Here Comes The Sun!

Hello! Would you like to take a walk with me?

Yesterday, walking home from church:

Today, to Adilah’s place:

Wow, I’ve been here for almost two weeks now! When I first came I wasn’t all that happy to be here, but now I’m glad I’m here and the weeks ahead look exciting! I really thank God for the friends I’ve made so far here in Lausanne, and the opportunities to them about Him! At first I felt a bit awkward about speaking about being a Christian, though, really, why should I have been? We can all go “Yeaaaaaah Singapore is a great place! Come to Singapore!” without sounding strange, but how about “Yeah… Jesus is a great Person! Come to Jesus!”? Well, not that I think we should say that. But it’s interesting just thinking about what it means to be AMBASSADOR for Christ. It’s definitely not like promoting a country. But it’s also not about keeping silent. I’m praying for wisdom as I try to live for Him here!

I Love Food

What Stephanie (my new friend from DC) and I made yesterday…

Sorry, it looked better than it looks there, and tasted a lot better as well! It was amazingly easy to make and easily the most amazing thing I’d had here!

Until I had…

Chocolate today! Guess which one won the battle for my heart? (OK my tastebuds la, don’t be jealous, Andrew!) Orange is my favourite chocolate colour! (Sorry it’s so dark.)

Coming Home

 

hello, how are you?

It’s like every day there are just so many things to thank God for! Like meeting new, lovely people from all over the world like I did today, in our apartment! Also thankful for classes that seem really FUN (hahaha nerdy happy) and I’m just so glad for the many things that there are to look forward to like Nat coming down in just a few weeks’ time! And EXPLORING in the NOT-SO-COLD! I’m also really thankful for the lovely people who live in my apartment… So gonna try and get a photo with them to post here. So, sorry, no photo yet for today. That was a list of things – it seems shallow but they’re deeply felt… He takes care of His children and showers them with blessings they don’t deserve! Ah.

Surprise!

Guess what I found…

Kinder surprise! it seems like I keep posting photos of food… But Kinders make me feel nostalgic… And like also they remind me to be kinder to my kin (today was another awesome day! Had classes, met new people, read my book… Lovely! Thank You, God, for time to think and epiphanies! (and Stephanies!))

Lundi

Hello!!! Went for a class today just for fun! And it was quite fun indeed! It’s great being back in school and having classes in English!

Happy-making things:

1. Chocolate here is amazing!!!!!!!! I’m especially fond of orange chocolate and that’s what’s been on my table (but soon will not be)!

2. Light is fixed! Hooray! Room looks nice at night! Room can be looked at at night! Funny thing: when my house manager walked in to help fix the light I was Skyping Hwee. He waved at my Mac and said bonjour!!! And au revoir!!! I think he likes Hwee more than he likes me. Oh well.

3. God’s word! Today I read about being weak and God’s glory being displayed when I am weak. (2 Cor 4!) What a humbling and wonderful thought! we have this treasure in earthen vessels! Treasure your treasure

Have a charming Tuesday!

All People That On Earth Do Dwell

So much to thank God for today! This morning I went to Lausanne Free Church, which I found out about through Google! It was just a ten minute walk from where I stay. When I walked in I was a little surprised to see just how small the place was but it was so nice to see smiley happy people! The service was quite… traditional. With hymns. The message made me think a bit, and I’m still thinking about it, and not really ready to type about it. Overall I really enjoyed worshiping the Lord and hearing His Word!

After service I was introduced to some SINGAPOREANS! There was another student in the congregation, who lives forty-five minutes away from church, and a family of five who are in Switzerland for a year! It was SO nice to meet Singaporeans and just get to know them… We had lunch together at a Singaporean-Malaysian kind of restaurant – we had xiao bai cai (???), mushroom tofu, muar otah (??? I don’t really know the name of this thing, but I ate a lot of it), roast duck and beef rendang! It was just so wonderful to be around people from home. On the way home (the walk was ONLY five minutes long) I was just grinning and feeling really really warm even though it was raining – because how tender and loving God is, to shower me with sweet presents… It’s assurance of His presence, and I do know He is with me right now. He is truly good and gracious!

Cute family!

I’m so happy to have friends here. Family too, over Skype. Hehe. And here here here.

Lausanne

HELLO THERE!!!

So this post is the start of my POSTS ABOUT LAUSANNE!!! Now, how many of you have been to Lausanne? …Ah, I thought as much. I hadn’t been to Lausanne either, before I came. Haha. My first day was a little bit scary and I felt quite horrible. At 2am, Andrew and I took the bus from Oxford to Gatwick, and we arrived at Gatwick two hours later. At the airport we realised we’d left my camera on the bus!!!!!!!! Horrifying. Andrew found the bus company’s number, and called them, but to our dismay, we found out that the phone service would only be up at 8 am, by which time I would be in Geneva, cameraless. After some quiet and peaceful moments, we went to look for the bus we had been on (cos the bus driver was probably doing a loop and would pass by Gatwick North terminal again) AND YAY, HOORAY! MY CAMERA WAS FOUND!!!!! THANK GOD!!!!! After that Andrew went back to Oxford and I went on my first flight alone ever! It was quite fun, like a rollercoaster!

That’s me leaving London!!! After arriving in Geneva, I took a train to Lausanne. It was like… THE SOFTEST TRAIN IN THE WORLD. It was like being in a vacuum cleaner, without the random sock flying in your face. Ok, actually, more like being in a vacuum. You are probably thinking the vacuum is in me right now… Well. It was a very comfy ride and I was sad when it ended because then I had to wait four hours at the station for my xchange guide to come pick me up. It was quite a fun four hours though, whatsapping my lovely friends in Singapore… When Anouck came things were really good cos we got a lot of things sorted out like my bus pass, new phone line, apartment, some groceries… It was great! And I was really glad to have her. When I got back to the apartment, though, I realised that the light didn’t work (and still doesn’t…) and thought about a bunch of other things and I was feeling really sad suddenly and… to just summarise a bit, I had a bad night and went to bed early. I really struggled with finding comfort in God’s presence and believing I could be happy in this place.

The next morning Pastor Mitch talked to me and he encouraged me with Elijah’s “wilderness experience” and shared with me HIS own experience in Brunei. It was a really encouraging (and I mean that I had more courage after that) conversation and I decided to really “be strong and of good courage”, and to make the most of my experience here! I really needed that strange discomfort, to push me to grow more and rely on God!

After that I met Adilah – it’s SO nice to meet a Singaporean and be able to talk like a Singaporean, hehehe! We had a good time grocery shopping. Then I went home and Skyped with Steph (yay!) – so it was a much better day. Here’s a photo of the view from my room at sunset.

Next day (which was yesterday, Friday) was Orientation day! Made some new friends… Irna, an exchange student from NUS who is studying in Grenoble, also Adilah’s friend, came over! So we went exploring, had ‘tea’, and then cooked ourselves NASI GORENG for dinner! Awesome.

 

That’s Irna, and we (Adilah too!) are on a rooftop having apple juice, fruit tart, and a crepe aux sucre!

SO, FINALLY, we are HERE, TODAY!!!!!!! And my light is still not fixed. But today Adilah, Irna and I went to the museum. I made sure it was worth the 8 francs by taking all the brochures and visiting every exhibit. HA. Irna was so funny, at the Geologie hall, with all the rocks and stuff, she went to ask the curator (I’m not sure if that’s her position, but anyway, someone who works at the museum) where the kryptonite was, and the lady said, (what do you think she said?) “it doesn’t exist” (not in those words, of course, because those words are in English, and we are in a French-speaking part of the world). Adilah was also very funny – she brought us to this room that she didn’t dare go into herself because it was dark… So here’s a photo from that -

This room was to help you get a sense of what living REALLY REALLY LONG AGO where there were no lightbulbs was like. Actually you can just come to my room now and experience that for yourself. Hah. Not really.

And here’s a view from… somewhere higher than the other places. HAHA. But still not higher than the mountains that are ALL AROUND…!!!

I’ve so much to be thankful for. People have been really friendly to me so far. I live with people who can speak English (and Chinese – time to brush up on my lousy Mandarin!), I have a Singaporean friend here, my room is very warm, my apartment is actually quite nice, the air is clean and so is the water, the chocolate is yuuuuuuuuuum, I’m learning to cook for myself, there are beautiful things everywhere to see, people in Singapore and in other places (hahaha) still love me, and so does my Father in heaven, more than any other!

Look and listen, this is my Father’s world…!

Valorous Valentine

I thought Valentine’s Day deserved its own post, or rather, Andrew deserves one whole post documenting his treasure hunt, and also, I guess, his sweetness.

After a short lunch (yum yum tom yum soup with coconut!!!), Andrew left for his three-hour-long lecture, and I went to meet Sam for my second Valentine’s Day date. HAHA. OK, don’t fall off your seat. That was a bad joke. Anyway, Sam brought me to Olives where he got me a NUTELLA PANINI! And then he gave me a tour of St. Cat’s! Which is very cool and very unlike other parts of Oxford.

We happened to meet Michelle (iFocus table leader the night before!) who came along and showed me the Uni Parks! It was quite a nice walk, even though it was winter… Sam showed me how the ducks in the little river (or lake?) look like they have dogs for beaks. It was rather like an optical illusion. ‘I saw her duck’ has even more layers of meaning now. Anyway, so, walking through Uni Parks brought us right back to Museum Road, which was my temporary residence (next to Andrew’s house, remember?) and there we were standing right outside the house talking and talking and talking about what, I can’t remember, because the next thing I know Andrew is coming out of the house and I’m really puzzled because three hours are NOT over yet! And then I realise that he has LIED ABOUT HIS LECTURE – IT WAS NOT THREE HOURS LONG. (Pardon the tense change. It’s intense. Intentional.)

So… Then… He tells me that I’m on a treasure hunt. Which is great. I love treasure hunts. HAHA. My first clue was…

1. “What 4 is to 2,
What I am to you
What 9 is to 3,
What you are to me.”

After some thinking and questioning… “Are they really squares or just, like, rectangles?!”

Answer: Squares! The squares on his curtain (see background of picture).
Reward: Rocky Road Squares (So insulting, I gave him this… Guess he didn’t really like it. Anyway I love Squares, so wasn’t really complaining!), next clue:

2. “Amusing Barriers”

Answer: The barriers at the passage into Museum Road. There’s a stooooooopid story behind this. On the night I reached Oxford, Andrew and I walked through these barriers and he told me that in order to get a bicycle license in Oxford, you had to ride your bicycle successfully through this obstacle course. I actually did believe him and felt a little bit sad about my sure-fail bike-riding abilities that would never land me this highly-sought-after bicycle license. Poo. Some Schadenfreudian amusement there.

Reward: Three sushis, and next clue:

3. “LAW REPORTS / SPECIAL DAY / + ____________ +” (imagine the ____ as a curve, it’s supposed to be smiling)

Interlude: But before I got to solve the next clue, we headed off to the Ashmolean! What a nice, romantic place! Haha. It was quite fun really, we did some trails and we got a certificate to reward us for completing the trails – which, by the way, are mostly for kids. OK, not mostly… ALL. Oh yeah, we liked this…

When we got back, it was more fun times with the clues! Though what was really funny actually was that Steffan came into the room wanting to borrow Andrew’s kettle, so he (A) sheepishly retrieved a clue from inside the kettle to pass it to Steffan. Oh, well. Time to solve the next one! We headed off to the Law Library and looked through the shelves to find Law Reports on the Special Day (for Andrew, the day I was born was a special day. I suppose it’s special for me as well, otherwise… I wouldn’t know what special was. Or special wouldn’t know who I was.) So on the page for 3 August, 1990, I found…

Rewards: “The Common Toad”, George Orwell, Penguin Great Ideas (Sentosa Monkey’s Great Idea), with the next clue pasted inside…

4. “Kan you ket to the bottom of this?” (Obviously I could. And if you’ve been reading, so can you.)

Answer: It was supposed to be in the kettle. But it wasn’t, because Andrew had removed it. These things happen. Anyway.
Rewards: Picture of Cheshire Cat!!! Cute!

That wasn’t really a clue, but that led Andrew to take out a CHESHIRE CAT MUG, and he got us tea. As he poured the hot water into the cup the CAT DISAPPEARED! Except for its smile, of course!!! Wow!

The mug handle bore the next clue, which was…

5. “You have a soft spot for this soft spot.”

Answer: Bed, because I am fond of sleeping.
Rewards: Old-fashioned card, I suuuuuuuper like. But the contents are confidential, I’ll just… skip to the clue, my darling!

6. “The Common Toadstool,
I’m not a Fun Guy.”

Answer: What? Obviously, mushroom. Where? Obviously, in the kitchen. Why? Obviously, to get our dinner.

What was surprising and not obvious at all was that WE DIDN’T HAVE TO PREPARE AND COOK DINNER!!!!! It was all ready-made stuff from M&S hahaha. Woohoo.

So that was the reward. And also the next and last clue…

7. “You keep me sew very warm.”

Answer: It was a shiny needle on the floor by the heater! Which poked? the start of my Sewing Project… To sew up cute little owls!

Andrew sewed one, I sewed one… I won’t say whose owl looked nicer, but I will say that the treasure hunt was a HOOT and… and… and… you know, I have the best boyfriend in the world! I thank God for you! Let’s remember Phil. 1:9-11, and all the new things we learnt from it over the past two weeks! Let owl love abound…

But we are noct nocturnal, so time to sleep! Goodnight!

mon day with tu(e)!

Monday: Facetime in the morning, breakfast-time, lunch with Sam & Sam (the best friends) at Lamb & Flag! Andrew and I went to get HOT SHAKESPEARE’SES (?!?!) they were so yummy I LOOOOOVE Kinder Bueno mixes. And Kinder Bueno by itself. Anything Kinder! Ah! Then Shu Li (mon ami nouveau) gave us a very concise tour of queen’s! Their library is beautiful, and their girlie toilets are also very charming, I like!

After that we met Inyoung’s friends from high school and played board games together. I bet my siblings would love to play with her friends. They love board games! Miss my Litoh and Baby Teo! Went for iFocus after that – it was really good to be able to talk about God’s word and share about personal problems and pray together! I really liked it and was a little bit sad that it would be my FIRST and LAST time – well, at least for a long time! There are many things from Monday night that I still think about, and should, like being reliant on God and knowing that I am small, and really, cannot do anything great or wonderful (really) without His help – and I have to ask Him for help if I want to actually do it! It’s an important reminder – and one that bears CONSTANT REPEATING, because it’s just so easy… So easy to forget to remember how great He is, how small I am.