i just came back from "ai xin wa wa shen huo ying" ( a Buddhist camp for children in primary 4 to 6).. it was a 3 days 2 nites camp..and since i am the group leader, which means i am suppose to be with the kids all the time, i had to stay overnight in the buddhist association togethr with the kids.. we had to sleep on tikar only..but some kids even brought their own mattress, pillow, bolster, blanket and teddy bear too.. ^_^ the first day started at 9am...but since everything is in Chinese and i am a 3/4 banana..erm..cause i can only speak mandarin..read very little chinese..and almost cannot write in Chinese, i was in BIG trouble..first and most importantly, i cannot read my group members' name..which means i cannot remember their names.. but there was this little boy that really impressed me(volunteered to help everytime we had to carry some things..or do something.. participated in all the activities enthusiastically and very polite..very very good boy..) (and i found out the little kid was born on Valentine's day.. ^_^) and another little boy who was just soooooo naughty ( i had to chase him everywhere..stop him from throwing things at performers..stop him from running up the stage..track him down everytime he disappeared during activities) so, i remembered 2 names.. hehe.. >_< We had Buddhist classes conducted by the sifu..basically stories with values told by the sifu himself..then we had serial drama acted by the main committee..water games..flag designing..chants (in the morning and at night) and "Shaolin Kung fu"sessions..and also sing-a-long sessions.. we had picnics also for dinner, where we can choose any spots not too far away from the Buddhist association to have our dinner together as a small group.. I don't know how the main comm divided the group but i ended up with a bunch of very naughty kids..sigh..so i was telling myself this will be the last time i am going to volunteer as a group leader.. but the last day was a touching day..cause the group leaders were not allowed to have lunch..so all the kids queued up to take their food, not knowing their group leaders will not have food to eat..and since they are reminded not to waste food, they only took enough for themselves.. after they finished taking their food, all the group leaders took an empty bowl and a spoon each..and sat in one straight line in front of our own group of children..and the children were directed by the sifu to eat..while they eat,the sifu told them that the group leaders did not do their work, so they (we) were not allowed to have lunch..so, we had to sit with empty stomach looking at the children eating..and at that time,you could see children who selflessly stood up, brought their bowl to us and shared their food with us.. all food are vegetarian, so the best dish taht day was "yu char koay" and most of the children will give you their yu char koay and fruits,with rice..and the vege also.. and the boy i mentioned earlier wanted to give me half of all his food in the bowl..so touched.. they were hungry also as we had exercises and kung fu session in the morning..and breakfast was not in big serving..and they are growing kids..but they shared their food with us...so, many group leaders cried.. i did not..not because i have steel heart la.. but i wanted to look happy and thankful that they were willing to share.. but then some kids started to cry when we ( the group leaders) went to tell each of them how they had grown up in these very short 3 days.. how each kid had touched us..make me cry also.. :'( then they came to thank us and gave us hugs..so cute..and so touched... and some asked me whether i will be group leader again for the camp next year.. -_- will i? maybe i will...just because of the kids gestures..and their cuteness..and their tears.. sigh...maybe i may not be able to ..considering i have to do my preceptorship next year..and going for concert tour..hmmm... a very enriching experience.. oh yea.. i forgot to mention that i did not volunteer to be a group leader...my mom volunteered me..she helped me to sign up while i was still pia-ing for finals..so i was a very reluctant volunteer..not knowing anyone there at all..blur blur de go... but i made some friends..and made a lot of little friends.. ^__^ results for finals coming out tomorrow..don't ask me how i did..DON'T ASK..
