China... A year ago
A year ago, I was in Beijing and Guangzhou for the Mars Meet & Greet Sessions. Even though such promotional trip generated so much controversy a few months later because of a certain someone, I still enjoyed my very short stay in China. It's always fun meeting new friends from different places and it's always amazing to see that despite the language barrier, we all have a singular purpose... to support ZaiZai.
I remember while we were waiting for the Beijing JMs to sort out our hotel reservations (Vicpower made a bulk reservation kasi in one hotel), we were chatting animatedly outside. You could hear so many languages and dialects: English, Thai, Cantonese, Mandarin, Beijing and Shanghai dialects, etc. I met a very nice JM but I didn't even get her name because she speaks minimal English. She keeps on referring to me as her "Fei lu bin peng you," while I try to talk to her with my very, very little knowledge of Mandarin. I think we understood each other better when we used sign language, lol.
As I reminisce my trip, here's the account that I wrote last year. ^_^
I planned for this trip for the most part of my summer vacation (in the Philippines, summer vacation starts in April until the first week of June). When the event in Beijing was postponed, I was really disappointed and when subsequently the event in Guangzhou was also postponed, I was brokenhearted! But fortunately, both events pushed through and I was able to attend both.
I really pushed through with this trip even though I’ll be traveling alone from the Philippines and I can only understand basic Mandarin! Good thing, I met so many wonderful JMs from Singapore (Wee) and Hong Kong (Tonton, Cecilia, Louise, Mrs Ma, Agnes, Jeannie, Doki, Ami, Jess), who took care of me during the entire trip. Wee translated for me while the HK JMs were the ones who reserved plane tickets, hotels, etc. The Beijing and Guangzhou JMs also extended wonderful assistance to us, overseas fans.
When I arrived in Hong Kong last May 25 (Wednesday), Wee and I met up with Hong Kong JMs, who treated us to a Japanese restaurant! I had a really nice time with them although I could only understand bits of the conversation. :D The next morning (May 26 - Thursday), we all met at the HK Airport. At first we thought that we already missed Zai’s flight. The 3-hour plane ride from Hong Kong to Beijing was pure torture coz I thought that we wouldn’t be able to see him inside the Beijing Airport. Once we landed in Beijing, we learned that Zai actually has not yet arrived in Beijing! We all broke into smiles after hearing this news. It seems that Zai took a later flight than us (ours is at 10:40am, while he took the 11:30 flight). We all decided to wait for him in the arrival gates. We made an agreement that no one will take a video or picture of Zai so that his PAs would not shoo us! After waiting for about an hour, Zai finally appeared! I didn’t even notice Barbie!
I approached him and I can’t really remember my exact words to him. I think I greeted him “zhu ni sheng ri kuai le” and then I passed on to him the gifts from the Philippines and Singapore. I was able to touch his hand when he took the gifts from my hand :D I looked at him and said, “ZaiZai, gifts from the Philippines and Singapore.” He nodded and thanked me.
We walked beside him on the way to the immigration area. I kept on staring at him, trying to memorize his face... I told myself that I will preserve his image in my head because when I saw him last December at the HK Airport, it was all a blur to me. It was only when I watched my video clip did I see that he was smiling when I told him “Qing ni lai, Philippines!” So there I was, staring at him like an idiot! He must have felt so conscious because all I did was to stare at him!
Near the immigration area, Zai called Barbie, who was waiting for him in a corner. And then I told him, “Please come to the Philippines!” Barbie turned to me and asked me, “You’re from the Philippines?” I answered her in the affirmative and I continued staring at Zai!
In the immigration area, there was a loooong queue. Zai lined up in the Chinese Nationals area while I lined up in the Foreigners area. I couldn’t stand still because I kept on thinking, “OMG, OMG, he’s just right there!” I told the guy at my back to save my space in the line. I searched for a perfect view of him so that I could take a video. I tried to hide from Ah Juan and his PAs because I know that they don’t approve of us taking a video of him but I persisted because I want to share what I saw to my Philippine friends and to the other fans as well...
He kept on chatting with Barbie and he actually saw me taking a video! He must be thinking what a weird girl I am coz at first, I kept on staring at him and still I wasn’t satisfied so I took a video of him, haha! I also tried to take a picture of him but my hands were shaking too badly so I couldn't get a decent shot! However, Ah Juan finally saw me and she motioned for me to stop taking a video. I was an obedient fan so I turned off my videocam! :D
I then went to the Chinese nationals area and continued looking at him! Then I told myself that I should talk to him, regardless of the fact that I can’t speak Mandarin! I approached him but I stopped because Barbie was saying something to him. When she finished, I approached them. I didn’t really practice what I was going to say to him. Everything that I was dreaming of telling him flew out of my head!
When I came up to him, at first I couldn’t look at him, haha! I looked at Barbie and said “Please come to the Philippines to promote Mars!” I knew I was speaking so fast so I looked up at him and he was looking down at me (he is soooo tall!) and I knew he didn’t understand what I was saying! So I slowly said to him “Phi-li-ppine.... Zhan Shen!” I wanted to laugh out loud because after almost a year of Mandarin classes, that’s all I was able to say!! LOL! He nodded and said “Hao, hao, xie xie!” I almost died because I couldn’t believe I was able to hold his attention even for just a few minutes! Barbie then told me, “So you came all the way from the Philippines just to see him?” I said, “Yes.” Zai was smiling and then I told him, “A lot of your Filipino fans are waiting for you... It’s been more than a year since you last visited the Philippines.” He kept on nodding and smiling and saying “hao, xie xie.” I forgot the rest of what I told him. I just continued with my mumblings while he looked at me... This is the part where I knew he couldn’t understand what I was saying but it didn’t matter... I just hope that he felt the wishes of his Filipino fans who continue supporting him. After all my mumblings, I finally said my goodbyes to him and he and Barbie said “ba-bye.” Ah Juan thanked me, I don’t know why, hehe!
I returned to my position in the line and it felt so surreal... The guy at my back asked us who he is. We told him that he’s ZaiZai, an Asian superstar, a Taiwanese actor and singer and F4 member. He must be really amazed by the attention of the fans!
Flowersmile and Beijing JMs welcomed us outside the airport. They reserved a bus that would take us straight to the venue. No more hotel stops for us... We brought all our baggage inside the venue! We actually put our bags at the side of the stage! The meet & greet was very short, about half an hour only but I still enjoyed it. We were very close to the stage so instead of looking at the screen of my videocam, I just kept on staring at him! Here I am again with my staring habit, haha! I couldn’t really understand what is going on but Zai looks as if he enjoyed the event especially when the 2 kids came out and called him uncle. When the video presentation of Vicpower was being shown, he kept laughing when the kids sang “Make a Wish.”
After the meet & greet, we went to the hotel. We slept for less than 3 hours because we had to prepare for our next trip to Guangzhou. The next day (May 27 - Friday), we weren’t able to see him inside Beijing’s domestic terminal because we took a different airline. We were all so tired, lugging around our bags because we had to handcarry everything to save time.
When we arrived in Guangzhou, other HK JMs met us in the airport. We went straight to the hotel and then to the venue. We learned that Zai is staying in the same hotel but based from previous experience, I didn’t have any hopes of seeing him inside the hotel! The meet & greet lasted for about an hour. Same with what happened in Beijing, since I couldn’t understand the language, I kept on looking at him again! When the make-out scenes in Mars were being shown, Zai’s expression was priceless! He looked so embarrassed, hehe! It was a little uncomfortable because they also showed the rape scene. After screaming so loud for Ling, everyone kept quiet during Qi Luo’s scene.
When the meet & greet ended, we went to Kentex to buy stuffs. I bought so many socks to be able to get the Kentex organizer/notebook!
We again slept for less than 3 hours so that we could arrive early at the Guangzhou Airport. We were thinking that he would take either the 8:30 or 9:40 flight, but he took the 11:55 am flight! So we weren’t able to see him at the Guangzhou Airport because we took the 9:40 flight to Hong Kong. When we arrived in Hong Kong, we thought of so many strategies in order to see him! Finally, we were able to wait for him in his arrival gate. His flight was delayed for about half an hour. We walked beside him again. Everyone was really quiet although many fans were behind him! I wanted to say something but I just cherished that moment of walking beside him. It was very quick because he already has a boarding pass. When he entered the gate, we all waved at him and he smiled at us and waved back. At that point, this amazing trip has finally ended.
Looking back, I will never forget the experiences that I had in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong: waiting for ZaiZai and seeing him; meeting new friends from different places... I am looking forward to more adventures that are in store for us as a ZaiZai fan!
I remember while we were waiting for the Beijing JMs to sort out our hotel reservations (Vicpower made a bulk reservation kasi in one hotel), we were chatting animatedly outside. You could hear so many languages and dialects: English, Thai, Cantonese, Mandarin, Beijing and Shanghai dialects, etc. I met a very nice JM but I didn't even get her name because she speaks minimal English. She keeps on referring to me as her "Fei lu bin peng you," while I try to talk to her with my very, very little knowledge of Mandarin. I think we understood each other better when we used sign language, lol.
As I reminisce my trip, here's the account that I wrote last year. ^_^
I planned for this trip for the most part of my summer vacation (in the Philippines, summer vacation starts in April until the first week of June). When the event in Beijing was postponed, I was really disappointed and when subsequently the event in Guangzhou was also postponed, I was brokenhearted! But fortunately, both events pushed through and I was able to attend both.
I really pushed through with this trip even though I’ll be traveling alone from the Philippines and I can only understand basic Mandarin! Good thing, I met so many wonderful JMs from Singapore (Wee) and Hong Kong (Tonton, Cecilia, Louise, Mrs Ma, Agnes, Jeannie, Doki, Ami, Jess), who took care of me during the entire trip. Wee translated for me while the HK JMs were the ones who reserved plane tickets, hotels, etc. The Beijing and Guangzhou JMs also extended wonderful assistance to us, overseas fans.
When I arrived in Hong Kong last May 25 (Wednesday), Wee and I met up with Hong Kong JMs, who treated us to a Japanese restaurant! I had a really nice time with them although I could only understand bits of the conversation. :D The next morning (May 26 - Thursday), we all met at the HK Airport. At first we thought that we already missed Zai’s flight. The 3-hour plane ride from Hong Kong to Beijing was pure torture coz I thought that we wouldn’t be able to see him inside the Beijing Airport. Once we landed in Beijing, we learned that Zai actually has not yet arrived in Beijing! We all broke into smiles after hearing this news. It seems that Zai took a later flight than us (ours is at 10:40am, while he took the 11:30 flight). We all decided to wait for him in the arrival gates. We made an agreement that no one will take a video or picture of Zai so that his PAs would not shoo us! After waiting for about an hour, Zai finally appeared! I didn’t even notice Barbie!
I approached him and I can’t really remember my exact words to him. I think I greeted him “zhu ni sheng ri kuai le” and then I passed on to him the gifts from the Philippines and Singapore. I was able to touch his hand when he took the gifts from my hand :D I looked at him and said, “ZaiZai, gifts from the Philippines and Singapore.” He nodded and thanked me.
We walked beside him on the way to the immigration area. I kept on staring at him, trying to memorize his face... I told myself that I will preserve his image in my head because when I saw him last December at the HK Airport, it was all a blur to me. It was only when I watched my video clip did I see that he was smiling when I told him “Qing ni lai, Philippines!” So there I was, staring at him like an idiot! He must have felt so conscious because all I did was to stare at him!
Near the immigration area, Zai called Barbie, who was waiting for him in a corner. And then I told him, “Please come to the Philippines!” Barbie turned to me and asked me, “You’re from the Philippines?” I answered her in the affirmative and I continued staring at Zai!
In the immigration area, there was a loooong queue. Zai lined up in the Chinese Nationals area while I lined up in the Foreigners area. I couldn’t stand still because I kept on thinking, “OMG, OMG, he’s just right there!” I told the guy at my back to save my space in the line. I searched for a perfect view of him so that I could take a video. I tried to hide from Ah Juan and his PAs because I know that they don’t approve of us taking a video of him but I persisted because I want to share what I saw to my Philippine friends and to the other fans as well...
He kept on chatting with Barbie and he actually saw me taking a video! He must be thinking what a weird girl I am coz at first, I kept on staring at him and still I wasn’t satisfied so I took a video of him, haha! I also tried to take a picture of him but my hands were shaking too badly so I couldn't get a decent shot! However, Ah Juan finally saw me and she motioned for me to stop taking a video. I was an obedient fan so I turned off my videocam! :D
I then went to the Chinese nationals area and continued looking at him! Then I told myself that I should talk to him, regardless of the fact that I can’t speak Mandarin! I approached him but I stopped because Barbie was saying something to him. When she finished, I approached them. I didn’t really practice what I was going to say to him. Everything that I was dreaming of telling him flew out of my head!
When I came up to him, at first I couldn’t look at him, haha! I looked at Barbie and said “Please come to the Philippines to promote Mars!” I knew I was speaking so fast so I looked up at him and he was looking down at me (he is soooo tall!) and I knew he didn’t understand what I was saying! So I slowly said to him “Phi-li-ppine.... Zhan Shen!” I wanted to laugh out loud because after almost a year of Mandarin classes, that’s all I was able to say!! LOL! He nodded and said “Hao, hao, xie xie!” I almost died because I couldn’t believe I was able to hold his attention even for just a few minutes! Barbie then told me, “So you came all the way from the Philippines just to see him?” I said, “Yes.” Zai was smiling and then I told him, “A lot of your Filipino fans are waiting for you... It’s been more than a year since you last visited the Philippines.” He kept on nodding and smiling and saying “hao, xie xie.” I forgot the rest of what I told him. I just continued with my mumblings while he looked at me... This is the part where I knew he couldn’t understand what I was saying but it didn’t matter... I just hope that he felt the wishes of his Filipino fans who continue supporting him. After all my mumblings, I finally said my goodbyes to him and he and Barbie said “ba-bye.” Ah Juan thanked me, I don’t know why, hehe!
I returned to my position in the line and it felt so surreal... The guy at my back asked us who he is. We told him that he’s ZaiZai, an Asian superstar, a Taiwanese actor and singer and F4 member. He must be really amazed by the attention of the fans!
Flowersmile and Beijing JMs welcomed us outside the airport. They reserved a bus that would take us straight to the venue. No more hotel stops for us... We brought all our baggage inside the venue! We actually put our bags at the side of the stage! The meet & greet was very short, about half an hour only but I still enjoyed it. We were very close to the stage so instead of looking at the screen of my videocam, I just kept on staring at him! Here I am again with my staring habit, haha! I couldn’t really understand what is going on but Zai looks as if he enjoyed the event especially when the 2 kids came out and called him uncle. When the video presentation of Vicpower was being shown, he kept laughing when the kids sang “Make a Wish.”
After the meet & greet, we went to the hotel. We slept for less than 3 hours because we had to prepare for our next trip to Guangzhou. The next day (May 27 - Friday), we weren’t able to see him inside Beijing’s domestic terminal because we took a different airline. We were all so tired, lugging around our bags because we had to handcarry everything to save time.
When we arrived in Guangzhou, other HK JMs met us in the airport. We went straight to the hotel and then to the venue. We learned that Zai is staying in the same hotel but based from previous experience, I didn’t have any hopes of seeing him inside the hotel! The meet & greet lasted for about an hour. Same with what happened in Beijing, since I couldn’t understand the language, I kept on looking at him again! When the make-out scenes in Mars were being shown, Zai’s expression was priceless! He looked so embarrassed, hehe! It was a little uncomfortable because they also showed the rape scene. After screaming so loud for Ling, everyone kept quiet during Qi Luo’s scene.
When the meet & greet ended, we went to Kentex to buy stuffs. I bought so many socks to be able to get the Kentex organizer/notebook!
We again slept for less than 3 hours so that we could arrive early at the Guangzhou Airport. We were thinking that he would take either the 8:30 or 9:40 flight, but he took the 11:55 am flight! So we weren’t able to see him at the Guangzhou Airport because we took the 9:40 flight to Hong Kong. When we arrived in Hong Kong, we thought of so many strategies in order to see him! Finally, we were able to wait for him in his arrival gate. His flight was delayed for about half an hour. We walked beside him again. Everyone was really quiet although many fans were behind him! I wanted to say something but I just cherished that moment of walking beside him. It was very quick because he already has a boarding pass. When he entered the gate, we all waved at him and he smiled at us and waved back. At that point, this amazing trip has finally ended.
Looking back, I will never forget the experiences that I had in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong: waiting for ZaiZai and seeing him; meeting new friends from different places... I am looking forward to more adventures that are in store for us as a ZaiZai fan!