Written on:
02 dec 2006
29 dec 2006
30 dec 2006
08 jan 2007
Dear family & friends,
How are you? I hope all is well with you & that 2006 has been a fruitful year for you.
It has been 10 months since I wrote about what I’ve been up to. Some of you probably think I’m still in JB, some probably think I’m still teaching in a government secondary school, some probably think that I’m still unmarried.
So many things have happened.
Indeed, I’m still in JB, still teaching in a government secondary school & yes, I’m still single, though not available. =) Heheh!
But apart from that, so many things have happened. That’s probably 1 reason why I haven’t written earlier. There’s just too much to write about. There were also days when things became so mundane that there was nothing interesting to write about.
Caution: This is a long email. If you have no time to read, there’s a summary at the bottom.
Writing from a new laptop
Prior to writing this email, I tried to dig up my files in ‘My Documents’ to see what was the last thing I wrote to you about but I couldn’t find my old emails. Then, I remembered that that time I was still writing using my old Dell. Ever since that time, I’ve been using a new Dell, loaned to me by my school. I have an LCD projector too. Also from the school. For those of you who didn’t know, Science & Math teachers get a laptop & an LCD projector each so that technology is used in classroom teaching. I’m grateful for this privilege & I love my new (now not so new) toys. So classroom teaching is little more interesting for the students because of multimedia presentations that I use.
My rented room
After 2 months of searching, I finally moved into a lovely master bedroom in April. But the search wasn’t easy. There were so many contacts I made. I saw a few rooms, saw an apartment, got people to share with me but later they decided not to, decided on a certain room only to find out that the tenant promised another, etc, etc. And at the same time, the people whom I was staying with kept asking me if I’ve found another room.
I was really disappointed. I felt at that time that God had forgotten me & as I read Ps 145:14-21, my heart called out to God in desperation. When would He satisfy my desire for an affordable room at Prima Regency Apartments (a very secure & beautiful place with facilities)? But just as I was journaling after reading the passage, before I could even finish writing down how I felt, a lady rang me to say she’s got a room to rent. Talk about TIMING man!! The room is fully furnished, has an attached bathroom with heater, comes with entertainment & cooking facilities, & it’s very worth-it.
I’m glad I’m staying here. I’ve been playing tennis with a few of my boys. We even had our 4S1 class party at the BBQ area.
Church
As for church, I’ve settle down well in JB Baptist Church, a congregation of around 70-80 people. I love the people & fellowship there. It’s about 25 minutes from where I stay. I am with the young adults group, worship, DC & would be serving the youth next year. It’s a small church, so there’s a lot of avenues to serve.
Young Adults
The young adults group is 1 big reason why I chose this church. They’re warm, serious & passionate about serving God. I like the group because they’re accepting of one another, a great spiritual support. We usually meet at Pastor Jerry Boo’s house for bible study. All but two of them are also part of the worship ministry. They currently consist of:
Chew Foo - the leader & an engineer in Spore,
Mei Mei – his wife & a Mandarin teacher in Spore,
Mei Lin – a very friendly & welcoming person, teaches music,
Terry – big guy who’s been to GLO & is completing his IT studies in Spore (his fiancée is a Norwegian),
Moses – funny engineer, who always says the word “Coconut”, just got married to a Thai girl on 6/1/07,
Evelyn – another teacher, in a transition between 2 education institutions
Irene – ex-USMer, from Kluang, been with Kiwi for ages but desires for a change of workplace
Yu Pei – ex-USMer, very good friend of mine, attached to Orix Car Rentals, has a contagious laughter (Irene was woken up by her laughter before =) )
Scott – also ex-USMer, Pelangi Publications editor & engaged to the next person =)
And lastly, me…
DC
I’m also serving in the Children ministry. We call it Discoverer’s Club (DC) and not Sunday School because it’s held on a Saturday. I started with doing games & have just started teaching pre-school-ers. Good bunch of kids, to my surprise. They don’t run about or scream in class.
There was once when I was supposed to be observing. The teacher, Aunt Precy was searching for her materials in the office. The rest of us just sat down in the classroom. The kids were really silent. Sitting quietly on their little chairs. It was after 5 minutes that I realize, I better do something & not just sit down.
I thought, “Ok, game…game…I need a game…” And all the games I knew ran through my mind. Finally, I said, “Ok, boys & girls, let’s play a game! Put your hands on the table, facing up. When I say 1, 2, 3, you put your hands facing down (while showing them). When I say 1, 2, 3 again, you put them facing up again.”
It was really really fun. In the end, everyone was just laughing & laughing & laughing. =) Kids…so easy to amuse them.
School
School was both exciting & challenging at the same time. There was so much to learn. The new teachers didn’t have any briefing. We walked into school & things got dumped onto us or we get pushed around because we were new & I guess, bully-able.
As a few of you already know, for the 1st half of 2006, I was teaching Form 4 Chemistry & English & Form 3 Physical Education. After the May/June school holidays, I was asked to teach Form 3 Science, instead of English & PE. Chemistry remained.
That was the time when I felt like giving up on the school. That was the time when I had to drag my feet to school. I felt I was just beginning to see progress & improvement with the students, but had to surrender my class over to another teacher. Of course, if you ask me now, I’m more than happy to have given away my English classes. Science is much easier to teach & mark, as compared to English.
In teaching, I learnt that the current generation is unable to understand the lesson if they are only asked to look at static teaching aids & listen to explanations. They are so different from students of my time. Maybe that’s why we call them the MTV generation – short attention span.
I learnt that however many times I repeat the same topic, the students will soon forget the next day (unless they revise). So, I go through once & get them to do exercises. It’s still a challenge to get lazy students to finish their work. I have to stand in front of them & wait for them to copy something from the board, even something as easy as the date.
I learnt that many students give up because they have not been pushed to try, because they have lost all hope in themselves…sometimes because teachers lose hope in them. I learnt (only recently) that if my students don’t improve, it is my fault, not theirs, no matter how lazy they are. I can’t just say, “Fine! You don’t want to study, that’s your problem. You deal with the consequences.” This is a tough pill to swallow, yet true.
Last year, I started the school Christian Fellowship, not a registered group, but with the knowledge of the principal. I was a little afraid about starting something new in school at first (I am the only Christian teacher in school), but God really orchestrated everything & I just couldn’t ignore the timing & prompting. About 6-8 Christians/nominal Christians & Roman Catholics come regularly. We have been going through the basics of the gospel & everyday how-to’s, like peer pressure. The students are very interested & it’s a joy to teach them. We hope to have more students this year.
When we were learning about the death & resurrection of Jesus, I felt led by God to lead the students in the sinner’s prayer. Praise God, 3 students received Christ that day. We’ve had 2 makans after that day & it’s great to see my students bringing their friends.
After much persuasion from a group of girls, I started the school choir in the middle of the year. About 10 boys & girls. They presented during the national day celebrations. They tried really hard & sang well, but the PA system didn’t really help.
The teachers of SMK Taman Molek are very friendly. We’re quite close. Many are hardworking. There are a few bad ones. Some of those I’m closer to:
Kavita – as new as me, teaches Sastera Melayu, we chat a lot about her family.
Loh – used to be an accountant, I learn a lot of financial, investment, school stuff from her, one of my ‘kaki kantin’.
Cynthia, Kogula, Mangala, Pari, Saras – my other ‘kaki kantin’s.
Wahidah – my Science panel head, she once took me to a very huge buka puasa bazaar.
Ong – school media teacher, experienced & hardworking, very open to Christianity, bought many books & a bible from Doulos.
JB Life
The food is still not as good as Ipoh & Penang food… I used to say the best food in JB is the fast food. Sorry, JB people. But now I’ve found a number of good food here. 1 of it is the Johor Jaya roadside nasi lemak with fried chicken. WHOA!!! So yummy!!
Apart from eating out, I’ve been cooking quite a number of times a week – western & chinese dishes – thanks to my genetics (my 4 grandparents opened coffee shops, my mum is an excellent cook, and my dad makes delicious desserts), mum’s recipes & Kg Simee’s ready-made pastes. Wanna know how my cooking tastes like? Ask my JB guinea pigs. =)
My mandarin is improving! =) I can hold a fully-Mandarin conversation with a kid. Soon I’d be able to converse with adults.
I check email at a nearby cyber café only once a week. The cyber café is full of kids who play computer games & scream at one another. Many of whom are kids from my school.
I stay 5 minutes from my school. It used to be 10 minutes. I just found a short-cut 2 days ago. Haha! The thing about staying so near my school is that everywhere I go, I see my students.
At the car wash:
He: “Cikgu!”
Me: “Eh, hi! Kerja masa cuti ya?”
He: “Ya, kedai abang saudara saya.”
Me: “Kamu Mustafa kan?” *happy that I remembered his name*
At a restaurant:
*girl smiles*
Me thinking: Oh o…I don’t recognize, but must be from school.
Me: Hi! Are you from Molek school?
She: Ya. Teacher, you don’t recognize me ah?
Me: What class are you from?
She: 3A1
Me: Oh, I taught you once during the PMR extra class right?
She: Yah.
Me: Wah, hardworking ah…work during holidays?
At another restaurant:
SMS to me: Wah, teacher…eating with your boyfriend ah? Can I join? =)
SMS from me: Can…come lah…
SMS to me: Dun wan lah. Shy.
At school:
He: Semalam cikgu pergi Jusco kan?
Me: Macam mana kau tau?
He: Aku kat situ, nampak cikgu dengan pak wa.
After awhile…
A group of students: Cikgu, bawa saya ke Jusco… Cikgu, bawa saya ke Giant… Cikgu, saya nak pergi pasar borong Pandan…
There were many more incidences.
Trips around Spore & Johor
Spore:
Night Safari, Boat Quay, Sentosa, Esplanade (to watch the Forbidden City – excellent performance), Asian Civilisations Museum, Marina Bay, City Hall, Chinatown, around touristy places on a topless Hippo bus, New Year fireworks at Marina Bay, etc.
JB:
Pasir Gudang kite museum, Kota Tinggi (there’s a groovy resort here, amidst misty forest), Desaru, Kluang (I finally tasted the much-acclaimed railway coffee & toast bread!), Kukup, Danga Bay (each time a visitor comes to JB, been here more times than my JB friends), Hutan Bandar (yet to check-out the Fri nite jazz sessions), Mersing (school camp – it was here that I had my first flying fox, abseiling & trekking in mangrove experience), Sedili (school teachers’ stay-over), etc.
Friends from elsewhere
Next up is the list of friends who have visited me in JB or whom I met while they were here for other purposes: =)
Mum & Dad, Kim Cheng, David & Lian Chui, Yu Pei, Yen Ling, Pooi Hwa, Paul from US, Yan Yi, Jaime, Sze Leng, Herbert, Chu Phing, Tze Woei…
Apologies to those that I’ve accidentally left out.
When I first came here, none of my friends were here. Now, Angeline has joined the JB workforce. Then, came Scott. Then, Pat. More recently, Yu Pei, Fei Chieh and Tze Woei have come.
Weddings
Last year has been a year of ‘samans’. =) Congratulations to so many of you who got married last year.
Adrian & Ei Lynn
Allan & Stacey
Howie & Soo
Yaw Eng & Sook Yee
Kee Sitt & Sharon
Lim & Liza
Peter & Adeline
Hou Yuen & Phooi Kuan
Choong & Michelle
More to come this year.
Other news
My grandma, the one who stays with my family in Ipoh, had a stroke in May. It affected her right side & speech. She’s slowly recovering but is often depressed. Please pray for her healing & that she relationship with God would be renewed. Pray also for my parents & maids who are taking care of her.
Brought my ex-coursemates, Teorene & Addrienne for a makan tour in Ipoh & Penang during the May-June holiday. We ate & enjoyed ourselves SO much. Managed to catch up with 2 other ex-coursemates in Penang too.
The much awaited Fraser’s Hill trip with family in December. Refreshing to catch up with my extended family, play with little cousins & eat the acclaimed Taiko holiday bungalow food. Scott joined us on this trip too.
SUMMARY
Settled well in JB. God has blessed me with place to stay, food, friends, church, a relationship with Scott, nice teachers, good & challenging students, opportunity to learn mandarin, and trips around JB & Singapore. Life in school has been full of ups & downs but worth it.
2006 has been a fruitful year. 2007 will be a busier year but I’m sure it’ll be more exciting than 2006 & I’m looking forward to see what God has in store. Pray for me that my zeal would not run out.
A very blessed new year to you too! Take care & God bless!
