Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

Wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas! May the joy and peace proper to this Season be with you and all your families!

Nigerian International Night

Last November 29 we had the pleasure to have Lauretta Ojo with us as our speaker for the Nigerian International Night. It was truly worth the wait! Always ready to feed an army, Lauretta arrived to the centre with a loadful of goodies she insisted to cook herself. For the cooking demonstration, she presented three dishes: the first one is a soup called "Pe Pe Soup" (pe stands for bell peppers or capsicum, one of the main ingredients). The second dish was thick savoury sauce made of blended peppers, tomato and onion and green vegetables and the third dish was our equivalent of the rice: a porridge-like paste made of rice flour. And yes, she prepared a citrus drink made of pineapple, orange, pomelo, mandarins and...ginger!.

Its truly amazing to discover the richness and variety of Nigerian cooking! I think all of us were surprised how the dishes came out.

Another novelty for the evening was how to eat: we ate with our hands! Lauretta demonstrated how they would eat using the three fingers of the hands. How elegantly she did it, even more refined than the way I would eat using the knife and fork!

There was so much to learn that the time was not enough. She also brought with her traditional cloths and woven fabric to show to us. She introduced to us an instrument similar to the maraccas made from hollowed-out gourd. We could only admire the creativity and resourcefulness of the Nigerian people who made something useful out of ordinary items they had around.

We look forward to having her again!

ANNUAL RETREAT

The closed retreat FOR 2009 will be held in Wahn Tihng from SEPT 30 (7:30 PM) to OCTOBER 3 (5:00 pm). It will be in Cantonese. Please confirm your attendance by phone or send us an email.

We include some personal testimonies of people who have benefitted a lot from doing a retreat.

"... among the traditional ascetical means in the Church, a special place is held by retreats. Leaving aside the concerns of daily life, one dedicates oneself to thinking about God and one’s own spiritual progress." (Bishop Javier Echeverria, Prelate of Opus Dei)

In 2001 a friend of mine invited me to a retreat in Wickenden Manor, I went, and I thought “Oh my God, I’ve wasted my life!” Not everybody has that reaction at a retreat, but I did. After that I attended days of recollection regularly, at Ashwell House University students hall of residence in London and I took all my friends because it was so good. At the time, I was a member of a band, I sang in the band and I had a very active social life, everything anyone could want, but there was unrest in my soul. It’s difficult to express, but head and heart told me God wanted more of me, and I had to give more. Friends said how do you do it? You party so much yet you don’t neglect your religion, you have good judgement, you’re always so cheerful… Opus Dei helped me to get the balance right. I got myself a spiritual director – a lay person in Opus Dei – who helped me get it all together.You party so much yet you don't neglect your religion" (Ekene Ogbechie is a pharmacist by profession, and a former singer in a band.)

“I rediscovered that I could have a personal relationship with God”
I was born into a Catholic family and though I got to know about Opus Dei when I was young, it never really interested me. I was already working when, thanks to one of my brothers, I attended a retreat. I began to attend Christian doctrine classes and rediscovered that I could have a personal relationship with God. Particularly strong at the time was the thought that God had given me so much and I just had to respond. (James Burfitt comes from Sydney, Australia).

NIGERIA...here we come!

This month, our International Night series will feature Nigeria. Get to know more about this fascinating African country by joining us on November 29 from 4:30-7:30 PM. We will have a simple cooking demonstration, followed by a cultural get-together and dinner.

Please give us a call if you can make it...and do invite your friends to come along! The more, the merrier!

Sept and October activities

Its been some time now since we've had the last International Night. Two months ago we had Philippines' International Night where we learned to make simple dishes like Adobo, Green Mango Salad, Pancit Palabok and Leche Flan. The dining room was decked with multi-colored flaglets that added to the festive mood. It was quite a cozy gathering though with only about 10 of us. Nonetheless, it was fun like always with so much time to exchange stories among all of us in a relaxed setting...

UNIV 2009 Launching

East Asian Educational Association

invites you to the launching

of UNIV 2009 in Macau

UNIV is an annual international congress of university students held in

Rome, Italy. Each year, a theme is proposed for student participants to

reflect and work on study based on their countries' social situation

UNIV 2009 theme is

UNIVERSITAS: KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT FRONTIERS

We are inviting female university students to join us in exploring the

possibility of conducting a study based on this theme here in Macau.

Date: October 18, Saturday at 5:00 to 6:15 PM

Venue: Wahn Tihng Study Centre for Women

75 Calcada da Vitoria, Gam Luhng Kok 1st Floor I

For more details and seat reservations, please call 28 530054 (Dayenne or Jenny)

INCONTRO ROMANO Presentation of Research Paper Results

Last Saturday, September 13, Marina (Year 2 Tourism Major MUST) and Anita (Year 2 Tourism Major IFT), presented the results and findings of their paper "Meal Time=Family Time?" A Survey on Family Meals of Macau Chinese Families. In their presentation, they emphasized the important role of family meals (that is, having lunch or dinner with the family on a regular basis) and how it contributes to stronger family ties by gathering the family together to talk about the events of their day. They also brought up the common practice among the families, who took part in the survey, of having the television on during the family meal. This practice has its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, television facilitates that family members have something in common to talk about (i.e. comments on what they are watching). On the other hand, it may actually get in the way of having a dialogue among family members.

Marina noted that through her experience of preparing this paper for Incontro Romano, she learned many new things. She developed her survey and communication skills. Also it made her see that it is worthwhile having a more in-depth study on the effects of frequent TV-watching in family life.

Anita was happy to have had the chance to listen to different opinions of people regarding the topic. If she has another chance to work with Incontro Romano, she'll take it again.

To prepare for their presentation, they wanted to experiment in their homes how it was not to have the television on during dinner. Marina commented on how 'out of the blue', her dad asked her "Why didn't you turn the TV on?" And she replied that its because she's doing an experiment.

At the end of the presentation, Jenny presented the two of them of their Certificates which came all the way from Rome! The certificate cited "Special Mention" for the paper they submitted.

If you'd like to know more about Incontro Romano, contact us through phone or email or visit the website of Incontro Romano at: http://www.incontroromano.it/en/whatisincontroromano.htm

BACK TO SCHOOL!

With the summer break just behind us, its time to move on with a new school year ahead. Wahn Tihng wishes all students and teachers alike GOOD LUCK for the new school year!

We would like to inform you that the centre's study room is open everyday from Monday to Sunday should you need a quiet and peaceful place to study. Likewise, if you need tutoring for any subject, particularly in English and Maths, you can arrange it with any of our staff.



We will be starting the school year with a special activity, the presentation of papers submitted to last year's international congress INCONTRO ROMANO. It will be held on Saturday, September 13 at 5:00 PM. The paper is entitled "Meal Time=Family Time? A Survey on Family Meals of Macau Chinese Families. Hope you can join us!



Keep posted for the monthly activities of Wahn Tihng!

AFTER SYDNEY...Thoughts about World Youth Day 2008

Some weeks have passed after those unforgettable days in Sydney. As everyone is trying to settle back to "the normal life", we cannot but help sharing some of the thoughts of those who went, in the hope that by reliving them, the memory of those wonderful days will always be alive in their hearts.

Carman

I am still in WYD mood now, it’s the most amazing and wonderful trip I have ever experienced, a journey that’s full of love and faith in Jesus. When we arrived at Sydney’s airport, I saw several youth groups from different countries, who spoke different languages, but coming together in Sydney for the same aim – to receive the Holy Spirit and to be the witnesses to the end of the earth.
In the next 3 days, we had catechesis every day. It’s a good lesson for me to enhance my religion. We visited St. Mary’s Cathedral and prayed in front of Our Lady of the Southern Cross. The Power of God! The youth at World Youth Day is only a small fraction of all the Catholics in the world and it is already unbelievable! Sometimes I feel I was walking this journey alone but I was wrong seeing what I saw. The energy, the strength from God which allows the impossible!!

Lia

It was such a great experience!
Although the trip took us so much time to get prepared, we learnt so many things during the process.
To pay for the expenses of the trip, which was not cheap, we tried our best to get money by selling cookies, lucky draw etc. Everyone, even though they were not Catholics or Christians, helped us generously! I was touched.
Although the weather in Sydney was quite horrible for me (I came back with so many pimples on my face), it’s still worth it since I SAW THE POPE.
WYD… it is a big Catholic event which I think you should at least attend once in your life time. You can meet so many Catholics from all over the world. You may need to leave your work for a while, but you can spend all your time with God during the period of WYD and develop a real close friendship between Him and yourself.
Therefore, I am really looking forward to the next WYD in Spain in 2011. Yeah!

Candy

The WYD trip was wonderful, and I enjoyed it so much! The most unforgettable experience was being able to see the Holy Father so near, who was just a metre away, passing by and waving right in front of me! I've met a lot of people, from all parts of the world, from places I haven't even heard of, and it was really interesting to experience the characteristics of different cultures. The catechesis was very good, the bishops presented the doctrines (mostly on the Holy Spirit) in a very humorous and lively manner, which totally contrasted with what some people thought of Catholic faith as "old-fashioned and boring". One thing that struck me was that there were many young priests in other countries, so there's really a need to pray for young local priests in Macao. Seeing so many people from afar, all came together for the same purpose--worship the Lord, have given me a lot of encouragement and support, that I'm not alone in my fight, that there are many people fighting just the same to be children of God. It was a journey that required much physical strength, but it was worthwhile, coz it could really strengthen and deepen my faith.

Veronica

World Youth day Sydney allowed me to see that the love for God from the youth can actually be ‘stretched’. It was shown by our desire to correspond to God with a high physical demand of worship within the one week pilgrimage. After coming back to our daily life, our love for God has become bigger through building up a continuous dialogue with Him.

So what are you waiting for? Let's get ready for WYD Madrid 2011...Animo!

SUMMER BAKING ACTVITIES (for older girls)

2008 Summer Holiday! Baking with fun!

Activities for girls 13-18 years old

MOP 30.00 each session

Time: 3:00-5:00 PM

July and August (every Tuesday)

July 8 Moist Brownies

July 14 Apple Bars

July 21 Crema de Fruta

July 28 Blueberry Muffins

Aug 4 Butterscotch Bars

Aug 11 Up-side down Cake

Aug 18 Chocolate Cake

Aug 25 Halo-Halo

UNIV

Universitas: Knowledge without limits (Rome, April 4-12, 2009)

UNIV is a meeting in Rome that brings together thousands of university students from all over the world. It began thanks to the initiative of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei.

BAKING ACTIVITIES (for younger girls)

For girls aged 8-12 years old, Wahn Tihng has baking classes for you!

Saturdays, 5:00-6:30 PM

Each session: MOP 25.00

Call for reservations

June 28 Butterscotch Bars

Aug 9 Angel Crisps

Aug 23 Tropical Fruit Drinks (3)

Sept 13 Nutty Cream Cheese Squares

Oct 11 Walnut Mocha Bars

Nov 8 Halloween Cookies

Dec 13 Ginger Man Cookies

HAPPY MOTHER's DAY!!!

Wahn Tihng greets all Mothers a Happy Mother's Day! We all wish you a wonderful day!

18th Anniversary!

Wahn Tihng Study Center turns 18 this Saturday! As we turn one year older, we would like you to be part of a day best spent giving thanks. Since World Youth Day is getting closer, we will be joining the preparative activities for World Youth Day. We hope you can join us for this special day!

The activities will be as follows:

4:00 PM Meditation

4:30 Benediction

4:45 Light Snacks

SYDNEY Here We Come!

Wahn Tihng is gearing up for World Youth Day 2008 (Sydney). Check out the schedule of activities in line with preparing yourself for this great event!

April 19 Meditation "Letting Christ Guide Our Hearts" (4:00 PM)

April 26 Seminar, Talk: "What To Look For in WYD?"

Meditation "Sobriety and Mortification" (4:00 PM)

Video show: "25 Years With the Pope"

May 3 Recollection

May 10 Talk: "Do I Love the Church?"

May 17 Meditation "Responsibility in Spiritual Life" (4:00 PM)

Raffle draw for WYD funds

May 24 Doctrine Class: Jesus of Nazareth

June 7 Recollection

June 14 Talk: Friendship and Apostolate

June 21 Meditation: Authority of the Church; Prayers for the Pope

June 28 Doctrine Class: God Is Love

Portuguese International Night

We learned how to make Caldo Verde, Porco com Ameijoas a Alentejana and Arroz Doce...Watched a slideshow of Lisboa, Braga, Oporto...And enjoyed the company of such a friendly host, Susana. It was a wonderful evening meeting new friends who joined us for the first time, and some who surprisingly, had been around when they were much younger! Do join us for our next cultural night on May 31!

Wahn Tihng Turns 18!

On May 10, Wahn Tihng Study Centre will complete 18 years of its existence!

Keep posted for celebration details! Call us!