Thursday, December 23, 2010
Once again, I promised somebody I'll do a post before I go on cruise, and so, here it is.
The only problem is that I have no idea what to write about. So, yeah. I was looking for inspirational stories for my Welcome Week booklet, and stumbled upon this story. And I felt that it was really meaningful, so I'm going to share it here.
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”
“It was great, Dad.”
“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.
“Oh yeah,” said the son.
“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.
The son answered: “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
“We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
“We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
“We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”
The boy’s father was speechless.
Then his son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.”
I think this ties in very well with the lessons learnt in NLLC. And this also teaches us to cherish whatever we have, from the necessities in life, like food, to things we may often overlook when it is in abundance, but notice its absence when it is gone. Something like friendship.
So this Christmas, cherish the things that you have, the food you eat, the water you drink and the company of friends, for there are those out there who have none of this.
I just realise this is such a sad post. But oh well. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Thursday, December 23
~Ivor~
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Here's to the feeling of helplessness you feel when a friend is in need, but there is no way you can help.- It sucks.
Sunday, December 19
~Ivor~
Sunday, December 19, 2010
So quite recently, I've returned from a camp that I was reluctant and hesitant to go for in the first place. This was so as it was the first day of my holidays and I really wanted to go out with my friends, which I won't get the chance to since they were heading back to their countries or going on a long holiday. But I guess that everything happens for a reason. And this has been one of the more cathartic experiences that I have gotten throughout this convention. I'll explain more in a bit.
So on the first day, I was really reluctant, I didn't want to leave my family, I didn't want my dinner to finish. I just wanted to stay in Singapore and enjoy my holidays. But this feeling disappeared as I got closer and closer to Ipoh.Instead, a feeling of both expectancy and of fear arose in me. I expected this to be a good camp, as hindsight had shown me that Lasallian Encounter was awesome. But there was also fear that I will not be able to make friends as well as I did in previous camps. Also, I was really worried that I would not be able to fit in with the large group of Malaysians that we were expecting.
Good thing though, all these fears were all gone as soon as the Malaysians started flooding in. The first few people I knew, were my room mates, Willy and Shiuan, who were already in the room when I got there. Though they were quiet, I did manage to get a couple of decent conversation topics with them that day. I remember that I was really scared when Tze Thong walked into the room, as he looked big and scary. But of course, anyone who went for the convention would know, that he's an awesome guy, and really a great pleasure to talk to and really get to know, something I did throughout the convention. So the first day was really fun, great ice breaker games, got to know so many more people that way. It'll take me way too long to list out what we did everyday, but I think the main thing that I got out of the first day, was the recognition of a wider and larger La Sallian Community outside of Singapore, and also, I made lots of new friends from all over Malaysia.
So throughout the days, I had lots of fun, not only interacting with my new friends from Malaysia, but also learning more about the Lasallian mission. I feel that the most amazing activity was the Creative Workshop. This really pushed me out of my comfort zones as I am not a creative person, and trying to do creative things would have only led to disaster. But through this workshop, I feel that I have learnt a new way to express myself, a way that was never open to me before. But that aside, I had lots of fun doing all the activities. It was really fun doing the mirror thing with Deborah, playing the hand slapping thing with Tze Thong, and basically doing the Waka Waka dance with everyone! That would have been the highlight of the convention for me, in terms of fun at least.
On a more reflective side, I felt that the sessions that were held, especially the peer-led sharing on the different exposures was extremely enlightening as it showcased and highlighted issues that would otherwise have been lost or forgotten in a world where money and position are the new "in" things. Also, the reflections that were given to us were further effective in creating a sense of solidarity between ourselves, those around us, and those who were in need, the last, the lost and the least.
And thus ends my reflection on my NLLC experience. One last thought. I remember the feeling when the Singapore delegation got back to La Salle Centre after shopping for the entire day. We walked through SMI, and I was thinking to myself, that this will be the last time i'll walk through this shelter for a long time. And when we got to the window of the dining room, I expected to hear and see the racket of delegates chatting, playing games or simply just sitting around. In fact, all I saw were some OTs sitting around, and that really hit me. That the convention was over. It is impossible to summarise those wonderful 6 days I had the honor of sharing with my Malaysian brothers and sisters, but at least I've tried. I left Ipoh unwilling to go back to my family, unwilling to finish my dinner, and unwilling to go back to Singapore. During the convention, they spoke about Paradigm Shifts, if this wasn't a huge one, then I don't know what is anymore.
And in the words of the person I had a deal with to write this, and I'm glad I had that deal with her, as it has really helped me to relive the memories of that experience, it is possible to say these 5 words:
I think I miss it.
Actually, I don't have to think, I really do miss it.
And therefore, this post is dedicated to Deborah Yaw, you better have had a good sleep, cause I stayed up till 3am to finish this!!
~Ivor~