Welcome Dinner & Gathering

交通大学志愿者欢迎联谊会
This is Mr. Mao Ze Dong,
a brilliant statue shot in the university grounds
of Jiao Tong University, established 112 years ago,
funny enough thats when the modern olympics started,
so its really a meaningful study place,

walking in the schol ground, hot as it may be,
its beautiful ................there's lots of trees!
a big pond clean and serene in the middle of the college

that WAS our Welcome Dinner on upon our arrival,
we meet soooooooooooooooooo many people!
i came up with a solution to rmb their names & origin!
Like this......some i hardly even talk to!
from left is KK Malaysia, Singaporean Guy,
Vivian Panama and Jeanne Chicago, USA.

Today at 4pm,
there was a welcome ceremony with performances,
speeches, i remember clearly the lady said
"no matter how many languages there is in this world,
no language can ever describe this experience"
poem reading, cheerleading and
the PROUDEST moment for me as an MOV
was when they announce,
there are only 300 plus overseas volunteers from 24 countries!
about 200 plus of them consist of 黑龙江/陕西/香港volunteers!
and believe it or not the rest is 华人华侨, which is us!!!!
i was thinking how absolutely privelege is that???
we cheer super loud (with the help of the American volunteers)
YAYYYYYYYYYYYY when they announce MALAYSIA!!!
it would be perfect if they have all venues all volunteers
coming together, and perfect 10 can sit together and cheer
Malaysia Boleh!!!!~~~

the most MOVING experience for me was the Olympic Torch,
these are two volunteers from the provinces of China,
they share with us their moments and also motivate us,
and they pass the torch around the hall for each and everyone
to experience that very very significant moment
of holding a very important symbol of the Olympics!

i was so moved, i did not teared,
it was a very humbling moment for me personally.
Jeanne Chicago helped me with this pic.

confirmation means preparation.

as much as i want to just hole up in my room to sleep,
and forget about the rest of the world and its problems,
i know i still have to keep myself going, even this,
preparation for the volunteer trip seems impossible,
even with all these preparations i know im still not ready.
its bcos i've not resolve my problems, how can i let go? but....
thats the confirmation letter. confirming volunteer status.
thats the economy class air ticket.confirming a return ticket.
that's the forex of RenMinBi and all the savings i have,
confirming i am officially Ringgit Broke....
that's the newspaper i collect from mom's office,
confirming that i'm somewhat well prepared....but where am i now? preparing all these and more....?
and then there's me lying on the bed worried sick about
the work i have to leave behind.... im very very worried,
i know im gonna have a breakdown, i just dunno when.

Past & Present 4 - Sports

I remember my first sports entry to my scrapbook

was Sergio Garcia, but i cant seem to find it,

its just a small piece of newspaper, but i like the term

'boy wonder', lol~ so i tot, might as well add it in.

Next was Michael Owen, it was 1998,

if i'm not mistaken, after World Cup.

Sports idols were like impossible dream,

but in its way it helps me understand that

discipline, dedication and obviously talent,

is what makes them so special, i can excel too,

in whatever do, like, my studies ...

(i was still in college back then)

Kimi Raikkonen, when I was an intern,

I told myself, when the Malaysian F1 GP is here,

I MUST INTERVIEW KIMI RAIKKONEN.

it happened. LOL. and they all remembered me as

"the Malaysian girl who can speak Finnish and made Kimi laughed"

hehehehehehe, SEE, believing (and lots of persuasion)

is what makes it a reality!!!!

AND Olympics of course!

I remember when I was a kid,

i was sitting in front of the TV when i first saw the 5 rings,

my dad told me "this is the best of the best"

i dont know what he meant back then,

i tot he meant that the show was very beautiful,

but it kept a ring in my head, and when i am a little bit older,

i know Olympic features the best sports athletes in the world,

they break records, they acheive the impossible,

and that it is possible too in our ordinary daily life.

I came across these golf club passes

along with the CONCERT ones (above)

i just stare and stare and think and feel like a lost child.

because it evoke the deepest emotion about someone

that i never knew but i truly believe in him,

Ben Leong

i mean i cannot hide a past that meant so much to me.

it shapes me, it motivates me, it angered me,

it was everything that a girl believed in and challenged,

and against all forces wish to calm the impossibility.

its all in vague terms to u, because no words will ever

be enough to describe the years since the first time i met him.

all these are like little help that i can show,

by keeping updated about what he does,

by showing concern, by giving trust,

by believing, and not interfering (most of the time)

because we're both strangers.

but it does feel like i will lose a part of me,

if i ever lose my memories about him,

i dont know him, its too deep to explain

how and why this will happened.

somethings that i do, lol, do u see a pattern?

it goes along the pattern with the music idol era,

but i learn so much about the sports,

just by reading it too, and golf is also where

i met some of the most 'crazy' friends too.

(@_@)oh yah, how can i forget Maria Sharapova?! :)and you must be wondering why isnt there any Tiger Woods?

thats cos im lazy to take any more pics!!!!~ hahah~

2008 Beijing Olympic Games Mascot - FuWa

My New Toy!!! Thanks to Joanne!!! (^_^)!!

FuWa

The Fuwa, literally known as "Good-luck dolls"

are the mascots of the coming Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The Fuwa consists of five members with the

affectionate/adorable names in traditional style,

by doubling up a single word as two, for example,

my name is Wen, and my family calls me 'WenWen'.

Fuwa is Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini;

which also means 'Beijing Welcomes You'

(Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni "北京欢迎你")

Each Fuwa also represents one of the five Olympic Rings

They even released an Olympic-themed cartoon series featuring the Fuwa in 2007!

continuous new chapter - sports volunteer

er i guess this goes down to be

another important turning point

in my life....?

"I remember the day when Beijing

was announced as the host for 2008 Olympics

there are Malaysians who shed tears of joy..."

a speech delivered by one of the MCA guys.

~~~~**~~~

I was in Wisma MCA attending an interview.

dont know what to expect

just know that i must attend

if not i'll regret it kinda thing.

after many thoughts, i finally decided to go.

sadly BubbleChristina cant make it

cos she's still in Australia.

~~~**~~~

200 over applicants, and 40 shortlisted

about 30 turn up for the interview today,

and only 6 will be chosen

to be part of the Beijing Olympic Volunteers

specifically from Malaysia

and...... I am one of the 6 chosen.

(@_@) unbelievable.

cos the rest of the applicants are so ahead of me

in terms of experience and maturity...

i really didnt think i stood chance,

so i attend the interview

"with an open heart" just like my dad says.

im dead tired, but i will explain what happened.

~~~~**~~

Sports - Volunteers

It started with SEA Games 2005, in Philippines

I want to do explore doing something

well, beneficial, in somewhere foreign

cos I feel like a parasite here & not contributing

so I thought why not fly AWAY to the unknown

and so I send an email to the unknown

to the -sea games 2005 volunteers- where i googled

(by the way, rationally, this is quite a risky take

cos anyone can fake to be an organization...)

and start saving my money

one day out of nowhere...

just 2 weeks before SEA GAMES

I got a reply AND quickly got all my papers ready

emailed it and wait for the confirmation

there's a girl Maria Rose Narag who followed up with me

and I guess that means I'm on my way to Volunteer~

It was a race against time, to save enough $$

purchase last minute air ticket

accomodation wise, Maria told me not to worry

I only have RM2000 (converted to pesos la)

when I was in Manila, and I dont have a credit card

but I believe her completely

10 days of one of the most amazing experience

to help and to support and to learn

and to love strangers that i've never met b4

I learnt that

everyone needs a little more caring

and everyone can give a little bit more

and that luck really has to be by your side

and blessing is one of the most precious 'thing'

that you really should start appreciating

because with that you survive through the hardest

most impossible/unimaginable time

not that there were any life threatening situation

but i ate a lot of pork, balut, intestines etc

which was quite health threatening-la.

somehow... I kinda learn that I love contributing

but volunteering is a very expensive hobby

you seee.....

i want to teach english

(not that my english is great)

i want to save animals

(i dont know a lot of their habitats to begin with)

i want to constructively contribute in building

something useful for the society

(not that i have any USEFUL skills)

there is a lot i want to give

but unable to do so bcos i am not capable enough

sometimes i am so angry at myself for being so useless

seriously, there is much more i must learn

even before i think about doing it

sports volunteering seemed basic enough to start with

(trust me, i dont even eff-ing know any proper sports rules!)

ANYWAYS

The Star did an interview with me,

they found me at the departure gate in the airport,

they got wind of this Malaysian girl

volunteering in sEA GAmes...

which is good bcos i met the coolest sports editor

who by the way, has rock & roll ponytail!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

after the article was published in The Star

& also in a sports newspaper

BubbleChristina contacted me and we planned

to volunteer together in the future

the more the merrier!

BubbleChristina volunteered in Commonwealth Games, AUS

which was a bigger sporting event too!

~~~~~~~~~~

Doha Asian Games 2006 is what we both aim

to volunteer together, but I was

in Liverpool UK, pursuing my Degree

and i didnt have enough time or money

to work on this, until I came back to Malaysia,

which is like 2 months away from the Asian Games

race against time again, BubbleChristina

has great ideas abt getting sponsors for our trip

cos its really pricy in MiddleEast,

everything is in bloody USD & nothing comes cheap

we manage (after allll our emails effort)

find a few Malaysian expats who's living in Doha

to sponsor us the accomodation.

so all we need to worry is the air ticket now

but neither Qatar nor Emirates nor Mas wanna sponsor us

even after The Sun helped publish our 'public plea'

we were veryyyy sad...we were both students

and we cant fork out RM10,000 in just 2 months can we?

i cannot ask from my parents cos i use their money for LJMU

BubbleChristina is saving for her studies in Australia as well

so how??? we didnt even scrap the idea until the final week

when InfoStrada sports offered us position to be with

Media Centre, accomodation/transport included

and we get to pick the sport of our choice!

so i picked swimming/badminton/squash

but still we cant save enough money for air ticket

so we not just let our own hopes down

we let everyone who had helped us hopes down too

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The experience with Asian Games

was not too devastating but it wasnt a very

optimistic feeling either,

it really sunked my confidence

because money talks and this is reality

no one is going to help PAY for your

VOLUNTEER activities

so i aimed to get a job so i can save

PROPERLY this time!!!!!!

and i dont need to beg.

and i can do WHATEVER I LIKE

with money.

thats why people change

its the experience that changes them

and i change as well,

the more i see, the more i feel,

the more i know i must do something abt this

i dont mind telling people i am saving money

that has always been my annoying tagline

just so i can pursue what i like

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beijing Olympic Games

BubbleChristina took a lot effort to convince me,

to her this is the ultimate sports event to volunteer,

to me? fuket la...

i rather go help save dolphins or aboriginals.

by learning scuba dive or built proper things

but one part of me is not satisfied

how can i give up so easily????

and so...we email and email again

until one day BubbleChristina came across a news

abt Malaysian Volunteers ...

i have that news printed out and taped

in front of me near my office desk,

bcos its a painful reminder

and that motivates me (but quite depressing also)

we emailed MCA Youth and even tho the response was slow

at least they do answer our queries and follow up

that was in May....

its November now, we get a second email

telling us that this Friday,

there will be an interview conducted

at 1pm, in MCA.

we need to bring our resume (in mandarin)

2 passport size photos and be there

i was so shocked (too happy)

and suddenly dunno what to do

bcos my obvious pessismitic side said

"fuket la ling fei wen...wont get one la"

~~~~~~~~~

"Julian, remember the first time you interviewed me?"

"yeah?"

"i told you that I volunteered in SEA Games right?"

"yeah?"

"Well, today, i received an invitation to attend an interview

for the Beijing Olympics"

"awesome!"

MaryBerry was there, I looked at her for help

"but um....."

"but what?"

MaryBerry immediately cue in

"But the interview is on a weekday, this Friday"

"well, i dont see any problem of you going for an interview"

(@_@)

"REALLY????"

"yeah, why not"

"but what if i dont get it" (sooo pessimistic!)

"well, dont worry abt it, just go..." then Julian was

saying something something but i was too deliriously

happy to even listen to him and GRIN at MaryBerry!!

THANK YOU!!!!!