Souvenirs

After finally "meeting" my foster family(through their profile), I had to get them souvenirs. Plain basic manners. I took the LRT down to Central Market because mum had afternoon news.

Arriving at Central Market, I went through the batik printed scarfs, parios, sarongs, pewter,etc. I wanted to "survey " the prices of all the potential gifts that I would be buying for my foster family coz shopping in Central Market can cost quite a lot (also depends what I buy lah). The whole journey through Central Market was really short & brief, coz almost all the shops there sell the same things. No wonder I just spent less than 20 minutes going through everything! This included me going in to every shop and stall!

Feeling quite bored already, I went to Popular. I picked up the novel I used to love reading last time-- Sweet Valley Senior. It has been a looooooong time since I've read one of those books. Why? Dad barred me from reading them. He claimed that I should read some literature. Shakespear & stuff.. not some cheesy love novels. Anyway, since I've stopped reading them for a looong time, there's no harm reading one, isn't?

Soon, mum came & met up with me & we went for lunch. After lunch, we went to Popular then went back to Central Market. 1st stop, we went to Royal Selangor. We went through all the pewter merchandise , BOY , it's quite costly! Finally, both of us decided on the pewter vase with orchid engravings at the bottom. For that vase, it cost me RM 95 ! & the RM 95 doesn't even include the engraving fee, which is 30 cents per alphabet!

Next stop, I saw some Nyonya sarongs. I think it is a typical Malaysian clothing. Therefore I got 2 of them for my host sisters. Then, we went to another store where batik printed scarfs were sold. The guy in that shop offered pretty reasonable prices for the scarfs and batiks. In the end, I bought 3 extra batik printed scarfs, 7 extra batik printed hankercheives (if that is the correct spelling) , dunno how many postcards, 1 batik printed table cloth. All these stuff cost me more than RM 125 ! I started to think mum was right about the budget. I had to prepare RM 400 for souvenirs alone.

I had to buy keychains as they are small & easy to carry. Not to mention rather exquisite to give them to others as gifts. I got another pewter letter opener , just in case I need to give it to somebody else. $$$ again. I also got bookmarks, etc.

Finally after getting all the stuff I needed, mum & I went home for dinner. This trip down to Central Market was rather fun. I enjoyed bargaining prices with the shopekeepers. Haha=P
Of course mah...If I buy so many things from that person, he should give me a discount! Not to mention, I am also "kagi nang"--- a Malaysian too! If they wanna raise the prices, do that on the tourists! If wanna "zam", "zam" them lah...not me! Hahaha ! Anyway, the guy who sold me those batik merchandise gave me a reasonable discount, but I think he could've given more... Hehe=P...I just can't wait to meet my new family in Switzerland !!!!

My Foster Family

After soooo many days of waiting, I finally have gotten my Swiss foster family's details. After calling Gaya, I went up to the AFS office and got my profile on my foster family in Switzerland. Flipping through the pages, there were a few photos of them. The first photo is a shot of their house---my future house which I would be staying in Reinach, Switzerland. Their home is a double-storey bunglow covered in snow(well coz it's winter now there).It looked really pretty.I can't wait to go there and have my fun with snow!

The 2nd photo is my future foster mum---Huber Ursula, next is my future foster father---Huber Thomas, 4th is my future elder foster sister---Huber Anja, 5th is another sis---Laura. For the last photo, I have no idea who they are as there was no description on the photo or on the other pages.I guess they might be my foster uncle or aunt....I dunno..... I can't wait to meet my new family! =)

Reading their details, my eldest foster sis is 3 years elder than I am, while the 2nd foster sis is 1 year older than I am. For all my life I have been "dai ga jie", now I guess it's time for me to learn how to live with 2 elder sisters while I switch from "dai ga jie" to "siu mui mui"...haha

Looking at the German word, artz, I had no idea what was my foster dad's profession. With the help of the German-English dictionary, I found out what was it. My foster dad's a doctor! Checking another German word, arztin, which also means doctor for a female, my foster mum's also a doctor! Isn't that interesting?

According to what they wrote, they did host another student from Bolivia for 11 months too. I am so grateful and thankful that they will be hosting my stay for they next 11 months. =) If it were not for them to volunteer, I would never have a chance to go there. Therefore, I would really like to express my gratitude to all foster families around the world who have made it possible for students to travel abroad for the student exchange programme.

There is a lot to learn about. From different lifestyles, culture, weather, etc...I know I would have a great time over there. Of course I would have some difficulties at first, but I know I can make it. After all, how often am I given such oppurtunities?

As how Eminem sang to the song "Lose Yourself"---
~The moment you own it you better never let it go, oh
You only get one shot,
do not miss your chance to blow cuz opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo~

With that said, I gotta go prepare now! Gosh, I gotta get the sovenirs for them! A.S.A.P!

Great Truths About Life

I received an e-mail by a friend one day. Reading the e-mail, I realised that this is one piece of witty e-mail that I would really like to share with all my dear friends...

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fibre, not the toy.


GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.


SUCCESS:

At age 4 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is . having friends.
At age 17 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.

Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way; BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.

Have a wonderful day with many *smiles*
Take the time to live!!!
Life is too short. Dance naked=P