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My name is Irene.
Dunman High 2Kiron(!) 3MIA! (: 4MUACKZX 5C33
Green Day, All-American Rejects,
The Maine, All Time Low, A Rocket To The Moon ♥
I'm pretty cool.
To-Do/Wish List:
- Learn tones of photography
- Update my ipod/get itouch
- Find someone
- Return books and magazines
- Clear junk
volunteering, strangers. (Sunday, November 8, 2015)
Term 1 has gone by in a haste as usual.
But second year is vastly different from the first! A new room, new neighbourhood, new responsibilities, new way of seeing this world.
Term 1 this year was a continuous series of internal struggles - and it is all triggered by external factors and events that really provoked some feelings inside me, which are quite tormenting and it draws me away from light. Somehow, I don't remember last year as being quite as complicated. I generally remember my first year in London as carefree, relaxed, and wonderfully reviving. It was a place where I am isolated from family, friends and things who just formed my identity (as Fr Stephen has mentioned). Shaky as it was, without a foundation of my identity present with me, it gave me an unprecedented space to rethink my identity and to grow into the person God wants me to be!
Speaking of identity, perhaps the 2 major crisis I faced in this term has really pushed me to purify this broken heart and be the better person God wants me to be.
Putting these 2 crisis aside, I would just like to talk a bit more about volunteering and how I have realised, thank God, that it has been continuously shaping and changing me as a person.
The major difference for me this term was the fact that I had become a committee member of UCL CathSoc, and have taken on the role of the Volunteering & Interfaith Officer. I never knew it was going to have such a huge impact on me!
I guess my early enthusiasm drove me to encounter many new people, and to dare to approach several new partners to form collaborations, and essentially to bring God's work to more people to partake in. It was very enriching.
But the greatest takeaway was how I was driven, by my responsibility and obligation as a CathSoc officer, to talk to people from diverse backgrounds. In fact, I will just usually shy away from situations like this thinking in my mind that there is still invisible barrier that just exists between Asians and Westerners.
And it has been a really enriching experience... The way that Europeans think, and how much they put human values, encounters, faith, beliefs, traditions over pragmatic, realistic things of these world that we tend to overburden ourselves with.
I met a few interesting people at Open House @ St Patrick's, since I was there on a few occasions to accompany some new volunteers who wanted to try out this program.
There I met a Russian Orthodox, who talked about how he came to the Catholic Church, and how he still considers himself to be part of both the Catholic and the Orthodox Churches. He also spoke in conviction against the alleged trend of the Vatican moving towards endorsing certain undesirable stances on the family by analysing the extraordinary synod and things like that. He also explained to me core differences between Catholicism and the Orthodox church, of which a distinct one has surfaced in our Creed. And to insist on the difference between both faiths is equivalent to saying that a piece of paper is a rectangle vs it's a straight line (depends on which angle you view the paper). One object, one truth, but different perspectives.
I also made a new French friend, had cool reddish hair, passionate about serving the needy, and would occasionally stop to say hi to the homeless people on the streets which she always passes by. She told me this when we were on a sandwich run by St Patrick's - the very first time where I actually squatted down to ask homeless squatters on how they are, if they're hungry and whether they want something to eat. Of course, only had the courage to do so upon going out on this mission as a group. It really opened my heart and broke down this invisible barrier of reluctance I have to put myself in a position of vulnerability as them.
Now, just hopping off volunteering, I realised I've also made a cool friend who's a worker of our landlord, working in the local convenience store just across our place. As our house had a rocky start (dirty and unrepaired faults in the house), we often required the assistance of the landlord's relatives/workers and so they will patiently come over and attend to each of our needs. It's pretty amazing, at how simple-minded and genuinely tolerant they can be. Helping us to fix things like radiators, which they do not even use.
And then there came Freshers fair and volunteering coordinating sessions, where I had to speak to the staff involved in the 2 projects, and also to a fairly large number of interested volunteers (PTL!). I made it a point to get to know everyone personally, and I'm always concerned to not let anyone feel left out or unwanted, or that their contributions will have no meaningful impact on another's life. Volunteers came one by one, by word of mouth, and of course I was quite swarmed with work and coordination. But indeed, to see this sheep coming to the herd gradually can be a really fulfilling task, of which I can lift to God's glory. Sometimes, truly, I just bury my head into working, planning, emailing people but I don't see the true meaning and significance of it.
Lastly, my most recent experience was with the Sant'Egidio Community at some church near Notting Hill Gate. 2 ladies dropped by my volunteering meeting, inviting me to come for the Cup of Tea dinner on 31st Oct. The foremost thought that came was of course that this was too much for me. But it was nonetheless another avenue to serve the homeless (since Open House had quite a lot of help already) and by God's will, I managed to go for it despite a week full of commitments subsequently, and I'm so thankful that I did.
The first person that stood out to me during this Cup of Tea session was a blonde-haired Scottish who was chirpy, bright-eyed and brimming with life. Nonetheless, she was wearing a Indian sari which seemed a little indie and hipster, but we hit it off rather well because both of us were assigned to the kitchen to make some pumpkin soup! And then, truly indeed we should not judge a book by its cover. She started to reveal her incredible experiences travelling in India (then recording a documentary), in other parts of Asia, and then her views on this world, political, economics @ UCL, her family, Christmas etc. Most of the time she did the talking while I just let myself be fascinated at her colourful experiences. Another surprising element of that night was that I realised that a substantial number of volunteers were not Christians or Catholics but nonetheless they were still drawn to this special place to feed the underprivileged. Amazing.
Afterwards, we headed to the tube station together, where she told me more about her hobbies and personal convictions, and while I was asked about mine, I found myself speechless. I like doing many things, but I cannot list out that one thing I love doing that just characterises my soul. All I could manage was that I am very much influenced by my faith, the way I think and what I choose to do. But if I could choose an activity where my soul can feel at its greatest ease and given fullest expression - I don't know what that would be.
While her answers did not exactly give that one activity, I could clearly see her personal convictions though - that she has this deep motivation to change the world around her, to limit the power of corporations and to alleviate the poverty-related issues scattered across the world. She is an avid supporter of the Green Party, and I can just go on and on.
Well, another interesting conversation I had was with this young/20/30ish man who was seated at the table I was serving. Initially struck by the fact that he was probably the youngest and most able-bodied guest around, we did not get to speak much as I was rather concentrated and conscious of my role to serve, instead of sitting down to have conversations and a proper meal. A conversation nonetheless began, and we trekked across topics ranging from how I got to England by God's grace, how the quintessential English man used to be, how education is like here in England, and what he's doing by occupation. I also had a rather hearty conversation with an old Irish man seated at my table, fervent in his faith, and gesturing at my miraculous medal squealing "you lied to me! I thought you weren't catholic" because earlier on, he was sharing with me about Mother Mary but I tried hard to listen and could not respond much because I could not understand him very well. Then the young man also got curious and tried to look at the medal as well. It was such a frenzy!
Nonetheless, I'm extremely grateful for all these experiences, and I'm afraid that all I've gone through this term might somehow escape my memory. But I'm sure that these people have left quite deep imprints in my way of thinking and my understanding of Europe and its people in general. I think of them every now and then, and I strive here and now to be as open, strong-minded and life-giving as they are to me in every moment.
All thanks be to you, Jesus.
But second year is vastly different from the first! A new room, new neighbourhood, new responsibilities, new way of seeing this world.
Term 1 this year was a continuous series of internal struggles - and it is all triggered by external factors and events that really provoked some feelings inside me, which are quite tormenting and it draws me away from light. Somehow, I don't remember last year as being quite as complicated. I generally remember my first year in London as carefree, relaxed, and wonderfully reviving. It was a place where I am isolated from family, friends and things who just formed my identity (as Fr Stephen has mentioned). Shaky as it was, without a foundation of my identity present with me, it gave me an unprecedented space to rethink my identity and to grow into the person God wants me to be!
Speaking of identity, perhaps the 2 major crisis I faced in this term has really pushed me to purify this broken heart and be the better person God wants me to be.
Putting these 2 crisis aside, I would just like to talk a bit more about volunteering and how I have realised, thank God, that it has been continuously shaping and changing me as a person.
The major difference for me this term was the fact that I had become a committee member of UCL CathSoc, and have taken on the role of the Volunteering & Interfaith Officer. I never knew it was going to have such a huge impact on me!
I guess my early enthusiasm drove me to encounter many new people, and to dare to approach several new partners to form collaborations, and essentially to bring God's work to more people to partake in. It was very enriching.
But the greatest takeaway was how I was driven, by my responsibility and obligation as a CathSoc officer, to talk to people from diverse backgrounds. In fact, I will just usually shy away from situations like this thinking in my mind that there is still invisible barrier that just exists between Asians and Westerners.
And it has been a really enriching experience... The way that Europeans think, and how much they put human values, encounters, faith, beliefs, traditions over pragmatic, realistic things of these world that we tend to overburden ourselves with.
I met a few interesting people at Open House @ St Patrick's, since I was there on a few occasions to accompany some new volunteers who wanted to try out this program.
There I met a Russian Orthodox, who talked about how he came to the Catholic Church, and how he still considers himself to be part of both the Catholic and the Orthodox Churches. He also spoke in conviction against the alleged trend of the Vatican moving towards endorsing certain undesirable stances on the family by analysing the extraordinary synod and things like that. He also explained to me core differences between Catholicism and the Orthodox church, of which a distinct one has surfaced in our Creed. And to insist on the difference between both faiths is equivalent to saying that a piece of paper is a rectangle vs it's a straight line (depends on which angle you view the paper). One object, one truth, but different perspectives.
I also made a new French friend, had cool reddish hair, passionate about serving the needy, and would occasionally stop to say hi to the homeless people on the streets which she always passes by. She told me this when we were on a sandwich run by St Patrick's - the very first time where I actually squatted down to ask homeless squatters on how they are, if they're hungry and whether they want something to eat. Of course, only had the courage to do so upon going out on this mission as a group. It really opened my heart and broke down this invisible barrier of reluctance I have to put myself in a position of vulnerability as them.
Now, just hopping off volunteering, I realised I've also made a cool friend who's a worker of our landlord, working in the local convenience store just across our place. As our house had a rocky start (dirty and unrepaired faults in the house), we often required the assistance of the landlord's relatives/workers and so they will patiently come over and attend to each of our needs. It's pretty amazing, at how simple-minded and genuinely tolerant they can be. Helping us to fix things like radiators, which they do not even use.
And then there came Freshers fair and volunteering coordinating sessions, where I had to speak to the staff involved in the 2 projects, and also to a fairly large number of interested volunteers (PTL!). I made it a point to get to know everyone personally, and I'm always concerned to not let anyone feel left out or unwanted, or that their contributions will have no meaningful impact on another's life. Volunteers came one by one, by word of mouth, and of course I was quite swarmed with work and coordination. But indeed, to see this sheep coming to the herd gradually can be a really fulfilling task, of which I can lift to God's glory. Sometimes, truly, I just bury my head into working, planning, emailing people but I don't see the true meaning and significance of it.
Lastly, my most recent experience was with the Sant'Egidio Community at some church near Notting Hill Gate. 2 ladies dropped by my volunteering meeting, inviting me to come for the Cup of Tea dinner on 31st Oct. The foremost thought that came was of course that this was too much for me. But it was nonetheless another avenue to serve the homeless (since Open House had quite a lot of help already) and by God's will, I managed to go for it despite a week full of commitments subsequently, and I'm so thankful that I did.
The first person that stood out to me during this Cup of Tea session was a blonde-haired Scottish who was chirpy, bright-eyed and brimming with life. Nonetheless, she was wearing a Indian sari which seemed a little indie and hipster, but we hit it off rather well because both of us were assigned to the kitchen to make some pumpkin soup! And then, truly indeed we should not judge a book by its cover. She started to reveal her incredible experiences travelling in India (then recording a documentary), in other parts of Asia, and then her views on this world, political, economics @ UCL, her family, Christmas etc. Most of the time she did the talking while I just let myself be fascinated at her colourful experiences. Another surprising element of that night was that I realised that a substantial number of volunteers were not Christians or Catholics but nonetheless they were still drawn to this special place to feed the underprivileged. Amazing.
Afterwards, we headed to the tube station together, where she told me more about her hobbies and personal convictions, and while I was asked about mine, I found myself speechless. I like doing many things, but I cannot list out that one thing I love doing that just characterises my soul. All I could manage was that I am very much influenced by my faith, the way I think and what I choose to do. But if I could choose an activity where my soul can feel at its greatest ease and given fullest expression - I don't know what that would be.
While her answers did not exactly give that one activity, I could clearly see her personal convictions though - that she has this deep motivation to change the world around her, to limit the power of corporations and to alleviate the poverty-related issues scattered across the world. She is an avid supporter of the Green Party, and I can just go on and on.
Well, another interesting conversation I had was with this young/20/30ish man who was seated at the table I was serving. Initially struck by the fact that he was probably the youngest and most able-bodied guest around, we did not get to speak much as I was rather concentrated and conscious of my role to serve, instead of sitting down to have conversations and a proper meal. A conversation nonetheless began, and we trekked across topics ranging from how I got to England by God's grace, how the quintessential English man used to be, how education is like here in England, and what he's doing by occupation. I also had a rather hearty conversation with an old Irish man seated at my table, fervent in his faith, and gesturing at my miraculous medal squealing "you lied to me! I thought you weren't catholic" because earlier on, he was sharing with me about Mother Mary but I tried hard to listen and could not respond much because I could not understand him very well. Then the young man also got curious and tried to look at the medal as well. It was such a frenzy!
Nonetheless, I'm extremely grateful for all these experiences, and I'm afraid that all I've gone through this term might somehow escape my memory. But I'm sure that these people have left quite deep imprints in my way of thinking and my understanding of Europe and its people in general. I think of them every now and then, and I strive here and now to be as open, strong-minded and life-giving as they are to me in every moment.
All thanks be to you, Jesus.
Freshman year! (Sunday, August 9, 2015)
Hello electricfridays!!!
I'm writing in here as a 20-YEAR-OLD now… So much feelings hahaha. Well, my intuition of pouring out my feelings onto this virtual space while being abroad did not really realise - because, experience has told me that I will always be too busy for something if I have not set my heart to do it in the first place. Nonetheless, I will attempt to document my first freshmen year in the span of a few days starting from right now, 5.00am in the study (Singapore soil) with a restless, jet-lagged mind. I can't wait for sunrise!
As a continuation from the previous post, the moment of my parents' departure from the UK was indeed met with so much trepidation. I was drenched in homesickness but simultaneously in constant wonder at what London could offer. Though thankfully, and surprisingly, the natural uneasiness and unfamiliarity, ebbed away fast and furious. First of all, I have to declare that the people who knew me best and whom I can always depend on were all breathing in the same air as me!!! - Ryan, Clara, Ya Jun and Alisa. There was so much comfort knowing that we were either going through the same experience, or that you will be there whenever I needed you. (My deepest gratitude esp to R for being the best best best support ever). The strong support network also came from Newman House, a Catholic Chaplaincy for London University students just across the street AND the huge group of Singaporeans/Asians @ College Hall (the hall I was staying in).
lifestyle
There were about 10/11 Singaporean Law students in the same hall, out of the total of 37 Sgporeans enrolled in UCL Law 2014/2015 and it's awesome when all of us can just head to lecture together (within a stone's throw) everyday or have lunch at times. On Sundays, and also on many weekdays, I find myself at Newman attending mass, bible study, Sycamore (an outreach dinner/discussion program to non-Christians), and occasionally helping out at some volunteer programs. On Wednesdays, I attend UCL Law Netball training sessions/friendlies here and now, and on Fridays, pursuing the volleyball dream in social sessions @ Somerstown Sports Centre (UCL Vball). Though I've to say that while I had the opportunity to meet many new European friends through all these, I naturally gravitated towards Asians and would not go the extra mile to forge a friendship beyond that of acquaintances!
And I have been on a few amazing escapades throughout the year
Within the UK - Nottingham (Nottingham Games, Sing Soc), Canterbury (Newman pilgrimage), Bath and Stonehenge (during my first ever reading week with Ryan), Cardiff in Wales (with the loveliest friends for a day trip), Manchester (with WYL & C.Khoo for a Xmas Market day out!), York (with Shuying!!! A 2D1N thing), Oxford (for the Oxford Africa Conference),
Lisbon, Portugal before 2nd Sem began - 3D 2N/ with the church bunch
Venice, Cinque Terre & Rome, Italy - 5D4N during Easter Hols/ with my IRAS friends and Claraaa
Zermatt, Switzerland, Lake Como and Turin in Italy/ with a smaller church bunch, specially to see the Shroud of Turin
faith
(post continued after 2 weeks in SG!)
To learn and to grow in faith in the UK is just like paradise… That occurred to me today.
(1) Personal space
Every morning, I wake up to the sound of my alarm and I continue to be immersed in silence and calmness. And I made it a point - the first thing I think of each day shall be you O Lord. Occasionally, and especially for Lent, I took the time to do morning prayers, Lauds, or just random snippets of prayer without needing to feel conscious, or be disrupted..
(2) Daily masses
Almost everyday during Easter holiday, when we were studying for the exams, our days would revolve around 5.30pm masses at Newman House.. They served as a daily dose of God's words and a dear reminder of the ultimate purpose of our academic pursuits.
(3) Events, events
UCL Cath soc with their weekly Monday talks/socials, Bible study, and Sycamore (Alpha-like program), and a strong, approachable and brilliant chaplaincy team.. Beyond blessed
(4) Finding a community
studies
Studies for the first year was really at a quite relaxed pace. Even though I'm always behind reading for tutorials, the one month long of Easter break holidays was a sufficient, but intense period to catch up for the exams.
Also feel blessed for having renowned academics as our lecturers and they are all passionate as well. Sometimes it's quite a joy to be able to learn from them and to bask in some humour at times!!
I'm writing in here as a 20-YEAR-OLD now… So much feelings hahaha. Well, my intuition of pouring out my feelings onto this virtual space while being abroad did not really realise - because, experience has told me that I will always be too busy for something if I have not set my heart to do it in the first place. Nonetheless, I will attempt to document my first freshmen year in the span of a few days starting from right now, 5.00am in the study (Singapore soil) with a restless, jet-lagged mind. I can't wait for sunrise!
As a continuation from the previous post, the moment of my parents' departure from the UK was indeed met with so much trepidation. I was drenched in homesickness but simultaneously in constant wonder at what London could offer. Though thankfully, and surprisingly, the natural uneasiness and unfamiliarity, ebbed away fast and furious. First of all, I have to declare that the people who knew me best and whom I can always depend on were all breathing in the same air as me!!! - Ryan, Clara, Ya Jun and Alisa. There was so much comfort knowing that we were either going through the same experience, or that you will be there whenever I needed you. (My deepest gratitude esp to R for being the best best best support ever). The strong support network also came from Newman House, a Catholic Chaplaincy for London University students just across the street AND the huge group of Singaporeans/Asians @ College Hall (the hall I was staying in).
lifestyle
There were about 10/11 Singaporean Law students in the same hall, out of the total of 37 Sgporeans enrolled in UCL Law 2014/2015 and it's awesome when all of us can just head to lecture together (within a stone's throw) everyday or have lunch at times. On Sundays, and also on many weekdays, I find myself at Newman attending mass, bible study, Sycamore (an outreach dinner/discussion program to non-Christians), and occasionally helping out at some volunteer programs. On Wednesdays, I attend UCL Law Netball training sessions/friendlies here and now, and on Fridays, pursuing the volleyball dream in social sessions @ Somerstown Sports Centre (UCL Vball). Though I've to say that while I had the opportunity to meet many new European friends through all these, I naturally gravitated towards Asians and would not go the extra mile to forge a friendship beyond that of acquaintances!
And I have been on a few amazing escapades throughout the year
Within the UK - Nottingham (Nottingham Games, Sing Soc), Canterbury (Newman pilgrimage), Bath and Stonehenge (during my first ever reading week with Ryan), Cardiff in Wales (with the loveliest friends for a day trip), Manchester (with WYL & C.Khoo for a Xmas Market day out!), York (with Shuying!!! A 2D1N thing), Oxford (for the Oxford Africa Conference),
Lisbon, Portugal before 2nd Sem began - 3D 2N/ with the church bunch
Venice, Cinque Terre & Rome, Italy - 5D4N during Easter Hols/ with my IRAS friends and Claraaa
Zermatt, Switzerland, Lake Como and Turin in Italy/ with a smaller church bunch, specially to see the Shroud of Turin
faith
(post continued after 2 weeks in SG!)
To learn and to grow in faith in the UK is just like paradise… That occurred to me today.
(1) Personal space
Every morning, I wake up to the sound of my alarm and I continue to be immersed in silence and calmness. And I made it a point - the first thing I think of each day shall be you O Lord. Occasionally, and especially for Lent, I took the time to do morning prayers, Lauds, or just random snippets of prayer without needing to feel conscious, or be disrupted..
(2) Daily masses
Almost everyday during Easter holiday, when we were studying for the exams, our days would revolve around 5.30pm masses at Newman House.. They served as a daily dose of God's words and a dear reminder of the ultimate purpose of our academic pursuits.
(3) Events, events
UCL Cath soc with their weekly Monday talks/socials, Bible study, and Sycamore (Alpha-like program), and a strong, approachable and brilliant chaplaincy team.. Beyond blessed
(4) Finding a community
studies
Studies for the first year was really at a quite relaxed pace. Even though I'm always behind reading for tutorials, the one month long of Easter break holidays was a sufficient, but intense period to catch up for the exams.
Also feel blessed for having renowned academics as our lecturers and they are all passionate as well. Sometimes it's quite a joy to be able to learn from them and to bask in some humour at times!!
London/Belgium/Netherlands 2014 (Thursday, September 25, 2014)
Hi guys it's 11.30pm here in London & I can't sleep early tonight. My parents just left for Singapore at 10.05pm after having a good meal at Heathrow Airport T2. It was really a nice and exhausting week spent with them, exploring the neighbourhood around my hall (college hall), Belgium and then Netherlands. I miss them a lot especially in the few hours before their departure to the airport, and I tried my best not to tear in front of them, and they came gushing out once they stepped into the train. I've never been apart from my parents for more than a week!
I also find this time a good opportunity for me to grow in faith, and to grow my trust and love for God. All I need to do is to trust in His plans and providence, and keep praying that everything will be fine. Having taken this path, it is so easy to have doubts once again and to keep looking back to ponder upon whether the decision made was ever right. To think about the things I gave up to be over here, it is definitely heartbreaking at times, and to think that it's not so much of what I have lost, but the sacrifices my family made for me to be here. Not being able to be a listening ear for my mum, to coach my sister and argue with her to pass time, and to attend mass with my dad. I still hope that I will be able to love them even more after this period.
Enough of the emotional, and on to pen down some memories! First time travelling with my parents without my sister. We really walked a lot during this entire trip. Usually, my dad would want us to take a cab and my sister wouldn't be able to walk too much. So this time, walking to the sites 90% of the time really demanded our endurance and patience.
Un séjour à Bruxelles
A weekend in Brussels, Belgium.
Brussels, the capital of Belgium was just 4hours away from London via Eurostar. Belgium is a country that mainly consists of Flanders (north region) and Walloon (south region). Most people in Flanders (the Flemish) speak Dutch and those in Walloon speak French. Though Brussles is located in Flanders, the capital is predominantly French-speaking, which makes navigation and communication much easier.
The traditional confessionals, where us Catholics make confessions of their sins to the priest.
By letting this candle burn -
Lord,
that this candle that I light be the light
so that you can enlighten me
in my difficulties and my decisions.
That it may be fire,
so that you burn in me,
all egoism, selfishness and impurity.
That it may be flame,
that you ignite in my heart.
I cannot rest long in your church,
but by letting this candle burn,
it is a little bit of me that I want to give to you.
Help me to prolong my prayer
in my daily activities. Amen.
Brimming with tourists.
Mary chocolates and Elizabeth chocolates, 2 popular chocolatiers in Belge! Common trend - female names.
Sorry for the spam of church pictures, but this is another vintage looking chapel we didn't get to go in.
Patriots celebrated in statue forms - seen around Brussels.
Graffiti as well!
Église Notre-Dame de Bon Secours (Our Lady of Assistance Church) - sightings of Mother Mary have reportedly appeared here and granted miracles to people!
Breakfast @ somewhere! Not cheap
Église de Sablon - huge!
Godiva ice-cream that was so soft, something that I don't really like! So that's that, 2 days in Brussels. So we headed to the train station, (walked there with our luggage) to take a train to Antwerp for a day trip! Before that, we even saw the Cathedral of Brussels. Beautiful pipe organ playing in the background.
The Antwerp train station is a beautiful place!
It's nice to be in a country with Catholic roots really!
This just appeared out of nowhere at a happening district.
Being the model of the year.
Countless cafes in the outdoors.
But I wanted to go to Antwerp zoo to not waste our trip here ): so here we are!!!
I thought this can't be that different from Singapore Zoo. But I was wrong!
IT'S AN OKAPI!!!! My mum thought that humans cruelly created hybrids - horse and zebra chimeras. I'm not too sure about that but my instinct is that they are naturally-bred.
Subsequently on the same evening, we took a train to Rotterdam! It's actually a stop to Amsterdam and we decided to explore this small town. Rotterdam was actually completely destroyed and bombed during WWII if I'm not wrong and the whole city was rebuilt by fine architectures, and it's also a port now. That explains the seafood!!!
No kidding, these are Rotterdam's famous cube houses. It's 3D btw. They have real occupants so we aren't able to view inside!!
Having some bagels and cheese just for the free wifi haha. Well technically like that then not free alr.
A guest.
An assistance dog!!
Bread with a slab of butter
Lobster satay tempura. Shiok!!
Amsterdam
I spy the smallest house in Amsterdam. Do you see it?
A typical Brown cafe. Cafe t'Smalle for a short break from the endless walking.
Vondellpark!!! A place near our apartment.
Dimsum and lobster noodles at Royal China. Dimsum was so so la but the noodles quite decent. 36 pounds which is about 72$$$ :O
They apparently smell Christmas already.
Okay so I'm quite sian now after so many photos. Tata!!!
friends
;Cindy I.
;Cindy K.
;Giovanni
;Jaime
;Jonathan
;Shearin
;Tiffany
;TsuHui
;Venus
;XiaoQing
;Yusuf
DHS(:
/Cheryl C
/Cheryl T
/CASSSSS
/Felicia
/Jacqueline
/Janice
/Jia Qi
/Jinyu
/Katherine
/MiaoLin
/RuiQi
/Siow XinYi
/Yi Ling
/Yu Qian
/Winky
/WenXi
/Anthea
/Reena
/Fena
Guides
/DHS Coy
/Alisa
/An Yi
/Ruo Ting
/Xin Tian
/Shu Jun
/Sherlyn
/Cherisse
/Zi Shan
/See Hian
/Shu Wen
/En Ci
/Eunice
/Phoebe
/Ya Jun
/Hillary
/Xanicia
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