what i miss abt e trip: 1) MY LOVELY ISLE MATES:D - it doesn't matter how uninteresting our tasks r, so long as we're with e right companyXD evryone's so different, yet when we come together, we just JIVE. let's see...we have someone called poornima, someone who loves his beauty routines, someone who has a 'standby face', someone who likes showing ppl his arsehole thru his mouth:P, ppl who love children to e core, ppl who love dogs, ppl who hate dogs, ppl with blonde momentsXD (Sara's talking about herself)

Now, to kind of conclude our experience at YLZG, I would first like to write about my horrific toilet experience. And I know Poornima will totally agree (AGREED VEHEMENTLY!). Even after hearing our groupmates' experience in the toilet, I didn't expect it to be THAT bad - Entering the toilet, we were greeted to a stench so bad and so foreign, I don't know how to describe it. Then, moving on to the sight that we saw. OMG to the maxMAX. The whole toilet was basically a row of cubicles with short walls and no door. So every female who walks in can basically see whatever business you are doing. Not only that, peering down the toiletHOLE was a sight I will never want to remember but I will still type it here: The pipe leading from the HOLE to the shit/pee/soiled pads PIT was totally clogged with shit, soiled pads & toilet paper. & I wonder who will ever clear that pit, poor guy. (HAHA KAI LYNN, NO one cleans it up!) Oh yes, I forgot to talk about the amazing number of flies we saw hovering around, THOUSANDS? A freak lot of them, I was afraid to talk or breathe, lest one/many fly into my mouth/nose. Imagine that, eew. And when Poornima & I walked in, we saw a girl squatting over a
hole, reading a book and doing her business. Seriously, wow I'm impressed. But come to think of it, it's their acceptable level of hygiene so we should accept that, and not try to change it. It's the only type of toilets (except for those in Old Town) which they have been using all their lives. They have never been exposed to the cleaniness of the toilets in 5 Star Hotels or basically clean, pleasant smelling (to us) toilets, so I guess that's no need to change anything? We should just treat it as something we'll seldom
experience in life. Seriously, to construct one of that kind of toilets in Sg? It'll only be found in heritage sites or museums.

That day, we had our very first reflection session/meeting at the area on Level 4 (right outside my room). I'll remember the cold floor, the abandoned wooden table top leaned against the wall, the unused lamp on the floor and all of us sitting around in a circle. I have a love-hate relationship for this place - the planning process, the consolidating process, the reflection sessions. Although we were so tired after each day, we still had to gather there. But come to think about it, that place brought us all together (all 26 of us); and if you gave me a chance, I would definitely want to go back there, just to sit there again, to feel the cold floor yet again, even I was totally exhausted, I would.

omg isle mass convo last night was good entertainment :D made me feel all warm and bubbly yay i like <3 color="#ff0000">nice talking about our china backpacking (we must must must go back to lijiang/mingyin kayyy) plans after the A's, i really hope mummy will let me go then we can experience life as a team againnnn, but this time for service AND holiday! haha and it's amazing how random our convo can get from SATs, to neopets, to whatever other stuffff(:

Back home at 1240am this morning with a whole lot of
wonderful memories.
It feels good to see all the familar sights
again.
But.
I MISS:
the beautiful glorious snow-capped mountain i see
every single day,
the frosty chilly morning walks,
the tea egg with
tangbao/xiaolongbao breakfasts,
the warm electric blankets,
stupid
toiletbowls which always clog (ok i don’t rly miss tt..),
Sara’s
giggles,
Madhu’s pro Chinese,(Ah, I see I am missed! Sorry, cheap thrill! :P)
pigging out like crazy,
the hot
gatherings at night,
the warm hospitality of the people,
the egg cooked
with tomato, (YESSS, the awesomemest food anyone could ask for!)
dancing and singing in the cold night at the small
restaurant,
naxi san bu qu,
shunda hotel,
our mass reflections sessions
every night on the 4th level,
the many cctv programmes,
wearing 3 layers
of clothes always, (I was kiasu and always wore like 5!)
not to mention 2 layers of socks,
shopping at the
supermarket,
speaking in mandarin,
interacting with all my newly made
friends, (Hmm yeah! ><)
bargaining and
bargaining and bargaining :D,
getting good deals,
bonding with my new
mates,
suanning one another,
bonding like crazy at night,
surviving air
china in e really cramped small plane and the many turbulences,

..
.
.
.
.
.
.
and the list goes
on.
ISLE CHINA- Lijiang.
20 Nov- 6 Dec 2008
<3