Week 49 of 2009 was probably one of the best of the whole year. Met loads of new people and had the most amount of cash with me at any point of time. Ok, I'll summarise everything from day 1 onwards..................

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Finally what we had been preparing for had arrived, the YOG Friendship Camp. Setting up our booth representing Canada was a bit hectic, given that it was humid and we had no firm plan. Didn't expect that we would be based in front of the swimming pool though, which was good as we could view all the main performances. Got interviewed in the process just to explain what we were doing. The whole booth surprisingly turned out good. Played street hockey with a few people at the side of the booth, including Mr Masagos Zulkifli. Never heard of him? He's some senior MP or something. Tasted maple syrup for the first time and contrary to what I originally thought, it doesn't taste like the Hotcakes syrup at all! It tasted like concentrated chrysanthemum tea actually. I couldn't believe the organising committee added in a clubbing section in the world festival segment of the camp. It was like the actual thing, minus the drinks and that it's set in between 2 swimming pools. The DJ's name was KoFlow. Kinda heard of him before though and the mixing he did was great, except that I was a bit frightened when he used the 'Shots' song by LMFAO. Thank God he only played the chorus! Imagine the phrase 'suck our cocks' being delivered into the ears of those young minds. Not that I mind, but it could have damaged the camp's friendly and innocent approach. Other than that I was selfish throughout the whole time, 'touting' the participants and guests to choose the bookmarks with my design on it. At least my work would be somewhat recognised in a few countries! I felt somehow proud that a German camp official decided to tie my bookmark to her lanyard hung on her:)

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It's all about games that day, so I was busy setting up some of the props needed along with another volunteer. Met a lot of new people and also a familiar face. Hi Christine! (ok I don't think you would be reading this). Some of them were surprised that I was 17, since the group of volunteers I was with were of university age. As the flow of participants entered the auditorium for the games, I started to learn more about people of other nationalities. Haha, more prominently, the Africans. First, they get disinterested easily. I realised this at the cup-stacking section. One bored one immediately saw the bells I were holding (the ones you find at customer service counters) and was 'captivated' by their shine. I laughed when he told us that he asked whether the bells were for him. Second, they raise their hands with the opposite side of their hand up. We do it with our palms facing the speaker, but tehy do it the other way round. (I hope you get this). Saw this at the workshop section. I pitied the participants who don't understand English at all, as the workshops wouldn't be of much benefit to them. A group of them went to the opposite station instead, which featured a mega version of Jenga. Luckily they had an interpreter for them so they got their share of fun in the end:) Speaking of Jenga, there's this French participant who was so engrossed in making the tallest Jenga tower ever, such that it almost reached the 3rd floor (we were on the 2nd). Those with free time just stared in awe at the tower and his determination (bluek, exaggeration). Knowing that teens are energetic, especially when you have sporty ones around you, those who were done with their stations did stupid stuff instead, like stacking all the cups into a huge pyramid, doing handstands and playing with a balloon around a guy holding a camera. It's seriously weird to see the Caucasians playing around like that since they grow so fast that they look like in their 20s, when they are actually aged 16 and below.......

(to be continued...I'm not even halfway!)

15 Dec update: Now I've come to my senses, being the sane person that I am, this post is simply toooooo damn long. I'm not those who are able to achieve such 'feats'. (ahem ahem, Grace & Emma). The all-time favourite point form should be enough.

....as continued from 8.12:
-met Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Dexter Lee
-made my beloved notebook even more special now with Asafa's autograph in it

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-overslept for volunteer duty, damn wasted as I could've gone to Pulau Ubin
-ate out with Aliff and Hemant and randomly watched Planet 51 after that
-watched New Moon with Mikhail and his gf after that (PS: didn't post that pic on fb as it looks....weird)

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-found omegle.com on a website I frequent, got hooked on it ever since
-it's like a chatting network which hooks you up with random ppl from all over the world
-made friends and also exchanged emails and fb contacts with a few:)

As a whole, week 49 introduced me to the world...meeting new people, learning more about other cultures first-hand and feeling great volunteering around. I seriously treasure this week and all those who were involved in it!

re-tard-ed
12:17 AM