Racial Harmony Day 2008

The cause of food poisoning... Racial Harmony Day.

"Schools commemorate Racial Harmony Day on 21st July. On this day in
1964, Singapore saw racial riots. Racial Harmony Day serves to remind
our pupils that social division costs us dearly and that race and
religion are potential fault-lines in Singapore society. It is a day
for schools to reflect on, and celebrate our success as a harmonious
nation and society built on a rich diversity of cultures and heritages."

We sent out a notice to the parents and encouraged them to bring in traditional food and snacks so that the children will be able to share and be exposed to the different treats from the different racial groups. So i am guessing my food poisoning started there since i was running to the toilet a lot of times during the evening. But the highlight of the day was seeing the different colourful costumes the children were wearing that day. PLUS, Jamie was nice enough to lend me one of her sari to wear for the day. *heehee* I kept tripping over the material since it was so long and made me waddle like a duck most of the day. Heh. Will leave you with some photos from the day...

 
Mars Class (Left) Jupiter Class (Right)

Renee and Me. Wearing a sari meant you would be showing off your midriff but mine is a spare tire so no showing there. (Left)
Yeah, couldn't resist a self portrait in class. (Right)

The three ladies who wore saris for the day. Zalila, Jamie and myself. 

 
Jamie wanted to take this shot inspired by one of the wedding photos from my wedding.

NDP 2008 - Celebrating the Singapore Spirit

It didn't take us long to realise that the audience sitting around us were not going to be fun and spontaneous people. They weren't cheering or clapping for the performers or hosts and we were like "Get into the mood people! Even though it is just a preview this might be the only time we get to see this." So, what did we decide to do? We basically screamed and cheered ourselves hoasrse, waving the flag, and jumping up and down in excitement. At one point in time, Zalila turned to me and said "Ee Wei can scream and shout really loud, can't she?". *grin* Yep, i found that out when i was 16 during my secondary school's sports day and i was cheering my classmates on. *heehee* We also managed to have our picture taken and printed for us on the spot for free courtesy of Canon and NDP. *heehee* We saw them taking photos and printing them out for the people around us so we got really excited and hoped that they would come our way.

  

The other amusing part of the parade was the simulation of the arrival of our cabinet ministers, senior minister, prime minster and president. *heehee* There was also the excitement and adrenaline rush watching the black knights going through their ariel stunt routine... that was exhilerating! Both of us went crazy snapping away trying to get some decent shots. When Hubbie asked how many photos i had taken when i got home (chatted with him on msn) and i said about 200 he exclaimed "You took it easy today!". *heehee* We had a good time and let me state for the record that Zalila was SO excited that she smacked me a good couple of times over the duration of the show. *LOL*

The highlight of the whole day was the fireworks display as the finale. It was spectacular! We thought they might stinge on the fireworks since it was only a preview but they proved us wrong. This is my last NDP for a long while to come too... next year i can see myself blogging about it from Canada. Wonder what that would be like....

 



 

Hubby left this on his Facebook status before boarding the plane back to Edmonton - "Darcy is at the Changi airport waiting for his flight and feeling a deep sense of loss and dismay.

I won't be seeing Hubbie for the next 8 months ... it will be excruciating. Seriously beginning to wonder if i had made the right choice to stay here to finish up the school year instead of taking that 26 hrs flight to go home with him.

Right now am afraid to go to bed because i know once i turn off the lights, lay my head down on the pillow am going to burst into sobs and i hate that....

I want him here ... with me.....

Has it been 2 years already?

Time flies.... it really does. Exactly 2 years ago, I started working as a teacher and have not looked back. So many wonderful cherished memories with the kids. Sure there have been ups and downs but it has been more ups than downs. Plus, I am pretty sure I have gotten a lot more job satisfaction compared to most careers. I also have a great team of teachers that I love working with and we keep each other sane with some really crazy pranks and stunts - one of our favourites is hiding each other keys. *heehee* Despite all the stress and presure that comes with job that has a pay scale less that in no way matches my qualifications and passion for what I do, I do what I do because I love my job. Yep, not many people can say that. So there. I love my job!

My first group of children, they are 6-years-old now but i still remember when they were 2 years younger. I still remember how it was when they were in the Nursery class. It feels like i have come full circle in their lives. It does feel special to be sending them off next year to Primary 1, i just hope i have done my part to give them the best kindergarten experience they can get.

(Left) Novabelle, Me, Zelia back in 2006 (Right) Novabelle, Me and Zelia in 2008

Happy 2nd Anniversary, Teacher Zalila. It has been a really gila, crazy and fun two years.

Bali Getaway - Day 2

We finally managed to book a driver the nite before after we sat down looked through all the brochures that we had picked up from the airport and made a decision on which place to call. So we woke up early in the morning to get ready for breakfast and have time to sit back and relax before the driver and tour guide came to pick us up.

Funny thing was, when i called Bali Hidden Paradise (the tour agency) the guy who took our reservation didn't ask for our room number or tel. number and it did not occur to me to provide that part of information as well.

So after we had breakfast, i did a quick toilet run in case we would be on the road for a long period of time. When i came back to the dining area, i sat down and noticed that there was a guy standing next to the reception desk and holding a brochure looking rather loss. So i took the brochure of the travel agency and asked if he was our driver or tour guide. You should have seen the look of relief on our tour guide, Putu. So off we went and started our day long journey.

It took us 50 mins just to drive out of the city because it was rush hour and we were packed car-to-car. While we were stuck in traffic, Putu really surprised me with his knowledge and his wanting to share with us as much information about Balinese culture and lifestyle. He also kept apologising about being stuck in traffic which was really fine by me since i should have planned better. I was just happy we had a day planned out to see some of the sights i wanted to see. Hubbie was really nice to let me plan the day even though i had asked him about it and he said whatever i choose is fine by him. As usual, being in a car (or ANY moving vehicle) makes me drowsy and not long after i dozed off till we got our first stop.

Bali Herb and Spice Garden

This sporting old lady picked up the ladle and Delicious and juicy Jambu (Guava)! Yummy!
started to roast the coffee just for me to take my shot.

Kintamani and Lake Batur

The view was definitely breathtaking! The only down side to the stop were the persistant and very aggressive sales people hawking their wares. I was mobbed by a group of 4 young girls selling pencils with colourful wood-carved objects at the end. To make the long story short, i ended up with 6 packs of those pencils (a total of 60) for a total of Rp. 260,000 (39 SGD). Don't ask me why i didn't say no to them or why i bought so many ... but it finally flashed through my mind that i was like a celebrity mobbed by paparazzi . Only they didn't want a picture of me they want me to shell out cash . In hindsight, this was the only moment that put a big damper on my experience of Bali. To share with you how persistent they were, while we were having lunch at Restoran Siring Bali they continued to parade their wares in front of us from the outside (the restaurant had a good view of Kintamani and Lake Batur).

Before we left the place, i braved the people selling their wares by wearing my shades in the hope i look less approachable, and took one last shot of the volcano.

Sebatu Spring Water Temple

After driving away from Kintamani, we found out that Hubbie's sinus attack (the one he experienced during our flight over to Bali) happens at this altitude as well and not only when he is travelling on a plane. Hubbie started getting a headache shortly after finishing lunch and the more we drove down the mountain towards our next stop, the more the pain subsided. Upon arriving at Sebatu Spring Water Temple, Hubbie had to wear a bright orange sarong before entering the temple compounds while i had to tie an orange sash around my waist as a sign of respect. There is an entrance fee of Rp. 3000 ($0.45 SGD) each and if you want to use the toilet it will cost Rp. 1000 ($0.15 SGD). It will be good if you have small change since you drop your toilet fee into a see through plexi-glass container and no change is available. If not just take it as a donation to maintaining the temple compounds. The maintaining of the temple grounds is a job that is done by the villagers who live in the area. Putu was very patient and knowledgeable as we were asking all sorts of questions about the history of the temple.

Natural spring water flowing into the temple's compound.

                                                                                I found myself staring at this statue for a long time                                                     Balinese Goddess of Wisdom, Saraswat.
                                                                        and it felt like it was going to come alive and jump up at me!

                                                              12th Century temple structure.                                                                                                                                                        Hubbie in his orange sarong.

Ubud - Terrace Rice Plantations

One more stop in Ubud before heading off to Tanah Lot was a visit to the Ubud Royal Palace where the Royal family of Ubud still reside within the palace grounds. Lot of restoration works were being done by the villagers too and we found out that they were also preparing for a royal funeral as well. This was another short visit as after we toured the palace we only had 30mins to walk and explore the main street in Ubud. I withdrew some cash from the local ATM and bought a small pack of Tim Tams for Rp. 8000 ($1.20 SGD) because i was hungry and i didn't want to get too hungry that i would lose all appetite for dinner when we get back to Kuta.

                                                                                                One of the many intricately design                                                         This cool bat jeep caught my eye.
                                                                                              and ornate doors seen at the palace.                                              Saw it as we were stepping out of the car.

Tanah Lot

Our final stop of the day and the one stop i was really forward to all day. The temple at Tanah Lot is pretty spectacular especially when it is set on the beach. During low tides, you could walk to the temple which was what we got to do but we did notice that the tide was coming in when we were leaving. When the tide is high, the temple looks like it is floating in the sea. We didn't see that but i can just imagine it being that way. Hubbie later told me that Putu definitely did not get many tourists like me snapping photos every single step of the way. Well i did tell the two to walk on ahead i will catch up with them.

One of the only shots i managed to get of Putu with Hubbie.

That's the temple behind us.

When we got back into Kuta, we paid Putu and the driver for their services. It cost Rp. 420,000 ($63.20 SGD) for a 10 hours service. My friend, Mala who was in Bali 2 weeks before us paid Rp. 350,000 ($53.85 SGD) for only a driver. So for an extra Rp. 70,000 ($10.50 SGD) we got ourselves a guide. We decided that a Rp. 100,000 ($15 SGD) tip for Putu and a Rp. 50,000 ($7.50 SGD) tip for our driver was fitting. At first we weren't sure if the look of Putu's face was of shock or dismay since we weren't too sure how much to tip. However, Mala pointed out to me that the tour agency only charged us Rp. 70,000 more for his services so a Rp. 100,000 was more than enough. That made us feel better.

After dropping our stuff in our room, we walked down the street to this restaurant that we have seen while driving up and down the street and the first time we saw it we said "No way! It couldn't be!". *grin* IT IS!!! It's Bubba Gump from the movie Forrest Gump! *heehee*

As i was taking this pic another tourist who was walking by exclaimed "Dead on, man!" *heehee*

End of Day 2.

To the left of the photo are the gates that hubbie would walk down from to call me using one of the public phones to make a free local call to let me know he has gotten off the plane. After which he would walk to the internet terminals next to the escalators to send off a quick email to my in-laws to let him know he is safe and sound. Finally, take the escalator down to the immigration counter, pick up his luggage and walk into my arms.

Well, the flight experience on Valuair is what you would get from a budget airline carrier. Although, it was nice that they served at least a bun and some water. Hubbie forgot about his sinus acting up during flights so he had a bad sinus attack that escalated into a bad headache. On our arrival at Bali, we had to queue at separate immigration check lines since he needed to pay a $10 USD visa fee upon his arrival. Now here is where i have some serious issues with the conditions at Bali airport. First of all, the immigration clearance for the "foreigners" (which had three counters that they had to go through - visa payment, checking of passport and stamping of the visa) was way faster than the ones i had to go through having to just have mine stamped. Secondly, the airport smelled of stale cigarette smoke guess i have been spoiled by Singapore's enforcement of non-smoking public areas. I mean you can smoke all you want but hey i don't need to exposed to the harm that you're doing to yourself as well. And it took a good 45mins or more for me to clear immigration. This is even when all those in the "foreigners" queues have cleared immigration.

When i finally cleared immigration and met Hubbie out at the luggage belts with our luggages, we walked out or the airport and went straight to the taxi counter. We paid Rp. 40,000 (6 SGD) for a 10mins ride into Kuta and to our hotel, Febri's Hotel and Spa. It's listed as a 3 star hotel but it was sure more than what we had expected for the rate that we had paid.

This is our room for the next 3 days which is so spacious and very decent cable tv channels. The windows look out to our balcony that has seating for two and a clothes rack to hang our wet swim wear.

So by the time we got settled into our room it was already 11pm but i was hungry and wanted to try and order room service. Understandably, the kitchen was closed for the day but the front desk informed us that there is a 24hours McDs nearby so we hopped onto a cab and had McDs take-in in our room watching the parts of Star Trek - Insurrection.

Day 1

Hubbie enjoying his pedicure and that is his spa lady, Darma.

ALAS!!!!!!!!!! Nooooooooooooooooo! I don't know if they are closed for renovations or Krispy Kreme has pulled out of Bali.

After that disappointment, we decided to go with Marie's suggestion and headed to this restaurant called KU DE TA located at Seminyak. The taxi ride cost Rp. 40,000 (6 SGD) even though we were stuck in rush hour traffic.

It was a rather pricey restaurant but the food was good and the desserts were excellent! The dinner of "Roasted Beef Fillet", "Lobster Linguini", with drinks of
"Apple Mojito" and "Pineapple Crush" and ending with desserts of "Twice
Bakes Chocolate Souffle" and "Brulee 4 Ways" set us back Rp. 850,000
(128 SGD). Oh, if you are planning to make a trip to the restaurant remember to make reservations ahead of time. Go really early (i suggest around 4pm) if you want to sit at the restaurant's lounge around where you get a fantastic sunset view of the beach. Just look at the shots i took of the beach where we took a walk before heading back to the restaurant for our dinner.

I saw this lil girl playing with the sand and just had to stop to play with her for a lil bit and snapping some shots of her. This is my favourite shots of 2-year-old Lara.

On our way back to the hotel, we decided to drop off our stuff before checking out Musro Music Room and Cabaret. We asked our driver if he knew what the place was all about but he mentioned that he wasn't familiar with the place. So when we asked the bouncer who was standing outside the place he was kind enough to give us a tour of the place and explained to us what it was all about. We decided to give it a shot and bought tickets to catch the performances of a live band and cabaret show for Rp. 100,000 (15 SGD) each which included a drink. I must say this is a first for me. I have never been to a cabaret show before and i was thoroughly entertained! We thought for the price we paid it was a good deal. The live band that performed before the cabaret segment wasn't too bad either.

    
    
    

And that concludes Day 1 of our short Bali getaway. Day 2 to come soon.

School Holidays
I find it very amusing that parents are surprise and somewhat shock when they see us back in school during the school holidays. Well, here's news for those of you who have the illusion that teachers have an easy job and have long holidays during the year. The first and last week of the school holidays see us back in school and we're not allowed to leave the country on a short break even if we only need to be in school for 2 days of the week.

AGAIN.

Teachers don't get the full few weeks of school holidays.

First Week
Monday - (8.30 am to 12.30 pm) Registration for new batch of Nursery kids for 2009.
Tuesday - (9am to 3pm) Cleaning up the respective assigned areas of the school including our own classroom.
Wednesday - (9am to 3pm) Cleaning up the storeroom (for the 2nd time in 6 months) and preparing activities and assigned games (literacy/numeracy) for the new term.
Thursday - (9am to 3pm) Discussing and planning props for the year end concert and preparing assigned games (literacy/numeracy) for the new term.
Friday - (8.30 am to 4pm) Internal Sharing Session (read - MEETING)

Second Week
Monday - (2pm to 6.30pm) Working on my assigned numeracy games. I need 8 games, 3 sets each. I managed to complete 3 games, 3 sets each.

Last Week
Monday - (9am to 3pm) Preparing the classroom and materials for the new term.
Tuesday - (9am to 3pm) Preparing the classroom and materials for the new term.

So forgive me if i sound like i am complaining but seriously, cut teachers some slack will you.

Malaysia's Petronas has definitely come up with alot of heart-warming ads that sometimes bring me to tears... like i did this afternoon while showing the kids in my class one that was shot for Hari Raya 2007. This one, however, kept me going "Awwwwwww" and watching the clip in loop mode. *grin* Pay attention to the boy's expression at 1.12.