劉畊宏 -- 幸福的距離

During the session on the second last night of Emerge 2007 conference, Taiwanese singer Liu Genhong performed this really sweet and romantic song on stage. Later on, he walked down to the floor and sang it in front of his girlfriend, former Miss Taiwan Vivi Wang and proposed to her with the close-to-9,000 strong crowd as their witnesses! The atmosphere in the hall was saturated with love. My heart was so soften by what was in front of my eyes, and like what Pastor described it afterwards, we were like floating in the air... in the air of love and romance. Hahaha!

Liu Genhong and Vivi Wang have been dating for more than 8 years, but both of them were only saved about 4 years ago and since then, their lives were radically changed. They are now part of Rev Abraham Ku's New Life Church in Taipei, Taiwan, one of the fastest growing church there and one of the affiliated churches of CHC. Genhong is now a lay cell group leader there and he has brought more than 100 friends to church! (Jay Chou, a very popular Taiwanese pop singer and a close friend of Genhong, has just been saved recently! Hallelujah!) The couple were making such an impact in the Taiwanese entertainment scene, and my prayer for them will be that both their relationship and their influence in the marketplace will get stronger and stronger each day.

Below is the music video of this really beautiful song. (Vivi Wang is inside the video too!) Enjoy! =D



幸福的距離
主唱：劉畊宏 專輯：天使之城
作詞：羅文裕　作曲：羅文裕

窗外開始下起毛毛雨　雲遮住了星星
夜深了還沒有睡意　翻來覆去的想妳
時鐘滴答滴答的聲音　像在說我愛妳
轉過２點３點到６點　恨不得快點見到妳

幸福的距離　就算萬公里　在妳眼裡有我想要的勇氣
從南極飛到北極　南京到北京　妳的笑勝過那些美景
我們勾勾手　就一言為定　我會傻傻的好好的愛妳
妳的名加我的姓　永遠在一起　擁抱多過千言萬語

"Israel stay an eye-opener for SMU student"

Yes, that SMU student was me. I was interviewed by The Business Times last week on my international exchange in Israel, and to my surprise, the interview was printed in today's issue of the paper! It presented a largely non-biased picture of Israel and the article was very well-written. You can view the printed version of the article here. Enjoy reading! =)

JOB FOUND! No more job-hunting (for now). Yes! =D

I headed to SMU after my early morning driving lesson at BBDC this morning. On the bus ride I received a phone call from HSBC's Human Resources Department. The first sentence the HR person said to me was "I've got a piece of good news for you". Immediately my face was beaming with a bright smile, and I knew that I've just been offered the position as a Personal Banking Associate (PBA) at HSBC Singapore! I've been job-hunting since the very last month of my international exchange in Israel, and at the same time, praying constantly to the Lord and asking Him to put me at the right place where I can utilise my talents, unleash my potential, be of influence in the marketplace and earn lots of income. Since my return to Singapore I didn't get to go for too many interviews... I guess my prayer was quite specific. Heh.

I was offered (unofficially) a senior executive position at the Singapore Land Authority, but my interest in working in a statutory board just didn't pick up (even though the Singapore Government has recently announced a significant pay rise for all civil servants). Another offer I have received was to work at the top agency in Prudential Assurance Singapore, but the thought of not having any basic salary during the starting months while staying in Singapore as a foreigner without a permanent home locally made me think twice about joining the agency. The application for the PBA programme at HSBC opened in early May. I submitted my resume through my cell group leader's referral (who is also working at HSBC) and afterwards, went through an online computerised assessment test, a programme briefing, and most recently, the assessment centre with an interview and two role-plays last Saturday. I was so happy when I received the call this morning, because not only I knew that I've performed decently well throughout the selection process, but also it was a job that I wanted and like, and I knew I am able to and will perform well in HSBC and rise in its ranks.

My training will start officially on Monday, July 2, and I will get to know which HSBC branch I will be posted to by end July. I will be required to pass and receive all the necessary certifications/qualifications in the first 3 months, and after that I will become a Personal Wealth Manager and be able to start providing services and earning sales commission. I am really excited to see how my career will take off and develop beginning this July. For now, I shall enjoy my 'June holidays' (literally!). Do visit me at HSBC once I confirm my branch ya? Haha! =D

What An Awful Day... =(

It's exceptionally rare for me to blog something with such a demoralising title... Well, no choice, I caught a bad cold yesterday, and this morning I realised I had a fever too. I felt really awful, especially the fever didn't go down after I took 8 paracetamol (panadol) pills in the past 24 hours (the maximum advised)! Haiz... I ended up staying at home the whole day, couldn't go to Hougang and help my friends to shoot the public singing and dancing performances by the students in the performance arts school they are working at, couldn't join my cell group at the first-ever family day celebration organised by my church at Singapore Expo, and it looks like I won't be able to send my friends off overseas at Changi Airport the next 2 early mornings too... all thanks to my illness. Sob... O Lord, please heal me!!!!!!!

Registration for Basic Theory Test: Surprisingly... not so easy!

It looks set that it's going to take a while before I will find the right job and start working. As a result, I thought that it will be good to make use of this "time gap" and learn driving, so that I can get my driving licence the soonest possible. This afternoon I went to Bukit Batok Driving Centre (BBDC) at Bukit Gombak to check out the driving course structure there. There were lots of people when I first stepped into the lobby! At first I thought that many people will choose private instructors instead because the total cost will be lower than learning in the driving centre, but I guess I might be wrong... heh. =P

I registered for the Class 3 driving course in the afternoon after I secured my mum's financial support on the phone. And the first thing I need to do is to secure a test date for the Basic Theory Test, which I have studied thoroughly many times in the past. However, the "problem" of joining a driving centre is that the school will not allow you to take the test until you pass their in-house evaluation test, and the instructors will also recommend students to try their in-house practice booklets before going for the evaluation. At first I thought it would be a waste of time and money to go for the practice, which is not compulsory, and I was pretty confident that I knew the Basic Theory of Driving book well. I registered for the evaluation right away. I took the evaluation test, and I was wrong! The questions were actually quite tricky, and there were questions outside the content provided in the book! I ended up failing the evaluation by 1 question! ARGH!

Disappointed but not discouraged, I went straight to the booking terminal and checked for the earliest in-house practice session available right after the evaluation. I managed to secure the session 10 minutes after the evaluation, and I ran back to the computer room and did the practice. Usually, most people will try 2 booklets per practice session and the school recommends students to go for 2 practice sessions, since there are altogether 4 booklets. I finished all 4 booklets at one go! Haha! The practice really helped, and I located all forms of tricky questions available and learnt some new things which were not found in the book. After the practice I returned to the booking terminal, and I immediately booked the last in-house evaluation session (which happened to be the only one left for the day) and hoped to get the green light to book the Basic Theory Test by the end of the day. It was already evening time and there was a 2-hour gap between the end of the practice session and the start of the evaluation session. I rushed down to West Mall at Bukit Batok to have my dinner, and rushed back to the driving centre for the evaluation. I was thinking... man, I haven't been rushing to achieve something this way for the longest time! Haha!

In the end, I passed my second attempt of the in-house evaluation with flying colours! YES! Immediately after that I went to the booking terminal (for the third time in a day!) to book the Basic Theory Test, and I secured the session scheduled next Thursday on May 3 (eh, it's also my mum's birthday...). Mission accomplished! I really hope that I will be able to get my driving licence the soonest and cheapest possible, because I think this is such a good skill to possess (looking back at the fact that I couldn't be the driver to drive on the roads when I was still in Israel makes me... haiz... =( ). Wish me the very best! =D

Happy 59th Birthday, Israel! =D

Unlike most countries in the world, Israel's Independence Day is on a different date every year! Israel's Declaration of Indepedence was signed on May 14, 1948, but its 59th Independence Day was celebrated today, on April 24, due to the fact that according to the Jewish calendar it was exactly 59 years ago! Also similar to the way festivals and events are celebrated in the country, the celebration started the evening before the actual date!

Okay, enough of the date issue... I really wish that I will have the opportunity in the future to be there at their Independence Day, to be able to see the Israeli flags flying across the country and fireworks lighting up the skies in the major cities... I am sure that day will come. Till then, I will just celebrate it my way, i.e. put up the souvenir-sized Israeli flags in my room! Haha!

Happy Birthday, Israel! =D

No Job, No Wife.

I had some unpleasant relationships in the past, and made mistakes and broke hearts as a result of my naiveness, immaturity, and lack of commitment in growing them. Not long after I have joined the church, I got hold of the audio sermons on 'Choosing The Right Partner For Life' and 'Becoming A Real Man'. I have also attended the churchwide seminar on 'Making Marriage Work' last year. These series have educated me in many ways how to be a mature man (My church has this saying that "We are male by birth but MEN BY CHOICE!"), and also how to be a good boyfriend and a committed and faithful husband in the future.

I have always had this goal for some years that I want to get married between the age of 26 and 28 (yes, I don't want a late marriage...). However, given the fact that I'm already 23 and going on to 24 in some months away, many wondered why I am still single and not attached right now. I am more than 100% certain that God doesn't want me to stay single for the rest of my life, and therefore, I am trusting God for His perfect timing and 'provision'. However, I also knew that I have to do my part too and find 'her', because the Bible says this in Proverbs 18:22 (NKJV) that "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord."! For more than a year I have been praying that He will give me guidance and directions to find 'her' (not only in my own quiet time but also at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, haha!), but this morning as I was re-listening to one of the sermons in the 'Becoming A Real Man' series, these words "No job, no wife" got stuck in my mind and the Lord reminded me on the spot that I have to get my priorities right and find a job first! For a moment, the 'she/her'-seeker has returned to the path of a job-seeker... haha. =P

Room-Cleaning Done... AT LAST!

I couldn't believe it. It took me such a long, long time to finish cleaning up my room after I came back from my international exchange. When I came back to Singapore on March 31 (which was 20 days ago), I was shocked the moment I entered my room. Things were still at where they were when I left Singapore on October 5 last year, but there's a huge amount of dust layered on top of almost everything and every exposed surface in my room, and there are also quite a number of spider webs! Yucks! I guess closing all the windows and the room door wasn't enough to keep them out, since the windows are facing the ventilation windows of many bathrooms in my block and thus my room is more humid than other rooms in the unit. I was thinking, since I need to do a thorough cleaning in my room, I would also take the opportunity to discard all unwanted items away and rearrange everything else in my room to make it more tidy and comfortable to live in. It was a worthy decision, but I underestimated the time needed for me to get everything done! By today I have thrown away approximately 14 fully-loaded bags of trash (in those big-size, black-coloured trash bags) from my room. Yes, that's A LOT of trash. Haha! And finally I have finished the whole cleaning process today and has just returned from IKEA with some new, essential furnishings for my room. Right now I'm thinking if I can decorate the empty, white-coloured walls with photos... I think my room will look even nicer in the weeks ahead! =P

Rev Benny Hinn in Singapore, again!

This recent weekend saw the world's renowned healing evangelist Rev Benny Hinn back in Singapore again after his last visit to Singapore two years ago. Similar to last time round, the expectation was high across the region and thousands travelled from abroad to Singapore for his healing services. I was in the 1000-strong choir two years ago and therefore I didn't have to queue to secure a place in the Singapore Indoor Stadium then. But for this year, I queued just like any other attendees, and I have decided to queue for my friends in the cell group and me much earlier than usual to avoid disappointments. The first day I queued at 1:40pm when the service started at 7:30pm. The second day I queued at 12:40pm when the service started at 7pm. The third day I queued at 8:40pm when the service started at 4pm. Never have I queued so much earlier for services! Haha!

The healing services were phenomenal. Not only many healing miracles took place daily, the power of God was demonstrated over the weekend with thousands touched and be filled by the Holy Spirit, with pastors and ministers be anointed to bring about more signs and wonders in their churches and ministries, and most importantly, with thousands received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Hallelujah! Rev Benny Hinn also shared at the beginning of the service on the first day that the Arab countries have opened their doors, after knowing what happened in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, where 1.5 million people attended his 3-day healing crusades last March. Praise the Lord for these open doors!

There was a special moment on the third day that was particularly moving, when Rev Benny Hinn realised that there were hundreds of people from mainland China seated in the audience. He invited them to the stage to greet the crowd, but through their words we were deeply moved by their love for Jesus Christ and their passion to see the entire China saved. Tears were streaming and flowing so abundantly from their eyes as they spoke and worshipped and prayed, and I found myself crying with them for the revival in China, my country. I pray that the Lord will open the door to China fully so that everyone in the whole country will get to hear the Gospel and be saved!

You can read more about the healing services in Singapore here!

My 1st trip to Malaysia since I have returned from Israel

Most travellers travelling to Israel would normally ask the Israeli checkpoint officials not to stamp in their passports so that they would not show any evidence of having been to Israel. Very often, these travellers would not like to spoil their chances when visiting the countries which do not formally recognise Israel, particularly most of the Arab states. In the worst situation, the country can deport and blacklist any travellers who possess any evidence they have been to Israel, even though they have managed to keep their passports free of Israeli stamps! Yes, it does sound very nasty...=(

Many countries around the world will issue an additional passport to their citizens if they submit their special requests to the authorities for consideration. However, this is not the case in Hong Kong, and only when the passport-holder loses his/her passport or finishes all passport pages will the Immigration Department issue a new HKSAR passport. After I came back from my international exchange, my passport contains more than 5 pages of Israeli stamps, Israeli visas and evidences that I have been to Israel (such as the Jordanian and Egyptian entry and exit stamps), and I was rather concerned if they will spoil my chances to visit Malaysia and Indonesia, the two Muslim states neighbouring Singapore.

The day before I returned to Singapore (which was actually 3 days ago!), Zhuomin asked me if I would like to join Liqin and her for a day of movies and food in Johor Bahru, the city on the other side of the Causeway linking Singapore to Malaysia. Since I knew I was going to be free on that day, I told her that I would join them, even though I didn't know if I would encounter any problems entering Malaysia. I made that attempt this morning, and to my relief, I have no problems at all! Yay!!!!!!! =D

Unlike the past when we normally would just spend most of our time at the Johor Bahru City Square, located along Jalan Wong Ah Fook near the Causeway cehckpoint, we ventured further today and landed ourselves at the new ÆON Tebrau City Shopping Centre in northern Johor Bahru. We watched two movies one-after-another: comedy "Just Follow Law" made by Singaporean film director Jack Neo and action drama "300". Obviously, they have very different storylines, and only after we watched the first movie we realised that we should have reversed their sequence! Nevermind, both are great movies anyway. After the movies we intended to have an early dinner at the hawker centre at Taman Sentosa. However, we felt the itch (or to be more precise: ache) to get some good massages for our shoulders and feet, and so happened we spotted a non-sleazy massage and spa outlet directly opposite the hawker centre! We received (at a monetary price, of course!) some great and thorough massages there for more than an hour. Since the very first time I received massages by blind masseurs back in SMU Bukit Timah Campus, I love massages and have been going for head-and-shoulder massages and feet reflexology sessions almost on a monthly basis. This regular practice took a 6-month break when I was away for international exchange, and it seems that the break was too long for my body to take. I felt rather painful during the massage today, and at times I almost screamed! Very paiseh... =P Of course, it was an entirely different story after the massage. I felt awesome! Hee-ha! =D

We had a great dinner at the hawker centre after the massage, during which we ordered many dishes that I've missed when I was away. We also bought some HK-style chee cheong fun (which taste a lot better than those in Singapore) to be brought back to Singapore. We crossed the Causeway and returned to Singapore in the late evening, and we were seriously thinking of making such trips to Johor Bahru (or further) more often, since spending in Malaysia is much cheaper than in Singapore. I have never thought that I would exit Singapore so soon after I returned (even though it was just a day trip). Now I have found out that I would not encounter problems when entering Malaysia, I am considering going there more often so that I can finish my passport pages as soon as possible and renew for the new HKSAR electronic passport, free of Israeli stamps!

YouTube: We live in Singapura, by Hossan Leong

Although I am not a Singaporean, I have lived in Singapore long enough to know its history and political and social developments. In the midst of my fierce job search over the weekend, Joanna sent me an URL to yet another interesting clip on YouTube. This time round, it was the famous Singapore comedian Hossan Leong singing/rapping about (or rather, making fun of) the history and political and social developments of Singapore (and a bit on Malaysia too), in a very satire manner and full of Singlish, right in the heart of the old Parliament building (i.e. City Hall)! Enjoy!

God Answers Prayers

I went to Netanya this evening and met up with the Christian friends I have made there for a fellowship dinner. I have spent much time there chatting with them, and therefore left the apartment rather late in the night, around 10:30pm. I managed to catch a sherut (shared taxi) which was heading to Herzliya and Tel Aviv. However, as there were only 2 passengers in the 10-seater sherut (me and another girl whom I’ve never met before), the driver suddenly decided that he didn’t want to drive us to our destinations, probably because it was not profitable to do so, and dropped us at a bus stop which was still in the area of Netanya! It was almost 11pm when we got off the sherut, and it was really cold waiting at the bus stop and hoping for another sherut that will head to Herzliya. (Israel at night is really, really cold, especially in the Winter.) A special taxi (which is the normal type of taxis) approached us and offered the ride at NIS 100! The driver is crazy! (A sherut ride from Netanya to Herzliya costs between NIS 9-11 only.) We waited and waited, and the clock continued to tick…

I was watching an episode of Rev Dr Ulf Ekman’s 'Another Day of Victory' podcast when I was on my way to Netanya, and the programme was on 'God Wants To Answer Your Prayer'. When I was waiting at the bus stop and saw the girl shaking her legs like crazy in the cold, I recalled what I have learnt in the programme, and began to call upon the Lord in prayer and asked Him to provide us an affordable transport which could take us back to Herzliya and keep us sheltered for a while from the cold. As I activated my faith and pray, a sherut came to the bus stop and picked us up! Yeah!!! =D

God not only answered my prayer that night just by bringing that sherut to us. He went beyond that! When I was praying in Netanya, I told Him that the transport had to come soon as I didn’t want to see that girl staying in the cold for too long. I think He knew that I was also feeling really cold then. When we got off at Herzliya, the girl asked me if I wanted a ride back to my apartment by her boyfriend, whose car was waiting for her near where we got off the sherut. At first I didn’t know if it would be convenient for both of them. However, as they were checking on the direction to my apartment, it was actually on the way as they were heading to Ra’ananna, a city next to Herzliya. I accepted the offer and got on the car, and realised it was pretty warm inside the car. Her boyfriend switched on the heater! The ride offered me not only the convenience but also kept me warm throughout the journey. At the end of the ride, he gave me his mobile phone number and asked me to give him a call should I need any help in any way! The ride back tonight might be longer and slightly costlier than usual, but it was a ride that really demonstrated the Israelis’ warm hospitality which is very common across the country. Most important of all, the ride testified His goodness and showed that He answers prayers! Amen! =)

Another Lesson on Asia!

I had another opportunity today in achieving a high level of class participation in a lesson, and this time round, it was during my ‘Role of the States and Non-State Actors in the Combat Against Terrorism’ class this afternoon. The lesson today was on terrorism in the Southeast Asia and the regional counter-terrorism efforts. It touched on the various terrorist groups operating actively in the region and some recent trends, the challenges some of the countries are facing, and the steps these countries and ASEAN have taken to fight against terrorism in the Southeast Asia. After studying in Singapore for more than 9 years and being exposed to the developments in the region, I was able to participate actively by offering what I knew about the region, particularly in the areas of political development and terrorist threats. (I knew some of you will probably wonder: hmmm… when did the business student Elvis become a political science student? =P)

Just two sidenotes, the class lecturer Dr. Issac Kfir described the Southeast Asia as ‘the sexiest region in the world’, and he encouraged the class to travel there and to enjoy the beautiful beaches within this region. I should thank him for promoting tourism in Asia on the Asians’ behalf! He also emphasised and re-emphasised to the class the importance of Singapore to the region and the world in many areas, and his amazement of Singapore becoming one of the wealthiest countries in the world with little land and no natural resources. I think he has helped me quite a bit in promoting Singapore (and therefore, SMU) as the destination for international exchange by his repeated emphases indirectly. Hahahahaha! =D

Going to IKEA here in Israel!

Yesterday evening, David (from Netanya) and Hilla and I (from Herzliya) went to the only IKEA in Israel located at Netanya (click here for the map). I didn’t have specific things I wanted to buy there (as I’m watching my expenses pretty closely here in Israel), but I missed the Swedish meatballs very much, the trademark dish in the IKEA restaurant everywhere. I couldn’t remember when it was the last time I had the Swedish meatballs in IKEA Singapore, so I was really looking forward to the (kosher) Swedish meatballs when we were on our way to IKEA and met David there. (I think by now you should have realised how much I missed the meatballs… I have already mentioned it more than 3 times in a sentence!!!) As for Hilla, she was so thrilled during the journey (IKEA is from Sweden, the neighbouring country of Finland), and she even started heaping and dancing once we got off the sherut and walked towards IKEA! Haha!

Stepping into IKEA really brought memories of Singapore to my mind. Besides the standard IKEA products, the way IKEA laid out its shopping route here in Netanya was more or less the same as that in Singapore, and I supposed it would be the same in other parts of the world as well. We spent more than 3 hours in IKEA, including a really sumptuous meal in the IKEA restaurant. =) It was really rare that I walked out of IKEA without any product purchases. For Hilla, she only managed to fulfill half of what she intended to buy on her ‘To-Buy’ list, and added many other purchases outside the list! Haha! I certainly remembered how I shopped in the past in IKEA Singapore: walking out of IKEA with many extra purchases which I didn’t even need them (although I wanted them… =P)!

Elvis’ Cooking Skills – Progress Report #2

Yes, it’s time again for the release of a progress report on Elvis’ cooking skills. If you have been staying tuned and read the various teasers last month (here, here and here), you would have realised that Elvis’ cooking has improved quite significantly since the Progress Report #1 was released slightly more than a month ago!

Okay, enough of the third-person voice. Haha! =D

I went to the supermarket today to buy quite a variety of items for cooking, including garlic (yes, and this time it’s indeed garlic, not onions!). I decided to cook a bigger dinner tonight for Tal and me, and spent quite some time to prepare the various dishes I wanted to prepare. The menu for tonight’s dinner includes (1) rice with sliced onions (which I’ve tried once before and wanted to increase the onion taste this time round), (2) fried eggs (specifically, it was a plate with 4 eggs being fried together. This is a dish which I have known how to cook since I was young, because it is so easy to fry eggs!), (3) Chinese-style stir-fry vegetables with ginger, onions and garlic (which I’ve tried several times and it’s becoming one of my favourite dishes due to its nutrition value), and (4) cooked chicken meat with garlic and onions and little soy sauce (the highlight for tonight’s dinner, as I have been trying to determine how long I should keep the meat on the frying pan without overcooking it). I know these weren’t sophisticated dishes, but nonetheless, I felt so satisfied when I was able to prepare this meal without having anything on the menu ‘instant’! Also, they tasted real good. Haha! I think I’m really becoming more enthusiastic and daring in learning to prepare more and better dishes in the remaining time I have here in Israel. Stay tuned for the next progress report! ;)


The various dishes I have cooked for tonight's dinner. Yummy!!! =)


Chinese-style stir-fry vegetables, my favourite dish. ;)

Imagine having a 4-member project group with all coming from 4 different countries…

Yes! This is what I’m having right now in my ‘Tourism and Hotel Management’ class for the group project. There are four of us. One is my flatmate Issac, a Jewish immigrant from Uruguay (mother tongue: Spanish). One is a Jewish immigrant from Brazil, and she’s already married (mother tongue: Portuguese). One is a Jewish student from Switzerland (mother tongue: French). The remainder is ''yours truly'', i.e. me (mother tongue: Cantonese). Four different origins, four different mother tongues, and certainly there are also four different levels of proficiency in the English language. At the very start I believed that our diversity would allow us to have the best mix of ideas for the group project. However, I never realised what could possibly happen along this journey. We might be all speaking English when we came together to discuss our project, but the way each one of us understand one another’s English could be really different. Thanks to my 9 1/2 years of English-based education in Singapore, my proficiency happened to be the highest within the group, and I must say that I’m actively learning how to be more patient and forgiving when listening to the others’ English. Although we never quarrelled, we argued almost all the time during the project meetings because we couldn’t understand one another’s English properly. I took the course ‘Intercultural Communication’ during Term 3B earlier in SMU before I came here, but theories could never be compared to real-life situations! This is really intercultural communication at work in an extreme, and what a great example to emphasise the reality that communication is indeed an art which we should learn to improve and master.

A Lesson about Asia – Class Participation at the Maximum!

After many weeks of lessons covering other parts of the world in my ‘Globalization and International Political Economy’ class, today’s lesson was on ‘The Rise of East Asia’. When I saw the lecture powerpoint slides, I was like “muhahahaha... this is my region, my turf, my home ground!” =D

Indeed, today’s lesson was such a great opportunity for me to offer my knowledge and opinions about East Asia, particularly on the facts and issues related to Singapore and Hong Kong. I have never participated in this class that much in the previous lessons, and I knew that my high level of class participation today has offered my classmates a better understanding of East Asia, aroused their interest in this region, and also corrected certain wrong information that they have learnt before in other parts of the world and in the foreign media. Yes! ;)

I met my ‘angel’ again, finally!

When I took the train from Ben Gurion International Airport on my first day in Israel, I met this Jewish girl from France at the Herzliya train station. We were the only passengers who alighted that train in that morning. After I alighted from the train, I used my camera to take a picture of the station (which was actually not allowed… oops. =P) and then walked towards the lift. To my surprise, that girl was actually waiting for me in the lift as she was expecting me to enter the lift on the way to leave the station. (Oops, I made a girl wait! ARGH!!!) As I thanked her and talked to her, to my surprise again, she was also a student of IDC! I was like, WOW! That was the destination I needed to reach after leaving the train station. She helped me get a taxi later on outside the train station, and helped me negotiate a reasonable fare to IDC with the taxi driver. I thanked her and we went our separate ways.

From that day onwards, I have been longing to meet her again, just wanting to say a big ‘Thank You’ to her for all the help she offered me that fateful morning. However, since the semester started in late October, I haven’t seen her face around on campus for more than a month, even though IDC has a small population and a small campus! I began to think that she might have been an angel from the Lord, who He has sent to help me that very morning. (Yes, I do believe in angels. ;) )

As I stood up in the lecture hall and stretched my body during the class break in my ‘The Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Peace Process’ lesson this morning, I saw this Jewish French girl again, after so long, in the lecture hall! Without delay I approached her, greeted her and thanked her again for the help she has offered me more than 1 1/2 months ago. She remembered me (which was not difficult since I was the only Chinese student around…) and was surprised that I actually remembered her. Haha! She has just transferred from the Hebrew programme to the English programme recently and therefore she was not in this course until this week. No wonder I couldn’t locate her all this while!

She might not be an angel sent from above, but I thanked God that He watched over me so closely that He has arranged us to meet in that morning so that I would arrive at IDC without hassle. Thank you, Lord! =D

I bought and cooked rice today!

I have never remembered a time in the past when I was so focused in improving my cooking. I bought rice this evening, and this is very significant for me after my previous purchases of chicken meat and vegetables. I have been cooking pasta most of the time as it was so easy to prepare (Thanks to the instructions at the back of the packaging!), but I must say that I’m slowly getting sick of eating pasta and I really wanted to cook rice instead (I have been satisfying my love for rice in the school cafeteria all this while…) After Tal briefed me about the way to cook rice properly, I went ahead and cooked the rice I have just bought, and even added many small slices of onions into the pot to make the rice taste differently. I have never realised that cooking rice is so easy. I guess I have been too dependent on the rice-cooker I had in Singapore and therefore I never dared to take on the challenge to cook rice in the pot instead. Nevermind, now I know how to cook rice, and my first cooked rice was good! Yippie!!! =D

Going for another haircut here...

If you noted when it was the last time I got my haircut here in Israel (which was on November 1, about 25 days ago), you would have realised that my hair grows pretty fast, the brilliant result of using a good shampoo, a good conditioner and constant head massages during my showers. =) Anyway, this morning was the second time I went to “SUPERKUT” to get my haircut, because my hair was growing out of shape and I desperately wanted to have it adjusted. Based on the ‘lesson’ I learnt last time round, this time I told the hairdresser that I would like to have a more regular haircut, and thankfully, I did get a more regular haircut, somewhere in between what I used to have in Singapore and the ‘creative’ hairstyle I had 25 days ago.

Intercultural communication is really an art, and it takes both sides to perfect it along the way! Hahaha! =D

‘Casino Royale’ – A new James Bond 007 in an old James Bond 007 movie

Like many cinema-goers around the world, I wanted to check out Daniel Craig, the new James Bond 007 in the latest James Bond 007 movie release—the remake of James Bond 007 classic ‘Casino Royale’. I watched the trailer online recently and I thought it would be a good movie to catch here. Hilla and I went to the cinema in the Shivat HaKokhavim Mall last night to watch this movie, and I would comment that this movie was really good in its action scenes, but fell short of the classic James Bond elements… I still felt that Craig couldn’t be compared with Pierce Brosnan in his charming factor (to the ladies of course). I also felt that the James Bond in this ‘Casino Royale’ was too much in gambling, and I couldn’t accept the outcome that he wasn’t the one who finished off the ‘bad guy’!!! (Well, there were many ‘bad guys’ in the movie, but of course I was talking about Bond’s opponent in the casino.)

Okay, enough of movie review/critic, I should highlight on an interesting part about watching my first movie here in Israel. Since the cinema still uses the old, film-rolling projection machines to show the movies, every movie will have an intercession and stop for about 15 minutes when the staff changes the film (most movies come in 2 rolls of films). During this time, the audience can go for their toilet break and buy more drinks, popcorns, snacks, etc.. What a way to earn more revenue for the food and beverage counters!!! Initially I thought it might spoil the movie with the intercession cutting it into two halves. However, I realised that there were significantly less movements to and return from the toilets during the movie and I thought this was actually good. Hmmm… I really wonder whether the people in Singapore or Hong Kong will accept these changes if they are implemented in the cinemas… =P

I mistook onions as garlic! My goodness! =P

I went to the supermarket in the early afternoon today and bought vegetables, ginger and garlic. This is yet another remarkable step for me to improve my cooking and expand the variety of dishes I can cook. Also, I have missed the Chinese-style stir-fry green vegetables very much and I knew it wouldn’t be difficult for me to cook stir-fry vegetables here. As the sun set in the late afternoon, I laid out what I have bought and started to prepare for the dish. Wait a minute. Where was my garlic? I looked closer to what I have bought. My goodness! I actually mistook onions as garlic in the supermarket!!! Haha! Nevermind, onions were good as well, just that I couldn’t imagine how the stir-fry vegetables would taste like without garlic and with onions! =P

My first time cooking stir-fry vegetables was a resounding success. I felt so satisfied as I enjoyed the dish I have prepared myself. The good thing about using onions was that I could eat them, unlike garlic! I was so excited about my stir-fry vegetables that I actually asked Issac to come back from school early and I cooked for him another round for him to try. He loved it so much, and he said it was such an all-rounded experience eating my vegetables, with the senses of taste (obviously!), smell (the smell of ginger and onions saturated his nostrils…) and hearing (the vegetables I have cooked for him were apparently crunchy…) all activated! Yay!!! =D

My iPod Video 80GB – i’m lovin’ it!

iPod has been around for quite some years, but I have been refusing to buy one because I felt it was priced way too high. Thanks to technological advancements and Apple’s constant efforts to improve its products, the company released its 80GB version of iPod Video shortly before the start of my international exchange. Besides the usual function of playing music files found in most mp3 players, it can also play video files, photo slideshows and be used as an external hard disk. Frankly speaking, the 80GB storage is simply too much for me to resist! I bought one the day before I left Singapore, and I must say that it is one of the best product purchases ever in my life! =)

You may ask why I said that… well, there are many reasons, and I will just list the top 3 here: (1) The huge storage means that I can store a huge amount of files into the player. I may have many video files which are pretty large in their sizes, but the 80GB storage of my iPod tells me they’re not a problem for the player. (2) The photo slideshow function makes it easier for me to share my stories and experiences with my friends. All I need to do is to show them the pictures on my iPod and I don’t need to refer back to my online PBase photo gallery all the time. Truly anytime, anywhere (as long as the battery is charged. ;) ). (3) The iPod works hand-in-hand with iTunes, my favourite programme to organise my music files. I can also download the latest sermon releases from various ministries around the world so that I can listen to them on the go, and the latest movie trailers listed in the Apple/QuickTime website so that I can watch and share them with my friends and talk about new movie releases! Haha!

My iPod Video 80GB – i’m lovin’ it! =D

My family used Skype to call me!

I have introduced Skype to my family before I started my international exchange, and told my mum that calling me in Israel via Skype is much cheaper than using the IDD service (close to 10 times!), and it will be free if both sides are online at the same time. Today was the second IDC Hillel House Shabat dinner since the start of the academic year, and before I left my apartment for the dinner, I received a call from home and my family actually used Skype to call me! This was a surprise to me as my mum didn’t trust the online credit-card payment of buying Skype credits at first. I guess this much cheaper alternative is simply too attractive. Haha! After I came back from the dinner, I took some time to compare the Skype rates and my IsraelPhones rates. Gosh! It is also much cheaper for me to use Skype instead, obviously for international calls but also for international SMSes as well! Wow! To the person/team/company who invented Skype, thank you so much! Haha! =D

I bought chicken meat today!

In case if you wonder where the excitement of buying chicken meat came from, let me tell you: This is NEWS! Haha! =D

I have been avoiding cooking meat here in my apartment since I came here as I had literally no experience in cooking meat in my life, and I really didn't like to eat meat which is not properly cooked. Buying chicken meat is important to bring me closer to become a good cook by the end of my international exchange here, because I am going to learn how to cook chicken meat properly and ensure it tastes good. (I am very particular about food so I set high standards for my own cooking too!) The next Elvis’ cooking skills progress report should be coming soon. Stay tuned. =)

Updating my PBase gallery – COMPLETED, at last!

After I have finished reorganising the tonnes of data in my tablet PC and my removable hard drives about a week ago, the next reorganisation task I got myself into was to update my PBase gallery extensively, with the primary objective to upload the pictures I have taken since I left Singapore and embarked my international exchange so that my family and friends in HK and Singapore will get to see them. I am so happy that after many days of photo-editing and uploading, I have finally completed this round of updates… and I can now go to sleep… yawnz… zzz… -_-

You can now view the pictures I have taken so far during my international exchange experience at the following URLs: http://www.pbase.com/elvischiu/exchange/ and http://www.pbase.com/elvischiu/places/. Of course, you can continue to view other pictures I have uploaded in the past at http://www.pbase.com/elvischiu/. The link to my PBase gallery is also found under the ‘Favourite Links’ in this blog. Enjoy! =D

W258, I Love You All! Thank You for the Surprise!

It was a normal evening in my apartment, when I was sitting in the living room, connected my tablet PC to the modem and was using the Internet. I was fiercely updating my PBase photo gallery by uploading tonnes of pictures online, and I was very glued to it. Tal came back quite close to midnight, and his return turned the whole evening to a very unusual yet memorable one…

When he entered the apartment, the first thing he said was “Hey Elvis. You have a letter.” I responded “Huh?” After receiving the ‘emergency’ package from Zing many weeks ago, I wasn’t expecting any mails at all. I looked at the stamp. Hey! It was from Singapore. When I opened the envelope, it was a very nicely designed birthday card sent by my cell group W258, thousands of miles away!!! OH MY GOODNESS! The front of the card was “Think We Forgot ‘Bout It?”, and inside the card were "Think Again!", and the personal messages and wishes written by my fellow cell group members!!! I dropped what I was doing on my tablet PC, and went to my room and read the messages one-by-one. Tears streamed down from my eyes… I was very emotional because I missed them so much here! I cried for quite a while before I headed back to my tablet PC, with my red eyes and a joy that really filled my entire being… =)

To Patrick, Sue Ann, Gerald, Jamie, Yewei, Paulus, Alex, Edwin, Jefri, Zhenni, Xinyi, Lishi, Nihara, Yang Qian and the rest (I hope I didn’t miss out anyone, but I think I did… Sorry!), THANK YOU so much for your pleasant surprise, for your prayers and wishes. I missed you all so much here and I really look forward to my return trip to Singapore in March/April next year, when I will get to worship with you all together again in church and in cell group meetings, and fellowship over food and drinks, filled with testimonies and laughter. I LOVE YOU ALL!!! =D

Putting computer data into order – It was painful, but certainly fruitful!

My hard disks (both internal and external) are constantly filled with loads of document files, picture files, music files and video files. These files were often not organised properly, as a result of both my constant back-ups which often resulted loads of duplicate files, and my laziness which was reflected clearly by the many ‘Miscellaneous’ folders that basically became the dumping grounds of all types of files. However, as I continued to use my professional DSLR camera to take pictures, their huge sizes took up much space in my hard disks and started to slow down my Tablet PC. Recognising that this was not the way to go, I have decided to bite the bullet and started putting ALL the files in my hard disks into proper order close to a week ago. The process amazed me in many ways. For example, I deleted more than 25GB of data because of duplication of files! That was huge! Also, I realised I had disorganised files dated all the way back to my secondary school days, and they continued to snowball over the years…

The past few days have been painful (especially to my eyes) and tiring (especially for my mind), as I forced myself to stay in front of the computer for long hours to put every single files into proper order, to categorise them into the right folders and to name the folders with easy-to-identify folder titles. But I must say that it was also very rewarding. Not only I have managed to put everything into order and make my data retrieval easier and faster, I have also freed up lots of space in my hard disks for storage purposes, and that I would certainly call it ‘fruitful’! Haha! =D

1 month has passed…

Time flies so fast.
It has already been a month since I have arrived here in Israel for my international exchange.
Before I came to Israel I have set my return flight (out of Israel but not back to HK/Singapore) on February 26, 2007.
However, I am definitely changing it with the airline office in time to come so that I can stay for the festival of Purim in early March, and get to spend a bit more time to travel within Israel and some of the surrounding countries with some of the friends I have made in IDC.

Nevertheless, I will be staying in Israel for a period of approximately 5 months only, and knowing that 1 month has passed so fast is indeed frightening!
Israel is a small country, but it has so much to offer in many, many ways.
I really wonder if the 5 months are enough, even though I know this will not be my only visit to Israel in my life!
AHHH!!!!!!!!!!

My First Trip To Jerusalem

Click here to see where I went on the Map of Israel!

In Jerusalem, finally!
My first trip to Jerusalem took place over the weekend, and I will certainly remember the trip as one of the most memorable trips I have ever had in my life. What I have seen and experienced were far beyond what I have anticipated. I was thinking, I could possibly write a book just to document everything in these 2 days and 2 nights!

Roseanna, Hilla and I arrived in Jerusalem in the late evening, after taking 2 bus trips from Herzliya to Tel Aviv and then from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. (By the way, those were the very first public bus trips I have ever taken here in Israel since my arrival.) The temperature there was much lower than Herzliya, as the city is at least 762m above sea level and much closer to the Judean Desert. We left the Central Bus Station and headed straight to Roseanna’s home in the Armon ha-Natsiv neighbourhood. We received a very warm welcome when we entered the apartment from Roseanna’s parents and their extremely hyperactive and lovely dog Shai. (There was also a cat is the apartment, but he was far more quiet than Shai. =P) After a late dinner at the balcony, we walked to the Haas Promenade, a vantage point atop a ridge overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City, and spent some time there with the magnificent view of Jerusalem at night. What a way to start my appreciation of the city! =)


(From Left) Hilla, Roseanna and I, with Yakov (the rubber duck!).
(Photo taken on Thursday, November 2, 2006. Copyright © 2006-2007 Lisa Bristol.)


Me taking pictures under the moon, which was shining very brightly that evening.
(Photo taken on Thursday, November 2, 2006. Copyright © 2006-2007 Lisa Bristol.)

Mahane Yehuda and The New City
The next morning we set off early to explore the city. Our first stop was Mahane Yehuda, the only Jewish food market in Jerusalem. It was really an eye-opener for me as this shuk (which means market in Hebrew) was the first shuk I have ever visited since I came to Israel, and it was so colourful there. The most tempting food there was undoubtedly the freshly-baked bread from the bakeries. I don’t know how I can describe about the smell of the bread in words… all I can say is that the smell was drawing my steps closer and closer to the bakery, and it was causing me to drool even though I have already had my breakfast earlier!!!

We had a short detour to the Anglican International School of Jerusalem, where Roseanna studied for her IB before joining IDC, before we went to Ben Yehuda Street (a pedestrianised street which has many shops selling souvenirs at reasonable prices). We continued to walk down the street to the Zion Square (a triangle formed by Jaffa Road, King George V Street and Ben Yehuda Street) and made our way to the City Hall, where you could find many colourful Statutes of The Lion of Jerusalem situated there, symbolises the city’s emblem. By now we were not very far away from the Old City of Jerusalem, with its recognisable Old City Wall built in the 16th century by the Ottoman Turks.

The Old City
The Old City Wall encompasses an area of barely 1 square km, but inside this Wall is like another country compared to Jerusalem outside the Wall. (As a matter of fact, Jerusalem itself is already like another country compared to the rest of Israel.) This one-square-km area is a gathering place of many cultures (as the Old City is divided into 4 Quarters: Jewish, Christian, Armenian and Muslim) and a large number of sights and attractions (due to its long history), but it is also a focal point of tensions and disputes, not only within Israel but also all over the world, between peoples, nations and religions. The State of Israel declared Jerusalem as an “eternal and indivisible” capital, after it took back East Jerusalem (the Old City included) from the Jordanian hands during the 1967 Six-Day War. Although the Jordanians have already withdrawn their claim of East Jerusalem in 1988, the Palestinians, however, insisted that East Jerusalem would become the capital of the future Palestinian state. Most countries around the world do not recognise Israel’s 'annexation' of East Jerusalem in 1967, and the UN Security Council Resolution 478 (United States abstained) declared that the Basic Law of Jerusalem passed by the Knesset in 1980 was “null and void and must be rescinded forthwith”, a violation of international law. Inside the Old City are some of the holiest sites in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Tensions and disputes are ever present between religions with their respective claims of the holy places, and between peoples with their different attitude towards other faiths and races.

We started our tour inside the Old City in the Christian Quarter after passing through the Jaffa Gate. All of us bought some products in the Christian Bookstore, the only one inside the Old City (Roseanna: a giraffe keychain; Hilla: a small plate with verses printed on it in Hebrew and English; Me: a small national flag of Israel which I can put on my desk). After that we walked through the alleys in the Armenian Quarter and reached the Jewish Quarter. We spent some time taking a look at the Third Temple Model in the Temple Institute, constructed according to the descriptions in the Book of Ezekiel. It looked really impressive as a model, and I was visualising in my mind how the Third Temple would eventually look like once it’s built in the future. We then went to the ruins of the Cardo Maximus, the main north-south street of the Roman Aelia Capitolina and, later, of the Byzantine Jerusalem, and were unearthed by archaeological excavations. Placed next to the Cardo Maximus was a golden Menorah, constructed by the Temple Institute and the first since the destruction of the Second Temple. After spending much time at the Cardo Maximus taking pictures (Ha!), we walked along the underground shopping arcade and I realised that there were many more excavations going on right now underneath the Jewish Quarter. They have even unearthed walls dated back to the First Temple period. The Old City today was built on layers and layers of ruins over thousands of years, and I couldn’t imagine how much more the archaeologists would manage to uncover in the years to come.

After chatting with a Torah scribe who has explained to us his profession and having a quick lunch, we set off to the Western Wall. The Western Wall is part of the Western supporting wall of the Temple Mount built by King Herod in 20BC which has still remained intact this very day. It is considered the most sacred to the Jews by virtue of its proximity to the Holy of Holies in the Second Temple, where the presence of God dwells. It is often referred as the “Wailing Wall”, implying the Jewish sorrow over the destruction of the Temple and wailing and moaning over the hardships they have endured through history. The Western Wall was THE highlight of my first trip to Jerusalem and the Old City, after I have heard many testimonies from my church friends about their experiences, encounters and feelings being there and praying at the Wall. We had to walk through many buildings within the Jewish Quarter before reaching the Wall, and I would never forget the moment when I caught the first glimpse of the Western Wall. The presence of God literally gushed towards me, and it was drawing my heart and my steps towards the Wall! We quickly took some pictures at the Observation Garden overlooking the Western Wall and Temple Mount, went through the strict security checks and reached the Western Wall Plaza which was constructed in front of the Wall and took even more pictures there. The presence of God was certainly in the air, and there was an indescribable feeling raging inside me which I couldn’t explain in words.


The Old City Wall near the Jaffa Gate.


The ruins of the Cardo Maximus excavated under the Jewish Quarter.


The Western Wall and the Western Wall Plaza, adjacent to the Temple Mount.

Rushing for Shabat
As the hour was drawing closer to the start of Shabat, our relaxed footsteps started to quicken and we began to rush. We passed through an Arab market and made our way out of the Old City. Both Hilla and I bought the popular ‘Israel Defence Forces’ souvenir tops along Ben Yehuda Street, and later all of us went back to Mahane Yehuda where Roseanna bought challah (the type of bread used by the Jews for traditional Shabat dinner) home. Unlike in the early morning, the shuk was very crowded and buzzing with life. Stall-owners were yelling their last-minute offers to the crowd to clear their stock, while most people were making their last-minute purchases before the shuk was closed for Shabat. We then took the bus (it was likely to be the last one before Shabat) and went back to Roseanna’s home.

Shabat Dinner
Roseanna’s family is a Christian family, but they do observe some of the Jewish traditions. An example would be the evening meal at the beginning of Shabat. The evening began with the lighting of Shabat candles by Roseanna’s mum Lisa. We followed through the Messianic liturgy with blessings, songs and prayers, and the sanctification of Shabat with the Holy Communion and the breaking of the bread. After that, Roseanna’s dad Richard shared with us the Word of God—the Parsha for that week (i.e. the assigned portion for the weekly Torah reading), before we started eating the food Lisa has prepared for all of us in the afternoon. The food was delicious, and we had a great time of fellowship over the dinner.

Birthday Celebration – I’m 23!
Towards the end of the dinner, Lisa and Roseanna suddenly started singing “Happy Birthday To You” to me, and brought a plate of many home-made chocolate cakes from the kitchen to the dining table! No wonder Roseanna asked me a few days ago if I liked chocolate or vanilla more. The family prepared a surprise for me as I celebrated my 23th birthday in the Holy City during my first trip here! Freshly baked by Lisa in the afternoon, the chocolate layer on the chocolate cakes was so thick and sinful and delicious! Yummy!!! (The celebration was actually a day early, but given the time difference between Jerusalem and HK, it became only a few hours early. =P)



My 23rd birthday celebration!

Fellowship in the Evening
The Shabat dinner was only the beginning of our fellowship in the whole evening. After the dinner, Richard took out 2 sets of 6-piece wooden puzzle for Hilla and me to try to solve it. We both kept trying, but still couldn’t solve it 15 minutes later. The wooden puzzle was made by the Arab Christians living in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, and the 6 pieces would eventually form the Star of David if they were put together properly. Hilla eventually solved it first before me, as I couldn’t get the clue until she put the pieces together and I followed suit. =P


Hilla and I attempting to solve the wooden puzzle.
Do note that we (Roseanna, Hilla and I) were all wearing the 'Israel Defence Forces' souvenir tops!
(Photo taken on Friday, November 3, 2006. Copyright © 2006-2007 Lisa Bristol.)

After that, we spent more than 2 hours in praise and worship. Richard took out a stack of music scores while Hilla took up the guitar in the apartment and started playing the songs. We sang and dance and cheered, and the tangible presence of God saturated the whole living room as we praised and worshipped Him with our voices. This was the first praise and worship I was involved in since I came to Israel, as I haven’t found a congregation to attend yet. Our fellowship only reluctantly came to an end when it was getting late in the night and time for all of us to go to bed. What an eye-opening, spiritually-fulfilling and joy-overflowing day! =)

The Morning Sunrise
Richard and I woke up very early the next morning (before 5am) to catch the sunrise over the city. It was really really cold in Jerusalem before the sunrise. It felt like it was lower than 10 deg C. I was wearing 3 layers of tops and 2 layers of bottoms, and added another thick jacket borrowed from Richard. We went to an observation point near the United Nations Observers’ Headquarter in the Armon ha-Natsiv neighbourhood. (The location is also known as the Mount of Evil Council, and it is rather ironic that the UN Observers’ Headquarter is located there.) When we reached there, we could still see the Israel-Jordan border checkpoint at the Allenby Bridge/King Hussein Bridge near Jericho and the Jordanian mountains inside Jordan. The sky has just started to change colour. From the observation point we could catch a panoramic view of Jerusalem from the South, stretching from the King David Hotel, the New City, Mount Zion, the Old City and Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, to the anti-terrorist security fence which separates Jerusalem from some of its suburbs in the East. Unlike most sunrises I have seen before, the sunrise I saw there was orange in colour. Interestingly, the city also changed its colour as the sun rose, and the view from that point was simply awesome and breath-taking.


The orange sunrise in Jerusalem.

Harvesting Olive Fruits
After the sunrise Richard and I took a stroll in the public park located next to the UN Observers’ Headquarter. Many olive trees were planted along the paths. Since October and November are the months for the harvesting of olive fruits, we could see many fruits on the branches of the olive trees. Richard showed me how to harvest the fruits, and explained to me the various practical and religious purposes of the olive oil. When I squeezed the olive fruit and pushed out the fresh olive oil using my fingers, the aroma was so soothing to the nostrils and there was a smooth, soapy feel on my skin. We continued to harvest more olive fruits from the trees, passed by the ruins of one of the ancient aqueducts built during the Hasmonean Period (1st Century BC), before we headed back to the apartment to wake Roseanna and Hilla up and had breakfast together.

Pledging for 2nd ‘Arise & Build’
The weekend was particularly special to me, and it was not only because my first trip to Jerusalem and my 23rd birthday took place in the same weekend. My church’s 2nd ‘Arise & Build’ also started this weekend and I took advantage of the internet connection available in the apartment to watch the service online in the morning and pledge for this round of Building Fund. I had the faith and confidence that I would be able to fulfill my pledge completely, and God would certainly multiply what I have given into many types of blessings in the next 6 months and beyond! =)

Praying at the Western Wall
Once I finished watching my church’s service online, I took my Bible and left the apartment for the Western Wall as I wanted to spend some time to pray there. As it was still within the hours of the Jewish Shabat, there were no buses available to take me from the Armon ha-Natsiv neighbourhood to the Old City and I had to take a taxi instead. Most Jewish taxi drivers wouldn’t be driving during Shabat and thus the taxi drivers in such hours were mostly Arabs. I got on the taxi that Roseanna called for me. Shortly after the start of the ride, the driver told me that he couldn’t bring me to the Western Wall using the main roads and had to take a detour. The driver drove through the Arab Muslim neighbourhood of Silwan, located south of the Old City. Unlike the parts of Jerusalem I have seen since Thursday, this neighbourhood looked very different—the streets were much dirtier and the buildings were poorly-maintained. The atmosphere was rather unfriendly and hostile, even to me as a non-Jew. At first I did have some concern over my safety going through this neighbourhood, but I knew my God would protect me and I put my trust both in Him and the Arab driver whom I sat next to in the taxi. Towards the end of the journey, the taxi passed by the City of David, before dropping me at the Dung Gate, the gate nearest to the Western Wall.

I spent about 1 1/2 hours praying at the Western Wall, for my family, friends, church, schools and myself and also went through the specific prayer requests many friends have sent me over the week via email and Windows Live Messenger. Since the Wall was facing the West direction (that’s why it’s called the Western Wall) and I was there in the afternoon, the sun was shining bright over me and I felt so warm standing there throughout the whole duration. (There’s not only a huge temperature difference between day and night, but also between light and shadows in Jerusalem.) Although I was disturbed quite a number of times in different ways, I was convinced that there’s nothing which could stop me from praying and the presence of God was with me. I felt a sense of indescribable joy and lightness after I finished praying, and if I wasn’t in the public, I would probably start to twirl and heap and dance there!!! =)

Return To Herzliya
Roseanna, Hilla and I left Jerusalem after a quick dinner with home-made pizzas. As we were on our way back to Herzliya, I kept on thinking about everything that has happened during the weekend in the Holy City. The word ‘memorable’ couldn’t summarise how I would like to describe about this trip. I would rather use the word ‘life-changing’ as I knew I left the city a different person from whom I was before the trip. It was a weekend well spent with great company, sights and food, and I couldn’t wait for my future trips to Jerusalem again!

The People of Israel and their Desire for Peace

This morning was certainly not a usual morning for the entire IDC. At 10:55am, all classes came to a halt. The offices were shut and the library was closed at the same moment. The entire IDC community who were on campus at that time gathered at the plaza outside the Radzyner School of Law, for a memorial ceremony in memory of the late Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995), who was assassinated by a Jewish right-wing extremist on November 4, 1995 when he was leaving a mass rally for peace held under the slogan “Yes to Peace, No to Violence” in Tel Aviv. It was a really solemn ceremony. There were no smiles. Almost everyone looked like they were engaging in some sort of self-reflection and soul-searching. (I decided not to take any pictures then to respect the solemnness of this ceremony.)

Indeed, Rabin’s assassination shocked and grieved the whole nation, as he was a symbol of Israel’s desire for peace in the country and around the world. The historic Oslo Agreements with the Palestinians and the Treaty of Peace with Jordan were signed during his term as the Prime Minister, and he ignited the nation’s hope for the normalisation of relations across the Arab world. Unfortunately and ironically, he was assassinated at a peace rally, right after delivering his speech emphasising Israel wanted peace and wanted to make peace, and more ironically, by his own countryman. 11 years later, despite of the fact that the country went to war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in July, constantly faced the terrorists’ threats and rockets from the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and was threatened to be wiped off the map by the current Iranian President, that desire for peace continues to live within the people. From my interaction with the people in Israel since I arrived here, all of them desire peace, no matter how grim the possibility of peace may seem. What I saw at the memorial ceremony was one people, one hope for that peace which Israel has been longing for. I think it will be impossible for me to ever forget what I saw and how I felt at that ceremony.

My First Haircut in Israel

I have been going to the same hairdresser in Singapore since 2001, and one of the main purposes of doing so was to ensure that my hairstyle will be maintained more or less the same throughout. (I am very particular about this because I don’t want my hair to follow the shape of my head too much, and since I don’t like to keep my hair long, there aren’t many hairstyles available for me. =P) When I confirmed that I would be coming to Israel for international exchange, the question of getting proper haircuts did come to my mind from time to time, and I knew that I would need to ‘sacrifice’ my Singapore hairstyle and to ‘embrace’ whatever the hairdresser in Israel would be doing to my hair! Haha.

It was interesting that when I first met the Director of RRIS Mr. Uri Goldflam on campus he said that it would be a culture shock when I had my first haircut here. Indeed, it was a real culture shock, or rather, an interesting “intercultural communication episode” (I picked up this term when I was taking the course “Intercultural Communication” in SMU during Term 3B.). I went to this hairdresser “SUPERKUT” this morning, which was located about 10-min walk away from my apartment. It was certainly not a barber shop, as the interior design of this hairdresser shop was quite elegant. The owner and his assistant spoke English (thankfully!) so I knew we could communicate! Haha.

The owner of the hairdresser had more than 17 years of hairdressing experience, and he really seemed like the type that he liked to unleash his creativity when cutting the hair of his customers. The funny thing was I TOLD him that he could do whatever he liked to do with my hair, as long as the hair wouldn’t be too long and I would look good. That’s what I called ‘risk-taking’! Haha! The result of giving him the green-light was a haircut which looks quite Israeli (or Middle-Eastern like what my mum has described thenafter when she saw some pictures of me), and I was so so so not used to it! When I was walking back to my apartment after the haircut, I was like hmmm… hmmm… hmmm… I kept thinking that the hairstyle was a disaster. In the end I decided: “Hey, I did give him the green-light, so accept it man! Haha!” And this was the end of my first haircut experience here in Israel, and would be known as a classic episode of me taking indeterminable risks… with my hair, just before I was going to Jerusalem for the first time in my life!!!

Dinner and Fellowship with Christians in Netanya

Click here to see where I went on the Map of Israel!

I had another opportunity yesterday to get out of Herzliya. My friend Hilla (a Finnish girl whom I met during the Orientation Trip) and I were invited by her friends for dinner, in the city of Netanya. Netanya is located about 22km north of Herzliya, a 15-min drive along the Tel Aviv-Haifa Highway. Since Israel is a small country, like what most locals would say, everywhere is close to everywhere. However, even though Netanya is close to Herzliya, it is so different from Herzliya in many ways, and it was indeed an eye-opener when I went there in the evening after a journey on a sherut. (Sheruts are shared taxis that travel fixed routes, often the same as followed by buses, both between the major cities and along bus routes within cities. The fare is much cheaper than taking the normal taxis.)

To the local Israelis, Herzliya is a very Western city. Many wealthy people and diplomats stay in Herzliya, and therefore the standard of living and cost of living is higher than many parts of Israel. Netanya, according to the locals, looks more like an Israeli city. Many people are poorer compared to those from Herzliya, and you could see the difference from the housing and the dirtier streets there. Also, Netanya is one of the closest Israeli cities to the West Bank (only 15-min drive away). In fact, on our way from the Central Bus Station to the apartment where we were going to have dinner in, one of Hilla’s friends David pointed to us (at a distance) the Park Hotel, where Hamas carried out a suicide-bombing terrorist attack in March 2002, claimed 30 lives and injured 140. (You can read more about the attack here.) According to him, Netanya used to have more of such attacks because of its close proximity to the West Bank. Thankfully, the situation improved significantly after the government built a security wall separating the city from the West Bank recently.

What made the dinner most special yesterday evening was that all of us (about 9 of us) are Christians, and it was a great time of fellowship among believers. Among us there is an Arab Christian called Steve (who cooked us authentic Arab food! Yummy!), and he shared with me much on what he faces as an Arab Christian living in Israel. (For those who want to find out more, please email me directly.) Another believer whom I have spent much time talking to was a local Jewish Israeli girl (unfortunately I couldn’t remember her name… =( ), and Israelis called Christian Jews as ‘Messianic Jews’. She accepted Christ about 3 years ago, and during the fellowship dinner she accounted how her life was changed since her salvation. I was so moved and encouraged by her testimony! I must say that when I walked out of the apartment after the entire fellowship session, I have just got more educated about the complexity of the people living in this country, that I would never know if I didn’t meet and converse with them face-to-face here in Israel.

Readings, readings, and more readings…

I have been doing lots of readings lately for my study here at IDC Herzliya, trying my best to follow through the progress of the various courses I’m taking. Either I am having a bit more free time here, or I am taking lesser courses than other IDC students… I seemed to become a bit more hardworking than the usual me back in SMU! Some of my courses are rather heavy on readings (and you will understand why as you read on…), and I was quite surprised by myself that I actually managed to finish 2 books (with abundance of details) in 3 consecutive days (one 400+ pages, another 200+ pages). =)

Anyway, to those of you who may be wondering what courses I am taking here, here goes:

From the Arison School of Business –
1). Direct Marketing
2). Tourism and Hotel Management

From the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy –
3). Globalization and International Political Economy
4). The Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Peace Process
5). Role of the States and Non-State Actors in the Combat Against Terrorism

Elvis’ Cooking Skills – Progress Report #1

Eating out in Israel can be very, very expensive, especially in Herzliya where the residents are generally wealthier than many other parts of Israel. Although the portions are generally bigger than what I usually had in Singapore (Thank God! … that’s because my appetite is BIG lah! =P ), the prices can be easily 1.5-3 times more expensive than those in Singapore. As a result, I hardly went out to eat since I came to Israel 3 weeks ago (unlike in Singapore where I will probably eat out for almost every single meal!).

So what’s the alternative then? There’s only one… COOKING!

I must admit that I have never been good in cooking. I have tried occasionally, but they were limited to really, really simple dishes. When I went to the supermarket for the first time in Israel weeks ago, I bought instant noodles, instant soup packets and instant pasta and macaroni packets. Yes, that’s instant, instant, and more instant. However, I am so glad that right now I’m moving to the next level, and that’s non-instant cooking (which means I use plain food instead, such as the many types of pasta) BUT with instant sauces… =P

Hehe. Slow progress, but I know I am progressing. Do stay tuned for the next progress report. I shall aim to be a decently good cook by the end of my international exchange here! YES!!! =D

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away!

No worries. I’m not saying that I am falling sick here. NOT AT ALL!!! =D

One good habit I am building here is the habit of eating apples. I used to buy apples when I was in Singapore, but note the word ‘buy’… I bought apples, but I usually forgot to eat them and simply left them in the fridge (and I don't think I need to say what happened after prolonged storage...). Haiz… However, since I came to Israel, I have been eating apples, and it’s increasing in frequencies. I have yet to achieve the frequency of one apple a day, but right now I am at one apple every 2-3 days. Most importantly, I know I am very much in good health here in Israel.

‘An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away.’ – A truth that never grows old with time. =)

Unusual Weather Change

When it rains in Herzliya, it usually doesn’t last very long. Passing showers does happen from time to time, especially during the Fall (i.e. Autumn). However, the weather was very unusual yesterday. In fact, the rain almost never stopped for the entire day, and it surprised even the local residents and many of my friends who have been staying in Israel for quite some time.

What really caught most people by surprise (and somewhat unprepared) was the drastic drop in temperature here. It was still somewhat sunny and warm on Friday, with a temperature of 20-27 deg C. However, the rain and the accompanying wind yesterday pushed the thermometer down to the level of 15-19 deg C, literally within 24 hrs! It was so much cooler to the extent that I had to take out more winter clothes from my wardrobe and wore them for the entire day. Issac and I also decided to keep the windows and blinds mostly closed, stayed in the apartment and studied for the whole day, because it was so cold outside the apartment! (Actually 15-19 deg C with rain and wind is not exactly cold, but given the contrast with what it was like 24 hrs ago, it was still something…)

When I went to school on Friday, everyone were still in their Summer/Autumn attire – t-shirts, short-sleeve shirts, shorts, skirts, tank-tops, spaghetti-tops, and etc… However, when I went to school today (which was 48 hrs later), everyone were in their Winter attire – long-sleeve tops/shirts, trousers/jeans, sweaters and jackets! The change was simply drastic.

Some of the people whom I talked to told me that such temperatures should only come around mid-November. Some told me the otherwise. In any case, I really hope that the winter this year will not be so cold here in Herzliya, but cold enough to make Jerusalem snow. Haha! It will be great if I get the chance to capture Jerusalem in the snow... =)

Do you have any prayer requests?

I have been hearing many things about this city…
I have been longing to go to this city…
I have been thinking about going there soon…

And finally, it’s time for me to put all of the above into ACTION! =)

I will be going to Jerusalem, Israel’s Capital and the Holy City, this coming weekend! Yay!!!
I am going to spend just 2 days and 2 nights there for this very first visit (of course, I will definitely go there more than once during my exchange!), but for sure I won’t miss the Western Wall (or the Wailing Wall), located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and spend some time to pray there.

If you have any prayer requests, please do not hesitate to send your lists to my
email by 4am, November 2 (Thursday), GMT+8 (i.e. Singapore Time). I will pray for you at the Western Wall (and in my own prayer time thenafter too). Looking forward to receive your lists soon!

1 Week to 'Arise & Build'!

These are the 3 points which God has spoken really deeply into my heart, from the sermon of today’s weekend service:
1). Pledge with a right ATTITUDE.
2). Pledge out of something you know you HAVE.
3). Pledge an amount that TOUCHES you deeply.

The 2nd 'Arise & Build' is only a week away. Although I am far away from Singapore, I am very excited about this coming Building Fund and I can’t wait to pledge (this time round online!), and can’t wait to sow the first fruit a month after that! God has already started challenging me to give from my heart for the offering, and my tears almost flowed out from my eyes and I knew the offering pleased God. I knew that this coming 'Arise & Build' I will see myself growing even more in the Lord and becoming prosperous in all areas of my life! =D

What have you done, Mr. Postman?

I have been expecting a SpeedPost (EMS) package to arrive from Singapore these few days, from Zing who has helped me to purchase in Singapore the replacements of my lost Canon lens cap (which fell off from a cathedral at Cologne, Germany… You can read more about it here.) and my lost Bible (I lost it on a train in Germany… still have no idea how it went lost, and neither sure if it was stolen, or just disappeared… sob…). I keyed in the EMS code in the Israel Post website in school in the early afternoon, and the system told me that it has already arrived in Israel. I rushed back to my apartment, eagerly waited for the package, and… there was no postman.

The weirdest thing happened when Tal and I left the apartment for the mall to have dinner and do some necessity shopping. A note was in the mailbox, and it said something about the package delivery, and Tal noted the time: 4pm. I was in my apartment at 4pm! In fact, Tal and Issac were also in the apartment then. All of us were in! I couldn’t help but wonder why the postman didn’t come upstairs and ring the doorbell and deliver the package! Why did he stop at the Ground Floor? ARGH!!! Unlike the usual practice in Singapore where you can collect your package at the nearest Post Office or at the Singapore Post Centre, my package actually went out of Herzliya with the postman and is now in the city of Netanya (north of Herzliya, and some distance away…)!!! MY GOODNESS!!!

The note has asked me to arrange another delivery time in the next few days. Since the note is all in Hebrew, Tal will help me with that tomorrow morning. Still, I was like… what have you done, Mr. Postman??? It's supposed to be SPEEDPost, not a delayed post...

The package was so near, and yet so far……

(Latest Update: The Israel Post website said that 'attempts were made to deliver...'. What attempts??? Haiz... no wonder the Singapore Post website said 'Failed Delivery'...)

First day of classes, at last!

I blogged about my first day of Orientation last Sunday, and today, again on a Sunday, I am blogging about my first day of classes! It’s SUNDAY, you know!!! I am still not very used to it. =P Anyway, I think I bumped around outside classes long enough, and finally my semester starts (while my friends back in SMU are already in their Week 10!). Many of the classrooms here in IDC Herzliya look very similar to the seminar rooms in SMU. No wonder SMU and IDC Herzliya decided to establish an exchange agreement… they are so alike!!!

YouTube: Interesting comments from NTU students to their professor

I was chatting with Yewei on Windows Live Messenger this morning and he sent me an URL and led me to a really funny clip on YouTube. It contains some really interesting comments the students at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) wrote about one of the professors in the School of Electricial and Electronic Engineering. I almost fell off the chair when I watched it. Enjoy!

My very first Shabat dinner

Today is my second Shabat since I came to Israel. The Hillel House at IDC Herzliya organised a dinner on campus for the freshmen to get to meet new people. The Hillel House is a student-run organisation which was set up to promote Jewish culture, and it is also found in many educational institutions all around the world. Although I am not a freshman here in IDC Herzliya, I wouldn’t miss this dinner for the world! This dinner was my very first Shabat dinner in Israel, and it was a real eye-opener to see how the dinner progressed, from singing, saying grace, breaking of bread, washing of hands, to having a Kosher dinner, sharing session quoting from the Torah (the Jewish Bible, also the first 5 books of The Old Testament), and more singing at the end of the dinner! It was a real enjoyable evening… after all, the food was delicious!!! Haha! (Those who knew me would certainly know how satisfied I would be whenever I have good food! Hehe.)

Simply Awesome: Orientation Trip to the Judean Desert

Click here to see where I went on the Map of Israel!

Since I arrived in Israel on Oct 9, I have been staying in the city of Herzliya and haven’t really ventured out to other parts of Israel, very much because of the fact that I used my first week to adjust to the new place and after that, the Orientation programme. On October 18 and 19, however, I had the opportunity to step out of Herzliya by participating in the Orientation Trip to the Judean Desert organised by the school. Yippie!!! I was so excited to the extent that I slept very little the night before the actual day… =P

We left rather early in the morning from IDC Herzliya, and reached En Gedi Nature Reserve in the late morning (which by the way, it is already on the other side of the Israeli territory… Israel is really small…). We went along Wadi David for a short hike in the lower section of the stream, where David’s Waterfall was located. According to the Old Testament, David came to En Gedi and hid there after he fled from King Saul (1 Samuel 23:29). It was very interesting when the tour guide showed us how some of the details written in the Book of 1 Samuel match what can still be found at En Gedi today. Some of my friends took the opportunity to swim in one of the pools under a small waterfall along the stream, and I must say that the water was so fresh and clear and most importantly, very cooling!!! I regretted wearing the jeans and not my bermudas for this hike… =(


Hiking along Wadi David.


David's Waterfall at En Gedi.

After lunch we departed En Gedi and went to Masada. King Herod, who ruled from 37BC to 4BC, built a winter palace at Masada. After the Jews rebelled against the Roman rule in AD66 and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in AD70, Masada was used as a fortress by the rebels, and it fell to the Romans around AD73/74 after the Jewish community in Masada decided to end their own lives and the lives of their families instead of living in shame and humiliation as Roman slaves. (Yup, very sad/tragic stories here…) Masada is now a world heritage site and a Jewish cultural icon, and it was really amazing to see how well-preserved and well-maintained the whole site is till this very day, including the camps, fortifications and assault ramp built by the Romans and now, the most complete surviving ancient Roman siege system in the world. When I was standing on the top of Masada and looking over the surroundings (including the Dead Sea and across the sea, Jordan), it really made me wonder how a palace could be built in such a remote and high-altitude location more than 2000 years ago! We went up to Masada via a cable car, but came down along a snake path that took us about half an hour to finish the walk!


The ruins of the Northern Palace at Masada.


Behind me is the Dead Sea, and beyond that, Jordan.


Walking down the Snake Path at Masada.

We spent our night at a Bedouin-style holiday village at Mezuqe Deragot, somewhere in the Judean Desert. The temperature indeed dropped drastically as darkness took over the sky. We were treated to a delicious buffet dinner, and after that, a percussion performance which got many of us involved in trying our hands on the many types of percussion instruments from the different cultures around the world, before we all headed back to the tents and sleep (emm, actually, not everyone slept that early, but I was ‘gone case’ already. Haha!)



Dinner at Mezuqe Deragot holiday village. (Look at the food!!!)


Relaxing in the tent after dinner and enjoying percussion performance.



The interior and exterior of the tents which we spent our night in.

I woke up around 4:15am the next morning… again, I got too excited about the programme on the second day… nah, not exactly, I actually woke up early to catch the sunrise over the Dead Sea, and also to get myself prepared for a challenging hike at Mashash/Wadi Darga, the first of this kind in my life! The 3-hour hike involved going down the canyon, walking on the river bed (which will only be flooded with water in Winter), climbing up-stream and walking back to the starting point in the desert. I must admit that it was really challenging for me at the very start and I was not all that confident. Some of the slopes were really steep, and I was wearing the wrong type of shoes (well, I couldn’t bring all types of shoes for exchange lah!) and it became even more inconvenient with my camera bag. Nonetheless, it was a great hike, and I am looking forward to do more hiking in the future!!! Haha! This trip also marked my very first time walking in a desert, and I got dehydrated so fast in a desert!!! I thanked God that the trip was in the season of Autumn, couldn’t imagine how hot it would be if I did this in Summer!


Sunrise over the Dead Sea.




Hiking at Mashash/Wadi Darga. Both the scenery and the cliffs/slopes will take your breath away. =P


In the middle of the desert.

We left Mezuqe Deragot at noon after the freshmen class did a whole series of teambuilding activities, and reached the Mineral Beach at the Dead Sea. Like any first-time tourists, I took the opportunity to float on this largest inland lake in the world, and of course, the saltiest! The sea bed was filled with so much salt that you would think you were walking on oil, and that was before the water reached my knees! The rocks on the sea bed were more like ‘salt rocks’ – salt solidified and hardened to the extent of becoming rocks! Another popular thing that people would do on this beach was to put the mud filled with minerals all over themselves. I tried it, and the result was coming out of the water having very, very smooth skin which no bathing lotions can ever offer! Haha! =D


The Dead Sea Road along the coast of Dead Sea.


The Mineral Beach, Dead Sea.


Me floating on water in Dead Sea!!! The only time I need not to worry about sinking in the sea. Haha! =D


Yup, I was covered with the mineral-rich mud. =)

We left the Mineral Beach around 3pm and made our way back to IDC Herzliya. The bus which I boarded, however, included a stop in Jerusalem for those who live there. Jerusalem is nonetheless THE city which I have been longing to visit, especially after I came to Israel. When the bus was on a road at a height overseeing the city, I spotted Temple Mount from far!!! The weirdest thing was that the bus was in Jerusalem for close to half an hour, but I didn’t manage to take any good pictures of the city, even the streets! I was thinking, hmm… God probably wanted me to come to this city properly and not as a passer-by lah. Hahaha…


Sunset on the way back to Herzliya, after leaving Jerusalem.