Same question that Anita has posed in the past...

Today was my first official day back from work, aside from our work retreat last Thursday and Friday, and since last thursday, I've been getting a lot of comments:

"You look really refreshed!"
"You're so relaxed! -- Good vacation??"

So how did I look before?? Haha...

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

Don't know why blogger was messing up the Chinese.

Hopefully this works now: the poem written by one of our students. Anyone care to do a translation for me? =p

I am home! I love the feeling of stepping back into YYZ... every single time! It feels great to come home.

I arrived on Tuesday night at midnight -- so really, in the end, I was only delayed for about 2 hours... which means I was getting worked up over nothing! Things always work out in the end!

Sorry I still haven't been around yet, I've been occupied with Tyndale and Ernst & Young activities so far, which has been nice to come back to many exciting things. Unfortunately, 3 weeks also seems like a long time to see so many things happen to the people around me and to the rest of the world...

Such great distress, of illness, pain, suffering, violence... there is so much more than this life!!

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

Delayed! Guess I was jumping the gun in thinking that my trip would be hassle-free -- my flight out of Beijing is delayed for 4 hours, which means that I will very likely miss my scheduled flight out of Vancouver to come home.

Anyway, I've come to accept that I will return home half a day or one day later. Oh well... there is probably a reason for this, if even, just to spend some quiet time (which I did pray for ... haha..) and catch up on some reading. For the first hour, though, I was frantically running around looking for a ticket counter while speaking my very broken Putonghua. Finally found and spoke to the right person at the right place though (very mah fan... entailed going back out of the China immigration departure checkpoint) but at least I'm thankful that I was able to ask the Air China rep to at least try *something*, even if to no avail... although I realize this is for my own satisfaction to say that I did exhaust my own avenues to try and change my flight.

Just another example of wanting to remain in control and do stuff on my own, rely on my own strength. On the plus side though, at least I'm on stranded in Beijing for one night, and I did get in reading time. I also finished "Return of the Prodigal Son" by Henri Nouwen which directly speaks about human weaknesses and our inadequate self-sufficiencies.

And I suppose it's also a blessing that internet is so expensive (despite any bargaining I tried =p) that I did not feel right to pay 100RMB for one hour of internet (paid 20HKD for 15 minutes now...) in order to kill time. However, the guy let me sit on the couch in the business centre so it's been nice to read here instead of in the noisy waiting areas.

Now, an hour and a half left to kill... I'll see how much I can get through of "Out of the Saltshaker..." I always muse that I bring books with the unreasonable expectation of reading any of it -- but it is a blessing to be given the opportunity to do so now!

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

Has three weeks (less two days) flown by so quickly?

I'm in the process of trying to pack all my stuff... I should have really taken up all offers for a bigger suitcase (I really have one medium-sized and one carry on). Oh well, making do with what I've got (and what other things my aunt can give me), just got to think out of the... suitcase. Just another challenge, or "game", haha! ;)

But, I am finally, done! Not a bad job, kf I could say so myself! ;) I thought I would be packing through the night; I may actually get one more hour than the trip to Asia!

Not particularly looking forward to 24 hours of travelling time, including overlays, but it will be nice quiet time -- hope that I will not be sleeping all the say through.

Anyway, I'm very thankful for this opportunity to come on this trip... and hope to share with you personally about China!

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.