I'm back from HK and Youth Camp! I won't say much, just that I don't feel like blogging. Lol. HK was fun, lots of shopping, lots of friction in the family at the beginning, due to grumpyness in some people due to sickness. But it got better, but my mum didn't enjoy shopping. We went to Shenzhen in the end and did so much shopping there that I got really sick of it. I learnt a few things though: HK people are really fashionable, and the Chinese from China are really.. what I thought them to be. Chain smokers and spitters. Ew.

Anyway, this is something I wrote during the trip, on hotel paper.

18/12/08

Yesterday we went to Ladies Street, and i saw a beggar crawling on the ground. He was crawling on 3 limbs, 1 leg was disabled and he twisted it onto his back, crawling on the other 3 limbs. He walked around in that way. He came near me, but he didn't look at me directly. I tried not to think about him and dismissed him in my mind, not belittling him, but choosing to ignore him and put him out of my mind. I didn't let myself feel compassion and sympathy, which now i realise, is what makes people more...humane. When someone is devoid of compassion and starts to make unfeeling decisions, we call them inhuman. Does that make me inhuman? Somehow I can't forgive myself for doing that to that certain beggar, though I did that to many others. The difference was that a while later, my mother caught up with us and started asking us whether we had coins to give him. I felt bad for doing what others didn't. I ignored him, while others didn't. While he crawled along the ground, with the filth and dirt, we displayed our wealth (or what seemed like wealth, opulence and extravagance), buying things like bags and clothes. While I know it is not morally wrong to buy things, it seems morally wrong to me when we choose to ignore the less fortunate just to make ourselves feel better or less guilty about spending. I didn't even allow myself to feel for this man because I knew it would make me feel bad. the next time I see a beggar, I may not give to him/her (depends on if I even ahve anything to give), but i would acknowledge their presence, and not just look at them, but remind myself that htis is the world God planned, giving me more, materially, than these people, and give thanks for all that i have, not taking for granted what i have, and praying for people like this all around the world. This seems like a very typical reflection students would write for SEL/CME/CAS/CIP, but it honestly touched me and made me think.

P.S. To my sister if she's reading this, this was what I was scribbling in the hotel room.

Went for Starry Starry Night dinner at Paya Lebar Kovan CC just now, the CC is near the Vet, the dinner was pretty lame. The only funny thing was that for the pageant, Maha and Mel were nominated. Lol! And Melvin (who intro-ed himself as Mel), won!!!!!! Congrats Mel!!!! Now people can stop confusing us and call you MR STARRY instead of just Mel! Haha.

Gotta start on TOK essay tomorrow, so most probably I won't be helping Ben with the decor for the Snooze Xmas Party and the Street E. Dang the Cuong. Sigh.