The Traveller's Hero: An American in China

"I wouldn't say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it."-Michael Phelps



Beijing, China

THE GREAT HAUL OF CHINA: The New Legend is Born...

Michael Phelps who just won 8th gold on August 17th 2008! After nine days of competing and finally made his dream come true, one Sports Illustrated editor said "He won all in heart, ability, and courage!" He had defeated so many odds and negative prediction that he wouldn't win 8 golds.

He's funny too. He just mentioned how his friends text messaged to him saying, "Dude, how many times I have to see your ugly face?" when Michael kept on winning gold medals. One of my favorite moments is when he won 200m butterfly.

Traveler's Saint: Protecting the world travelers in their next endeavor

In the times of journey, the world travelers embark their journey to unknown to reach the destination. The road may be rough, you may meet new people along the road, and many adventures you will find before you reach the point. St. Christopher, Catholic patron saint of travelers, was worn around the traveler's neck to protect any harm, give them strength to continue, and bring them home safety with open mind that engaged them to see the world.

My friend, Jenna, and I were interested in the list of Catholic church's patron saints. We thought it was neat to know about them and the history behind them.



About St. Christopher

excerpt from the website: http://saints.sqpn.com/saintc05.htm

During third century, he became a martyr during the persecution by Decius. He is also known as Cristobal, Kester, Kitts, and Offero (his birth name). He was born in Canaan. His special day of remembrance is on July 25th on Roman Calendar and March 9th on Greek calendar. He was renamed Christopher, a Christ-bearer. .

Offero was a powerfully built man who wandered the world in search of novelty and adventure. He came upon a hermit who lived beside a dangerous stream and served others by guiding them to safe places to cross. He gave the hermit's instruction in the truth of God. He took the hermit's place, instead of guiding the travelers, he carried them safely across the stream.

There was one day he carried a small child across the stream; the child's weight nearly crushed him. When they arrived on the other side, the child revealed himself as Christ, and he was so heavy because he bore the weight of the world on himself. He them baptized Offero with water from the stream. Offero became St. Christopher and his service at the stream led to his patronage of things related to travel and travelers, people who carry things, etc. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

Traveler's List: Have you ever done this?

I got that LIST from someone's blog and plagarizeD it from her. She'll never find out. My computer is MAC and I can't use color to distinguish my comment to see if I have done it or not. So just look out for the capitalized words. YOU CAN SEE LATER IN THE LIST THAT I GOT TOO TIRED OF TYPING EVERYTHING CAPITALIZED. SO BEAR IT WITH ME. =)

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris


12. Watched a lightning storm at sea- BACK IN DAYS IN HONG KONG- I WAS SAILING A BOAT. IT WAS ONE OF THE SCARIEST AND BEST MOMENTS OF MY LIFE. MY PARENTS DIDNT KNOW ABOUT THIS. I LOVE ADVENTURE!


13. Seen the Northern Lights
14.Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment- YES- THANKS TO ODESSA IN EVERY SACREMENT MEETING.

27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse


34. Ridden a roller coaster-MAGIC MOUNTAINS REALLY RULE.


35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states

41. Taken care of someone who was drunk- yeah seriously. It really sucks.

42. Had amazing friends- YES!

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales-petted them
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe

47. Taken a road-trip- WHEN I WAS TEN YEARS OLD, I WENT ALL OVER CALIFORNIA VISITING EVERY MISSIONS WITH THREE STUDENTS AND TWO TEACHERS.

48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland

52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love- YES

53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them

54. Visited Japan- TWICE: ONE FOR BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE AND THE OTHER ONE FOR A TOUR IN NARITA.

55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs

57. Pretended to be a superhero- DOES MULAN COUNT?

58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater


66. Visited the Great Wall of China- IT WAS SOOO AMAZING. I FELT THAT IT SHOULD BE ONE OF SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD. IT IS SO LONG AND AMAZING. I TOUCHED THE WALL TO EXPERIENCE THE HARD LABOR PEOPLE HAD DONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites

70. Taken a martial arts class- I WAS JUST ABOUT 11 YEARS OLD- I LEARNED JAPANESE KARATE. I JOINED YOUNG OLYMPIANS AND I WAS TOO EMBARRASSED TO YELL! BUT SO FAR, I WAS GOOD. I GOT A TINY TROPHY TO PROVE. MEN-- BEWARE!

71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight-what's D&D
72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie—I AM TONE DEAF WITH COCHLEAR IMPLANT (I AM HARD OF HEARING). I HAVE NOT BEEN TO A MOVIE THAT HAS OPEN CAPTIONED. I HAVE BEEN ONE WITH REAR WINDOW CAPTIONING.

74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”

83. Got flowers for no reason- YEAH, THAT WAS LAST YEAR FOR CHRISTMAS, I GOT A FAKE YELLOW ROSE WITH NO EXPLANATION.

84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music

87. Eaten shark-YEAH. SHARK'S FIN. IT IS REALLY GOOD. SERIOUSLY.

88. Had a one-night stand- NO

89. Gone to Thailand- YES, WE WENT THERE TO VISIT MY COUSIN EN ROUTE TO BURMA, MY DAD'S BIRTHPLACE.

90. Bought a house-condo
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents


93. Been on a cruise ship- I WENT THROUGH CULTURE SHOCK BECAUSE MY FAMILY IS PRACTICALLY THE ONLY CHINESE THERE AND THE THING IS THAT, PEOPLE THOUGHT WE ARE VERY CHINESE AND TREAT US LIKE FOREIGNERS. THAT WAS KIND OF EMBARRASSING IN A GOOD AND BAD WAY.

94. Spoken more than one language fluently- I TRIED. REALLY DO.

95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray-swam with them in the wild, at night

110. Broken someone’s heart- AIEYA, THAT WAS TEN YEARS AGO AND I HAD TO TELL HIM THAT HE WAS WAY TOO YOUNG FOR ME. I WAS 19 AND HE WAS 13.

111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show

113. Broken a bone- I SHOULD HAVE BROKEN ANY BONES IN MY BODY BUT NEVER MANAGED TO DO IT. I PLAYED A LOT OF SPORTS REALLY HARD AND RAMBUNCTIOUS. ONE TIME I SPEND HALF OF THE DAY ROLLING THE SKATES AND FELL SO MANY TIMES. I CAME HOME WITH TONS OF BRUISES BUT NO BROKEN BONES.

114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten onions that were gathered in the wild

118. Ridden a horse-YES, ER NAME IS MCCORMICK. HER MOTHER IS A WHITE HORSE AND HER DAD'S A BLACK STALLION.
I HAD RIDDEN HER IN THE PHILIPPINES. SHE IS A BEAUTY.


119. Had major surgery- FOR COCHLEAR IMPLANT. THEY HAD TO PLANT A MAGNET AND ELECTRONS AROUND THE COCHLEA BEHIND MY EAR. IN OLD TIMES, THEY HAD TO SHAVE A PERSON'S HEAD AND CUT THE HEAD INTO D-SHAPE AND FLIP THE ROUNDED PART OF THE LETTER 'D' AND SHAVE YOUR SKULL TO PUT MAGNET IT AND IT WON'T STICK OUT. Nowadays, they only cut in a line and pull it apart then shave my head and then scoop the magnet inside. It is just a line behind my ear.

120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states-BIG TIME. I have very low IQ about USA. I have been to Nevada, Utah, Maryland (Washington D.C.), and Virginia. In overseas, I have been to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, India, Japan, and Burma. I have more…

124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat

127. Eaten sushi-YES: TORO AND SALMON ARE MY FAVORITES. Raw is sooo good.

128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes

134. Read The Iliad and the Odyssey- VERY TRAGIC STORY. I had to read these book twice (High school and College)- I had to read it again because my perspective changed over the years and I had to read it again to make sure. But when I was in college, I read it faster. Anyway, what I learned that I should have mark things down in the book in my high school days so it should be easier for my college life.

135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read-I HAVE TOO MANY TO LIST and one of them is Jane Austen.

136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

137. Skipped all your school reunions- I AM AN AMERICAN EXPAT. I studied schools all over the place. When there is a reunion, I ended up in another place.

138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language- YES IN Sign language. I hardly know sign language and I had to use alphabet slowly to get what I want them to know. I was so slow with it. I only know alphabet in sign language only. SOMETIMES I POINT THINGS OUT AND THEY WILL SIGN FOR ME. ALSO LIVING IN ASIA, WE BOTH HAD TO POINT THINGS OUT TO GET WHAT WE WANT ESPECIALLY ASKING FOR SOMETHING.. YOU WERE LIKE SIGNING BUT IT WAS ANY REAL LANGUAGE. IT IS LIKE TRYING TO DRAW A PICTURE.

139. Been elected to public office

140. Written your own computer language- I tried and it sucks. I was trying to make a website.

141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream- YES- Unless I said if my man of my dreams really likes me, then I am living in a dream no matter where I am, what I am… etc.

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you.
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident

150. Saved someone’s life- IT WAS MY INTENTION BUT but too late to be a hero. =)

Traveler's Hobbies: Thou shalt not idle...

It has been a long while to write blogspot. I just add new people to join my blogspot's list, whom I want to travel with. Meet Stacy Jayne who is now Mrs. Shankey-Love, and I love reading her blogs because she is a good writer. Also meet the twins, Amber and Robin, who always sat next to me when I am alone in somewhere. They are so nice. Their blogs cover a lot about their grandmother who sadly passed away few months ago.

Anyway, what are my favorite hobbies. I've got hobbies from all over the place. I'll start with sports. I love sports.

I love English's rugby and it is like American football. It is like playing basketball in my experience. The important thing is to keep the ball in the team making sure it is thrown in right hands. The game just kept going and going until the ball went out from the line. I started to like rugby when I was in Hong Kong. My PE teacher asked me to join the team because i know how to work hard. I don't tackle very easily. I just like passing the ball and running away from maniacs.

Golf is my favorite sport and I played it in Hong Kong. I started playing in the Philippines when my family owns the shares of the golf course called Tagaytay Highlands. Now the largest shareholder is Shoemart's Henry Sy. Anyway, golf can be really tiring and boring. I spent like 8 hours under the sun to complete 18 holes. My favorite part is using the driver and hit the ball high and far and seriously I ended up not being able to find the golfball. I need to buy some colorful golfballs. The worst part is losing the ball in water where I was actually forced to swing in the water! I always lost the golfballs. The hardest about golf is putting in the greens. It drove me to the edge and almost half way to bend my club into two and throw into the lake. That incident actually never happened. It was just going to in my imagination. Call me crazy. I have been trained by a professional golfer who wishes to be unnamed because I kept on losing the golfballs!

Swimming is the earliest sport I've ever participated. I started swimming when I was a baby. I love it. In Chinese zodiac, I am a water dog. I love water and I swam competitively for a year and i had to stop because I got a lot of ear infection from wearing hearing aids. The best place to swim is the beach in Newport. Truth is, I like swimming in cold water rather than warm ones. I remember that I did the boogie boarding with Jenna and Kendra. It was sooo much fun but it was cut short when I got bad cramps. That was terrible. They are so good to me. Kendra is now serving mission in Independence, Missouri. Jenna is my ward's relief society president. They are my inspirations.

Sailing is so much fun! I sailed in Hong Kong along Repulse Bay. Unlike US, we don't have any preppy guys. I see more humble and lone fishermen. I love sailing so much. I even sailed through strong storms and winds. My boat was turned over upside down several times and I had to turn it over in the middle of ocean. It was so much fun. I love sailing against the wind to the ends of earth. It is part of a great healing.

Rowing is my favorite sport of all the sports. I love rowing in early morning to see the sunrise. I witnessed the beauty of it every morning and i just rowed against the wind to the beating of my heart. I learned about breathing a lot so that would help if I am giving birth. That would hundred years later. =) Rowing is about rhythm. It helped me to forget everything and never look back. I love rowing more than anything in the world. It is also a great work out for your whole body.

Basketball is my favorite classic sports ever played and loved by many. It surely beats football. Sorry guys. I was once girls' basketball team manager. I never forget how hard my team worked and it was a joy working for them. We went to Japan and it was soo much fun. I am pretty good rebounder. I play hard in court and pretty quiet off court. I am more of a listener than talker. I remembered when I was in middle school, the girl was ready to pound me because I was really rough player to get the ball. Anyway, my favorite place to play basketball is actually on an abandoned basketball court not Staples Center in LA. I am LA Lakers fan.

Running is the most tiring and rewarding thing to do. I got breathing problem. Running is only thing that helped me to deal with rowing race. I love running along the hills in Hong Kong in North Point. It was beautiful out there.

Tennis is the only sport after golf that I have been trained by professional. My coach was like low ranked tennis player but he's a good guy. He said I hit the ball too hard and gave everyone's racket a big fat hole. He did not see me a future tennis player because Venus came years later. Anyway, I love tennis more than badminton. I love hitting the balls and everything. Tennis also helped me to learn to balance myself. My favorite tennis player are Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Steffi Graf.

Sports I detest:

Soccer: whenever someone called me and made me turn my head, the ball ended up my face really really really really hard.

Water polo: Same thing with soccer.

volleyball: I don't get it and I am really short. When I serve, the balls goes into the trees, ceiling pipes or anything to get away from me.

Softball: I joined the team and the ball is way too heavy and it hit my thighs! Ooooouch, it hurts to remember. ugh.

running: So hard.

Football: I am not big fan of getting hurt intentionally.

TIme Traveler: Spotting cute Actors from the Past

Instead of being world traveler from this time on... I went back in time and spot some handsome actors. I tried not to meet them face to face because I don't want to change history. =) I did not have to worry about bumping into my parents because they lived in Burma and China.

I always like James 'Jimmy' Stewart. I like him since I was a kid. =) I like his boyish looks and kind face.



I usually thought Paul Newman was really handsome and also a really good actor. I like John Wayne's adventurous spirit. I also like Gene Kelly. He is the best male dancer I've ever seen. I always dreamed dancing with with him in the rain. My mom favors Cary Grant or Clark Gable.

Traveler's Daydream: Dreaming of playing sports in Swiss Alps

Travelers spend daydreaming with someone they had met. While sitting on a train looking at the clouds, we would drawn ourselves into the land of dreams. I usually imagine myself spending time with someone you really like out there in solitude. I do not have imagination of horny girls and boys. I have really long list of guys I would love to hang out with. So I am going to start with athletes. I love to play sports especially with rowing, basketball, tennis, and swimming.

Basketball:
I love basketball but imagining myself playing basketball with really tall guys in court yard near the beach, I am going to need a lot of tricks not to let him to take advantage of my short height. Or I just let him carry me to help me to dunk... or just let him win. =)

The tallest guy I ever met is Mark 'Mad Dog' Madsen. I met him at the beach. He is six feet nine. When I first met him, my first impression is his large feet. I couldn't stop staring at him as a freak. That was stupid of me. I had a crush on him for a while. I have never seen a foot so big! He is a sweet and fun loving guy. Very funny too. Anyway, the meeting was cut short because he got a lot of admirers. I would love to meet him again and tell him sorry that I was staring at his feet.

Here is Mark Madsen:



Volleyball:
I like them a lot. They are tall and have really nice long legs. I could use their height to get something I can't reach. Fortunately, they are very good looking.

Tennis:
Novak Djokvic

I also like his sense of humor. Check out his impersonation of star tennis players!


Tim Henman
He is a quiet Englishman. He played tennis with grace but never gotten his dream to become the first British to win Wimbledon. He is now happily married to Lucy Heald and has two daughters.



Golf:
You spend with someone in 18 holes for 8 hours... in a large grassland. That's a beautiful solitude with someone to play with.

Tiger Woods
I love to play golf! He is happily married with one daughter, Sam.


Sergio Garcia
Funny Spaniard golfer...single and looking good! I would love to play golf in the Philippines in a place called Tagaytay Highlands.



Swimming:
Swimming is the first sport I've ever done. I love swimming. I swam for the team once. I stopped because I kept on getting ear infection for wearing hearing aids that blocks the water coming out from my ears. I would love to hang out with these guys at the beach in Boracay, which is part of the Philippines. The sand looks almost white, and felt like powder!!!

Pieter van den Hoogenband
Really handsome Dutch swimmer. He is married with one daughter.


Ian Thrope
He has the biggest heart. He has a heart of a champion. He is really nice kid. Sometimes big head. Anyway, he's really tall. I tell you again, I like tall but athletic guys.


Alexander Popov
Russian swimmer


Runners:
Rudy Garcia Tolson
My hero! I would love to run with him and Robin Williams along Yosemite National Park Trail.


Daydreaming too much? Have a nice day.

Traveler's Book: Twilight Sagas by Stephanie Meyer

I always bring a book from home to read while I am traveling across the grand oceans and seas, and sitting under the tree on a strange land. I became no longer a stranger on a strange land while reading a book. It is great thing to do while you are away from your family and friends. Books are always your best friend. It comes alive while you are reading it. Books are the greatest remedy to free yourself, getting over with homesickness, and even thinking you are so over with your crush. While you read, you become a child, filled with innocence and purity and open to all knowledge of the world.




Odessa Stevens gave me the book, "Twilight" by Stephaine Meyer, as Christmas and farewell gift before I left for Asia. She is absolutely a wonderful and sweet girl who is an advocate for cleaner beaches and coral reefs and saving dolphins. She knows me well enough to keep me alive and insane. She is an incredible and funny bud to be hang out with. =)

The book, Twilight, is fun and incredible and suspenseful book to read! I love it. Instead of being a mysterious and adventurous world traveler in trench coat and fedora hat, this book had turned me into 15 year-old teenager with bad acne with weird hairdo, and not caring in the world what I am wearing (most likely wearing PJs and bathrobe), reading with big eyes and giggling all the way. I am hopelessly romantic. I thought I am over with my crush I've liked for two years.




Twilight has three books and they are amazing. I read them all. I read the second saga about two weeks after I finished the first one. About a week later, I bought the third one and finished it one day. I am in denial right now because I want more of this book!

I prefer Edward Cullen than Jacob Black. Not only Edward is handsomer and cuter than Jacob in my imagination, it is whole personality that drove me into hopeless romantic. I did develop a crush on him. That's weird that to have a crush on fictional character. Anyway, while I was in denial after finishing all three books, I looked up in internet to search for more. Anyway, the great news is that they are making a movie! I can't wait!!! I hope Odessa could watch with me before she leaves for an important work to do in a lifetime. Anyway, they announced the cast.

Edward Cullen is Robert Pattinson and here was what I saw...



My first thought was like ugh no way! What is that goo on his hair?!??! I went through teenage insanity like this video:



One thing I don't have in common with her is that I don't like Orlando Bloom. I am pretty nice kid to give people second chance.. just before I went to search for more picture of Robert Pattinson, I just remembered Harry Potter's movie, and he was the one who played Cedric Diggory. I was like, oh he is not that bad as the previous picture. So here is what I found and it finally relinquished my teenage insanity to sanity to hopelessly romantic that I have fallen for an actor who does not know I exist.





In second picture, he is on the left side sitting on a wheelchair. I was like yes, this is Edward Cullen. He just have to dye his hair. I watched the clip of Reese Witherspoon's Vanity Fair movie and it really persuaded me to think that he is really Edward Cullen, on his voice, poise and chemistry towards the screen.



"Perfecto and Excellente!" like my Spanish teacher/professor always said when I managed to read the whole story I made in Spanish. She never expected to understand me while reading aloud. I am deaf and she usually discourage deaf students to take her Spanish class.

I thought Henry Cavill and Hayden Christiansen would be perfect Edward Cullen. According to the producers, Henry is too old to play seventeen year-old Edward. I remembered Henry Cavill starred in a movie called, "The Count of Monte Cristo." I love this movie. I like the book better. Anyway, I am glad Robert Pattinson got the part as Edward. I am glad that they chose an actor instead of a model to play the part. If in fourth book that Bella chose Jacob Black, I would tempt to burn it.

The producers cast Kirsten Stewart as Bella. I at first did not agree but looking at other pictures of her, I thought it is all right.

As a world traveler, always bring a book from home. Some of you may know Esther Dupree and she once said that she went to France and tried to look for a bookstore that has English written books. Books are awesome. I love books. My cousin, Andrea, and my college professor, Dixie Durham, are the one who taught me the world of books. It comes alive when you read it. You will feel less lonely.

So bring a book when you travel.
Smile and enjoy.