A Great Start leads to a Great Week!

9 Jul Thurs 6.48pm

We had a great start to the week on Tues when we went to Dutch Springs for our Business Project team-building activities in the morning. The activities required us to function together as a team and to tap onto the synergy created by having diverse members in one team.

But the real fun began after lunch time when we went to the Dutch Springs waterpark where they had slides, rock walls and many other cool water structures. The lake was 50 feet deep and everyone who entered the water had to put on life jackets. The weather was pretty odd on that day. After just 30 mins, it started raining and everyone had to get out of the lake. The air became chilly but after the rain stopped, the sun came out and its warmth was immediately felt again within the snap of a finger.

I lay lazily on the reclined beach chair to sun tan and after I was feeling adventurous, I put on my life jacket and tried to enter the water. However, when I dipped my legs into the water first, it was really cold (around 71 Farenheit which translates to be around 24 celcius)! That's about the temperature of air-conditioning. When I looked down into the water, it was very clear and I could see the bottom of the lake. That was also when I realized that 50-feet of water = very deep.

So I decided to just continue to lay lazily on my reclined beach chair to close my eyes, relax and continue sun-tanning. Fortunately, I applied sunscreen or otherwise I would have been sun-burnt. The sun's rays were strong and after every 15 mins, I had to flip over because the skin would get hot. Well but in the end, I was still happy that I managed to get a tan without getting sun-burnt.

Before leaving, we took a few wild and crazy shots which I'll refrain from posting here. Haha..... =;o) Overall, we spent a nice, fun, relaxing day at the waterpark to destress and recharge.

Then came Wednesday - the day where Singapore had it's country presentation. The Global Villagers are a bunch of supportive people. Before the presentation, many of them came to me to express their faith in me that I will do a great job.

During the presentation, the audience was very responsive which was encouraging. I enjoyed presenting to this bunch of wonderful audience. Overall, I think I performed well and got the highest mark in my group of 8 countries. Dick Brandt also chose me as the winner and even referred to me as an 'energizer bunny' who was full of energy and recharged the tired audience who already viewed more than 10 other country presentations before mine. My score of 37/40 was probably among one of the highest of all the country presentations so far.

In the evening, I decided to join a group of Villagers to watch "Transformers 2" to celebrate. We took a cab to "Rave Motion Pictures" cinema and had a takeaway dinner at "Red Robins" restaurant.

On Thursday, we had our Guide Group meeting and Adam the limpy guide (that's what he calls himself because he broke his leg and was on crutches) thought that it would be fun if the entire group could gather in Smiley kitchen to make sushi. It was the first time I was making sushi and I think I did a pretty decent job.

And on Friday, we went to..... New York, New York - the Big Apple. Michael, Khan, Chenyao, Enguerrand and me watched the musical 'Chicago'. Thereafter, we shopped for souvenirs and of course I bought plenty for my loved ones back home!

I came back on the 2am bus and reached home at 4am. (Oh wow, I just realized that I'm now referring to Lehigh University as 'home'). Anyway, I slept at 4.15am and woke up at 6.30am to go fishing with Dick Brandt, Matt Prosser of USA and Sayid of Krygystan (somewhere near Russia).

Merrill Creek was a serene, beautiful and peaceful lake where the scenary was gorgeous and it was an amazing place to be close to nature. Of course, our purpose there was to go fishing and true to the purpose, Matt caught the first fish. However, as it was too small, we had to release it back into the lake due to regulations.

I then caught the first BIG fish at 21 inch, 4 pounds. (Not bad for a first-timer huh?!) The trout put up a fight and it took me near 5 mins to reel it in. It was a taker and we could of course bring it home to cook it. Lemon, onions, pepper with the fish baked in the oven for 30 mins produced a delicious fish! Thanks to Matt who did the cooking, we got to enjoy our catch-of-the-day. I ate plenty of fish and the knowledge that I caught it with a fishing rod made the meal extra pleasant!

It's now a late Sunday afternoon and boy, am I feeling a bit tired. Tired BUT fulfilled! It's been truly a pleasant, relaxing and memorable 3rd Week in GV and I'm sure there're more good stuff to come in Week 4. I wish I could write more but there's limited time - so many things to do, so little time. There're loads of other pictures in my Facebook photo albums so do have a look at them.

P.S: Mummy, Daddy, Sis and Uncle Jay: I miss all of you and despite having a whale of a time over here in Bethlehem, I haven't forgotten about FAMILY =;o)

An Amazing 4th of July

Sat 4 Jul 11.05pm

WOW! What an amazing 4th of July celebration I had today. I went to Alicia Fowler's home - yes, it's not just a house but a HOME! Alicia's home was absolutely beautiful. It was big and cosy. They had a Japanese fish pond, a white tent specially set up for the food, a yard to play a ring-toss game, outdoor chairs and tables with umbrellas, and to complete the setting - a dog whose owner was John (Alicia's boyfriend).

But ultimately what made the experience so memorable was the amazing hospitality by Alicia and her family. They made us feel so welcomed at their home and they prepared such a feast for us! Mary-France's 2 daughters (Rebecca and Alexis Leon) and Jennifer were also there to join in the fun. Additionally, Alicia's family like her aunt Judy and uncle Santos was also present to make the entire atmosphere so homely and cosy.

I really enjoyed talking to Rebecca, Jennifer and Santos over appetizers and dinner. We talked about meaningful stuff instead of just casual banter. Rebecca left a very good impression on me as an intellectual girl.

(On the left is Jennifer, a teacher who is also an 'ox' while Rebecca is on the right and she is a 'dragon'. Apparently both ladies know about the Chinese zodiac)

After a very sumptuous and satisfying dinner, we had 'smores'! Smores are basically Graham crackers with chocolate and melted marshmellows between them. Of course we had to first barbeque the marshmellows - that's the fun part. Jara the Spanish girl really loves her 'smores' and she was the one who made the request to Alicia to include smores into the meal.

Following the desserts (smores was just one the plentiful dessert laid before the table), we played with sparklers to celebrate 4th July.

(That's Jara in the picture)

We bade Alicia and her wonderful family farewell to come back to Lehigh to catch the 9.15pm fireworks. But not before taking a picture with Alicia and her boyfriend John and also with Alicia's Dad, Dave Fowler.

A few of us went to the Mc Conn rooftop to catch the fireworks. The entire fireworks lasted 30 mins and it is simply magnificient. The fireworks display during National Day cannot even compare to what I witnessed tonight!

There were so many patterns and the fireworks covered such a HUGE sky area. I took so many pictures and videos of the fireworks because it is truly a spectacular sight to behold. Below is just one of the videos that I took. It is the best video but still it is just ONE of the many videos.

Although it is a nice video, still it doesn't do full justice to the grandeur of what I witnessed before my very eyes. It was a moving scene because of the beauty and scale of the display.

Do have a look at the pics I uploaded on Facebook of Alicia's beautiful home and also of the fireworks display. When I return home, I will show you more videos of the fireworks. It's a MUST-SEE to watch how Americans celebrate Independence Day with a big bang!

The First Pitch before 10,000 people

Fri 3 Jul 11.34pm

Today was such a special day for me! I had a surprise in the morning during the Village meeting when Mary-Frances announced that the Guides in GV decided to let me be the one to throw the first pitch at the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs baseball stadium.

(In the top picture, the lady beside me is my Project Mentor - Ioana Belu of Romania. She was probably one of the Guides who recommended me for the First Pitch)

The 'first pitch' is a tradition in baseball where someone special (e.g. celebrities, dignitaries, etc, or in this case someone from Lehigh GV) pitch the FIRST ball to the catcher to signal the start of the baseball game. Originally, it was announced at the beginning of the program that the honour would go the the Guide whose guide team had the most punctual attendance.

When it was a tie between a few guides, they made the decision to select a GV intern to throw the first pitch. Mary-Frances first announced that this intern was me and later said that Suliman of Libya was also recommended due to his progress in GV. And there were 2 interns to represent Lehigh but only 1 of us could pitch.

So over at the Iron Pigs baseball stadium, McKenzie flipped a coin and turned out it was confirmed that I would represent Lehigh to pitch.

Here's my FIRST time ever at trying to pitch a baseball. My turn was towards the end. But in the meantime, you can see how the other people pitched. Watch out for the 55th sec where it was finally my turn and listen out for the announcer saying "representing Lehigh University Global - Sherwin Lim". (The video on this blog is very small. If you'd like to view full screen, please look at the video I posted on Facebook)

After the game, the main highlight as to why all of us were at the baseball stadium is the 4th July Fireworks! It was one of the MOST spectacular night scene I have ever witnessed in my entire life! The scene was breath-taking and I was filled with emotions as I looked with awe at the entire fireworks display that lasted 10 mins. We were also given a special 3-D glass to wear to enhance the effect of the fireworks.

The sight was absolutely stunning! Here is but one of the many videos that I took of the display. I am showing the best video and this is the climax of the fireworks display:

It's now 12.20am in the morning and I am feeling tired. But I still have the desire to blog about the evening's event because such beautiful experience and sights don't come by everyday.

The honour to hear your name announced at a stadium packed with thousands of people is one of the more memorable moments in life. The privilege to be granted a chance to represent Lehigh University to throw first pitch is a humbling one - one that is even stronger than the former honour.

The memories of this evening will definitely will etched deeply into my mind and I won't be forgetting the experience anytime soon. It was simply stunning and incredible!

Work Hard, Play Hard, Party Harder

Sat Jun 27 1.35am

What do GV interns wanna do most after a hard long week of work? Well, the answer is obvious: PARTY EVEN HARDER - especially if it's the weekend!

Today's my first party. Of course there were parties during the weekdays but I didn't join because the following days were work days. So I took advantage of the fact that tomorrow (or rather today) is a Saturday and I joined the fun people for some San Grias (Spanish drink consisting of wine, vodka, lemon juice, apples and some other fruits). Other booze was flowing like tap water and I somehow think the price of alcohol here is the same as a bottle of mineral water!

Going to bathe now and sleep......... Coco and Leodany of course were once again trying to bring the fun side out of me and Coco got so high he started going around to introduce me as Singapore and told everyone he was coming to Singapore tomorrow! Haha.....

Here're some of the party pics:

Photo taking and Project Meeting @ FL Smidth

Fri 26 Jun 6.10pm

Wow, it's been 1 week since I arrived at Lehigh Uni and attended the Global Village program. Time really flies when you're having so much fun, meeting so many wonderful people and soaking up an experience of a lifetime! I'm loving my stay here.

Well, today was group photo taking day and Stacey, you said you've never seen me in a suit? Here it is:

Nice? =:oP There're alot more photos which I uploaded onto Facebook so check them out there!

After the photo taking session in the morning, my project group travelled 90mins in a Lehigh Van to visit the FL Smidth (FLS) Manheim Manufacturing Plant. We were greeted by the Project Manager for the FLS project and whom I will be liaising closely with. The meeting got off to a very good start and thereafter we took a tour around the plant.

The management team consisted of VP for Customer Service, GM of Operations, Plant Manager, Financial Controller and Procurement Manager. Each of them worked with the company for more than 10 over years and although they were so experienced, they really listened to what we had to say.

The issues that we are working with were very real - it affects the livelihood of the workers in the plant. I was reluctant to consider revising the wages of workers or lay-offs but the FLS Project Manager told me that if it had to be done, then it's a painful decision they'll have to make. But I will only consider that as a last resort should other options are unfeasible.

Earlier on during the tour, one of the management team was talking to me and I could sense his resistance towards having more of the plant's operations outsourced to China. I empathise with how the current lay-offs have already been felt in the plant. The FLS project manager mentioned that if it really boils down to having to axing the management team and having to shut the plant down, then we should just include it - this is what I call true leadership and acting in the best interest of the company.

I received compliments from Ioana, the project mentor and from Lucia my Deputy Project Manager about how I conducted myself today and was able to leave a professional first impression. Phew, what a relief that was things went smoothly today! =:oD

I'm pleased with my performance and will continue to listen to the people around me. That includes you Dad! I've implemented your advice about involving the entire team and I made the remaining 3 members Deputies of something each so that nobody felt left out. It was taken well! I'll looking forward to having you share more of your management experience with me! =;o)

On the way back, Leodany of Puerto Rico, Coco of Chile and myself were talking so much rubbish that we had so much fun and laughter. We were exchanging cultures and they were sharing with me ways to chase girls in their countries. Absolutely hilarious!

Leodany is the guy on the right of the first picture and he is in the same guide group as me. Coco is the guy in the second picture and he is such a joker! When we wants to call me in a joking manner, he shouts out SINGAPORE! Leo and Coco are really fun people and when they speak English, it's really funny to hear because Leo has a Puerto Rican broken English accent while Coco sounds a bit Italian when he speaks English.

Yeap, so there's my day for you and you've seen and read about my week. Thanks so much for all the comments you've left behind Uncle Jay, Dad, Sis, Stacey and Stella!

To sign off: here's a little shout out from my fellow Global Villagers to all you folks back home! It was something random that I just decided to do while having dinner late last night at the Italian pizza joint. Have fun watching it......

Long eventful day

Fri 26 Jun 12.11am

What a long, tiring eventful day........

Started earlier than the others because Anastasia and myself had to play host to George DeBakey of Epals. Later attended George's talk on E-Learning business and followed by another George's (George Weathersby) talk about being a CEO. I really benefited alot from Weatherby's talk!

Later we split into our business consulting project group and discussed the details together.

It's been such an eventful day and I'm tired. Tomorrow gotta wake up early to dress up in a suit for photo taking.

Thanks Dad for all the advice and emotional support that you gave me when I needed someone to talk to. I guess I was feeling overwhelmed and I felt better after your call. I will implement your advice and I am really looking forward to the road ahead.

Going to sleep now. ZZZZzzzzzz..........

A little add-on to the post just below this

Wed 23 Jun 12.57am

It's 12.57am now and though I am really really tired from waking up so early in the morning to sign up for courses (on a 'first come first serve' basis) and having had a full day + doing country presentation, it's amazing that I still have the energy and enthusiasm to reply to FB messages and accept friend requests from my fellow GV interns (just received one from the Spanish "male pornstar" which read: "Mr Lim!!! How are you man?? Greetings from the Porn Star!!! :D."). Seeing a friend request from a GV fellow intern sends a surge of energy to my brain as I know I now have 1 more new international friend whom I can count on for future alliances.

I also spent the time tidying and adding content to my previous blog post so that my loved ones have a great blog post to read. I realize that the people around you are so important because they are a source of energy when you need a recharge. FAMILY, COUSINS, FRIENDS - all these important play such a huge role in my life!

Ok, really going to bed now coz I'm zapped and need to recharge my body. The Portuguese and other people at Mc Conn dorm are still partying...... (can hear them from my Thornburg dorm) But of course, I really don't mind coz it's really a sign of how close this GV family is and what fun and happening people there are at Global Village'09!

GOOD NIGHT AND SWEET DREAMS.........

Love reading your comments

Tuesday 23 Jun 6.39pm

Hi my dearest family and cousins,

I'm so happy to read each of your comments one by one. They mean alot of me coz they are my link to home when I am away in a faraway land.

I'm doing great here, Stella and Stacey. I've been enjoying the food so much that I always make it a point to finish all that's on the plate despite it being American portion. I hope to put on at least 5kg when I return home. Haha.... =:oD And I'm really beginning to get used to the cool weather here. Initially on my first few days, I felt cold but now, I enjoy feeling cool breeze on my face while the rays of the sun touches my skin. (My heart goes out to you guys back home coz I heard a few ppl complaining about the heat back home on Facebook)

Uncle Jay, yeah, I'm making new friends here and the experience is very powerful in shaping my perspectives and leaving memories that will last a life-time. Things that I would say NO to in the past, I am beginning to say YES to!

• Don't say 'NO' to considering emigrating overseas even if your country is stable, safe and comfortable
• Don't say 'NO' to considering having an ang-moh girlfriend or wife becoz there have been cases when fellow GV alumni have gotten married (case in point: Mexican guy + French girl)
• It's all about being open-minded and trying to accept ideas/possibilities before passing judgement.

Last nite was the GV opening dinner. It was a magnificent sight to view the different national costumes of the 107 interns from 53 countries. You need to be here personally to fully appreciate the wonderful experience of attending a party that almost resembles a United Nations gathering. Do see the pictures and videos I uploaded on Facebook for this.

Well, as we go deeper into communal living and interacting daily with different personalities, some of the quirkiness of individual characters become observable and felt personally. It's a challenge to think of how to react to a situation where this individual persists in walking deep into your room each time, even after you pass him the item that he needs at the door or when there isn't a need to enter the room. And you really don't have the heart to tell him that it bothers you becoz firstly, he's your activity buddy and secondly, if you try to stand firm at the door, he asks if you don't welcome him. Sigh.... just a lament. Thinking postively, perhaps he sees me as a close friend to be doing that?

On the brighter side, Antonio my room-mate is absolutely fantastic! He's such a nice person to live with and he offers to share many things with me as I do with him. It's a healthy living atmosphere we both created so I'm blessed to have him as a room mate. He's such an easy going guy with a shining personality. Heard him mention my name a few times while talking to his family back home (and as some of you are thinking in your heads now: NO, he wasn't gossiping about me =:oP)

Lastly and most importantly, to my family back home: mummy, daddy and sis, I love you and I am thinking of you. Thanks for the love and hugs sis! *hugs and kisses back*

Here're some photos that I thot u might enjoy:

Here's the national costume of Denmark - Vikings! Kasper on the right is an impressive 2.03m! He towers over me. Can you imagine trying to have a face to face conversation with this guy?

A preview of the costumes that were worn during the GV opening dinner (it was a pity that my camera battery went flat just after taking a few pics. I've learnt my lesson now to always bring a spare camera battery during important functions)

Earlier on in the day, we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. we all had Nachos with Salsa and Frito Pollo - Mexican rice with chicken, fries and vegetables. In accordance with my aim to put on 5kg when I return home, I finished the entire plate! *grin* =:oD Yet another victory!

Try guessing what's this........ (if you still can't figure it out, scroll down right at the bottom for answer) But give it a try first!

I could upload photos and talk about my experience all day but alas, there's work to be done! I really need to start working on my country presentation since I have not done so. And sigh....... it's a challenge to juggle work and social coz my activity buddy just enthusiastically knocked on my door again with a smile to ask me to play pool.

But no worries, I know my priorities so I'll spend just a little while to entertain him before returning to my work. Ultimately, I work so hard back home in NUS that I often neglect friendships. So when I come here, one of my intentions is to build life-long friendships. And that's why this time I'm gonna oblige him =:o)

All of you are in my thoughts from time to time and I hope all's well back home. Don't worry about me because what they have done here at Global Village is to create a very safe and conducive environment for us to interact and make mistakes.

(And for the answer to the last picture above: it's actually a universal TV remote. Why so BIG? Is it for the blind to 'see' it? Well, the answer is on the packaging: "Never lose your remote again!") Hell yeah!

Official GV Opening

Sunday 21 Jun 7.30pm

Just came back from the day's programme. We first started by watching an inspirational video created by Mary Frances and Greg (the IT guy who helped set up my Internet connection). Its intention is to inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Following that was the opening address by Dick Brandt who spoke about the different country representatives, the GV curriculum and GV staff members.








We then played a game where each of us had to say something interesting about ourselves. One particularly memorable introduction was this Spanish guy who shocked everyone by saying that he's a porn star only to announce shortly later that he was just joking. Haha..... That really left a memorable impression on all of us.

And here's me with my room mate, Antonio:

After that we were taken for a campus tour. Lehigh Uni has its own police stationed on campus.

Along the way, I made friends with Sara, another Spaniard who's in my assigned group. As with many Westerners, she's warm and friendly.

After a long campus tour, it was 4pm and we were all so hungry....... After lunch, we played the last game which almost resembled speed dating where we each had 3 mins to talk to people and move on to the next person in the circle. Here's the final picture for the day. The Austrian girl on the left of the pic is Anastasia who is also in my group. She looks like a barbie doll in real life.

My Bed

Here is a photo of my bed. It's so high my legs can't even touch the floor. It's probably built for very tall people like one of the interns from Denmark who's 2.03m tall! I should probably take a picture with him and show you guys......

Pictures were taken by my room mate Antonio who's a really nice and considerate guy. Offered to share with me all this food, water and toiletries!

My first American lunch

Sat 20 Jun 5.08pm

Just got back from a hearty American lunch with a load of photos. I get to work out before each meal because it's a 15 min walk to the nearby restaurant.

Here are some pictures taken along the walk.....

This is actually a protestant church

Initially it was just Khan, myself and Michael (another Hongkonger). Then we met 2 other German girls who walked with us. They went to a supermarket while the guys went for lunch.

This cute little squirrel outside a cafe was kind enuff to pose for me. Apparently, it was not afraid of people probably because it gets fed by humans. And of course the 2 German girls were laughing at the 3 guys who were so fascinated with squirrels that we actually spent a minute taking a picture of the squirrel.

Lunch was an "Alexander Special" consisting of 2 chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage and hash brown. Yummy....

Here's a picture of 2 guys who didn't manage to finish their fish & chips because they were too overwhelmed by the generous portion.

While here's a picture of a full and satisfied guy who managed to finish his huge American portion meal! Yay, so proud of myself. =:oD

Ok, it's going to be 6pm soon and gotta start preparing for a trip to Walmart with Khan and Michael.

First Contact

Sat 20 Jun 11.25am

Eureka!!! I have Internet connection. Woohoo!

Hmm... so much things to say and pictures I wanna take and post. But Khan, my new Hongkong friend is waiting for me to play pool so I'll make it a short and sweet post.

It's raining outside now and when it rains, the air gets real cold. Fortunately, I'm in the comforts of the common room of Thornburg student dorm. Later in the evening, I'll be heading to Walmart with Khan and Antonio (my Italian room-mate) on a Lehigh shuttle bus. I'll need to get a few daily supplies.

The Global Village program will officially start on Sunday 21 Jun. Today is basically a day for us to catch up on rest and to settle in. I'll probably explore the campus during the campus tour tmrw.

When it gets too cold in the morning, a source of comfort is the toilet! After washing up with hot water, it's not so cold as when I first wake up.

Coming soon: pictures of the people in Lehigh, my room (the highlight is really my bed where it's so high that my feet can't even touch the ground!) and other places that I visit.

Before I sign off, I wanna wish Dad "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!" Love you lots Dad and thanks for sponsoring my trip. =:oD And Mummy and Sis: Love you both as much!

All ready for the trip..... (well, almost!)

Ok, it's less than T-minus 24 hours before my flight and I'm more or less packed.......

Had a good Ham & Mushroom pizza from Pastamania for dinner. And complemented it with a slice of cheese after the meal. But then after that, I still had room for fruits: honeydew, yellow watermelon, papaya - my favourite. And then there's dessert - ICE CREAM! There's always room for ICE CREAM anytime - especially when it's specially bought by a loved one.

Sometime last week I was just commenting to Mum why ain't there no ice-cream in da house when it's so HOTTTTT nowadays! And then on monday I think, Mum went to buy a whole box of ice-cream (those stick kind) before my trip. Sooooo touched! =:oD

THANKS MUM!!!! I enjoyed the ice-cream.

Ooookay, I should probably be going to bed now since it's a big day tomorrow....... Wish me a safe trip!

My Croatian Travel Companion

After a few correspondences via email, Robin sent me his photo so that I can identify him at JFK Airport. So allow me to introduce my Croatian travel companion who will be taking the bus together with me to Lehigh.......

He'll be arriving via UNITED AIRLINES - UA 8841 on the 19 June, 12.50pm. Hope everything goes smoothly and we'll be arriving at our student dorms on time!