today.

me & my big mouth....... refer to a post earlier:
"somersault in sand, check. somersault in water, check. i would very much like to leave out the somersault in air component. it would hurt less during the flip, but a lot more when landing. " 
update today: somersault in air, check. thankfully, the landing didnt hurt as much as logic & physics says it would. God did indeed keep us very safe. and i'm now in capetown. (:

being here actually feels overrated now. i'm just up the road from where our team spent 3 weeks sharing the God's love. and now, its so weird to walk the same streets, knowing that everyone else is at home. but i should probably stop emoing and remembering the city for what it was, and take this opportunity to experience the touristy side of it (even if im not much of a fan of touristy stuff). anw. its the wrong time for a trip down memory lane. i shall go read and sleep and recover from today. after experiences like this, i wish that my trust in God's ability to defy logic extended to more aspects of life.

ok. another day, another adventure.
my dad has this uncanny ability to get us into situations.
be it his fault or not.

extreme sports.

hectic but awesomely fun few days.

sandboarding - very awesome when u are whizzing down a steep sand dune at full speed, a bit less awesome when u have to trudge back up again at a speed of take-2-steps-up-slide-1-step-down. i regret not continuing with my twice-weekly runs. really fun stuff and i ended up with sand everywhere! nose, ears, mouth... did a few tumbles & absolute wipeouts too, not on purpose. 

kitesurfing the next day, for four hours. it was indescribable. and also very humbling. it highlighted just how powerless humans are in comparison to God's creation and physical laws of nature. being harnessed to a 7m-sq kite (a small one) and learning how to control it is very enlightening - physically and spiritually. when a gust of wind picks up the kite, it invariably picks me up (on land) as well & distance becomes somewhat inconsequential.

and on water, well, i've flown over the water a few times (i was a little too aggressive with the maneuvers and it doesnt go well with poor kite control), and i did a full somersault+twists in the water when i got dragged out of control. it was pretty scary at that point in time & i understand better how slow-motion works now. heh. basically, i flew out of the water, somehow landed face-first head-down, my head hit the sandy bottom underneath my legs (in the air), got my legs entangled with the kite lines before i got my head up, and my bearings straightened out! the few words that went through my mind: crap! ok, thats sand, where are my legs, which way is up? and before i knew it, i'd done a full somersault in the water. 

somersault in sand, check. somersault in water, check. i would very much like to leave out the somersault in air component. it would hurt less during the flip, but a lot more when landing. 

today, as a reward for managing to stand up on my board after 4 hours of kite-handling & body-dragging (its a legit term & pretty fun!), and of course, the somersaulting, i have 2 huge bruises on my ribs and terribly aching arms. (even changing gear was hard!) heh. it probably signals a lack of fitness and/or a loose screw somewhere in my brain. (: 

although i intend to fix that screw tomorrow, when i attempt to ride an ostrich and crawl through tiny holes in a network of caves. this is such a different SA from what i've experienced for the last 6 months! 

on a sidenote, my dad is driving me nuts, although my tolerance level has increased considerably. 2 more weeks to home. i heard this song at the restaurant after a particularly tiring conversation/argument, and i missed home. as in, tuksdorp-pretoria-SA home and macpherson-hector home. enjoy (:
MichaelBuble-Home (because i dont know how to insert vids) 

overrated.

but instead of ranting, i should probably just count. my. blessings.

even if right now, they seem like they can only be counted on one hand. 

so.. i am thankful that i get to see more of South Africa. (even if it is rather limited by paranoia & wishy-washy-ness & over-accommodation); i am thankful for the ally that i have in my brother (even if it does get rather annoying when he has no opinion on what to do, and overly strong opinions of church); i am thankful that i am not bald & am not at boiling point with my dad; and lastly, i am truly, truly thankful for the surprisingly great amount of patience that i have had thus far. it brings the concept of Christ's strength in my weakness to a very different application, one that i'd never have expected. 

so i am back in contact after 4 days of living in the mountains (ultra poor internet connection), and am now at coffee bay along the Wild Coast of SA. (: it is indeed wild. and it is beautiful. but, no thanks to the type of travel companions i have, the 3 approaches by weed & pot dealers + the hippie atmosphere/lifestyle + rain&cold = we leave this awesome place after just 1 night here. in favor of a tourist spot further south. my hopes of going cliff-jumping (jumping 14metres off a cliff, into the sea), have thus jumped off the cliff of expectations & have been dashed to pieces..... maybe, there still might be a teeny ounce of hope that i get to do that further south, but, for now, it looks like that activity is put off until my next adventure in the world. 

back to coffee bay, i'm at a backpackers that is situated at the foot of a cliff, right next to a river mouth that flows into the sea. its quiet, its full of character and its also, a very temporary abode. ok, so my contact lens has rolled somewhere into my eye for the umpteenth time today. that means i am blind in one eye until i get it out & it also means that maybe i should stop conversing with my blog and whoever reads this & get some sleep. i think its the lack of proper conversation for the last week or so thats causing this verbal diarrhea. 

goodnight world. i will be back with more nonsensical updates pretty soon, i expect.  

update

alive and well.
losing a bit of hair over the parent and the situations he gets us in, but other than that. safe. & rather enjoying the trip. (: a bit of excitement here and there as well. like a very unexpected night in the car, stranded at a remote border post high in the misty mountains of swaziland, ocean safaris, corrupt cops and etc.
tomorrow, its into the drakensberg for some biking and hiking. and maybe into lesotho as well.

africa is, well, africa.
and i'm loving it,
even with the nonsense of my fellow travellers. (:

time and taxis

today, (at 3am), is the 19th November. if things had gone as planned, i would have been on my way to Harare (Zimbabwe), the first of many destinations in a Southern Africa solo expedition, with the aim of seeing, exploring, and ultimately, learning. about people, about myself and eventually, about God. but then, today would also have marked the start of my 1 month countdown in south africa. as it is, i have 40days left here.

already, some people are going home. one of them has been excited to leave since the 2nd week she arrived (or so i've heard) and the other was so depressed that she cried while packing. i dont think i fall into either category, but i will miss this place. a. lot. either way, home awaits. with friends, responsibilities and, life in general.

wednesday was the start of the 3rd phase of SA2010 - the end of school, and the start of my adventures. & it started pretty well. i aced my oral examination on Church and Israel (after only 1 entire night of cramming - the Singapore system does come in handy), bumped into Ps M & Molly and O'brien on my way back and ended up spending a very nice afternoon talking. As we left, i headed to the bus station some distance away to do a little bit of recce-ing for my mini trip. i dont know how long it took for me to get there and find out what i needed to (time isnt really an issue here), but the interesting part started when i tried to find my way back home. heh. technically, i wasnt lost. i just didnt know how to get home. and i was quite far on the other side of Pretoria from where home is. so... scenario: lone asian girl in downtown African city with a disconcerting lack of afrikaaners (whites). problem: getting home. see, i couldnt just cross the street & take a taxi back the way i came because, it was a one-way street that kind of turned back into town, plus, taxis that go one way, dont necessarily follow the same route BACK.....

ok back to the events that followed. i decided i had time, so i started walking around the streets, soaking in the atmosphere. after buying a random apple, some nectarines and 2 peaches from 3 street vendors who didnt know where i could reboard a taxi towards hatfield (home), i decided to stop wandering and GET. HOME. boarded the next taxi i saw, and asked for hatfield. driver shakes head. sunnyside? yes, nods head. *or so i thought. i get in with another 2 ladies, we're getting the fare together, and then driver shakes his head and drops us all off at a sort of taxi-transfer point. he tells us to go into the front taxi. i get in, and after 15min of waiting for it to fill up (taxis mostly only leave once they're full), i decide to ask a fellow passenger. and he tells me this taxi is going to marabastad! (some distance OUT of TOWN). wrong taxi. i get off, and walk down a little. then i see a lady taxi driver & ask her, how to get to hatfield. she says, just wait a minute, another taxi will come along & i can get in. but she also says, sweetie, come sit inside while you wait. so, yes, of course, why not, the sun is burning outside. and the 1 minute becomes 10, 10min eventually lasts 1.5 hours as her taxi fills up. i ask her if the taxi is coming, she says, yes she'll take me to where i can catch a direct one home. eventually, she drops me off at another(!) taxi-transfer area, this time, in a section of town that i recognise as somewhere the brazilian guys & i were told to turn around and go back. (not the safest place really). but she tells one of the guys she apparently knows my problem, drops me off and says, he'll take care of u.. he gave me directions to get to church square nearby. i wasnt afraid, but my defenses were up and i think he could see it.. so he said, eish, i walk you. very near! i asked if i had to pay, and he didnt answer (next time, i know better) but well, he did walk me, and i did feel safe having a guide through this part of town. eventually when he got me into the right taxi, i was going to give him a R5 tip. but guess what? he said R30! like.. WHAT? R30 for YOU offering to walk <200m with me?? ... seriously. but, anyway, he was very persistent & i didnt want to start a scene there, so heck, R30. there u go. and then, nevermind, he asked R30 and a drink!! i told him, no i dont have a drink. he says, yes, R8 to buy a drink.. NO! i show him i only have coins left to pay my fare, and he sees me count R9 fare out and i have R1.50 coins left & he takes all of it.....
one thing about africans is that, THEY ARE NOT SHY. (this is just one incident).

well, anyway, we're waiting for this taxi to fill up again, and the girl next to me asks if my impromptu guide helped me to carry anything. i tell her what happened and she just shakes her head, says i'm a lakoha ("white" person) and laughs. then she explains its common that these self-employed street-guys dont rob u illegally, they do daylight robbery.haha! i was so amused by the way she put it. eventually, we talked about other things & by the time i got dropped off outside my house, i had a new friend from Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). haha. eggciting day eh!

took a nap when i got home, just because i could. and then got a lift from mary-lou to church. took some photos and came home to sleep off the adrenaline+latenights. its gonna be hard to match up to the standard set by wednesday happenings.

but today (thursday), i cooked an awesome singapore dinner for the housemates (+1 and -1) and then had a nice night out. i wonder what today (friday) brings. day 40. i need to remember to pay my housing bill though. and hopefully, by saturday, i get on my way to polokwane in limpopo! preferably no adventures, just a very uneventful getaway, i hope. heh. ok, its late. time to enjoy sleeping in cold weather (its like winter all over again!!! crazy weather. it was insanely hot just 2 days ago!)

STUCK.

its been a very random & awesome tuesday. (and blogger's time/date setting is messed up, its not on sg time nor is it on SA time.) lastminute & random trip to joburg with m-l. saw an amazing lightning storm, loaded a huge sofa into a bakkie, went out for chinese food, and the one day that i could sleep early, my brain decided to run at topspeed & i lay awake, in bed, until a freaking 5am. seeeeeriously, i just want to unplug my brain sometimes. and today was, well, a very conflicted, but blessed one still.

somewhere between the wrong and the right.
somewhere between the darkness and the light.
somewhere between who i was and who you're making me.
somewhere in the middle, you'll find me.

with eyes wide open to the differences,
the god we want and the God who is,
but will we trade our dreams for His?
are we caught in the middle?

because i am. or rather, my flesh is. i'm stuck. somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more. its such a huge opportunity. and exciting too. but i know where i am supposed to be. problem is, for the third time, i feel sooo attracted to it that i feel i will regret this or that my life will be characterised by a series of could-have-beens. but that was just my carnal self talking, i see that now. not that it makes things any easier..... (because i wish knowing it would make things easier!)

2 of my econs mates are going & we only found out after the list was released. and then, i checked the list of companies available. and things went downhill from there. went home to nap & think about it, and this song really spoke to me... my dreams for God's plans. am i willing? sometimes, for me, direct questions are key. pft. today makes me wonder how many more times i have to say NO. no. no. N.O. *brain, did u get that? N. O. NO. stop running wild now! NO.*

quite an exhausting day, but met thloki & molly for coffee in school. and it was so great listening & learning. i hope greatergrace will eventually come to sg. they resemble the church in Acts (noted by another visitor, but something i fully agree with). now, time to pack my room & catch up on that elusive sleep. its a long day of project discussion tomorrow. eishhh.

an overdue update.

it is what it is.
a. long. overdue. (and more organised) update of all the nonsense that i got up to over a very happening spring break. (: it was a trip of many firsts. and of course, manymany exciting (more like DUMB, when i finally see this trip from in hindsight). i've got quite a few short interrupted spurts of stories here and there thus far and its going to be impossible to list them all down (plus the stupid comments i've heard!). so this is a short overview of the awesomest (and some of the dumbest) things i have seen, heard and did. (:

so, 4 guys and me jump into a tiny car 2 days before spring break officially starts, and we head off into the unknown territory of Southern Africa, Botswana & Zimbabwe with no plan except a map, a return date, and 3 destinations. that very long sentence i just typed contains so much more experience than i can ever express. amazing huh.

to be honest, it wasnt the best trip i've taken. i've been to more and less exciting places, travelled with more and less planning, but this was, i would say, special. partly because i guess i'm a teeny bit more mature, somewhat more observant and accepting of people, and a whole lot more flexi-time/schedule. these were probably why the trip came out well overall. but the experiences were so.ultra.freaking.cool! before i get into details, these are some of the highlights/eggciting/cool stuff that happened.

the victoria falls. one of the seven wonders of the world. it. was. breath. take. ing. seriously. Great barrier reef is awesome and yes, i've never seen the other 7 natural wonders, but this was.... (i wont ruin it with my description). we spent a day on the Zimbabwean side. and i'm veryvery set on getting back there and into the Zambian side to swim in the (very aptly named) Devil's Pool. [parenthesis: seeing that made me think of how Satan tried to tempt Jesus to throw Himself off the cliff and how he misquoted scripture]. that was just incredible.
Zimbabwe - Gwanga:  accommodation "crisis" (according to the dutchboys)
Zimbabwe - Vic Falls: typical msian-style bribery on the roads, encountering the terms "forgetment fee" for certain "grass products", x2 wedding proposals in 1 night (heeelarious!),
Botswana - Maun: teaching the boys how to be a little smarter and ask for directions, campfire: getting initiated to the rites of outdoor fires & getting burnt.
Okavango delta: mokoro trail (its a traditional canoe), elephants up closee, REAL camping, hippo which was a bit tooo close for comfort (!!), trekking through the bush at 5.30am in the morning.
Francistown: wandering around town alone taking photos and getting threatened, talking & drinking with some smart and not-so-smart people.
Gaborone: william (awesome kid whose dad gave me & shane free accommodation), climbing huge rocks. oh, and achievement of the trip: seeing one little dutch boy learn how to ask for directions! hehh.

the trip wasnt ultrasuperduper fun. but it was amusing. the dutch boys unknowingly provided me with a lot of amusement. another conversation i cannot forget:
L: "oh, nooo, i travel a lot..at least 2 to 3 months every year i'm travelling.."
me: "i see, where to?" (at this point, i am truly interested in what he's saying. its still early in the trip)
L: "spain, italy, names about x number of countries in europe."
me: "wow, thats a lot of europe.. but outside europe?"
L: "nah, this is my first time in another continent"
me: "ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
L: "yeah.. *looks surprised* why? europe is very different!"
....
conversation goes on while he tries to explain how different europe is, (i believe him on that point and i know i need to go to europe soon), but eventually, my brain shuts down with the thought, oh my goodness! and conversation dies off because L has "won" the point/argument/conversation (whatever that exchange of words was.) ok, honestly, first few days, that was just plain annoying. especially when he tried to argue with me about photo pixels & the rule of thirds. but then, once i realised (it did take a while) his style, it started to become really really amusing. shane told me he played games with them, arguing from yes, and to a no, and they'd oppose him just as vehemently. see what i mean by amusing??

photoblog update HERE. (:

anyway, just to explain this long post: i am procrastinating yet again. leopards dont change their spots...

monkey see, monkey (try to) do.

monkeys are smart creatures.

and sometimes, i underestimate them a little too much.

this monkey was drinking from the water cooler!! & he refused to budge! i came to within an arm's length of him!

and, here is a short little picture story of my encounter with the monkeys at the victoria falls (this will be entertaining for those of you who're reading this! but i'm just really glad it wasnt a re-enactment of regina's encounter in cape town!)



This is what i was so intensely looking at (and anticipating their movements)

and this was what was happening!


monkey: HMM. WHAT IS THIS??

Monkey: she looks oblivious, i think its safe to touch!

STILL oblivious. dont ask me how... i still dont know!



thought leon was taking a picture. well, he WAS... but for reasons that i only realised AFTER!

talk about being pre-occupied eh...

BOTSWANA

in botswana now and back from the okavango delta where we camped for 3 days! its been an awesome ride thus far.
we drove for an entire day, spent 6hours at the Zimbabwean border and stayed the night in a tiny town, drove another full day and FINALLY, we got to the victoria falls town. the vic falls was ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING... and part 2 is coming to an end, camping in the okavango delta with hippos & elephants close by and a whole lot of other awesome stuffs.. and who knows what part 3 will bring in the Kalahari?
and the weird crazy amazing thing about technology is that i was ALWAYS contactable with my Singapore number.. even in the delta. ahwelll.... going to do some planning later. & committed it to God, so i know, either way, it WILL go well. :D

getting lost.

its been a refreshing few days. sometimes, God just opens doors when He wants you somewhere. sunday evening, i was stuck at home with no means of transport to church. i.e. m-l couldnt give me a lift & my bike was still out of business. walking 30min was my only option, accustomised as i am to this place, walking home alone at night is still a nono.

yet i think God had it planned out, cuz i rmbred some other exchange stdts rented a car for a short trip, but they werent using it. so i went to ask the driver, praying reaaally hard that she'd trust me with it a second time & not think that i was trying to free-ride of something. awesome thing is, i got to drive to church!!! ((: felt sooo nice to be driving myself, for a moment, i could just picture myself living in SA, or anywhere for that matter, having a job, a car, a house, driving myself from one meeting to another. well, the message that Ps Jabu spoke about was really good, but it was the conversations after that really struck a chord. thought-provoking, insightful and a huge blessing.

the adventure began at 9pm though. i drove right across pretoria to malem's home. i did it with my written directions and a map on the passenger seat, so getting there was fine. it was a teeny bit scary driving through the dark unlit sections of innercity Pretoria,and then through some not-so-nice suburbs, but i got there unfrazzled. the drive home was a different thing altogether. malems suggested a different route; one that was more direct (but also one which got a bit confusing in the city centre). i trusted him, but i forgot to check the confusing bit with him, and so, being me, it was a major recipe for getting lost.

lost i was. i found my way to the main road, Church St. and got lost smack in the middle of the city. (see map) at first, it was really interesting to notice the quiet streets and dark buildings.

then, it gradually got scarier as i started noticing random, not-so-nice-looking characters lingering on corners (with minivans). at one point, i was turning circles in Church Square because i couldnt find the exit!! & i was so worried, because, well, 1 round is ok, but going 2 rounds, its super obvious i'm lost & hence, a target. I was praying, & i remember saying God, pleaseee guide me! and seriously, this lorry came out of a junction that i never noticed, and i followed him out of the square!! (cool ah!)

except, getting out of there was the start of my late-night speeding through the city. i was quite directionless and i just took turns in the general direction which i thought i was headed... (plus, there weren't any garages where i could safely go & get directions..) lets just say it was a very bad idea to follow a disoriented agaration. i ended up near the pretoria zoo & down a very dark road (right next to an underground taxi interchange & some apartments). once i recognised that from my 1st-day-in-SA-excursion with the other backpackers, i knew i was very very far from where i should be. braked in the middle of the road, did a very fast u-turn & headed back towards the lights...(it was a one-way, but i really couldnt care) i dont really know how i got out of the city eventually, but somehow, i found Church street again...

scary night. but i'm just glad i got home. malems called to make sure i was back safely AFTER i found Church Str, which was great timing cuz i didnt have to worry him. haha. so well, that was a nice little adventure there. somehow, i always end up doing stupid things & getting myself lost everywhere i go.. but then again, i cant and wont complain about the consequent experiences (because i see so many things that i wouldn't have! & its quite cool, AFTER the experience)

sooo.. that was my little Sunday adventure.

i am perfectly contented to spend tonight at home.

thinking, reading, and probably subconsciously recovering from last night's adrenaline.

above: getting from hatfield to danville. 2 ends of Pretoria city.

Church Str gets a little hard to follow in the middle, but i found my way out.

EVENTUALLY.

cycling!

its been an AWESOME weekend. like reallyreally awesome.

just 2 bummers:

1. MY BELOVED FILM CAMERA IS ACTING UP AGAIN. pft. dont ask me how a mechanical camera can die when i havent done anything to it. but it has. the rear shutter doesnt fire unless i switch it to bulb mode or to the fully mechanical shutter speed of 1/90s. which sucks. because, 1 day it was working, and the next day, it wasnt. ))))):

2. MY BIKE HAS A PUNCTURED TYRE. after the amazing day out at Groenkloof nature reserve, it decided it had enough & i've got a flat rear tyre.

now that i've ranted about those, let me get to the awesome stuff. (: friday i met up with marianne, the other singapore girl who was on the 5wk outreach as well. (5wks outreach, another 5wks in Zambia helping out in an OM ministry and then another 6months at OM training!.. and she's just finished her A's last year. THAT is what i call amazing). ok anyway, so hanging out with another singaporean just rocks lah! hello singlish. haha. we didnt do anything special, but having such company is really quite cool. & i need to go to Zambia after hearing all that stuff! (but i will. soon.)

and kofiehuis (i've learnt the correct spelling) at night was great too. the church service was real african-style & i just loveee this song that they sang. There's no one like Jesus. in Sotho (which we sung that night) its Ahona ya tswanang le Jesu, and in Zulu, Akeko ofana na Jesu! i reaaaally love this song! & seeing some of the men sing so loudly & doing the actions, just amazing. another meaningful conversation at night with a guy who was getting off heroin, well, m-l did the talking & i didnt because i have absolutely no idea, but it was such an eye-opening experience.

on saturday, i went mountain-biking! its the real stuff with freaking crazy slopes & turns & scenery. a few highlights: getting there early (and safe). i cycled about 50min to get there while the rest took a cab & since i was early, i started biking & admiring the nature. it was SO peaceful & beautiful, and it STILL amazes me that God has brought me here!! so, the others got lost etcetc (whats new right), and eventually we started on the route about 2hours later than planned. better still, we went on the 21km route without realising it. very good.... but the adrenaline rush made up for it. a few scraps along the way, but we made it out just fine.

going to Groenkloof became a plan because i heard that you could cycle & see wildlife up close. (not lions or meat-eaters, duh) but giraffes etc. things like this, you hear about it but sometimes it never really happens or you find out it was an exaggeration etc. in this case, it was SO true! and even better!! as the front 2 bikes rounded a sharp bend, they braked really hard such that their back wheels skidded in the dust and it nearly caused me to collide into them. their reason for doing so: 3 HUGE giraffes crossing the dirt path barely 10metres away!!! and a lot more giraffes on both sides of the road. amazing or amazing!! it was a magical experience when i got off my bike and started walking nearer.. to see a wild giraffe eating right in front of you, its just an indescribable feeling of being so close to nature & to see what God has created. i've never marvelled at animals in the way i did. the giraffes were so close i could see their fur & muscles & those insanely long necks & legs. i'm not a gd storyteller, but with experiences like that, i wish i was better. so, anyway, pictures will help. (:

i look kinda weird here because i was unprepared for the shot but i'm glad i have at least 1 pic from the day. well, the girl wasnt really all that interested to help me take a photo anyway. (and yes, i am a little bugged, but not dwelling on it).

and here's another picture of someone else just to show how close we were to the giraffes! SERIOUSLY.

my bike (when we took a break).

and thats us when we FINALLY got to the end point after an amazing ride. i am soooo going to do it again. it was exhausting, but great.

the punctured tyre. i really thank God that the temporary patch survived the ride home! i cycled my heart out because it was getting late & i really didnt want to be stuck in the middle of brooklyn with a flat tyre. but i got home within 35min.