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!