a brand new day

hmm...it rained this morning.glad to know that!!!this few days is so da humid...
i miss eileen n every1 in melaka..my frens...how long i din meet them dy..esp. chris n fin...ish.. hope that every1's fine there...
ve been quite bz this week...wat somemore...assignments lar...jst hand up 1 2day...another 3 more....accounting practice set really gives me headache....

Merdeka...Merdeka..

Merdeka....Merdeka.....shut up....!!!!!!now it's only 8am in da morning...n..i'm trying to get more sleep....but...argh.....there's a merdeka function at Sunway Lagoon...it's stil so early..aren't they suppose to knoe that 2day's a holiday????arrrghh.....okok....since they wan me to wake up...i WILL!!!!!!!
sigh..wat's da point rite....having holiday but can't get bk to malacca????how i wish that i'm as sporting as my roomate..able to skip thurs' class..n went bk to melaka since yesterday..n will only be bk next monday..gosh...i also feel like skipping..but smthing in my inner heart refuse to do that..aiks...1 day only ma...alone ma alone lor.....!!!!!
1st time i stay at SUBANG during holiday..n the 1st time i finally know that wat boredom is...wat can i do..no tv,no astro,arghhh...no mummy..no daddy.....i simply feel like going bk home....bk to melaka.....runaway from this "no life" town!!!!n when pin phone me....i can feel how much i miss them......
wat bout jon????well..he's stil in malacca....he stil got all his frens there..even though he din go out...his frens stil can find him there...YER!!!!!!how CAN?????i JEALOUS sial!!!!!!tupid jon!!!say wanna come n find me...but nv pun!!!!:( sob sob.....
tomolo will be a thursday..n then...friday.....wau..time really past fast...3 weeks more...i'll have my 1 week holiday then!!!!hiak hiiak..hiak..
yun xin going bk to US today....she said most probably she wun be coming bk next year...ish...
i'm gonna miss her.......
jon...i wanna go bk....i wanna go out with u..i dun care..next week u ve to bring me go "kai kai"...i DUN CARE!!!!!!!

boring..

10 more minutes..n i'll leave this stupid comp. lab....so many students.....every1 here...or should i say most of them were typing their assign....n as for me...i've just finished printing my econs n management assign,which have to pass up dis fri n mon.i've already edited for more than 4 times..n printed out 2 copies b4 this..but...something is just not rite..thatz y have to keep on edi n edi....n edit......hate dis here...................n da stupid haze..they r simply choking me...assign + haze....i can't breath...............................argh.....have to go now...going to attend a boring subject now....malaysian studies..:(

20050728

another thursday here.......just have my dinner..tomolo..i'm going bk to mlk alone...sob!sob!
time really flies fast here..this week..i'm so bz with all my assignments...just finished printed out my malaysian studies assign.,n now..i've to work on another 1...management n economics..i hate assignments..how much i miss my form 6 where there's no assignments to complete..even though there is..the due date will be simply the next two months of it...even that..we have our whole school holidays to complete it..stil remember rite??our biology ecology project...argghhh...headache here....i stil prefer melaka..where there's stil peace there..but i'm adjusting my life here...adjust to be not tht 'kiasu"..adjust to be more relaxing..n trying to enjoy uni life..ppl says that one must enjoy during their university years..coz...after that..there's no time for u to enjoy..except loads of work to do....n the responsibilities....

miss my frens much here...happy to heard that eileen enjoy much in her uni..miss jon 2.....but he's too bz :(...finally he manage to enter Malaysian Flying Academy....but..too bad..too many things for him 2 study ..duwan kacau him.....wan him to concentrate more in his studies...hope that he can achieve his dreams...in becoming a pilot..............

20050721

tomolo wil b a friday,,yes!!!!!i've long waited for this day since sunday.....
life here is kinda hetic....this is the 1st week of class...but..we've oledi get all of our assignment.n i've got round 5 to finish it by 18 of august...ish...stil not yet get use to it to the life here..here is completely different from secondary school..everything have to depend on ur own..u must get ur lecture notes urself,print it out b4 every lecture;the assignment all hve to finish by the due date,with references,n more than 2000 words essay..oh my god!!!!!!!!so many words..n all must b facts..argh..really get so frustrated....but..seems like..my frens all take this thing easy."this is only the 1st week,"mai gan cheong"relax abit,assign can be finished in 2 days time."2 days????? well...we'll see......

20050712

Just after finished toking on the phone with peai chun for more than an hour...after toking to her..i feel so so much better now....thanx peai chun!!!!!
i'm sick of oats now...take plain oats for 2 days...really sick of it dy...luckily my housemate promise me to take me out for dinner tomolo...:)
today was quite fun actually,we really got to enjoy ourselves.It was the Orientation day of Bachelor Of Business n commerce.It started with the welcome speech by the head of the school,Prof.John Beck,followed by the introduction of different units lecturers.After that was the ice breaking games organised my the MUSA Buddies.The 1st game we had was the "cheerleading"game.We were divided into 8 groups,each group consist bout 8 to 16 ppl.then,we had to choose our group leader,name our group n think of a creative way to present ourselves.There's 1 guy in our group named "Rondy"who actually came out with this name"Stonies"."stonies"????BATU???funny rite????Since we cnt think of a better name,we just follow his idea..the "stonies"was born then!!!!!i came out with the cheerleading part....however,too bad,.the idea was not creative enough...the "fantastic 8"won the best cheerleading part...
The 2nd game we had was using the stuff which we had with us..to form a long row.As long as u can,but only using things which can be found with us.....we used our brochures,papers,pens,belt,watches,shoes..n even socks,...haha.this time..we lost to the "Fantastic 8"again,which was fantastic enough to form 3 n a 1/4 rows..compare to us...2 n a 1/2..paiseh...
For the 3rd game,each group was given 5 papers with many characters on it,ie"i'm wearing a red shoe"n we have to search around us to find this gal or guy to get their signature.The fastest group which get to find all the characters n signatures will be the winner.There's 1 guy who claimed himself to b the "great fan of Starwars"..But as the emcee asked him ques regarding this movie..ke knows nothing bout it.This simply made the whole grp of ur roared with laughter....
After lunch,we had a briefing regarding the school library n facilities.We r brought along with the "buddies" a tour round tun hussein onn library n tour of the campus facilities such as the "student service centre","monash lounge",computer lab........etc

It was a tiring but yet enjoyable day.I get to know my group members,my seniors..
(thanx to Ella n Catherine for 2day..u guys did a great job 2day!!!!!clap clap..)n some other frens frm other groups.....

Orientation day

1st day in Monash..lots of new students turn up..gals n guys all dressed up nicely..some eager to meet their new friends,some toking along with their very own gang,n some(just like me)sitting alone..staring at the white screen which writen"Welcome to Monash University of Malaysia"..i look thru the brochures n magazines distibuted to us earlier..n keep looking around..hopping to find some familiar glances n faces..but to my dissapointment..there aren't any..sitting beside me was this very cute gal..named..err..i can't really remember her name..."shao wei"????i dunno... but i can still remember her face..her smile..i tok to her for awhile..n get to know that she was from China..there;s so much further compare to malacca....how brave she is!!!!!
It's quite boring here..Dr.Andrew Ng introduce us to the orientation..followed by the welcome speech from the head of Monash University Malaysia,Professor Merilyn Liddell..n each administrative stuff brieved us to various services available in the uni.After that,we have the question n answer session followed by the introduction of clubs n societies by our MUSA(Monash University Student Association)publicity officer,Nigesh Armon.he's quite funny in the way he toks......guess thatz the reason he was elacted as the PO of MUSA!!!!!:P

sad day

It's raining heavily outside.Rain drops hit the window with a loud tap.While inside,i was "raining"too.Papa n mummy had just left ,n i'm now alone...so alone ...i'm now at a very new place..in my hostel at Kl...far away from my hometown..far away from my house,my home,my family..n jon...i just can't control myself but keep thinking how good izzit if my parents are here with me....but somehow i know..i've to learn...learn to grow up..learn to be independent..learn to stand on my feet..tears have now blurred my vision...i broke down n cried..i've nv been so alone b4,without my frens,n my room mate will only be coming back next sunday..this simply means that i will be ALONE till this thursday...i can't wait for the day to arrive!!i wanna be back home now!!!!!i miss everything in malacca n yet this is only the 1st day of mine in Sunway,Subang.. how m i going to spend the rest of my days here????ISH......

20050708

today have been quite busy for me..went out the whole day 2day..now pretty exhausted...finally i can sit in front of my comp.n feel relax....
recalling wat i did 2day:
9.30am: i accompany my brother to close his bank account at southern bank(due to low interest,
my mum had already been nagging me 4 the past few months,keep on reminding me to
help my bro.close his acc.real sad case!!n now i'm going up to study..that'z y have to
complete dis given task as soon as possible...n now...mission complished..haha)
10.15am: u see,after that,i've to accompany my brother to his uni!kononnya,he wanted to
transfer his course from engineering to management.n i've to follow him to each
building..to sign up some documents,n needed some approval from different parties.do
u knoe the distance of this building to another???can u imagine how big MMU is????
really regretted following him..i should have listen to my bro.'s advice..just stay at
home lar....follow for wat????n this took us nearly 2 hours!!!!
1.30pm:yesh,my bro.promised me to treat me before going up to kl,n we have pizza for lunch..
with yee chien n jonathan..yam yam...really full......i'm really hungry by that time... coz
i haven take in anything yet since morning....
4pm: i've to accompany my mum to do her set of curtains for our new house
5pm: my grandma was admitted to the hospital this morning,n my mum have to rush to the
hospital to pay her a visit..my grandma is already 88 years old this year..she felt dizzy dis
morning n keep on vommiting..i can see the worries look from my mum...do get well soon
,grandma!!!!
7.30pm:at last,i've bought my very own lap top..

i reached home round 10.30pm..after my dinner or suppose..super???phew....n now...just after my bath...1 whole day activity...phew.....yawn......hmm..i'm feeling sleep now...good nite

20050706

arghhhhhhhh..somebody pls help me!!!!!i'm going to die of boredom!!!!!!i've been sitting in front of the computer for more than 2 hours..checking my frenster..become "kepo"awhile,check my mail,looking at others blogs,phew!n now,i'm writting for my blog...

ish..aren't i'm suppose to be bz packing now??yaya,but,how to pack???when i look into my wardrobe,i've no idea which outfit to bring,n which really suits the study environment.moreover
,i've so many stuffs to bring up,n these really make me head spin.wonder how m i going to bring everything up with me.,my pillow,boltster,flask,shampoo...etc..phew!!!!still think that study in malacca is still the best..at least,i dun have to suffer from this packing syndrome!all i gotta do is after my class,come back,i can sleep on my comfortable bed..i can switch on any channels available in astro..sob sob.... :( aiks.......

20050704

sob...sob..the 1st semester of year 1 (for local uni)commmences 2day..i wonder how's uni life??? wonder wat elin n my frens will be doing now??orientation of course!!!!but..how r they???r they pretty fine there????there;s lots of ques.in my mind..wei ruh,how r u???my frens,do u miss me???or have u forgotten me????any "lengchai"or "lenglui" there????:P

recalling my secondary life,i can't deny,2 years of form six have been the most memorable days..n i've never regret coming back for f6..we laugh 2gether,cried 2gether..we strive hard 2gether during exams..laughed n cried when we recieved our results!!!we shared the most enjoyable moments..n we 2gether laughed at our class jokers'jokes..i will never 4get how chandra,sam,melvin,abang n others did their candid shot in the class..n their "short movies"..haha,,that simply drive the whole class crazy n mad..n every1 wil join them..even those studious ones put their books n pens aside..2gether watch the result of the "movie"...those were the days!!!i wun 4get u ...U6SC4(2004)!!!!!oh..how much i miss my frens.......

another 6 days..i will be leaving malacca..n lead my new uni life..gambateh every1.."jiayou"!!!!!

last day of JUNE

last day of june....10 days to countdown before i leave malacca..kinda sad!!!!!:(
i'll miss my papa,my mummy,pinpin n JC!!!!!n of course------my cozy bed
so.............from now onwards..i'll sleep all day long...just to spend time with my bed!if not,later i left malacca..i shall miss u :( oh...of course..how can i 4get u my darling tv...u've accompany me thru out my holidays!!!!i shall miss u too-----tv

20060629

phew.....at last..i'm sitting in front of my comp.again...again???2day has been a tiring day for me...woke up round 6.30am dis morning,just to attend the course advice session organize by monash uni.On my way there,it seems like,2day was a holiday,coz..most of the road,or should i mean highways jammed with cars(most of them were lorries,wonder how do they appear so many in 1 time..i tink more than 100 of them),moreover,it's raining.:(i was so worried that i may not reach my uni in time..but thank god i make it at last..:)
when i reached there,not many students turn up.not as many as i've expected.n the organizer started bla bla.....n bla....about wat should we take,the minimum requirements for each subject,...etc...
After my CAS,i went to piramid..ALONE!!!!!!n wat a coincidence that i saw ji zhang..as we were about to walk to have a drink..guess wat..we met abang(yong chin seng)n ronnie kok.wow,at first i thought i'm suppose to b alone,wondering around pyramid for 4 hours waiting for my bro.,but now i'm not alone anymore,with my frens around me...:)

oh ya...we have a gathering 2nite..but 2 bad elin,kok ching,sue fin can;'t make it...but afterall,the gathering turn out to be successful !!!!!!!we get to tok to each other,laugh at each other's stupid jokes(who else...Abang's stupid jokes..)arghhh....i miss my frens so much...how much i miss secondary life..how i wish i could turn back time.....Christopher,as usual..the joker..haha..he can really be the next Mr.Bean if he wants to..but too bad..he's going to study marine science..mayb...he;ll appear in the national geographic,n b the next "Whale or Shark hunter"!!!!(we already have 1 crochodile hunter,we dun need anymore :P).....hope to meet u guys again in the near future!!!!!!!

20050628

it has been a long long time since i last updated my blog....really long until i 4get when was the last time i update it..n eileen ask me whether i've neglected my blog..i just reply "yeah..sort of".
yup..coz...i really lazy to update it..n really lazy to on my comp.my frens mayb feeling exiting when they switch on their comp,EXCEPT for ME!!!!i'm those who can easily fall asleep while playing ICQ,unlike my frens.sigh,i guess i dun have any fate with things that got to do with comp.
i'm feeling kinda sad lately.why????i've the feeling that all my frens going to leave me.most of them r going to local uni,some of them going to pursue their studies in singapore.as for me...i think i;m the only 1 who's going to monash uni,the only 1 who's not going to continue my science studies,the only 1 who's being stupid enough to take up business studies n i've no basic at all. some of my frens may say that i'm being foolish,stpm 3A's n yet give up my place at local uni n study privately,moreover.....BUSINESS!!!!!!i've been studying science for more than 7 years...but in the end..i din end up becoming either doc.,pharmacy,or some other things tat really got to do with science..will i regret it???well,i knoe i can't regret,no matter how difficult izzit or how different izzit frm science subject,i've to strive hard to overcome them..3 years..anything can happen..who knoes rite???3 years can be very fast,after that,i'll be finishing my course,n be able to step in to the financial world,,who knoes..mayb..mayb one day i'll b the CEO of a very big company..haha.....dream on
as for my frens.....i really wish them luck in their future undertakings..i mayb quiet in class... i mayb seldom get to c them during the holidays..but..i'll pray...that someother day..will meet each other in the future..n i'll pray..pray that every1 will achieve their dreams...................

results

wow..it has been ages since the last time i updated my blog..phew....2day.....wat can i say???i got my results..wat results????STPM lol....hmm...a lil different from wat i've expected.....but..i just wanna congrats my frens...who did well in their STPM......pei ing,jimie,ronnie...well well....COngrats guys....haha...stil remember jimie told me she cried immediately after her chem paper...coz..the paper was really really tough...but..haha..who knoes.....she score perfect for her chem paper...well ...really CONGRATS!!!!!!

as for me..i'm in a dilemma now...hai....to study in Uni or college.....well....i wanna take up LAW.....but....i dunno whether i can get into UM...college...i really want to....but...the cost is so much expensive......1 year in UK wil cost bout RM100,000....although my mum cal me not to worry about the financial site...but......how can...money...money..headache...how i wish i'm a millionare.....haha...then...i wun b that headache now.........

have a mix-up feeling today...happy?????sad?????i dunno....lil mix up n confused....hahaha.....but......stil wanna say....well done..at least...i've tried my very best.....:)

phew..................

phew..at last..i've shift into my new house....stil remember the first nite in my new house...just can't get myself to sleep....the bed was hard..not as cozy as my old bed..the pillow was hard too...
argh.........n i woke up a few times in the middle of the nite...guess i need time to adjust myself in this new environment...........................

blog???wat blog???

blog???wat blog?????wau...i can't really remember when was the last time i update my blog..not until i check the date of my previous post...it had been so so long......quite bz lately...cz have to work,after working..have to rush to my new house...to do some cleaning...oh ya...i'm shifting soon...haha..shifting to my new house...everything will be new there..i like the environment there...quiet n peaceful....n there's a playground nearby..soon...i can go jogging with my dad everyday..n go for a walk after my dinner...i think too much....haha...tsk...tsk...tsk...

wat makes me exited is....well..i'm going to have a queen size bed..just for me myself alone...i've long wanted for a bigger size bed...so that i can roll from one end of the bed ....to the other end.....haha...n...well well..i'll also get to have a bigger wardrobe..which i think is big enough for me to put my whole collection of clothes...well..wat to do..i'm a gal...:P

well....wat had happen to me for the past 2 weeks???1st...me..as the cashier have to come out my own money to pay for others bill...coz...i've make a careless mistake..that is...give the wrong bill to the wrong table...aiks....luckily it's only RM5..then..the second day...2 stupid customers after eaten their lunch...walk out from the shop without paying...i've to walk round the whole tesco..just to find them...but...sigh..no sign of them..but luckily my manager forgave me 4 my mistake n cancelled off the bill.."no more 2nd time" they said..if not,...i've to come out my ownmoney to pay for wateva they've eaten...tsk..tsk....well...after that 2 incident.....luck has slowly come to me after all..i've RM21.50 for tips last thursday...hiak..haik..hiak....:)

Pooh..........

y izzit so da boring here...tsk..tsk...seems that everyone's working now..hai...wanna ajak frens out also have to see whether she's/he's free..if not...whether u urself is free..haha....working fever ...wat to do...money is more important rite???no money...how r u going to "lepak".....no money...how to go shopping....go shopping pun tak "shock"...only can do window shopping..tsk..tsk...tsk...

yesterday was papa's birthday..50 years old dy...tsk..tsk...tsk....just wanna wish papa a very happy birthday..take good care of ur health...about yesterday's cake....yummy..yet fattening... choc.banana..with chocolate icing on it...wau...have to really go on diet man..after eating that piece of cake...guess wat..the whole cake weigh 2.4kg..tsk..tsk..tsk.....

Don't judge a book by its cover

well..well....i've been working for about 2 weeks now...haha....Mr.Tai...the one who interviewed me n some of my frens during the job interview.....have changed...or ..maybe he isn't that fierce at all..or...have we mistaken him as some1 serious?????
after my work shift...i've my lunch with him...he ask me how's my work...how do i find my work???my frens....blaaa..bla....bla....n how do i find Kenny Rogers?compare to MP's Kenny Rogers....haha....he also told me which part of the chicken is healthier to eat...i just knew that it's the wing part..well...he also asked me y every gals like to go on diet...i simply tell him that..gals on diet if not..their boyfrens duwan them dy..haha...wat a great "crapper " m i............actually i should have tell him that..gals on diet so that they can fit themselves into those cool outfits...all gals r vain...(i admitt i';m one of them..haha:P)..n so r u rite?????tsk...tsk....tsk....

New Year

so.............this is the 3rd day of the year 2005...gosh..1 month back....i'm still sitting in the exam hall....having my last paper...bio 1.......n now....i'm sitting in front of the computer..typing this piece of 'tingy'...eerrrr....wat????wat m i typing???? dunno..haha....but it seems so long after my last paper....konon...after exam...i've enjoy my days...n...i mean...i've really enjoy my "after exam"days....exam fever.....haha..it's over.....wat a relieve...i can enjoy my movie...cantonese drama,cartoons,shopping ,...etc...without guilt of not being studying!!!!!

ahem..ahem..so new year...wat'z my wish for this year???okok..i wish that..everything will go smoothly this year..no more war...no more tsunami/earthquake....world peace....
n for me...i hope that i wil past my STPM with flying colours,my family n frens stay happy 4eva..mama,papa,JC..luv ya alwiz..........muacks.....:)

tsunami devastates south asia

It was a wave--it was a monster. It rose from the deep and swallowed life whole in coastal towns across nearly a dozen countries. The seams of the Earth moved on December 26, sending up a wall of water that rolled across the Indian Ocean, throwing boats into hotel lobbies, bodies into trees, turning a world upside down. From luxury resorts in Thailand to fishing villages in Sri Lanka, the death toll rises every day, well above the already unimaginable 120,000 mark. In the end, the full impact of one of the worst natural disasters in history may never be known. A generation of lost children. An estimated 5 million people displaced. And in the detritus of shattered lives, homes, and futures, survivors facing the daunting task of rebuilding it all.

On the west coast of Indonesia's remote Aceh province, which faced the earthquake's epicenter, entire communities were swept away. In the town of Meulaboh, the stench of rotting humanity is overwhelming, and survivors stumbled through the streets with scarves covering their noses and mouths. A 45-foot-long fishing boat stands like a run-aground ark in front of an unfinished shopping center, and young boys wandered the streets, scavenging for food between corpses covered in plastic sheets. One fifth of the town's 50,000 residents are estimated to have died, and another 30,000 more are homeless--but at some point, people just stopped counting. Nurjamin Samsinar, 42, who lives less than a mile from the beach, has been haphazardly burying the bodies that litter the streets. "We thought it wasn't possible that the ocean could flood the town," he says. "But when the second wave came, it was huge, twice the size of the mosque . . . . I thought it was the end of the world."
The most massive relief effort in history is just beginning in this post-apocalyptic environment and will still mean the difference between life and death for many survivors. The United Nations says up to 5 million people now lack access to the bare necessities of life: clean water, food, shelter, sanitation, and healthcare. The fear of disease spreading from rotting corpses and contaminated water makes the speed of delivery that much more crucial .While over half a billion dollars of aid is pouring into the region, much of it has been slow to reach the affected areas, made even more remote by destroyed roads and port facilities. In Indonesia, the hardest hit, aid arrived at the airport only to be stuck by the lack of fuel to move it. In Sri Lanka, relief workers complained there was no coordination between the government and aid agencies. In India, the government's midweek warning that more killer waves were on their way sparked widespread panic and sent aid workers fleeing along with residents. Hospitals have collapsed, and electricity is nonexistent. In many places, rescue workers had to bury or burn the growing piles of bodies before they could turn to the needs of the living.
Newly made refugees have crowded into wedding halls, mosques, and schools, and in many of these makeshift camps there were already outbreaks of diarrhea and fever. "Everybody is scared of the diseases that are on the way here. They are more scared about the disease than about the tsunami," says Yoni Sattler, a traveler from Israel who has been helping victims streaming into Bangkok, Thailand. "Bodies are everywhere. Sewage is everywhere. The water is polluted."
One of the first and most pressing issues is just dealing with the dead. "Every day, we are seeing bodies being spat out by the sea," says Satyanarayana Rao, a physician who is heading a relief effort in the town of Ponneri on India's hard-hit east coast. "These bodies are in extremely bad condition, bloated and putrefied. The urgent need is to cremate these as quickly as possible." Terrence DeSilva, deputy director of medical services in Sri Lanka, says that in other natural disasters, the number of injured is usually four times that of the dead, but in this case, the ratio is only 2 to 1. "When people got caught in this tidal wave, there was no chance to be injured," he says. "All who got caught washed to sea, and their bodies washed back." In this Buddhist country, mourners put a white flag outside the house. About 75 percent of the houses on the island, he estimates, are marked with white flags.
Cremation. Everywhere, funeral pyres light the skies, and bulldozers plow mounds of dirt over cities of the dead. As refugees flee the remains of their communities, it has been difficult in some cases finding people to help dispose of bodies rotting in the tropical heat. In Nagapattinam, a town in the worst-hit district of coastal India, sanitation workers from another part of the country were brought in to do the job, but with no sterile gloves or masks, they ran the risk of catching and spreading disease.
An entire generation will suffer the lasting effects of this disaster. Children, who were the least able to withstand the flooding, may account for up to half the dead, and hundreds of thousands have been left as orphans. One aid agency, Save the Children, has been trying to help young survivors locate their families, but this is proving to be a daunting task.
Even with all the immediate medical problems, some doctors say the biggest challenge will be dealing with long-term psychological trauma and lasting fear in these seaside communities. "There is a need for large-scale psychological counseling, since everyone here is in a state of shock," says Rao in India. "Most of the affected are fisherfolk who have seen death coming from the sea, which until now was giving them their livelihood. With most of the 700 dead in this village [Ponneri] being children, the common cry of the survivors is about why they have been left behind. They are still dazed by the events and have not come to terms with the tragedy yet."
Thirty-year-old Krist Dissalayake of Galle, on Sri Lanka's southern tip, saw the water sweep away dozens of buses packed with passengers and describes seeing bodies everywhere. He searched for his mother for four days before finding her body in the hospital. "Her body went to sea and came back, and her face was changed. I couldn't recognize her," he says. "I couldn't take her home. They put the bodies straight into the ground. She was 56 years old."
Grisly photographs of bodies awaiting identification line the walls of the town hall in Phuket, Thailand. A handwritten sign gives the number of Patong hospital, a facility more accustomed to treating cases of sunstroke than handling huge numbers of the dead and seriously injured. In Thailand, almost half the dead are foreigners, mostly European vacationers. Thousands of Americans, however, are still missing in the region. In Sri Lanka, consular officials report that American tourists have shown up at their offices wearing just bathing suits, with no money and no clothes.
U.S. aid. Early in the week, some critics complained that the Bush administration, by failing to offer aid and condolences immediately, botched an opportunity to reach out to the rest of the world, especially Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country. The United States made an initial pledge of $35 million while European countries appeared to be outbidding one another, from France's pledge of $57 million up to Britain's promise of $95 million--trumped at week's end by the United States' announcing a fund of at least $350 million. The White House also dispatched Secretary of State Colin Powell ,with a delegation including Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, to the disaster zone to assess relief needs and show American concern.
It may take decades for some of these countries, many heavily dependent on tourism and fishing, to recover--although photos of beach umbrellas sprouting in Thailand offered perverse reassurance. While reconstruction and aid money may fuel economies in the short run, it cannot sustain them. "There is a feeling that a natural disaster brings a boom afterwards, but it's a false boom," says Sumner LaCroix, a senior fellow in economics at the East-West Center in Hawaii. "These are resources taken from places like healthcare, education, food, and clothing. Resources don't just come out of nowhere."
Plus, resources that have been put in over the years to some areas will have to be injected anew. In Aceh, a region plagued by decades of conflict, Save the Children had been running a thriving economic development program. "One group of 27 women in a microenterprise were becoming somewhat successful making oyster sauce," says Tom Alcedo, the nonprofitgroup's Indonesia director. "They were having their weekly meeting talking about the business and what they could do to improve it, and the wave came in and killed 20 of the 27 of them. It's a bit tragic that even after suffering 27 years, there are people resilient enough to continue to improve and get on their feet, and then a natural disaster like this comes in."
For shell-shocked survivors in Meulaboh, resilience still seems a luxury. Rachmul Imam, 12, sits in a relative's house and clutches the one possession he managed to salvage, a sarong. Blinking long-lashed eyes, he describes in a soft, dreamlike voice how the wave came, how he ran down the main street away from it and survived by climbing onto the roof of a house, how it took his father, mother, and younger brother. And then, he just sits.



taken from The Aftermath
by Bay Fang