One of the memorable places in China (Fuzhou - 福建省 ):
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
One of the memorable places in China (post by Eugeniu)
One of the memorable places in China (Fuzhou - 福建省 ):
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wedding Beach,Qingdao
Wedding Beach,Qingdao
Dear,all friends
Let's asking:which is the best memories place in,Qingdao,Xiamen,Jinan,Fuzhou or Qufu ?
Abd elwahab
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
My sincere thanks
Dear friends afar,
This is my respose-email to Mr.Emmanuel's call to join the yahoo group.I'd like to share with all of my friends of the seminar.
As the organizer of the ip seminar,one of the friend of you all, I'd like to thank Mr.Emmanuel,who tried his best to make the friendship among all the participants of the Qingdao IP seminar last longer and longer.This is really a kind-hearted good deed to all of us.And also thanks to Ms.Maya,the lovely lady from Indonesia,who also made a lot of efforts in doing the same thing.And still more,thank all the participants who dropped in the Blog.We need the help and enthusiam from all of the friends living and working all over the world.We're the members of the only one big family,although we are far away from each other in distance.Our feeling is the same,our friendship is the same,our dream is the same...so try our best to protect our the so many "the sames" with our efforts together.
Man proposes,God disposes.So with the mercy from the heaven,we became friends,thus we know the God pormises what we should do,that is what Mr.Emmanuel is trying in front of us.
Come on,all my friends.Let's do it hand in hand,shoulder by shoulder.
All my best wishes.
Edward LIU
Qingdao,China
As the organizer of the ip seminar,one of the friend of you all, I'd like to thank Mr.Emmanuel,who tried his best to make the friendship among all the participants of the Qingdao IP seminar last longer and longer.This is really a kind-hearted good deed to all of us.And also thanks to Ms.Maya,the lovely lady from Indonesia,who also made a lot of efforts in doing the same thing.And still more,thank all the participants who dropped in the Blog.We need the help and enthusiam from all of the friends living and working all over the world.We're the members of the only one big family,although we are far away from each other in distance.Our feeling is the same,our friendship is the same,our dream is the same...so try our best to protect our the so many "the sames" with our efforts together.
Man proposes,God disposes.So with the mercy from the heaven,we became friends,thus we know the God pormises what we should do,that is what Mr.Emmanuel is trying in front of us.
Come on,all my friends.Let's do it hand in hand,shoulder by shoulder.
All my best wishes.
Edward LIU
Qingdao,China
PS Here with the group pic taken in Jian with the officials of Shandong Provincial IP office.This is the only true whole family photo of our seminar,that is to say, this is the only one group photo which all the participants joined in.Pls check and get it.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The Lady by the Sea
During one of our sea-side trips in Qingdao, our tour guide, Ms. Sandy Liu, told us the story of the Lady by the sea. This is what she said.
"One day, when the winds from the four corners of the world were calm and peaceful, a goddess looked down from the heavens to sea how the people lived. She saw that the sea was very vast, and wide, but quiet.
While looking around, she saw, by its lonesome, a small boat floating slowly in the sea, but it seemed empty. The goddess looked closer and she saw the figure of a man who looked as if he was fishing. The goddess was amazed by this and decided to watch the man catch fish for the whole day.
The next morning, the goddess once again saw the fisheman in his small boat, catching some fish. She saw that the man worked very hard. tirelessly throwing his net in the sea and carefully putting the fish in his small boat. This he did everyday. So the goddess decided that she will watch this very interesting man.
The goddess watched the fisherman everyday until she finally decided to talk to the man himself. She went to meet the man when the man went to the shore and they talked and talked like they knew each other like long time friends. Time went by and they did not realize that they were falling in love. They met everytime the man went to the sea and got to know each very well.
When the father of the goddess learned about this affair, he got enraged because her daughter, a goddess should not have any relationship with any human being. So, the father waited and waited until the fisherman was alone. Then when the fisherman was at sea, he rained rocks, lightning, and gigantic tidal waves to sink the man's boat. And then... silence, there was no more boat, just a chaotic debris of stones and wreckage.
The goddess did not know about this so she waited again and again everyday for the fisherman to go to their meeting place by the sea. This she did religiously everyday for so many countless days, her sadness being washed away by her tears. Days turned into years, years turned into decades, decades turned into centuries, but still... no fisherman, no boat... just emptiness.
Until finally, because of the countless years of waiting and waiting and waiting, the goddess turned slowly.... into stone. Her statue stands as a symbol of eternal true love which not even time can break.
She stands there, until today, waiting for her true love, the fisherman, to come back in her arms."
The next time we see this statue of the Lady by the Sea, I hope we remember her story.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Bravery
It has been about twelve days already since we last set foot on the wonderful city Qingdao. Going back to the office for me was very hard because my shoes felt heavy, it was like they were a hundred pounds each, not only because I had to bring all the gifts for my officemates, but also because the experience and memory of Qingdao was still very clear in my mind.
One of the experiences I could not forget was when we left Qingdao and went to Hong Kong for my connecting flight to Manila. I was fortunate to have with me as my companion, Ms. Terozita Uitime from Samoa. Just like what I wrote in my previous blog, we did not sit beside each other in the flight from Qingdao to Hong Kong because of problems with flight information.
QINGDAO AIRPORT
While still in Qingdao Airport, Terozita, Me, Mr. Edward, and Mr. Paul, had to wait in line for the longest time because the airport staff could not seem to find Terozita's flight details. Terozita said that the same thing happened to her in her flight to Qingdao. We were the only ones left in the line and they were already announcing that boarding for our flight to Hong Kong was beginning. Terozita was very calm and she did not panic. You know, that's what I like about Terozita, her "I-don't-care-if-the-plane-will-leave" attitude. It made me feel more relaxed knowing that she was there.
We were discussing about the luggage and I said that I will get my luggage, not in Hong Kong, but in Manila, Philippines, my final destination. Terozita said that she will get luggage in Hong Kong because she will have to wait for seven hours there before her flight to New Zealand. After learning that, I felt a kind of twitch in my stomach, knowing that something might not turn out good.
We finally got our plane tickets! "Yahoo!", I told myself and we started running towards the entrance to the departure area. But, of course, we cannot leave without saying our goodbyes to our dearest friends Mr. Edward and Mr. Paul! So we embraced each other really hard and I really did not want to let go of Mr. Edward and Mr. Paul because they have been more than friends, they were like our big brothers in Qingdao.
We finally said our goodbyes, and made our way to the entrance and through the X-ray machines and the inspection area. But you know, Terozita went back to the entrance area even though Mr. Paul and Mr. Edward was waving her to go back because she cannot go through the X-ray again, the airport officials might get mad! But she went back anyway just to say good bye and for Mr. Edward to tell Mr. Wan good bye also. We were still waving and waving even if we were already far from each other until we could not see each other anymore.
HONG KONG AIRPORT
When we arrived in Hong Kong, I accompanied Terozita to the exit area for her to get her luggage outside. I learned that she had to go outside to get her luggage. Since there was a long queue, I went with Terozita in the line. We saw some people answering this small sheet of paper and we learned it was for immigration purposes so I volunteered to go get the forms. There were so many people but I managed to squeeze out to get the forms. When I went back to the line, I noticed that the forms which I got already had names and signatures on it! Oh no! So Terozita took it upon herself to get the new forms (without names) and I stayed in the line. But then, an airport official announced something about there being another line where the passengers can go. Everyone seem to have went to the other line because the next thing I knew, there were only a few people left.
Even during that time I was still confused on whether I needed to go out in the luggage area and if the airport officials would allow me to go out. I could not leave Terozita because we did not have the time to even exchange calling cards. I felt that I needed to ask around if I could still go out. So I told Terozita that I needed to check with my airline Cathay Pacific if I could go out in the meantime. When I found the booth of Cathay Pacific, they said I could no longer go out and I would need to stay inside the airport.
I got my plane ticket and immediately went back to Terozita to tell her the bad news. But what I saw struck me like lightning. Terozita was already outside and she was debating with the guard that she needed to go back just for a few minutes. The guard was insisting she cannot go back anymore because of airport regulations and for security purposes.
She saw me and made a body language like asking if I can still go out. I sadly told her that I could not go out because I already had a plane ticket.
Terozita was still debating with the guard that she would just go in a few minutes. And without any warning, she went back to the exit area, even if the guard was already shouting, "Hey! Hey! Hey!" She just went back in to say goodbye to me and gave me the warmest hug in my life. How can anyone forget that experience!
When the guard saw us, he immediately stopped yelling and started smiling and scratching his head. Then Terozita went back outside. I looked at her as she walked farther and farther, until I lost her in the thick, bustling crowd, and then... I felt alone, by myself.
It was like the feeling of a child in his first day in kindergarten school, without parents, relatives, or friends.
I promised Terozita that I would email her as soon as I can and that I would write something about our sudden separation in Hong Kong.
It has been twelve days already but everything is still so vivid. I will never forget that day when I learned what real friendship is, and how lucky I am to have such a brave friend.
Thanks my dear friend Terozita, I will definitely see you soon in the near future.
One of the experiences I could not forget was when we left Qingdao and went to Hong Kong for my connecting flight to Manila. I was fortunate to have with me as my companion, Ms. Terozita Uitime from Samoa. Just like what I wrote in my previous blog, we did not sit beside each other in the flight from Qingdao to Hong Kong because of problems with flight information.
QINGDAO AIRPORT
While still in Qingdao Airport, Terozita, Me, Mr. Edward, and Mr. Paul, had to wait in line for the longest time because the airport staff could not seem to find Terozita's flight details. Terozita said that the same thing happened to her in her flight to Qingdao. We were the only ones left in the line and they were already announcing that boarding for our flight to Hong Kong was beginning. Terozita was very calm and she did not panic. You know, that's what I like about Terozita, her "I-don't-care-if-the-plane-will-leave" attitude. It made me feel more relaxed knowing that she was there.
We were discussing about the luggage and I said that I will get my luggage, not in Hong Kong, but in Manila, Philippines, my final destination. Terozita said that she will get luggage in Hong Kong because she will have to wait for seven hours there before her flight to New Zealand. After learning that, I felt a kind of twitch in my stomach, knowing that something might not turn out good.
We finally got our plane tickets! "Yahoo!", I told myself and we started running towards the entrance to the departure area. But, of course, we cannot leave without saying our goodbyes to our dearest friends Mr. Edward and Mr. Paul! So we embraced each other really hard and I really did not want to let go of Mr. Edward and Mr. Paul because they have been more than friends, they were like our big brothers in Qingdao.
We finally said our goodbyes, and made our way to the entrance and through the X-ray machines and the inspection area. But you know, Terozita went back to the entrance area even though Mr. Paul and Mr. Edward was waving her to go back because she cannot go through the X-ray again, the airport officials might get mad! But she went back anyway just to say good bye and for Mr. Edward to tell Mr. Wan good bye also. We were still waving and waving even if we were already far from each other until we could not see each other anymore.
HONG KONG AIRPORT
When we arrived in Hong Kong, I accompanied Terozita to the exit area for her to get her luggage outside. I learned that she had to go outside to get her luggage. Since there was a long queue, I went with Terozita in the line. We saw some people answering this small sheet of paper and we learned it was for immigration purposes so I volunteered to go get the forms. There were so many people but I managed to squeeze out to get the forms. When I went back to the line, I noticed that the forms which I got already had names and signatures on it! Oh no! So Terozita took it upon herself to get the new forms (without names) and I stayed in the line. But then, an airport official announced something about there being another line where the passengers can go. Everyone seem to have went to the other line because the next thing I knew, there were only a few people left.
Even during that time I was still confused on whether I needed to go out in the luggage area and if the airport officials would allow me to go out. I could not leave Terozita because we did not have the time to even exchange calling cards. I felt that I needed to ask around if I could still go out. So I told Terozita that I needed to check with my airline Cathay Pacific if I could go out in the meantime. When I found the booth of Cathay Pacific, they said I could no longer go out and I would need to stay inside the airport.
I got my plane ticket and immediately went back to Terozita to tell her the bad news. But what I saw struck me like lightning. Terozita was already outside and she was debating with the guard that she needed to go back just for a few minutes. The guard was insisting she cannot go back anymore because of airport regulations and for security purposes.
She saw me and made a body language like asking if I can still go out. I sadly told her that I could not go out because I already had a plane ticket.
Terozita was still debating with the guard that she would just go in a few minutes. And without any warning, she went back to the exit area, even if the guard was already shouting, "Hey! Hey! Hey!" She just went back in to say goodbye to me and gave me the warmest hug in my life. How can anyone forget that experience!
When the guard saw us, he immediately stopped yelling and started smiling and scratching his head. Then Terozita went back outside. I looked at her as she walked farther and farther, until I lost her in the thick, bustling crowd, and then... I felt alone, by myself.
It was like the feeling of a child in his first day in kindergarten school, without parents, relatives, or friends.
I promised Terozita that I would email her as soon as I can and that I would write something about our sudden separation in Hong Kong.
It has been twelve days already but everything is still so vivid. I will never forget that day when I learned what real friendship is, and how lucky I am to have such a brave friend.
Thanks my dear friend Terozita, I will definitely see you soon in the near future.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Hi !
I want to inform you that we have a mailing-list group now, it is 2008ipseminarqingdao@yahoogroups.com.
I already invited you to join the Yahoo!groups. So, please click "join the group" and we can share so many things there and also a birthday reminder of each participant.
We still use this blog as a media to write something longer.
About the email address and birthday, you can also manage by yourself from the yahoogroups. I hope I added your birthdays correctly. Or if you need some helps don't hesitate to contact me by email at mayali.nm@gmail.com
Mr. Liu and Mr. You, it's not fair we didn't have your birthday...hehehe....
I still have difficulties to invite them in this group because the email address were wrong. So, if you know the correct email address below, please tell me...
Those participants are:
Eka Gabunia from Georgia
Musue K. Kamara and Jackson from Liberia
Marina Dedic from Montenegro
Ashraf and Adnan from Palestine
Igor from Serbia
Lumumba from Tanzania
Roselyn from Zimbabwe
Amelia from PNG
Carlos Gerardo from Mexico
You can contact me so I can invite you to join this group or you can also subscribe by yourselves. You can type 2008ipseminarqingdao-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
I hope we can tightened our friendship through this blog and group.
Cheers - Maya
I want to inform you that we have a mailing-list group now, it is 2008ipseminarqingdao@yahoogroups.com.
I already invited you to join the Yahoo!groups. So, please click "join the group" and we can share so many things there and also a birthday reminder of each participant.
We still use this blog as a media to write something longer.
About the email address and birthday, you can also manage by yourself from the yahoogroups. I hope I added your birthdays correctly. Or if you need some helps don't hesitate to contact me by email at mayali.nm@gmail.com
Mr. Liu and Mr. You, it's not fair we didn't have your birthday...hehehe....
I still have difficulties to invite them in this group because the email address were wrong. So, if you know the correct email address below, please tell me...
Those participants are:
Eka Gabunia from Georgia
Musue K. Kamara and Jackson from Liberia
Marina Dedic from Montenegro
Ashraf and Adnan from Palestine
Igor from Serbia
Lumumba from Tanzania
Roselyn from Zimbabwe
Amelia from PNG
Carlos Gerardo from Mexico
You can contact me so I can invite you to join this group or you can also subscribe by yourselves. You can type 2008ipseminarqingdao-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
I hope we can tightened our friendship through this blog and group.
Cheers - Maya
Friday, October 31, 2008
Quiet man
रेअल्ली इ मिस थिस गुड एंड कंद मन !!!अब्द एल्वाहब - ईजिप्ट
Really i miss this man !!!
Abd elwahab - Egypt
November Birthday Celebrants
Happy Birthday to our birthday celebrants for November! We wish you peace of mind, perfect health, and many more blessings and graces! Ni duo da le? Gan bei! Let's toast to your success!
Dao Xuan Diep (Vietnam)
November 1
diepdx@moit.gov.vn
Rosarius Caspar Kamanga (Malawi)
November 5
rkamanga@cosoma.org
Cardoso Almirante Comboio (Mozambique)
November 13
ccomboio@mic.gov.mz
acomboio@yahoo.com.br
Lumumba Patrick Kasera (Tanzania)
November 13
lgkananka@yahoo.com
Tassanai Lerksantivong (Thailand)
November 25
tassanail25@hotmail.com
Novilia Mayasari (Indonesia)
November 27
mayali.nm@gmail.com
Musue K. Kamara (Liberia)
November 29
industrialpropertyliberia@gmail.com
Dao Xuan Diep (Vietnam)
November 1
diepdx@moit.gov.vn
Rosarius Caspar Kamanga (Malawi)
November 5
rkamanga@cosoma.org
Cardoso Almirante Comboio (Mozambique)
November 13
ccomboio@mic.gov.mz
acomboio@yahoo.com.br
Lumumba Patrick Kasera (Tanzania)
November 13
lgkananka@yahoo.com
Tassanai Lerksantivong (Thailand)
November 25
tassanail25@hotmail.com
Novilia Mayasari (Indonesia)
November 27
mayali.nm@gmail.com
Musue K. Kamara (Liberia)
November 29
industrialpropertyliberia@gmail.com
Birthday Celebrants for October 2008
There is a famous saying that goes “Better late than Never!”
So we would like greet a very Happy Birthday to the following birthday celebrants for October. We wish your celebrations were heartwarming and merry!
Olivera Perkovic (Montenegro)
October 2
olivera@cg.yu
olivera@t-com.me
Carlos Gerardo Lopez (Mexico)
October 3
cgerardo@cicese.mx
Brenda Nyaradzi Katanda (Zimbabwe)
October 10
bnkay1@yahoo.com
Monique C.S. Attolou (Benin)
October 11
matolou@yahoo.fr
Amelia Bure (Papua New Guinea)
October 15
amelian@ipa.gov.pg
Saleh Miqdadi (Jordan)
October 26
smiqdadi@yahoo.com
On behalf of our friends in Qingdao and the 2008 IP Seminar participants, we would like to wish you good health, more success, and more, many more birthdays to come.
(Kindly email me if I there is anyone which I missed in the list.)
Best regards!- from Emmanuel
So we would like greet a very Happy Birthday to the following birthday celebrants for October. We wish your celebrations were heartwarming and merry!
Olivera Perkovic (Montenegro)
October 2
olivera@cg.yu
olivera@t-com.me
Carlos Gerardo Lopez (Mexico)
October 3
cgerardo@cicese.mx
Brenda Nyaradzi Katanda (Zimbabwe)
October 10
bnkay1@yahoo.com
Monique C.S. Attolou (Benin)
October 11
matolou@yahoo.fr
Amelia Bure (Papua New Guinea)
October 15
amelian@ipa.gov.pg
Saleh Miqdadi (Jordan)
October 26
smiqdadi@yahoo.com
On behalf of our friends in Qingdao and the 2008 IP Seminar participants, we would like to wish you good health, more success, and more, many more birthdays to come.
(Kindly email me if I there is anyone which I missed in the list.)
Best regards!- from Emmanuel
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Ni hao! The Tea Valley was really breath-taking. I would like to work there even for one month, the fresh air, cold weather, the magnificent view of the mountains and the wide blue open sky (and the delicious food of course!), will definitely make me come back there again and again and again. In the meantime, I just have these pictures to make me remember some of our brief but special moments spent there.
I remembered that the staff of the tea farm told us to get the young and fresh leaves of the tea plant, they are usually the new ones which are small and very green. These are the leaves which they use for the tea, which they leave out to dry in the sun, then packed in their packages and shipped to different parts of China. But I mistakenly got the old and big leaves. The staff in the farm told me that the leaves I got were not good for making tea, hehe, ooops. Okay, so I started all over again and was lucky to get enough good tea leaves to earn my right to have a nice lunch.
We got a taste of the tea-based food which was served for lunch, and it was a real treat. My taste buds were dancing and singing like it was fiesta! They served so many dishes served with tea leaves and it was both healthy and refreshing.
So if you also want your taste buds to also joyfully sing and dance, come back to the Tea Valley and re-live the experience again and again. Let's see each other there! Xie xie!
With all good wishes, Emmanuel.
Wonderful Moments
These pictures bring back so many memories of our happy moments in Qingdao. Lower photo (Emmanuel and Eugeniu). Top photo (Emmanuel, Carlos, Justa, and Madame Afroza)
Nice Seminar.
Great Seminar,Friendly people,
Beautiful Photos...
Thanks a lot!
With respect, Eugeniu Chistol (Republic of Moldova)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Video- Memories in Qingdao
Novilia Mayasari (Indonesia) made this beautiful video entitled "Memories in Qingdao" which was presented during the Farewell Party and Closing Ceremony of the Seminar on Intellectual Property System and Protection in Qingdao, China.
We hope that through this video, we can look back and always remember the friendship and special moments we shared in the breath-taking city of Qingdao. We also hope that this blog contributes in some way to making our friendship last forever.
To all participants and organizers of the seminar who made our experience in Qingdao one which we will remember as long as we live, we say "Xie xie! Fei chang gan xie!"
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Memories of Our First Tour- Qingdao Sailing Base
(From left- Tesfaye (Ethiopia), Alina (Ukraine), David (Zambia), Lumumba (Tanzania), Olivera (Montenegro), Marina (Montenegro), Abebe (Ethiopia), and Emmanuel (Philippines)
Our first tour guide in bus number 2 (for groups 4, 5, and 6) is Ms. Sandy Liu. She gave us very detailed descriptions of the beautiful sites in Qingdao and she did very well.
Mr. Paul (You Liming) is here in bus number 2 reminding us to return to the bus in the right time or else, we would have to return to the hotel by taxi. (Sorry Mr. Paul!)Friday, October 24, 2008
Something about safe-return home
hi there, some good news to imform.
we've got emails from
Mr.Tham, Mr. Pushpa from Nepal,
Mr.Kostya from Ukraine,
Mr.Millan from Sebia,
Ms.Terozita from Samoa,
And also phonecalls from
Ms.Zenia from Peru,
Mr.Aliyu from Nigeria,
Mr.Ali, from Yemen,
saying they all returned home safely.
Let's pray for those who are just on the way back home. Good luck and happy journey!
we've got emails from
Mr.Tham, Mr. Pushpa from Nepal,
Mr.Kostya from Ukraine,
Mr.Millan from Sebia,
Ms.Terozita from Samoa,
And also phonecalls from
Ms.Zenia from Peru,
Mr.Aliyu from Nigeria,
Mr.Ali, from Yemen,
saying they all returned home safely.
Let's pray for those who are just on the way back home. Good luck and happy journey!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Saying Goodbye
This is a comment which I read in the article "well done by david chanda". It does not readily appear in the post because it was a comment so I am posting it here. I think this came from Terozita, I am not sure. Please correct me if I am wrong. Thank you.- Emmanuel
Prince Edward...well well well, it was so easy to say hello in the first place when we met, unfortunately I find it very difficult to say goodbye to you...knowing you was a great experience, your warmth personality and friendship really made a difference.
I guess tomorrow will be a sad day but I hope I can manage to hold on to my tears at the airport...I might as well leave you with this saying...I forgot the author's name but I guess its probably the most appropriate one .."Gone but not forgotten, you will always be remembered forever in my heart"...its that simple to say and of course explains a lot...it simply means that although I'll be gone, but memories of our short stay in Qingdao will be treasured forever...as the theme for last night's farewell party...friendship forever...
just hope that i will visit China again in the near future and especialy to see my Chinese families, Edward,Wan & Paul!!!!
Prince Edward...well well well, it was so easy to say hello in the first place when we met, unfortunately I find it very difficult to say goodbye to you...knowing you was a great experience, your warmth personality and friendship really made a difference.
I guess tomorrow will be a sad day but I hope I can manage to hold on to my tears at the airport...I might as well leave you with this saying...I forgot the author's name but I guess its probably the most appropriate one .."Gone but not forgotten, you will always be remembered forever in my heart"...its that simple to say and of course explains a lot...it simply means that although I'll be gone, but memories of our short stay in Qingdao will be treasured forever...as the theme for last night's farewell party...friendship forever...
just hope that i will visit China again in the near future and especialy to see my Chinese families, Edward,Wan & Paul!!!!
Take Off by Emmanuel Domingo
Thank you David for your compliment on the blog.
I hope all of us could continue to communicate through this blog so that we can strengthen the friendship we had bonded during the Seminar. Just like what Mr. Liu said, the Seminar is only the beginning, the first step to making our making our friendship last forever.
Maybe most of us now are already in their countries, in their homes, and with their families. But I heard that there are still some participants who will be leaving Qingdao on Saturday like Brenda and Roselyn (from Zimbabwe).
It was hard to leave Qingdao. I was lucky that I share the plane ride with Terozita (from Samoa). We had to go through a tedious inspection procedure especially for Terozita because the airline staff cannot find her name in the list of passengers.
However, life can be really funny at times.
When they finally found her name, they gave her the business class/first class seat. Well, how lucky can you get! She got seat 1C and I got seat 27A, in the farthest end of the plane. I had to squeeze myself through given that I have gained some enormous pounds, and was carrying a heavy load of luggages as hand carry. When I arrived at my seat, there were people already sitting on 27C and 27B. Thinking logically based on experience, I thought that I could just ask the two persons to move to the window so that I could just take the aisle seat. But no no no! The woman said that the man on 27C is old and needs to get to the bathroom as easy and as fast as possible. So, sorry Emmanuel, no aisle seat for you! Heheh.
So to get to 27A, I had to squeeze myself once again towards the window seat which was really cramped and there was so little space to move in. When I finally settled, I called and texted some friends because I knew that when the plane begins its ascent, I will have to close the cellphone. While deep in conversation with Ms. G, I felt someone throw a piece of crumpled paper on my head. It was Terozita.
"Hey Emmanuel! Do you still have balance on your phone?" said Terozita.
Without blinking, I said "Yes, why?"
"I have to call Mr. Liu."
I learned that she called Mr. Liu to report that she had indeed been given a first class seat. Good for her, I thought. No squeezing necessary, plus the best food on the plane, plus first class service, plus and best part, a warm towel to put on your face. Hey, did I tell about the wine? hehe.
I was not able to call my friends again because I already saw the plane moving. It was moving like slow motion in my mind. I did not want the plane to leave, I did not want it to take off, I did not want it to move. I hope the strong rain the nigh before would spew down a torrent of rain and thunder so that the flight would be cancelled.
But the plane still moved at its own pace, it positioned itself in the runway, and started to rev up the boosters. The plane was moving fast now as I felt my body jerk toward my back seat. The plane run faster and faster and faster. I hope I had an anchor like that of a ship so that I could anchor the plane to one lamp post or something. But it sped faster and faster until I felt that the plane was slowly leaving the ground.
I felt like I never felt before. It was like my umbilical cord to Qingdao was slowly and carefully now being broken. Memories suddenly flooded my thoughts like rain, I saw my first day in Qingdao, faces of friends from different countries, factories and tourist spots we have visited, happy moments with the ones we love, a day at the beach, sweet lasting smile and laughter of people who touched our lives.
I closed my eyes but I could still see them very vividly, they were very real as if I could touch them, I held out my hands to reach out when I heard...
"Barbeque beef, or noodles?"
I opened my eyes and said, "What?"
The lady beside me said "Barbeque beef, or noodles? They are serving breakfast. Do you want barbeque beef or noodles?"
I picked barbeque beef. There was no rice. No rice for breakfast. My first breakfast with no rice and no companion but myself. I felt alone.
We are now above the clouds speeding through the wind and turbulence, leaving paradise.
But this is just the beginning and I know we will see each other again. To Mr. Liu, Mr. You and all the organizers of the Seminar, we thank you, all the participants thank you for efforts in making this seminar successful. We love you all! Xie xie!!!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
well done by david chanda
congratulations nuel for opening this important, interactive and well meaning website
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