Sunday, January 08, 2006
:: Over The Rainbow ::
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
:: ::
Monday, January 02, 2006
:: NanO Day11 [8th Dec] ::
:: NanO Day 9 [6th Dec] ::
:: ::
Sunday, January 01, 2006
:: NanO Outing 2 [1st Jan] ::
:: Nano Day 5 [2nd Dec] ::
:: Nan0 Day4 [1st Dec] ::
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
:: ::
:: ::
:: NanO Day 3 [30th Nov] ::
:: NanO Day 2 [29th Nov] ::
:: Nan Trip ::
:: Life back in Spore ::
Sunday, December 18, 2005
:: NanO Day 1 [28th Nov] ::
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullably
Somewhere over the rainbow
Blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then oh why can't I?
Someday I wish upon a star
and wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
9:36 AM
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.jpg)
A ritual after lunch. 
10:44 AM
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Saman was very naughty. I felt like killing him. His attention span was super short. He could not concentrate and he was slower than the rest. Nevertheless, I still like him..jpg)
Me and Saman
During lunch, I went around with the P3 girls. They sticked to me and held my hands. Haha. I was enjoying it. They gave me a lot of flowers. So sweet of them. Then they dragged me out of the school. At the school gate, they broke a plant when they were plucking the flowers. I was shocked at the sight of it. At the same time, I was amused by it. Yesterday, they broke a plant at the school gate too. The broken plant was still there. They placed it back into the bushes, which camouflaged well. Haha. The P3 girls were very cute..jpg)
My P3 girls. Lovely!
After lunchtime, it was M3 lesson again. I had lots of fun with them. They were more like my friends than students. Playing hard and, at the same time, working hard. Haha. We balanced fun with teaching.
During OT, I followed 2 of my P3 boys to the school 'farm'. It was behind the library but we could not see it. The kitchen and canteen were blocking our views from it. Anyway, it was like a 'suprise' for me. While I was following them, I was wondering where they are bringing me to. There was some anticipation. When I saw the place, I went 'WOW'. In fact, we saw the place from outside yesterday. But we did not know that it was part of the school and that it was so near to the library. Also, the feeling I had was different from yesterday. Yesterday, the place was empty. So, it was dull and lifeless. In contrast, the place was filled with children who were working on the 'farm', their laughters and voices, the trace of the children running around and they were enjoying themselves.The children have brought life to the dullness. That's the power of children; their smiles and laughters melt away all the dullness. I felt as if I have just entered a different world. A world with children without any worries and troubles. A carefree life. The place was flooded with innocence and joy..jpg)
The 'farm' without kids.
When I shouted 'Hello' across the field, I received many replies. The responses were so warm. Even those who did not know me replied. I felt as if we were one big family. Haha.
Later, I tried ploughing the soil. It seemed simple to them but was hard to me. There was a reversal of roles. They became my 'teacher' as they taught me how to plough the soil. I found this significant. Through this expedition, we learnt from each other. They learnt English and new games from us while we learnt many thing, which could not be taught in the classroom, from them.
Some of P3 girls climbed up the tree to pluck flowers for me. This time,they climbed higher than before. I was so worried and kept asking them to come down. However, they seemed to be enjoying it. Haha.
While walking back to the library, XJ and I saw some of our M3 girls were peeling eggs. We stopped and helped them. We tried to chat while peeling the eggs. We were like one big family; in class, we taught them and after class, we helped them with the food. That's what you could hardly find in Spore. Did you ever see teachers helping their students to peel eggs? Or did you see a few students peeling eggs for the whole school? By the way, they helped to prepare food for the whole school after lesson. The school was like a big family. The teachers were so closely bonded. They stayed together and played togather. They practically did everything together. They were super close friends. As for the students, everyone knows one another. They shared food together during breakfast and recess. A great contrast to the local schools.Anyway, let me get back to the peeling of eggs. Suddenly XJ remembered that we were not supposed to get near chicken or egg because for the fear of bird flu. We went "Oh shit" and followed by, "never mind" because we have already touched the eggs. So we continued with the peeling. We were rather scared that our teachers might see what we were doing.
I did not eat much for dinner because it was vegetable and green curry. I hate it. I sneaked back to the house to have maggie mee. Yummy yummy! But I did not feel good about my act. I felt bad. At night, I 'fought' with Sarah again. haha. I had fun.
10:30 AM
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During lunchtime, we played with the children and they went wild. They were no longer shy in front of us or afraid of us. They were very violent towards us. Some pulled my bra!!! Some poked my ass!!! No respect.
The M3 was more enthusiatic than last week. We felt more comfortable with one another. Anyway, I had fun teaching them.
My room was enveloped by germs. Haha. There were two sick girls, Stella and Lucia. One at each end of the room.
10:29 AM
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This expedition is going to end soon. A few more days. We are going to leave Nan and say "bye" to one another at Changi Airport. -sigh- Why do we have to separate when our bonds have established? I begin to love everyone here. I have been crazying and living with them for the past 2 weeks. I'm scared that we would not be keeping in contact. It would be a great pity. I know I'll really miss everything and everyone here. I don't want the time to pass so fast. I want time to slow down. I really can't bear to leave. The separation freaks me out.
"We were strangers on this crazy expedition"
This is quouted from a song which some of them are going to sing during the closing cermony. It applies to Nano.
We were strangers from different classes, levels and backgrounds. We were people of different traits. Despite the difference, a common goal brought us together. It was the heart to help, learn and experience. The willingness to compromise to one another. Fulfilling our Full Value Contract. Together we embarked on this journey to Nan." - 13th Dec
Full-Value Contract with Nanos' signatures
6:35 AM
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We cycled around to look for the rest. After a long ride, we found them. On the way, Joyz joined us.
When we reached the end, we stopped for a rest. Then, Marilyn and I saw waterdroplets were dripping into the pool of water beside us. We went..."Argh....it's raining!!!!!". All of us started to panick and we rushed to our bikes. Many were shouting..."The rain is coming!!!" and the funniest was "The sky is falling!!!". Haha. We sped back to Mac which was very far from where we were. Along the way, there were many shelters but we did not stop there. We had to meet XJ at Mac. So we cycled in the heavy rain. Everyone was drenched. Thoroughly wet. Nevertheless, it was a memorable ride because for the forst time, I was speeding with 10 friends in the heavy rain. Haha.
Soon after the rain got lighter, we decided to return our bikes and head for dinner. On the way, along a crowded bridge, there was a girl who was stopping in front of me. I stopped in time in order to prevent myself from knocking into her. However, little did I expect that Stella was so close behind and she has to brake suddenly. The impact between my and hers bikes was very big. Stella's knee-cap knocked onto the seat of the bike and it was very painful. I'm so sorry. Later, she said that she was feeling dizzy. We went "huh" because we could not find the link between knocking of knee and dizzy. At night, then I realised that she felt dizzy because she was going to have a fever. She left after the ride and she did not go for dinner with us.
We walked to Parkway for dinner. Sarah attempted to order the food in chinese. Obviously, she did not do it fluently. Ordering by the number would be better for her. Everyone waited for all the food to come before starting. Those whose food came earlier were so tempted to start but they did not as it was "shamless to start first". Haha. We finished our dinner at about 9.30pm.
On the way to the bus stop, we saw 853. The girls started to run. Only YC continued to walk and he was saying, "No point running. They cannot catch one....Siao". Straight after he said that, he started to run too. T_T. Super funny.
I can't wait for the next Nano outing. I miss my 19 days in Nan(Thai). I loves my Nano.
11:36 PM
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My pink boy was standing outside my class. He was waiting for me. So sweet. Haha..jpg)
My pink boy. Cute right?
He was outside my classroom.
At night, we had a short debrief because we had to prepare the stuff for the camp. Anyway, the debrief was about our expectation of the camp and feeling of the expedition.
My expectation of the camp:
-It would be rather tiring and there would be many changes. Also, I thought that it would be rather similar to our usual life in class.
My feelings of the expedition:
-fun
-enjoying myself
-haven't miss home or TV
-the learning abilities of the students vary
Some of us stayed back to prepare the skit and the props.
9:30 AM
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As for debrief, we talked about the improvements in class.
Today, my class had IT lesson which allowed them to recall what has been thought and they learn how to use Microsoft Word. It was more hands-on as compared to teaching in class. We found it better as they could apply what they learnt. Also, both M3 and P3 were not as shy as the first day.
9:14 AM
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12:49 PM
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A gateway away from the hectic life.
Away from all the troubles and worries.
Simply enjoy what's right in front of you.
12:47 PM
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Our performance.
We had a long OT as the debrief started late. The teachers went out for a dinner with the Thai teachers. So some of us played truth or dare next door. One of the dares was Yumin had to get horny with whoever in my room. Stella and Aiping were in the room then. Stella played along with Yumin. Haha. It was very funny. Another dare was WeiFang had to confess to one of the guys. We crowded at the window to look at the confession. It was so funny too. We had a great laugh. WeiFang really looks as if she was going to confess to Yao. As for the truths, Sarah said that she had 16 part-time ex. Haha. So many. She cannot be committed. Stella said about how she fell for Mr S and QY. Haha. So stupid. She fell for QY because he offered her a tissue when she cried. She and her fantasy. T_T. We had a great time. I knew more about the rest.
I had a 'fight' with Sarah. It reminded me of the crazy 'fights' I had in secondary school. I found it fun.
During debrief, we thought about what we have learnt, our feelings and the most memorable thing of the day.
What I have learnt:
-be patient because of different learning abilities
-be flexible and adaptable
-being a teacher is hard
My feelings:
-awarkard
-stress
-touched
Most memorable:
-the kids were more willing to participate in class and games
-the teacher helped us to translate
-teaching of M3(Different learning abilities)
After debrief, we practised our dance outside. It was so cold and dark. I could not remember my steps. It was made worse by the presence of Ms Chan. I felt so stress. I was very scared that she would scold me for not putting my best into the dance.
12:29 PM
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The day started with nice breakfast in the library. It was better than what I expect. The library became our hangout in Nan. We had our meals there. We practised our dance, skit and song there. We had debriefs there. We had our gathering there. We wrote letters to one another there. After filling our stomach, we started class by observation. Sarah, XJ, KangLi and Yumin were members of my teaching group. We had to go to P3. Before we went for class, we saw the children sweeping the assembly area. All of us went "OMG" because the dust was fogging the whole place. The place was really dusty. 
This is not the worst.
During assembly, the older kids would just knock the younger kids' heads if they misbehave. They hit hardly on the heads. We could even hear the knocking sound. We were shocked to see that. After that, I found it amusing.
Where on earth is P3?
We were like some blind people looking for their way. Unable to see what is right in front of u. The level was written on the door but we could not read because it was in Thai. Where on earth are the teachers? Helpless. We were like some desperate kids looking for an adult to help us.
Finally, we knew which class but bad stuff did not end here. There was no teacher in the class. When we peeped in, the class looked at us. We exchanged blur looks. Then, we hesitated. Go in or not. Awakard. Minutes later, we decided to enter. We had to take the class once we arrived without any proper introduction. Stress was clearly written on our faces. The kids were shy while we were nervous. What the heck.
Come to think of it now....it's really funny.
Anyway, we started with introduction. When the introduction ended, we had nothing to do. It was "O shit!" again. Where on earth are the teachers? No teachers in school? Finally finally finally...a teacher came. The reason for their absence was they had health checkup. T_T. Health checkup!?! Left us there....so helpless. The teacher took over the class and we sat behind to observe.
My P3 class
After lunch, we had to go to M3 class. M3=Sec3. The teacher brought them to the computer lab. They played their own games. There was nothing much for us to do. We realised that there's a computer with internet. We used it for a while and email our parents. In fact, we felt rather awakard teaching the M3 because we were about the same age.
My M3 class
At night, we had our first Nan debrief. Our debrief was about the first impression of the place and the people, their impression of us and our feelings and thoughts.
My impression of the place :
- moderate living condition
-inaccessible(need hours to travel to and fro)
My impression of the people:
-friendly
-polite
Their first impression of us:
-not very good(When we arrived on the previous night, we did not finish the food and we did not thank/help/greet them. We were too tired then.)
Feeling and thoughts:
-tired(not used to the place yet)
-fun
-be flexible in class
-awakard(teaching the M3)
11:56 AM
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Give it a miss if u are not interested about my thai trip or u are lazy.
11:49 AM
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I woke up feeling awkard. I found my surrounding empty. I had been sleeping with people for the past few weeks.Every morning, I would wake up and see my friends. Now, no more. It was rather weird. I have to adjust back to my original lifestyle.
In the afternoon, I was busy unpacking my stuff. After that, I went out with my parents. My mum wanted to shop for CNY clothes at the same old place, Albert OG. We went there and realised that there were more clothes for xmas than CNY. Haha. Stupid. It defeated the purpose of going there. Anyway, I bought some Meiji tibits. I miss them lots. My dad was following us around and of course, he got bored. So he went home first. My mum and I continued shopping. I saw my white watch at Bugis Street. I felt so cheated. I bought it at $8 in Thai and Spore was selling at $6. Whatever. I saw the bronze watch which XJ and I wanted to get. It was only $5. I bought it. I had nice time shopping with mum today. Before going home, I went to eat dumplings in the food court. The skins were too thick. Not nice.
Monday [19th Dec]
At the last minute, gao and I decided to go town. I went to buy xmas presents and cards. Gao was accompanying me. I bought Sarah a quiksilver belt. A plain belt which costs $44(after discount). I should have spent the money on something better. Anyway, just hope that she'll like the present. Then we went kino. Gao was tempted by the variety of magazines. She could not decided which to get. Also, we took 2 neoprints. After that, gao went home and I went to look for Ya and Paul. I continued my shopping with them. Paul went home first. I went to Ya's house to get comic. Then she walked me to a hair salon. I trimmed my hair. My hair is balanced now.
Tuesday [20th Dec]
I overslept. I was late because I was confused about the time. I forgot to change my watch back to Spore time. Moo reached at about 1.30pm while I reached at 3+pm. Anyway, I doze off in the bus and missed the stop. I got to somewhere unfamiliar to me. Lost. So I took a cab to somerset. It was only $2.7. Haha. The cab has travelled for $0.3. I didn't know that it was so near.
Moo and I got the stamps and cards done. I forgot why I asked Moo along for movie. Recalling........I think I asked her along because I remembered she wanted to ask me to go for chic little. Anyway, I'm sorry that I dragged her along because she felt extra.
Nanos were shocked when they saw me skirt. Haha. I think because their impression of me is I'm very rough. I was fighting with Sarah during the trip. Haha. XJ was very funny. She came into the toliet and went "argh...lichin". Haha.
Chic Little is very stupid but funny. I love the orange creature. Its hair would shoot up when he sneezes. So cute!!! Before the moive, they went for lunch at Seoul.
After moive, eat again. At Gelare. In Far East. Sarah treated us. Then we walked to esplanade.
Wednesday [21st Dec]
I met Aiping to exchange stuffs. After that I rushed to the PostOffice. I sent Calli a small parcel. Inside : 2 Eeyore soft toys, 1 Eeyore tissue and 1 Eeyore figurine. I bought a box so that I could send Sarah her birthday present. I wanted to get the smaller box but it was too small for the card. So I took the larger box. When I came back, I realised that the box was big. I could not fill it up. Very empty. Heck.
Anyway, Ba and Glen came to my house. Glen left early for Hougang Mall. Then Ba and I met Tric and Glen on the bus. We headed for Grapevine. We were caught in the rain. Wet. Shalene was working there. We ate, played pool, took photos and laughed there. Kayne came much later with a small cake for Ba. A little surprise for her. This year Glen and I could not celebrate Ba's birthday as we would be away.
9:06 AM
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I felt rather lonely when I saw others with their family and friends. Hmm...at least I had someone who was in the same situation. It was Stella. We were quite bored and ended up looking at others' family. We concluded that Jeremy's brother looks like him. KangLi's sister too. We were shocked to see some people. Sam, QY and Chun Hong. They came to send YC. I was shocked that they are good friends.
A sad and unfortunate thing happened. Huixian could not make it. She lost her passport on saturday when she brought the passport out. Worst thing that could ever happen to someone. Losing the most important thing a few days before leaving. Such a pity. I could not imagine if this happen to me. Looking at the amount of anticipation I had before the trip, I would be devastated.
At the airport, Aiping and Stella started to say...
"I want to go home".
T_T
We were still in SPORE CHANGI AIRPORT.
Life would be rather hard for them in Nan.
In the plane, Jaimie changed seat with me. Thanks to her I was able to get a window seat. I love flying. The sky out there was very nice.There was frost on the window. It was the 1st time Jiayi and some others took a plane. Haha. Also, it was the 1st time Sarah was taking the economy class. Rich brat. Haha. I love the food in SIA. The potato was delicious.
The waiting at the Thai airport was super long. Long queue. So slow and inefficient. We waited for about 1hour. After that, we had to rush to another part of the airport. A far end. We had to walk through a long tunnel. The walk was like never ending.We had to walk up and down with all our heavy bags.
The domestic plane was very small and cute. The wings were so small. It could only take up to 40 passengers. Rather pathetic. So Nano took up about 3/4 of the plane. The plane was super jerky when it took off. For the first time I felt scared in a plane. Its engine was loud and it was vibrating more vigorously than other planes could..jpg)
The small domestic plane.
Soon after took off, we were given a box of food. I did not expect it. The food was something weird. Never see it before. Stella said that its fish. Anyway, the funny stuff was rather nice. The plane was really small such that the passage is only sufficient for 1 person. Pathetic. End up there was a heavy human traffic.
The flight was about 1 hr. Minutes before it land, I was looking for the airport. Look here and there. I COULD NOT FIND THE AIRPORT. Where on earth is the airport!??! I only got to see it when I stepped out of the plane. The Nan airport was super pathetic. Never see before such a small airport. I was amused and shocked about it. Interesting. Usually, when you are in an airport, you'll need some time to explore it. As for the Nan airport, you could see everything in just a glance. .jpg)
Nan = Thai Virgin Land
I expected a van or something similar to send us up the moutain. It ended up to be 2 small pick-ups for 32 people. All our heavy backpacks were stacked on top of the 2 pick-ups. Unbelievable. The small pick-ups were unexpectedly tough. I was amazed by what I saw.
The journey up the moutain was really tough. Firstly, the strong wind was killing us. The most commonly said word was "COLD". It was freezing. I was in the 1st seat. That was the worst seat. If you are sitting there, you'll be the one 'blocking' most of the wind for others. Also, the wind swept swiftly pass my body. I felt as if I just had a face-lift. I would look younger. Haha. Anyway, I really regret sitting there. I'll never sit there again. I really pity whoever sat there. It was like a torture. Secondly, we were hungry. We did not prepare any food with us. We did not expect the journey to be so long. Cold and hungry. Yucks. Thirdly, we were told that the journey would be about 3hours(I think) but it took longer than that. The journey appeared to be endless as if we were never getting there. Anyway, the journey took 5hours. Fourthly, it was very jerky throughout. As if you'll be flying out of your seat anytime. I could hardly take a nap. Tired.
Despite all the tortures, there were fun and nice stuffs. I love the sky most!!! It was super nice. So nice till it looks as if it was fake. The stars were countless and they stretched across the endless sky. You could hardly find an area that was star-free. I was really touched at the sight of it. How I hope I could capture them into photos. At least I could look at them again. But the feeling would be different. Never mind. I'm sure that I could see it again. Secondly, it was the lame and funny stuffs that went on during the journey. The 100 Green Bottles sang by Sarah, the ice and cream by XJ, etc.
I want to thank Yao, Suyee and Stella. They were supporting me when I slept in the pick-up. It was really hard to prevent myself from falling off my seat.
I saw hope when we saw the bridge. We were shown the photo of that bridge. It was a bridge leading to the village. So, the sight of the bridge suggested that we were arriving.
When we reached, I had to rush to the toliet. The worse thing was I did not know where was the toliet. Furthermore, the place was near to complete darkness. In the end, I went to the toliet in the boys' room. After that, we had dinner. The Thai people were really nice. They prepared food for us and waited for us.I appreciated their kindness but I could not eat. I did not have appetite after the long journey. All that I was hoping for was SLEEP. No choice. I could not leave the food untouch. So I tried to eat some and asked others to help me with it. .jpg)
The girls' house where we spent our 19 days.
Finally, it was bedtime. I slept on the 2nd floor with Stella, Aiping, Suyee, Yiwen, Joyz, WeiFang ang, JieYing and Lucia. The people next door were XJ, Ser, ShiWei, Calli, AiLin, Sarah, KangLi, JiaYi and Yumin. The rest were downstair.
11:12 AM
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