Week Zero

13 June a day of Treats (no tricks, thankfully)

today marked the end of 3 weeks i spent in Seattle (time flies sooooo fast!!). started the day doing laundry so i wouldnt be carrying any used clothes over to New York. after a 'friendly' complain from the neighbour downstairs, we stopped washing & drying our clothes through the night. so first thing when i got woken up by the guys, start the washing machine. maybe it's the many late nights i had, i couldnt get out of bed so got nice keng (thanks!!) to help do 'push the button', i.e. start the laundry lah.. woke up 2hrs later to shift them from the washing machine to the dryer (yeah, in US, no one dries their clothes in the sun) it was tough trying to fit everything back into my backpack.

after all, it has been a long while & i've been working off the walk-in wardrobe. so pack, pack, pack i did & finally got everything done just in time to meet the twins for lunch. we had jap food @ the nearby jap restaurant. yummy! there was so much meat, the guys had enough to ta bao (pack) for tomorrow's lunch. hahha.. they just needed to cook rice. =)

then it was off to UW, or rather, the Ave (it's like the Orchard Road of the university) to meet a new friend, Vivien, who kindly treated me to bubble tea (interesting to note that the 'bubble tea craze' or trend, whichever you like to call it, has just started in US! on the same note, DDR -- dance dance revolution, the dance machine you find in arcade is also in 'trend' now.. werid huh? like that was in fashion during my JC days..*rolls eyes*) she took me to Costco (this huge hypermart) with her cousin. actually, her cousin drove, we just sat in the car.. =p it's kinda like a warehouse but it sells everything from food to household equipment to sports stuff. wanted to buy stuff but decided it wasnt wise since i would've to lug them to New York. dinner was @ uni village @ this restaurant called 'The Ram'. pretty nice. met the twins & jiwon there. Hai (one of the Vietnamese twins) also came along. 6 of us shared 4 dishes (i think). nice. hee. jiwon treated me (thanks!). then it was off to airport. Seattle Tacoma Airport (SEATAC for short). the twins sent me there (thanks guys! i missed you!!) & then it was the start of 'the journey of the unknown'..

14 June fly, flying, flown

greetings from.. the air? hahha.. okok, air space over Washington DC & no, i'm not in the state of Washington (for those who didnt know, Washington DC is in the state of Maryland). yeah, i know it's kinda confusing but well, it's a good time to start to learn then.. =p

it's been a great flight so far, even though it's like budget airline. i'm pleasantly surprised for such smooth take offs & landing by Independence Air (by the way, i'm sitting by the window & i can still see land!! it's cool) -- the only reason for me choosing this airlines was that it was the cheapest available. perhaps my thinking that the service on board budget airlines being 'sub-standard' and that being on small jets would meant 'greater risks' involved but heys, i'm
sooooo wrong! hahha.. i cant even feel that the plane was taking off or landing (minus me looking out of the window). you shld try one day.. hahah.. say if i managed to find work in US & you come visit me. =) hahhah.. ok, it's cloudy outside now so i can only see cotton.. =) guess the wind just blew away those clouds & land i see again! hahha. ok, just keeping myself entertained & hopefully, you. =p

the flight from Seattle to Washington DC took abt 4.5 hrs (that's like Singapore to Taipei!). during which i slept pretty well (in between 2 guys but thankfully, they didnt snore =p), waking up to get food & drinks (kept them in my bag coz i had brushed my teeth & kinda not in the food to eat while sleeping but took my share to keep anywayz -- typical kiasu Singaporean =p). this flight's 40min only (that's Singapore to KL) which meant that flight time's shorter than that i take to get to school. man.. US is huge! hahah.. understatement huh?

only got to sleep that 4hrs & it's bright & sunny now. 7.30am local time. wont be sleeping until late tonight. lots to do. going to meet this Singapore gal, Bridgette (also a fellow camp counsellor but different camp), whom kindly brought my demin jacket over for me from Singapore (thanks mum!) when i arrive in JFK, New York. we'll be heading to YMCA to drop off our barang barang (stuff) before heading to liberty island to see the Statute of Liberty (hopefully the queue's not too long *keeps fingers crossed*). probably explore downtown New York/Times Square/Ground Zero (yes brother, i will take photos of your dreams =p). well, that's the main plan for today. am so looking forward to the start of camp & yeah, also the end of camp. hahaha. contridicting huh? well, hopefully i'll have enough strength to last 8 weeks babysitting kids.. =p

latest update from pilot: we're abt 25min away from New York. hahah. that clocks like half my flight time liaoz! hee. i still can see land. the environment reminds me of the game brother always play: Sim City. hahha. all the roads we laid out, the houses that came along with it, the cars that rode down the roads.. man, i miss my childhood. hahah..

16 June Hard Work

it was FREEZING last night. when we arrived in Rhode Island, we could straight away tell the difference from that of Connecticut & New York (esp New York coz it was super metropolitan).. it had alot of trees & greenery (now, why was Seattle called 'The Evergreen State'?) hah. anywayz, the weather's super cold here (the locals all say it isnt supposed to be that cold). i was almost freezing to death. hahah.. thankfully, i got an extra demin jacket from bridgette whom mum met to pass to her! yay! i had to wear my green pullover over my tshirt & then my demin jacket. brr.. my hands were still cold! i lent my windbreaker to this korean gal who only had a long sleeve shirt (thin ones that we wear as casual outfit -- more for guys actually but i know of gals who wear them). we were so cold last night, we ended up sleeping together on one single bed. we were already in our sleeping bag (it didnt help that mine was light-weight i.e. thin & easy to carry) so i remained in my jeans, socks, tshirt, pullover & demin jacket with a towel wrapped around my hands!! boy, it was horrandous but we survived on each other's body heat. hahah.. ok, after she moved over to my bed, we both fell asleep. dont worry, we've got extra
sleeping bags tonite (a thick one each) so yep, God blessed!!

camp's huge! (when i say huge, it really means huge! i think 300 acres of land. wow!) like from my bunk to the kitchen (@ meadowwood or conference centre -- we'll be having dinner in the shaub dining hall when actual camp starts), it takes about 20min stroll? yeah, like i forgot to bring my plug adapter for my laptop charger to the dining hall, i refuse to walk back & get it.. at least for tonite (i'm dead beat) coz 1stly, it's far. & 2ndly, it's pouring now (explains the coldness). heh. well, i've got another valid excuse.. we cleaned up the craft house all morning then swept everywhere & shifted beds all afternoon. man, you shld've seen the amount of ants there were!! we used up a big bottle of ants spray (some poison, whatever it's supposed to be called =p) & spent quite a long time clearing all the nests. creepy. heh, of coz urs truly, a princess =p left the guys to do the 'dirty' work! hahah. kiddings. there was only but one spray.. *winkz* & yeah, the gals did most of the sweeping.. =p but the bed frames were heavy. & we had to take it out of this large storehouse (which was on the 2nd storey) & transport (thank God for trucks! =p) them to the respective tents. i think there were altogther, 56 to be transported! we were all soooooo tired at the end of the day. hard work indeed. the meals have been all nice & yummy. i've helped myself to sung hye's (korean gal) leftovers. *opps, growing fat* =p tomorrow's off day for us. most of the leadership team wont be around: some of them will be going up to New York to pick the remaining counsellors while the others? i duno.. hahah. disappear from camp for a day? for us, international staff, we'll just hang around in camp & find things to do. the nearest store's about 1mile (i think, maybe 1.5 haha) & it doesnt sell much. like our mama store?
but lesser..

p/s: i'm starting to learn korean =p

20 June Tired!

we played a whole hour of tag! it was so tiring! can you imagine running around, trying not to get 'tagged' for that whole hour? man, so tiring! hhaha.. maybe i'm out of shape but yeah, this coming week's of staff training will do me good. hee. ok, gtg for now, short entry coz i wana do laundry coz i don't think we have any days off for the next 6 days! & yes, i'm out of clothes liaoz.. hahah. =)

21 June Cold~ BRrrr..

well, that will probably be my title for the few days to come when i cant think of any. =p i'm sitting in the toilet (they call it restroom here), the only place with electricity for now.. no more light (even though it's ONE bulb) in the bunk & my torch's lightbulb's burnt (how suay - unlucky- can you get? hahha..) well, i'm in 2 layers mainly, able to withstand the cold better already. don't have much batt on my laptop coz i'm also charging my batteries for my digital camera. been quite fun here.. alittle cut off from the world since there aint internet connections here & the only source of input i have is a call to keng 2 nights ago.. =p got him to help me check my email & realised that hey, mum & dad & brother were in genting so i have not been able to reach them since fri (got a free phonecard from leadership staff.. yay!). got me abit worried like "did i forget my own home number?" or mum's hp number for that aspect or "did i dial the numbers in the right sequence" (it's a whole string of numbers of phone number here, pin of the card then country sode & eventually the phone number i wana dial! that's at least hmm, 40?) but i managed to call jie & speak to her after a 'failed attempt' to wake abby up @6am *grinz* (left a voicemail in case you didnt realise) we had 'team challange' yesterday as part of the team building & bonding agenda. was quite cool. it showed many pple's 'true colours' like this gal was so confident of her balance on cable (yes, it was a very thin cable but probably only 3 feet off the ground) but she was shaking all throughout her walk. then there were those who were fearful of heights but yet completed the task & even made it to go a 'second round' to help others! some were pretty pushy. wanted to only get things going & didnt care about how others felt. but it was good that this is a christian camp coz we talked it out at night during debriefing.. =)

22 June Finally Charging

heh, been on super low batteries for my laptop over the past few days. [were you thinking if i was on low batt from the title? =p] haven't been able to do much (not like i've alot to do) but yeah, generally, i like to open my laptop to be able to type this in so i'll be able to just upload when we head to the library during the weekends. =) i'm so looking forward to that now.. it's only wed. marks more than a week in camp already & also THAT many days without internet!! oh, i feel so handicapped. i guess when camp starts, i'll probably be so busy i'll only have to think about resting when the day ends & hopefully still be able to find time & energy to write. *gosh!

well, i've about another 7 minutes more to charge my laptop & return it to my room (nah, i've more but i'm 'hogging' the toilet coz that's the only place that has electricity that is near to my shelter.. poor thing rite?) people are starting to wake up & wash up.. but there are those who wake up on the dot & go for morning staff prayer (which is @ the field beside the toilets.. or bath house if you wana use the 'proper term') yesterday kena (got) scolding for 'waking' up people early.. well, i casually said, 'gals, it's 645am!' then got shoo-ed so after that, i apologised to that gal & learnt my lesson. just wake up in time; don't need to worry for the people in your bunk. *bleah*
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yay! another free time slot! hahah.. happy! well, today's activities aint tiring so that's good.. =) urs truly getting old liaoz lah.. i finally got a sweatshirt (sweater or pullover for those who dont know the lingo) & yupz, a camp one so that 20 dollars is well, worthed spending. 1. it'll keep me warm & 2. it's something i wont be able to find outside.. so yep, i'm a happy gal! it's been challenging so far. the leadership staff have been going through lots of senarios that we may face throughout the camp. how kids will react to things, to situations. how we'll have to deal with their behaviour problems (if any, pls pray for none =p) or how to answer different questions that they may have. to be a surrogate mother (father for guys) for the week or day (whichever applies.. i still dont know if i want to do day camp or resident camp but i'm quite keen to take the littlest kids. =p) pls continue to pray for unity amongst the staff & also for stronger bonding.. =) we've been getting along pretty well so far but i guess tensions have yet to come since there's just us. hee.

it's dinner time now. 6pm. we've been eating lots of junk. at least to me, it aint that much of our usual singapore 'staple food' but well, been trying to keep myself from too much sweet food.. there's like cakes, cookies, brownies & other stuff but yep, been limiting myself. which is good. too much sugar or glucose, makes me sleepy. sleep's been about 7-8hrs. i tend to wake up like 545am to go to the toilet (in the cold) & not get back to sleep so i figured, i probably skip bathing at night & wake up early to shower (in warm water, rest assured) or if i've already taken my bath the night before (like if i've been in the lake or sth) then i'll probably spend the morning blogging/writing letters or even just spend time in God's lovely creation. =) *smiles*

everyone's late. i think we were told the wrong place but sung hye (the lovely korean gal) & me happened to go to the camp store (shop) to see if it was open.. & it was! Praise the Lord! well, that was exactly how we both got our sweatshirt. =) & when we came back to the Shaub (it's where we'll be having our meals the whole summer), the cooks (& other kitchen staff -- i may decide to work in the kitchen during the weekends or perhaps one of the weeks when i decided i'm 'bored' with camp counselling =p) were here so.. yep, we're in the right place! time for dinner.. =) =)

23 June Geek.

blogging from my bunk. was a warm night but a freezing morning (at least in the bunk). sigh. well, i've my warm fleece sweatshirt & my legs nicely tucked into my sleeping bag. got to leave my bed about 20min time so yep, just taking some time to rest myself & listen to some music with my laptop since i know i can recharge it in the the early mornings when all is still asleep. dont know why but yeah, i tend to wake up before even my alarm rings. go to the toilet. somehow find it hard to hold my bladder.. not sure if it's coz it's too cold here.

in case you're wondering what's with the title.. it's a 'greeting' that this leadership staff (jaime) & me do. or rather, i copied her. hahha.. she was teaching me a bit of french (which unfortunately i cant seem to commit to memory -- i just dont have photographic memory. sobz) & i was teaching her chinese. =p i aint good at languages but i managed to learn & remember this korean song (which has 4 lines only =p). there's another leadership staff who knows ASL (american sign language) & we were sort of 'signing' to each other in the bus to the beach (yes, a real beach but the water was too cold for me to even think of going into it). i shared about wanting to go into special education, in the focus of deaf or hearing impaired children. but yes i know it's gonna take A LOT of patience..

24 June Littlest =)

today marks the end of staff training. it's early in the morning & i'm already in the dining hall. we slept out in the open basketball court last night, everybody. it was an 'cold' experience. hahha.. nah, i was in 2 sleeping bags.. was given the privilege to have a thermal pad (it's like a heater pad you place under your sleeping bag & it gives off heat) between me & sung hye. i guessed they figured both of us gals needed it most since we were pretty unwilling to sleep out as we thought we'd had only our thin sleeping bags (coz the ones that were lent to us were supposedly to be returned to the directors so they could join us but in the end they decided not to). hee. so blessed! time flies.. it's almost the weekends now. cant wait to get to Walmart soon!!

well, mum would be happy to know i've been eating my breakfast. hee. yeah, i always had the habit of skipping it since i dont usually wake up early either. =p i'm not getting sick of the food here but it seems that it's quite the same most of the time. it's nice but kinda repeatative. perhaps still too early to say i really really miss home-cooked food. i do miss mum's & dad's cooking. chinese food. coz we dont get it here in camp (but i'll probably try to cook during the weekends or heh, go eat chinese food out. *smiles*)

got a set of 5 emails yesterday (the whole week's @ the same time). it's a 'camp policy' (of coz unofficial) that whoever receives a parcel or 3 letters (emails were considered) had to stand in front of everybody during mealtimes to sing a song (whichever they decide -- which is bad if you think of it. hahha..) everyone was pretty curious who they were from. hahah.. got 2 from abby!! *smiles* *smiles* [you made my day gal -- thanks for the sg update!] 1 from jie & 2 forwarded emails from dad & evelyn. THANKS everyone!! i love & miss all of you back home! =) =) do continue to email me & keep me updated on your life! letters too! i love snail mails! =) i really dont mind singing everyday.. *grinz*

anywayz.. i'm so excited because.. i've got day camp! the kids dont stay overnight. they return home & return the next morning. &.. i've got the littlest ones! yay! hahah.. i was asking God if i could have the youngest kids.. hee.. & well, apparently He showed me i could give it a go. i'll be 'mother hen', leading 4 kids (a pair of twins.. a boy & a gal -- i'm always associated with twins somehow) with a red wagon to pull along their daypack & lunch around camp! yay! how nice (read: how silly will i look?) hahha.. i'm just worried about having to bring them to the toilet.. =p

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it's 10pm & all the american staff have gone home. left 8 international gal staff & 2 males. wanted to do our laundry but no more detergent. sobz. but..thankfully, don (resident camp director) offered to drive us to the nearby supermarket (& hopefully the library too!) tmr. sung hye & i just wrote out a list of things we'll be buying. i'm certainly getting a calling card. no internet here in camp so guess i'll be bugging more of you folks over the phone. i'll try not to call too early in the morning but my free time slot for the coming week is 5-6pm everyday (which makes it 5-6am in Singapore) hahah.. oh well. =

borrowed the guitar for the weekends. will be practising the camp songs. cant really get the strumming for some of the fast songs. =( did i mention i got 'roped' into the worship team? well, i'm playing with myung hoon (korean guy) & since the guitar is considered the most 'portable' instrument, we'll probably be playing the most throughout the summer. pray for smooth playing so that the worship atmosphere will be good, that our playing will be in sync (we've had problems so far coz me cant catch his playing style nor can he catch mine. hahha..) & the rest, we're leaving in it God's hands. one of my goals this summer is to master lots more chords as well as improve my strumming & plucking skills. note: my left finger tips are abit sore from playing.. =(

tmr morning, we'll be having breakfast @ 8am again. sigh. early wake up. then meeting jill's (day camp director) church pple for a game of soccer & games. afternoon's to Walmart. got a new polo tee. red. chilli red one for all staff. staff tee! yay! cool.. hee.

25 June Walmart!

heh, off to walmart, all the international staff went today. don came late but well, it didnt matter that much to us. bought 40 dollars worthed of things. well, could've been much lesser but i bought a pair of 'wet booties' (can wear into the lake for boating or stream hikes), a pair of long pants (pyjamas kind but i guess can wear out), 2 storage boxes that could fit under my bed & contact lens solutions so i guess it's all long-termed investments.. =p didnt manage to go to the library though coz we spent like 2.5 hrs in walmart! hahha. it's pretty big & things there are generally much cheaper than other places. hopefully there's internet access at jill's house tomorrow. she's inviting us over to her place for lunch & swim. cant wait! hahah..

by the way, i helped out in the kitchen today. earning $6.75 per hour. i clocked like 3 hrs today.. so it's like 20 dollars off my bills. probably will only be able to help on saturdays but it's been than nothing. hafnt gotten my calling card yet. i figured the one at walmart didnt have as good minutes as the one sold in camp store so i'm getting mine tomorrow when sally the storelady comes to fill up the store for the week.. =) she's such a wonderful & warm lady. esp to international staff.. sung hye got 3 pairs of socks from her & sally said she could keep them!