June 3, 2007

Hi Ernie:

Here are 2 photos taken yesterday with James Lai who had been lost contact more than 40 years. I saw in your past diary James was one of the good friends with you in school time.


Did you also lose contact? His email address is: Jameslai@peoplepc.com. He will return to Indiana USA on 8th this month.

Another photos are taken at your old house location, Is one of the 2 low buildings your old house?




I am now organizing the old photos before sending you to enrich the Yuetwah.blogspot.com.

Keith

June 4, 2007

Hi Victor
Wow. I'm glad you found James Lai. We spent a lot of time hanging out together back in those days. I mention him a lot in my diary. I will write to him. Several old boys are in the United States now

Peter and Paul are coming to San Francisco next week. I will be in Lake Tahoe with friends but will try to see if I can come back earlier so I can see them in SF. I'd really like to see them again. I can still recognize Paul from the recent photos you all sent
He hasn't changed that much. I didn't see any photos of Peter...or I may have missed him

Thanks for the additional photos
I recognize some people but not everyone

I didn't realize how much we all got together after school each day until I started typing out my diary and posting them
http://yuetwah.blogspot.com/
I don't know if anyone will find them interesting to read... but it's really been fun for me to read and recall things that I had totally forgotten after so many years.. (I omitted a lot of personal information that only I would be interested in and tried to include any references to our classmates or Yuet Wah)

Thanks again for sending James Lai's email address. I've added it to the growing list

Ernie

June 5, 2007

Hi Harbhajan Singh

How are you after all these years?

I have been meaning to write to you since seeing your photo with the rest of the group

I thought I'd write to say "hello" and to find out what you have been doing all these years.

I had forgotten many names and face at Yuet Wah over the years. But I never forgot you. You were a very colorful figure in my past and I remember how playful you always were. In particular I remember you and your turban. What happened to it???I expected to see you in the photograph you recently took at that Chinese restaurant wearing a turban but was surprised to see you with your white hair. I don't think I ever saw your hair before. I used to call you "Habang" in my diary because I could never remember the spelling of your name. Of course you must be related to the famous Indian Cricket player who adopted your name, right???

After Yuet Wah college Frank and I returned to the United States by ourselves. I was 16 going on 17 at the time. Frank went to San Jose State and majored in Engineering. He still lives in that area today.

I went to Saint Joseph High School in Saint Joseph , Michigan. (I stayed with a friend) This was in 1963.

It was tough getting used to going to school with boys AND GIRLS. Back when we were in Yuet Wah I don't think I hardly ever talked to a girl (not like Johnny Alveres..who was always a ladies man). Plus it was very cold in the winter

During that year I met some kids from a local Baptist Church and became very active in Church activities.

I graduated from High School (now I have two high school diplomas) the following year 1964 and enrolled in Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana.

I later changed to Ft Wayne Bible College in Ft. Wayne from 1965-1968. , Indiana (now Taylor College). and thought that I become a Christian minister.

But those were turbulent years...The blacks were demanding equal rights... the war in Vietnam , the draft, hippies and drugs By the end of my senior year in Bible college I knew I didn't want to become a Christian minister.

So I applied to the Peace Corps and was sent to Thailand.

I started off as an English teacher and later worked with several other Volunteers making television shows (sort of like Sesame Street) for children.
Some Photos from those days
Funny thing is ...I never learned to speak Chinese but I ended up learning to speak Thai. I remember you were fluent in Cantonese. Do you still remember it?

The rest of my history is here at a website I started for the members of our Peace Corps group

My Biography

So now you must tell me "What have you been doing all these years since I last saw you in l963 at Yuet Wah College. It should take you too long to tell me because it was ONLY 44 YEARS AGO.

I notice that you went to Thailand recently. What were you doing there? We visit Thailand often because my wife's family lives there.

I also notice that you live in the US now.

So please tell me about your life after Yuet Wah and what you are doing today.

So good to be found by Victor after all these years and to see everyone's family photos.

If you have a family photo, please send it to me and I will add it to our growing collection

Your old friend

Ernie Geefay

May 30, 2007

Hi Frank:

Thanks to new technology so that we can connect each other all over the world after more than 40 years.

Firstly I must clarify my identity and the names of our old classmates which were not used during our Yuet Wah age.

Keith Leung was an English name I adopted when I emigrated to Vancouver, Canada 20 years
ago, my student's name was Leung Shing Kay. I am now staying in HK but still maintaining a
family in Vancouver.
Stephen Lo's student name was Lo Wing Yiu who is the Chief Officer of the Continental Airlines
of South East Asia. His family is in Tai-Wan but works in HK.
Philip Cheng is Cheng Koon Sum in student time who changed to St. John College since
Form IV.
David Leung's student name was Leung Shu Kong who has emigrated to Vancouver in the
same year as I did and is living there now.
Rosaliayeong's e-mail address is Yeung Tak Hing (Christen Name Benedict) wife's contact
email. (The Captain)
Edmund Lau is Lau Yat Man in student age who is working in New Jerrsey.
Cheung Kung Leung transfered to a HK college since Form III who is a sucessfully garments
manufacturer. You may not know him.

The names of the 1st attached classmates photo are as follows:

Start from Last Row L-R:

Lo Wing Yiu , Cheung Kwai Sun, Lai Wing Lok, Chan Sek Fai, Lai Yick Choi, Victor Kwan.
Cheng Koon Chue, Ho Chi Kwan, Lee Chung Yuen, Leung Shu Kong, Frank Geefay, Paul Chiu
Cheang Kok Chong, Lau Yat Man, Leung Shing Kay, Lee Wing Sun, Ng Wing Chiu, John ???
Chiu Sin Wai, Chiu Shung Chou, Wong Shiu Kwan, E. Geefay, Ho Chen Lam, Wong Kam Tin
Ho Yiu Man (passed away),Yeung Tak Hing, Fr. Cotta, Fr. Rubini, Cheung Shu, Mak Yiu Huen.

The 2nd photo was taken 2 weeks ago when Habhajan visited HK who is living in CT, USA

Were the photos attached in your e-mail taken some years before when you visited Yuet Wah with your Eldest Daughter? I can recognise your face which changed a little bit from student to a handsome young man. But Ernie changed completely, I can't chase any sign from his baby face as a student.

As some of our old classmates suggested, I agree to set up a web-site or web-blog so that we can up-load our precious old or recent photos, events and chat with each other. I suggest to use our Club's Name: Great Bear II as our blog's or web's name. I think Ernie is an expert of setting up this web. I do appreciate Ernie's student diaries which bring us back to 44-46 years ago. Thanks Ernie.

This time I started a new topic because some e-mail addresses has been added or changed: Victor Kuan wants to communicate at the first instant in his office; the e-mail address of Ho Chi Kwan was missed before who is retired in Tai-Wan now


Keith Leung

June 11, 2007

Hi Peter and Paul,

It was so great to meet both of you in San Francisco this Saturday (see photo attached-shows too much of my gray hair). Now that I have met and seen both of you I do remember Paul. I think you were the one who had that cool looking hair style that would have appealed to the girls. I took a look at the 1963 class photo again and saw that you were standing to my immediate left. What a coincident that I would meet you almost a half century later to take another photo this time with you on my right and all a few years older. I don't remember Peter probably because you were one form behind me most of the time because of Mr. Wong (I'll let you tell that story). I don't think I hung out with either of you very much because I was somewhat of a square and by the standards of that time you two were quite the 'rebels without a cause'. It was good hearing those stories about the prank played on Mr. Wong, etc. Too bad I didn't know you both better or I'm sure we could have shared some more interesting stories. My life then was not near as exciting as yours.

I still remember all those strict fathers and teachers. I especially remember Mr. Tzau (can't remember how to spell his name) our Form 5-6 English teacher from the American West Point Army academy. Ran our classroom like an army academy. He seemed to scold us more than teach and talk a lot about West Point and America. But he was as gentle and kind as a kitten outside the classroom. He seemed to be very impressed with Marilyn Monroe as I recall. I also remember a Portuguese English teacher in Form 3 by the name of Mr. Vitalis or maybe I am mixing him with the other English Portuguese teacher, who loved to listen to his Victor Borge record over an over again. He turned me into a Victor Borge fan and I've been listened to his comedy performances ever since until he recently passed away. I remember visiting the Portuguese teachers who lived in some kind of community housing for Portuguese bachelors I think. The more I think about those days long ago the more I begin to remember. The nostalgia of these reminiscences makes me feel a little younger. Maybe someone has a list of all the teacher we had from 1961-1963 in Form 3-5 that they could share with us so that I can refresh my memory. I have a pressing need to feel younger as I not so gracefully age.

It is good to know that both of you are doing so well in spite of Yuet Wah. You have a cool uncle with a very liberal and healthy sense of humor showing us that very funny picture of himself 50 years ago. And your mother looks so young for a person of almost 90. Hope to keep in touch. I may stop by if I come down to the LA area or over to Hong Kong. Take care both of you and thanks for the delicious dim sum lunch. Hope you both get to see Ernie. His memory is much sharper than mine and he can probably share far more stories than I, especially with the help of his high school diary. What a treasure the diary and all those photos have been.

Best Regards,
Frank

June 21, 2007

Hi! Ernie & Frank

I just uploaded a few photos of 1962, some are taken from your home.

Keith

July 10, 2007

Ernie & Frank

I think you are eager to see Father Rubini. Here he comes, we were celebration his 88 years Birthday on July 8.

The other 94 years old Father (I don't know his English Name) who was and is in charge of the Church can be seen in our Re-union 2007 pictures. He was holding a white can of charcoal candy for us to eat.

Keith