Holiday in Penang

I got home from the Philippines on Thursday evening and had to immediately pack for our holiday in Penang, Malaysia, the next morning. My time in Bacolod was wonderful - our host was very gracious and the various groups we worked with were equally hospitable. For those who were praying for me, thank you! I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have a migraine after my first session as I typically would after teaching. Response to the evening meeting on sexuality was very encouraging - more than 200 high school kids and young adults turned up (some with their parents!) and many asked very good questions.

Brian and I left for Penang early Friday morning. Thankfully our room was available for us to check in by the time we got in. The resort we stayed at was nice though I was expecting a little more for the price we paid. Nonetheless, we had a good time catching up with some of my friends from university days. We also had the chance to hang out with mycousin Kaye who is now based in Penang.

We spent most of our time at the beach and by the pool but did get to visit the Botanical Garden where monkeys are known to run wild. When we arrived there, we found some of them sitting on the electric cable above our heads! Some of them even had a baby clinging on to them as they swung swiftly from one tree/cable to another.

Back at the beach, we managed to do some para-sailing. It was pretty cool as both of us went up together. However, due to the wind direction, we nearly had a crash landing! It was a lot of fun. As is the case for all holidays, we now need another few days of rest to recover from our holiday!

Pictures from Penang

Left: The beach at our hotel.

Left: Monkeys in the wild at Penang's Botanical Garden

Bottom: Brian trying to make friends with a primate.

To the City of Smiles

I leave tomorrow noon for Bacolod City in the Philippines. Known as the City of Smiles, it is a seaport 45 minutes flight south of Manila. I don't know much about this city as this is my first visit there. We (my boss and I) will first fly into Manila and take the 4:55am flight to Bacolod the next morning - yes, you did not read wrong - it IS 4:55 am! This means, we have to be at the airport by 3 am and leave the hotel by 2 am! That's not the worst, yet. We get into Bacolod by 6:30 am or so and at 8 am, we have a radio interview! Hopefully I won't be talking gibberish at that unsaintly hour! My boss insists that this trip will help reprogram me into a morning-person like he is but I doubt that will happen!

I don't have to do any teaching until the next morning, fortunately (see my schedule on the right). It will be another intense trip but I am excited at the opportunity to speak to the young people there. I am especially looking forward to the talk on sexuality.

I had a slow start today and by the time we were to leave home for my speaking engagement at a church here around 3:30 pm, I was feeling rather lethargic and drained. But by the time we got to the church, my spirit was really livened up - the vigor we encountered as the 300 or so youths worshipped boosted my own level of energy. The meeting went really well. When I accepted the invitation to speak at this church, I was not expecting such a big group - so it was a surprise when we got there. I have been invited back to train the youth leaders twice in the next month and I'm looking forward to it.

That's all for now. I've much to do still for my trip tomorrow. I've yet to pack and am still working on one of my talks. Pray for me, won't you?

Remembering Ingmar Bergman

Two weeks ago, July 30, legendary Swedish film maker, Ingmar Bergman, died peacefully in his sleep. He was 89.

For me, he will always be remembered as a great cinematographer who was not afraid to explore the darker questions of life - in fact, I suspect that he was obsessed with questions about life, death, mortality, and endlessly sought answers to his existential struggles. Woody Allen, incidentally another of my favorite, looked up to him as a mentor of sort and this is evident in Allen's movies - the themes, casting of actors, etc.

Here's CNN's report on Bergman: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/30/bergman.obit.ap/index.html

Bergman's movies which impacted me most are Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries. The world of art will miss you, Ingmar Bergman.

Back from Korea

I got back from Korea late last night. Had a great conference there. It was wonderful to be a participant instead of a speaker once in a while. Made many new friends from all parts of East Asia and the lectures by Marva Dawn were so good! She is a true testimony to living the life she preaches! She is much frailer that I had expected, though. I know, from reading her books, that she has at least three handicaps but I also found out that she has other problems as well - like her very low blood pressure. In fact, during one of the mornings when she spoke, she looked like she was going to black out a few times and she had to stop momentarily to regain her strength. Her husband, Myron, is also a true testimony to the kind of lover we are all called to be. He's always by her side to support her and in his quiet gentle ways portray so vividly the picture of unconditional love.

The schedule of the conference was very packed and I did not get to see much of Seoul (the city is 2 hours away from the university where the event was held). We did have an outing to see some landmarks in Seoul but we just didn't have the time to do much. Was looking forward to buying some high quality seaweeds for snacking but things in Korea are very expensive. Overall, it was a good and memorable trip. I was glad to be back to my dear husband after 5 days. Can't write too much this time as I've only a few days to prepare for my work trip to Bacolod Philippines on Sunday and there's still much to do. Following are some pixs from Korea.

Pictures from Korea

Left: Marva Dawn and her husband, Myron Sandberg

Below: The Cheonggyecheong river runs through Seoul and has over time evolved from a stream to an underground sewage system and is today a respite from the summer heat for Koreans in the area.

Changing of guards at the Deok Su Gung Palace

Second Independence Day celebration

Tomorrow is a national holiday here in Singapore as it is her National/Independence Day. Every year, it seems, we would celebrate three Independence Days - the United States's (July 4), Singapore's (August 9) and Malaysia's (August 31). Of course, we get a day off work only on one of the three.

Having lived in various countries, I have concluded that there is no one government that has gotten it right - its civil and foreign policies. All have their weaknesses and strengths. No matter where I am, whether Turkey, the US, Singapore or back in Malaysia, I am always critical of one thing or another of the manner the country is ordered. I am also beginning to make out the distinction between being patriotic and being nationalistic. Being patriotic is when you would be willing to stand for what you know is right and good for your country even when the government believes otherwise. This means, sometimes you may have to be the unpopular one. Being nationalistic, on the other hand, is accepting, believing and standing up for what the government adjudicates even though it may not necessarily be right or good for the people.

I believe, as Christians, we are called to stand for what is true, right and good. Hence, there is a place for all of us, no matter which government we live under, to be "patriotic." Christians NEED to engage in the public square as part of the good news of Christ is the redemption of our ideas, values, beliefs and morals and not merely "saving of souls for heaven." Jesus did not die a slave's death on the cross to just give us a ticket to heaven.

On a less serious but equally important note, the church we attend is hosting a movie evening today. "Come Taste and See" is an event usually held on the eve of a national holiday where we invite friends to church for dinner and a good movie and then chat about it over a glass of merlot. Brian and I have been given the assignment to pick the movie and lead the discussion. As a true Complementarian when it comes to gender roles, I picked the movie and asked Brian to lead the discussion. We'll be watching Stranger Than Fiction. Should be a fun evening...

Cleaning lady and her soup

Every other Monday, our cleaning lady, Fung Q, would come over in the evening to help us vacumn, mop and dust our place. Her visit is always a delight as she would also bring us home-cooked dinner. Since I am Cantonese and craving for good nutritious soup is in my blood, I truly look forward to Fung Q's visit as she would often bring soup for us.

Brian, being American, views soup as merely the starter to a meal - not the center of the meal; and this means he can easily do without the soup. The only time when soup is important is when one is sick - chicken soup! He can't and, I think, will never be able to identify with my constant longing for some good broth - lotus root and pork ribs, black chicken and herbs, preserved vegetable with tofu and duck, the list goes on...

The last time I saw Fung Q, she excitedly informed me that a nice young man is courting her daughter. She told me that he is a Christian but she will not hold that against him (she's a Buddhist, you see). She said that as long as he's a decent and good man, she will accept him. She added that what religion one adheres to is not important as long as one has a good heart. Now that condition is broadly inclusive, I thought. How does one define "good"? By what and whose standard would we measure that goodness? Can anyone of us really be good enough to be the yardstick? Reminds me of a certain official who called Jesus the good teacher and Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God." Interesting response from Jesus...

Meanwhile, as I ruminate on this, I shall hope that Fung Q will have soup with her this evening...

Addicted to Heroes

Last weekend we bought the first season of the tv show, Heroes. Since then, we have been watching at least one episode every evening. In short, we are absolutely hooked! At the end of every episode, we find ourselves being tempted to watch another!

I am sure many of you know about this show but for those of you who don't, its basic premise is that a group of people have developed super powers and seem to have been destined/called to save the world from a major catastrophe. It quite interesting as at the beginning of every episode, there will be this narration which questions the nature of reality and human beings - are we products of evolution or otherwise? What about morality? If we really are products of evolution, then morality is no longer a matter of right or wrong but a question of survive or perish... the questioning goes on. Quite thought provoking.

What do you think? Have you seen the show? You like it?