let it snow! let it snow! i'll be damned...

so it started snowing the next morning after my previous post while i was in a diner having breakfast.

me : look mum! its raining.
mum : no, thats snow.
*kenzie kicks me while scrambling around the chair for a look*
me : *rather retardedly* you sure? it looks like rain.
mum : yes hunny. its snowing.
*lily kicks mum while jumping around in her seat from excitement*

goes to show that you should just listen to people who has seen it and shut your gap. we werent allowed to go out so we just sat at home and stared outside [just me that is - the rest werent bothered about it] like a fool wistfully. it snowed the whole day and we went out to pick up sierra's friend - britney to come over for the night. when we got home, the girls got all excited about the whole sleepover while i moped about for missing one afternoon at the church piano. i decided to brave the snow flakes [and mum yelling at me] to run out with my camera for some crazy stints.

[ the swing outside the house - before and after the snow drift ]

[ thats the house & car - ignore the trash bin ]

[ some of the trees outside the house ]

so what does a bored, stuck-in-the-house teen do at night? swipe out the camera again of course.

[ the lamp post & tree at the opposite side of the road ]

[ decoration on the house door, shelf and the other door ]

[ the field at the back of the house - thats baxter their dog, an australian shephard 2 months old ]

[ the horse i saw on the 2 mile walk to get ice cream ]

[ warm spring estates - the stone duck is SO cute ]

the next night, carrie surprised me by asking me out for some shopping with robin and clay, her host mother and brother. obviously i said yes [even though i went shopping 2 days before] and we hit the pet store to get some cat food for their cat, isabella first before we hurried to kohl for THE shopping. in short, i had fun dressing up. the price was also "awesome" by the way. though, i did get a black shirt for myself and belt for michelle from kohl. it was too tempting to leave it there for someone else. bleh.

next, we went to circuit city where it was THE HAVEN for all electronics, cds, dvds, ps, xbox, ipod, etc..you get what i mean right?? i went ballistic there! everything was cheap and my mind went into numb mode - get..that..that..and that..that.. *convert* gasp! that too! that obviously didnt happen but i did walk out with rascal flatt's newest cd and a simple mp3. carrie got one too so i wasnt the only one who splurged.

on sunday, we had a PAX area gathering to welcome the 3 new malaysian girls. thats me, ima, carrie & mudra [from india] at the home of one of the host family. they had 9 kids. NONE adopted and NO SET of twins. *grins madly* we had a great time meeting the other students, had a potluck style lunch [we seem to be doing lots of eating here] and i met tim, another exchange student from germany who was going to chambersburg area senior high school too! whoop!! sadly, he's in the 11th grade and i in the 12th. we dont share any of the classes either. sad.

so cheer up sucker.

lily : hey hey, you you, i wanna be your girlfriend,
no way, no way, chicken noodles. *wide grin*

5 days in chambersburg, pennsylvania

i'm not freezing my arse off and i get to walk around the house with a shirt, a sweatshirt and jeans on without shivering like mad! ah hah! then again, i've had my feet covered everyday cos my host family who lives in liberal america [sometimes i just love that] wears shoes in the house. its probably every teens dream to walk right in the house without bothering to take out their shoes but THIS teen is living it.

so last night i followed my mum [crystal] to her work place to see what she does. we got there about 8 pm and met her patients. in malaysian terms my mum is actually a private nurse. you know those who take care of patients back home? yeah those nurses but she does it at a home specially for the mentally challenged. i met hazel, glenda, mary and tommy and i tell you it was really touching to see mum taking care of them. they practically glowed when she walked in the room to greet them. considering my mums really amazing background of careers - bartender and personal shopper [this was a real shocker] she got more satisfaction and happiness doing this current job then any others. seeing what she does and watching the faces of the patients really gave me an understanding of the impact she has on their lives and why she finds comfort in doing it. i [of course] couldnt stand staying awake the whole night [cut me some slack aite? i was awake since 8 am!] so i jumped into bed around 12 am but mum kept awake the whole night. that and the fact that she is a light sleeper makes her the perfect person for her job.

later we reached home about 10 am and i remembered [like a bludgeon to my head] that i had to confirm my selection of subjects for school. yay. school. *snorts* i had to choose 5 academic subjects and how many electives i want. so i got american history [this was compulsory damnit so dont stare at me funny! i'm gonna take the 10th grade class for that!], english 12, sociology, geometry and cultural studies. 5 academics down, more electives to go - dramatics, fashion merchandising [yeaaah! they have this! *wide grin*] and photography. so if any of my electives arent approve i'm gonna have less than 8 subjects to take which is A-W-E-S-O-M-E! then, i had breakfast around 11.30 am [more like brunch] and watched 2 movies til the evening and decided to go for a walk which was about 2 miles [according to my host mom] from the house just to get chocolate ice cream which tastes funny and weird. you are probably wondering - what the hell is this gurl doing walking around in winter to get ice cream??? i'm asking myself the same question and guess what? i dont have the answer either. maybe winter is messing my head up. i dont know. couldnt be bothered. anyways, the walk was good cos i actually sweat a lil in like 0 degrees. yeah baby! i'm adapting and i'm getting better.

the family has been a total sweetie. my host parents [crystal and larry] are really nice people who argues a lot but love each other to bits and are helluva funny. i cant remember a day [its only been 5 mind you] that i have not laughed at all. then there's also the girls [sierra, kenzie and lily] who are really cute and adorable but [ironically there's always a but] very slick and quick-witted. go do your math and get this - crystal [whom i call mum obviously] shares everything with her kids and me. waddya think of it now? *gluttonic smile*

on the very first day i reached here [with carrie in tow] i climbed trees with sierra. CLIMBED TREES. if i could do that back in malaysia you'd find me up in some tree all the time. they have an apple tree and strawberry trees [or shrubs] which bloom in spring [duh] in their backyard. no joke! we chose the trees we wanted to climb and spent almost 2 hours walking around, picking trees out and wondering if mum would flip if we walked longer [which didnt happen!]. after that day, it was just too damned cold to go out and mum wouldnt let any of us out anyways. so being stuck in the house i made myself busy by cooking and washing the dishes. i'm not joking guys. i REALLY helped my mum cook and wash dishes everyday even though dad, mum, tyler [thats the son] and sierra told me to use the dishwasher - in that same order too. the only reason why kenzie and lily hasnt told me that is cos they're only 5 and 4 so they dont give 2 hoots about how the dishes are done. that aside, i've been having the time of my life having really hot water running through my hands in every 2-3 hours here. water from the pipes in malaysia at 12-2 pm there is [heck!] soothing over here.

oh, and if you're wondering, i DO bathe everyday. my mum has a thing against germs so i can bathe everyday or twice a day if i want to, wash my towel after 3 days [no arguements about that] and sanitise sanitise sanitise. the whole house is carpeted and its not so big but its not so small either - it has an attic, 3 rooms, a closet, a toilet/bathroom and a porch upstairs, the ground level and a basement with a fireplace. its really awesome but dont get me wrong, i dont have a sudden passion for old houses but what i do have is a genuine liking for this place. dont even get me started on the food. *sigh* its really tasty and finger liking good [aint talking about fast food you doink] but you dont see them using much salt but there is taste in the food. my mum has this thing for spices so i'm lucky to get those tastes in my food. back to the not much salt usage, i had leg cramps for 2 nights now BUT i took quite a lot of salt today so i dont think i'm gonna have anymore cramps. take a breath.

i've met my dads parents and i'm gonna meet my mums mother and her 21-year-old sister soon. i met mums sisters boyfriend this morning cos the van had a flat tire. anyways, not everyone here is like 6 feet tall k? there are short people here too [like me]! i'll be having a welcoming party this weekend at west virginia [dont ask me, i didnt pick the venue] which i am looking forward to unless it snows and we'll be stuck in penn state. then only will i be able to meet laura puckett my local coordinator which stays in the next county [malaysian vocabulary : district]. if i miss that..who knows when will i be able to see her. plus i'll be starting school on tuesday cos the school gets monday off for martin luther kings day. thats awesome isnt it? a day to commemorate heroes of the country. how i wish malaysia had those AND our festival holidays too. then and only then will we enter the book of guiness for the most public holidays in a year. oh yeah!

before i end this [very long and draggy but informative] post, just wanna let everyone know that i'm doing alright now. i'm not moping about being sad cos i'm parted from so many people that i'm missing. the church is right in front of the house [literally] and i've been having a ball using the piano. i missed out todays visit cos i was tired. in just these 5 days also i've enrolled in the choir for the upcoming easter celebrations and pianist for the youth service. surprise surprise. hard to believe its only 5 days now. i've yet to see what'll happen in the next 6 months. kenzie's jumping on my chair @ my cue to leave the computer. i'll upload pictures pretty soon cos mum and dad are getting me a cellphone so that in case of emergencies bla bla bla... gotta go play tag now.

ending note [or a holler in this case]
me : oh damn.
kenzie : thats a bad word! why'd you say that? why'd you say that? lets play tag!!

12.01.2008

so it has been a pretty sad morning. what a way to start the day. i feel even worse now than i did when i left my family at KLIA. 31 people whom i've spend a week laughing, joking, having fun and eating with have boarded a black [very awesome & stylish] bus to the airport leaving the rest of us behind. maybe i'm a little over emotional. maybe a little too dramatic. say whatever you want but these group of very unique individuals have touched my heart in "a magical one week" as mentioned by carrie.

i'm pretty lucky that carrie and i are just 30 minutes away from each other in pennsylvania. i don't know if i can take parting away from her too. i might have buckets full of tears to shed. but right now melancholia is just too much to handle.

this week has been really awesome. from pre-departure camp to the flights and transits [which includes running like mad!] to this orientation in the 4-H National Conference Center in washington dc, it has really been an eye opener and a growing experience. the events we shared together as a group and individually really tests who we are inside. without a doubt there'll be much to miss. so like what my dear beloved cheryl advised me to, i'll eat for them. they only had a small bar. lol.

now the experience REALLY begins. will we be able to stand on our own? will we be strong enough? will we use our experiences to the fullest? but most of all HOW are we going to handle situations not in our familiar environment with family and friends? the next 6 months are going to be one VERY long duration of time that we'll use to search for answers and through it gain values that will never come along with any other programs.

here and now in the states, it's going to be a very big challenge to all of us. SO we're gonna do our best and NEVER ever forget to have fun!

p/s : i need to rub my toes for a lil. thats what happen when you wear flip flops in 7 degree celsius to bid your farewells. i'm gonna remember how everyone looked when they boarded the bus. remember their last words to me [i don't mean that they're dying]. remember what a great bunch they really are and will be when i see them again. =)