Adventure in Bydgoszcz

First post on the NUSCO's Europe trip 'series'. This is starting to be like a travel blog. I like. :)

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It was in 2005 the last time I took a long haul flight. Coincidently it was also with NUSCO to Switzerland for a performance cum tour. This time round, it was with another mission - to compete in the 32nd Bydgoszcz Musical Impressions.



Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland, with a population of around 360,000, making it the 8th biggest city in Poland. All of us had a hard time pronouncing the city name, and hence named it B-Town. :)



We set off on 28 June 09, and began our 12-hour flight to Frankfurt, before transiting to Warsaw. It was long and tiring, but little did we know that the next 10+ hours would be worse than that.



The airport in Frankfurt was so huge that I wanted to curse. The security checks were super slow and queues were long, so horrible that Iris and I almost missed our flight. Enough said.

When we reached Warsaw, we were greeted by the extremely helpful English interpreters assigned by the festival organiser. Laura and her nephew, Artur, have made our stay in Bydgoszcz pleasant, which made it even more memorable.

It was another gruelling 5 hours from Warsaw to Bydgoszcz. The bus was poorly ventilated, and the journey was bumpy. We were literally melting in there. Toilet break at the gas station was one hell of an experience too. 46 people queuing up for only 2 cubicles, and we had no Polish zloty to pay for the toilet usage. We had to resort to tricking, by not closing the doors for the next user. It took us almost half an hour. With no money to buy food for lunch, we were starving. By the time we got to Bydgoszcz, it was already evening.

The hostel was erm.. old. haha.. Another 'memorable' experience. Room was dusty, and the beds squeaky. Iris and I would wake each other up whenever we toss and turn in our sleep. I'm thankful for having my backpack when it comes to climbing up the stairs to the 3rd storey, where our rooms were. :D

The toilets.. only 4 shower cubicles in the entire hostel for the females. Doors were translucent. Haha, I shan't elaborate further.

Bread with cheese, ham and butter were served for dinner. The Polish hardly eat anything warm for dinner, not quite like us the Asians, our dinner is usually the heaviest meal of the day. Not surprised that the Polish call their dinner 'supper' instead.

To understand a country's culture, supermarkets are a good way to find out. That was our evening walk. :)

The next day morning, we had our rehearsal for the competition at the Music Academy.



Small as it was, the acoustics of the 140-seater auditorium was good.



After our rehearsal, we had some media interviews by the Polish regional and state radio stations. I suppose they were pretty curious about the Asian culture. Just like how some other cultures seem exotic to us. :)



Iris, Mr Lum, Artur and I had to meet the mayor at the city's office. We took a walk under the hot sun to the Old Town Square, where the office was. The meeting with the mayor together with the other groups' representatives was more like a dignified gift exchange session. Haha.. And we had a TV interview as well, totally caught unprepared.

In the Old Town Square, I discovered that Polish people like eating ice-cream. Of all kinds and flavours.



The afternoon was then spent in the square, for the festival's inaugural concert. Very colourful. Just look at the photos, and you'll know what I mean. :)









Somehow all the old town squares in Europe look similar. But what I like about Bydgoszcz is that it's rather peaceful, and not so tourist-y. I hate crowds.



And the cobblestones give all the old towns a very unique feel. I like. :)



And pigeons fly high in all the old town squares too. Haha..

During the inaugural concert, all the participating groups were there to receive a token of appreciation from the city. According to the Bydgoszcz's culture, the host would give a big loaf of bread to show their appreciation to their guests.



Don't ask me why. haha..



The friendly Laura brought me and Iris around the Old Town, and that was the only few times we got to explore the city.



Bydgoszcz has an iconic bronze monument across River Brda, the Przechodzący przez rzekę (Crossing the River). It was presented to the citizens as a gift, on the occasion of Poland's accession to European Union.



Europe seems to embrace the culture of graffiti art.



The sun was setting, and here comes the golden hour! :)



Most of our time were spent during the actual festival events. Quite a pity, because I think Bydgoszcz would have other nice places to walk around too, other than the Old Town Square.



To end this post, this raspberry ice-cream from Bydgoszcz was superb! :D

Europe photos up!

Photos of Europe are up on Flickr. :) The almost-picture-perfect ones. Haha.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yuhui-loves/

The trip has been rewarding in many ways. The orchestra has won the Grand Prix - The prize of the Minister of Education and of the European Krzysztof Penderecki Music Centre. 2009 seems to be a lucky year for NUSCO. After a very successful concert staged in March, here came another major achievement. :)



The festival was a very colourful one. So many groups coming from different countries, super interesting to take pictures of their costumes and performances. It has also served as a good learning experience to all, to remind ourselves that we need to constantly improve on our skills and not to be proud over an achievement.

Europe is beautiful. Love the blue sky, love the scenery, love the architecture. Had a hell lot of fun taking pictures. 2000+ pictures, woohoo~ haha.. Despite knowing that I looked unglam when taking photos in weird positions, and had bruises on my knees from kneeling on those hard and uneven cobblestones, all was worth it. Really. A very good opportunity for me to hone my photography skills. hahaha..

I take pride in the photos I take. I enjoy reading up on guide books, and find out what exactly are in my photos. On a personal thought, I think it's meaningless to just shoot anywhere and everywhere, without any clues of what are around you. :)

It's good to do some reading up as well, because I missed out 95% of what the guides have said. The bad thing of having to be at the back to make sure the group is together.

And I think I've learnt a lot from this trip, personality-wise, management-wise. I think I've controlled my temper well enough, expression not included. Ha. If ever there's a chance to travel with large groups again, I would know what to expect.

Or maybe the next time when I get to travel to Europe, I'll be on my own, and I'll have the whole time and the whole world to myself! :D

Back from Europe

End of an adventure, back to reality.

Bydgoszcz - Warsaw - Krakow - Olomouc - Prague - Salzburg - Vienna

Despite the number of places we have been to, I feel that it's not enough. It's a pity that we had to rush through the itinerary, and not having enough time to explore the places, to experience the vibrancy of the cultures in these cities.

I'm not used to such rush. I still prefer to roam around at my own pace.

For the past two weeks, I've observed, and I've learnt. Travelling in a group of 46, fun as it was, it wasn't easy to manage. I accepted my responsibility as a staff, as a senior, to help manage the group, but I think the kids need to learn as well.

One of the guides told me that it's good to travel with an orchestra, because they have discipline. I smiled. Perhaps he had been with groups that were much worse, I guessed.

Still, I'm glad to be able to travel to Europe once again, even more thankful to have some time to walk down the streets in the cities alone. Only got to do that for a few times, but I think it's the quality that counts. :)

Had fun with my toy as well. Love it to bits. All the bruises on my knees and fingers are worth it. :) Took 2400+ photos. I'll need some time to go through them. Will slowly upload them to Facebook and Flickr. Be patient. ;)

And yes, I would love to be back in Europe again.

Flying off to Poland!

It has been a mad rush. And very soon, I'll be flying off again, to another land(s) of unknown.

This time round, it's with a mission and responsibility - to perform, to compete. Really pray that all will go well.

It's gonna be a long trip, but I believe it would be rewarding, the European scenery would turn out pretty nice on photos. ;) haha..

'Til then, bye for now!

Quote of the day

A Santino a day, keeps my insanity away.

Time is running out, very fast.

A week flew passed

A week flew passed, just like that. Work, kids, work, practice, work, kids, work, practice... and the cycle continues.

Richard Poon was in town yesterday for the Philippines Fiesta, but I (reluctantly) had to give it a miss, because there were a number of errands I needed to do, and I suppose it would be kinda intimidating to be in a sea of Filipinos, alone.

One fine day, when I get to go to Manila, I'll make sure I'll get to see him, and Piolo, and many other wonderful singers there.

ONE FINE DAY.

Bro got enlisted

Brother finally got enlisted into the army. Finally an army boy. Another milestone of his life, perhaps my parents' too.

Used to fight with him during our younger days. Less quarrels as we grew old, and less communication as we got busy with our own lives. Sometimes I don't even get to see him for days because he would come home at wee hours when everybody is asleep and he will sleep his way through the morning when everybody leaves the house for work.

We are totally different in terms of personality. So different that some people would not believe that we are siblings.

He now lies in the hands of the gahmen, let's see how much transformation he would have.

Ole! The Latin Music Comedy Explosion

I enjoy watching concerts with a fun twist. Sometimes I would rather go for such comedy concerts and have a good hearty laugh, than listening to the usual classicals.

And certainly I did have lots of laughs watching Ole! The Latin Music Comedy Explosion. Putting 3 funny guys together simply means a hell lot of madness. I haven't had such good laugh for quite some time.

They had so many tricks up on their sleeves, making their shows too good to miss, too good not to give them a standing ovation.

Happened to find some videos of them, their performances were similar to what I saw today, but of course with variations. If not, won't all their performances be a bore? haha.. enjoy!

Another primary school class gathering

I've forgotten how my life seemed like, 14 years ago. I only remembered bits and pieces of my primary school days.

But after a dinner and some coffee with these hilarious peeps, it was really a trip down memory lane. And seriously, these guys have much better memory than I have. ;) I couldn't even recognise or remember half of the classmates in the photos taken during our excursion trip to Sentosa. No, I don't remember going for that excursion as well. haha..

A pity that we didn't have many photos taken during those days. Digital cameras didn't even exist in those ancient times! haha.. I bet we would be laughing our heads off if we had the chance to revisit the old photos. ;)

Not going to post any of my unglam photos as a kid. :P

Kids again

He scored the highest in his class for Chemistry, and got 5 As for his mid-year exams.

She got only 26/100 for her Maths exam, and failed all subjects except Chinese. She freaked her mum out.

They are siblings, but yet they are like worlds apart. I know that comparing is never a good thing, but sometimes I really can't help wondering. If the brother enjoys learning, why can't the sister be the same?

Sometimes I question my capability as a teacher. I believe I've tried my best in making the lessons effective. But it's becoming tiring, when I spend more time repeating than teaching. Perhaps I'm really not cut to teach kids with low learning ability.

Play Ikea

I love looking through the catalogue from Ikea. Everytime I receive the new catalogue from them, I have the urge of getting rid of every single thing in my room and replace them with new furniture from Ikea.

haha but of course that's just a wild idea of mine. :)

I never really have the say when it comes to furniture. Well, firstly I'm not the one paying of it. Secondly, most of the things have been with me since my childhood days, and I suppose most kids have no say in the interior design or decor of their own rooms.

That's why I never understand why the walls in my room are painted apple green, or why all the cupboards are in different hues of brown.

I love the designs of Ikea's furniture. I love their simplicity, coolness, and even quirky ideas. That's quite my personality. haha..

It would be damn exciting to have an empty room, so that I could play Ikea. :D

And that would probably happen, when I get my own apartment? Somewhere ten years down the road? hahahah..

Beach shots

I can't remember the last time I fell sick. Probably more than a year ago. This time round, I had to take MC. I've never taken MC since I started work 2 years ago. wow.

Thank god the fever is gone, flu is gone. But voice is gone too.

Anyway, it was mentioned that I was in Sentosa last weekend, and I had a few satisfying shots. I think photography is about being at the right place, right time. :) 50% of it is true. haha.. The other 50%, is about how you frame the pictures and your creativity.

Presenting to you, beach shots. :D


Board walkways in Vivocity




Looks like paradise to you? :)










Took this with a silk screen curtain over the lens.








This is a rattan table.

I want to visit Hong Kong again

Haven't been able to get a long sleep for a long time (2 weeks is considered long for me). Perhaps that explains the lack of posts and inspirations. Haa..

Went to Sentosa last weekend to celebrate friends' birthdays. Had a few satisfying shots, look out for the next post. :)

Been back from Hong Kong for 2 weeks, but like I said, 2 weeks is considered long for me, and in fact, it seems like ages and it's time to get out of the country again. ;P

Compulsive traveller + piling workload + irritating kids = desperate need for
holidays

I do wish to visit Hong Kong again, to take my time exploring the city. Language may be a little problem, my Cantonese proficiency is like peas. But the people there still speak English and some Mandarin, so I can still survive there, if ever I travel there alone.



It's a different kind of hustle and bustle over there, which I actually find it enjoyable. It's an experience of different cultures. :)



If I need to get away from the crowd, there's always a quiet place at some corner of the island, like Tai-O.



Shopping also seems more happening over there. hahaha.. My friends could attest to the level of craziness we got when we were in the outlet mall and H & M. :D



I'm not particular about food, but the food there is indeed delicious, and definitely in large portions.



Accessibility wouldn't be a big problem as well. It's like travelling around in Singapore, there are trains, taxis, and buses to bring you around.



Or maybe I could make another trip back to Disneyland. :) I must find Stitch to take photo with me.



Yeah, I would love to visit Hong Kong again. :)

Best of Hong Kong

Presenting to you, some of my best shots taken in Macau and Hong Kong. :)



I'm not a cat person, but I really like this photo a lot. Cats roaming around freely in Tai-O, Hong Kong are aplenty, but it's not an easy task capturing still shots like this.



Central District, Hong Kong. I just like the effects.



A performer in Disneyland. I was telling people that the performers in Disneyland are very audience-oriented. They know how to interact with the people, and they are game enough to play along with them. Maybe that's why Disneyland can deliver what it promises: magical fun.



The Giant Buddha on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.



This is actually cropped to capture the smile of the kid. As you may have guessed, this was also taken in Disneyland. To children, bubbles are like magic. Again, magical fun. :)



The Giant Buddha in the background.



Wishing balls hanging in the A-Ma Temple in Macau. Quite interesting to read what other people have wished for. haha..



Former Marine Police Headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.



How often would you look down on the path you are walking on? :)



Use a little of your imagination, and you'll find everything has a life of its own. Isn't the tree singing right now? :)



Sprouting grass in Chi Lin Nunnery, Hong Kong.



Yes, Disneyland is a land of fantasy. haha..



Taken in Macau. I like pictures of peace and serenity.



And this, the famous Ruins of St. Paul's in Macau. Nothing special, unless you take a closer look. Do you see a heart shape in there? :)

*Stories, perhaps when I've the inspiration*

Photos from Macau and Hong Kong

Photos from Macau and Hong Kong has been uploaded (finally) to Flickr.

Here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yuhui-loves/

Will do a selection of my proudest photo shots, probably in one of my next few posts.

And talking about Hong Kong, no thanks to the H1N1 virus spreading around the entire globe, it has now been confirmed that there's a case of a H1N1 virus patient in Hong Kong. And no thanks to it, I've been instructed to be self-quarantined. HAHA.

Just when my workload and deadlines start piling up again, this has to happen. What a luck.

Back from Macau and Hong Kong

Back from Macau and Hong Kong, another adventure exploring the unknown.

One week of sight-seeing, shopping, photo-taking and lots of walking. Hong Kong is said to be a food paradise. I think all the walking is enough to burn off whatever extra calories I've put on.

It was good to have company on this journey. At least I could share the huge portion of food that Hong Kong offers. :) Having the locals to bring us around also made things so much more convenient, and it was a joy conversing with them, half the time trying to decipher the Cantonese dialect.

And my toy must have had lots of fun. Freaking 1400+ photos taken. Spent the whole day going through them, and even after the selection, it's still a freaky number of 1090.

Also got to fulfil one of my childhood dreams - Disneyland! I was a kid for that day, going totally crazy over Stitch, and maybe a little over Mickey. Yes I kissed Mickey. haha.

Now it's back to the usual routine. I really can't wait for my next travelling adventure again.



*will slowly upload the photos to Flickr and Facebook.*

Crazy?

Given my hot temper, somebody, particularly a stranger, calling me "神经病" (crazy) would send me cursing and swearing.

But today, I just raised my brows, while the thought of what-is-this-world-turning-into ran through my mind, and the day went on very soon after.

Perhaps I was too tired, too preoccupied with all the rush in meeting the deadlines. Or perhaps my EQ is getting better.

I'm just re-affirming myself that I don't need to give a damn to what people say about me. It doesn't matter. I am who I am, and I live my own life.

Time to take a break.

Cats - The Musical

This is not one of my favourite musicals, but nevertheless, it was still quite entertaining.

There were moments the entire theatre was filled with giggles, laughter and applauses. There were also moments I was nearly bored to death.

The music wasn't that fascinating (I still love the music from The Phantom of the Opera), the set was too cluttered that I felt it was quite distracting. The plot wasn't that great either. Only the colourful costume/make-up and the choreography were worth watching. But since I'm not a dance-person, a couple of times my mind was drifting somewhere else.

What makes this musical different from the others, is that there were interaction between the audience and the cast. The cats would actually come down from the stage, fiddling with your bag, scratching your arms. A few cats were even spotted around the circle seats. Imagine they would have to run from the backstage all the way up to the 4th level to mingle with the crowd for a few seconds, and then back down to the stage again. Very physically demanding for these poor cats. They were actually panting when they got to the top level.

Sadly, most of the interaction were limited to the stall seats and the front row areas, and the dynamics of the show were very much reduced when looking down from the 4th level. I can't complain much, what I've got was a complimentary ticket.

I still stand by my rationale, I would only get tickets for stall seats when watching musicals. Pointless to pay for a ticket that doesn't allow you to enjoy the musical to the fullest.

busy kids?

It makes me wonder what can kids be busy with. My kid told me that she was too busy, so she couldn't study for her spelling, and couldn't finish the homework I assigned her.

Busy watching cartoons? Busy playing computer games? Busy going out to play?

I couldn't agree more that children shouldn't be deprived of their playtime, because playtime is a good avenue for them to explore their creativity and to develop skills. But I also believe that it's never too young for children to learn their responsibility as a child to parents and as a student.

I don't think I'm the evil teacher who forces the kid to do tons of homework and finishes the whole book of assessment. Never once I've assigned more than 5 pages of homework for each subject. Not because I doubt the kid's ability in completing the homework. She could easily complete them, the guessing game is like chicken feet to her.

I only give a few pages of homework, because I know I will take ages to finish going through all the corrections, because I know despite me repeating the explanations umpteen times, she still wouldn't get it.

She's not dumb, she's just not smart, academically-wise. Any child who could come up with all sorts of possible excuses is not stupid. I just couldn't stand the attitude. Sitting there, saying 'don't know' without hesitation, and waiting for me to give direct answers.

I don't expect a 11-year old kid to understand the underlying rationale of achieving good results. But if the kid is not willing to learn, no matter how much effort the teacher is putting in, it's not going to work.

Richard Poon

I'm starting to fall in love with his voice. :D

Richard Poon, another brilliant singer from the Philippines. He is actually a Taiwanese, but he has been residing in the Philippines for many years already. And yes, he speaks fluent Tagalog.

He sings the jazz 'Big band' music, and he's really good at it. He was even given a music award for being the most popular/best lounge music singer in the Philippines. :) Hence dubbed as the Philippines' only Big Band Crooner. wooh~

Listen to his music:

Richard Poon - I'll Take Care of You


Richard Poon - The Last Time


Richard Poon - Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko


:D

*Yeah! New blog header!*

Another letter to Ah Gong

Dear Ah Gong,

How have you been? All of us went to visit you today, did you see us? We brought you some of your favourite food, and your teh. I hope you have had a good time savouring them.

It has been almost 7 months, but you know you are always in my thoughts, and I know you are also looking over me from up above.

It has been quite some time since the last family gathering during the Chinese New Year. For the first time I wasn't around with the family during the New Year, but I know you were supportive of my decision. I haven't been seeing the rest of them since then, but for a moment, we all seemed to be looking much older (wiser I hope).

I miss Ah Ma's cooking as well. I haven't been eating dinner at home lately, and I would only get to see her and Po-po occasionally, at the void deck on my way to work. Sometimes I wished that time could be turned back to years ago.

You must be having a good time, enjoying the afternoon right now. Checking out your new fridge and new car perhaps? I will find Marlboro for you, and give it to you on my next visit. :)

I miss you.

Monday blues

I think it's the time of the month, with all the surges in hormones that are making me feeling like a piece of rubbish. Retribution, perhaps. I always utter 'rubbish' when scolding my kids when they give me nonsense, and now I feel like one. argh.

With a number of 'eventful' things happening, I have chosen to keep things to myself, to speak less. People thought that I was angry, I was frustrated. No I wasn't, I just didn't want to talk about it. I have always gotten into trouble from the things I blurted out from my mouth. Many times I regretted that, and there are no turning-backs.

So I've learnt. I chose to keep quiet, and be alone.

I am thankful to friends who are just there, who don't ask much. I don't even want to hear things like 'are you ok?', 'cheer up', 'don't worry'. No, I don't need these words of encouragement. I just need pleasant conversations and laughter with good company.

If not, there's always good coffee, good chocolates and coke.