JB - Part 2

Written on 13/1/06

It has been raining everyday the past week - almost non-stop. Except today. Sun shining brightly now. =)

Still no real teaching this week. Mon & Tue were holidays. So, I only went to school 3 days this week.

On Tue, I went to Kulai (about 40minutes drive from JB) to visit my grandaunt, my grandma’s elder sister. Went there with my aunt, Celine, & 2 cousins, Philip & Victor. This new found family of mine has been very warm. I enjoy the fellowship. We went for lunch. Met another aunt (Yin) & her husband too. Lunch was good! Home-cooked Hainanese food. Hadn’t had for some time already. Heheh…

I thank God for the Tan family, as well as for family & friends who have been keeping in touch with me (calls, emails & smses).

I still have not got my timetable. Out of the 3 days I went to school, 2 days were days where the only thing I did was be a relief teacher for absent teachers. So, I went into class, made sure students were quietly doing their own work, & prepared for my Eng & Bio lessons. Man…working life can be boring… for now… Heheh ;> Good also lah. Gives me some time to settle down, adjust & prepare for lessons.

Wednesday was the day I met the teacher who didn’t like sharing her table with others (the one I told you about in JB-Part 1). I decided in my heart to meet her cos I thought I better make amends. I thought it wasn’t good to have personal issues with colleagues, cos I know, in the future, there may be a possibility that we have to work together. So, I went to her & apologized that I had used her table. She was alright with it, smiled & apologized too. =)

Yesterday, admin work began to pile. I have taken over a form teacher’s job because she is on maternity leave. So, I have to fill in registers, take attendance, get particulars, collect fees, etc. Not difficult.

Also, another teacher asked me to help her print some Form 5 English syllabus yesterday. “Since you have nothing to do,” she said. I was like, “Can-lah”, since it’s just printing. I later realized why she needed help for such a simple job. You see, there are only 2 computers in the teachers’ room. There are more than a 100 teachers. Imagine the queue. That is bearable. But imagine a printer that prints 1 page in 3 minutes (ours is a pinwriter). I had to print 15 pages (initially about 60). Imagine 15X3=45minutes! I had to stay back in school to do work which is not my own. I don’t understand why the school can’t invest in a cheap bublejet.

I hear from my cousin that a student in my school (Yvonne) is thinking of starting a Christian Fellowship. I have not met Yvonne & I don’t know if the school would allow it. Pray with me, as I seek out Yvonne & other Christian students & teachers, & find out the possibility of starting a CF.

Last Sunday, I went to Aunt Celine’s church, Full Gospel Church (FGC), a lively, active & warm charismatic church. Attended the bilingual (Chinese/Eng) service. I should be going there for a few more weeks, then see if there are other churches that I could visit. Today, I would be going for CG at Aunt Celine’s house. Been also having warm fellowship with a few members of the church who operate a café at my apartment.

Other times, I eat out & do my own cooking. Basic stuff only lah...

Can’t wait to see David & Lian Chui this weekend – familiar faces, friends I’ve known before coming to JB. They’re coming over to visit a few campuses. They’ll be the first two friends-I’ve-known-before-JB who’d be here to have a meal with me. =) Anyone else planning a trip here? I’m quite ok with the roads here already. So, can bring you around. =)

Will be looking at a few apartments this weekend. Continue to pray for a cheap apartment & good housemates.

Summary
I am still adjusting to JB. Still looking for apartment & housemates.
No timetable yet, so no teaching yet.
Went to Kulai to visit grandaunt & Full Gospel Church – good food, warm fellowship.
Possibility of starting a CF in school.

Housemate wanted

Btw, I'm looking for a housemate. 3-room apartment in Tmn Molek, JB. Around RM250-300. Please pass the word around. Email me at anneleongchuai@yahoo.com. Thanks!

JB - Part 1

The word for the week is “totally overwhelmed”. =) Good or bad? You think? =)


For those of you who don’t have time to read through, there is a summary at the bottom of this email for you. =)


Monday – a day of sitting in the car
Arrived in JB, together with my parents, after a 7-hour drive. Met Aunt Celine & Uncle Tan at their house. Then went to look around at a few apartments & a house, as well as routes to school & vicinity. Since I was tired, none of the routes registered in my long-term memory. By the next day, I had forgotten most of the routes. =)


The big decision to make was where to stay – nice furnished apartment with swimming pool, tennis, gym, etc facilities, but only temporary till I find another apartment, or empty apartment with the same facilities but will have to look for housemates, or furnished room in a not so nice family bungalow. What would you have decided? =)


Tuesday – a day of listening to briefings & driving around
Went to Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar (or better known as English College) for a briefing for new JB teachers. Basic stuff like how many teachers sent to JB, what kind of teachers we need to be, how to interact with the kids, blah blah. =) After that, reported to SMK Tmn Molek, together with the other new teachers. There are 8 of us. After dinner, we went to see another house & did more driving around Aunt Celine’s house, school & city. I was still very blur & tired from all the traveling, adjusting to new city & language & people.


Wednesday – a chaotic day at school
The school had not decided whether I’d be in the morning or afternoon session. I went to school for a finance briefing, then was given a temporary timetable to teach BM & History Form 2 & told to go to class immediately. How do you think I felt? It was very ‘kelam kabut’. The last time I touched BM & History was 5 years ago! I had to quickly get the text books, find out where the classes were & find out what should be done. And I was very very nervous! I was like “I don’t want to go into class! No! I don’t want! Not today!” Hahah! =)


There was no briefing from the school management for the new teachers. We were a bunch of lost teachers! =) I guess they were also busy with the enrolment of the new Peralihan & Form 1 students, orientation, registration, fees, etc. The school was really chaotic! Different teachers were saying different things. Teachers were going into class & doing nothing, though the afternoon supervisor said that teaching & learning should already begin. Students too, looked very bored with school already.


In the end, I just went into the class (only 1 class that day), introduced myself & asked them to introduce themselves, told the students what books to prepare & asked them to talk about their holiday experience & write about it. I felt that their level of BM isn’t that good, though most of them are Malays. Some of them can’t even write a proper sentence. My Chinese students kept talking to me in Mandarin. It was a good thing that it was a BM lesson. I told them we have to speak in BM during BM lessons. =)


By 6.45pm, I was glad school was over. =)


Thursday – a day of names & a temporary room
Went into 4 classes today. Did a run-through of names again. Average about 35 in a class. So 35X4=140 names to remember!!! Crazy! Plus Wednesday’s 35, grand total=175! Was also told that I will be teaching Form 4 Biology & English – morning session. It was 1 great news of the day! =) You see, this school has a huge surplus of science teachers. So, 90% of the teachers I asked were not teaching what they majored in.


Besides that, I was asked to shift to another table because the morning teacher did not like to share her table with others. WHAT?? And she did not tell me directly. She told another teacher to tell me. Whoa! The table belongs to the government lah! I did not even touch her things. She, on the other hand, took all my books from her table & placed them at another. Goodness!


On another note, I moved into the temporary room at Tmn Molek (the one with facilities) & decided to look for another apartment & housemates in the same area. Finding an empty apartment is easy but looking for housemates is a different matter. All the teachers have a place to stay already & most are not willing to pay RM250 for a room (they are currently paying about RM 120 for a shared room).

Friday – another chaotic day at school
Most afternoon teachers are new teachers. So, they didn’t really know much. At the same time, there was a change in the timing of class periods. Then there were teachers who said first 3 periods belonged to class teachers, others said no. Coupled with the fact that there were no briefings. Result: Old teachers blur. New teachers lagi blur. Students lagi lagi blur. Final result: school became very chaotic.


There are things that I still cannot agree with. How students are made to line up & walk in double file while going home & how they are punished for not doing that. Apalah! Go home also must have rules. Another thing is how students are shouted at, how the cane is whacked on the blackboard to create a loud sound, how they are imposed with fear, when teachers need them to obey & do something. The students literally live in fear. Not only do I not agree with that, I am angry at the level of fear that is imposed upon the students. Students should be taught to do things because they want to, because they are asked to, not so that they won’t be caned or so that they won’t be thrown out of school. I just cannot agree. Sigh. And btw, I’ve never seen the Principal or Afternoon Supervisor smile.


Summary
It has been an overwhelming week. Traveling to JB for the 1st time, finding accommodation, teaching subjects I’ve never majored in, settling down in a new environment - people, places, language (majority speak Mandarin here), settling down in school – system, teachers, students, finding food & places to buy stuff, being in a very ‘Singaporean’ (talks abt ppl who travel everyday to work/study in Spore, Spore tv & radio channels, etc), etc etc…


I guess it’ll take a bit of time before I really settle down. Yesterday I read in Ps 103:5 that God is one who satisfies our desires with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagles. =) So, pray for me that I’ll be able to quickly settle down & really begin educating, that I’ll learn to love my students, colleagues & school. Pray that I’ll be able to find a good apartment & good housemates. Pray that I’ll be able to pick up Mandarin quickly. Before I got my posting letter, I was praying that God would not send me to a Chinese school. I’m glad God answered yes to that prayer, but at the same time, He has put me in a Chinese/Mandarin environment. I wonder what He has in mind. =)

Ending notes
Holiday from today til Tue. Yay! But too bad passport is in Ipoh. =)
Am in a cyber cafe now (after looking for 1, in the last hour). Am freezing to death & the sound of pc games is very deafening!

New Year Jottings

A blessed new year to the readers of this blog! (Not that there are many lah... =) )

2005 was a year of transition for me, a year of adjustment from life in USM, Penang & with friends, to a life at home in Ipoh, with family & my home church.

The year started a bit gloomy because of the tsunami. It was also because of 'retirement' from PKA exco & later, saying goodbyes to Penang, friends and the university experience (though I was ready to move on). Followed by the uncertainty of time & place of posting.

Then it was a taste of the real world at Vicinity, the magazine production company, where I learnt skills that I would not have learnt if I had gone straight into teaching. I also learnt about life - commitments, expectations, communication, ethics, etc.

2005 was also a year where I travelled a lot. Penang, Australia, Indonesia, within Perak, Kelantan, KL, Genting...

It was a year where I experienced many new things - international & national conferences, people of different nationalities & languages, surfing, body boarding, driving on trunk roads between towns & observing the rich kampung lifestyle & local heritage, Kelantanese culture, National Day celebrations, being tour guide to friends who visited Ipoh & KL, helping out at national conference, etc.

Through 2005, God's providence & protection was upon me. I thank Him for the rich experience of 2005, not a wasted year of waiting, but a year of learning, preparation & adjusting.

2006 will be very different from 2005. New city, new church, new relatives, new friends, new responsibilities, new job, new experiences... I'm moving into 2006 with lots of excitement & enthusiasm, knowing that God has already gone before me to prepare the way, knowing that God is on my side & will 'fight' for me (only that I must be obedient & courageous). I just know that I can trust God because He is good & dependable. I used to have moments of doubt about whether God is real, but now, I just don't, because God has been so real.

This year, my prayer is that I will experience God even more. That it'll be a year where I will learn to KNOW God, not just His names & what He is capable of doing, but that I will KNOW Him personally in my experience with Him, to know His heartbeat & desires. My prayer is that I would be willing, to give my life to God, to be used by Him, so that my life would be an extraordinary one (because it'll be one that is lived in Him) & that it'll be one that points to God. My prayer is that I will love my students & colleagues, & give my best in everything I do. So, help me God.

Below is a song that I just learnt today. It is also my prayer. Thy kingdom come, O LORD, on earth as it is in heaven.

RESTORE, O LORD
Graham Kendrik/Chris Rolinson)

Restore, O Lord
The honour of Your name
In works of sov'reign power
Come shake the earth again
That men may see
And come with rev'rent fear
To the living God
Whose kingdom
Shall outlast the years

Restore, O Lord
In all the earth Your fame
And in our time revive
The church tht bears Your name
And in Your anger
Lord, remember mercy
O living God
Whose mercy
Shall outlast the years

Bend us, O Lord
Where we are hard and cold
In Your refiner's fire
Come purify the gold
Though suffering comes
And evil crouches near
Still our living God
Is reigning
He is reigning here