So, we now have a space heater and it is wonderful! : )



Day 3: International Challenge Day



So about the game with the blow-up bat. The person in the middle runs around and tries to hit the "adventurers" on the head. The protectors job is to say another adventurers name so that their adventurer doesn't get hit. Hope that was clear. Really the main objective is to learn everybody's name. By the fifth round we were having a fair bit of fun.



Game 2- Simon Says - nuff said



Game 3 - For this game we split into our teams and were given lots of newspaper. We had to take the newspaper and tape it together to form a big loop that two ppl could stand in. Those two then had to proceed to the other side of the room without breaking the paper loop. Want to know who's team won????????? The Dream Team! (that's my team) I didn't walk in the loop on the way across but we tried to come back and I did. This was such a failure. We were doing okay but had had some tears the first pass and so they just keep getting worse. By this time all the other teams had made it there and back. Finally the ultimate catastrophe and our paper loop tore! It was so sad but so funny.



Game 4 - This time we played telephone. The twist? We used Cantonese phrases. So dang difficult. I did learn how to say I love you - O ah la That's me trying to write out how it sounds. We did a few more phrases but I can't remember them at all. The hardest part about Chinese is that it doesn't sound like any other language! So I can't liken it to anything else I know. oh well Hopefully Cantonese for Foreigners will fix that



The Dream Team tied for 1st! Oh yeah! Go Dream Team! Our prizes were some Chinese cookies and candies. The first one was a milk and peanut candy which tasted okay but was so hard to bite into. The almond cookie was tasty but very dry.



After International CHALLENGE Day Sonya (our head lady) wanted us to take some photos for publicity stuff. Now this is where the joke "One More" started. The PR department of IFT LOVES and I mean LOVES to take pictures of us. They would pull 6 or 7 of us and take like 20 photos and then move locations, pull some more of us and then take 20 or more photos. We did this for about an hour and by the end of it we were joking about being models. It was especially funny when Sonya told us to "act like we're friends" So awkward at first but absolutely hilarious. They are suppose to send us some, and who knows maybe next year we'll be poster children for IFT!



We took a lunch break and went to eat at...well I don't remember. so skip



Next! We met back at IFT and got our chef outfits - Think McCutchen with a folded napkin necktie. Tonight we would devide up and each group would cook part of the meal. Then we would all reconvene and eat together. My group was in charge of the SALAD! Basically we washed lettuce and then the sous chef did the rest. I don't know why we couldn't do some chopping, but we did all stand around and ask question bout this and that. We talked about the names of different veggies in different languages. It was a great time. The Chef was very curious about each of us. I talked to him for a long time about school and what exactly I wanted to do. He was very interested about USC's HRTM 270 and 370. Sooooo "we" finished making the salad and then went and hung out with the other groups till everyone was done and then headed upstairs. SIDEBAR The one odd thing that they did was seperate all the mandarin and non-mandarin speaking students. I know they probably did it because of the chef or whatnot but it was still weird SIDEBAR DONE Dinner was delicious. We had a traditional Portuegese soup (which the Portuguese exchange students said wasn't good), traditional Macanese African Chicken, the most awesome salad ever, bread, potatoes, rice and traditional Serrdura dessert. The salad was yummy. The potatoes were awesome and the dessert was absolutely delicious! It apparently wasn't the best Serrdura around, according to some locals, but it was pretty darn yummy in my opinion.

Now I must go and take care of some work! The Final Day of the Welcome Program was a doozy. Incredibly tiring as we walked/bussed around from 9am-7pm. Sooo I'm going to photo blog that one.

Signing off!