Reflection                                        1   2   Next

Amy Tsai

       From the moment when I heard about the OCAC AID program till the closing ceremony on August 12^th, 2007, I have learned many things. This program made me realize that my seventeen years of life is very miniscule and insignificant compared to the lives and experiences that everyone else have experienced. Through this program, I have learned how to deal with my own fears, interact with people of different personalities, and the true meaning of “strangers are families that I have yet to know”.

               My one obvious fear is concerning bugs. I cannot stand any sort of insects, bugs, or just any living creature that looks different from humans and regular house pets. Whenever I encounter one of those small crawlers, I cannot help but back away and scream. However, this program forced me to live within close vicinity of those creatures, and through that opportunity, I began to learn how to deal with them. First of all, as long as they are smaller than my fist, they can be killed with a piece of tissue. Or a simpler way is to whisk out the electric mosquito swatter that I’ve brought along with me. Anything that is bigger than my palm requires some help from my fellow volunteers who also reside within the same building. Through these close encounters, I have learned that screaming is unnecessary as long as I’ve got back-up or my trustworthy electric mosquito swatter. Thus for many more years to come, I believe my way of dealing with bugs will be bolder than my cowardly ways from a month ago. I also believe that by facing one of my biggest fears, I am ready to face many more throughout my life.

               I was never an extrovert, I was somewhere in between an extrovert and an introvert. Thus I cannot say that I was professional in meeting new people and becoming acquainted with them. However, by joining this program I have told myself that it is time to change. It is time to step out into this world with confidence and a down-to-earth attitude while meeting new people. For me, it is finally the right moment to step outside my own little world. By taking this step, I have met people with awesome personalities that I could not find back in the place where I live. Each of the volunteers who I worked with has their own unique personality, and each of them has excellent qualities that no one can match with. These people have become friends, and then family. By spending every waking and sleeping hour together, we have learned how to cope with our differences, and also how to watch out for one another. These people are the real friends that I have been searching forever back in Vancouver since I moved there. They are caring, stress-free, and creative. They taught me how to interact with other people, which is simply by being open and ready to accept everyone who comes my way. I am very grateful that I have found my once in a lifetime friends, and I will try my very best to keep in contact with each one of them.

               We have all entered this program as individuals. We did not know who we will meet, and whether or not we will get along. However, we are now a tight family. We were once strangers who led different lives, having our own stories on our backs, and yet now we have one chapter in our storybooks that includes all of us. We are no longer leading separate lives, our lives have met each others and we wrote a wonderful chapter in each person’s book. Although the past month of the exotic life will only exist in our memories, we still believe that one day in the distant future, we will all cross each other’s paths again. This also made me realize that I should never close any doors on strangers, because strangers are really families that I have yet to know.

               On the morning of August 13^th was when we had to say goodbye. After a month of living in the same place, experiencing the same things, and even feeling the same pain, I cannot begin to describe how much I wished that this program would never end. It was no longer saying goodbye to normal friends, it was saying goodbye to my brothers and sisters. When they board the bus, I would stand on the side and wait until the bus left. During that waiting period it was all I can do to stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. It hurts too much to think that the next time that I see my family would be years down the road, or maybe never. On that day, I felt like I was five years old again, saying goodbye to my aunts and uncles when I was immigrating to Canada. I have not felt that much depression and reluctance to leave for at least a decade. However, it is the fact that there is no “together forever” that makes being together so precious. Therefore I am beyond grateful and thankful for this outstanding experience this summer. It is one of the memories that I will never ever forget. Not only are the volunteers my true friends, but so are the counselors, teachers, and soldiers that I have met throughout the program. I am certain that one day we will all meet again, because it is important enough to be one of my goals this lifetime.

1   2   Next