Monday, August 29, 2005
greetings from a penguin with a peeling nose and with a time limit on the lappie:
hello all. i would have posted sooner, but my lappie doesn't seem to support the wireless 'fatport' in the motel i am in right now.. so right now i'm leeching off my dad's computer. hopefully when i move into residence tomorrow, i'll be able to post up a few photos. *crosses fingers that her lappie will be able to connect to resnet*
vancouver is a beautiful city, mainly due to the fact that no matter where you look, it's either mountain, sea, sky, forest, mountain, sea, forest, sky, mountain, sea.. you get the idea. weather is awesome. if only it wasn't so dry. i swear i have slathered my face with moisturizer, but alas, i seem to be plagued with a red, dry face. if i wrinkle my nose, my whole face will go into spasms of pain. then again, it's hard to grouse lyrical on your facial problems when you're busy admiring the scenery.
everything here is big. the people are big (read: fat. i have seen more than a 100 bulging tummies and some of the fattest people in my life.) the apples are huge. the crows are huge. if my lappie doesn't die on me, i will be able to post the picture of the most almighty huge seagull i have ever come across. other interesting phenomenoms i have encountered include squirrels crossing the road (looking left and right) and a billboard for male homosexual escorts.
the asian population here is large enough for me to feel as though i may be in a part of asia with a higher expatriate percentage. but alas. asia it is not. there are no mangoes and longans in the supermarket fruit sections. the chinese restaurants are tiny, grubby affairs with bad pinyin approximations. i am actually rather tired of hearing wonderfully spoken and enunciated english everywhere. people here say 'absolutely!' a little too liberally. but they are all nice people so far - except for the store assistants who frown when you leave the store without buying anything.
but the biggest change might possibly be the general atmosphere. it is quiet - almost too quiet. people stroll, they don't stride. the whole city seems to remain metaphorically sprawled out lazily on the grass enjoying life; the rush and bustle of singapore life just isn't there. i can hardly summon up the energy to be kan-cheong. is this the closest apprximation to the personification of the laissez faire attitude? it is almost as if the spirit, given an infinitely wide space to roam this close to wilderness, dissipates and spreads itself thin..
vancouver is a beautiful city. but i wouldn't want to live there forever.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
hello everyone!! writing from the comfort of charmaine chua's room in vassar college, new york! =) ashley's right behind me and she says a great big hellooooo to everyone! =) we're very well, and just wanted to thank everyone so much for the fantastic gifts..very heart-warming and perfect for remembering our fantastic class by! the weather here is dry, but summertime, so still quite warm. but at nights, its gets quite cold though. however, summer soon will turn to autumn and the trees will all soon turn brown and become bare in winter. will take many pictures for your perusal!
Philadelphia is a beautiful city full of paradoxes.. on one hand
beautiful and historic, marked with old buildings and monuments,
giving off a sense of early American charm, and on the other hand, the
modern-ness of contemporary American consumer culture. Of course, with
the latter, comes a great deal of poverty too, and the homeless people
are what you occasionally pass by when one walks down the street.
Would really appreciate your prayers as I struggle to adapt- posting prayer requests. am i correct?
there's an element of culture shock for me still, even though I thought I'd
adjust without great difficulty. Leaving home and missing home all
that is familiar to me has not been easy, and I think it's gonna get a
lot worse before it gets better. Pray that I'll balance being
connected but not overly dependant on home and thoughts of home.
Hoping to settle down in a good church where I can serve, a place
where I'll be in tune to god and what He wants for me here. Day to day
things like financial management, making new friends, daily walk, my
daily struggle with technology and overcoming basic fears are much
needed in prayer as well.. finally, keep my family and other
dear ones in prayer too as they adjust too, and that God'll grant the
maturity to trust Him even amidst distance.
i was just thinking abt it that day, how our class is so strange. ppl ask me why our class is the way it is. and i said that it's because we're a bunch of ppl who are very extreme in our own ways, with absolutely NO regard for balance. but interestingly enough, when we came together in a class, our extremities polarised against each other, and balanced off naturally? haha i dunno. theories. regardless, i'm amazed and grateful for the things god is doing in our class, for the way ppl have been so completely blessed and good things have been happening all the time to each one of us. really need to be grateful for all these things. =)
love,
caleb.
1.) philly chinatown!!!!
2.) standard philadelphia street in the state of pennsylvania, home to benjamin franklin the cradle of american independence!
3.) upenn bookstore! fantastic! spending everyday there!! books
4.) brother's apartment, temp residence
5.) view from his apartment upon ugly street=)
6.) sq0022 with my feet
sorry to those of u who've seen this? heh. but it's a major step for me, moving from words on a blog to pictures on a blog! forgive me for my lack of skill at blogging. =)
i understand my pictures are ugly, but nicer ones will come later...
Saturday, August 20, 2005
good morning 2ah of 04. it is now 0120hr in changi airport and we await the arrival of miss chng.
caleb, if you are reading this, the reason we can't reply to your msn web message is because the screen on our side shows.. nothing. and yet, as liz says, your name is flashing very indignantly..
~sulynn
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
THE EXODUS BEGINS.
calebbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb.
