Among the Villagers

One of the 7 Pillar Activities I had to take in order to graduate is Baktisiswa. A foster program, sort of. When I heard about it, I was thinking, there goes my weekends...

Most Biomedical Electronic Engineering students are sent to Kampung Titi Tinggi Ulu, around a total of 90 people. Arrived at the mosque and waited for the prayers to be done, so we can be called upon to meet our foster parents.

A 3-day-2-night trip needed this much luggage... Just kidding xD

I was paired up with JianFeng as foster children to the Secretary of the village. We were suppose to stay with another Malay guy and Arabian guy, but they somehow went MIA, so lucky for us, its just us two people in a big house with our foster family :)Our room, pretty nice :) 10 times better than my hostel =.=

Catherine and SuezTing lived 2 houses away so its convenient for us to pay a visit. Then we decided to go for a stroll on a bicycle around the village.

Its been ages since I last rode a bicycle, and I think I lost the ability to stay balanced =.= not to mention my butt hurts like hell after a few rides...

Next up, each group had to draw a map and the organisation chart of the village. The map looked sort of like...

...this. We didn't have much time so we have to continue the next day. Its impossible to get it done in 2 hours...

Next morning, aerobic exercises. Not my cup of tea =.=

TzeYang lead the exercise midway, and made it... well... enjoyable but... SUPER embarrassing... I wouldn't be caught dead doing those -.- hence no pictures.

'Twas supposed to be Maid-Day for my group because when the leaders draw lots, we could the cleaning up duty =.= Luckily for me, KM decided to change things a little bit. He changed the program a little bit, making it a moon-gazing event at night, and preparations in the evening. Out goes my maid duty :) Thanks a TON haha.

And when night approaches...Time to see the moon :) Its the Moon Eclipse Day, which is a rare opportunity, but too bad those darn bloody clouds are blocking the view... Only got to see a bit of it, and the rest was viewed online...
Reena gave a lil' bit of knowledge about the solar system to the kids, and even offered some gifts if they answered her questions correctly.

Since the bloody clouds are disturbing, time to watch the moon online. Like-a-boss way.
Oh yeah, KM and his team made something pretty interesting.
Its called a Planisphere. Rotate the sphere according to your date and the date stated in the sphere to see what kinds of stars you could see in the sky, provided without clouds.

And now its time to do what I always do when there's an eclipse.
Egg-standing competition! Lost terribly =.= Only JianFeng managed to make it stand. Went back to our house around 12.

The next day all UniMAP students are asked to help out in the wedding ceremony. I was thinking, what can we do? I came late, and most of the jobs are booked by other people. What to do leh? In we go to the kitchen.
This is how they cook meat in mass. Like, seriously. This is the 1st time I've ever witnessed with my own eyes, the way they cook. They dig a keyhole like... hole and place the wok on the round shaped... hole... The firewood goes below and voila! You have a cooking pit.

We don't have enough firewood so, Handyman TzeYang to the rescue. He can cut wood. Really. He CAN. Then on to the cooking. I COOKED! Surprised? The beef curry two pics above, made by me, and my teammates :) We were given directions on what to put so no worries about the taste :) We don't have the experience in this kind of cooking, so sue me.

The bride and groom.

After that was over, its time to go home. We had out last goodbye with out foster parents, and took some pictures, served them some drinks, etc. etc. etc.My foster family had one of the cutest daughter I've ever seen. So hyper and outgoing (although camera-shy).They even gave me a present :)

Although I most probably wouldn't wanna do this program again, I kinda enjoyed my stay there. The people are surprisingly a LOT more friendly than they seem to be when I 1st saw them in the mosque.

This is a one-of-a-kind experience that I would treasure for a loooooong time. Its been a while since I ever did something so meaningful.

I'm pretty thankful for everything I have received from my foster family. Be it food, shelter, warmth and even the stories they share with me. May all of you be blessed for your kindness and spirits.




Signed off,
Kelvin.

Maha Sanghika Dana 2010

Every year, the Buddhist Students' Society of Penang Free School is invited to serve the monks during Maha Sanghika Dana. This is my fifth year participating in it. It was held in Times Square, surprisingly, as usually it is in Che Hon Kor Moral Uplifting Society.

For the opening ceremony, the released tons of helium-filled balloons to the air. No pictures by the way, no camera, and the battery of my cell dried off....

Then, there was a long long, LOOOOONG break in between. We walked around and listened to a singer singing on the stage. She was okay... but as soon as a male singer steps in, all the crowd disappears...

Some went to Roti Bakar for breakfast, and I went back to check if they started or not.

Later, its time to serve the monks. I scooped rice for about 3 monks, and 1 in particular I felt so guilty... We were supposed to stop scooping as soon as they put their hands down to the table indicating us to stop. This monk didn't do so, and I kept scooping till the rice in my bowl finished...

Another thing I felt guilty for is during the offering of food to the monks. Once we hold the table, we are not supposed to let go. One monk asked me to go over to the other side as there was no one there, and I let go without thinking twice... Then, another monk asked me to let go again, as the chanting hasn't started yet...

Other than that, everything went normal... The rest of the gang went to Gamma for Prom clothes, I already had mine. So its home sweet home for me!

Signed off,

Teng Aun

Banquet For Three

Last Saturday, a dinner was organized by Computer Club, Interact Club and Board of Co-curricular Prefects, and I was invited (sort of forced) to go. Worse, they put me in charge of games....

Quick question, I was neither in the 3 clubs/board, why am I in charge of this?

One simple answer, the wrath of ShinYe Lim is unbearable. Combine it with Kerry or AnnGie, insta-kill.

One thing I hate about being in charge of games is that I had to prepare games for all the tables. If there is a change in the number of tables (which in the last minute, there is) I had to add in more... Not only I was in charge of the games, I had to pay RM25 JUST to attend, bugger...

There will be a performance along the event by a band formed by the Form 5 students.

Most of their songs are from Muse, which is of the Metal genre. Not my cup of tea. The vocalist gave me shivers quite a lot of times. One of their song was good though.

Move on to the food.

Since I'm paying RM25 AND be in charge of something, I'm gonna eat till I bloat. The food was okay... but not as much variety as the BOSLIB dinner. The only thing nice is the Grilled Lamb and Ice Kacang. The fish... felt too flour-ish. Dory fish is not a good choice.

There was also a table-by-table magic performance by PeterOng (although it doesn't feel like table-by-table since everyone was following him).
To me, he was the main attraction of the day. He impressed everyone in the event.

There was also a dance by the Pixco troup.
They danced quite good, but its weird to see them break-dance in front of 2 teachers who are in the middle-aged group...

That sums up everything, and I had to help clean up the hall... Why am I so involved in this? Reminder to self, when help are needed by the 3 girls in my class, avoid as much as possible...

Signed off,

Teng Aun.

Night of The King And I

4th of July, the day America celebrate Independence Day, Penang Free School proudly presents, a musical, The King And I...

.

The idea of having it in Dewan Sri Pinang instead of the school hall is because its the last year Pn. Malini will be directing a play, and also because my school headmaster decided to retire the next year (but though, he withdrew his retirement...).

No, I am no more a propsmen, as the Sea Scouts had enough member to help out with the backstage... We were given a RM10 discount on the tickets as a token of 'appreciation', and sadly, I don't really see the sincerity. I always thought to myself, its okay, think of it as a help to a friend, but if they were ever rude to me, I'll withdraw the fan, suitcase, parasol, the ladder (and give back to the KH room) and the gong (to return to my teacher). The crew members were cool, I just despite how Pn. Malini treat us, and gave us her sour face look (WE HELPED YOU FOR GOD SAKE!).

Okay never mind that, lets move on. The booklet looked as of below, kinda pixelated...

I had to pick up SauFei to the play, and I was afraid of traffic and parking problems so I went there 1 hour earlier (or more). Met up with Linges to hand in his ticket, and walked around Esplanade for a while. Met too many people whom I knew, Mr. Khor, Wil Sern, Charlene's partner, Pn. Suriya, etc. etc. etc. Had a few vain moments.
Finally its time to see the play. I took a seat WAY to far from the stage... It has a clear view, but its hard for photo taking... Not to mention the lighting was so strong, it would be perfect for photo taking upfront, and terrible farback...

The King and I is about a Siam King, being addressed as a barbarian by the English, so he hired an English teacher to teach him English and well... manners... King Mongkut was played by Brian John Dorai and Anna Lenowens played by Charisma Suhashini. Theres a long list of cast to be mentioned, so if you wanna know, tell me, and I'll show you the booklet. Notice my pictures are of x5 zoom with flash off to prevent light over-saturation and people looking at me like a weirdo.

I loved this picture most... She didn't glow by the way, the lighting made it this way...

All in all I gotta say, I was shocked by their performance... They didn't do a good job, they did a SPLENDID job. I was amazed that Charisma could actually sing so well, and sang better than any other singer in the play... Brian was also great and hilarious in the play...

At the end of the play, I was supposed to send Gahjen home but I forgot! I left him at Dewan Sri Pinang :P Luckily there are other people to send him home...

4th of July, 2010 was a memorable night.

Signed off,

Teng Aun.

Emergency! Help Required!

Okay before I state what help I need, its better for me to tell the story behind it 1st or it may sound a little... misleading...

Went to school on Thursday for Ms. Choong extra class on Physics, and was informed that Pn. Malini wanted to see us propsmen (yea, I volunteered...)

Went to the school hall as said, and I saw some of the cast practicing their dances.

Joyce is my boss in this division, and she has a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG list of what to find and... that will be our task...

Well, I wasn't the only volunteer for propsmen so I don't need to find that much item...
But the problem is, the item I was assigned for... which is;

--> Parasol (Where could I find this?)

--> Old Suitcase.

NO, I don't want a parasol for myself, eww. Its for Anna, in some scenes she's gonna use it. Actually all these stuff are for the play... so...

Any kind soul possessing the items stated above, could you PLEEEEEASE kindly borrow it for the play of The King And I? I'd be so screwed if I couldn't hand in these stuff when school re-opens...

Signed off,

Teng Aun.

Orientation Games

Finally something to remember in the month of May. A small ray of light in this big space of darkness. Today is the day we Upper 6 Forms got our revenge on our seniors for making us suffer so much, by bullying our juniors, which is the Lower 6 Forms. They painted my face with Buncho water colour, make up, pencil and more, that it prompted one of my family members to say "Eh, you volunteer to become a canvas ah?"

Of course, things don't start off well. We end our lesson at 2.40 p.m., and were suppose to meet at 3.00 p.m. for our station briefings. We needed lots of chairs, so we hurried up and moved about 15 chairs down to the basketball court, and bought McD right before the offer ends, phew...

Well something happened though, the basketball court was used by the Basketball Club, even when the committee canceled their training for this event to proceed. They asked for a letter or permission as if they own the place, and when we brought our authority there, they haggled into sharing the court... Would you guys die of not playing basketball, seriously? Thanks to you guys, we had to move to a smaller, tiled platform behind the senior toilet and had to cancel our 1st game planned due to lack of space...

Ahh, enough of that, things turned out better than I imagined. We DID use like, the edge of the basketball court to 'warm up' these peeps... haha...

Not to mention their faces were painted;

Mostly by this giant.
On to the games, the station I got in charge of planned the 90 Seconds Alphabet Game (I think thats what its called). The participants are given a situation, and were to speak up a sentence with a random, given alphabet as a starter. The next person has to continue another sentence with the next alphabet as a starter. Kinda confusing to people at 1st, but they got used to it. The losers get their face painted.

"Apelah, mua Engrish is better than yyoooorrrrzzzz la"

I wondered around but I had to be on my station most of the time, so I only could get pictures of the station about a stone throw away from mine. Their game is Copy The Leader. Its basically, well, copy the movements made by the leader, mirror imaged (their punishment is pole dancing...).

All in all, I say this event has made a mark in some of the Lower 6 and most to revenge their own juniors next year...
...some went a little.... balastic...
while some got themselves ready for some cosplay.

That ends the day. Now Sixth Form society is focused on the Orientation Ball, more known as prom. The theme is Masquerade, so anyone has an extra mask I could borrow for the day?

Signed off,

Teng Aun.

A Day Of Knowledge And Culture

Looking at the picture above, I guess its pretty much known our BOSLIB Trip is to Penang Chinese Girls High School. Though, their architectural trademark is quite similar to Chung Ling High School.

I've finally found time to blog about this trip. It IS one of the fun trips I rarely join in my life. There were ups and downs including misunderstanding between our board members, but all in all, everything turned out well. Lets not get too emo shall we?

Several weeks ago (YES, I know, I'm terribly late...), the Board of Student Librarians organised a trip to Penang Chinese Girls High School to visit their library as it is deemed one of the best and most organised library in Penang, among schools of course. One of the reasons most of us signed up for this trip (maybe me too) is to 'glance' at *ahems* (you guys know what I mean).

As we walking in to their porch, we were greeted by their students in charge, and later, the authorities. Don't play play, their English standard is not bad...
We were directed to a few other places before we proceed to the library. 1st is their Resource Room. Its sort of a centralised room where every documents will be compiled there and then assorted to the respective boards and clubs. There will be students in charge for about 2 to 3 hours before or after their schooling session. Such hardworkers...

Then, its off to another place. Its a room full of computers for the use of students and teachers.
Just look at the computer. Its WAY more advanced than the ancient computer in PFS. One thing I admire is their concern for students. These computers were bought SOLELY by using the funds of the school. NO help from the government in any way, and they are able to afford about more than 10 computers, while PFS authorities rejected our proposal for buying one computer, even if it is paid by our own board...

No pendrives allowed by the way, all they do for storing files is through 4shared. Genius.

There are a few more stops in between, the canteen, the stadium, and henceforth. Lets move forward to the library.

Though small, the PCGHS library probably stored more books than PFS do. Not to mention its so technologised it made PFS library looked as if it belonged to the 19th century (seriously, not joking here).
I'll give an example for my statement above. Look at the picture below.
Behold, Drill-A-Bind. Its a binding machine of course, that could bind through thick books such as novels in a flash. All you have to do is punch a hole using the right compartment, and switch to the left to melt a plastic cut automatically beforehand and stuck the pages together. Genius invention eh? Cost them about RM1k+...

Not only that, they have a fully functional TV and a computer for students usage. I even saw an electronic mini dictionary display near the entrance. Their system is very strict though.

Not to forget they actually compiled test papers and displayed them in the library.
Before he depart to another destination, we wondered around and 2 vains asked me to take a photo of them everywhere they find an interesting article or object.

One thing attracted my attention is the Blacklist Board. If one were to be implied in PFS, it'll be full in 1 week. Its mostly empty, with just 2 students in display. One is a boy for trespassing PCGHS boundary during school hours, one is for betraying PCGHS and ran to PFS for Form 6...
The girl was very sad ya' know? Look what title she was crowned before this tragic thing happened.
Haha, just joking okay?

Wondered around longer and stumbled upon their trophy collection.
This is just about one quarter of the total.

As we leave, stomachs were growling, and we had to find a place to dig in. One person ticked me though.
Aiyo, let loose la. We are here to enjoy and you have 6 other days of the week to pia.

Went to eat in a mamak store. They are famous for their mutton soup (more widely known as sup kambing) but all we could eat is nasi kandar as we only paid 3 bucks. A plate of nasi kandar with chicken, egg, and vege with a cup of syrup, all for RM3 is quite worth it though.
Our final stop, Sri Pinang Peranakan in Church Street. Its a cultural display on the traditions of Baba Nyonya, including their furnitures, clothing, and other items in their house. Even the structure of the building is made to fit the Baba Nyonya culture.
Basically we roamed around freely for about an hour to check on the display. One of the weirdest stuff over there is their couple seat.
Its as if it was invented by a mother-in-law who hates her son's wife. Some of us went overboard with the stuff displayed though...

The girls tried the make-ups...
... and even their potty bowls... After everyone was satisfied, we proceed back to school. As we were leaving, a just-proposed couple came for their wedding photo shoot. I could see they were unhappy 'cause we made a hell of a noise during the photo shoot. Not to mention they had about 40 pair of eyes looking at them when the photo shoot was conducted, even though it was only for a few minutes.

As we were leaving, HuiYee spotted her soul mate, and decided to depart with him...

Would you marry me?

As you can see, she was horribly rejected... She left the place with a broken heart... Off to PFS to continue with our normal routine! ....... *sigh*

Signed off,

Teng Aun

P.S. HuiYee, don't kill me ya? *begs*

Wanna view more photos? Click here.