timor 2008

i'm back! safe and sound... with lots of jest... and some virus... hehe

the timor trip has really opened my eyes and heart to God and to the reality of the world... maybe its because i've been sheltered all my life.. we're really fortunate to be able to live and grow up in such an environment and society... never seen such poverty... and it makes me sad that there are actually people.. and children having to grow up like that...

just a lil history of timor... it was a colony of portugal from the 16th century until 1975... it was subsequently invaded and occupied by indonesia until 2000... the timorese fought in a civil war and gained indepence... when the indonesians left... they destroyed everything built by them including communication lines.. power supply.. roads and buildings... even after independence.. turmoil continued to plague the country... in 2006 riots broke out to force the president then to resign...

timor is one of the poorest countries in the world (i think)...

the dili airport in timor is the only airport i've been to that allows people to take pictures freely... heh heh... check out the australian troops in timor...






check out their airport... there's only one duty-free shop... and only one belt unloading luggage.. which really isnt surprising seeing that only a few airlines fly to dili...





that's me and grace (our long-term missionary in timor) getting very excited about our 4-wheel drive with a sun roof!

the drive down to our district is about 2 hours... as the main road down is closed due to a land slide the night before.. we were forced to take the coastal route... which is great cos we managed to get a view of the beautiful coastline... clear waters!!



one of the things i can never get used to over there is the limited electricity supply... in manatuto (that's the district where we stayed) electricity only comes on at about 6pm and goes off at 11pm.. which means the fans can't be switched on overnight... the air is still... really hard to fall asleep... and there's no heater!! showering in cold water is really difficult for me ;(



restaurant cock & bull - the place where we had ALL our meals... as jess always says..."today's food menu is... rice... vege and meat... & drinks menu is... water.. coke & sprite!" yeap..that's ALL... :(



the dogs kept by the missionary there (rocky & charcoal!! not hard to guess who's who right...)

our mission in timor is to organise a christmas carnival for the families living in the village of kampong alor.. i think the work of God is truly amazing... there are many times we do not understand why God allows our plans to be disrupted... it may seem disrupted to us.. but to God... everything is under control :)



our carnival!



my booth...

other than organising the carnival.. the team also visited the families in the kampong and distributed some food for the families... the smiles and laughter of the children made me melt...



the stuff we packed!!



this is the reality...



the market place to buy food...



don't ask me what's this.. i also dunno.. its sold at the market!



our entourage...



a child carrying a child is the norm...











the children simply love taking pictures!



our favourite baby... pedro!



the youths who helped us with the carnival...

i really thank God for the opportunity to go to timor... for the experience... i hear timor calling out to me... but at this point in time i dont think its strong enough for me to drop everything and move there... but... i promise i'll be back in 2 years... till then "ate logu" timor! (see ya later!)

my bday wishlist

ej wants me to put up a birthday wishlist so he'll know what to get me...

okie.. i've decided to list it... i'm shameless i know...

actually i'm doing everyone a favour right? you don't have to rack your brains... and i can get what i want/need =P

the list is not by order of preference:

1. guitar tuner
2. external hard drive (the more memory the better!)
3. running shoes
4. lacoste perfume (their very first pour femme!)
5. life application study bible
6. sunnies

hmmm at the moment that's the list! =)

chunk fest!

went for the ben & jerry's chunkfest on saturday... it was a pretty gloomy and rainy day.. not the best time to visit a place like fort canning park... nonetheless ej char & i made our way there... partly for the yummy ice-cream (there're 12 flavours that are not available here!) and partly for my favourite bad jack & rai...

when we got there they were already playing... so we got to listen to a good 30 (?) mins of their songs... not too bad i say! eventhough it was a rainy day there were still hoards of people at the fest all queuing up for the ice-cream... no wonder they say singaporeans' favourite hobby is queuing! (us included :p )



jack & rai!! even with my 5x optical zoom... i still can't get a clear shot of them!



us!



someone's grouchyyyy



TWELVE new flavours!!



we finally got our icecream! i chose triple caramel chunks and char chose cinnamon bun... the greedy ej got 2 flavours by himself! peanut butter swirl and choc chunk... YUM!!

my first tune

my guitar teacher recently taught me how to compose songs... well... technically you can't "teach" someone how to write songs... he gave me some suggestions on how to write them... and he said i should keep practising!

the mood just came today... and here's my first tune! its just full of na-na-nas... no lyrics to it yet...

feel free to comment... i know it's not the most melodious song you've heard... i'm open to feedback... but not too harsh okie? don't douse my interest in composing!

girls night out!

was supposed to be working on saturday... but trial is canceled! which meant i actually made it for timor training... i guess its all God's will =)

met uncle ej for dinner and we headed down to haji lane for some middle eastern food... drove past orchard road on the way there... check out the lightings this year... uncle ej says its hideous this year... really meh? i thought every year also like that... no?





anyway i've always heard people talk about haji lane/arab street and the many small boutiques there that sell unique dresses... but i never knew about the vibrant night life there! the many food outlets and shops offering "shi-sha"... interesting...





we decided to try turkish food.. the restaurant is apparently a turkish family business... but the dude who served us is from china... hmmmm....



our appetizer - potato/egg/carrot salad with yogurt dressing? its... erm.. special...



uncle ej's $5 turkish coffee.. its something like bali coffee for those who have been to bali before...



me and my half eaten meal... i ordered some beef special sote (?) its like our "mui fan"... not bad!



ej's kebab meal...



a shi-sha corner...

overall... a bit pricey... but quite yummy! can't remember the address.. but its along haji lane

uncle ej and i bought these "muesli bars"... according to the little girl its from australia... and it says "a nutritious snack!" on the wrapping.. hmm... how nutritious can snickers/m&m's and peanut butter be?! its not that yummy anyway... waste money...



we ended the night at our favorite new hangout... just beer!



our "imported" beers... hurhur... i love me ales!

check out the new additions to sammy... carebears!! say hi to good luck and harmony! soooooo cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee =)

busy saturday

it was a hectic saturday! totally busy from morning till night...

the day started by babysitting the newest addition to our family... my baby nephew JX! he's sick... coughing really bad and everytime he coughs, his whole face turns red and he starts tearing... awwww.... our hearts ache when we see him suffering like that...

mum and i took him to see a doctor and he was given some meds... the meds made him very drowsy and sleepy as you can see from the pics that follow... so cute!



"grrrr... when is it my turn to see the doctor...."



"don't steal my milk!"



"i want to sleeeeeppppppp..."



gd night sweetie =)

my entire afternoon was then spent in church.. for those who dunno.. i've decided to go to timor this december for a short mission trip. it's my first time doing something like this and i'm really excited and looking forward to it... experiencing a new culture and of cos, spreading God's love :)

the church organised training sessions for us to teach us some basic language and to give us some insight to the country, in case its too much of a culture shock to us.. heh... we the overly pampered generation...

evening and late into the night was spent with the flying pig and king kong as we battled it out in a few games of war craft... since its been a while since i last saw them, we decided to "catch up" while playing lan games... wow.. i think its been years since i last played dota... eh gao and friends.. when are we dota-ing again? let's reminiscence the good ol' days leh! hehehe....



dota leh!!!

funny-ah...

dom was in my cubicle this afternoon and we couldn't control our laughter... giggling uncontrollably all because of the photos that follow... i know i shouldn't be making fun of their english...

but but but... sorry... entertainment right???


fresh vs. suspicious...


i think many guys need this...


oh my!


erm... i dont want to know how u feed the fish!


my fav!!