throat feels dry.. I still can't hear rite coz the pressure on plane last 2 nites caused alotta pain to my poor ears.. My phlegm is alarmingly brown with traces of red.. thankfully the fever got down a l'il.. but I'm dying to go out! God u rlly dunno wut u've got til u lose it.. I missed the food.. I missed the way of life here.. but mostly, i've felt the soreness of being away from my family, from my gang n Perng. I just can't wait anymore to see you peeps!! Damn my lousy body resistance!
So since I'm prob gonna stay home n heal my pathetic self, I'm gonna dedicate a long potentially boring account of Taiwan with lotsa "DAMN fun!!" "so HAPPY" "soooo sooo nice" entries. Everything won't be in chronological order coz I'm terrible with dates.. Not entirely my fault coz in this 3 weeks u feel like u're totally cut off from the real world.. U don't know the day, let alone the date.. all u know is that u gotta wake up at 7, breakfast is at 7.30 n bedcheck is at 10.30. N for crying out loud, earthquake @Msia?!!! We go to Taiwan, land of earthquakes n we didn't even feel a slight tremor.. What's wrong with the world Mama?
6.12
Prob the one day that is most deeply imprinted in my mind. That whole day was to be spent at Federal Hotel, n well, I drag the whole process of making friends. As I registered myself with the officials, I looked around d place desperately for any familiar faces, wishing like mad that J was around. The officials greeted me, introduced themselves with so much warmth that I couldn't help returning their enthusiasm. I walked into the main hall where all the participants were gathering n I was overwhelmed with the amount of ppl there. A sea of unknown faces, unknown personalities, n i dunno.. I just felt scared n didn't know wut to do with myself. I dragged my luggage into where I was spose to put it.. n there was where I met my zu zhang, Chang Zhi. He shook hands with me, introduced himself to my father n I, n I felt awkward for smiling when there was no reason to smile. I can't even possibly describe the agony of initiating convo with strangers, it feels so fake. Maybe it's just sth wrong with my character, but I seriously have no idea why ppl place so much importance in socializing. After putting my luggage, I was anxious to get away from him. I cannot stand that awkward feeling.
So distracted I was about getting away from him that I didn't realize I sat with the 2nd group. A total of 340 Malaysians participated in this yr's Kuanmootuan, n they divided us into 2 main groups, A n B, A consisting of 5, B of 4. B is the group where east Malaysians are divided into so I was thankful I got into A la. A3 summore. A3 didn't mean much to me then but later I realized our group got the most amount of leng luis 1, one of them model somemore. U can imagine how depressed I was =P
The whole thingie at Federal was fatally boring. We sat thru talks after talks after talks for a whopping 12 hours in total. Try sitting n doing nth for that long n u know what I mean. I started talkin to this gal sitting next to me but that didn't turn out well. Coz at one time they made us dance this rlly stupid kiddy dance n the gal, Hui Yan was complaining about how stupid it was n how she's screwing it. Then I said sth like "Dun worry, no one can see u from here" n i think that offended her. Coz she's rlly.. erm.. petite? Standing up she's up to my shoulders, in fact, come to think of it, alotta ppl were shorter than me there. So so nice a change from hanging out with my gang J, Yeanz, bee they all taller. Hell I already feel sicka talkin bout Taiwan.. Maybe next time la. Just that I had loadsa fun n I already miss the Taiwan gang.
The first meeting of A3 at the hall.
*continue*
Dinner came, n that was prob the most miserable time of the trip. You see, all the ppl i know went n filled one table, leaving me alone. Not wanting to seem clingy, I walked away to another table with ppl from another group n some boys from A3. Chang zhi was there also n I ignored him coz then I developed a resentment toward him. I notice how he keeps talkin to the pretty gals n ignoring the rest of the group which I, well *shrugs* find it irresponsible as he's the zu zhang. I was so so wrong about him. He went on to be one of my closest, if not closest pal there n i'm extremely grateful for him at Taiwan.
I didn't talk a word in dinner. Kept looking like I was occupied with my food but in me, I was so alone n miserable. When this tcher sittin next to me tried to start a convo with me, I just answer her in that polite-but-not-interested way. She gave up after a few questions n I was left alone to eat in silence. Upon walkin out from the restaurant I was so depressed. I wanted to run straight home n forget bout the entire trip or fake sickness or sth lidat. I was on the verge of tears when someone tapped me from behind. It was that tcher. She told me, in a hush, concerned but slightly instructive tone that if I wanted to have fun in this trip, I hafta start talkin to ppl n not wait for ppl to come n make friends with me. After she said that, she patted my shoulder, saw my teary eyes, gave me a smile, n walked me back to the hall. No amount of words can express my gratitute for this tcher.
After hours of talk, they finally let us go to bed.. My parents came to Federal to repack my luggage for me coz I was worried it might exceed the limit. Upon seeing me mum, I felt another longing to just go home n forget bout this whole thing. It was pride n only pride that stopped me from doing so. At least that few hours made me realize how nice home is n how much I take my parents' love for granted. Dad then gave me the additional 2000 NTD that has been the source of disdain between us n that's when I rlly broke down. I couldn't control the tears anymore. I think it's the most tender moment ever shared between my parents n I n it made me stronger. I went back into the room, n things weren't as bad as it seemed before. My roommates then found my dad amusing, n I met my best friend at Taiwan then, Yin Yin.
Day 2- Taiwan here we come!!
The next day we woke up at around 4 lidat to catch the 8 am flight. I was kinda irritated over how little bedtime they gave us.
The one with A3 at KLIA.
The one at HK International Airport. ( I have no idea whether that's wut u call it) Only got to know when I came bk from Taiwan, that takin photos at that spot is strictly prohibited. *shrugs* I guess u can't see how miserable I looked can ya? Well I was damn sad then.. Perng n Mum said that if things got bad, at least I'll still have the person sitting beside me at the plane to talk to rite? How ironic.. It was a guy next to me n he was sick.. He kept wheezing into the air n i was rlly afraid that I might sniffed in his bacterias. When I finally muster enuf courage to ask him if he wanted some tissues, he just stared bk at me blankly. I got so freaked out I kept silent the whole journey to Hong Kong.
It was better after that transit flight in HK. Sek Fong, a rlly beautiful woman that even got my dad going gaga for her.. sat next to me. She's damn playful, kept insisting on sittin next to the window since it's her first time on plane that I smiled n let her. Then we started talkin n she spilled everything about her love life, advising me abit of my own.. N i felt happy. Finally a connection =P
another shot of HK's huge airport. Looks abit like KLIA rite? Felt like KL there.. all the ppl there talked Canto n heehee.. no one could tell that i dunno how to speak Canto =D
The one at Taiwan International Airport (dunno if that's wut u call it either =P), like finally! In case u're wondering which one Hui Yan is.. see that gal on the bottom right of the pic staring into nothingness? Well she's the one.. notice that yellow ugly windbreaker? all my roommates despise having to wear that thing
The one with my food group.. U see, to make sure we dun just hang out within our own group (mine is A3) they made us eat with more strangers. At first I tot it was another nightmare.. but then things didn't turn out as bad as I expected. =)
the one with all of my food group.
standing from left: Mei Zhi, Justin, Ching Kwong, Shine, Daryl
sitting from left: Tjin Wern, Lai Jin (can u blieve i'm mixing with a primary skul tcher?!) urs truly, Yah Lin, n Xiu Xiu!
That was my 1st day in Taiwan.. In the bus on the way to the cow based theme park, the 3 fui dao yuan, (kinda like tour guides but more like parents to me =) introduced themselves.. i feel so helpless now. I have no words to describe how kind n caring n funny n responsible they were to us. I miss em like hell, esp Baby who took care of my d most when I fell sick. As u can see Taiwan was friggin cold.. 3 layers of clothing n i'm still shivering. What rlly surprised me was the fact that we were escorted by police cars! No kiddin the police stopped the traffic for us, there were both a police car in front and behind all our buses n that kinda got alotta stares from the bypassers. Bet they were wondering who these buncha kids are.. so important.. muahaha.. So only in the bus did I know why they didn't tell us anything at all bout the trip, the flight, the itinerary etc. Doudou, one of the fu dao yuan explained that they didn't want our family to know where we were. We weren't spose to stray apart from the group n in this 21 days, we hafta stick tgt, know each other n well.. basically socialize. I cringed when I heard her say that coz to me, it sounded like my death sentence di.. I won't say hate coz hate's too strong a word.. but i dislike ppl forcing me to talk.
Day 2 at Taiwan.. This is at Wei Quan Mu Chang... This is taken at their wide padang.. I looked at the field n felt this impulse to run n run n feel the breeze against my skin.. the air's great.. just that the wind was bitingly cold, I'm wearing a jumper with denim jacket plus scarf AND still shivering. brrrr... From left: my roomates that night.. Xiu Xiu. She looks like Selina n i dunno whether that's a compliment since I don't like Selina. But she turned out to be one of my close pals since she's in my same food group. In the middle is that stupid gal Pik Wah who's so bloody tall. I call her KL tower coz i'm alwis hiding behind her whenever the sun comes out. >=)That was when I started warming up to ppl.. we change roommates every nite n well.. I personally tot that Xiu, Pik Wah n Yin were the best roommates thru out the trip.
From left: Ai Nee.. know the Wang Sin Ling song? that's how u call her.. Ai Ni! =) she's 23, damn pretty, not proud at all.. lent me memory card so that's how i wound up takin over 400 pics =D then it's Xiu, Pik Wah n me.. we're at.. erm.. i dun rmb how come got so many trees one??
The one with the fish pond, an essential element of the feng shui thingie, I think. This pond is just big n beautiful, kinda like outta them chinese paintings with the steppin stones n the bridges across it. Don't think I managed to capture the beauty of it.. *shrugs* not exactly ur pro photographer
The one with the bridge... Pik Wah n I. See? KL Tower! Wait til u see the model..
Group photo!!!
A3 dui!
Zui shuai qi!
Zui you bo li!
Zui mei li!
We will we will rock ya~!
I seriously shud get chinese star.. That's our group's lousy motto.. Like everytime we gather with other groups, just to show we're rlly united n all we will shout that silly verse.. This pic is of A3 tho everyone's not in here.. This is when all the conflicts started. Sad that they had to fight but everyone's happy at this moment.. =)
Group photo #2
Almost everyone's in here save the four Mei Nus. =P Curious leh? Betcha dying to see how pretty them four are.. Patient abit
This was Day 2 when everyone just got to know everyone. Damn happy rite? =)
The one with their European garden. This is a badly taken shot even for me coz we were rushing for lunch. The penalty for being late is that they cancel ur Taipei freetime which is what everyone's waiting for. One full day of freedom, shopping, fooling around.. Very effective method everyone's terrified of being late.
This is my zu zhang, the afore-mentioned Chang Zhi aka Tiong Chee aka Benedict. He could sense my resentment toward him, I could tell, so we kept our distance until I saw him sitting alone beside the pond.. I asked him if we could take photo tgt.. n this photo u're seeing now, is what broke the ice between him n i. =)
The one with the statues.
I tried to fit in the two rows in one pic but that place is so bloody wide.
The one with me blocking the beautiful pond behind me. =/
The one with the pond. This was where we paddled the boat, the kind which u cycle so that the boat moves. Because the wind was huge it didn't turn out as fun as I tot it would be.. I mean, u're paddling like mad n still the wind pushes u to the bank.. how fun could that be?! but the pond.. beautiful isn't it?
This pic was taken by a v exhausted Kell. She had to run all d way to the mountain top to get this view. hehe.. on the top I felt so.. powerful.. it's like.. who's da king of d world? who's on top of the world?! me! me! me! the scenery from up there was simply great.. pictures are worth a thousand words.. enjoy.
The one with the European garden.
The one with the European statues.
Who's da old chap? He's very very important I just can't for d hell of me rmb who.. looks damn cute rite? That's me, Mr VIP n Xiu Xiu.
The one with the sunset at Wei Quan Mu Chang
The one with us at the top of the hill. I personally like this pic a lot. Everyone looks so =)) From left: Xiuxiu, Pik Wah, Yin, Aini! n urs truly
Then, night came, n our group assemble to discuss bout our performance on the eve's. I can tell u i rlly disliked all this group activities coz I tot it's lame n waste of time. But that meeting rlly served as an ice-breaker for us. Think it was then I started to sense conflict arising between certain ppl. The weather was so so cold that night n I was feeling rlly hot. Then this crazy Yin Yin had to shout that I was sick. Every eyes were upon me n i could feel my face burning even more. Then Sek Fong decided that it was way too cold for us to be out exposed to the wind n insisted we held the meeting in the guys room since it was a two-storey room. The guys freaked out! They said it's smelly, their underwears were scattered all over the place n the look on their faces were hilarious la..
After hearing the guys grumble sambil cleanin up the room hastily, Sek Fong, our dui zhang who has the biggest say of the group asked who wanted to be a leader.. no one volunteered. This gal, Hoi Peng, started asserting her own opinions n I kinda felt irritated toward the way she talked. She kinda patronized us about how grateful we shud feel toward the ppl who arranged this trip coz they sacrificed alot n crap like that n that resulted in an uncomfortable silence within the group. It's the way she talked, like she's above us all, she understands n knows more than us, kinda bossy in a way, n it's not just me, practically the whole group disliked that treatment.
What was worse was when Hoi Peng volunteered to be the head of performance commitee. Another round of silence continued, no objection n we have a bossy mama who officially gained the power to boss us around. Then, when we were just about to get into the discussion, the head of the whole A group came in to find Sek Fong. The head is like, super powerful man n we got abit curious as to why he would look for Sek Fong so late at nite.. >=)
Seeing us speculate, Hoi Peng adopted an overly serious tone n felt it was her responsibility to enlightened us on the secret happenings within the authorities. Apparently we're under scrutiny because our group is not united, alwis breakin away here n there. Besides that there were problems between the dui zhang (Sek Fong) n Zu zhang (Chang Zi). After hearing Hoi Peng said that, I recalled just a few minutes b4 we came into the guys' room, Benedict was sitting outside looking very unhappy.. I asked him what was wrong n he just shot my a half-smile. I tot he needed time by himself so I left him alone, plus that time we weren't rlly that close as pals.
Finally bedtime. I swallowed buncha Vit C n Panadol just so I won't get sick. Hoped madly that my immune system is strong enuf to resist all those pesky germs, esp since I'm sleeping beside YinYin, who has flu, cough AND fever.
