Spent the whole of today's afternoon browsing through different banks' websites to gather information for their saving accounts. Sigh. The interest rates are low, one year of 50k fixed deposit will only generate an annual interest of 0.925%. Pathetic. Contemplating between POSB's MySavings account and OCBC's monthly savings account.

Of course, I need to curb my spending. Did a check on my shoe cupboard. I still have another 11 pairs of heels, which will probably last me another year. Haha, even my dad is quite impressed that I managed to keep the promise of not buying a single pair of shoes for one whole year. No doubt I've great determination and perseverance.

Now that I have checked out the banks, it is time to do my spring cleaning.

I miss Hong Kong...

Hong Kong is always about shopping and eating. Surprisingly, we went sightseeing this time round. :) We went to sit 昂坪缆车. I was quite impressed with the 5km plus ropeway. At one point, there's a 90 degrees turn. And certainly, the view was spectacular, and the ride was comfortable.


This is the cable car. At peak hours, around 6 passengers will occupy one. After which, you can occupy one on your own.


The ropeway.




Approaching 昂坪 terminal, you will catch a glimpse of tiantan buddha.


The shophouses inside 昂坪 village.

Tiantan buddha is within walking distance. We didn't go over, instead, we took a bus to 大澳. The bus journey was like a roller coaster ride. Mum was holding on tight to the handle, and according to her, the handle almost fell off.



The fishing village.


The village from far.


Dad enjoying the scenery.

As for shopping, I didn't buy a single pair of shoes this time round. Can you believe it! Not a single pair for one entire year, other than the pair of boots I bought in Shenyang (which I had to buy coz my shoes were spoilt). No accessories (coz the ones in Shenyang were much cheaper). No soft toys (coz the ones at home are cuter). :)

I bought two new bags (coz the ones at home are old and worn out), one organizer (coz it is new year) and some cosmetics and facial stuff from DHC (coz there's no outlet in Singapore and they are having some crazy discount now). Plus a treat to my godfather and some sounvenirs, it turned out that I spent quite a lot. Must start saving again. :)

警方已经捉了两个小贼，他们不过是中学生．开心的当儿，也难免感到一丝不安．毕竟两名求学时期的青年就此毁了自己的前程．在我和学生们沉浸在幸福的当儿， 在邻里中学有很多悲剧正在上演．孩子们犯错，父母责无旁贷．要培养儿女成才，的确不简单．执教鞭的几个月，我把学生视为妹妹，同时也体会到无时无刻的给予 关怀与栽培是多么的累，多么的辛苦．

这几个星期很忙，压力很沉重．在感受到一个成人所要承受的责任与负担的时候，也体会到身为一名教师要无时无刻树立好榜样的重要性．与此同时，我也为我一生的机遇感到万分庆幸．并经我的一切名与利，都是父母与师长栽培的成果．我希望一切不好的事都将成为过去

Finally a short break after rushing out yet-another-report for my China trip. When most other teachers wrote one, I wrote three. The final one was specially for the management team. I was dropping by the general office so freaking often that the secretaries know me by name. Even though it had been a very stressful week, I know I've done the right thing. It is definitely my duty to protect my students.

I think we have had good memories of China, be it the moments the girls spent with me, the time they spent with their buddies and parents, the lessons we had in the school... ... We are fortunate to have such pleasant memories to fall back upon. The girls' buddies are coming over in January, and it is something for us to look forward to. At last, I can ask my girls to forget the unhappy incident and move on.

For the first time, I heard a girl sobing and whining on the phone. Of course, she made some remarks which made me heartbroken for a long moment. Not to mention the task of having to speak to her mum. I hope everything is finally over.

It is holidays, but I have to handle such unpleasant incidents. On top of that, project reports to read and amend, remedial for students sitting for preparatory tests, CCA duties, claims to settle for CCA and China trip (which is a headache coz I have never done it before and nobody taught me how to do it). When I was already quite stressed, my mum got robbed.

Despite making a police report and blocking all her credit cards and atm cards at once, I had to accompany her to make her IC and reapply her atm cards the very next day. I asked if I can apply the cards the day after, and I got a harsh scolding for caring for my students more than her. I'm not saying that she is not understanding or what. It just made me more stress than before, that's all. Anyway, I managed to get everything done for her in the morning, and went back to school in the afternoon. I must say I'm quite proud of my efficiency on that day. And my mum was saying "now I realize why your school gives you so much work to do."

When everyone is demanding me to give them what they want, have they ever think of asking me what I want. Anyway, I just hope my nightmare is over for now.

Was reading some of my friends' blogs just now. I realized many of them had to bring their students for CIP in the more rural areas. My gosh. Haha, I think I definitely prefer going on exchange programmes in China.

Was in school everyday this week. Suffocated under numerous reports, emails, forms and meetings. None of which I can provide the details here. Despite being there for only six months, I have had to handle issues that involved meeting up with VPs. To be frank, I never expected this.

Weekend, now I'm trying to think of how to improve the two project reports. I have the feeling that my whole holidays is going to be burnt on school work again. Big sigh. I need a way to relax, and blogging isn't helping much. It's unlike the past when I could write down everything. Now I have to be very careful with what I write, because every comment, if interpreted in the wrong way, can be a threat to the school's reputation. Secondly, I think I am no longer at the stage when I hope people can know more about my life.

After months of reports, forms and everything, I finally get to teach. Have to give supplementary lessons for a student, and I think the two hours session I spent with her on Friday was certainly the best two hours in school for these two months. Yes, even though I'm just teaching trivial trigonometry.

Now that I have settled most of my work, I can get down to blog about my trip in China.

Spent the first few days in Beijing sight-seeing. Its airport looks exactly like the one in Hong Kong, and I must say the airports in Beijing and Shenyang are both very efficient when it comes to loading luggage, clearing of customs and so on. We encountered some problem at Changi Airport in the morning, so Beijing airport was a pleasant surprise to all of us.

Visited 天安门广场 in the evening. The girls were freezing (some of them were wearing t-shirts under their coats) but it was heart-warming seeing how they hugged each other to keep warm. In a way, it was a great ice-breaker for the girls, considering they are from different classes.



The first few days were spent touring around, eating, and doing reflection with the girls at night. Of course when we were traveling, I had to make sure that none of my girls went missing, and none of their belongings got stolen. I was watching the girls most of the time, and there wasn't much chance to take photos and stuff. That's alright, coz I got the girls to give me the photos they took anyway. The best thing is, I have an AEP student in my group, who is really pro in capturing nice scenaries.



I think 水立方、鸟巢 are one of the most magnificant buildings I have ever came across.





Beijing is a really nice place. Even my girls fell in love with China.

The remaining days were spent in Shenyang. It is very cold, but the enthusiastic and friendly people there gave us warmth. There, is a totally different education system, and we see a totally different set of behaviours among the students. And if we ever think that HCI or RI campus is grand and beautiful, that's because we haven't been to Dongbei Yucai in Shenyang. They have indoor sports stadium, indoor swimming complex, one whole block mainly for sabatticals. Not to mention their kindergarten, which is so big and grand. Along every corridor, I heard my students' "wah" and "wow".



the campus where we attend lessons


during one of the cultural lessons


another campus, this is just one of its many blocks


kiddos in the kindergarten classroom

Their math standard is way beyond our imagination. I bought some of their math olympiad books, those meant for normal students (students in dongbei yucai are much more advanced). In the book for Secondary One, I saw stuff which I only learned in University.

I gave a lecture on graph theory, and the sec 2s understood... sweat...



It is a really fruitful trip. Now that I know what to expect over there, I don't mind going over again next year. The girls who went with me have been sensible and obedient. Although there's a case of misplacing passport, and everyday I had to get people to fix the stuff in their hostel rooms, but overall, I felt quite fortunate to have them in my team. The girls had a good time with their buddies' and family. I guess all of us are looking forward to the buddies coming over to our school in Jan.

Finally back from my China trip. Had been typing reflections for the whole day, haha, I think I shall not repeat on my blog (yea, and teachers cannot complain on blogs... so...)
 

I think I will really fall in love with China, if not for the cold weather in Shenyang and the toilet flush system. I had bad encounters with the toilets. Seriously, I can't believe I have survived the two weeks and rectified so many problems. For now, no more worrying of kiddos.

Some nice photos...

Great Wall of China

Sunset in 颐和园

 

故宫 (beijing)

 

水立方、鸟巢

The School

This is the old school campus located in the city. Facilities in the school are pretty impressive. I conducted a lecture in its recording studio.

While waiting for the photos to be uploaded, I shall talk about something random and non-academic related, that is, shopping in Shenyang. Yes, so in case you are going there for holidays, there are some things worth taking note of.

There are lots of book stores, and the books there are selling at super affordable prices. They have a good variety of math olympiad books too. It is certainly a wonderland for people who love books. My students bought ten or more books each.

Along 中街, they have this three storey building which sells clothes and accessories. You have to bargain for good prices. Furtherdown, there is another building with lots of stationaries and toys. Basement is a supermarket that sells all sorts of tibits. The students had so much fun that they claimed it was the happiest day in Shenyang. Hmm... shouldn't their happiest time be spent doing math olympiad questions.

Anyway, if you don't like to bargain, there are lots of shopping centres in the city. There's good variety of goods. Even at such shopping centres, I find the goods affordable. Shenyang is such a wonderful place for shopping and eating. I'll stay there, if not for its weather.

Limited time was spent shopping. We were either attending lessons in school or sight-seeing most of the time. I really like the Chinese kiddos, because they are so attentive and responsive during lesson. And the school campuses were so grand with new equipments and facilities that I think even our HCI will lose out.

Marking hell is finally over. Was very sick in the midst of marking, coughing and sneezing non stop. The scripts must be filled with my germs, but anyway, I really couldn't help it. Can't take mc because nobody will take over my marking load.

Now that I am more free, I am hoping to sell some of my comics and stuff. Some children story books have been given away. There is a yahoo group whereby we can offer and take items. Within few hours, I have 50 over emails stating that they wanna take up my offer. They don't belong to the low income group, coz when they came to fetch the stuff, they drove! Haha, but of course, what's more important is that, my books don't have to go to a waste. They are all in good condition.

Was trying to sell some comic books, and this took months before I get a response. Great difference between giving and selling.

These days, I became "super keen" in throwing away unused and unwanted stuff, so that I have more workspace. This happened both at home and in office. Furthermore, I am rather obsessed with the fact that my table must look clean and tidy, haha, which is something you seldom see in a staff room. But seriously, how can people stand working in a messy place.

Went to modify my ring size. From size 12 to size 9. My finger shrinked three sizes within a month. Unbelievable. All my skirts and pants became pull ups. No need to unbutton. They are in danger of falling off any moment. I think there's no need for me to elaborate on the work nature and certainly, I don't wish to speak of my boss. Probably, this is the same for every workspace, so I just want to find a way to survive.

It was a horrible week. Even a drop of water input would eventually be vomited out. And I had to go to the hospital for the drip. To put it shortly, I had never been more sick than this.

Fortunately, I am recovering.

Some of my students have left for China. Their blog posts were entertaining, especially the parts bout looking at guys on the basketball courts. It sounds a bit boy-crazy at the start, but hey, wasn't I myself guilty of that when I was in jc?! Some things are meant to be done by a certain age group. These days, I won't even want to go near a basketball court, just in case the basketball hits right in my face.

Speaking of my college, I think there's so much I have acquired from there. In particular, I began to follow the footsteps of my teachers who offer consultation sessions every so often. As I myself had benefited from the consultations, I knew my students would end up improving if the right guidance and encouragement were given. Just that, I didn't know even my "princesses" were converted into remedial enthusiasts. I couldn't help but suffocate myself in the progress.

For the first time since mid June,
- I read a non-educational magazine (I read quite a number of articles on gifted education during term time);
- I touch my makeup set;
- I clean the dust on the table;
- I sleep for more than 12 hours;
- I put away my marking for 6 consecutive days.

Of course, on the down side, I had to eat lots of medicine and nothing else but porridge.

I'm not sure whether it is time I change my attitude towards students. At least, I think I'm not going to bring so much marking back on weekends to ensure I have at least one rest day each week.

I saw a blogskin which looks really adorable. Too bad I have no luxury of time to blog, not to mention change blogskin. It suddenly occurs to me how things have evolved over time, from making a website from scratch using html, to frontpage express and dreamweaver, and now, almost anyone can have a blog and posts his comments effortlessly. Things have changed tremendously over the last one decade.

10 years later, it'll be my students' turn to work. Maybe some will take up the challenge of moulding the future of our nation and inspiring lives? I wonder how much fond memories they can recall from my lessons.

My supervisor came to give a talk. Several instances, I could recall fondly of the lectures and talks he gave during my stay in nus. I couldn't help but think that I was indeed very fortunate during that time. Everyday was spent doing things I like, and I can feel my knowledge growing. Almost everyday was a happy day.

Now, everyday I wake up, I feel the urge of not going to school. What awaits me each day is piles and piles of assignments. I hope that each day can be a happy day for my students, so I try to step into each class with a smile, no matter how tired I am, or how upset I was with the previous class. Over time, I feel that my intelligence drops.

Anyway I still have a few more assignments to mark. My weekend is burnt once again.