Update.

I'm not the kind of person who will report every single detail of my everyday life. And I'm not obliged to write for readers. Hence, I apologise for lack of entries to my friends who cared to read my blog. Thank you too.

For 2 months or so, my life has been a routine; lectures, exams, UPM and home. Nothing new/fresh. But next Saturday, this semester will come to an end. End of this semester marks the beginning of a 6-week holiday, which of course is the time to celebrate and execute my plans.

Firstly, I WILL drag myself out my house everyday for 2 weeks to go for GYM. Self-discipline is all I need to start. Yoga mat, CHECK. Towel, CHECK. Determination, CHECK. Goal,CHECK. Persuade sis to go along,CHECK. Register, erm...NOPE. The last one, which is "the" most important, not done yet.

Secondly, I WILL further revise French through online learning website. French books,CHECK. French learning website, CHECK. Determination and self-discipline, CHECK, CHECK. Interest, CHECK. Revision should be done at least 5 hours a week.
Je peux le faire et je le ferai!

So far, this is part of the plan. I will not allow any excuses, procrastinations and disturbance fail my plans. I plan to fail if i failed to plan. And now I have planned, I planned to succeed!!!

Occupied Raya break- Je suis contente ! J'adore!

I love to spend my holidays occupied with plans. And yup, first 3 days were spent with college mates at Port Dickson, a camp to reunite and strenghten bonds between juniors and seniors. I was reluctant to go at first as language has always been my major barrier when there's a need to communicate in Mandarin. I could have plan some other more useful activities during the break, i thought.

I have never attended a fully Mandarin-conversed camp before and this was a great challenge. I thought i would be left out since i would be the only one over there using English medium. But i was wrong. Everyone was comfortable with me speaking English. Everyone was so universal! I never thought I would gain so much after this camp. Memory of the people, the actions and everything were still remained vivid in my mind! I must say that this camp is a great opportunity for people to enlarge their circle of friends, relax their mind and not to mention, expand their acting potential,hehe...
I shall consider attending it next year...


Last day at the beach...

And the fun did not stopped, my coursemates and i went to Sunway Lagoon the following day! It was not a spontaneous trip but a well planned one. It was truly enjoyable although the whole place was all packed with both locals and foreigners! We will come back again someday to conquer the EXTREME PARK!haha.....



Biochem students at Sunway Lagoon...

Course mates - pain in the neck

Life will get even tougher if you are surrounded by negative energies. And every day when we are trying SO hard to get rid of these negative energies, there will always be new ones. I have learned that the only way to solve issue that cannot be resolved is ignorance, as the saying goes, “ Ignorance is bliss.” What I am trying to convey here is that we should run away from problems, but to learn to ignore things that will only bring even more trouble to you, or worse, affect your mood and health.

Thanks to my course mates, I have learned lessons out of them. I do not want to recall what happened as the series of events that occur will only place more scratches on my tiny lil’ heart. But all I know was they wanted us to change as we (girls in particular) are too independent and loved to decide things without discussing with them first, not to mention we solve problems so damn quickly, like immediately. Here’s the thing, we have tried our very best to discuss with them every time problem pops out, but what is the conclusion that we obtained? NOTHING! As time passed by, we have learned more about our course mates, and eventually we understand how they deal with problems (the result will always be unresolved, as usual), and from that moment onwards, we deal with our own problems. That was when they think we ignored them.

Secondly, they are egoistic and not gentlemen. Egoistic here is defined as not wanting to listen to others (as in us, the girls) and think they are so superior. Can you imagine our class's environment? We just cannot blend into a normal conversation as they think that if they speak to us, the world will end. I mean, what is wrong with them? To open your mouth to say something not only massages your muscle but strengthen the bond between human to human relationships. As for the non-gentlemen part, I don’t have to explain, I guess you already know. I have never seen guys as not gentlemen as these. Maybe they have not completely evolved from our fellow ancestors!

Thirdly, they expected us to change. Come on, if you are completely normal, you will know that it is almost impossible to change another person to the person that you wished they were. The only thing that can be changed is YOU, yourself. And if you are so damn stubborn that you think you can change another person, better look at yourself first, reflect your own attitude, and when you think you are absolutely normal, then there is no problem in changing others. To let you guys know, we(girls) have already changed ourselves. We have learned to accept the way you are, of how not gentlemen you guys are, how disrespectful you are to us and of course all your shortcomings. We have changed by accepting all your shortcomings because these are what you guys really are! Now you tell me, did you guys changed?

Lastly, I hoped you guys should know that human need to progress and not move backward. Human make mistakes but who cares? As long as we learned from our mistakes, realized what we did wrong and there you go, trust me, your life will be more successful. Ego as I said, will blind people from realizing their mistake.

And one more thing, please don’t hold grudges on others and if you need to clear things up, please be open and let us know. I feel that the worst mistake in this world that people always do is lack of communication or miscommunication among one another. We are so afraid to voice out that in the end the issue was kept in our heart. Imagine if you were frank enough to speak to the person what the problem was, the result will be different. We would not have so many misunderstanding in this world and people will not argue. But no, you were too afraid to “lose face” if you voice out. This is when immaturity issue is questioned here. Oh well, I guess they just need time to realize. And I WILL give them time, as time is the only thing that holds the future. The future lies in them, if they really want the world to view them in a different perspective.

There's one last thing i need to touch on. You guys think we are always comparing you guys with others. And fine, you dislike it, i do admit human tend to compare things that they see as greater, better, more appealing. But have you ever notice why we compare? it is not because we want to look down on someone, but we want to build constructive critism so that people can improve. I don't know about you, but to me, if there is someone who's better than me in one way or another,i will take them as role model. We are not asking anyone to change immediately as even Rome was not built in one day. But we need to realise, admit wrong and take action to resolve.

That's all i've got to rant and rave. Any comment, do share, don't be shy.

What a relief! I knew I needed to write this since like weeks ago! But never really have the “umph” yet. I guess today’s THE(read as “di”) day!

Goa - Recalling 23rd- 28th of June 2009

Dabolim Airport was like a super budgeted airport, the only airport in Goa. Once I stepped out of the gate which looks more like a shopping mall entrance, many people approached if I wanted transport to the centre of Goa, Panjim/Panaji, approximately 30km from the airport. Legalized taxi will cost about Rs400 where as just a few meters outside the airport, illegal drivers will cost slightly cheaper. At first they wanted Rs300 per car to Panjim, after bargaining, he agreed for Rs 160 but in a shared vehicle. And of course I asked who I am sharing with, he said just follow me. He brought me to a van where a middle-aged man was already waiting. At first, fear did come across my mind, and then I was telling myself: Ok… just relax and nothing’s going to happen, this journey will take half an hour only.” Then I thought it will be better if I start a conversation with him instead of keeping quiet, at least I know what is his intentions(if there is!). He told me that he’s going to Calangute (another town which is in my to-visit-list) after his stop at Panjim for a business trip, and said he comes regularly. And then, he asked for my number and that I should give him a call when I’m in Calangute. Hmm…I was thinking no harm right giving him my number since I will only be using my number in India and that I will be leaving India in a week. And so, I gave my number which turned out to be a mistake! He called 2 days later, drunk I presumed, asking where am I, and that when will I be in Calangute, and then he started telling me that he likes me, and in my mind, I was like “Sh*t, sh*t,sh*t!” . He even asked which hotel I’m staying in, then I just simply answered that it was a budgeted hotel even I don’t remember it’s name. He started nagging that it is very unsafe to stay in such kind of hotel and that I should change it,bla,bla,bla…After bla bla bla for about 8 minutes, I finally ended the call which something I should be doing since minute no.1. Ok, India has this stupid roaming system whereby if you are in a different state in India, there’s still roaming charges, and each minute Rs1 !
Anyway, there was another unfortunate event that occurred on Day 1 in Goa. As I was happily staring at the beauty of the Church Square, the first monument I’ve discovered in Goa, ready to get this view captured, I couldn’t find my camera! Fear runs through my blood, I started to unpacked everything in my bag and followed the trail to where I came from but it was all in vain, my camera of 4 years was nowhere to be seen. I even tried calling Jet airways but it was no use. I guess I was too excited about the trip that I must have left it somewhere. It took me a clear 2 hours to accept the fact that my camera has lost. Everything happens for a reason. No point crying or being sad. However, this is a great lesson for me. And a very expensive one. I told myself I will buy a new camera over here in India because this might be my first and last trip to Goa, I must capture all my memories here no matter what. And thank God and to my family which was very supportive, well they had to, because I was all alone over there, that I was able to do so… To be honest, my new camera was far better quality than my previous one, I wonder if God wanted me to use a better camera to capture sceneries in Goa? Haha…I know I know, trying to console myself…

At random: The famous Church Square, most beautiful at night...there were loads
of churches around Goa, once conquered by the Portugese.
At Panjim, on river cruise, there was no sunset due to rainy season...

it has been long...

It has been exactly a month since i last wrote. It's just that so many things happened that i don't know where to start. Since i left the internship(as in from Baroda), I flew to Bangalore and met up with Ezzah. And a day after that, I flew from Bangalore to Goa. That's when i stopped updating my blog. Now that uni has started for 3 weeks, I will try my best to recall every single details, even the unfortunate events that took place throughout my journey of backpacking alone down South of India...details in the next post... hehe..

Before I forgot, ( as demanded by Maha) in the picture below are the interns:
from from left clockwise: Michelle(me),Lee(Sg),MAHALETCHUMI PARAMJOTHY(M'sia),Felicia(Indo-Sg),Jane(china),Ira(Ukraine),Eunice(M'sia-Sg),Alexia(Cyprus),Serene(M''sia),Spencer(Hong Kong),Xavier(Sg),Anand(Sg)...

End of my internship mark the beginning of my travel

Some of us departed for home and some are like me, took up the challenge to travel. I decided to travel down south of India to meet up with my friends and at the same time, do some travelling as well. I landed at about 3.30pm today at Bangalore International Airport and took an airport taxi to Ezzah’s house. It was a 4-storey apartment and her house was very comfortable. The food was definitely Malaysian style, which reminded me of home, again. Thanks for making me feel comfortable, Ezzah! Tomorrow I will be exploring Bangalore before flying off to Goa on Wednesday noon. The temperature here is superb! 26 degree Celsius and it’s as cold as in highlands!
To all the interns, I hoped you have a great time travelling and a safe journey back home! See you all soon!

Last 2 weeks in Baroda city

Recalling my first few days here, I still remembered how much I wanted to go home, waiting for the end of this internship. Now that I have only 5 days left in this city, which was looking cloudy and windy these few days, marking the arrival of monsoon season, I know I will miss this place.

My team put loads of effort for our last 2 weeks here, getting appointments and sessions, trying to keep ourselves occupied. We did a session at Don Bosco about teambuilding, many boys have left and many new faces were seen, Father Roger was shifted to Mumbai, replaced by Father Steve. The session was more of having fun with the boys rather than instilling teamwork among them as we had problem with translation. Nevertheless, leadership qualities were traceable among them.

HIV/AIDS session at MSU was my favourite session, which was also a session that I’ve expected all these while. Our audiences, which consist of about 30 postgraduate student of faculty of social work were very responsive, outgoing and opened. Unsurprisingly, they were very well equipped and knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS. Group discussions and presentation were a lot more fun as there was no language barrier.

We were having sessions on teambuilding and budget (financial planning) with Gujarat Public School(GPS) students this entire week during the last 2 periods. Random classes were chosen with about 30 kids in one class. The students were quite well behaved and participated actively in class. It’s exciting to meet with these kids everyday as their happiness is contagious; having sessions with them simply amused me and sometimes, make my day!

At random: 31 Baskin Robbins for 80 rupees,half-price,cheap!