26 DAYS LEFT

Korean visa? CHECK! The last piece of my Korean exchange puzzle has fallen into place.  I am finally all ready to board that plane on the 25th of February and land in the delightful land of Seoul.  I'll be honest, I was really worried about my visa.  I've never done anything like that before, and I was so scared that they would reject it for some reason (....like, maybe I looked fat in my photo and they went "ew..not sending her to the land of thin and beautiful") but I prayed really hard and God answered!

It's kind of scary knowing that there's only three weeks left until I leave.  I'm not even sure if I'm ready to start packing yet, let alone leaving.  I've been checking the Korean online shopping sites to see what the weather is like and what I need to take over there.  Although, I'm thinking maybe I should pack lightly and just buy whatever I need when I get there.  I mean, it saves my luggage space which means I can take back more with me when I come home, right?  Yes of course.  No, it's not just an excuse to go shopping.  I am saving ...something.  I don't know yet.

I've done my initial course registration for university already, but their final course registration isn't until March 2nd, which confuses me a little bit because I thought classes started on March 2nd.  I guess we'll have to see how it goes.  I'm actually reeeeally excited to see their university.  I like looking at school buildings.  There's something really prestigious and classic about them, especially the old brick buildings.  Modern buildings are nice too, but I've always loved the English-style buildings.  It gives off a really historic touch.  I can't wait to see their library as well. I hope they have English books....

DEBRIEFING MY BIG WEEK OUT

Big Week Out is always an interesting journey for me.  I always seem to start off really tentative but then end up loving it so much and wishing it could go on for longer.  This year was no different.  Even though I've been to so many BWO's already, every first evening of the week feels like I'm going for the first time.  Gradually, as we go out serving with different people and forming friendships, I start realising that it's just this big gathering of Christians coming together with one purpose: to show God's love to people who don't know about it.  There is nothing scary about it.

I was involved with different activities every day this time - backyard blitz, renovations for an op-shop, visiting a nursing home and visiting a disability centre.  I think it was really lucky because a lot of people did the same type of activity e.g. backyard blitzing or visiting nursing homes twice.  The place where I had the most fun was the disability centre because we played UNO with the residents and joked around a lot with their carers.  But the place where I found it to be the most meaningful was the nursing home I visited on Thursday.  Another leader and I were taken to a room where a lot of the elderly were just sitting there, watching the tennis (by the way, I am so disappointed by this years Australian Open results) and just passing time.  We gave them hand massages, played skittles, threw a ball around with them and took them on walks outside in the garden.  It was a place where I felt so drawn to help out.  I think in previous years I pitied them, but this year I wanted them to just be comfortable and happy.  I think something's changed in me.  When I went to the disability centre today, I had the same kind of feeling.  I don't just want people to pity them and say "Oh it's so sad that they're there" and then just forget about it.  All the residents in nursing homes and disability centres are people too.  I want them to know God as well.

What I really liked about BWO as well this year were the people I got to know.  They were people I knew of, but never really talked to or had a chance to meet, so I felt kind of awkward.  I think I'm weird in that way.  I can open up my heart to a complete stranger but with people I've met once or twice, or know of but don't actually know  know, then I get kind of ....shy.  I also seem like a bit of a loner when I don't have people I know to hang out with so I think I need to change this habit.  Despite this, I'm really thankful that I got to know people better.  This way I won't try to avoid them or shy away from them as easily.

All in all, this was probably one of the better BWO's I've been to so far.  But it doesn't just stop after tonight. This year there was a really strong message and emphasis on keeping our servant heart attitude throughout this whole year and not just this week.  We were given 'homework', I guess, and I really hope that I can get an A-grade in it.

P.S.  When I first found out that the verse on our BWO t-shirts was the verse which I chose to put up beneath my header when I first started this blog last year, I was O_O

NO MORE PAIN

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” - Revelation 21:3-4

Death is something a lot of people are worried or concerned about.  I think it's because they don't know what it's like.  People who have had near death experiences describe it different ways.  Some people describe it as a painful struggle, others have told stories where they see the light at the end of the tunnel while others say they see their whole life flash by and realise how much wrong they have done.  Like I said before, I have never feared death and will never fear it.  I do get scared about how I die though.  Obviously it would be nice to just pass away in my sleep, or if it's not a natural death then I would prefer it to be instant e.g. bullet through my brain or getting hit by a bus and instantly dying.  (I know, how morbid and weird of me to describe my ideal dying circumstances.)

But I, like any other, am afraid of pain.  I am scared that when I die, it will be slow and painful.  Which is why I really like today's verse.  Either when Jesus comes back for the second time or when I die - whichever one comes first - pain and suffering for me will cease.  I will be able to go to a place where it's beautiful and perfect and completely pain free.  And that is what I really really want for my friends and family and everyone in this world.

BLACK SWAN & OTHER RANDOM THINGS WHICH COME TO MIND

I watched Black Swan today.  It was amazing.  I now understand why Natalie Portman won her Golden Globe and really hopes she wins the Oscar as well.  She was incredible as Nina, the mentally tormented ballerina who only wants to be perfect as the new Swan Queen.  I've always liked Natalie Portman as an actress.  She seems to be someone who is dedicated to becoming an actress, and not a celebrity, which is sadly becoming more and more common these days.  I admire people who treat acting with respect and dignity, rather than people dabbling in a role because they 'felt like something new' or because their old career isn't flourishing and needs some spice.  Anyway, the movie itself was quite chilling.  When I walked out of the theatre at the end of the movie, I was stunned and my mind was completely blank.  I must admit that I'm not a fan of scary, thriller or horror movies, so this one was pushing it already.  Having said that, I'm glad I watched it.  The little bits of humour threaded throughout the movie were definitely appreciated, and I think Mila Kunis did quite a good job as the supporting actress, even though I thought she had a bigger role.

Onto the other random things, which is pretty much what I like in music at the moment.  Last night I listened to One Way's Rainy Days full album and almost fell completely in love with it.  The only complaint that I have is that they swear in their songs.  I have never understood WHY people feel the need to use that kind of language in their songs.  I think it's because I'm a Christian, so I'm particularly sensitive to these issues, but I don't find it 'cool' or 'gangsta'-ish at all.  It just sounds really uneducated and rude.  Anyway, besides that, I like their music.  It's relaxing to listen to and very different to the typical K-pop I normally listen to.  I'm also liking G.NA's Black and White album.  It's pop-py, which I am not ashamed to admit to liking, and it's upbeat.

Oh, and I cut my hair today.  It's short now.  :)

CONE-TASTIC

Last Friday, my friends and I decided to watch the Tour Down Under cyclists warm up near Penfold Winery.   After that, we walked down to the Parade for lunch.  On our way there we passed by this little shop called Conetopia where everything is "in a cone" - gelati, pizza, yiros, curries and even pasta.  One of my friends was so intrigued by this concept that we spent 10 minutes in there looking at their menus before finally deciding to come back for dessert after lunch.  The Parade was quiet for a Friday afternoon because all the roads had been blocked for the cyclists.  After lunch we did indeed go back to Conetopia, where the four of us ordered gelati.  As we were sitting outside, the friendly owner of the shop came out and started talking to us.  After a while, we had finished our gelatis and were talking about how we would definitely try the other flavours another time.  The owner then spontaneously offered to make us two umbrella dessert cones - flavoured waffle cones topped with chocolate and Nutella and five flavours of gelati - for free! We were all like "REALLY?" It was so nice of him.  We had a lot of fun choosing the ten flavours and even more fun eating the umbrella cone.  This is what they looked like:

I really want to go back now and eat their mango gelati.  It's one of the best mango ice-creams I've ever eaten.  It's so smooth and creamy and SO mango-y.  Mmm...

36 DAYS LEFT

Plane ticket? Check.  Arrival information sent to university? Check. Visa application sent? Check.  Now all I'm waiting (and hoping) for is that my visa will be approved so I can actually step onto Korean soil, or cement or whatever.  Oh, and I need to check if I have health insurance or not.  Hmm....how do I go about that? I keep reading through the Check List which my university gave me beforehand and ticking things off which I've done.  I'm generally not the type of person to care about such administrative details because my parents have always taken care of them.  It's very different this time.  I am by myself in a country I've never been to before, can't fluently speak the language (although the fluency of my Chinese can be debated also) and have never even entered their airport before so I'll have no idea where I'm going.  Other times when I've travelled sans parents have been to places which is I am semi-familiar with i.e. Thailand and Queensland.

I counted this morning and there are thirty six days until I leave.  Does it sound like a lot? 5 weeks and a bit.  I've been planning to write down a list of places I want to go to and things I want to do before I leave but keep forgetting.  So far on my list is:

1. Eat ice-cream at Glenelg
2. Visit Hahndorf for a day
3. Buy something which represents Australia and take it with me to show off my Australian pride (half-kidding. Not sure)

Yes, that's it so far.  Will probably be adding to it later on once I think about it more seriously.  The list is probably more of what I want to do 'during this holidays' rather than 'before I leave', since it's not like I'm never coming back and can't do these things again.

FALLING OVER

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. - 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

"And God is faithful....stand up under it" is quoted a lot of times, especially when someone's talking about temptation and standing up against it.  But I think I like the focus of verse 12 more: "So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" It doesn't just talk about giving in to temptation but it makes it clear that we should never consider ourselves above temptation.  I think there's a message of 'pride before fall' in there; there are times when I feel like I'm really okay with God and everything is going well in my spiritual life and don't think I need Him anymore, and then I will slip and continue falling until I get back to my rut.

It is comforting to know that God will never let us be tempted beyond what we can bear, but it's also important to know that Satan definitely wants us to be tempted and will do anything to make us fall.  The verses before verse 12 explain that those who give in to temptation constantly will be subject to bad consequences e.g. "we should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did - and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died." (v. 8)

In the words of Alfred Pennyworth, aka Michael Caine from Batman Begins, "Why do we fall, sir? So that we might better learn to pick ourselves up." We need to remember that when we fall, we should try and get up as soon as possible, otherwise the slope becomes steeper and harder to climb up again.

NOSTALGIA

There's something about Adelaide which is making me feel funny.  I am home, but why does it not feel like home? Hong Kong felt a lot more like home than Adelaide does.  Maybe I like living in confined spaces, and so now that I'm back in a 'house', it's a little too open and ....big.  Does this stem from the fact that I'm a private person and therefore I feel more comfortable in a smaller space?  Is there any scientific evidence to back that up?  Hmm, I don't know.

Maybe I'm just missing Hong Kong and the lifestyle which comes with it.  Even though it was compulsory to be up by 9 am (courtesy of my grandpa), the whole day still seemed to pass by a lot quicker than it does in Adelaide, despite waking up later.  There's just so much more to DO in Hong Kong - so much more to eat, shop, see, discover etc.  Speaking of which, I will now show you some of the delicious food which I ate! This was lunch with one of my parent's old friends.  We ate at this exclusive club where only members can pay, which means you have to be invited into the club by a member if you want to eat there. The inside design was really nice,  but I didn't feel comfortable taking a photo of it since there were a lot of business people there.

Lunch at The Bloomsbury Room

my buffet appetiser - eel sushi, seared tuna w/ mango, pumpkin & mushroom salad, chicken salad

mum's buffet appetiser - salmon & tuna sashimi, seared tuna w/ mango, some kind of jelly, chicken salad

main course - seafood rousset with saffron rice

my buffet dessert - trifle, lemon meringue, cheesecake w/ passionfruit dressing

mum's buffet dessert - sponge cake, cheesecake w/ passionfruit dressing, blueberry cup

Oh, and the toilets looked pretty as well.

HOME SWEET HOME...FOR A WHILE

I am home! I arrived back in Adelaide yesterday afternoon, but haven't really felt like blogging until this morning. I did try to start a post as soon as I got back, but didn't have much to say and wasn't really feeling coherent enough anyway.

So.

After three weeks abroad, I am finally back in my own house, reunited with my beloved computer and experiencing major winter withdrawals.  Not to worry though, because in a few more weeks I'll be flying to Seoul for my exchange, and it should still be really cold over there.  Yay.

Everything is pretty much unpacked and it it's rightful position now, save for the clutter on my desk.  I really should get to cleaning it.  To be honest, unpacking is so much harder than it is to pack.  Organizing and compartmentalizing has never been my forte.  On the other hand, pulling stuff out from the mess and making a new, neat pile is a lot more fun.  I guess living out of a suitcase suits me.  It forces me to be organized whereas having my own room and wardrobe lets me throw stuff wherever I want.

I never really updated my blog during my time in Hong Kong apart from my personal devotions, and that's because I was out pretty much every day.  And if I wasn't out, I was at home trying to get better from the horrible stomach bug I had.  I'll post up what I did in HK a bit later.  Right now it's church time aka see how everybody has changed over three weeks!

IN THE SECRET

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. - Matthew 6:1

There's an event called Big Week Out which I've gone to about five times now.  It's main purpose is for the young people of Adelaide to go out and participate in acts of community service like gardening, clowning, pancake stalls and house renovations.  Quite a lot of people attend this event.  It runs during the last week of January, which is the week before school starts in Australia.  During my previous experiences, the people I worked with at Big Week Out were really friendly and very sociable.  They were a good bunch of people to hang out with and to share experiences with. 

I've also been on three mission trips during my short lifetime, all of which were enjoyable in their own way.  Each time we set out to help people with different things, whether it be their health, their spiritual life, their English abilities or their music skills.  Each time I go away on a mission trip, people will tell me that it's so good of me to be willing to help out the needy and the poor.  Some will tell me that I'm such a good person, or that I'm a good Christian because I'm going out of my way to do God's work.

When I read through this morning's devotion, I immediately thought of Big Week Out and my mission trips. After reading Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-18, this line keeps coming into my head: "Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." As I was reading the verses this morning, I kept asking myself one question - do I go out and participate in these activities because of my love for God and because I really want to do His work, or because I like the recognition and the stigma which comes from doing these activities?  

Although it's not 100% the latter, I'm still not proud to say that the latter does factor into my choice of participating or not.  I find the line between working for God and working for myself to be extremely thin, and it's a line which I often cross without realising or wanting to.  After this morning's devotion, I realise that I'm going to have to do a bit of self-interrogating and cross-examining in order to be at ease with myself. 

THE EYE THAT NEVER SLEEPS

The LORD will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life;  the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.- Psalm 121:7-8

The morning after I arrived in Hong Kong, my grandpa told my mum and I that one of our relatives had passed away earlier on in the year.  She wasn't an extremely close relative, but I had visited her the last time I came back and was planning to again.  She would have been 106 years old this year.  I remember being told that she was still really energetic for her age, because she could still walk by herself and speak coherently, albeit a little mumbled.  The news of her death didn't really shock us, I mean...she was 106, but it started a few conversations about death which have continued over the past few days.

Yesterday, my mum was talking about how during the last few months she had 'left' Australia and wasn't there anymore.  My grandma, who's still a little superstitious on the language, told her off for saying 'left'.  In Chinese, my mum said 走 zou (가), which literally means to go or to leave.  It's also a more passive way of saying that someone died, which is why my grandma was so sensitive.  She reprimanded her immediately and said that my mum should have used 'I was not in Australia', instead of 'leaving'.  

When I read this morning's Bible passage, it struck me that my Hong Kong family is still so sensitive about death.  As a Christian, I know that I will be going to Heaven when I die, which is why I'm not scared of death at all.  In fact sometimes I wish it could come sooner, but that's a different issue.  God has promised that he won't sleep or slumber while watching over us, so we shouldn't be scared about anything.  He's like Big Brother, but in the best way possible.  

(After our mission trip, my mum challenged the whole team to a new year resolution.  She asked us to improve in one part of our spiritual life, and I chose to do personal devotions.  As you might have read, I'm not really that great at doing them everyday.  Therefore, I've decided to keep an online journal of them in hope that I will feel guilty if I miss a day.  I won't update them daily, just the ones which I think are important for myself :) )

HELLO DRUGS

One of the things about going to a doctor in Hong Kong is that they will give you all sorts of coloured medicine. Right now I have pink, white, blue, orange, yellow, green, light pink, light orange and light blue. What's silly is that almost half of the medicine that they give you isn't necessary - it's like they just want to give you lots and lots of medicine to say that they're doing their job.  My mum and I have had the misfortune of falling ill in Hong Kong, and together we have eleven packs of medicine to take, plus a bottle of syrup. I guess the fact that they're different colours gives it a bit more of a novelty factor.  Staring at eleven packs of white tablets would probably make me feel even more sick.

I don't think I've ever taken so many tablets at once in my life.  Now I know what my grandma feels like everyday.  She has to take a lot of medicine as well - she even has one of those days-of-the-week medicine compartment things to store her multiple pills.  Luckily we only have to take my medicine for a few days and then it'll be over.

A good thing about being sick in Hong Kong, though, is that even the 'clear' and light foods taste good.  My mum went downstairs this morning, after her doctors appointment, and bought some congee and rice pastry.  It was so yummy :)

BACK IN HONG KONG

I am back in Hong Kong! It hasn't been the most smoothest journey back, with late luggage, cold weather and me getting sick....again.  For some unknown reason my body has really failed me this trip, in both Cambodia and Hong Kong.  I think I've been sick for at least 75% of my overseas trip so far, and that really makes me frustrated.  In Cambodia I was sick for a whole week, and it happened to be the week where we did most of our children programs and teaching.  I stayed in my room for the whole day on various occasions, which got to be kind of boring because all I did was sleep and not eat.  It was kind of sad listening to the noises of children outside and knowing I couldn't go out.  It was even worse on Sundays because they used the big room upstairs to teach the children, where the toilets were.  Fun times.  I guess a positive thing about being sick is that I lost weight? Which I put straight back on after I got better in Siem Reap and where we had buffet dinner every night.  So no plus there, really. 

Our flight back from Phnom Penh was good - business class seats for economy class price! The seats were so luxurious and wide, so I was able to sleep pretty well and the food was nice too.  When we arrived at the airport, we told Lawrence to race towards the customs desk because he was the only one without a residents card, which meant he would have to wait in line for a passort check.  It was funny, because he ended up getting out to luggage collection faster than we did.  Luggage collection took so long.  We started waiting at 10:20 pm and didn't get it all back until 11:30 pm.  Luckily the bus was right there outside, so me and mum quickly ran and then it took off towards home.  Unfortunately, my body caved and I was sick for most of the night.  My poor mother - she had to hold my hair back while I tried to throw up into the toilet, and now she has a cold and is sleeping right next to me. :(  I hope she's okay.

I'm all better now, luckily, because this week will probably be pretty hectic.  I think I need to write down a plan of what I'm going to do, who I'm going to see and when, and what I need/want to buy.  Before we left for Phnom Penh from Hong Kong two weeks ago, my mum took me to this supermarket called "Fusion".  It was so pretty!  I am a big fan of ordered, nice-looking supermarkets.  I only had my iTouch with me, so the photo quality isn't wonderful, but here are some photos.  I know, I'm weird for taking photos in a supermarket.  But it's FOOD! And it's prettyyyy :)

I like her pants.  HK ahjummas ^^

packaged fruit - a Hong Kong specialty

CONCLUSIONS OF MISSION TRIP

Our mission trip work in Phnom Penh is over now.  It's been almost two weeks exactly since I've been able to have access to the internet, and it's definitely been a strange two weeks.  I'll expand a bit more about Cambodia in later posts, but here are some points which sum up my thoughts about the mission trip.

1. It was very different to my first two mission trips in Thailand, and I think I was disappointed that it wasn't the same.  That in turn affected my overall attitude.

2. I wish we were able to spend more time with the university students.  It would have been nice to be able to build a deeper relationship with them and talk to them more.

3. I'm glad we were able to build relationships with the children after seeing them almost everyday.  We all had our own favourites and agreed on the general not-so-favourites.

4. My personal relationship with God? A strange and interesting development, and perhaps not the way I expected it to turn out. 

I'll definitely post some pictures and more detailed blog posts about Cambodia later on! I just need to get the pictures from everyone else. 

Now our team is resting in a very nice hotel in Siem Reap.  We had been looking forward to this hotel the whole trip, and were anticipating what it would look like during our bus trip here.  We saw lots and lots of big, beautiful hotels and were all like "Wow! That's so pretty!"  We had just pointed to one gold hotel and exclaimed that it was so big, and then our car turned the opposite direction into a smaller, wooden-looking hotel.  It was quite funny.  In a way, it's slightly ironic and meaningful.  I guess it teaches us that big is not always better, because our hotel is extremely comfortable and lovely.  There's a pool, buffet breakfast, free internet and air-conditioning.  Those four items alone made all of us smile and laugh with happiness. 

I finally recieved my offer of acceptance from CAU after checking my email today.  I can't wait to go home and start preparing and packing.  In less than two months, I will be in Korea and living a life which I have been dreaming about for quite some time.  I have heard that there has been an outbreak of bird flu and foot-and-mouth disease in Seoul, and it's quite scary.  I can only pray that God will look after me!

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