Top Of The World continued!!!

16th june'2004 and onwards

amazing! i didnt keep a diary yet i remember so much! *nostalgic*
yep no morn call was needed for our first full day in letpapbya, all was awake at 5 am!!! the sun was already streaming in and the roosters were doing a great wake-up call! after a chop-chop wash-up, the welfare ics (belinda, sijin, huiting, me) frantically rush to prepare breakfast.. the challenge lies in opening the butter, applause to lao ban!!! (who was valiantly injured in the process by the nasty metal tin... grrr) and of course in finding the spreader... =P after bf, we girls rushed back to our respective hses to tie our longyis!!! wahhh such a task awaits!!!step 1: place ur longyi over ur head n adjust it to the correct length
step 2: proceed to figure our if ur longyi has a "front" pattern n a "back" pattern
step 3: suck in ur tummy, pull the longyi as tightly as you can to one side then fold it back, twist the excess cloth n tuck it in
step 4: repeat above-mentioned for abt 10 times before you r satisfied that it won't drop, then stick in s safety-pin to delude urself into tinking it won't drop =p

we then bravely step out to face the world... (most of us were walking in a duck-waddle kind of way due to our natural undemureness that prevented us from gliding in our longyis like the locals) our fan club was waiting for us at the gate!! so sweet right! it became a ritual we looked forward to everyday, walking out the gates and greeting the shy children with "Mingalaba!", and watching the shy faces smile sweetly back at us. it really warms my heart!! and the girls are ever soooo sweet, always bringing us garlands of jasmine to wear on our heads... i was really overwhelmed when i received my first string of jasmine, it meant alot to me. it was a symbol of welcome and friendship, and was more precious than anythg that can be bought with money. =)



and so begin our first day as teachers... team b's 1st lesson was nutrition, and sijin was a resounding success with the students as she patiently taught them the burmese poem she had toiled and sweated over to learn... "ter main sar ba, ter main sar ba!!" keeps ringing in my ears for the entire trip! *grin*

during the art lessons, even though it was quite hard to get the kids to draw whatever they want freely, it was heartening to discover a few students who kept drawing and drawing and drawing... it was like a well of creativity unleashed! i was super impressed by one particular boy who was drawing with utmost concentration, seemingly oblivious to evrythg else except the paintbrush in his hand. it was moments like this that i feel that our efforts have reaped great rewards =D



the sch-day ended at 3pm. team b trudged to the tea-shop to wait for team a who were still hard at work with the skit-groups. at the tea-shop, i just couldnt stop waving to the children!!! theres smthg infinitely special abt burmese children, smthg tt sets them apart from kids in s'pore. and that is the guilelessness, their innocence that is so precious to behold. the way they look at us just makes me melt, their eyes speak of so much trust! a simple "mingalaba", or "tart-tar", and their eyes will light up with laughter and excitement. there's an openness and frankness in their faces that cannot be found in s'pore, a sweet innocence that has not been marred by the invasion of high-power technology and quick pace of life. theres just no words to describe the way they relate to us... it's just... a very special feeling i get every time i look at them. you know, that makes you want to protect them from harm always. =)





when team a finally ended lessons, we embarked on our village walk. poor sijin was down with fever, but yay she was well enough to join us on the walk. i remembered walking with soe thiha, tink it was the first time i truly got to know him! soe thiha's a really great guy,very helpful(yay help me carry water bottle), very funny hahha and ho! actually not as innocent as he seems... *chuckles* must be the influence of aung hein!! heehee. i saw alot of my piggy friends and was busy snapping away!! oh yar and during this walk i found out tt soe thiha is actually younger than me by one year! wow shocking discovery! so young but helped us to arranged so many thgs! impressive sia! no wonder he quickly became a hot fav among us girls hee =D it was a really nice walk, we even saw a snake! and throughout the walk, there were hordes of children tailing us... so cute! i felt like i was a princess or a pop star hahah =P





was it that very night?? team b went tea-housing cos our beloved translators lin tun and tay zar were leaving the next day to return to yangon. sigh was quite sad cos we've only known each other for a few days!!! had a nice chat abt lotsa stuff, and exchanged contact numbers etc... highlight of the trip: i found a grasshopper in my tea!!! *faintz*



the very nxt day, i awoke with a funny feeling in my left ankle... seems tender and hurts abit when i walk. i had a niggling feeling it may be swelling, but i didnt really tink much abt it! cos it was another exciting day woohoo!! yar until it really started to swell quite significantly. oops. i tink fate played a huge part in what happened next. i journeyed to the station hospital with sijin and kok wee early next morn to see the doc, only to find out tt he had gone to KPG (nearby town) and will be back ard 5pm. so we returned to the hospital at 5, but were told to try again at 9pm as he was not back yet. when we walked out of the hse to the main road at 9, my throbbing ankle has became a concern among our burmese friends... so... taadaa!!! kaung zaw went to get his uncle's motorbike and for the FIRST TIME in my entire life, i sat in a motorbike!!!!! my god. it has always been my dream to sit in a motorbike!!!! i was elated!!! oh. but not before i puzzled and frowned over where i shld place my hands. i recall the various warnings abt no girl-guy contact etc, but it was either i fall off the bike or put my hand smwhere i can hold on to!!! moment of agony!!! ah then i compromised n put 1 hand on kaung zaw's shoulder... waited for lightning to strike me but none came so whew i guess it's alright! then zoom!!! we were off!!! ahah it was really a WONDERFUL feeling =)