中国寻根之旅2005，China Winter Camp 2005 广州 Guang Zhou

m
e

&

s
u
s
a
n
t
o



Hey guys! im back from china! 2 weeks passed so quickly! how i wish time had passed slowly during the camp..
anyway, if u dunno what this camp is about, it's a camp about chinese culture etc..
you might say, "a camp about chinese culture? 2 weeks? nah.."
thats what many people said, and i bet they regretted saying that
trust me, once you've stepped in the camp, you wont wanna go back. so just how amazing is this camp?


firstly, this camp is international, with over 300 people from many countries all over the world.. there's australia, vanuatu, indonesia, south africa, mauritius, new zealand etc.
i made some really awesome friends! we've only parted for less than a day and i'm missing them already! =) you guys are really awesome! you people have changed my life, you people made me a better person! heheh.. special thanks to you people from vanuatu! you guys rock! also the group who always gathers at room 617! you guys are the best friends i've ever had! yay!
grace, david, james, brendan, justin, claire, joy, johanna, stephen and many more.. i wanna thank you guys for being such good friends! especially people from bus no.5! those who supported me when i was making such a fool of myself for 2 hours on the bus.. i still cant believe i stood there blabbering for 2 hours! must be the effect of the moral support you people gave!=)


it's so cool coz you get to experience winter! yeah! cool blue winter! =) even though the cold weather brought us some problems, everything was worth it! i wont forget eating ice cream in the cold weather, wearing a short sleeve shirt out just to find out how cold it can get.. the only thing so sorely missing was snow! it would have been so darn perfect if we had snow!


and oh yeah, grace and david, here's a special thanks from me..















you guys are the best! rock on!

Grace,

Thanks for everything! You know, on the 1st day while i was sitting at the corridor praying, i prayed to God to spread some warmth around in the cold winter.. Guess what? the next morning i met you on the opening ceremony! And after the opening ceremony we became friends! and after we became friends, i had the time of my life! haha.. Thank God for all he has done, through you He has changed my life, coz in you i see a kind of enthusiasm with the coming of every new day.. everything that happens to you or the people around you, you do your best to make everything right again.. you cared for everyone the way only a true friend would.. knowing you has made me realise my shortcomings and weaknesses! im gonna try my best to be someone like you! you have been a source of comfort and happiness not only for me, but for the rest as well!.. i'm pretty sure you're an angel sent by God for us, coz i feel happy everytime you're around! miss ya! anyway, you guys are really so special to me that i cried when you went off on the bus this morning, only you didnt see! haha.. i dont cry easily! i wont be ashamed of myself for crying, coz you guys are such precious friends and i'll really miss you people! i promise i'll visit sydney someday and maybe you can take me to vanuatu! =)

anyway, i'm gonna study hard this year!

Thank you! Terima kasih! Arigato Gozaimaz! 谢谢你! Danke!

P.S. your handwriting is awesome! i just read your public profile, no wonder you're so good! designing is your hobby! haha.. keep in touch ok? i'm gonna write a letter over soon! =)
hope you like the presents i gave you back there in china! the cards, the cap, the doll, the shirt.. you still owe me ice cream and i still owe you mc donalds!
and yeah, once i manage to live my life the way you do, i think i would have succeeded in life!.. im gonna keep praying for you guys everyday, stay happy always and keep in touch!! and yeah, what you wrote on my hand, thanks! but i think i'll have to rub it away T.T on the 2nd of January, school starts on the 3rd! i cant bear to rub it away though, lets see if i can get away with it =P.. at least you know i'll still have it on my arm on new year's day! ^^

and ya, i've laid out a 2-year plan for myself! hear, hear! im going to finish my 'o' levels here in singapore, which will be until the end of 2006, then i'll go to pre-university straight away! then on to New South Wales! i havent told my parents yet.. im only planning to tell them like, hmm.. maybe in june? and if they agree, you know what that means? i'll be seeing you guys as early as next year!! aint that cool! keep praying and hope my plan works out!!


David,

Hey bro! you own! i really have to thank you for being such a fun guy to be with.. haha.. how's your back? i do hope you get well soon! coz i hate to see you being restricted by the pain in your back! alright?.. next time no more piggybacks, or somebody gonna get reeeal hurt ok? your 武术 rocks! next time we meet i want you to be my 师父! hope i can see you soon! =) thank you for the chess game, i think i won by a fluke.. haha.. and thank you for your support to my show on the bus! you sing well! thanks 2 gracie 2! you two helped me out a lot on the bus..
ok then! hope i'll see you soon! when i visit i wanna do a human chain again! this time you lead! ^^

Thank you! Terima kasih! Arigato Gozaimaz! 谢谢你! Danke!

P.S. wait up for my letter 2! Get well soon!
















this camp was a life-changing one for me. it wasnt so good at the start, but it was something so perfect in the days nearing the end of the camp. well, i guess it wasnt the camp that changed me, but i still have to thank the camp! coz without the camp i would never have known all these amazing people! thank God for the opportunity!

i cant believe i was there for two whole weeks! it felt like a day to me..
arriving at the hotel, eating at the canteen, buying magnum ice cream after every single meal (they only cost 3 RMB!) =) , walking around the humongous campus, practising wushu, taking photos, sitting at the corridor writing my prayers, roaming around 6th floor after bedtime, visiting room 617, sharing my food with others, eating tasteless noodles at night, going on trips on bus no.5, walking around the hotel looking for people to sign my shirt, joking around with david, watching grace write me a shirt, writing on other people's shirts and caps, buying jelly and giving them around, going on a christmas boat ride shouting and screaming (my goodness this was the best christmas eve i've ever had), waving to unknowing pedestrians from the bus, singing songs with the people, watching mtv and dancing around the room (sad u guys from 617 didnt join me..) , singing and screaming like a screaming machine in my room with yehezkiel, following 朱帅哥 around on the tours, sleeping with mtv on until morning (woke up at 3am just because i heard pop star by ken hirai.. fell asleep right after the song ^^) , getting annoyed by louis, joking with maydo and gang, writing cards for grace and david, buying them ice cream =) , running out of cash, getting to know what's so wrong about drunk people and foul language, sharing my past year experience with others, getting interviewed 5 times!, appearing on television and newspapers (yay!) , climbing over 200 steps to feed some fish, buying an ice cream at the top and going back down again just to end up paying money to throw at dolls (i got 2! and i gave them away as presents! i gave one purple rabbit to Grace ocz she had a brown one ^^) , having a doll fight with susanto on the bus, listening to others singing on the bus, making a fool of myself =) , massaging anyone who has aches in my room, giving christmas presents, getting mashed while taking photos, performing as best as i could, learning nan quan from grace (i still dont get it! teach me next time!) , holding the down position till my legs hurt so much i couldnt walk properly, having meetings and gatherings with the group, going out to eat ice cream in the park, watching the performances, learning german from maydo..
ohwell.. many more! but at least now i believe i've been there for 2 weeks! i cant do all those things in one day!

m
y

a
w
e
s
o
m
e

g
r
o
u
p
!




















To my group and everyone, you guys really rock! yahoo!! thank you guys for everything! for making this camp such an unforgettable one!

Ko Chris, thanks for taking so much trouble to take care of us! =)

Mum and Dad, even though you left early, we still thank you for all you have done for us! ^^

Ivan, 2nd time camping with you, it rocks! let's go on the next camp together again! ;)

Raymond, 2nd time camping with you too! next time dont lose your wallet! =P

Thomas, had a great time! shake it, thomas! =P

Yeremia, hope living with Job want so bad! heheh.. cya soon cousin! ^^

Yehezkiel, hey room mate! you're so fun! haha.. you left ur CDs here with me, i'll pass them to my dad soon! i'll miss staying with you! x)

Shella, you rock! you've been such a great friend! take care ok? cya soon! =)

Nikko, you're one specially funny dude! rock on! buy me something from hong kong! wahaha ^^

Melissa, i think my bag is spoilt after all your pulling! lol.. try not to punch people too much! =P

Ardi, last year andrew, this year you! which member of your family am i going to camp with next year? ?.?

Michael, you're 13! too young! stop chasing girls already! haha =)

Vincent, billabong! lol.. suneo, jangan nakal ya! dont be naughty! wahahah! ^^

Susanto, wushu captain! you rock! but i'll never beat you coz i dont get chance to practise! =(

Job, well another camp gone! hope we can go next year, brother you screaming machine! =)

Lois, dont be so annoying next time! even your neighbours in the hotel says you're noisy! rahh!!

all right! thats for everyone in the group!



















alright.. here's a continuation of my super duper long post! =D

okay where do i begin? wushu class! 武术班! alright then! the guys from my group were teamed with the rest of the indonesians in the camp! how i wish we were teamed with vanuatu, but ohwell, God has his reasons! i made some good friends from my wushu class too! people like maydo, evan, yohan, edwin, abraham, blablabla.. wushu wasnt easy, honestly.. i had quite a tough time trying to remember the moves and executing them the right way!

i tried to learn 南拳 from grace and im like, "huh? whats that again? do it slowly!"

then she went "this way, this way, and then this way!"

"uhh.. okay.."

Then i try to execute the moves and i end up falling over coz i stepped on my own foot. =P

ohwell, i just have to stick with 长拳 until i meet grace or david again! then my 师父s can teach me slowly, and we can combine both our moves together to make a really good performance! agree on that? yeeha!

alright, talking about wushu class.. it was pretty unfair some of the other groups get to use 剑and 棍.. considering all of us were of equal status.. whats worse is that the class learning 剑 had the chance to learn 舞龙 too! their group's final performance included swordplay, flags, dragon dance, and they even had fans! no fair! our group, or any other group, deserves a chance to use all that too! grr.. i was so pissed off.. like, whats so special about them? they get all the good stuff! blah! why am i so angry you may ask? well, i saw a little kid from the 空拳 group standing at a corner all by himself, watching them practice! i still can recall the expression on the poor kids' face, it was disappointment and envy! RAHH!!

anyway, my post here isnt for complaining.. i just couldnt resist.. coz it was sooooo unfair..

my post here is meant to be a happy one! so lets continue! =)

my group had a chance to do 竹竿舞 with a few borrowed sticks.. it wasnt much, but i like it! here's a photo!! ^^



















looks good eh? it's fun! anyway, our group also had a chance to play soccer with the locals.. sadly it wasnt really a real team that they sent to play us! =( we ended up winning by tons of goals, i lost count.. we also played 毽子, it was really fun!

anyway, in my opinion, we had the kindest and the best teacher of the lot! 赵海军老师! he really rocks! he has his own way of motivating the group! =)

talking about wushu.. there's my rival susanto!! rahh!! i practiced on the landing in front of the lift every night while he was in his room eating noodles! and yet he still beat me flat! T.T..

but we ended off the 2-week camp with a blast! we rocked! yay! i loved our performance, even though i couldnt see how the others were doing.. but from the applause we got, the whole 2 weeks were truly well worth it!! =)