aHem!
here's the promised 8-day journal of the xiamen exchange programme (xep) from the 15-22 june 2004.
kindda missin it now..
well, here goes.....

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tuesday, 15 june 2004

i arrived at the airport right on time.
met the hifivers and LIA ppl at terminal 2.
everyone was in a frenzy, wif so many ppl around us. they passed us the t-shirts and polo-tee that we were to wear for some occassions at xiamen.
mel, sheryl & yipling called to wish me bon vayage..
checked in and took a grp photo. then it was free-and-easy. some of us waited at the airport lounge, while others were dunnoe where.
the boarding call came on. some ppl were late. trouble?
we took silkair there. the aircraft was kindda small. our grp occupied the back. sat next to shuyan.
smooth take-off, smooth landing.
played daidee on the airplane with the others. funny, we blocked the passageway to the toilets.
total congestion! but who bothers! :x
for lunch i had fish pasta instead of chicken rice. *yum*

after 4 hours or so, arrived at xiamen gaoqi airport. simple and cool! cleared customs after a long wait.
went to the bus and on the way to huaqiao hotel, saw many interesting stuffs. xiamen is so unlike what i thought. modernised at least. around the standard here. the weather is the same.. boohoo! but the good thing is there is strong wind blowing in from the sea, unlike humid singapore. the development there is undescribable.. it's like there are new tall buildings next to old flats.
to me i felt like i was a country bumpkin,
exclaiming at everything different i see. the stereotype thinking shld be changed. the perception that china is backward is so wrong!!!

left out luggage and went for dinner at this hyper nice restaurant having seafood. on the way there was this lighted up seaside road [huandao lu] that if looked afar would look like a silver dragon! how cool is that? then passed by a huge sign which had big chinese words of 'one country, two states' slogan facing taiwan's jimen island.. woosh. meant for them to see.
came back to the hotel and tried the fashion parade meant for the cultural performance to be put up later in the trip. must pen down the day's happenings..
personal journal?

well, better go get some rest. will be a long day ahead!

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wednesday, 16 june 2004

i'm writing this in a room filled with hyperactive ppl now- me, haikel, jerry, kaihan, kavi, gwen, janet, dil, shuyan, lijuan, rebecca..
we are sort of like 'crashing the place'. but gwen lost the brooch for the ethnic costume. worst thing is that's not hers but some very rich person! so she's moody.
boring day today. attended alot of talks and lectures that were a total bore! *yawn*

first went to the singapore consulate-general in xiamen.. the consulate general was talking while some of us practically stoned. asked questions but he didn't seem to understand.

then rushed to the xiamen municipal government building, where we met officials and i think the mayor was there. talked about xiamen. then got tensed up when politics was raised about taiwan. :x

after lunch, it was then to xiamen's university for senior citizen for the elderly to spend time and learn new stuffs.. cool! our grps attended different classes, mine attended the seal carving. all theory, sad.
had a great time there, especially since they welcomed us with dance and music! made us felt so welcomed, but a little too exaggerating!

dinner was a feast with the singapore club members, singaporeans living in xiamen. talked to them.. many have lived there for some time till some of them have gotten rusty with english.. the vice-consulate's wife, annie, shared with us the weals and woes of living in xiamen, and some of the local food there. living a rich tai-tai's life, but a boring one. she misses meepok, roti prata, laksa.. not me, for now. had too much of it.

headed back to the hotel.. it was raining then. crap. feeling a little tired. but hack!
let's play through the night ppl!

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thursday, 17 june 2004

woke up early this morning. last night was stuffing a day's worth of clothes and some toiletries into my bagpack. checked out of the hotel and took a 6-hour bus ride to yongding to visit the 'tu lou' - earth-buildings to house different families of the hakka community.

the journey was pathetic. i slept through it.
sat alone so had the whole seat to myself, stretching myself as i slept. the bus ride was a killer. bumpy ride on the stones on the untarred winding road around hills. i was in an awkward position, so when i awoke, felt very very unseasy! was awake at some time and saw the picturesque scenery of the hills, green and villages.

reached the place after a long journey. the earth-building was majestic. though just made of earth and mud, the structure was firm and rigid.
heard from the tour guide that the americans thought it was a nuclear weapon plant. funny. but looking at it from the top could be misleading..
the 'tu lou' has 4 levels: level one is the living rooma and kitchen, level two is the storage place, level three and four is for rooms.. spending a night here at the fourth level. kindda like olden day living, wooden beds. but luckily there's electricity- fan and lights in my room. the room is kind of stuffy.

after settling our stuffs, we went for a short tour of the area, and then headed to zhong chuan village. went round the winding roads again to come out of the secluded spot where the 'tu lou' was.
when we reached zhong chuan village, we were utterly dumbfounded. the ppl there welcomed us so grandly! there was the ppl's band with trumpets, elderly ppl dressed in red and with makeup dancing, and firecrackers when we came down the bus!
put up cultural performances: the fashion parade, the fun dance, and singing songs from singapore. was kindda okay, seeing it was abit of a rush. the fashion parade attracted the most response. especially the girls.. as they had to wear outer translucent clothes which got men from the village oggling at them. they actually peeped at them change too! despicable peeping toms!.
the children there were so lovable. once u took out the digi camera, they would rush to u. haha! the band started to play a long string of music, we clapped along, only to know that the playing was the farewell signal. so we rushed up to the bus and zoomed off!

had a traditional hakka dinner back at the 'tu lou'. yummy.. it was dark, but the sky was lit up by dozens of stars! it's windy at night here.
took a bath at this very cram toilet with water pressure as small as from a water bottle! no kidding man! there was heater but it wasn't working.. still, it was a worthwhile experience.

well, most of them are playing cards or whispering.. the whole place is like echoed. so we had to speak soft..
i am now outside the room, sitting at the corridor seat. dark, but very comforting. am kind of moody today.. some irritators. get over it soon, i hope.
going in now.. nite!

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friday, 18 june 2004

breakfast was at 'tu lou'. porridge with some dishes, simple but delicious.. went back to zhong chuan village again. had this boring talk. the person said he would make it short but turned out to be this very long speech. made most of us wan to doze off.

then went to visit the haw par villa at xiamen [2 others at hongkong and singapore]. then had lunch at this 'tu lou' in the village which was alike the one we stayed in.
after that went for home visits in grps. met this family living in the village and shared with them. interesting to know their way of living..

the whole thing ended and it was another 6-hour bus ride back to xiamen. slept most of the journey. checked into huaqiao hotel, had dinner there and now crashing kavi's & shuyan's room.. just crapping.
feeling that something big is coming our way.. trouble, gossips and cliches are starting, in my observation.
the brooches are still not found..
hope everything will go smoothly for the rest of the journey..

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saturday, 19 june 2004

arrived at the xiamen charity society.. was in this hall wif many elderly and young ppl. all dressed prepared to perform. we hurriedly changed and den waited for the performances to start.
we put up the same performances as we did at the zhong chuan village.. was kindda better. haha. later even got the young and old to join us singing 'the moon represents my heart'. sounds lame but was fun!

later we went around the place.. my grp was to go to the old folks' home. actually really wanted to go to the orphanage, but nvm! it's still the same!
the old folks' home actually consists of different blocks.. one of them is under the government where the facilities weren't dat good but better den many seen in singapore. the other building was meant for ppl paying to enter the old folks' home. heard dat many ppl wanted to enter the home so they had to be the waiting list..
the old folkies, erm the active ppl there were happy ppl. u can see it from their face. it really makes u feel very warm and fuzzy inside, as when compared to the gloomy and sad elderly ppl in singapore's old folks' home, there is a big BIG difference.
the only problem i had was communication- they spoke 'min nan' which is the pure hokkien.. didn't really understand much of wad they said..
went on to the canteen and utterly shocked. they actually haf a daily menue to choose! and they could compare the calories in it.. super cool!

had enought time so went to the orphanage. the part where i really got all teary and emotional in a way.. went to see the babies. some of them were slping while others just looked at u.
there was this particular orphan that left a deep impression on me. one of his hand was not fully developed, half of it grown with small stubs for his fingers. but still he waved that little hand at me as i played with him. kept on smiling at me. felt like crying as i though to myself:
"why did his parents abandon him, if they did? how would he think if he grows up, that his parents abandoned him because of his abnormality?"
tears like filled my eyes. anyone at that place would have behaved like i did. lunch was called. we were to leave, but no one felt like leaving. everyone was so engrossed in playing with the little kidos. had to tear ourselves away from the babies. tinglish feeling..

had lunch with some ppl who were volunteers at the ymca of xiamen, youths. shared alot with them.
then it was time to leave. trouble started, misunderstanding between ppl due to some name-calling of LIA ppl, 'where's ure conscience' kind of attitude from ppl when they sort of were the guilty ones, some obvious cliches with the top heads..
the start of bitching and pmsing.
went to this island, gu lang yu, which is something like singapore's sentosa [xiamen & singapore has alot of similarities]. walked under the hot sun for like 3 hours plus. went up this hill by the sea which was so cooling.. seabreeze! on the way, me, haikel and gwen kept on singing american idol 3 songs.. funny.
came to this piano museum with air-con! the tourguide we had like knew everything- even the history of most pianos there! den other tour grps made use of his explanations and followed him around. the funny part was when he got us to stand around a piano as he knew there would be a piano-playing demonstration. hehe..

then left the island and went aboard a cruise. the ship wasn't dat great but nice. the breeze blowing right into ure face, sweeping ure hair. met our family day representative.. mine was this active 66 yrs old grandma, auntie zhang. talked all the way into the night.
the night view of xiamen was great! the lighted skyline of the city was nice, especially seen on board the ship. there was this bridge that looked alike the golden gate bridge of san francisco, connected the mainland to xiamen island.

got off the ship and parted with our auntie zhang.
we headed for dinner.. now resting for the night. had a evening newspaper in the room and we were the focus of the main page. had this picture where can actually see my face. cool, i'm on newspaper in xiamen!
tmr will be a long day! must slp early, coz it won't be good slping in front of ure host family, like wad rebecca did in front of auntie zhang. had to kick her up! lolx!
well, gd nite!

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sunday, 20 june 2004

woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel.
i got an apology for something that happened earlier. didn't really bother too much.. was at a rush that time. dodo [i just sinned- bad kharma] still took such a long time, the host had to wait for her.
my grp was like the first to leave. coz auntie zhang had to rush to the church as she was a volunteer there, reading stories on christianity to children there.
sat through the session with all the children being very enthu at answering questions. there was this 6 yrs old little girl sitting close to us. talked to her but she was shy to reply. she was sitting by herself and didn't know how to sing the songs which the others sang- could have been knew but no one seemed to bother about her. so we encouraged her to talk more and get to know the rest. cute and adorable.
we were introduced to them and we gave out sweet, which of course they readily accepted. then we went on to the upper storey where the sunday church prayer was in session. sat through the second one where auntie zhang was part of the choral. a radio dj in xiamen came to join us.. in fact he has been following on our bus, so that he can know more about our visit and do a coverage on it.

left the church and auntie zhang brought us to see her 92 yrs old mother who was living nearby. auntie zhang's mother, zhuang mama, is so fit and healthy. no eyesight or hearing problems!
told us more about their family.. have a total of 114 members, and in 2 months time there will be a total of 5 generations! the family is like in different places, but they still meet together at times.
very pissified. dodo [sinned again] made us do notes while she just talked.. arrggh! but hack. after a while auntie zhang's grandson came. he, hansi, is 15 this yr, and in 2 days time he would be having this major exam. but he still made time for us. touching.. he was kind of shy at first, but soon we talked..
found out that having too big a family isn't that good coz hansi didn't know his grandaunts, vice versa. little communication.

left for lunch at this roadside restaurant where the food was good. had to stop aunty zhang from adding more dishes and drinks. then went to aunty zhang's house. took a cab there. first public transport taken in xiamen!
the flat was kind of old but inside the house was nice. had to climb up 6 storeys to the house. talked for a while inside and again rebecca fell asleep while seating down. kicked her again!

we went into the room and started playing some board games as we chatted. then, hansi's cousin came. small little guy but he was actually 11 i think. played with him as the dj took down some of our conversations.
den the little cousin had to go and the dj went out to talk to dodo and auntie zhang. the rest of us started playing cards- daidee. had no problem teaching him as in xiamen they play a game something like daidee. played all the way till dinner.

auntie zhang cooked for us! made some very simple traditional food but it was absolutely classic! had such a filling dinner. she took the pain to cook for us, climbing up the stairs many times so that she could get the ingredients missing.
after dinner we chatted more, with our conversations recorded. then left the place. it was drizzling then, but auntie zhang saw us to till we got on a cab back to the hotel [had to reach by 8pm].. how hospitable!

arrived back at the hotel. most of them were back. so this note saying that debrief would be at a later time, so me, janet and rebecca went out nearby to shop. shopped one of the past few days but didn't get much.. managed to buy some stuffs just now..
i have yet to get souvenirs for the rest!

well, tonight will be a crashing night. afterall, tmr will be more of a tour and sight-seeing.
shld be at gwen and dil's room. was like dat the previous few nights ever since from 'tu lou' or so. the misunderstanding is getting deeper. u could see the line drawn between 2 grps, with the other grp not involved. the 2 of them and some of the others.
the pmsing term has been used so many times to describe one another's low or emotional moments.
haix. well, ciao!

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monday, 21 june 2004

today we could wake up late as long we check out of the room by 1130am. going to another better hotel- a hot-spring themepark hotel! some of us like dil, haikel and the others said that we would go out for breakfast or for shopping in the morning together..
last night i set the alarm clock so i could wake the others. but it turned out that my alarm didn't ring, and i didn't get a morning call from any of them. they left to shop w/o me! the worse thing was i even went to check if they were still slping! it seems like they woke up late too and thought i was gone. gggrrr!
kaihan woke me up at around 1030am. most of the others had left to the railway station where there were many goodies to shop. in the end, me and kaihan just walked around zhonghuan lu near our hotel [the place where i have been shopping for the other 2 nights!]. got some stuffs and met gwen, hany and jerry at the mall. we went separate ways.

in the end, me, kaihan and hany had to run back to the hotel coz we were running late. thankfully i packed the last night or else i would be dead meat!
went to the lobby where the bus and the others were waiting. thought we were the last one but then saw haikel, shuyan, kavi they all running into the lobby. hehe..

just went around to jimei academic village set up by tan kah kee. went to the seaside again where the wind blew like nobody's business. it was drizzling but the tourguide didn't seem to feel it. so we walked in the small drops of water. came to this memorial hall of tan kah kee.
it started to rain really heavily.

after that went to lunch at the only revolving restaurant in xiamen. cool view of xiamen. there already had the gardens-in the-sky concept used on the flats there.
later went to the riyuegu hotel, the hot-spring hotel! it is located somewhere outside the city of xiamen..
fantabulous!
the hotel is only like a four-half star or five, but it is like a six star in singapore! big comfy beds and spacious rooms. the toilets has its very own bath-tub where you could sit in it and soak ureself, which i did! everyone was high and exclaiming at dat point. but the hotel is kind of eerie. very little ppl.

we had free time till dinner. so went to this spa thing in the hotel itself. f.o.c! soaked ourselves and treated ourselves like kings.. the ppl attending to us gave us the creeps, kind of gayish.
they would just look at u changing.. :x
but had a relaxing evening. den went for dinner. the best dinner we had in a hotel in xiamen. again free time. many wanted to go to the hot-spring themepark which was just opposite the hotel, but me, haikel, dil and rebecca wanted to go tmr since they are opening 2 hours earlier just for us. the rest went to the themepark.
went swimming instead. played around even though it was dark. they off the lights at 10pm so we just swam and talked in the dark, even acting in the pool.
said we would meet at dil and gwen's room to play cards, so we went to soak ourselved in the toilet's bath-tub. when i went to the room, the rest had returned.

talking now. some have fallen asleep.
i think i will soon go to bed.. just realised throughout the trip i haven been slping in my room, except on certain nights. always falling asleep in other ppl's room or just crapping there till the daylight.
the misunderstanding starting to clear. shld be alright. cliches aren't that deep either.
at least everyone talks to everyone.

so gd nite. my last night in xiamen.
tmr will be going back to singapore. sob sob..
leaving on a jet plane, once again.

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tuesday, 22 june 2004

quite moody now.
as in the hot-spring themepark visit just now wasn't good. bad. went with haikel, yungkai, kaihan, dil, rebecca, gwen and hany.
thought they would be ready for us, turned out that the springs' temperature was still unsteady [hot!], and they have yet to add in the flavourings [wine, beer, chocolate, ginseng, dang-gui, etc.] or herbs. so just made a tour there, entered the cold spring, swam in their swimming pool, and back to the hotel. the ppl attending to us there were weird like the others. when we were leaving, they went to the locker to help us get our stuffs when we could do it, and the thing they reached for was actually our undies! eeerrrmm.

was late, but we decided to go back to the hotel's spa service.. spent like around half an hour going to the warm spring, den to the sauna, out to the cold and den the hot.. did that a few times, rushing in and out.
went up to the hotel room to check out. thankfully, once again, i packed the previous night.

had this final debrief, were the LIA were some sort being negative about the trip,
saying that the 'tu lou' experience was redundant, complaining about stuffs, blah blah.
haix.
checked out of the hotel and went back to xiamen's city centre. the tourguide brought us to places like the stone-carving and tea-sampling places to see-see.

after all the seeing-but-no-buying-places, we went to a mall near the railway station as we had extra time at hand before going to the airport.
shopping time!
went round scouting for souvenirs. finally came to this stall which is something like singapore's muji.. bought stuffs for most ppl and hurriedly went back to the bus.
reached there just on time. some were a little late. but hany came very late, like about 20 mins late.. till some ppl had to go find her. could see that most of the LIA ppl were getting impatient with waiting.
finally saw hany and the rest coming. the tourguide was sarcastic, getting us to clap when she boarded the bus. it seems like she got held back for using credit card, which she could.. not her fault.

then went all the way to xiamen gaoqi airport.
how fast time past. 8 days gone just like that.
we checked in and den waited for the boarding call.
celebrated hany's and auntie dorris's early bday, which is actually on the coming thurs. had a cake bought for them. took pictures and more pictures..
boarded the place.. once again we are sort of sitting behind the aircraft. i'm sitting with shuyan [again!] and weishu. shuyan is abit unwell.. me and weishu walloped shuyan's dinner as she said she didn't want it.
hehe hungry!
smooth take-off.
we weren't as noisy like when we were coming to xiamen, maybe because now it's already in the night and many ppl are slping.
but dat didn't stop us from playing daidee on the plane.
funny. blocking the passageway to the toilets once again.

reaching singapore. going home.
feeling a little tired. all the tiredness all accumulated over the past nights of not slping. :p

till now, that's it for the personal journal of
the xiamen exchange programme.
adios!

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