So hard to believe that the Trip to China has come and gone by so quickly. After 8 long months of planning, 15 days have passed in just a blink of an eye. We have so many memories, mosquito bites, photos (literally thousands), video footage (hours and hours worth) to look back on. The most rewarding part of the trip for me was knowing that everyone was able to take something away from the trip itself, whether it was a new insight into Chinese culture, history, architecture, or the forging of new friendships that will go beyond the walls of China. I know I’m walking away with a deeper appreciation of my own roots, a better understanding of who I am and where I come from. All the people we’ve traveled with have developed such a special bond together that nothing else can possibly replace. There’s nothing quite like living, working, sweating, eating, and doing everything else imaginable with a group of 27 people for 15 days and nights straight.
I have so much to be thankful for having been a part of this experience starting with two of the most amazing guys I know who convinced me and gave me this opportunity to co-lead the group to China this year. Ron & Des, thank you for believing in and trusting us to take over a group of youth overseas!
Next order of thanks would have to go towards our kickass team of volunteer coordinators.
Thinking back to the early days when we were busy recruiting for our team, I still remember every single conversation I had with each one of you. This was a tall order to fill and each one of you stepped up to the plate. Since the first time we all met up together in the Mon Sheong Volunteer Center, I could already tell we had something special with the synergy and harmony in the room. I’ve worked with several youth groups in the past and I’ve never seen so much dedication, commitment and passion towards a cause. This trip would not have been possible without all of the help of Eva Yung, Marco Yim, Hayden Tay, Jane Zhang, Ryan Lee, Daniel Yuen, Sally Suen, Vivian Tang, Mark Ho, Rowena Yeung (not all pictured).
I feel like I’ve also made a lot of friends with some of the kindest people I’ve met from the Mon Sheong Foundation who are all extremely committed to providing leadership opportunities for youth to grow and develop their skills. Gerald, Frank, Clement, Gordon, Matthias, Mandy – thank you for all of your ongoing guidance and support during the planning and execution of our massive project!
My roomie, Victoria Kan, gets a special shoutout for being an amazing leader and our saviour every step of the way.
I think we’ve all seen you grow through this process and I couldn’t be prouder of how strong you’ve become! Also, you get brownie points for being my right arm in China and taking care of me on top of everything else 
To all my friends and family who supported our trip by attending our Development Challenge events, buying our keychains, pins, reading our blog, listening to me rant, thank you!
Also, special thank you goes to Amy’s Food Adventures, for whipping up an insane amount of cupcakes to keep up with the orders to raise money for our restoration project! In total, we were able to donate a total of $6,000 towards the Lord Mengchang Restoration Project in Xuecheng, China.
To all the 2011 participants of Trip to China …
… thank you for all of your hard work, time and commitment over the past couple of months. From the workshops, to mandarin lessons, to Development Challenge, we hope you were able to take away skills and new friendships from this experience that will last you a lifetime. You all brought something special to the table and you really made the trip what it was! Thank you for allowing us to take you away for two weeks for a chance to experience something new and challenging yourselves to step out of your comfort zones.
And finally, to my other half, partner in crime and voice that won’t get out of my brain – thank you Harrison Luong!
The ying to my yang, I have to admit I was skeptical in the beginning when we were both assigned to work on this project together. Not sure how it would be working with someone I’ve known for so long, yet haven’t worked together with before. It’s unreal that within these past 8 months, we haven’t got into one single argument (I think that’s just cause you give me my way all the time 
) and yet have been able to lead such a cohesive team together. Like you said, there’s not a problem that I don’t think we can tackle together. It’s been a privilege and honour to work with you.
When I had signed up to be a part of this trip, I would’ve never imagined that I would be able to gain so much from this experience. The actual Trip to China was probably the most challenging and intense projects I’ve ever led, but I can honestly say one of the most rewarding journeys I’ve been through thus far. Now that we’re back, we still have a few more events coming up including our Multimedia Challenge, Press Conference, Wrap-up Dinner so there’s still lots to look forward to!
I’ll also be selecting and sharing my favourite pics from each city we visited – stay tuned! (Big credit to Victoria for 90% of the photos shown here!)
