Red, White And Blue

active older adults camp is really awesome. i've learnt some much in just the last few days here, what with all the old people's favourite activities and all that camp enthusiasm.

significantly, yesterday the after dinner program was called red white and blue. it was supposed to be a patriotic session of sharing all things american. so everything in the dining hall was draped in the three colours, we used napkins, cups and plates with american flags painted on them and there were flags everywhere. it was somewhat interesting to see how patriotic the oldies were. and patriotic americans they really were alright. alot of them read poems, talked about what it is to be an american and even tap danced.

the true highlight for me was the forum with the national guards. they were like our reservists at home in singapore, have been trained before and only need to serve a few times a year. there were four of them all from a medical unit on training in grand county. so they came to the front and fielded questions. the oldies subsequently asked alot of questions about what it was like to serve and where they served before and blah. what struck me was the amount of respect and gratitude these oldies had for their soldiers. i mean the fact that its not very evident in singapore is one thing but these oldies were saluting and praising and thanking these four guys who've got day jobs and haven't seen much combat before. and they were telling them how special they were just for being willing ot defned their motherland with their lives and blah. so it just kinda made me wonder just how much alot of singaporeans take the army for granted, yeah, even those who've served it - i wonder how many would really stay in time of war. there was also an important message about fighting for freedom and how far they've come as a nation and its really akin to the plight singapore had went through 39 years ago before we became a republic. the only difference perhaps, is that i don't think many singaporeans appreciate our independence enough. okie so i'm an emotional patriotic sap. bite me.

that aside marty mary ann and michelle got a raise from the ymca(yay! now they're paid above the poverty line!) so we all went to 'the pub' in winter park for a drink. the bartender was excited when he realised i hailed from singpore(though i doubt he knew where it was) and was shouting at the bar about this visitor from far away. it was an enjoyable night. first time all summer that all the staff were actually eligible to enter a pub in fact. so that made it even sweeter. i had 2 budweisers and got buzzed(so lousy), must've been the altitude. marty also asked me if i would come back next year. told him i really hoped to but see how things work out for me. haha. well i really would like to come back but i know chances are slim. he did say though that pa and ma get a discount if they wanna come!

this morning anne taught me crochetting!! yay! its addictive and its alot like knitting. so most of the morning i'm like a little quiet squirrel sitting in the corner with terianne sara and michelle, knitting away. my attempts of a scarf will bear fruit by the time i get back home.

i also learnt to line dance and square dance. its so fun! just follow the instructions can liao. no wonder so many oldies in singapore are so into it at those community centres. also got a quick waltzing lesson from lydia - it was her birthday - so i asked her for a dance and it turned into a waltz lesson for me! ha!

grace called later on. said she and rae cooked special singapore food for me since i was gonna leave day after tomorrow. so i went over to the kiva. turned out to be fried rice and sardines. its not too bad lah considering that i haven't had anything this authentic for the past 3 months. we ended up talking till late afterthat. its always good to yak with singaporeans when you're in a foreign country for so long. makes you miss home family and friends.

think i've learnt alot just from hanging around with these old people. they trully appreciate life and are thankful to have lived so long and so well. we had get-to-know-you session on sunday night which was where everyone had to tell the rest of the people sitting in the circle that if they had a favourite t-shirt what would be printed on it and what it would say. while i said something like it would have a singapore flag and blah, alot of the oldies said that theirs would just have the words 'glad to be alive' or 'happy to be here' and so on and so forth along these lines. you really can see the enthusiasm they possess, even at such an old age when they're physically and mentally more restricted than myself and yet more eager to learn a new skill than me(and by golly i AM eager most of the time). this morning i saw a 70-yr old woman go down the zipline(its 1km long flying fox where you grab a handle bar and you glide down from a rope about 50 feet above the groud) and she was really loving it! they all have this really endearing spirit of having fun and enjoying life not only at activities but during normal routines like meals and long drives. it is but a sobering reminder to enjoy life as you live it and to stay positive in times of adversity...

2 more days to the american/canadian road trip!!! whooooo...