Mass update #2
Ok, here's another mass update.

Ballenberg Outdoor Museum
Went there on the 22nd, the day which the yodelling festival was held. I was pretty disappointed by the other things in the museum, but the yodelling made my day!

They had such good voice control... it was like, "WOW". They sang... hummed... yodelled. And you know how they yodel? They just control their blowing. There's no keys to press, no nothing. Not like a saxaphone. Just blowing. Different amounts of air resulted in different amounts of air. And you know, it was just wonderful! =)

We think it's the alpine air and creamy milk/cheese/chocolate that did all that for their voices!

Lausanne
That's the town where the olympic museum is. In the portside town of Ouchy, in Lausanne. Yes, Ouchy. Pronounced ooo-chee. Not ouch-chee. It was so relaxing there, with the cool refreshing sea breeze blowing in on your face. Then we hurried along to the olympic museum, and just walked through the gardens and into the shop. Had to be back to the town city by 3pm for a free guided city tour. It's free for students! =)

Well, that was a good day to spend in the slight rain!

Jungfraujoch - the top of Europe
Mountain! Snow! Cold!!!!!!

I really appreciated what it means by we have been washed as white as snow by the blood of Christ. The snow was so white, it was so clean and so blinding because it was so bright! If we are compared to snow, and snow is already so bright... then God in His glory must be much more glorious and brighter than that! Wow... no wonder we sinful human beings cannot stand in front of Him because His holiness and righteousness would kill us immediately!

While basking in the snow and the sun, we also built a snowman. Actually, he was a snow lump. A snow lump called Lumpy. =p An Indian family who saw us building lumpy asked if they could take photo with him. It was quite hilarious! But well, lumpy looked stunning with his naturally white brilliance and a contrasting stripped snow cap and a brown pair of sunglasses!

Gimmelwald
Quaint little village on the slopes of the mountain, on the way up the Schilthorn mountain. It is said to be the most backward village in Switzerland, because of its heavy reliance on farming. Still, it was a lovely time in that quiet little village. We even hiked down the valley to the super cold river. Dipped our feet in it... oooooo!!!!!!!

I'll miss the quietness and serenity of the village. Not to mention, the wonderful view of the mountain at night! So peaceful yet strong and firm. I'll really miss that place when I leave...

Mountains, Rivers, Lakes... Ahhhhhhhh

Ok, this is the 3rd day of the tour around the mountainous regions of Switzerland. I mean the holiday mountains, not the terrifying mountains like Mt. Everest that you have to climb.

So... here's the lowdown to what i've been up to!

St. Beatus Caves
The Irish apostle Beatus (pronounce Bee-a-turs) went to preach the gospel to the heathen living in the mountain caves. He also reportedly killed a dragon complete with wings and all, but slashing it and making it fall into the Thunsee (Lake Thun). He lived in the cave, all the time trying to evangelize to the cave-dwellers. After his death, they converted to Christianity.

These caves are full of beautiful Staglacites and Staclacites around. We took a 1km walk/climb inside which took about 1 hour, and marvelled at the rushing water, trickling water, still pools and remarkably clear reflections. The 15 minute arduous climb up numerous steps was worth it!

Sunburnt...
Then, we took a boat ride back to Thun which took about... 2 hours i think. It's an "i think" because i fell asleep. Too much good sun and cool winds blowing! So I wrapped myself up in my white woolish jacket and fell asleep... Woke up now and then to enjoy the scenary. Beautiful... really really beautiful!

To my chargin, i found myself sunburnt at the end of the day. YES, the girl who seldom got burnt in tropical Singapore got sunburnt after 2 hours on the lake. That's quite very sad... yes i know

At 'home', we played with Rex, our landowners' labrador. He's a very active dog, and has a very even honey tone. Played tug. He enjoyed playing with Weicheng more, coz he has more strength. Rex was considerably gentler with me... *grinz*

Trummelbachfalle
Left Hanni's place today. Went to the falls... and i just stood there amazed at the powerful rushing of the water down the rocks. Such awesome power, such awesome strength! It reminded me of how strong God is... what power He possesses, and what it means for him to have power. I was so awed I just started singing... *grinz* No one else could hear me though, coz the sound of the rushing water was too loud!

It also struck me that what God created, He can control. What human beings make, we may not be able to control, but God can definitely control everything! It's really the original Creator... copy creators find themselves unable to fully control their creation because there is the possibility that it would malfunction! Just so awed...

Murren
is a sleepy sleepy town out of the peak winter sport season. Went there today, and it was almost a ghost town. Played with a large block of icy snow, stood on it, carved in it.. good feeling! Will really enjoy it when we get up to Jungfraujoch, a UNESCO heritage venue and a place commonly known as the top of Europe.

Till then... enjoy the photos! No photos for the trip yet because i cannot upload. Have internet but no CD-rom to upload.

As we go on
we remember
all the good times
we had together

I thought this a very apt line from the song 'Graduation' to use today... after 1 month of getting to know each other, travelling together, fighting boredom in class together, eating, shopping, comparing food prices like housewives, i can say that we have all grown closer.

We may not have become the best of friends, nor made any pacts to be each others' bridesmaids or best men, but we all have that bond there. Comparing the opening dinner and the closing dinner is good enough.

Opening dinner: fighting to find topics to talk about, just so there's no akward silence
Closing dinner: fighting against time to talk about everything under the sun and take pictures

It was really like a prom... a wonderful feeling and experience I think.

There are people that we collectively do not like for various reasons, but even at the dinner, we felt sorry for him. Yes, his actions made everyone isolate him. He intruded on others' privacy by constantly taking pictures; he ignored others' preferences by brushing off requests to stop taking pictures; he made others view the photos he took with suspicion when he kept on bringing up porn.

But yet, at the end of the day, we still felt a little sorry for him that he was isolated. No, we weren't about to take pictures with him (that was too dangerous for some of us, like me for instance), but some guys did talk to him.

After last night's closing dinner, we just lingered around. Even this morning on the way to Thun, we lingered... we missed the warmness and closeness the 4 of us shared in the house... the nearness of our neighbours.

And as we made ready to leave, our hearts were saddened... saddened that this was over.

But yet, there was some sense of anticipation of a journey that was starting...

I'm still alive and kicking, for those who're wondering if i'm still on earth. It's just been so hectic and the internet connection at my apartment is bad... plus there's so much going on! Furthermore, photos are taking such a darn long time to upload. Should i change photo provider? Hahaha... I hear a "yes" whispered into my ear. Haha... alrighty, i think i'll surrender. It's crazy trying to upload 200 photos and having to upload each one at a time.

Well, just to let everyone know that i'm still alive and kicking, and that this blog is not defunct. Heeeeeeeeeee. Unlike Kai's blog that's so so defunct. Promises to update in 2005 have yet to be fulfilled. *tsk tsk tsk*

So yups, enjoy the photos! There are now more than 2 albums... and more are coming up shortly!