SOS - ISSUE 2 - PAGE 8

January 28th of 2001, what an exciting date-it was the first outing of the new millennium for our English Tao class. This was the first time we met outside of the usual classroom setting. I had been looking forward to it because Peter had been telling me how beautiful our destination was.

I could still recall that the day before our outing was raining hard. Though the morning sky of our big day didn't seem too promising, the rain had stopped, at least. On our way to Kuang Ming Saint Tao Temple, my sister, Alice, and I couldn't stop wondering how well the outing would turn out. To our surprise, many people showed up. Everyone's face was glowing with enthusiasm. It seemed like everyone was just about as excited as I was. We were all ready to experience the beautiful waterfall that Peter had been advertising.

January 28th of 2001, what an exciting date-it was the first outing of the new millennium for our English Tao class. This was the first time we met outside of the usual classroom setting. I had been looking forward to it because Peter had been telling me how beautiful our destination was. I could still recall that the day before our outing was raining hard. Though the morning sky of our big day didn't seem too promising, the rain had stopped, at least. On our way to Kuang Ming Saint Tao Temple, my sister, Alice, and I couldn't stop wondering how well the outing would turn out. To our surprise, many people showed up. Everyone's face was glowing with enthusiasm. It seemed like everyone was just about as excited as I was. We were all ready to experience the beautiful waterfall that Peter had been advertising.

Unfortunately, our enthusiasm was almost destroyed after we saw the sign of "closed road" on the way to our destination. I said "almost" because Peter immediately came up with an alternative plan. Way to go, Peter! So where was this plan B? It was the hiking trail in the Angles Forest behind JPL. The gang looked happy again. At first, the scenery along the trail wasn't very impressive. In spite of that, I was in an incredibly good mood because of the presence of two cute little angels-the kids of Kama and Dennis. They were such a joy to look at! With the wonderful presence of the two little angels, we hiked further into the Angles Forest. As we advanced, the surrounding began to change. More and more plants began to mark their presence along the way. Though most of them were withering and barren, they were still amazing to look at. They still bore the beauty of the Mother Nature. As we examined closer, it wasn't hard to spot the sign of spring since new leaves had sprouted out already. Further down the trail, the air had become much fresher. As for the glooming sky, it also had been clear up. I found myself more and more relaxed. Along the way, I could hear birds chirping here and there. Strangely enough, I couldn't catch any sign of any bird at all. They were probably trying to hide from us (don't worry, birds; we are vegetarians!).