Saturday, May 2, 2009

World Learning 2008-2009 UGRAD Re-Entry Workshop

National 4-H Conference Center, Maryland: 20-22 March 2009

I was supposed to post this update a month earlier but I was thinking of waiting till the end of this UGRAD program as a wrap up. But I've been taking so many pictures lately and I'll have plenty of farewell pics to upload so decided to just update about this workshop first.

We attended this workshop during Spring break...right after our trip to New York City. This Re-Entry workshop was organized by World Learning to gather all UGRADers from Asia Pacific & Western Hemisphere scatterred in different universities all over the States together. A total of 66 UGRAD academic-year scholars from 18 countries flew in to DC and the main reason for this workshop was to prepare us for "Re-Entry"...simplified...going home. I've uploaded a lot of pics here (p.s. click on it for larger pics).


We took a bus back from NYC to DC the night before this workshop and stayed at HI DC before heading to Chevy Chase, Maryland the next morning. Finding our way to the conference center was indeed a 'challenge'. Bro and I got off the nearest metro station and with all our super heavy luggages, we walked 2 miles for about an hour to get to the conference center...pheww!! We could have taken a bus or cab but we thought it was just a mile away and we didn't see the bus so decided to walk...bro's 'brilliant' idea...hahaha!! I was sooo happy when I finally saw the 4-H building...what a 'good' workout for us!! Most of the others were already there earlier and mingling with each other before we arrived. It was my first time meeting Ms Jessica, Ms Lee & all other World Learning people in person...they've been working hard behind the scenes all these while and we've only 'met' them through emails. We dropped our luggages, got our folders then headed to the cafeteria for lunch. The last 2 people who arrived late was Htet & Uyanga...hahaha....pride of UAH!!


After lunch, we got into groups to work on our community service posters. I was trying to find my name on the grouping list and surprisingly...I was the 'lucky' one who were left out on the list...hehe!! :p My groupmate was Jose (Dominican Republic), Khuslen (Mongolia), Nirle (Venezuela) & Magdelena (Uruguay)...we used our 'creativity' to design our posters within an hour...hehe!!


It was then time for welcoming address by Ms Dorothea. We were then asked to introduce ourselves country by country. It was funny when bro mentioned that we are twins...everyone was so surprised...haha!! Within half an hour...we got to know friends from China, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Filipines, Guatemala, Honduras, Laos, Indonesia,, Mongolia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Panama, Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela & Vietnam...cool huh!! We are the pioneers from our countries to get the opportunity to be part of this program.


We had a dinner reception and met representatives from the US Department of States, Mr Thomas Ingalis & Mr Tim Marshall, and also all the World Learning staff...they were the ones that looked through all our application forms and gave us the chance to be part of this amazing program. Thank ya'll soooo muchie!! :)

Clockwise: Ms Jessica Mead, Ms Lee Nguyen, Mr Colin Davies, Ms Irina Cheptanari, Ms Deanna, Mr Thomas Ingalis, Mr Tim Marshall, & Ms Dorothea.

The 2 dancers from UAH...busy posing for pics all night...haha!!

Beautiful girls representing UAH from 3'M's...Htet (Myanmar), Uyanga (Mongolia) & Me (Malaysia)

We just can't get enough pics with our traditional costumes...

Fashion show...my kebaya & bro's batik...Malaysia Boleh!! Bro looked like 'politician'...hahaha!! :p

Our cultural performance...Rasa Sayang (Feeling Love) & "用马来西亚的天气说爱你" (Saying 'I Love You' with Malaysia's weather)...yea...always soooo HOTTTT!!!

Other performances during the cultural night...ended with a group salsa dance...what a blend of cultures....Love it!!



During the cultural night, we had fashion show and cultural performances from several countries. Bro & I was involved in both...proud to represent Malaysia! Earlier on, we were thinking what to perform for the cultural performance...it wasn't compulsory though...juz for fun. I came up with the idea of singing Rasa Sayang (coz that is the most 'well-knowned' song in Malaysia)...so I looked on Youtube for some ideas...then saw Ah Niu's version of Rasa Sayang. I edited the song a lil' then sent it to bro and asked him to practice singing while I came up with the dance. We didn't had time to practice this performance at all until the night before the cultural night. I still remember practicing at HI DC's cafeteria at midnight...and they had CCTV there...the security might be laughing his ass off watching both of us acting stupid...haha!! But overall, our performance was pretty good...thumbs up...hehe!! :)

Our sumptuous breakfast at the cafeteria...I think I ate too much...oops!!


We were in the conference room from morning till afternoon. There were talks on Re-Entry, reverse culture shock (I didn't know about this earlier), joining the State Alumni, & leadership. We had the chance to interact with other scholars and listen to some of their experiences during this program. I was really impressed by everyone there...no doubt the potential future leaders of our countries!! This program had been a very valuable learning experience for every single one of us...being here in a foreign land as international students had change our lives, perspectives, and made us all a better person in life.

Each groups then took turns to present about our community service experiences.

We also wrote answers for different topics...there were some pretty interesting ones.


Everyone was busy taking pictures while waiting to board the bus for our DC tour. We just knew each other for less than 2 days but everyone bonded so well like we've known each other for a long time. It's amazing to see that even though we all come from different parts of the world with different cultures, speaking different languages...there seemed to be no barriers between us. Despite all our differences, this UGRAD exchange program has brought us all together to share one thing in common...which is the amazing UGRAD experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives!



We were split into 3 groups for the DC tour. We visited Albert Einstein's Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Capitol, & The White House. It was my 2nd time visiting all these places coz I've been here last December. But it's still nice coz I got to see the night view of this attractions this time around. As usual, we were busy 'playing' with the 'toothpick' (Washington Monument)...hahaha!! I really love the awesome camera from my baby...that's the best gift for me!! :)


After the tour ended, we all went back to the hotel and grabbed the opportunity to chat and share our stories before we flew back to our universities the next morning. Jessica, Deanna & Lee joined us and we all sat at the corridor of our rooms to chat. It was really nice that we finally had some time to sit down and chat. We all wish the workshop was longer so that we can know each other better.


It was time to say goodbye. We've enjoyed ourselves during this workshop and met lotsa amazing new friends here. This workshop was short but fulfilling. We've accomplished a lot from this UGRAD journey and it had been a life changing experience. Our journey here in the US is coming to an end but I'm sure we'll carry everything that we've learned here with us for the rest of our lives. We are all going back with sweet memories that we will look back someday and smile. This is not the end...it is just the beginning of our journey to a better future!

I am so blessed to know everyone here & proud to be a UGRADer!! To all my friends from all over the world: All the best in your future undertakings!! Keep in touch...I look forward to hear about your success stories!!

If ya'll wants to visit Malaysia someday, feel free to let me know...I'll be more than happy to host ya'll!! :)

Quote to share: "Dare to Dream...even the sky's not the limit!!"

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Treasure Your Loved Ones!!

The end is approaching!! I don't really wanna think about it but the countdown that has been goin' on on facebook keeps reminding me about that! 10..9..8...7... Most of my friends will be leavin' in less than a week....what?!?! Are you kidding me?? It seems like it wasn't that long ago since we first met 9 months ago and now itz time to say goodbye?? Itz sad...but the fact is...our amazing UGRAD journey is coming to an end real soon!! :(

Have been busy busy lately coz gotta study for finals and also work on projects these 2 weeks...procrastinating again...this is what happens towards the end of the semester. I keep wanting to update my blog but couldn't get myself to start typing...I admit...I'm not a good writer...that's why I'm in accounting...haha!! :p

Apr 12: Celebrating easter with Anna's family

I've been spending the past few weekends with Anna's family. I haven't really mentioned much about them in my previous posts, but in fact, they've been quite a big part of my life here in the US. As compared to bro, I'm very lucky to have Anna as my roomie. Even though she's younger than me, she's been a great 'host'...taking care of me - this Malaysian since I came here....haha!! :p 

Coming to this foreign land...thousands of miles away from home & family, their family is like my 2nd family here in US. I'm very blessed to get to know their family...Donna, Donny, Daniel, Anna, Pawpaw, Leslie, & Nana...everyone of them have been treating me like part of their family.   

Weekends with the family!! :)

Spending time with American family over the past few months has really gave me the opportunity to understand more about the culture, lifestyle, & family values here. Being an 'outsider' observing the daily life of another family and how others' family communicate with each other is indeed a great learning experience. Be it positive or negative, there's always something to learn...and it also reflects what kind of person I am in my family.

Most people tend to take things for granted...especially when it comes to family. Sometimes, we treat friends nicer than our family...we would rather show our temper to family and not friends. We might have done or said things that we didn't really mean to and hurt the feelings of our family. I admit, I've made the same mistakes too. I'm still learning to be a better person and I believe that change is incremental...coming here has definitely taught me to appreciate what I have now.

One of my friend lost her mom recently and it made me realize how vulnerable life is. I still remember talking to her mom about coming to US few days before I flew over here...itz juz hard to believe that she's gone now. I was chatting with my friend recently and she said that her mom is very proud of us and is very happy that her daughter have us as friends. These words almost made my cry. 

Sometimes, we need to stop for a moment and look back at what we've missed in life. We can't turn back time to change the past and we won't know what's gonna happen tomorrow either...but remember...everyday is an opportunity to make things better...live life without any regrets!! 

"Life's short...treasure your loved ones, do something special, give them a surprise, thank them for what they have done for you and...say I LOVE YOU...before it is too late!!"

Sweet Home Alabama~!!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Spring Break Getaway

Re-visiting New York & DC ~ 16-19 March 2009
Whoops...I'm lagging behind on my updates...AGAIN!!! :p Nothing much have been goin' on with school lately, juz usual routine. It still takes me forever to combine my pics...haha...took too many pictures. I really love my new camera!!! :) Spring break was 2 weeks ago and most people went to the beaches, but I traveled up north to New York & Washington DC for the chilly weather instead...haha!! I've been to NY & DC last December but the main reason this time was to attend the World Learning Global UGRAD Re-Entry Workshop in DC.

I am a city lover. I love skyscrappers & the hustle & bustle of city life...but of course there're still some aspects that I don't like. I've been to big cities like Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, LA...and New York City!! I love NY and I was really excited the first time I went. I don't know why but I wasn't as excited this time, I guess itz coz I've been to most attractions already. As compared to NYC...DC is a nicer city.

Me, Uyanga & Htet flew from Huntsville to DC Ronald Reagan airport...transit at Detroit.

Arrived Washington DC & walked around Chinatown.

Chinese food for dinner...we ate as slow as we could to kill time while waiting to board our bus to NY at 11pm...hehe!!

Continued 'killing' time at Starbucks...bro is like a piggy...sleeping everywhere...

Finally arrived NYC!! First stop...famous bagel for breakfast...Daniel's???



Grand Central Station at 8am rush hour...women & 'men in black' suits...looked so pro...this is NY!!

St. Patrick's Day Parade...the marching bands were much better than the ones I saw during Mardi Gras.

The supa-dupa luxurious street...Fifth Avenue!!

Trump Tower...I was 'fired'...juz took the lift down...haha!!

The Apple Store in NY...I want everything here can ar...so cool la!!

'Over-working' my awesome camera in Central Park...such a nice park in the middle of this big city...me likey likey!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=69992&id=557008610&l=c02eaa1054

"Pretty woman...walking down the streets...pretty woman...JULIA ROBERTS~!!" Oh yeah oh yeah...I can't believe we were soooo lucky to see Julia Roberts at Broadway...she was there for the 'Late Show with David Letterman'...that was sooo awesome!!

Dim Sum for brunch at Chinatown...it was sooo good!! 6 items for $36...equals RM126...for 2 person only...OMG~~!!

Egg Tarts!!!! I love egg tarts!!! The freshly baked Portugease egg tart was so yummy!!

Walking around Chinatown & Soho...killing my poor legs....ouchh!!

It took us more than an hour to walk across Brooklyn Bridge...coz we stopped every 5 steps to take pictures...hehe!! :p

Check out this link for more pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=70020&id=557008610&l=bf3026616d

Breathtaking Manhattan view from Brooklyn

Walking around NYC on nasty rainy day...introducing the 'latest fashion for 2009' in front of Times Square NYC.

I've only managed to finish combining the NY pictures...still lots more updates for the Re-Entry workshop in DC. Stay tuned! :) Time flies...it is now the last month of our program and most of my friends in UAH will be flying back home on Apr 30. Feels like it was just not long ago when we 1st arrived...doesn't seem like 8-months have passed by...wow!! This month-end is gonna be filled with mixed emotions...this UGRAD journey have been a fulfilling experience for everyone of us. :)

Friday, March 6, 2009

2 Weeks of Craziness.....

Last 2 weeks had been like rollercoaster...busy, stressed, tired & fun...at least there's still one positive word...haha!! I hate it when everything comes all at once and whenever I am free...there's nothing goin' on. I haven’t had much time to update my blog coz it seems like there’s always something else to do...and when I have time...I’ll watch dramas & entertainment show online instead...

20-22 Feb 2009 (Fri-Sun):

The Office of International Programs & Services organized a New Orleans trip for all sponsored students. I've thought about going to N.O. before this and when I received the email about this trip, I looked at my calendar...saw that I have midterms after that weekend...then thought...nahh...I don't care...I'm definitely in for this. Plus...itz gonna be Mardi Gras weekend & all we have to pay is $30 for everthing...meals, transportation & accomodation...that's juz too good to resist...hehe!! :p

From UAH to New Orleans

On Friday afternoon, 15 of us departed to N.O. in a van & a car. The journey was about 8 hours & I was 'supposed' to study Forensic Accounting along the journey. I had coffee to keep me awake but the book was doin' such a 'great' job putting me to sleep. Uyanga was laughing at me when the thick book fell off my lap and landed loud on the floor....ooopss!! Well...I've read through those 9 chapters so it was actually my 2nd time reading through...so I'm not lazy okay:p We had dinner at McCalister and finally arrived Ramada Inn hotel around 10pm.


Dinner at McCalister

The next morning, we reached French Quarter around 10am and our first stop was Cafe Du Monde. This cafe is pretty famous and it was packed with customers when we got there. We had to queue for about 20min juz to get a takeout. They are known for beignets & coffee and that’s what I got. We then watched some street performers doin’ some stunts while enjoying our yummylicious b’fast. Uyanga & I spent the day walking around French Quarter and of course took lotsa pics...as usual...haha!! We also spent some time chillin’ & relaxing at the river bank along Mississippi River. There were parades goin’ on all day and it was pretty interesting coz people will throw beads from the floats and people like us who were watching the parade along the streets will try to grab as many as we can. That was pretty fun! After dinner, we ‘accidentally’ got on the street with all the bars and gosh...the whole street was like a huge bar filled with people and we could hardly move. It was kinda scary but ‘interesting’ to see people getting drunk and some ‘flashing’ on the streets to get beads...hehe! Well...at least I got to see some Mardi Gras craziness.

That’s all for our N.O. Mardi Gras trip...pretty short but interesting. Glad that OIPS gave all of us sponsored students the chance to travel together before we leave in May.


Street Performance



Walking around French Quater

Chillin' and 'posing' along Mississippi River



First Parade...with our goodies...hehe!! :)

2nd Parade: Endymion

Leavin' New Orleans...

Stopped by beautiful Gulf Port along the way back

Mexican food for lunch
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23-27 Feb 2009 (Mon-Fri):
This week was my supa-dupa busy week. 3 midterms, 3 music tech projects & 1 assignment due...all in one week...wth!! I started studying a week earlier but didn’t get much studying done over the weekend since I was travelling. I was really stressed, tired & worried that I might not be able to finish everything on time.

Worse still...on top of all that...I had a bad infection and had to go to the hospital for a minor surgery...what ‘luck’!! Anna brought me to the ER on Tues night and the doctor had to cut my infection area & squeeze out the pus...then squashed a strip of cotton into the wound...OMGGGG...it hurtsss soooo freakin’ bad!! I’m glad that the wound is getting better, juz that I’ve still gotta go for follow-up every 2 days.

I’ve got my midterm results and I’m glad that I made A for all 5 classes. I could have done better but I’m satisfied with what I got considering that I have been travelling both weekends between exams.

At Crestwood ER...thanks Anna for bringing me there! I had pics of my wound but not a good idea to put it here...haha!!
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27-28 Feb 2009 (Fri-Sat):
ACE organized a FREE ski trip to Gatlinburg and it is only limited to the first 150 students who sign up. Ski trip...for FREEEE?? And we only need to pay for meals?? This is such an awesome deal...of course I couldn’t miss it. So...Uyanga & I went about an hour earlier on sign up day to make sure we get a place...haha!! I was worried that I couldn’t make it for the trip due to my wound but since the doctor said it’s alright to ski...I definitely didn’t wanna miss this chance.

From UAH to Gatlinburg...see my book?? Haha...i was studying while others was so 'focused' watching movie!!

All of us gathered at the University Center with our luggages and departed to Gatlinburg in 3 buses on Friday a’noon. The journey took about 6 hours and I spent most of my time studying and falling asleep...hehe! We reached our hotel at about 8.30pm, dropped our things and went out immediately to ‘hunt’ for dinner coz we were all starving. Gatlinburg is a small town but it was really nice walking at night. There was a street with all individual rides and there were still Christmas decorations...it was like an entire amusement park along both sides of the streets. Most of the buildings were made of wood and looked very pretty. About 12 of us went for dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp & Co. After dinner, we just walked along the streets while Ice, Thy & Sammie was flipping & doing some stunts along the way. They were all really hyper so it was fun hanging out with them.


Having fun on the streets of Gatlinburg

Walking around Gatlinburg town...nice & fun!! :)

We left our hotel at 7am the next morning and headed to Ober Gatlinburg ski resort. We took a tram to the ski resort, got our gears and hit the slopes. I’ve only had the chance to attend ski school in Korea so this was really my first time skiing. Miyuki and I took the ski lift up to the easy slope and guess what...I fell on my first attempt coming down the slope and hurt my fingers coz I forgot to wear my gloves...what a ‘great’ start...haha!! I almost forgot what I learnt 3 years ago so Miyuki had to help me refresh my memory. I got better skiing down the easy slope so we decided to go for the ‘more difficult’ slopes. The slopes were much steeper and it was kinda dangerous coz it was hard to stop since they had artificial snow (which was mostly ice)...so I ‘successfully’ tumbled & fell about 4 times going down that entire slope...phewww!! :p But overall, I skied well I guess...especially as a beginner...haha!! Plus, it was raining most of the time and I had to worry about my wound...my new camera...and try not to injure myself, so was wary all time. :(

We were all soaked at the end of the day and since we can’t take shower...we just changed into our dry clothes and left Gatlinburg at 6pm back to Huntsville. Even though it was quite a short trip...I’m happy and enjoyed it...at least got to ski before going back home...hehe!! :)


One and only short video clip of me in action...too busy skiing till forgot to take more videos...arghh!!

Skiiiiiing!!!
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2-8 March 2009 (Mon-Sun):
I had my midterm for Competitive Strategy on Tuesday. I skipped class when I went to the hospital so had to catch up and luckily Jonathan sent all the notes to me and helped me prepare for exam. I also didn’t get to study much over the weekend...oopss! But I did good on this exam...yeah!!

Snowing in Huntsville on 1st of March...niceeee!!

It was Anna’s birthday on Tuesday, 3 March. Her mom came over to the dorm with a huge cookie cake in the morning and I helped her decorate Anna’s door. Anna had to go to the doctor coz of an infection on her face and very ‘sui’...she kena the same infection as mine and the doctor had to squeeze out the pus from her infection. Cham lar...why so ‘sui’...sumore on her bday...I feel bad lo...didn’t know it was contagious. We were supposed to go out for dinner on Wednesday but she didn’t feel well so Uyanga & I went to their house for spaghetti dinner. The dinner was yummy...but the mood was kinda drowsy coz Anna was feeling well...Uyanga was also sick...and my wound was recovering...haizzz...unlucky lar..

Roomie's 19th Birthday...Happy Birthday Anna!! :)

All my midterms and projects are finally done so I could finally relax a bit. But I was still busy getting all the documentations done for World Learning....lotsa paper work to submit and had to prepare for our cultural performance during the workshop in DC. I also got started working on my projects for 3 classes hoping that I can get things done earlier. I have completely no idea about Flash and I have to create a Flash project...gosh...working on it is really freakin’ me out!!

Chillaxing over the weekend...finally!!

I didn’t do anything much over the weekend...just relaxed and chilled coz had been travelling the past 2 weekends....need a break this week. I also went for the Homeshow with Anna & Donna on Saturday coz All Seasons was also one of the companies at the event.

Homeshow
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9-11 March 2009 (Mon-Wed)
I have exactly 2 more months in the US...will be flying back on May 10. It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been here for 7 months already...it didn’t feel that long though. I’ve been enjoying every moment here and met so many amazing friends. We’re all kinda counting down already and it’s gonna be very sad when it’s time to say goodbye. Life here have been great and I wanna enjoy this last 2 months to the fullest!!

I’ll be going up to New York & DC...again...for Spring break next week....haha!! I’m sure itz gonna b fun...looking forward to the World Learning workshop in DC!! Woohoo~!!! :)