IT’S CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!

alrighty so I finally managed to settle enough to blog..
not that all the stuff in my luggage is unpacked and that I have cleaned my room but that’s besides the point.
SO ANYWAY, IT’S CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
but as I mentioned in my previous post,
I really havent felt the Christmas spirit yet,
probably cause in Cambodia we werent immersed in it.
I’m still suffering a little bit of culture shock.
I remember I looked at Belinda when we touched down in Changi and we were like “OMG WHY ARE THE SHOPS SO ATAS???”
HAHAHA.
OH WELL.
I think it’s also probably cause I havent gone to church yet and met my churchies.
plus this year I missed the candlelight service.
it feels weird not being in church for 2 weeks.
but anyway,
I’ll be spending this year’s Christmas with my dad’s family and in just about 4 hours time my house will be filled with a lot of laughter and noise:)
Can’t wait to go to church tmr too!!!!!:)

If I had to sum up my trip in just one word,
I would say it was “AWESOME!”
It was a time of self-reflection and realisation for me leading me to understand more about myself and at the same time make friendships that I pray,hope and want to last a lifetime.
Many people would ask why we even bother to go to Cambodia to build the house and why didnt we just give the money to them to build the house, (and I admit that we were sometimes more of a hindrance than a help to the carpenters who were building the house)  but I’ve come to realise that it’s more than just a housebuilding project, it’s a learning experience and at the same time,
I like to believe that the locals learnt something from us and that there is a world out there that cares about them and that they have a hope for the future.
The Cambodian people are a resilient lot and they can really really make do with very little.
They have got a really laidback lifestyle and in that I really started to appreciate the simplicity of life.
To just appreciate the simple things in life and be HAPPY.
To often we get so caught up in technology and our fast-paced lives that we are never ever contented.
Now, I just want to cherish everything that I have around me.

I started out with this journey feeling a tad apprehensive because I did not go for FOC and everyone else knew one another and already had their own cliques.
I’m not a person who likes to be alone although I do enjoy some alone time now and then so I was really afraid that I’d be the outsider of the group and be a loner but I really thank God for the people who went on the trip, that they’re all genuinely nice people that I’ve come to love after 17 days of going through thick and thin with them..
and the thing is I started missing them the moment I stepped out of the airport.
It’s weird not seeing the people you mess around with everyday,
see the moment you wake up cause we all stayed in dorms,
dash around supermarkets and shopping stuff cause we were given limited time
and the people that I had heart to heart talks with,
found out more about,
built and house and made soap with.
and I really really really really really miss that.

Even when I was out with my dad yesterday at a supermarket,
I suddenly thought of how Nick Seah would be like a little boy and dash to the milk section looking for his MEIJI CHOCOLATE MILK.
How Zul and Shaun would most definitely have tuna+biscuits in their shopping baskets,
how the girls would look for cup noodles and fruits and end up forgetting to eat the fruits.
I don’t know if the others feel the same way or if I’m just feeling extra sentimental and sappy but I really really really really miss them and they’ve come to be like my brothers and sisters.

sunset at Tonle Sap lake.
(it’s a lake not the sea)

the moon at the Ang Kor Wat

Sunrise at the Ang Kor Wat

Harry Potter WANNABE!

Phnom Penh

I like how GMOBT (Grand Master of All Bad Things aka JT) always teach us weird lingos hahaha
FOR EXAMPLE.
“ARH AH SIA~”
“TRUEST STORY / CHU-EST STORY”
“EVERY DAY, SOMEBODY MUST BANG MY DOOR, METAL ON METAL”
the butterfly joke
“cannot maintain”
“LAH LIANGGGGGGG”

haha.
i miss saying all those things on a daily basis.
If anyone asked me what was the most memorable moment of the trip for me I think I can safely say that it’ll be the day that I  (being the earliest to wake up almost everyday due to my miraculous innate ability to wake up at like 5.50~5.59 before my alarm rings)
and YY were out washing and hanging clothes at about 6.20am( yes, the sun there rises at 6) and Samone asked for help to push the lorry-that-needs-to-be-pushed-before-the-engine-can-start and then us being only 2 girls + irine (our facil from Hope organisation) + Samone and one other Khmer staff, we couldn’t push fast enough to start the engine >.<
SO I MARCHED UP TO THE GUYS DORM AND BANGED ON THE DOOR AND SHOUTED REALLY LOUDLY FOR THEM TO PUSH THE LORRY!
the next thing I knew,
I heard a lot of swears and I really really burst out laughing hhahahahhaha.
(must be the sadistic streak in me)
and I think all the guys would want to throw axes and hammers at me now :p
cause I think YY and I really found that part really fun!
In the words of YongBing, “Your voice was like a nightmare :p”
and apparently GMOBT let out a long string of swear words.
HEH.
but it appeared that getting grumpy guys to push the lorry is very efficient cause they’ll push with all their might just to be able to go back to bed:D
LALALALALALA.

I really enjoyed all the HTHT sessions we had cause I really got to know people more
and there’s that kinship that you share.

R&R was really fun with them around too:)
THANK YOU CECE and YY for letting me stay with you two during R&R!! Thanks to YY for being the first person I see every morning and for the talks that we had and for all your concern for me! Thanks to CECE for all your love and concern and all your funny moments.
THANK YOU BELINDA for all your wise words and that I disturbed your rest like ALOT on the first night
THANK YOU MEI JUN for your leadership and sacrifices.
THANK YOU PIN YAN for all the heart to heart talks and the fact that I can talk to you about almost anything and that we’re really really so alike!
THANK YOU LISA CHU for all your CHU-stories and the funny things that you say that really helped everyone stay cheery and gelled us all together.
THANK YOU SHERYL for your epic moments and epic words:)
THANK YOU JIE WEN for all the talks that we had and really all the fun that we had together:)
THANK YOU NIC SEAH for all your nonsense and help in putting the gas cylinder right and ALSO THE PHOTOS THAT YOU HAVE YET TO UPLOAD!
THANK YOU JARYL for all the bad lessons learnt from you:p and all the bullying.
THANK YOU JASON for helping me cook and being a great leader!
THANK YOU YONG BING for all your nonsense, bullying and for YOUR SUPER AWESOME KOKA CUP NOODLES that you SACRIFICED since you wanted mee goreng instead:p
THANK YOU BRANDON for the HTHT on the plane and all the jokes and things that you say.. just wanna tell you that it’s not only helping you feel better bout life, it helps all of us feel better too.
THANK YOU ZI ZHAO for all your care and concern! Having you stay out of going into S21 made me feel like I wasnt alone. haha.
THANK YOU LOUIS for your insights about life and really helping to lead the way.
THANK YOU ZUL for your insightful comments and to you and SHAUN for the TUNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU SHAUN for your infectious laughter and your passion for the kids + the tuna:p
THANK YOU LEROY for just being who you are and being a hard worker.
THANK YOU GUO YONG for being that stoic and fatherly figure a team always needs.
THANK YOU NIC WONG for being the nice guy that you are, for all the awesome photos and for the care and concern as well:p ENGINE FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you all YEP DAD’10. You guys have really changed my  life and I hope to get to know you guys more and more.
I LOVE ALL OF YOU!!!!!!!! ALL of you have a big chunk of my heart to yourself so remember, if you need me, I’ll be there for you:)

and there are a lot of other things I want to say but I’ll leave it for next time or I’ll just leave it in my heart.

love,
jane