A nice, cosy family church

Pictures of the nice church I mentioned a week back were missing, so here they are. Gosh I'm a really lazy blogger. haha. Probably going to run out of space soon.





The inconspicuous sign at the entrance. It's like a small hole. Oh but enter, and find yourself in a totally different realm of reality from the cold white surroundings outside.








These coat-hangers give you a warm greeting as you enter. The lighting and colours of the church are really cosy!








Turn to the right, and you'll see this. Everybody seems to siam whenever I take photos inside...







Go further in, and look to the right. Nice place right?!







The mini-sanctuary where they have really worshipful praise & worship. Complete with kids' songs :)

It's been a wonderful Sunday, not least because of the kindness and hospitality of the Singaporean couple (and their toddler), who pulled me to join their Sunday 'rest & chill' itinery. From talking in the left-hand drive and left-side roads - yes, that's right, opposite to Singapore's right-side roads - to a lunch treat in a Chinese restaurant with their local friends (Authentic Asian food is great. Especially after 2 weeks of fake Asian meals I've tried to whip up), not forgetting their looking out for me in simple ways, it was really... I'm at a loss for words.

Really thank God for blessing me with such awesome company. I just asked Him for a couple of Christian friends to encourage each other throughout these months, but look what I've found in just 2 weeks?! The wonders of simple, small prayers.

My Singaporean friends' 'rest & chill' routine, and generally Austria's tendency to relax (banks close at 3pm, on Sundays people disappear from streets and visit friends & family, people can take leave up to 30days in one go & go backpacking) makes me wonder why we're so different back home. Sunday involved a nice, lazy afternoon with a long lunch, kids from friends' families playing with each other, and after-lunch coffee. If only at home we can do less, know when to break and spend time with loved ones. I wish home was more like this...

Anyway I hope my Mandarin will improve in the following months. I need it at church a lot. haha. And I learnt some new terms in German today, from songs.

Kraft - The company famous for cheese? It means strength.
Ich liebe dich - I love you.

Oh yes, how could I forget. The Singaporean couple and me.

Thank you for keeping in touch. Till we meet again, tschews! Means goodbye.

Vienna and ... Singapore

I've been getting bit lazy to blog, but shall try to make double entries every week. Heh.

Anyway, a German class project made us take a couple of photos to compare the difference between certain scenes in Singapore and Vienna, so I thought I'll share some of them here. Hope it's interesting!

Transport

Guess where this is? Inside a tram. And what's that bunch of black, messy hair? A DOG. Dogs are really a big thing in Vienna - they require the equivalent of a child's ticket on public transport! There're dogs playing on the snow, dogs in restaurants, dogs everywhere. I can't imagine seeing dogs in shopping malls back home. (OH they're really well-behaved here. And muzzled.)

Caught ya red-handed! No lah, everyone can eat and drink openly in buses, trams and trains. I'm going to slurp on soup in a tram one day and make everyone hungry. haha.

Can you find such a scene ever back home? Notice the empty seats. I still recall - certainly not with fondness - the madly jam packed trains on our sunny island. Yikes.

They have these in place of trishaws here in Vienna. 50 Euros for an hour! Youch.

Okay, enough of transport. There are more interesting things in life. Like SNOW!!!
Gosh I sound like a deprived Singaporean. Which I am. haha.

SNOW

Check out that huge iceberg!!!

This is how deep the snow is...

Shoveling snow - even with a snow plough - is tough work!
Viennese out of the city are really warm and friendly, compared to their city counterparts. The guy behind me looked thrilled at letting me play with his machine, seeing the 6-year-old excitement of a deprived Singaporean. hah

Lounging in the snow.







Oh, we visited this really warm and cosy house in the midst of the snow. Really feels like a movie - with pretty houses clad in snow outside, and the warm orange glow of respite inside.

A really nice country-side style place we found for dinner. Never expected this in Vienna, thought only Australia! haha.

Lastly, a sneak shot of these adorable little ones just for everyone =)

Have a fantastic week ahead!!

Blessed Sabbath

It's 1.20am now and I have class at 9am tomorrow. Uh but who cares, I really need to share this.
(Sorry, no pictures!)

Deng Shuo (my roommate) brought me to this ulu-fied church tucked neatly along a small street. I would never have given that door a second glance had I walked past. The church is called Victory Family Centre, and it is supposedly from Singapore. Yes, SINGAPORE. Some coincidence huh? Has anyone heard of that church before? I haven't.

The furnishings inside were really warm and cosy. And it was a small church. I liked it the instant i stepped into it.

When the service started, I was completely awed by the way these people worshipped. They were Taiwanese, Mainlanders, couple of Austrians, a Singapore couple, and some others, but the atmosphere was so worshipful, so dedicated and beautiful. You could really sense their love for God just by being there. And familiar songs like Forever, My Redeemer Lives, I Stand in Awe - all in German. Oh, there was translation into Mandarin and I actually understood. Was strange trying to interpret a familiar song's meaning while listening to it sung in another tongue.

Halfway during the service, the worship leader just called for a spontaneous expression of worship from the people, and a couple of them just expressed how they felt, like one of them said she felt God's love being so, so beautiful (I think - it was German). It was amazing.

After the pastor's sermon, which was a bit difficult to follow because it was in German, albeit with translation (hey yes i understand Mandarin) - probably hard cause he kept talking about evolution - there was an altar call for believe and rededication. It felt so familiar, I couldn't believe it. Totally different culture, totally foreign land, yet people are the same. People's needs are the same. People need to cry out to God and experience His grace and love.

I don't know why I felt this so strongly, but when Deng Shuo raised his hand to be prayed for, something clicked within me. All this while, I sorta thought of him as a reserved, eccentric fellow who likes weird songs and claims to be clean even though I thought otherwise. It was sort of a mild racist discrimination (against a mainland Chinese), and I feel ashamed of feeling that way. But it was subtle, and I didn't even realize it existed until then.

At that very moment, I saw a brother (even with his weird ways) with similar values as me, a friend who needed at his inner being help and grace from Jesus. And he's only been a Christian for 1 year. My vision (figuratively speaking) sort of cleared, and I thought less of stupid superficial things like oh, where can I travel next... which European girl is pretty... how do I spend more time with people from countries other than Asia, and more of what are the needs of the people around me, have I been kind to them in the little things everyday. It was a direct message from God, and a direct answer to my prayer a couple of days before. To find a good church and to see things with His wisdom.

Thereafter, although I only gave 3 Euros for offering (budget lah, that's SGD$6 for a first timer!), I ate quite a bit of food and ice cream cake they offered - I need to give more next time. Heh. And oh yes, there was a Singaporean couple with a toddler. Instantly connected with them, like WHEW.

I don't normally post spiritual/religious stuff, cause it's not very me - but this was so impactful for me that I just have to share it. And I hope it may strike a chord with anyone reading out there. Yes, I have a lot less things to do and am sort of on holiday, but we can receive many things if we try to listen :)

Thank You for this wonderful day. I know You had it planned. May I not forget this too quickly, and continue to open my ears everyday.

God bless everyone out there, and Gute Nacht!

Inside Haus Panorama

Okay here's what Haus Panorama looks inside. Not that elegant, but nice and comfortable - good enough for me!




The lift.








After exiting the lift you're greeted by this Billboard. Mostly notices on parties for exchange peeps.








The Corridor. Looks like a scene from a ghost show eh? That's cause the ligting is dark lah! (That's my door - first one. It's open because I welcome everyone inside! Just kidding.)






My room. Pretty nice and clean! I hope it stays that way, especially after a new roommate comes in. I'm praying for one that doesn't come in the middle of the night, drunk and puking all over my bed. Pray for me yeah! haha.



Me and my smelly room mate, Deng Shuo. He's going to move out of this room end this month - no, not because I moved in and messed up his life - he needs to save money so he's downgrading. I think I'm going to miss him. Will be helping him shift his drat old TV to his new place later, MAN I feel like a good neighbour. haha




I apologize if you're totally freaking bored by these pictures - who the heck cares about houses eh? Everyone lives in houses. Uh just thought I'll climax it all with my Beijing friend above! Check out his intense expression.

Really should sleep now, but there's this big thing I really need to share... above

First few days in Vienna

The very first day I stepped into my double hostel room, I was greeted with a RATHER BAD smell. There was this roommate from China, and he was yelling into his computer (skyping), and there was trash food (oily) stuck in the waste paper basket in the common area. My buddy, Markus Pichler, was trying to keep a straight face.

I was so horrified I thought of upgrading to a single room IMMEDIATELY.

I thought so hard about it, like would he feel hurt because I chose to leave, and the joys of having a nice clean room - where you don't have to use your slippers in the toilet and leave freakin black stains all over - but gradually, I grew to accept this room and my interesting roommate. Omgoodness, he even wakes me up every morning with a strange airy-fairy Chinese song that talks about home being clean, nice and whatever. And a weird Chiming sound that comes from a video he took because he misses home, so he plays it EVERY MORNING AND EVENING before sleeping.

But all in all, he's a REALLY nice person who studies music (how cool is that? can you imagine a PRC studying music, instead of boring old engineering??!!) He looks out quite a lot for me, and I'm going to miss his quirky ways when he leaves end this month for a cheaper dwelling.

Okay. I should be sleeping now, so I don't miss German class tomorrow. But what the heck, here's more photos...

My drab looking hostel. But I'm thankful for it- it's warm inside!

Me and Markus Pichler (buddy). He's really a nice, even-paced fellow. And the girls were gushing about him being handsome within 5 secs of meeting him.
Girls are the most superficial creatures on Earth.
University of Vienna. Not my university - mine's Vienna University of Economics and Business. Why can't my uni be as beautiful as this one. haha.

A protest on the streets! Right in town on the first evening I arrived. Cool!

An interesting, artsy toilet. Never to be found in Singapore.

Check out the Czech girl, bottom right. Eastern Europe - groovy eh?! She's 180cm tall.

Last but not least, German class. Just look at that really pretty Norweigan girl on the right, oh my goodness. I introduced her to the Argentinian dude on my left, and now he owes me a breakfast treat. haha.

Okay, that's all for now. Tata!

Pre-Departure

It's getting late at night and I'm a bit tired of typing. So let pictures do all the talking...


Last Sunday with my church kids. Watching 'The Wedding Game', which is pretty dumb - they tried too hard to make it different. Oh well.





Dinner at Timbre@Arts House 1 day after Joanna's birthday. Sara Wee was singing! But she kept making fun of some poor 21 year old boy. argh anyway...




Chai Hwa is actually pretty cranky. Now that he finished work@Chapel, he shows his true colours...





My relatives. Now I'm finally rid of them! hahaha. Just kidding - they were really nice to come and send me off. For all the unnecessary noise I've been making at their houses...

Oh man. This picture is really bad. Obviously I'm not the photographer. Anyway this is the usual church send-off pic! Thanks for seeing me off!

Just before going through the departure gate, I felt this strange sense of being overwhelmed. Like there's so many people seeing you off - I felt I couldn't cater to all of them. So I just behaved dumbly, not warmly as I should - didn't hug or talk very much. Now I know why some people like to fly off secretly, it's overwhelming! But it's really - and always - a blessing to be prayed for by so many friends before flying off, I appreciate it!

To my family, take good care of yourselves and enjoy the time you have together without me! Good riddance to me in the household... hur hur. DON'T MESS UP MY ROOM THOUGH. Thanks! heh.

Hi folks. Hope you guys are doing fine wherever you are! Enjoying the sweltering heat in Singapore, no? hehe

Sorry this is a lil' late, but I just got my Internet connection. Anyway so here's everything! Will try to update this blog frequently, not like a friend who stopped after 29 July 2008 and another who posted 1 - YES just 1 - entry on exchange and gave up.

Shall start with... my fantabulous colleagues at Singapore Tourism Board, where they gave me a really great time (spending taxpayers' money, haha) before embarking on Vienna.

I didn't know Asaki is really not bad. Anyway these are (some) of my colleagues (including a steady pregnant lady called Jamie right at the top right hand corner)

And... check out this hot Bulgarian lady! Guess you can tell who she is eh. Eastern European looks are way different from Singapore. The lady on the right is a really steadfast person - am glad to have worked under her (she has dry humour, hehe)



Why does my hair look so terribly ugly in the photo? Aha I know why! Was trying to save money on cutting hair in Europe, which should be really expensive. So waited till the 2nd last day to cut hair. Cheapo. Sorry =(



Another photo when I visited after my last day!
Just realized I'm the only male here in a lot of photos. Why is the Tourism Board clad with so many women?