next? haha..I have one more week of freedom before I move into the dorm again for work. Staying in the dorm would have its perks: free food, free lodging, TV cable. Bad is less freedom to hang out, less flexibility to yam cha or do things the way I'm accustomed to, more rules to follow, and less hygienic (based on my standards)..anyways, here are some of my all time favorite "Famous Amos" style chocolate chip cookies, it's so delicious!!! (sorry pics are a bit blur)

summer

Summer holiday:

should be fun
should be filled with excitement
should be filled with craziness
should be filled with activities

Not work
Not boredmn
Not others busy
Not nothing to do

Ahhhhh......FAYETTEVILLE IS JUST TOO SMALL!!!!!!!!!!

any fun ideas, anyone?

Cut cut cut

I've learned to cut hair today. haha..all these while, I've been cutting my own hair by trial and error, but today, I finally went to the salon near my house where I used to get my haircut as a little girl to learn the techniques of hairstyling. lol..Thanks to both aunties who used to cut my hair ever since I was 4? They volunteered to teach me and my sis their techniques before we leave to the States again and they even bought us all the appropriate equipments: scissors, wigs, clips and cloth. It looks fanciful and it costed us RM700 for everything. It's not too bad since other places are charging RM2000 for basic lessons.

Today, we learnt to cut straight cuts and bob style. I managed to pick it up quickly since I had experience of cutting my own hair for the past 2 years (kedekut right? it cost too much to get it trim in the States!) I managed to cut and practised 5 times whereas my poor sis only did 3 1/2 because of her crooked finger. She better improve her skills because next time, it's not a wig she will be cutting...but my hair...lol....maybe i should open a barber shop soon?

Tomorrow will be lesson 2..wonder what I will learn this time. hehe..I'm excited! Oh, and I'm thinking about getting highlights...since my hair is now burgundy, they told me to get blonde highlights...hmm...what do you guys think? blonde or redish or what color?

Roller coaster ride

It is amazing how life can take a turn so quickly. Since I've been back for the past 3 weeks, so many things and emotions had taken over. There was:

The Happy:

The sad part =(

The road trip

The food:


The smile:

It has been a roller coaster ride. Words could never express my true feelings but God knows what goes through in my life each day. I thank Him for each brand new days, for my beloved family, relatives and friends. Without His grace and mercy, I would not live to see another day. Parents are a blessing, so is family, friends and everyone we meet. There is a purpose to everything that happened in our life--the sad, happy and the in-between(s)..

Roadtrip update

Road trip was fun and awesome..hehe..
I'll let the pics speak for themselves =)

Massachusetts

NYC

DC

New York New York

Hi,
Sorry for the "no-updates-again-sherrie-went-MIA" period
Blog will be updated soon..
erm, not too soon
next week, maybe
XD
As Frank Sinatra sings, I am in NYC,
"...I wanna wake up to a city that does not sleep..."
See you guys soon...
DC, here I come..then next stop?
Fayetteville and then KL! yay~~~

Summer is Over

As you can tell, I went to Disney Land, Orlando, FL this summer for vacation! haha..after so much working, I'm finally off to vacation and relax, or so I thought. It was not your ordinary carefree vacation, but definitely an unforgettable one. Car wreckS [almost], fights, dramas, hatred between 2 friends, selfishness and true character of a person are shown...oh, hurricane escape too! All I can say is that I am grateful that I am back safely in one piece. I truly Thank God for His protection and blessings. I managed to be unharmed, safe, calm and yet have fun through all that that was happening around me. The sense of calmness can not be expressed by words, only that I know by heart that it was Him watching over me, protecting me from all harm and dangers. Disney land and Universal Studios was awesome! It was fun [when I wasn't in the middle of their fight.. ^_^" ] The beach was not as pretty as I thought it would be like in the movies. It looked like PD to me, worse...they had chewing gum in the sand! ewwww....disgusting!!!

here are we, smiling for once..sigh

trying to have some fun out of all that..hahaat the beach, wanting to go home badly before hurricane hits us and I just want them to stop!

Oh ya, after 2 days of driving and almost getting killed numerous times, I am definitely HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY to be back in Fayetteville..can't believe I just said that, but I am...hahahha....

***
Anyways, class started this morning and everything is fine. Oh, Diego is back! yay~~ mine you, he's my best friend..but he's not in yocum anymore..sigh..so much for our weekend hang outs..lol...oh well, we'll figure something out..

Upward Bound: end

Upward Bound is finally over! 6 weeks spent with 130 kids was initially hard and unbearable due to certain stress. As time passes by, 6 weeks seemed to come and go just like that. I got to learn everyone's name and talked to everyone..even got to really know some of them. No gonna deny, high school seem to have a lot of drama which i'm happy to be out of it, but there are just really great kids in UB and I am gonna miss them. As I watch them pack and get ready to go home yesterday, it wasn't easy. I am gonna miss them..most of them at least. Awards ceremony was alright but then later, the departure of the kids were an emotional one for most people. Hugs were passed around..me getting picked up by the kids once or twice was normal.. =p Prom was awesome. I got to dress up and the kids put some make up on me..i thought it was a torture..haha..sorry, emilee..the mascara was getting on my nerve since i'm not use to it..but then again, I got to dance all night with the boys and look pretty! =) [Thanks megan for finding me the dress.] Floor party was alright and Branson was fun! Overall, I had tons of fun. This summer has been great and it would never been the same if I never applied to be an Upward Bound mentor..I hope I'll get to come back again another summer..The slide show sums up all our fun and laughters... =)

the begining of Week 4!

I can't believe it's Week 4 already! I'm having tons of fun with my job right now..as you can see the masterpiece some of the kids did while we were having lunch.. =p It's suppose to be an elephant? couple..haha..I got to know almost everyone's name and know them a little..not to mention doing a lot of math..hehe..normal la..always doing math with people..but i enjoy it no matter what people think of math..and theme dance is tomorrow! theme is Halloween..aiyah..don't know what to wear somemore..pening kepala..haha..see la..maybe go as a malaysian..haha..not really a costume but it is to them...hahaha..Oh..prom night is also like 3 weeks away and megan got me some dresses from her mom's costume store..haha..both size 0..she told her mom my measurements as "everything tiny..she's very tiny"..made me laugh so hard wei~~ but the dresses are lovely! wait till prom to see it! I'm going to take my nap now..till next time..

--BOYS-- XD

Week 1

Week 1 of my summer job is over already! Can you believe it? Time passes by so quickly! Throughout the week, I'd learnt more about high school here than I could ever had by just watching tv and listening from my friends. Let me just state here, high school here is just like what is shown on tv: the dramas, the cliques, the problems, their thinking, attitudes..everything is so different than our secondary school aka high school back home..there is so much more colorful drama and attitude here! Things you'd never seen in our secondary schools, no matter what area you are from [ok, I'm only gonna speak for KL but I assume schools in Msia is about the same throughout the country.. *winks* ] Anyways, kids here are much more mature looking than we do back home. They look just like any adults, the way they dress, talk and act [not talking about thinking and attitudes, mind you..like I said, they're high school kids]..They're a fun and exciting bunch but handful as well..haha..It's not easy being a mentor actually but it's rewarding since I get to learn about the culture here.. =p

This weekend has just been relax, re-organizing my room and some reading..oh, I have my tv in my room now! and it's working just fine..hahaha..

Residential Mentor Training

It's been only the third day of training and I'm having lots of fun!

1st day:

The night before moving into Futrall Hall, I was busy packing all night, well..at least I was trying to pack while my friend did most of it.. =p Anyways, I moved in on Monday morning [Thanks to Megan and her brother for helping!!! Love ya, Megan..], kinda clean the room a little, made the bed, kinda sort my stuff around the room without unpacking. Then, all the mentors were required to be at the classroom to meet all the staff and mentors. It was kinda awkward at first since I did not know anyone. I started learning names and stuff but still, I can't seem to get a common topic with anyone in the room. Everyone else were talking about tv shows, politics and stuff but obviously, I'm not very good at any of these topics..So, it was just listening and observing for me. *sigh* So, anyways, I got to know some people better as the day passes by. Talked to some, learned everyone else's name..It was a long day since I did not have enough sleep the previous night! So much for slacking for 2 weeks before that..hehe..anyways, we had a talk about child abuse and stuff..had dinner at Penguin's Ed..It was really good! =)

Day 2

Went for a rope course! It was fun and very very very tiring! hehe..ok, so, first, we played games with ropes like getting tangled and untangling, making knots etc. Then, we moved to the low-course where we had to walk on a rope as a team to get to the other side without our feet touching the ground..hehe..it's way harder than you may think. So, we have 5 person on our group, 3 guys and 2 girls. Anyways, our strategy was those with longer arms to go first. So, one guy at the beginning and one at the very end. Then, 2 with long hands have to hold me since I have the shortest arm! (again! hehe) Anyways, at one point, it felt like my arm was being stretched beyond my capability..at the end, we made it across but it felt like my arm was stretched a couple of inches longer already..hehe..no matter what, it was fun!! Then, we moved on to couple of games before our high course. We were like 33ft above the ground, standing on logs with a partner, holding each other's shoulder and walking up the log..we had to depend so much on the other person and trusting the other that they will not let go of you. It was scary, I tell you! I got up there, stepped up on the log with Mirey and started to take couple of steps. Then, I started to feel a little wobbly and scary..I realized I was shivering from the height and luckily for me, Mirey wasn't afraid of heights. She had my back the entire time, encouraging me and distracting me by chatting [what else, rite?!? *winks*] It was just nice to have her help me, and I learned to trust others better. After the logs, we came to a platform where we had to switch our safety rope to another to walk on a wire, holding another wire above us, individually. Since I was scared, I went first and my friends were just encouraging in some ways. It was comforting in some ways. I also realized that it was way harder to do it as a team instead of individual!Then, after all these, we had more games, stayed longer than planned and missed dinner at Quads...then went to tutor malay, ate junk food and cookies, and sleep..hungry... but overall, the rope course was fun and exciting and tiring! hehe..I'm sure canoing on Friday is gonna be worse for me..lol..

Day 3:

We had a campus tour this morning, getting to know where classes will be and stuff..more talks..got to know everyone better..hehe..can chat chat and just be casual..it was fun! Oh..we decorated our floor too! --Under the Sea-- That's our floor theme..then, it was dinner at Catfish's Hole was awesome as well..The food was really really good..

**my door**

Training has been fun these few days. Got to know the mentors better and we're getting along just fine!Oh, btw, did I mention that rooms around my side of the hall is empty? 'lonely...i'm so lonely..." [song] hehe..

BBQ

BBQ! Hehe..well, my friends went camping and canoing during the weekend. There was suppose to be 6 ppl [for some reason, they thought I was going too ^_^" ] but only 3 went due to the lovely unpredictable weather of Fayetteville, AR. lol..there was suppose to be 80% of t-storm that night and 50% the next day. However, 3 guys went ahead anyways. lol..they took enough food for 6ppl to BBQ there! As they were canoing, one of them caught a turtle and brought it back. I thought they were gonna keep it but horrifyingly! They wanted to boil turtle soup!!! It was so upsetting-ly horrible to hear turtle soup! I love turtles!! It's cruel! But luckily, he left the turtle on the road while trying to move stuff back to his place and forgot about it. After that, as we were heading to Wilson Park, he suddenly remembered and turned back to look for it..but the turtle managed to run away! yay for smart turtle! It was what I hoped for too! =p sorry, but I love turtles! So..katakan 'TIDAK' to turtle dishes! [obviously kempen jangan merokok got my attention! lol] so,anyways, obviously they didn't finish everything, so we had another BBQ at Wilson Park..just 3 of us..lol..

Pork Ribs

Huanleftovers

johnny with a bouquet of food? ^_^"

a bouquet of food! a new english phrase!

cleaning up

*****

oh, I chopped off my super long hair too! But it had gotten so long in these 2 weeks! sigh..it was horrible! so expensive yet unsuccessful imitation of what i wanted! ok, i need to trim it down again! this time by myself..lol.. like my hair?? =p