Here we go!!! It's our first day of orientation.
Yesterday, we left home at 8:15 and arrived at 8:45. I was glad that I could drive to school and parked the car at a pretty good rate ($5 for the whole day) and a good location.
We tried to settle Abby at the childcare service, but she did not want to play alone. So we took her with us to the programme. We had a brief worship and prayer. I'm very touched by the sincere prayers led by one upper-form student. She prayed for our relationship with God, in addition to the knowledge that we'll get. Instead of all the Godly things that we're busy with, we need to focus at our relationship with Him. I'm learning to enjoy spending time with God and listen to His words not because of duty, but simply being there to enjoy the intimacy. I can recall such experience when I was spending time with Abby. I didn't really have to achieve a lot of things with her or giving a lesson to her. I could just simply sit or lie close to her joyfully. This is an intimate experience.
After praying, we began to introduce one after another through playig some ice-breaking games. I was so excited to know my classmates, who came from different parts of the world. There're people from Asia, like South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan... There're others from Europe, especially from UK. There're others from New Zealand and even Africa. We spent some time chatting during lunch. I think yesterday was a great start. I really look forward to know more about them and listen to their stories.
Abby became pretty well-known as she was singing along with us....You really need to listen to her singing....she could sound pretty close to what we're singing, with a slight delay in synchronizing. It's really funny. ^_^
Orientation will continue from Sept 2-4. We'll learn more about the study culture at Regent. I look forward to connect with others.
Please pray for me as I'll have lots of reading. I really need to spend time wisely.
We'll be moving on Sept 1 as well.
Thank God for providing us a 10' cargo van and some kind brothers and sisters from church to help us move. Connie and I really hope to settle everything before lessons start on Sept 8.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Touching moment
Thanks to Skype, I can chat with my colleagues "in person". It was a remarkable experience.
Thanks to Jason for setting up the computer and classroom so that I could talk to all our 40 staff members. I was so glad to see their happy faces after Summer Holiday. Really looking forward to our next Skype conversation.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Countdown: 1 more week to go!
Summer Holiday is coming to its end. (Do you long for more? ^_^)
My primary school colleagues are getting back to school this week. Really miss them much!
Just one more week, we’ll be moving to our new place. We’ll need to do lots of cleaning and unpacking. Hopefully we’ll be able to finish our work before lessons start.
Orientation for new students will begin this coming Friday. I look forward to meet with new classmates and teachers. Guess I should read bible more (esp. in English) + textbooks now…there’ll be tons of readings after school starts.
I’m grateful over the last few weeks that I could stay with the Chows. I was so happy to chat with them. I even got a few sessions of kinesiology therapy as Mrs. Chow is a registered clinical counselor. Through sharing and diagnosis, I discovered that other than our mind (or thoughts), our body actually can tell us a lot of our status through various responses to frequencies. I could identify some stress sources and trace back to the incidents that had occurred to me in my childhood / adolescence. These sessions really helped me to understand my needs more. As Mrs. Chow always says, “Your body remembers more than you know!” I just THOUGHT I was over with the problem, but my BODY is still grieving on it. My body would respond differently than I thought so. I was surprised by these reactions and I noticed I have always been on a “survival” mode of living. There was a great fear deep inside of me, so that I always “believe” that I don’t deserve to get over with problems and being loved by others. In response, I tend to have psychological reversals, meaning that I don’t mean what I say to myself. I notice that I longed for nurturing that was insufficient in my childhood years. It has to do with the relationship and interactions between me and my daddy. Though I am always proud of my daddy and respect him, my body tells me that I really long for playing with my daddy in my childhood but he was absent. Those years were gone long time ago; however, my body remembers and still grieves for that. I guess that's why I sometimes feel so distant with my parents (my body tells myself to feel ok to stay alone after so many years) Now I’ve to acknowledge such feelings and really let my body to feel the grief and let it get over with.
I also discover that I’ve got lots of my good friends are in the field of counseling. My dad and my wife are social workers; my best friends are counselors too. Then I was asked by Mrs. Chow, “Why haven’t you thought of studying counseling before?” I was stunned by this question and wondered why I’ve never thought of entering this field even I am really fond of this professional. Maybe I have been denying myself and having this thought of “un-deservedness” towards this. It will be very interesting to know what my daddy thinks about this since he has given me advice and insights over many important decisions (including my decision of pursuing medicine and my choice of studying chemistry in uni years).
Really feel blessed by God for shaping my life through many ways, even before school starts. ^_^
Daddy: If you ever read this post, I want to say that I love you. I'm always proud of you and thankful for all that you've done for me. I'm glad that I could go over my past and searched for my feelings. Just acknowledge my feelings. I really hope to hear your sharing, to know your ups and downs, or even play together.
My primary school colleagues are getting back to school this week. Really miss them much!
Just one more week, we’ll be moving to our new place. We’ll need to do lots of cleaning and unpacking. Hopefully we’ll be able to finish our work before lessons start.
Orientation for new students will begin this coming Friday. I look forward to meet with new classmates and teachers. Guess I should read bible more (esp. in English) + textbooks now…there’ll be tons of readings after school starts.
I’m grateful over the last few weeks that I could stay with the Chows. I was so happy to chat with them. I even got a few sessions of kinesiology therapy as Mrs. Chow is a registered clinical counselor. Through sharing and diagnosis, I discovered that other than our mind (or thoughts), our body actually can tell us a lot of our status through various responses to frequencies. I could identify some stress sources and trace back to the incidents that had occurred to me in my childhood / adolescence. These sessions really helped me to understand my needs more. As Mrs. Chow always says, “Your body remembers more than you know!” I just THOUGHT I was over with the problem, but my BODY is still grieving on it. My body would respond differently than I thought so. I was surprised by these reactions and I noticed I have always been on a “survival” mode of living. There was a great fear deep inside of me, so that I always “believe” that I don’t deserve to get over with problems and being loved by others. In response, I tend to have psychological reversals, meaning that I don’t mean what I say to myself. I notice that I longed for nurturing that was insufficient in my childhood years. It has to do with the relationship and interactions between me and my daddy. Though I am always proud of my daddy and respect him, my body tells me that I really long for playing with my daddy in my childhood but he was absent. Those years were gone long time ago; however, my body remembers and still grieves for that. I guess that's why I sometimes feel so distant with my parents (my body tells myself to feel ok to stay alone after so many years) Now I’ve to acknowledge such feelings and really let my body to feel the grief and let it get over with.
I also discover that I’ve got lots of my good friends are in the field of counseling. My dad and my wife are social workers; my best friends are counselors too. Then I was asked by Mrs. Chow, “Why haven’t you thought of studying counseling before?” I was stunned by this question and wondered why I’ve never thought of entering this field even I am really fond of this professional. Maybe I have been denying myself and having this thought of “un-deservedness” towards this. It will be very interesting to know what my daddy thinks about this since he has given me advice and insights over many important decisions (including my decision of pursuing medicine and my choice of studying chemistry in uni years).
Really feel blessed by God for shaping my life through many ways, even before school starts. ^_^
Daddy: If you ever read this post, I want to say that I love you. I'm always proud of you and thankful for all that you've done for me. I'm glad that I could go over my past and searched for my feelings. Just acknowledge my feelings. I really hope to hear your sharing, to know your ups and downs, or even play together.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Things look brighter in Week 2
This is a week to remember.
A. We spent 4 days on a short journey to a lake resort. This journey was planned and arranged before we left HK. We went along with the Chows and 2 other families from church. Check out the photos and you'll be amazed by the beautiful scenery there. The trailer house was neat and cozy. We enjoyed the beauty of the nature and the fellowship with each other. One night, I lay flat on the pavement with Connie and Abby to look at the sky. The sky was filled with twinkling stars. How I wish to take a photo of it and show you how it was like.
B. After we returned, I registered my courses for the fall term. I talked to a counselor and I decided to take 4 courses this term (as suggested in the student handbook in order to finish the program in 3 yrs). But only about 40% of Regent students will take 4 courses each term; another 40% will take only 3; the rest will take fewer courses. I’ll see how much that I can handle in the first 2 weeks of school. I may decide to take fewer courses, but it may mean that I’ll finish the program later. There’ll be stress on the finance when I think of that, but it’s all about faith to rely in God. I’m learning not to rush myself in finishing it in 3 yrs, but to open up myself to learn the essence of studying theology here. So I’ll be taking:
1. Christian culture and thoughts
2. History of Christianity
3. The Old Testament Foundation
4. Introductory Hebrew
These seem to be quite interesting. I had a look at the textbooks and noticed a lot of vocabularies. Pray for my eagerness to learn and be able to understand different concepts.
I really want to thank Foon傳道 for giving me a “dictionary” of those theological terms. It’s gonna be very useful in my years of study.
C. The most important issue this week was that we’re settled with our housing. We thank God for the understanding and care we got from uF and aSK though we’ll not be renting the original upper floor unit. It’s amazing that God prepared us another loving and caring neighbour (landlord) + schoolmate. (see details from Abbymama’s blog) We’ll be moving into the basement unit of the Ann family soon and we’re now getting/buying different stuff for the new place. We’re so grateful for the housing arrangement and the community around us. Thank God.
Life is always filled with excitement. Though there were times that we felt anxious and perplexed, I thank God for teaching us to pray and focus on Him. Praise Him for His love and care.
B. After we returned, I registered my courses for the fall term. I talked to a counselor and I decided to take 4 courses this term (as suggested in the student handbook in order to finish the program in 3 yrs). But only about 40% of Regent students will take 4 courses each term; another 40% will take only 3; the rest will take fewer courses. I’ll see how much that I can handle in the first 2 weeks of school. I may decide to take fewer courses, but it may mean that I’ll finish the program later. There’ll be stress on the finance when I think of that, but it’s all about faith to rely in God. I’m learning not to rush myself in finishing it in 3 yrs, but to open up myself to learn the essence of studying theology here. So I’ll be taking:
1. Christian culture and thoughts
2. History of Christianity
3. The Old Testament Foundation
4. Introductory Hebrew
These seem to be quite interesting. I had a look at the textbooks and noticed a lot of vocabularies. Pray for my eagerness to learn and be able to understand different concepts.
I really want to thank Foon傳道 for giving me a “dictionary” of those theological terms. It’s gonna be very useful in my years of study.
C. The most important issue this week was that we’re settled with our housing. We thank God for the understanding and care we got from uF and aSK though we’ll not be renting the original upper floor unit. It’s amazing that God prepared us another loving and caring neighbour (landlord) + schoolmate. (see details from Abbymama’s blog) We’ll be moving into the basement unit of the Ann family soon and we’re now getting/buying different stuff for the new place. We’re so grateful for the housing arrangement and the community around us. Thank God.
Life is always filled with excitement. Though there were times that we felt anxious and perplexed, I thank God for teaching us to pray and focus on Him. Praise Him for His love and care.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
First week in Vancouver
Guess what we were doing as the opening ceremony of the olympics started in Beijing?
--sleeping
Really like to see the live broadcast, but we've no TV here....I saw some clips on YouTube...will try to download more from forums.
Here are some updates of what we did in these days:
1. Got a bank account settled. (The bank system here in Canada is so much different than in HK, everything here takes charges...from cheques to transactions....everything counts. I'm so lucky to open a student account so lots of these charges are waived...but I still have limited quotas for different operations)
2. Got my BC driver's license. (I don't need to do the test again because I've an expired one from Toronto which was issued within 3 yrs)
But Connie cannot get a BC license 'cause of her visitor status. She's allowed to drive with the International permit this yr. After that, we'll see what we can do for her. (maybe ask her to make a trip to HK later/see how the immigration process is doing)
3. Got 2 cell phones (1 for Connie: 778-8811492 ; 1 for me: 778-8811412) If you want to call us from HK, you also have to dial '1' in front of the phone numbers mentioned above. The phones we get here are really "old" models, but we got it really cheap. We're happy anyways. But the phone plan is way more expensive than in HK. We're paying 3 times more expensive than in HK, with poorer services (We've only 150 min....also we'll not be having voice mails, call display in order to save $ ~_~ But we can make unlimited calls to ppl using the same phone company, and the INCOMING calls during weekday evenings (from 7pm) and weekends are free) Oh Dear!!!
4. Got a chance to look at the school campus. Regent college is a small building situated
in the UBC campus. But it has a nice library. I'm going to do registration really soon.
5. I can drive my own car now!!! I bought a used car and it is now insured. Thanks to our dear friend in Vancouver, we've got a Honda Civic (1998 hatchback model, gray in colour, no air con.) It reminds me of the 'little red car' my family used to drive in Toronto. When I did a little test drive on it, I know I'll like this car very much. This is the 1st car that I own, and I'll try to learn how to take care of it.
There are still lots to check out/settle in terms of school and living. Please remember us in your prayers. I do feel pressure in adjusting everything new even I've had experience in Toronto/London. I guess I haven't been out of my comfort zone for a long time. But I do see God's grace in providing us the things and people we need. I start to appreciate my mom and dad's braveness and endurance they showed as we moved from HK to Toronto in 1989. I can understand how much pressure they faced in a strange new place.
There're a few things that we'll have to figure out:
1. Really need to find out ways for giving Connie a status other than 'visitor'. I don't think I can sponsor her to immigrate to Canada 'cause we need to provide financial proofs that I can support her and Abby (for Connie: 3yrs, for Abby: 10yrs!!!!!) Wondering if Connie can apply for immigration as a skilled worker, or simply ask her to renew her visitor status every 180 days. But we're paying high costs in health insurance. sigh....~_~ Pray and see how God guides us. Another possible way would be that I get a part-time job so that I can at least show the government that I would take care of my family.
2. More importantly, we may have new changes in our housing for this year. It's a big issue...check AbbyMommy's blog for further details....we're praying and learning to experience God's grace and providence.
I really thank God for having the Chow's family in Vancouver. Not only they have helped us a lot in our settlement, but they're our great spiritual support when we could pray and share our fears and tears with them. I also thank God for the growth we see in Abby even in this short week. Abby now tends to give more facial and verbal expressions as she interacts with the lovely big sister in the Chow's family. She likes to mimick Lizzie and is more stimulated to talk and share ideas with different people. Connie and I are overjoyed to see Abby's responses to our actions/conversations.
Week one is almost over......filled with both excitement and uncertainty. Life is different (or at times, difficult) for us but we'll move on thankfully with the grace of God.
--sleeping
Really like to see the live broadcast, but we've no TV here....I saw some clips on YouTube...will try to download more from forums.
Here are some updates of what we did in these days:
1. Got a bank account settled. (The bank system here in Canada is so much different than in HK, everything here takes charges...from cheques to transactions....everything counts. I'm so lucky to open a student account so lots of these charges are waived...but I still have limited quotas for different operations)
2. Got my BC driver's license. (I don't need to do the test again because I've an expired one from Toronto which was issued within 3 yrs)
But Connie cannot get a BC license 'cause of her visitor status. She's allowed to drive with the International permit this yr. After that, we'll see what we can do for her. (maybe ask her to make a trip to HK later/see how the immigration process is doing)
3. Got 2 cell phones (1 for Connie: 778-8811492 ; 1 for me: 778-8811412) If you want to call us from HK, you also have to dial '1' in front of the phone numbers mentioned above. The phones we get here are really "old" models, but we got it really cheap. We're happy anyways. But the phone plan is way more expensive than in HK. We're paying 3 times more expensive than in HK, with poorer services (We've only 150 min....also we'll not be having voice mails, call display in order to save $ ~_~ But we can make unlimited calls to ppl using the same phone company, and the INCOMING calls during weekday evenings (from 7pm) and weekends are free) Oh Dear!!!
4. Got a chance to look at the school campus. Regent college is a small building situated
in the UBC campus. But it has a nice library. I'm going to do registration really soon.5. I can drive my own car now!!! I bought a used car and it is now insured. Thanks to our dear friend in Vancouver, we've got a Honda Civic (1998 hatchback model, gray in colour, no air con.) It reminds me of the 'little red car' my family used to drive in Toronto. When I did a little test drive on it, I know I'll like this car very much. This is the 1st car that I own, and I'll try to learn how to take care of it.
There are still lots to check out/settle in terms of school and living. Please remember us in your prayers. I do feel pressure in adjusting everything new even I've had experience in Toronto/London. I guess I haven't been out of my comfort zone for a long time. But I do see God's grace in providing us the things and people we need. I start to appreciate my mom and dad's braveness and endurance they showed as we moved from HK to Toronto in 1989. I can understand how much pressure they faced in a strange new place.
There're a few things that we'll have to figure out:
1. Really need to find out ways for giving Connie a status other than 'visitor'. I don't think I can sponsor her to immigrate to Canada 'cause we need to provide financial proofs that I can support her and Abby (for Connie: 3yrs, for Abby: 10yrs!!!!!) Wondering if Connie can apply for immigration as a skilled worker, or simply ask her to renew her visitor status every 180 days. But we're paying high costs in health insurance. sigh....~_~ Pray and see how God guides us. Another possible way would be that I get a part-time job so that I can at least show the government that I would take care of my family.
2. More importantly, we may have new changes in our housing for this year. It's a big issue...check AbbyMommy's blog for further details....we're praying and learning to experience God's grace and providence.
I really thank God for having the Chow's family in Vancouver. Not only they have helped us a lot in our settlement, but they're our great spiritual support when we could pray and share our fears and tears with them. I also thank God for the growth we see in Abby even in this short week. Abby now tends to give more facial and verbal expressions as she interacts with the lovely big sister in the Chow's family. She likes to mimick Lizzie and is more stimulated to talk and share ideas with different people. Connie and I are overjoyed to see Abby's responses to our actions/conversations.
Week one is almost over......filled with both excitement and uncertainty. Life is different (or at times, difficult) for us but we'll move on thankfully with the grace of God.
Friday, August 08, 2008
新開始--阿比爸爸與一家在Canada進修之旅
我們在八月四日晚已抵達溫哥華，報平安！
多謝友人的接待，令一切的安頓變得輕省些。我們一家都覺得新的環境很新鮮！過去兩天的生活可算輕鬆：起床後享受美味的西式早餐，然後到附近地方逛逛，有不少香港人的Richmond區，有附近的漁人碼頭和公園。我們很喜歡這裡到處都是綠草如茵；天氣晴朗和涼快，更樂在這裡優美的環境與悠閑的生活節奏。若能時常存感恩的心去享受所賜的生活環境，定能令身心都健康！
過渡中有幸可以藉上網，以skype與家人朋友傾談，甚至可以「見面」，真覺暢快！期待可以與更多朋友、同事、學生在網上聯繫。
今天開始了辦理一些本地的證件及初到學校報到。心情複雜。詳情請看下回分解。
為方便加快更新，日後我或者會多以英文分享，或許未能及中文的傳神，請大家見諒。另外，facebook中會有相片更新 ^_^
多謝友人的接待，令一切的安頓變得輕省些。我們一家都覺得新的環境很新鮮！過去兩天的生活可算輕鬆：起床後享受美味的西式早餐，然後到附近地方逛逛，有不少香港人的Richmond區，有附近的漁人碼頭和公園。我們很喜歡這裡到處都是綠草如茵；天氣晴朗和涼快，更樂在這裡優美的環境與悠閑的生活節奏。若能時常存感恩的心去享受所賜的生活環境，定能令身心都健康！
過渡中有幸可以藉上網，以skype與家人朋友傾談，甚至可以「見面」，真覺暢快！期待可以與更多朋友、同事、學生在網上聯繫。
今天開始了辦理一些本地的證件及初到學校報到。心情複雜。詳情請看下回分解。
為方便加快更新，日後我或者會多以英文分享，或許未能及中文的傳神，請大家見諒。另外，facebook中會有相片更新 ^_^
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