Ice Age

Singapore's weather has been acting up of late. Regardless of night or day, my air-con remote control tells me the surroundings is 27 degrees! Brrrr.... I thought I would only shiver after a shower in temperate countries, but it is happening now in Singapore. Do hope the weather turns slightly warmer as time goes by. Maybe I have been telling too many cold jokes...

不知怎么的，我国最近的天气变得较冷。无论黑夜或白昼，温度计总是显示27摄氏度。我原以为只有在温带国家洗澡后才会发颤，如今在新加坡也是如此。希望天气会变得暖和些。难道是我的冷笑话在作怪？

Mirror Mirror in My Hand

今天没收了一名学生的镜子。是的，这个年代的女生喜欢带镜子上学，然后拼命照自己。要是在休息节，或还没上课之前那到也无所谓。这名女生选择在两次的警告之后继续照手中的镜子。为了提醒她我的存在，我坚持没收她的镜子。面子已经给足，她既然不要，那就别怪我不客气。要别人尊敬自己，首先必须先尊重自己。要知道，面子是别人给的，却是自己丢的。

在我眼里，无论是快捷班、普通学术还是普通工艺班，他们都是我的学生。因为只有懒惰和没有礼貌的学生，没有所谓的烂学生。只要学生肯学，我一定会尽力教他们。只怕学生没有心读，到毕业前成绩还是一样差，那神仙也帮不了他们了……

相信我的中二年级已经知道，我要凶，绝对不是难事。我只是觉得没有必要每天骂人，让大家都没有心情学习，又何必呢？只要学生在上课时注意听课，该发表意见的时候轮流说话，不要喊来喊去，功课好好做，准时交，就没问题了。

I confiscated a student's handheld mirror today. Yeap, female students nowadays are very conscious of their looks and keep admiring themselves in the mirror, even in class. Had it been during recess or before the lesson proper, I would have no problems. The very fact that she ignored 2 verbal warnings was enough reason for me to take a firm stand. If she wanted people to respect her, she had to show respect to herself and others first.

Some students may not know, but it doesn't matter which stream the students come from. This is because regardless of Express, Normal Academic or Normal Technical, they are all my students. I firmly believe that there are no poor students, only lazy or rude students. As long as the students are willing to learn, I will try my best to teach all that I know. My only fear is that students ignore their lessons now, only to suffer later when they are about to graduate...

I believe my Sec 2 Faculty should have known by now that I can be terrible when furious. However, it is not my wish to keep getting angry. I prefer students to behave themselves so that both teachers and students can enjoy a fun and meaningful lesson together. Most teachers have very basic requirements: students pay attention in class, talk properly when spoken to and submit their work punctually.

It is snowing where my heart is...

心里有个结，始终不能打开。
虽然我在去年就已经为华乐管委做好心理准备，今年必须过了七月的音乐晚会才完全卸任，但我得到的反应都是不愿意，甚至不满。当然，他们关心学业，我是应该感到开心。我只是在想学生的热忱似乎有减无增。若要比较，在2003年或之前的团员到了中秋（阳历9月）还得表演。现在的毕业班一旦过了4月就将熟悉的华乐抛之脑后。是归属感不够，还是命太好？
心里肯定会不好受，因为辛辛苦苦栽培了4年，竟然说走就走，有些可能以后再也和华乐毫无瓜葛。难道华乐在他们心目中根本没有一席之地？是我们没有好好培养他们欣赏华乐，还是这一代本来就是如此薄情？和同事谈及此事，大家只有互相叹气摇头。试问我们到底哪里做得不够？

Songs, songs, and more songs!

As presented in my earlier enties, I have been to 2 trips at the end of 2006, and on both trips, I was made to sing in the coach. Although I am not a superstar, I do have songs which I love to sing. The only problem is that I cannot remember the lyrics to most of the songs I can sing, and that I will go out of tune at times. Well, should I ever be called upon to sing, I do hope students can take note of the songs I like to sing:

1) 《广岛之恋》（莫文蔚，张洪量）(I appreciate if someone can send me the MTV of this song)
2) 孤单的夜里我不孤单（陈伟联）
3) 遍体鳞伤（古皓）(MTV anyone?)
4) 心事谁人知（福建歌，张惠妹演唱会版本）
5) 《爱江山更爱美人》（李丽芬）(MTV anyone?)

I have also noted that I actually prefer songs in the middle octave (not too high, not too low) and those that will require me to "pull" my vocal cords (i.e. 张惠妹，动力火车 songs which usually let the singers "yell"). I guess its kinda theraputic to sing those songs and let out all your frustrations and stress and makes you feel better. The catch is I will need to warm up my vocal cords by singing other non-challenging songs at medicore level before attempting the challenging songs. Also, I will have to rest my vocal cords every now and then as prolong singing of such songs will just make me lose my voice. Actually, I do not have any particular favourite singer, but since there are more female singers out there, I do tend to prefer songs from female singers.

In mid-December 2006, when I was finally enjoying my holidays, I had the chance to go KBox for a singing session with a friend. Since my friend was reluctant to sing, I had the mic to myself for the full 2.5 hours that we were there. It was the first time I could try singing all the songs I wanted, and I had to choose songs while still singing. (Yeah, I am still very amazed at how I was able to multi-task!) In the end, I estimated I sang at least 40 over songs non-stop within a span of 2.5 hours! I was able to sing a large variety of songs from 80s, 90s and songs after 2000, from fast tempos to slow ballads. Also, with the help of the original singer, I can confidently try all the songs I have never sung before. I guess I sing better with the original singer's voice as a guide and without a lot of pressure from onlookers bah. When my 4E1 of 2004 invited me to a chalet on 26th Dec, I was so tempted to join them for a karoke session on 27th, but I had to give it a miss due to meetings.

Now that so many teachers are burdened with work after the term has started, I believe its time for us to go for another singing session soon. Eagerly looking forward to the next chance to sing again, (without being recorded!)

Reflection on Sarawak Trip

Having completed the Sarawak Trip successfully, I felt there were some key points worth noting. We had managed to achieved our objectives and I believed our orchestra members gained valuable experience from the trip as well:

1) We had helped to raise funds for the local Children's Cancer Association through the sales of the proceeds. The students get to complete many hours of CIP by putting up a Chinese Orchestra performance.

2) Students gained valuable experience. For members new to performing, they have a first hand experience of what it feels like to perform in a public venue in front of so many people. Also, senior musicians were able to provide useful pointers on the performance of our players, helping them to improve their performance skills and boosting their confidence on stage. Our seniors in Keat Hong and the full time musicians were also able to provide feedback on our members, highlighting areas which we teachers should be aware of.

3) We had managed to re-establish the ties forged over a decade ago. Everything is proceeding according to my mid to long term plans of getting our orchestra to perform more frequently in Singapore and overseas. This will give our students a wide exposure and be an incentive for them to improve their performance skills for SYF and concerts.

4) Students get to learn about the lifestyle of the aborigines in Kuching. Even though it is not a Humanities trip, students have learnt about the primary industries of Sarawak, namely the logging industry and growing of pepper as a cash crop. Eco-tourism in the form of trekking and mountaineering in Sarawak and scuba-diving in Sabah is also picking up fast among Singaporeans as both states offer natural scenery in their pristine conditions at affordable prices.

5) With such a big entourage of orchestra members performing in Kuching, we are providing the local Chinese community a rare opportunity to attend a big performance. As such, we are doing our bit to promote Chinese culture and Chinese Orchestra and rejuvenating the local Chinese scene.

Now the big question: Will the orchestra continue to travel overseas after this trip, and where will be the next destination?

I have told the graduating batch in 2005 and I say it again, that all will be based on the overall standard of our orchestra:-
Short term (1-3 yrs): Public performances in Singapore and nearby SE Asian countries (eg. Malaysia)
Mid term (3-5yrs): Public performances in countries where Chinese orchestra is not common (Australia, New Zealand)
Long term (5-10yrs): Public performances in far away countries (China, Europe)

Chinese Orchestra Sarawak Trip 1st Dec - 4th Dec

It was a very hectic November and December for me. My secondary school classmate was getting married on 30th Nov and I was part of the brothers team. I had to pack my luggage for the Chinese Orchestra Sarawark Trip the very next day. By the time the dinner ended around 11pm, I had to rush back home and pack the last few items.

1st Dec

At 2am on 1st Dec, I woke up after barely 2 hours of sleep and rushed to school. After settling all the details and doing a headcount, we headed to the 2nd link in Tuas to board our flight at Senai Airport, Johor Bahru. To lower the travelling costs for our orchestra members, we had chosen budget airline, which meant a lot of moving and travelling about. However, students only had to pay for a total of $430 (Edusave + Subsidy) rather than $700, which was what the other airlines were charging. We were travelling to the city of Kuching, Sarawak on the invitation from Padungan Youth Movement, a youth wing of the political party in Sarawak. Back in 1990s, our orchestra was also invited to Kuching by the same party and held a successful concert there with the strong support of the local Chinese community and the orchestras. This time, I hope to re-establish the ties we have built the last time round and help our members to clock more CIP hours as the proceeds of the performance will be given to the Children's Cancer Association in Kuching. As Keat Hong Chinese Orchestra from Chua Chu Kang Community Club is also travelling with us, we have an impressive combined strength of 100, not counting the 20 local Chinese musicians from Kuching!

We arrived after 9am in Kuching and were greeted warmly by the local Chinese journalists as it was quite a while since a performance of this scale took place in Kuching. Mr Yong, a former Chinese Orchestra member who participated in the performance on our last visit, is currently managing his father's business and our host this time round. We were brought to a local hawker centre to savour the local delights such as Kuching Mee Siam and Kolo mee (Dried Noodles). I have heard about the noodles early in 2006 when we were planning for the trip and am looking forward to trying out the local delights. For breakfast, I tried the local mee siam and found it to be very different from the Singaporean version. The bee hoon is finer and the gravy more appetising.

After breakfast, we did a tour of the city. According to the guide, Kuching means "Cat City". Stories have it that when Europeans first landed in Sarawak, there were a lot of cats in the town. They approached the locals and asked for the name of the place, pointing to the cat in their arms. Following the pointing finger, the locals answered "Kuching" (for cat). From then on, the name became the name of the town. Kuching is now the 2nd biggest city in Sarawak after the capital, Miri.

After a brief lunch, we proceeded to the Kuching Museum located just beside our hotel. The tour guide gave us an introduction to the original lifestyle of the aborigines. The locals lived in longhouses built from wood and lead simple lives. The instruments used by the locals are somewhat similar to our instruments in that they were either string or woodwind instruments, differing only slightly in design and sound produced.

After the short tour, we began sorting out the instruments to be used for the concert. It seemed that after many years of disuse, some of the instruments of the local orchestra needed much repair. It turned out that the supplies we brought for ourselves were mainly used to repair their instruments! Rehearsal began proper once we sorted out the problems and members of all 3 orchestras had little time to adjust themselves to the new environment and each other. We managed to clear all the pieces by 10pm and retired for the night.

2nd Dec

Despite the long day yesterday, most of the members woke up on time to maximise their shopping time. We walked from our hotel to the riverside where the local bazaar and shopping malls were located. Most of the girls went to the malls to look for good bargains in the fashion boutiques while Mrs Lim, some of the sec 3 seniors and I headed to the local bazaar to look for local produce. The weather was fine and the mood was just right, except that when asked to take photos, our sec 3 seniors were very reluctant. I believe they would be more comfortable in a neoprint squeezing each other than appearing "normal" in an arranged shot.

Regardless, the shot was taken beside Sarawak

river and we proceeded with our shopping. Several of our members took an interest in the local musical instruments and tried them out whilst we were on our way to lunch from the hotel. We had lunch at the same hawker centre again and proceeded to take a big group photo. After lunch, we had a short break and proceeded to the performance venue to make the final preparations for the evening. All the muscians on stage were pretty relaxed just before the concert, which was pretty good given that quite a lot of members had no public performance experience prior to this concert. This public performance will be a very good exposure and experience for our orchestra as they will get to exhange pointers with other musicians and improve on their skills and prepare themselves mentally for SYF Central Judging 2007. From the ticket sales, it was evident that the concert had the strong support of the local Chinese community as it was full house that night. The concert started off with an introduction of the Children's Cancer Association and the usual speeches of the host, followed by an opening ceremony with representatives of all the organisations involved.

Frankly speaking, it was my first experience presiding over such a ceremony on stage, so I had to observe what the rest were doing. Needless to say, there was a lot of news coverage of the event and our photos appeared in the local newspapers 2 days later. The concert went on smoothly and reached its climax at the last piece when the combined orchestra played 《传灯》(translates loosely to "Passing the torch"). The piece was composed by a Singaporean but only widely played in Malaysia among the Chinese community. Ties within the Chinese community were strong as they felt the need to retain their own identity and look after one another. Also, despite the short lyrics, they were meaningful as they conveyed the message of bringing light and hope to one another, reminding one of the kinship, bonds and common culture within the community. Needless to say, the audience sang to the music with the lyrics provided and the concert ended with a standing ovation from the audience. As of the last count, we managed to raise a total of 10,000 Ringgit from the sales of the tickets. After some fast packing, we returned to the hotel with all our instruments in tow.

3rd Dec

We woke up after a good sleep and proceeded to a local wet market for a tour. We then visited the pitcher plant and orchid garden of Kuching. It was pretty interesting to look at the pitcher plants as they are mainly found in Malaysia. Singapore's Botanical Garden does have a few species but Malaysia has more. Appearing in various sizes, shapes and colours, the pitcher plants have 1 primary function: to attract insects to drop into the digestive liquids found at the bottom of the "pitcher" and digest them. This is the way the plants obtain precious nutrients in nutrient-poor soil. As it was not the blooming season for the orchids, we were unable to see most of the orchid flowers.

Next on our itinery was the crocodile farm managed by Mr Yong and his family. It seemed that they were very successful breeding their crocodiles, exporting a portion for cross-breeding overseas or for meat and related products. Even the officials from AVA in Singapore were amazed that the crocodile farm was able to achieve a high 80% of egg-laying for the crocodiles as the crocodiles in Singapore's Crocodile Farm only managed an average of 60%. The crocodile farm acts as the only zoo in Kuching as it houses animals like owls, pythons, otters, peacocks other than crocodiles. Although there are brown coloured road signs to indicate the location of the crocodile farm along the road and the farm is marked on many big and small maps, the local government refused to continue issuing a license to Mr Yong. It will indeed be a pity if Kuching people do not have such a place to go to, given the size of the farm and the variety of animals it keeps in there. (yes yes, I have deliberately placed the photo of the pitcher plant and owl sideways to maintain picture quality. No, it was not my intention to torture your neck or eyes...)

The last leg of our tour was to a longhouse. We all had a feel of how the locals lived in the past and how they have adapted to modern times. The locals keep their poultry in cages at the edge of the longhouses or in the open space beneath the long houses. All building materials can be found in the nearby forests. We also had the chance to try the blowpipe used by the aborigines during hunting. I must say it requires some skill to maintain accuracy and maximise the damage to the prey of the hunt.

Our last night in Kuching was spent at a seafood hawker centre located on the rooftop of a building. In appreciation of our efforts, Mr Yong and his party treated us to a seafood dinner. The dish which left a lasting impression on me was the Kuching version of the oyster omelette. In Singapore, we fried the oyster with beaten eggs and cornflour mixture to form a paste-like omelette. In Kuching, they had the oysters in beaten eggs, adding only a little conflour mixture to create a crispy thin layer. A special sauce was provided for additional flavouring. According to Mr Yong, they could also fry our Singapore version, but the locals prefer their version. I must say it was very savoury and made me look forward to tasting it again in future.

4th Dec

After some late night packing the previous night, the orchestra managed to wake up in time and send all instruments and luggages up onto the coaches. After some farewells at the airport, we head straight back to Senai Airport and entered Singapore through the 2nd link again.

Reflections on China Trip

Yes yes, I know it's 2007 now and the China trip was in Nov 2006, but that does not mean I cannot be expressing my reflections about the trip.

Many learning points from the trip:
This trip has brought me to places I have never visited before, so every bit of information is new to me. The notes I have made is enough to prove how much I have learnt about China and its history and culture.

Being a first timer bringing students overseas, it is a learning experience to handle all the preparatory work and running the actual programme. Looking after myself is all the more important now that I have students with me. Fortunately, I was the sole healthy teacher and learnt to look after students better.

I was glad my knowledge of Chinese History was useful. As the tour guide was constantly speaking too fast for our students to pick up, and because the students had no background knowledge about Chinese History, my stories and add-ons were useful in helping students understand Chinese History better. Maybe I should consider a job involving Chinese History. A curator in Asian Civilisation Museum, or a tour guide?

Do hope our students learn to appreciate their environment better. We have better living conditions, better facilities, more colourful lifestyle, better tasting food (to some students), there is no reason for our students to complain about Singapore or their own situation. Also, I do hope our students learn to be more independent, knowing how to look out for themselves. Finally, do hope students change to a much healthier lifestyle. It was shocking to know that some students do not drink anything except soft drinks, eat snacks/fried food/meat rather than vegetables. It will only be a receipe to falling sick.

Will I be looking forward to another trip to China? Yes, but some other locations (maybe the other 2 famous peaks) by myself. :)

China Trip, 18th - 19th Nov Xian

We are now on the last leg of our journey. After a gruelling 5 hour coach ride from Henan province to Xian, we stopped at the same Halal steamboat restaurant for our late lunch. In the evening, we proceed on to the Drum & Bell Tower for a tour of the Muslim market. As a major city in western China, Xian has a big population of Hui (Muslim) tribe. Hence, one can find a Halal restaurant easily in Xian. The Hui people set up business around the Drum tower in the older part of the city. Upon entering the market area, we found a lot of stalls all packed into a long street selling all sorts of trinklets, souvenirs and some antique stuff. Some of the students wanted to get some more gifts for their friends, and knowing I could help them bargain, requested for my assistance every now and then. The fun part of buying things is to be able to bargain for it. The trick is to lower the price until both parties find it acceptable. The merchants may seem reluctant, but they usually still earn some profits, and we get what we want. Some people may be so good at bargaining that they can slash the prices to less than 50% of the original price, but usually at the expense of the merchant. As I want to enjoy the process, I will not sour the mood of the merchant. As long as I think I get a cheaper price, then it is fine for me.

At the end of the stalls, the small alley opens up

to a street filled with eateries selling beef and lamb kebabs. Ever the gourmet, my eyes lit up when students tell me they have tried the barbequed beef stick. The beef stick is average, because the chilli oil removes any flavour the seasoning might have, save the saltiness. The other interesting food is the mirror cake （镜糕）. It is made of rice flour, decorated with coloured sugar syrup, coated with The hawkers are pretty up-to-date, using popular anime and characters as designs. The cake taste ordinary, but it has a novel look to it.

We visited the Ming wall the next morning. It was chilly and windy, and my nose was runny for a brief while. We viewed the siege machines used to defend or attack a city, and were left to tour the city walls. While sight-seeing, the hawkers there flew a string of kites to attract our attention, and I went to try it out. The constant breeze and the small size made it easy to fly the kites, and it was quite a satisfaction after missing out on kite-flying for a couple of years.

The final place we visited before we depart for Chengdu then Singapore was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda （大雁塔）in Xian. It definitely looks different during the day without the lighting and waterworks. The tour guide explained that the pagoda was built using the donations by all the palace maids. It was because the palace maids were staunch Buddhists, and knowing how long it takes the Imperial Court to approve of funds for any projects, the palace maids decided to contribute their cosmectic allowance to finance the building of the pagoda. This event clearly shows the level of devotion of Chinese towards Buddhism during Tang dynasty and how prosperous the dynasty was.

Bustling January

January is one of the busiest months for all educators...

3rd Jan 1st day of school
4th Jan - 6th Jan Sec 2 Camp
8th Jan Chinese Orchestra practice
9th Jan SMC Meeting
10th Jan Sagano High School Rehearsal, CCA Meeting
12th Jan Reservist Briefing, CCA Showcase
13th Jan SAWN group meeting
16th Jan Submission of workplans
19th Jan Taiji Performance Rehearsal
20th Jan Good Friend Wedding
21st Jan Taiji Performance
27th Jan IPPT

May I survive 2007...

China Trip, Shaolin 16th-17th Nov

After our visit to Shaolin temple, we went on to the highlight of our trip - Shi Xiao Long Shaolin Temple Martial Arts School. Shi Xiao Long is the young guy acting in Young Justice Bao. His father was an wushu instructor and he started learning wushu at a tender age of 3. By about 10 years old, he was already filming movies and earning money. He used his earnings to build a wushu academy in Deng Feng to teach fellow countrymen wushu, while he went on to Canada for his studies.

The students were divided into 2 groups, with Miss Lee & Mdm Gao in the first group while I am in the second group. Special mention must go to Chong Yan Jing of 2E3 2006, as I noticed she became the "unofficial" student instructor leading her group to practice the moves. She had a good memory and picked up the moves quite fast. Also, she was quite able to motivate her group to practice till they got it. Sadly, I was leading my group and most of them depended on me for the moves.

The instructors are monks from Shaolin temple learning martial arts in the wushu academy. The 2 in the picture are the ones assigned to my group. They seldom talk, and are rather fast in their teaching. Seeing that I can do several moves better than the students and that I am always the one to get the students moving, the monks let me do most of the reinforcing. Once they see me get it, they usually let me do the rest of the refreshing and polishing. Guess I have myself partly to blame for my predicament. As the 2 monks practice wushu daily, they are able to do the horse stance （马步）at a level much lower than I could. As such, they kept asking the students to go lower, stretch their legs wider, forgetting that it took them years of training to attain what they have achieved so far. By mid-day, my legs were already trembling from the sheer exertion. The students took longer to feel the effects as most of them did not push themselves hard enough. By the first day, we had finished learning Shaolin's Xiao Hong Quan（小洪拳）. Without any basics to begin with, learning 30 over moves within a day is way too fast, as the students do not have ample time to reinforce what they have learnt.

Initially, I thought we only had to learn 1 set, so when we returned on the second day, I was horrified to hear that we had 2 sets to learn! As I feared, the students could not really absorb the second set and by mid-day on the second day, we had problems recalling the moves from both sets.

Nontheless, it was quite an experience learning Shaolin martial arts as it is very different from the taiji that I learnt. In fact, taiji originates from Wudang, the second most revered birthing ground of Chinese martial arts, so I am glad I had the chance to "peek" into Shaolin martial arts. Some of the girls had a fun time teasing the 2 younger monks teaching the other group as the 2 younger monks were quite shy. I think at the end of it all, students appreciate the hard work the monks had gone into to achieve what they had, so I do hope the students will learn to put forth their best foot in all that they do!

China Trip, Deng Feng 15th Nov

After leaving Xingyang San Zhong, we headed towards Deng Feng, the place where the world reknown Shaolin temple is located. Unfortunately for us, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jia Bao decided to pay Shaolin a visit. As a result, the expressway leading to Deng Feng was blockaded for a full one and a half hour. This is not the first time for me, but I believe most students have never encountered a similar experience before this. The term Deng Feng 登封literally means "ascend and bestow a title". In the town of Deng Feng, we can find scores of shops selling Chinese weapons and costumes, and dozens of martial arts schools. The famous Shaolin temple is situated on Shao Shi Mountain 少室山in Deng Feng.

As the weather in Deng Feng was pretty chilly, our entire group was wrapped up in our jackets as we traverse the expanse of Shaolin temple. Within the temple grounds, we can also find hundreds of young Chinese practising martial arts. Looking at how they practise, I was thinking that should Deng Feng be the only place to send representatives for Asian Games, China would have enough people to get all the medals, so one can think how easy it will be for the whole of China to win medals in Wushu category. Before actually entering the Shaolin temple, we were treated to a martial arts display in a specially built auditorium.

In the auditorium, we were treated to a rehearsed display of martial arts, and we then proceed to the temple grounds proper. Too bad some parts of the temple were destroyed in a major fire and the temple buildings we see today were built after the 1980s. Now if only the scriptures containing the best skills were kept in the scriptorium, I would dress myself in black and enter the temple grounds after nightfall to steal the manuals. As we were touring the various parts of the temple, the sky began to darken and it started drizzling when we were midway through Shaolin. As such, we had to hasten our tour of Shaolin temple and proceed on to the forest of pagodas behind Shaolin temple. Placed in the pagodas are the relics of all the abbots of Shaolin temple. By the time we ended our tour of the pagodas, the sky was already quite dark and we had to leave the temple grounds by taking the local scooter-like vehicles to transfer to our coach.

China Trip, Xingyang 15th Nov

We continue travelling deeper into Henan Province, and arrive in Xingyang to visit the middle school (the equivalent of a secondary school in mainland China), 荥阳三中. Although the driver and tour guide had some problems locating the school, we managed to reach it in the end and were greeted warmly by the Principals, staff and students of the school. After some brief introduction by the Principal, the students got to mingle around. Thereafter, our group was lead around the school grounds for a tour of the facilities. Being a rather prestigious school in Xingyang, Xingyang San Zhong was quite large and had the basic facilities of a normal Chinese school.

What is more remarkable (but not noticed by most of our students) is that Chinese students had a high level of discipline, because when we were stomping up the stairs, there was no noise at any level, all these despite the fact that there are about 52 students in each class! In China, the students travel around the school quietly and orderly, and listened attentively during lessons. During physical training, you can hear the students shouting cheers very clearly across the running track. Given the same scenario, our Singapore students will rather walk when the teacher is not hard on them. Also, when called upon to perform or do public speaking, Chinese students definitely had the confidence and discipline to discharge the task. On the other hand, our students back in Singapore will either give all sorts of excuses or refuse to speak up in front of their own class, much less in front of foreign visitors. Obviously, we have to do more to ensure that our students can present themselves well, and that they do not choose to do it or not. Some might say I am adopting too harsh a stand, but I think we must prepare our students for future challenges ahead and not just offer them soft options.

After the tour, both sides put up simple performances as a gesture of cultural exchange. The Chinese students sang their school song and a translated version of Zhang Xueyou's Farewell 《吻别》 while our students prepared 3 songs and a skit. I was thanking myself for my foresight as I had arranged with the group leaders to decide on the songs to perform and got them prepared for it. Had we not iron out that out, our students would not have been clear what to put up for the exchange other than the skit.

After spending an hour and a half in Xingyang San Zhong, we had a brief exchange of gifts and had a photo-taking session in front of the school. Before we left, our students also presented the Chinese students with simple gifts as a token of appreciation for their hospitality. Needless to say, the students exchange emails and left quite an impression on the Chinese students, particularly since our group was mainly girls and they had quite a number of boys.

Recall 2006

Happy New Year to everyone out there. Now that 2006 is behind us, let me recall the last 2 busy months of 2006:

9th Nov - 21st Nov: Chinese Department China Trip
22nd Nov - 23rd Nov: Staff Retreat
24th Nov: Graduation Night
30th Nov: Upper Sec Classmate Wedding
1st Dec - 4th Dec: Chinese Orchestra Sarawak Trip
15th Dec - 18th Dec: Gamers' Chalet
19th Dec -21st Dec: Resort
22nd Dec: Sec 1 Registration, GOod friend's pre-wedding dinner
23rd Dec: Cousin wedding
24th Dec: Cousin's son wedding
27th Dec: SMC meeting
28th Dec: Staff Meeting, Faculty Meeting
29th Dec: Departmental Meeting
31st Dec: Taiji Year End gathering
1st Jan: Gathering for fellow gamers

Now that the new year has begun, there are many things lying on the horizon:

Jan: Sec 1 Orientation, New Year Begins, Taiji Performance, IPPT, Lower Sec Classmate Wedding
Feb: Lunar New Year
Mar: External Validation Team, Reservist in Taiwan, JC classmates gathering
Apr: SYF Central Judging 2007, Reservist in Taiwan
Jun: Moving to temporary holding school
Jul: BBSS SYF Combined Concert
Aug: Chinese Orchestra Handing-Taking Over Ceremony
Nov: NIE classmate wedding
Dec: JC classmate wedding, Army friend wedding

Do look forward to a fruitful year ahead...