新的體驗－independence多一點點

終於終於終於 越過重重困難

從跟超cool的Boss大開玩笑，好幾次混亂的email來回

直到最後我一個人尋找那剛剛搬走，躲在天涯海角的HRcenter，

我，

翁燕儀，

今天，

終於正式開始這半“供”讀之旅，開心開心開心

^______^

＊半“供”讀＝供自己零用錢而存下獎學金

自從由上個學期因時間的關係，

推掉了那份教學前班的小孩子dream job 之後

再次找一份工作並不難，

但要找與下課時間的那幾個空閒小時的工作較為難

還好

我有雷潔文！

《3

現在我們每個星期二不但會見面一起工作還會一起用膳哦

幾個月前

其實個人比較抗拒做一些跟我passion無關的工作

所以一開學的時候也沒有想到要在dinning hall 或 圖書館工作

最想就是教小孩子，整天跟小孩子打成一片，覺得那樣比較有意義嘛

但 神改變了我的看法

雖然Jumpstart 應聘了我，而且工資還很好，也可以幫助小孩子，但我最後決定了放棄。

原因：

工作時間加上planning和travel的時間實在太長了，每個星期10－12個小時，還真不想自己在第一個學期就常常離開campus。大學的生活嘛，應該留在大學校園裡面多多體驗。就那樣，我作出了決定

偶爾看到參與Jumpstart的同學我會有那麼一點點後悔

我會去幻想和“懷念”那些跟小孩子“原有”的回憶

但每每當我回想當初推掉工作的原因

加上第一個學期的所有經歷

我就知道我做對了決定

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

“工作貴賤之分，只要是靠著自己雙手努力的工作，都值得人們尊重”

－孟非

雖我不知這句話是否來源於孟非，

但是他將這句話從書本上平民化，

讓我可以將這句話用於日常生活當中

這種工作態度和看待工作的態度是我在收看“非誠勿擾”的人生觀收穫之一

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

今天第一天工作感覺非常非常愉快

每個人都很友善

每個人都有自己的故事

第一天就認識了很多很多人，爽！

有很nice的Dolores：

她原來認識我宿舍這邊dinning hall一位同樣很nice 的Dorita

她們是很友好的朋友

有樣子長得有點凶說話聲也異常大的西班牙啊姨＿＿＿忘記名字了

但跟她開幾個玩笑，順道跟她學學西班牙語

Machos gracias

其實她為人也不錯哦

有剛從北京來了一年多戴著黑框框眼鏡的研究生Nick

我問他，北京那裡？

他回我，北京。

我再問他，整個北京你都住著？

他又回我，北京的北京，downtown.

哦

有在BC dinning service 工作了十五年的Tom：

他，從不缺乏笑容

雖然手不時地微抖

卻參加過兩次波士頓馬拉松

跑了四個多小時

我聽了頓時很敬佩

我跟他說：

因為他的分享，讓我更加有決心在明年春天的時候也要參加馬拉松！

一起用膳的時候他跟我分享了他住在很遠很遠的地方

每天需要凌晨五點半起來

上九點半到三點半的工作

他滿足的笑容，讓我印象深刻

雖然他的動作和外貌可能讓別人覺得他有點怪

但我有幸深入地認識他，認識他勤勞的一面，愛跑步的一面

還有一位tour guide帶領我教我不同的東西

但健忘的我忘記他的名字了

下次一定要記住！

＊

其實我要干的活並不多：

食物快被人吃光光了就加添

咖啡被人快喝光光了也就加添

其餘的都是很瑣碎的事情

平常在soup kitchen serve homeless people 的時候

也會常做，全部都是舉手之勞

最享受在dinning hall 工作的原因

就是我可以見到很多很多的同學朋友

趁機聊幾句，增進增進感情

呵呵呵呵呵呵

從前不覺得制服好看

但穿到身上，帽子戴上

其實... 還蠻cool咧 呵呵！

BC的dining 制服很特別

上面寫著：“Feed your mind”

後面寫著：Eat，drink，think

真的，我要feed 我的mind with others stories

我要serve others with my smile and my energy

我要encourage others to THINK more critically

我在dining service工作有一個mission：

我是基督徒的spy

我要活出基督的樣式

：）

旅途會怎樣？

我不能詳細描述

但我知道也深信

祂不曾離開

總保守看顧

無論去到那裡

祂 也想我做 有鹽味的鹽 發光明的光

阿們

Poetry for OTE

"like a beautiful butterfly spreading her wings 

towards the gorgeous sunflower fields"

these are the last words in my college essay

Stay beautiful, Yanyi.

No matter where you are in the future,

be yourself and stay beautiful

That's my promise for my future self

Over and over again I told myself, 

I am ready

I am ready to leave

I am ready to explore

I am ready to grow

I am ready to be heard

I am ready to fly away

fly far far away...

But wait,

I heard a voice holding me back.

In Chinese she says,

daughter,

don't go too far

this family can not afford to lose you

your little brother needs you

I am not ready to let you go

the world is too dangerous

I need keep you by my side

so I can watch over you

don't go too far

I took her words into my heart,

but I excused myself:

Mother, please let me go.

let me go out to the world

so I can learn to protect you

I will be back

I promise.

Six weeks into OTE,

I realize that the world is so big,

that I can never understand how each and every of you

rises above your hardships and survives to make it to OTE

I may not understand, 

but I can listen.

I can try to feel how you feel.

In a community with 47 other OTE scholars,

every single day,

I learned from 47 different personalities.

I remembered the first time when a scholar shared with me her story

in the green line back to Boston.

The ride felt longer than usual,

because I was exposed to a heartfelt conversation

that I rarely experience

The strength in her voice,

and the passion in her eyes,

painted her face with angelic beauty.

I told her

I can never understand what you went through

but I promise to be your support.

I may not be there in the past,

but I promise I will be there for you in the future.

That was actually the moment when OTE is no longer just a summer program,

OTE is my new family. 

Just as I promise my mother,

I decided to protect every friend that I meet at OTE, and at Boston College.

Because I believe that everyone is beautiful.

We all deserve to be beautiful.

First part of the poem that I performed today.

To be continued... :)

until I type up that other half... heheee

Floating vs. Faith

Tonight was definitely a test of faith.
God helped me aced it.
♫♬ Hallelujah! Grace like rain... falls down on me ♫♬



At BC,
I recently decided to go to the pool whenever time permits. The motive was simple: I wanted to learn how to swim!!! Swimming such an important life skill to have and I can not allow my adventurous-self to miss out! Want to know my motivation on not giving up?--- These little kids that swam way better than me in the pool. They were having so much in the water while I struggled to keep nose above the water...

Funny story: Last thursday there was this 5-year-old kiddo being thrown into the 12 feet (note: 12 feet is the deepest part of the whole pool, I was holding my blue floater like it was my God), he was trying so hard that his facial expression changed at least 5 times in 3 seconds... kids... I adore!!!

Last friday was a milestone for me in my swimming progress: I was able to swim half a lap without stopping and able to float for at least 10 seconds!!! I was so proud of myself, so were my friends! I learned important life lessons from swimming: discipline, trust that the water will hold me up (same trust in God), and conquer my fear by believing in my own ability to accomplish anything that I set my mind to.

There are two things I really want to overcome before going to college: swimming and singing. Before, I struggled with singing more than the fear of water due to earlier bad experience and discouragements. But I think I am making significant progress as I learn to appreciate my unique voice and build up more confidence through practices.  My fear of water originated from when I was younger, I fell into this big hold filled with dirty water. I was not able to breathe and I choked. Somebody's big hand pulled me up just in time for me to survive. Thank God. But ever since then, I hate the feeling of unable to breathe, especially underwater. It makes me sick. But as I watched my friends swimming like dolphins, and my inner desire to swim like a beautiful mermaid, I overcame my fear of water. This swimming skill did not come without a price: I scratched my two right hand fingers again the pool wall, crashed my left knee underwater, drank over 1-liters of pool water, choked like crazy, and got bit 4 times on my toes from some Martha's Vineyard vicious crabs. >_____<

Regardless of all the "injuries" listed above, my overall experience for learning how to swimming is extremely positive. I can now proudly say to people: I know how to swim!!!

Swim: check!
Sing: check!

YAY.
Mission accomplished.

My next goal is to swimming at least 5 laps back and forth in the pool!

A glimpse of... prom! ^___-

Should I take this happy flower with me? hahahaha... 

if so, I would be really really really good model for art_of_nature blog!

O, so in love with white& green this year.

just look at my blogger layout, 

my prom dress and my accessories fit perfectly with it. 

:)

I am really excited for prom.

I can not wait to take beautiful photos with my high school friends.

I can not wait to spend a night having fun with my loved ones.

I can not wait to "accomplish" prom with my date.

I can not wait to turn good moments into forever memory.

I can not wait, I can not wait, I can not wait!

actually, I can wait...

Patience is a virtue.

A few months ago, I was really skeptical about prom.

Until one day, Vivian influenced me with her excitement.

How can you not go? It is once in a life time!

I know. Once in a life time, true.

The explorer inside me began to expose me to the day of prom, in my fantasy.

That was how I became a fan of prom.

With that infective excitement, I influenced Mamadou.

He was skeptical about it at first too.

But the power of peer pressure is too great. :)

so he gave in.

Funny part is... we both don't mind going, 

but if possible, we would pass the dancing part.

Dancing is really the part that caused our early Promphobia. 

Sometimes I really dislike certain actions that people do when they dance.

To be honest, I felt disgusted. 

this should not be a reason that I don't want to go to prom, 

Arthur reminds me.

You can not stop what others do. just enjoy yourself.

after he said something along that line,

I felt more open about prom.

Later, we decided to change our "stereotype" about prom.

We began to put more emphasize

on the special dinner, 

on the well dressed classmates, 

on the moments to be together with most of our lovely high school for the last time.

With attitude changed,

I became super excited for prom.

I want the experience.

During prom shopping, 

I got so much closer to Vivian...

I actually enjoyed shopping so much more when shopping for dresses.

They make me feel so girly. hehe.

I also got closer to Dongwa

as we communicate more regarding to prom.

I am grateful that he decided to give prom a try too.

first step of stepping out of comfort zone. good job.

Enian will also be there also, 

so we can keep him accompanied as Sagwa is surely going wild in dancing. =P

During this process of getting ready for prom.

I experienced many "first times"

-watch Youtube make-up tutorial and put on whole face make-up all by myself

-wearing a green mermaid dress

-special, extra sweet compliment from mom

-shop for at least 5 hours non-stop (set record!)

-shop online for dress

-shop& choose outfit for Dongwa

Let prom be a happy ending for my high school year,

also,

Let prom be a beautiful transition between high school and college.

(since my college life starts in less than a month! JUNE 26~~~)

WOW- W E E(at) K(razily)

Tuesday- Mamadou KiddOLD's surprise bday celebration
Wednesday- Girl's Value facilitator! Translator! Runner!
Thursday- New YorkER for a day!
Friday- dinner w/ Helen... :)

Elaboration when time permits,
for now, let me keep an electronic record of the week! ha.

Translation-FUN

Just spend the first hour of Monday (NEW WEEK! ^^ Going to be an exciting week) translating 3 documents regarding to gardening! For a beginner who is half English and half Chinese speaking, translating apparently is a very difficult task! I thought it would be easy, but when I actually start translating the technical gardening terms into Chinese, no appropriate Chinese words popped up in my mind! Aiya~ But as I slowly read through each sentence, I realized that it wasn't that bad after all! I am getting there!!!

Translating is so fun! I love it. Love this new hobby! Eager to learn more and gain more experiences!

Live Translation on this coming Wed, 20/hr. for one and half hour. ADD OIL ME! ^_______^


EDIT: THURSDAY!
The experience was incredible!!! Not only did I improved my Chinese, but also improved my gardening knowledge!!! To be continued on another post (the one for Wednesday!)

Healthy Eating Week for Yanyi!

though it is not recent that I realized how unhealthy my eating habits are, but I never care to do anything about it. For the past few weeks (months?) I've been eating after 12pm and my daily meals tend to mainly focus on meat!

Mr. Huie once said he likes girls that can eat. haha. that's me!!! I am not afraid to eat, but I want to eat healthier so I can have a healthier body to support my daily thinking and daily doings. :D

+ oil me la!!!

• No eating after 10:30pm
• No more than 1 rice meal on weekdays and 2 rice meal on weekend!
• Must eat breakfast daily!!!
• No junk food but a fruit each day

DAY ONE:

Cereal + Banana slices, night snack replacing the usual meal at 12pm

A Few hours later... 12:38 am.

I stepped outside of my room when sdad came home. 

Already smelling something good, 

I stopped by the dinner table alone.

In a rectangular box covered by a brown plastic bag,

I wished so badly that it is now noon!

'Cuz then I am free to enjoy the food!

But now I can only hope that afternoon would come soon!

Dilemma!

I can feel a mini demon and a mini angel standing on each of my shoulder, whispering to me...

Guess what I ended up choosing?!

YANYI WENG! ADD OIL! Cheer up!

It is only DAY 1!!! You have a long way to gooooooooooooooo!

Keepin' it for future encouragement! haha

好准！准得有點不可思議！我只回答了7條？問題而已。

Perfect Thursday!

Sometimes I feel like I am starting to get lazy and forget about this blog :<

Not good! I do not want to have holes in my life... 

So here let me record my perfect Thursday!

Wa Family's first in a while hangout to get milkshake was absolutely hilarious! How can it not be with Sagwa Shawnna around? hahaha, as usual, we thought we lost her when we were in CVS because she always wandered off our eyesight! (Quote Maxine: somebody got into Yale but can't hold a balloon right or cross the street by herself... hahah) when I actually guide Dongwa and Sheegwa to Chinatown from Downtown (not too surprisingly, they did not know how to go there), Sagwa needs to get cash. So we went all the way from Chinatown to Bank of America. After that, we finally got to get our milkshake. Once again, Sagwa got brain-freezed when she drank the greenapple yet she still kept drinking. So adorable!!! 

I think my little brother enjoyed hanging out with us too. He especially like Dongwa, maybe because they are both guys and they are both kiddo! hahaha... Lil bro kept asking to see if Africa has lions... stereotypes much!

fast forward to getting another three Vietnamese subs, Sagwa left to make it home by 6pm. Dognwa, lil bro and I went to the library to work on AP calc homework. Not so surprisingly, we went on the wrong side of the subway! haha this often happened to Sagwa and me, but Dongwa and me? hmmm first time. Conclusion: I think I am the issue here. 

Anyway, we brought some DVDs from the library and worked on AP calc. 

fast forward to meeting up with Mandy and Sophie for Sushi! 

It was funny how Mandy ended up bringing her friend Terrel, who happens too be black too, just like Dongwa. So we had a good laugh on that. xD

6 people, 1 tiny table, 4 Green apples plus 1 strawberries milkshake, 7*8 sushi's, $46.50. 

Highlight of the day! 

Love it so much. 

Love the friends,

Love the laughs, 

Love the silly jokes,

Love how we meet so rarely yet still close to each other,

Love how open-minded we are,

simply love ...us, Mandy&Sophie&Dongwa&Terrel&Jin.

We should definitely have another one!

Too bad my camera ran out of battery. aiya. ^_____^

P.S thanks wendeebee's cross state text <3 daily surprise!!!

today will be a crazy day, to be continued...

eat like crazy, run like crazy, homework like crazy, talk like crazy, skate like crazy, joke like crazy, love family like crazy, read like crazy, send emails like crazy, pray to my Heavenly Father♥ like crazy, last but not least, sleep like crazy!

So far：
ate like crazy－媽咪特制西米湯水和炸雞，two bowls of cereal和無數零碎的零食－，－！

talked like crazy－seriously i should promote lil bro to become a lawyer, how can he talk so much?! He often make me feel so quiet and so NOT talkative! haha...

read like crazy－
“The Art of Loving”－愛的藝術
bought from Shanghai，2 thumbs up！

Kiddos

hahaha welcome my new family member- Kiddo Silver Light aka Ishy.

A bit too shy huh?

Kiddo Jin and I will take great care of you, no worry my dear!

Looks like someone likes to pose too!

Very thoughtful fish huh? that's why I love you!

Yup, that's right! Do not be afraid to look at me straight in the eyes!

posing for me again huh? :)

Hope you are liking your new home and your new family :)

Here, a full body photo for this memorable day! You are beautiful!

If anything, Silver Light is my Lucky Kiddo that bring my family tighter. 

This morning under my "alarm clock" note,

kiddo Jin wrote me a surprising note!

SDad, Mom, Jin and I all chatted about Kiddo Silver Light in the morning. 

Thank God, You indeed answered my prayer of positive changes to this family!

<3

My God is a living God...

I've been reading some interesting online resources regarding to Israel's rebirth as a nation in May14, 1948 (the year when Israel won the war of Arab-Israel War), and how it relates to the prophecy noted in the Bible. If you care to know more, below is a section which I thought was helpful, especially for the non-believers.

(http://brittgillette.com/WordPress/?p=107)

Israel
Non-believers can dismiss the messianic prophecies as unfulfilled by claiming the Gospels were written by the followers of Jesus and that Medieval historians revised history.
But you can’t make the claim of historical revisionism when a prophecy is fulfilled in your own day.
And God’s Word was fulfilled in plain sight, for all the world to see, in May 1948.  That’s when Israel became a nation for the first time in almost 2,000 years.
2,600 years ago, the prophet Isaiah spoke on behalf of God, who promised to gather Israel’s children from the four corners of the earth and bring them back to the land He promised them:

“‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west and from north and south. I will bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth. All who claim me as their God will come, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.” Isaiah 43:5-7 (NLT)

God also promised through the prophet Jeremiah to bring the people of Israel out of exile and back into their land:

“‘But the time is coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when people who are taking an oath will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ For I will bring them back to this land that I gave their ancestors.” Jeremiah 16:14-15 (NLT)

And, as if that weren’t enough, God reiterated His intentions through the prophet Ezekiel:

“Therefore, give the exiles this message from the Sovereign Lord: Although I have scattered you in the countries of the world, I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile. I, the Sovereign Lord, will gather you back from the nations where you were scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.” Ezekiel 11:16-17 (NLT)

The promise to restore Israel as a nation isn’t made just once, twice, or even three times in the Bible, but numerous times.  Space constraints simply don’t allow for an exhaustive look at all of God’s prophecies concerning Israel.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that long before the Jewish people ended an almost 2,000 year exile from the land of Israel, God promised their return.
These promises weren’t “made up” by mere men…  How could they be?  Who but God could have foreseen the Jewish exile and subsequent regathering?  What other nation of people in the history of the world faced a forced exile yet retained all the elements of their cultural, religious, and social heritage?
The modern day nation of Israel is bombshell testimony of God’s existence…

“Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NLT)

Which opens the door to even more evidence…


Further readings,http://brittgillette.com/WordPress/?p=107

今天的孩子日記

像個小小小小小孩子，
大喊大叫在地上打滾，
搖手搖腳齊做雪天使，
望望從天降落的雪花們，
幸福原來就是這麼簡單！

《3

屋子裡HOTPOT，
屋外面SNOW，
我們玩樂與PARKING LOT，
有誰還理會冬天的COLD？

^________^

Fasting

I never seriously fast before.
During my devotion tonight, I had an epiphany to fast- in order to have more quiet time to pray to God. I want to seek more of God's presence in my life, and in my prayer. While doing devotion tonight, I came upon the same scripture twice, one in English and in Chinese:

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. -Isaiah 40:31

但 那 等 候 耶 和 华 的 必 从 新 得 力 。 他 们 必 如 鹰 展 翅 上 腾 ； 他 们 奔 跑 却 不 困 倦 ， 行 走 却 不 疲 乏 。-以 賽 亞 書 40:31

Was I tired physically? Nope. But I was indeed wearied, spiritually. Things that make me weary are not physical things, they are emotional burdens that I have to deal with. I got this even more when my period is here. I am not going into details about these burdens, but I want to emphasize the reason why I become weary- I become weary when I begin to depend on myself... when I depend on myself to take care of the emotional burdens, when I depend on myself to fix my own problems, when I decided to take that chance to depend on myself without God's help... I become weary instantly. I know it, I know it all these times yet I still choose to depend on myself many times. This is human nature, isn't it?

Jesus taught me to live a humble life when He lowers himself from Heaven and died on the cross for me. I know I am supposed to lift up myself to Him because I am faithful that He will take care of me. But at times when I am spiritually weak, I have little faith. I begin to take everything upon myself and do things my way, the way I wanted so I can feel ownership over my life. The act of taking back that onwership is foolish because it has been proven so so so many times that God's way are WAYYYYY better than my way, His thoughts are wayyyyy wiser than my thoughts! How is a clay going to paint herself with colors that she does not even know? Only the artistic clay-maker knows what's best for the clay, for He make the clay with his own hand and has a purpose for it.

Why does God's Word appeal to some people and not others? Those who believes God seeks Him wholeheartedly in spirit and in love. That's when God's power pour upon them and make Himself known through His words. Today's devotion emphasizes on "Waiting Prayer"- waiting upon God's very presence in your prayer and strengthen you with the power of the Holy Spirit. In Chinese church, we do not talk about the Holy Spirit a lot due to cultural background. However, Holy Spirit is indeed so true. Holy Spirit is my guidance and my friend... He has that voice to guiding me to the right path. He voice is always so gentle and patient, but it is for those who seeks Him wholeheartedly will identify His voice and hold on to His strength to overcome whatever obstacle one is facing.

So let me relate back to my decision of fasting. I always have a strong desire for food, especially meat. After spending my daily devotion time praising God, reading His Words as well as related devotional books that draw me closer to Him, I continued to read my "Blueprint" by Jaeson Ma. In this chapter, he talks about "Waiting Prayer". While reading, I felt a strong desire to just put away everything to seek God. That's is when I decided to fast for tomorrow. I was going to do it until Sunday, but that would be unrealistic for me in terms of health. Then I pray to God that I would fast for a day first. I want to use this fasting time to seek God, and to experience the detachment for my desire for meat. Then I set a second spiritual discipline for myself: to wake up early in the morning to pray to God. I want to start off the day with a prayer to my beloved God, the One whom I want to have a closer relationship with.

Discipline would be my personal theme word for 2011, just as courage was my personal theme word for 2009-2010.

吃得苦中苦，方為人上人

I absolutely adore Chinese Proverbs.

They can an be interpret in depth in so many layers.
For every unique experience that I gained; I felt extremely excited to have a Chinese Proverb that fit perfectly about how I felt.

So tonight was a rough night. Actually yesterday was a rough day also. But I pulled through it. Now I am renewed.

A new day is ahead. I ought not to waste it in any way.
Make each day precious, that's what I keep reminding myself.

I found a weakness and learn something new about myself. interesting~吃得苦中苦，方為人上人。
don't let MY comfort zone weakens me,
fighta warrior just does not become a warrior in a day, she is expected to overcome countless failures and discover endless weaknesses. Nevertheless, as long as she is alive, she will keep fightin'.

+Oil!Thanks Shawnna, Pouchy, and maybe Sergio.

GAME it is

So after 2 hour of intense math test, my brain was completely numb with all the math. So after going to Pinoccio to get the food with Long, I decided it would be a good idea to find way to relax the numbness.(< this word sounds like dumbness to me) Anyway!

Shawnna taught me how to play THE-MOST-INTENSE-CARD GAME in the universe! it takes so much mental strategy, communication and teamwork with your partner. I love it! This game definitely beats President, my ex-favorite this year, and "Heart-Attack" that I learned a while ago.

Good stuff, I am going to miss this day of CSA for sure.

P.S. Long's email was funny. ha.