Summing up summer

Over in northern hemisphere, people go through the four seasons. In Malaysia, we too have four seasons. With the addition of the haze season and windy season...we now have four. So, it has already been a month since I left Dublin and returning to my hometown Melaka. The weather has eased a little and I have already gone through 2 seperate seasons. The dry and the hazy. I now welcome with my open arms the rainy season, my favourite of all the others. You see, unlike in temperate countries, Malaysians in general are active all the time. They stay up late to catch up with their much needed football matches, finish up last minute work and eat supper (Mamak loh) Summer is a time of holiday. Universities and schools have long summer breaks to allow their students to make use of the extra daylight. In Malaysia, daylight never changes. We have the same length of daylight all year round.

 What have I done so far since my return to Malaysia? Let me put it this way, I have travelled up to and fro between Melaka and KL for most weekends, mainly meeting up with college friends and re-exploring KL. I visited both my graparents in Seremban and Ipoh on seperate occasions. Managed to gain 5kg in my short stay in Ipoh. I never once felt hungry there as my grandmother forced fed me. My liver would now be equivalent that of foie gras(fatty duck liver). Finally got an SLR camera courtesy of my father. Haven't really had the time to read up on the manual. Made a trip up to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to enjoy the lovely beaches and coral reefs there, not forgetting the fresh seafood. No Indians in East Malaysia...none!

 So having gone half a globe away to further my studies, you may be wondering what were my first impressions when I first came back. Well, to say the least, Malaccan drivers or rather Malaysian drivers in general suck. Malaccan drivers are the worst of the lot. Stopping randomly in the middle of the road without signalling. Blocking other drivers from passing. Parking in No Parking areas. Slowing down when there is an accident at the roadside without actually getting down to help, being busy bodies. Malaysians are also a rude bunch. Not all of us, but majority. Simple example, in the UK when opening a door, you would always look behind to see if there is anyone also wanting to pass through the door. If there is, you gladly hold the door open for them and he or she would reply with a kind thank you. In Malaysia, no one holds the door for you, no one says thanks you. Maybe it is just the nature of how we are brought up. Maybe we just expression our politeness in some other forms.

 For all things negative, I am still proud to be a citizen of this beautiful and majestic country. Somehow, you only become aware of your Malaysian identity when you leave The country. We always think of overseas as being the better option for our future, one does not realise tha the grass is not always greener on the other side, sometimes...we tend to be coulour blind, we go overseas only to realise that the grass on Home turf is still the greenest. We are delusioned by the western media. This could be just me and my biased opinion(bribed by the wonders of Malaysian food). It is up to you to decide on what is and what isn't. Cheers! Another abrupt ending.

Happy Teachers Day

The 16th of May marks teacher's day in Malaysia. Here is the list of all the influential teachers I have had over the years. All which I have very fond memories of.

I shall first begin with my secondary school teachers. I wanted to share some thoughts of my primary school teachers, however, I was too young then to have taken  photos of them.

English for 4 years in secondary school by this teacher. One of the best known figures in St. Francis Institution, introducing... Bro. Michael Kum. He dedicated his life to education and religion by becoming a Lasalle brother. He taught the ways of sarcasm. Sarcasm which can be applied in the real world for good purposes. I still remember the times when I used to sit in the front row of the class, right in front of him when he was giving lessons. By the end of the lessons, I was always drenched in 'holy water' spit. Nevertheless, he is one awesome teacher and because he never really took things the conventional way.

And yea, did I mention he was the teacher adviser for our Star NIE project that won the grand prize (a trip to the UK). all that was 5 years ago.

***

Next up we have Mr. Lee Kon Lee. Amazing name huh. He taught me maths and add-maths. He gets very furious and has short bursts of temper when students try to disrupt his teachings in class . I don't blame him for that because realistically speaking, my class that year were a bunch of  monkeys. He was the teacher in charged of the school's library when I was a librarian from form 2 to middle of form 3. He followed our school's dancing troop all the way to Kagoshima Japan for the Asian Youth Arts Festival.
FUN FACT: He once said to the class, "you bukan saja pijak atas kepala saya, you berak kat atas!"
(You not only step on top my head, you shit on it.)

***

The next teacher I'm going to introduce is our school's scout master. I respect him a lot because he has the guts to stand up for his students. Mr. Yong in very enthusiastic in his teachings. He became my History teacher in form 3 up to form 5. It is because of him that I got an A+ in History. I thank you for all the special(short cut) learning notes devised.

I feel that this picture bring out the youth in him.

***

Pn.Goh and Mr. Wong. One was my physics teacher, the other taught me Add-maths. 

Pn. Goh played an influential role in my interest for physics. We never got bored of her classes partly because her questions were beyond the syllabus and it challenged us to be even more inquisitive. The thing I remember most about her was her extra classes. Almost every school holiday, she will organize extra classes for her students, she stayed back in school to help students in their homework. Despite having surpassed the retirement age a few years back, she continued to teach. Her dedication and sacrifice for her student is simply amazing. 

FUN FACT: she taught all three of the Lee brothers

Mr. Wong came in to our school when we were form 2. He was a fresh graduate and we didn't know anything about him. My classmates made fun of him and he was given a first hand experience of how rowdy students can be.. Like all new teachers, he given the unimportant subjects to start with (subjects like Civics which is a total replica of Moral Studies). As the years went by, he progressed up the ranks, from being a laughing stock to becoming one of the most respected and adored teachers in school. Students love him because of him don to earth attitude and also because of his ability to bond with them. He was more like a big brother than a teacher. 

***

(From left: Mr. Jasmi, Pn.Goh, Mr. Lee, Mr. Yong, Mr.Ong and Mr. Rajenderan )

Mr. Jasmi was considered the 3rd highest ranked teacher in our school. GPK Ham (whatever that means). His common catch phrase: "NO MORE TALKING!" 

Mr.Ong was like the Obama of SFI. He delivered excellent speeches and has been an inspiration for all Franciscans. He retired in 2008 and the school was without a principle until Mr. Lee Bun Chuan stepped in in 2011. Despite him being the principle, the taught the worst classes. It was his efforts that made SFI a premier school in Malacca. 

FUN FACT: Never mess with Mr.Ong when it comes to a game of badminton, he will thrash you! I mean it.

Mr. Rajenderan was my school's discipline teacher, like all discipline teachers, he was required to put on a strict persona. I will never forget is coconut styled cut he used to give students, student whos hair exceed the eyebrows. These students end up looking like east-Malaysian Indigenous men . 

***

Cik Siti took up the job as teacher adviser for my F1 in Schools team. Together with a few other classmates, we won third place in the southern division competition and  made it to the National Final. She drove us around to look for sponsors and also spare parts. I thank her for all the time spent on the team.

Kin Yoong and Kell Jim with Cik Siti at the Sepnag International Circuit for the F1 Race.

***

We now move on to my teachers in college.

Mr Chong

Subject: chemistry

Age: Young at heart

Speciality: teaches Tai Chi

I will always remember him because he taught us not just Chemistry but also life's little lessons. It is the subtle things that he inserts into his Chemistry lessons that make learning fun. At first glance, he seemed a little intimidating. Maybe because of his eyebrows that extend sideways and droop downwards .As I got to know him more, he is in fact the opposite.

Legend says that he can do one handed push up and someone spotted him doing that in the Chemistry lab

My class and the great Master Chong

Ms.Irma and Ms. Wong(The 2 in red)

Ms.Irma taught me Biology. She was also my mentor for college. When I first met her, I was surprised with her funny accent. Only later did I find out that she was not Malaysian and come from Hong Kong. Before coming to Sunway College, she was actually teaching in the UK. I thank her for the advice given to me during my time as an A-level student.

Ms. Wong made us do Mathematics. Loads of it. I remember her for the tons and tons of maths past years. She stressed that maths is a subject where you have got to do it continuously to master. Students love her for very hyper character.

***

Mr. Khoo lead my physics class. I've gotta admit, I fell asleep a few times during his classes. He is very approachable and you can be certain that he will answer your physics questions. 

With all smiles from our physics clan, who's complaining?

***

Mr.Leonard

Claims to be a white man trapped in a Chinese guy's body. He taught us Thinking Skills. I remember him for his beyond normal expressions and quack sounds he made. He is known to be a very spontaneous person. A big fan of the Williams Mamak, you'll into him occasionally at this place.

visit his blog here!

Ahem...

***

Mr. Lee teaches Maths and Further Maths. He did not actually teach me. I have gotten to know him through mutual friends from college. Much like Mr. Wong, he too mixes well around with the 

students. Once I joined him and a couple of friends on a food trip to Taiping, he became our 'chauffeur'.

Comedian...no.

***

Ms. Amy is also another maths and further maths teacher from another class. I have gotten to know her through several badminton games. Don't mess with her when it come to badminton. she used to represent Selangor in badminton tournaments.

The only woman in the photo...LAH!

______________________________________________________________________

There are many more teachers that I would love to mention in this post but haven't had the chance to. Not because they are lousy or anything like that, but because there are just too many awesome teachers! To mention all of them would take me days. Maybe I will save some for next year.

Teachers are in a way, our second parents. They teach, they lead, and they inspire. Here is a short film that JinnyboyTV made. 

I feel that with these teachers that I have had over the years, I truly experienced what the video is trying to convey, although no beef ball noodles and Char Kuey Teow. It is those teachers that try their very best to educate and inspire me that have left an impression on me.

I blame my very lack of patience for this abrupt ending to this special Teacher's Day post, I just want to wish all teachers out there, a very happy Teacher's Day!

The END!

Moore Street Dublin

Moore street has been around for the past hundred years and is an important landmark among the Dubliners. Here, we can find various vegetable and fruit stalls selling goods cheaper prices compared to grocery chain stalls. The only time I come to Moore Street is for the Spicy Bites buffet, an Indian styled buffet located underground within Moore Street Mall. Having cravings for Briyani Rice and Lamb Curry, no problem, just drop by this place. Price per pax: 6.50 Euros

Where did the year go again?

Time just flies, it has been a almost 8 months since I've step foot in this foreign land. Fear not, I have not given up on my blog. I hope that I will be able to update more posts in the coming months when I am back in Malaysia. The past 4 months have been a struggle, I had difficulties settling down from the post-Christmas break laziness. I promised myself to work hard this semester having suffered last semester due to excessive cramming done last minute. I tried studying ahead of the exams, months ahead in fact... to my dismay, the procrastination cycle continued . Unlike the A-levels or SPM, medical school exams for Trinity College take place in a span of 3-4 days consecutively. No gaps in between, no time for last minute work. So many details and facts to memorise. Sometimes, the textbooks just overwhelm me. The first year of medical school is when many students drop out. Those who proceed to year two are usually the 'homogenised' lot, those capable of handling the stress of being a Medical students. The pass mark for the exams is 50, get a grade below that for any of the subjects, and bye bye...off you go to repeat the year. I will find out my fate in a few weeks time when the provisional results come out. As for now, I'm recuperating from excessive 'brain use'.

Here's a summary of what happened in the past 4 months...

Made sushi rolls!

Rolling sushi, a skill to be perfected. Not perfected this time. Luckily tasted alright.

Hiking in Glendalough

The mountains of Wicklow, perfect for giving you sore thighs.

Visited the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland

A one day trip to Belfast to visit the famous Giants Causeway and Carrick a Rede Bridge. 

Visit to Edinburgh

The class rep organised a trip to Edinburgh in conjunction with our reading week. A hilly city, filled with the richness of Haggis, fried Mars bars and Ironbru.

SUMMER STARTS!

Perfect weather(17 degrees!), the return to Spicy Bites and St. Patrick's Day

The weather took a sudden turn. We had sun for a few days, amazing by Irish standards. I decided to revisit my favorite Indian Buffet place, been craving for their curries for sometime now. Then there was the St. Patrick's Day. Streets packed with tourist...nothing worth mentioning.

April fools

Well some genius decided to embed actual eggs in the so called 

chocolate Easter Eggs. The greedy me got tricked.

Exam season

Ahh...glad it's over now.

....and that is it!