It started out with the blazing trail across the world with the YOG torch, then the athletes arrived one by one in this small modern and magnificent. Following, the first ever YOG was officially opened in the spectacular Opening Ceremony. Next, the exciting events kicked off and then before we knew it was all over and we were watching the closing ceremony!

Friendships were formed, Respect was gained and Excellence was achieved. The first ever Youth Olympic Games was absolutely phenomenal. Singapore made history with its fantastic job by making the YOG such an amazing experience not only for the young Olympians but also for everybody who was able to witness and feel the Olympic atmosphere throughout Singapore and the world. To me the Youth Olympic Games as given me such a unique opportunity. Being a Samsung Mobile Explorer has opened my eyes to not only new sports and upcoming athletes of the world but it has also installed in me the Olympic values, taught me the difference between being a winner and a gracious champion and it has made me realize our generation needs passion for future to make our future a bright one. Also, I have met so many diverse and interesting people from all across the world who I will never forget, but the most impactful bunch was definitely all the other SMEs from Korea, China and Singapore. The amount of laughter and unforgettable time I had with these wonderful and awesome people will be inked into my mind and soul forever and ever and as they sadly left group by group back to their home country I think shed a tear... Or two... Like last night when the huge torch at Marina Bay was officially switched off at the fantastic YOG Closing Ceremony.  It was so touching and sad...  But hey!! Let’s look on the bright side, the first ever winter YOG will be held in Austria next year and the second summer YOG will be held in 2014 in Nanjing!!! WOO :) GO YOG!!!

So as I close this amazing chapter of my life and as I write my last post with tears in my eyes I hope you have enjoyed my blogs as much as I have enjoyed writing them :) Thank you so much to all the international Olympic Committee, the wonderful athletes and Samsung for making this happen, and thank you dear readers for your lovely comments and support! See you later at the Nanjing YOG!! Ha-ha.

Lastly, I LOVE YOG!!! Enjoy the photos :)

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

So after the sweet interview I comfortably sat down to watch the entertaining and exhilarating competition. First, the girls had to work with the ropes. Truthfully, I found this part the most uninteresting as compared to all the other sectors.. Anyways, the crowd was booming but it was nothing compared to the crazy loud and cheerful spectators from the Russian team!! They were so AWESOME!!! Their happiness like influenced everybody!! Even the Gymnast, Alexandra who's smile became bugger and bigger each time she heard her faithful supporters!

Back to the point, after ropes came the rings which was probably my favorite section as you could clearly see how flexible the girls were and how talented they were. I mean who can spin a ring and make it come back to you!?? cool right!! Also, it was my favourite because for some reason the music to which the girls performed was so lively and all the girls really seemed to enjoy themselves, especially Alexandra who was so cute and did a little bootie shake in her performance! :)

After that, was the ball. Which was truly a gorgeous performance as all the girls moved so smoothly and it was just amazing how the girls had such good coordination with the ball :) Sadly, throughout the performances some did make mistakes and tears were shed when low results were received.

Last but not least was the clubs!! It was obvious the girls went all out in this last section since this was the last shot they had to improve their scores and become a Youth Olympic Champion. They poured their heart and soul into every twist, pointed toe and straight leg. Then as the 8 girls one by one finished their last act they reached for one other like best friends to hug and to what seemed congratulate each other and if not to support those suffering. WOW, it was a beautiful display of not only sportsmanship but also of one of the most important Olympic values; Friendship.

Finally, it was time for the Award Ceremony!!! In the third place was the gorgeous Jana from Germany, in second was the competitive Arina from Bulgaria and in first place... Drum roll please...... Alexandra from Russia!! The funny, cheeky, lively and amazingly talented girl definitely deserved it. Then,when the Russian national anthem started, I was shocked by the enthusiasm of those Russian people sitting behind me. Singing loud with overwhelming patriotism, the Russian team and spectators were such an inspiration to me. I must start to sing proudly to my national anthem!! Go NL, Go Singapore:) haha.

Anyways, as I'm writing what is going to be my 2nd last blog about the YOG I can't but feel that it all passed way to fast. But I will save my sadness and happiness till tomorrow when I post my last article. haha :) So don't get too upset guys!! There is still one more day :)

Enjoy the photos for now!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

WOW!! What a fantastic, AWESOME and fun day it was! The hot sun was blazing down on us and we were sweating like pigs... Until it started to rain. But seriously, it was truly an unforgettable day filled with laughter and smiles.

First, we had to take a bus then a bus, then a MRT and then a cable car ride from Mount Faber to get to Sentosa. What a long journey! Well, it probably only took us an hour but it was a good hour especially when we were in the cable car and we had a BEAUTIFUL view of Sentosa with the lovely sun shining down brightly.

Then it was onto our 3 MISSIONS!!! We had to show the 3 Olympic values of Respect, Friendship and Excellence through 3 activities. So to show Respect we decided to do the Sentosa Nature Discovery as it enhanced taught us to respect and appreciate Mother Nature more.  However, it was kind of boring and tiring with the sun scorching our backs but we did have quite a good laugh as we made funny jokes about us being good GREEN rangers! Check out the photos!

Next, Friendship. For that one we chose the Sentosa Luge & Sky ride which is extremely fun and thus we did it TWICE!!!  And guess what?! While waiting in the queue there were the YOG athletes from Denmark, Sweden and New Zealand all walking around shirtless! Even the girls!! Sadly, I didn’t talk a photo L HAHA!

Following, we FINALLY entered Universal Studios, where we first headed to the Far Far Away kingdom to try out the 4D experience. This by the way was super cool! The , seats shake when the horses were running, water was splashed in our face when Donkey sneezed and weird little wires moved in between our legs when there were spiders!! Then it was off to try out the Jurassic Park Rapid Adventure for which we had to wait 70 minutes in a queue!! How fun. Nevertheless it was totally worth it. The ride was exciting and of course got everybody soaking wet J Next up was the Mummy Ride in Egypt!! We found this ride so exhilarating and electrifying that we did it twice! Plus, the waiting time was only 10 minutes. Subsequently, we headed to the Water World which was a fantastic pirate show with fire, bombs, and more. The show by itself was already very entertaining with us all getting wet (again), but when it really started to rain and it started to get misty it seem REAL! So if you were to ever go to Universal Studios do catch the awesome performance at Water World.  After that we wanted to sit on another ride but it was closed because of the bad weather L Finally, as our overwhelming day came to an end, we strolled through the Sci-Fi City and the wonderful set up of New York.  We also went into the souvenir shop to buy souvenirs (duh!) and pop-corn!

Today was not only fun but it was also enriching as it brought me closer to my fellow SMEs so I think it will be really hard to say goodbye to them when this experience comes to end on Thursday, and it further installed into to me the Olympic values of Respect, Friendship and Excellence. So today was also beyond doubt a spectacular day and I think that the pictures will truly tell you a better story so enjoy!  And I will back tomorrow about my visit to the Youth Olympic Village!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Hey YOG lovers! Today was another lazy, warm, bright Sunday so I went home, had boring tuition, ate non-fast food!! And did homework of course, but in the SUN!! Hehe J work on my tan!! Anyways, I was supposed to go to a meeting at 5pm about meeting our fun-packed and exhilarating excursion to SENTOSA tomorrow!! But I couldn’t go... But let’s forget about that because...We are going to Universal Studios J I’m so excited!! Tomorrow is going to be so fun! I promise I will post photos tomorrow!! Not to make you jealous, ha-ha, but to show you more about the wonderful international friends I’m making from Korea and China. Thank you YOG!! This is all possible because of you J

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

As we walked into my school all eyes were directed at our dear visitors, the SMEs from Korea and China!! Not all came but some like Nahee, Yoonil and Bumblebee J So after Keith and I gave them a awesome tour around or school- during which ALL my schoolmates kept STARING, we headed up to the 3^rd floor to my classroom! I must say, my classmates were extremely sweet to the Korean and Chinese SMEs and totally making them feel welcome... So after mingling with my classmates, taking tons of photos and interviewing them we took the SMEs to the canteen to let them indulge in our lovely school food...  YEAH!!! How delicious! J But to my surprised they REALLY liked it! They all headed to grab a chicken pao (steamed bun) and some even headed to our Malay stall to try out roti prata and rice with curry. Then as school ended the Korean SMEs interviewed some more students and the Chinese SMEs went around school to get some other students to sign a cool red board if they LOVED YOG, like me! J Ha-ha.

After, the whole school-visit experience I headed home to change and then met up with Nahee to help her buy a new going-out outfit!! So we met up at Bugis Street to search for a cheap yet beautiful dress and heels plus of course jewellery!!! Finally, after trying on a couple dresses and shoes, we found it the outfit!! It was a simple yet gorgeous black dress, cute 3-inches black high heels and sexy green earrings and necklace. Impressively, I did not buy anything!! Amazing right?! Ha-ha.

Enjoy the photos !

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Omg!! after watching wrestling for about 3 hours I headed back to the hotel to freshen up cause guess what? ! I went to the click 5! 
So I rushed my butt to meet my friends to go eat dinner -it took as 1hour to get to a mcdonalds. how pathetic:)
back to the point! I got to meet click 5! !! They were sooooo nice and handsome(especially the lead singer, Kyle:D) !! so after I got my signed poster and t-shirt I was floating on cloud 9 :) the concert was just as awesome and Kyle pointed at me TWICE!!!! I think he pointed at me. ... Haha so overall Sunday 15th august 2010 was super super super fun and worth the sleepless night! !
Check out the photos of my friends and I and of course click 5 :)

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

15th August 2010- the first day of the sport events. Everywhere across Singapore's city enthusiastic spectactors were making their way to watch a wide array of thrilling matches. For me, I was on my way to the men premininlary rounds of Wrestling!! As I rushed in with my mocha frappaciono I was welcomed by a loud audience cheering and what seemed to be shouting bits and pieces of advice, not to me sadly, but to the young wrestlers... of course. Even though I had no clue about wrestling at all, I quickly caught and found out that today's matches were Greco-roman style. so basically the wrestler was forbidden to grasp the opponent below the waist, or to use the leg to trip or to actively perform any action. And to earn points the wrestler had to flip its opponent. Sounds easy right?  well guess what?  its not. For some, a match took 30 seconds for others it could be close to 5 minutes and of course as time progressed more and more were beat and out of the running thus leaving the best to wrestle it out till late into the night.
Anyways, back to the actual matches. for some reason all the young men wore wrestling style leotards in blue and red only. so in the beginning I thought the same guys were wrestling constantly, funny right?  Haha. The matches were played on 2 platforms simultaneously, with a constant change of officials and wrestlers. So since this was my first time watching proper wrestling live every match was extremely exciting especially when the bigger guys went at it :) but overall there were definitely some big highlights like when one wrestler managed to pick up and carry its unlucky opponent until he flipped him over him with care. Yes care. they don't just slam each other on the ground like TNA wrestling! Some other interesting moments were when there was a penalty and the guilty fella had to go on all fours and the other wrestler went behind him to grab him by his chest. When this happened, it went super fast and one ended up lying on the other one. Also there were the moments when the young athlete lost and was deeply disappointed.... There is always next time guys!

Overall, wrestling was extremely fun to watch especially with guys having such good looks and finely defined abs.. I mean body -!!  I even sat next to one of the wreslters! but he lost so I did not dare to interview him:) Haha. Sucks I didn't have the time to watch the finals ( I went to click 5!) but here are the results :
42Kg- 1st Murad Bazarov (Aze)
50kg- 1st Elman mukhtarov (Aze)
58Kg- 1st Urmatbak Amatov (Kgz)
69kg- 1st Zhanibek Kandybayev (Kaz)
85kg- 1st Ruslan Adzhigov (Rus) 

check out the pictures :)

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Two words: spectular and unforgettable. The world's first ever Youth Olympic opening ceremony was absolutely amazing and extremely creative.

After anxiously waiting to get through the super long queue for security checks I rushed to my seat with my mummy! Once seated, we entertained by some really fun hosts who got all 27000 spectators up on their feet to test all of our YOG gadgets like the colourful heart,  our lighted clappers to clap like a heart and of course, to learn some simple yet fun steps to blacked eyed peas worldwide hit 'I got a feeling'. Next, for which the YOG even exists - the athletes paraded down the stage and waved their little flags as the whole crowd gave them a standing ovation. Then as the countdown began, the awesome and impressive dancers took to the stage and did a super cool dance item followed by a heart-melting act of cute kids playing tag :) AWW!!! After which, jaw-dropping drummers took the stage to help set off the last 10seconds of the countdown.

 10, 9, 8, 7, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 !  Selemat Datang! The ceremony was official kicked-off with a stunning item of performers wearing beautiful costumes, singing the songs, dancing the dances representing the wide array of races living in harmony in Singapore and also to give a warm welcome to international athletes. Then to honour the hosting country, the Singapore flag was raised with pride as every Singaporean in the audience say their national anthem with unconditional love. Next up, to educate our dear international friends, a wonderful and one-of-a-kind performance took the stage to teach them about the Singapore's history... With big puppets!! Woo!! Following, was what i thought was one of the main highlights, Monster. An act which started with a stunning enormous book opening to tell the story of the hero which beats the villain against all odds... Faster, Higher, Stronger, the next act which featured amazing dances to represent the many YOG events. After which, an act about playing with fire was performed to teach us all about resiliscene and determination is essential to overcome all obstacles. To me this was another great chapter as there were very talented performers mingled through the crowd doing ballet around a pole... Sounds weird right>? But it was really elegant. SOS, the next act started off the world dying (deforestation, terrorist attacks,etc) and then the world was saved by all the 5 continents coming together to play across boundaries of race, language and religion. Then the last chapter before the finale, bud, told us the story that this is the season of hope and new beginnings like a crystal blooming through the mud and rain.

FINALLY!! The Finale!! First up, the parade of the national Olympic committees' flags, which took what felt like 10 hours!!  HAHA :) I cheered like mad when the Dutch Flag came out! GO NL!!! WOO!!! Next, the lovely international singers from everywhere across the globe, sang the official 2010 YOG song "Everyone “and the entire audience swayed with their white doves!! so touching!! Following, was the Olympic Protocol which featured speeches by the Chairman of Singapore's YOG committee Mr Ng Ser Miang and President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr Jacques Rogge, the official declaration of the opening of the 1ST EVER YOG made by the President of Singapore and the rising of the Olympic flag with the Olympic Anthem playing on the background.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST!!! Blazing the trail!! The Torch arrived in the hands of Spore’s very own top-class swimmer, Amanda Lim on a magnificent dragon-shaped lighted boat with dragon boats at its side. As it was passed on to other Singaporean athletes everybody cheered and clapped with their clappers!! Then it was passed to Singapore's World Sailing Champion, Darren who ran through water and lit the OMG fire tower!! WOOO!!! Fireworks!!!! :)

What a night! I was completely speechless. Congratulations Singapore! It was AMAZIN'!!

Enjoy the photos :D

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Yesterday afternoon, Keith and I rushed our butts to the Samsung Hub's 26th floor for the kick-off this thrilling experience (SME program) and to also FINALLY meet the other SME's from Korea and China!!! YEAH!! :D Anyways, with everybody wearing the lovely greenish-yellow Samsung t-shirt we all were addressed by the Samsung HQ, a representative from the China team, a representative from the Korean team and last but not least our very own DX to represent SINGAPORE!!! Then it was back down to the lobby to take a group photo. After which we headed back up AGAIN to interact with the other students.... And that's when I thought to myself about 1 Korean SME girl 'hey, I recognise her from somewhere' so I asked her few questions and guess what?! Nahee, the Korean SME, was from my old school in China!!! So from the moment we both realised it we couldn't stop talking and reminiscing the old days. I was so excited!!!

Thereafter, we got a very useful photography briefing, which I sadly had to leave halfway because my big toe nail was ripping off!! AHH!! So it was off to the doctor's to get it checked. Thank goodness it wasn’t as bad as it seemed with blood coming out from underneath my toe nail as all I had to do was band aid it.  

Then, it was back to the hotel to freshen up and to also finally EAT (MOS burger)!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Next we headed towards the Marina Bay Promenade for celebrations of the end of the YOG torch relay. As we arrived an interesting string band to the stage and did awesome spins on songs like 'I Will Survive', Coldplay's 'viva la Vida' and some other classic and rock songs. Then the really cool and Urban Drummers performed a really entertaining and fun item. THEN, the torch finally arrived and a historic moment was made with Mr Lee Kuan Yew lighting the cauldron. I think for many like me it was a touching and great moment.  

  A video was then played about YOG during which I went to get my FREE coke! After which a random rock band did a rockin' performance to which me and a couple of crazy torchbearers went totally insane to and danced our shoes off: D

See the full gallery on Posterous

FINALLY!!!! 4 minutes took the stage and did a super cute and sexy performance with fans screaming like mad and singing along to their fun songs. Even though I did not even know them I definitely enjoyed myself watching everbody go crazy!! Especially when B2ST performed!!! AHH!! They were soooooo handsome, OMG!! Back to the point, their performance was really awesome and I think I'm a fan now. Ha-ha!

Lastly, as the night came to a successful, enjoyble are super super super duper FUN close it was back to the hotel to SLEEP! Yeah J

See the full gallery on Posterous

P.S. Can't videos photos for some weird reason.. Sorry!! Will try to fix it. 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!! I just got home from the torch relay and guess what?! It was AWESOME!! I mean the supporters were UNBELIEVABLE :) so many people came and they were all extremely cheerful. Now about the expericence.. haha! It was crazy.First we met up at St. Patrick's Secondary School where we registered and were given a small briefing, and I guess this only happens to me but the lady said that I could not take part unless my she had my mom's signature which I thought she had. So, thank goodness there was internet so I could retrive it from my email !! ALL HAIL the Internet! haha :D Then it was off to the bus! the YOG peeps were soooooo friendly and funny! and so was the policeman who let me sit on his motorbike!

Next the YOG torch relay kicked off and soon it was my turn to wait at my post for the torch :) As my friend, Keith, came I just couldn't believe I was going to get to hold the torch and was in awe!!! And as Keith passed me the torch we were going to do cool handshake but couldn't so we just did the knuckle thingy. ( I'm not sure what it is called). FINALLY it was my moment of FAME!! I couldn't stop smiling at any point while running my 200 metres! 'wave to your right', 'wave at the people in the HDB, run slower' , 'run a little faster', 'you are doing great', 'raise the torch a little higher' , 'slow down for your mom to take a picture' were the constant words I heard from the super helpful running supporters while running. and for some strange reason I was cheering and laughing- I guess I was just too HAPPY!! Then all of a sudden it was over and I was doing a butt bump with the next runner, nic as I passed her the torch....

All in all as I went home all I could think was WOW! Today was so exhilarating and totally worth it. I'm just speechless and still in 7th heaven! Thank you samsung and YOG this was totally amazing!  I LOVE YOG !! 

Here are the photos as promised : 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

With free coke cola, entertaing performances and the the arrival of the YOG torch, Nanyang polytechnic was overflowing with what felt like millions of people. The place was cramped with students wearing THE blue samsung tee, coke cola people wearing red and with tons of other people who came to catch a glimpse of the torch... :D like me !! Haha.

Anyways, the event had a fun and definitely exciting atmosphere with the MCs hyping up the students and practicing the YOG 'oh yeah oh yeah' moves until prime minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong arrived when everybody immediately cheered like crazy out of themselves! Then the lively drummers took the stage and kicked off the AWESOME event, followed by the super ethusiastic cheerleaders from Taiwan. The occassion got even more interesting when 3 NYP students slid down the wall to reveal their own cool YOG posters! I was like OMG that guy is upside down !

Next NYP's very own cultural dance took the stage and did a lovely performance followed by their cheer leading team and dance crews. FINALLY!!..... The torch arrived in the hands of NYP's all-rounded student who lid the codrel :D yeah!!! Overall, the fun and exciting event was awesome:) I loved getting close and sweating with everyone! Hehe !! Kidding!! I <3 YOG!! Can't wait for the rest of the fun ceromonies and events!

P.S I'm running in the torch relay today!! :) with Keith and Nic.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »