Day 1 - 24 December 2008
At 2pm, I reached People's Association HQ at Stadium Link road for the Homestay matching ceremony. This is my first time here. The premise was previously the Kallang Airport. I registered at the Auditorium and waited anxiously for my Hong Kong youth delegates.
The Hong Kong delegates prepared a skit to illustrate the changing face of Hong Kong over the years, as well as a slideshow presentation of the theme of the programme - "youth participation in politics and heritage conservation".
We were given a half section of a map of our residence. Our Hong Kong youths carry the other half... and the matching began.
Meet George and Jonathan! As it was drizzling, I called for a cab to send us back home. My family had prepared a room for both of them.
I brought both of them to take a look at the Residents' Committee Centre, PAP Branch office and Community Club. At the CC, Hock Rong gave some batik scarf to them as gifts.
The places Hock Rong and I initially wanted to bring our new Hong Kong friends to, ended up to be those that would be covered in the second leg of their stay. So, I decided to bring them to Singapore's largest shopping mall - Vivocity.
We took the bus to Eunos MRT station. As we approached the Paya Lebar MRT station, Jonathan felt unwell and we left the cabin. He had a bad stomachache and was feeling nausea. Thank goodness, George had a small plastic bag for Jonathan just in time when he needed it.
The Singapore Post Office building's clinic was closed on this Christmas eve, so we headed to a 24-hr clinic at Marine Parade. There, Jonathan took a jab and had some pills. His pain was so acute that at some points, he had difficulty moving. We managed to send him back to my place and let him rest for the night.
George settled dinner at the Prata shop. He drank his first sip of Bandung, ate Nasi Ayam and Roti John. Through explaining local culture to a foreign friend, I began to see things from a fresh perspective and cherish the things that I have.
Just before midnight, Hock Rong, Lin Qiang, George and I went for a night cycling tour around the Eastern part of Singapore. We cycled through the park connector to East Coast Park where people had just finished counting down to Christmas. We had supper at the food village as the loud karaoke singing "entertained" us.
Next, we cycled to Bedok Camp, where I quickly took a picture for George. Hock Rong spotted the guard duty personnel looking at us and calling to his guard commander, so we quickly cycled off.
The next few stops were Simpang Bedok, PAP HQ, Bedok MacDonald's (where George took a picture of the "You Deserve a Mega Mac" ad) and then back home. We slept at about 5am, preparing to wake at 8am to attend a Christmas Party...
In the morning, I followed Henry to Yap's stall and requested for consignment of fruits. Yap was supportive of grassroots events and agreed to the consignment.
At 2pm, I reached People's Association HQ at Stadium Link road for the Homestay matching ceremony. This is my first time here. The premise was previously the Kallang Airport. I registered at the Auditorium and waited anxiously for my Hong Kong youth delegates.The Hong Kong delegates prepared a skit to illustrate the changing face of Hong Kong over the years, as well as a slideshow presentation of the theme of the programme - "youth participation in politics and heritage conservation".
We were given a half section of a map of our residence. Our Hong Kong youths carry the other half... and the matching began.
Meet George and Jonathan! As it was drizzling, I called for a cab to send us back home. My family had prepared a room for both of them.I brought both of them to take a look at the Residents' Committee Centre, PAP Branch office and Community Club. At the CC, Hock Rong gave some batik scarf to them as gifts.
The places Hock Rong and I initially wanted to bring our new Hong Kong friends to, ended up to be those that would be covered in the second leg of their stay. So, I decided to bring them to Singapore's largest shopping mall - Vivocity.
We took the bus to Eunos MRT station. As we approached the Paya Lebar MRT station, Jonathan felt unwell and we left the cabin. He had a bad stomachache and was feeling nausea. Thank goodness, George had a small plastic bag for Jonathan just in time when he needed it.The Singapore Post Office building's clinic was closed on this Christmas eve, so we headed to a 24-hr clinic at Marine Parade. There, Jonathan took a jab and had some pills. His pain was so acute that at some points, he had difficulty moving. We managed to send him back to my place and let him rest for the night.
George settled dinner at the Prata shop. He drank his first sip of Bandung, ate Nasi Ayam and Roti John. Through explaining local culture to a foreign friend, I began to see things from a fresh perspective and cherish the things that I have.
Just before midnight, Hock Rong, Lin Qiang, George and I went for a night cycling tour around the Eastern part of Singapore. We cycled through the park connector to East Coast Park where people had just finished counting down to Christmas. We had supper at the food village as the loud karaoke singing "entertained" us.
Next, we cycled to Bedok Camp, where I quickly took a picture for George. Hock Rong spotted the guard duty personnel looking at us and calling to his guard commander, so we quickly cycled off.
The next few stops were Simpang Bedok, PAP HQ, Bedok MacDonald's (where George took a picture of the "You Deserve a Mega Mac" ad) and then back home. We slept at about 5am, preparing to wake at 8am to attend a Christmas Party...
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