Program Jalinan Kasih: SMK Katibas Sayang SMK Kapit

“Love Bonding Program: SMK Katibas Loves SMK Kapit”

“Teacher, this is my first time taking a long boat!...First time ‘mandi berkemban’ (wrapped in towels)”

“Teacher, I never eat using my hands. The food tastes good eaten this way….my first time”

“Oh my God, oh my God! A leech on my leg! Take a photo, quick!”

“I never jungle trek, teacher. This is fun!”

            We were welcomed by Katibas’ prefects at the main gate.  The weakest class in Form 4 painted a banner which stated ‘Selamat Datang ke SMK Katibas. Program Jalinan Kasih: SMK Katibas  & SMK Kapit”.  Our presence is really well received! By 4:50pm, our students were assigned to their hostels, the 6 girls to the girl’s dormitory while our 9 boys followed the school prefect, William to the boy’s dormitory.  Our kids have the honour to dine with the hostel’s kids at the school’s canteen.  It was a first time to Xin Yii to actually bath ‘berkemban’ (wrapped in sarung), a first time to most of my Chinese boys to bath by the river, and another first time for Zhi Xian to eat using his bare hands.  These are all the wonderful rural-Iban cultural memories that will be stored for life.

 

Did I age or what...hm..so serious.

Ice breaking, 14th June 2013 (Friday) night....

Bonded! Train..tut-tut...round the dewan makan.

Senamrobic. how fun! the whole school of SMK Katibas actually took part in this event!

My mentor Mr Jarod Yong & I. Thank you for making this program a reality! :)

Flo, the kind teacher who allows me to stay with her. super awesome lady!

I've no idea why I hardly sweat despite the vigorous exercise. different people have different sizes of sweat glands I guess.

SMK Kapit's English Language Society's President, Adarsh Philip sharing his experiences on PMR preparation to students of Katibas.

Zhi Xian and Pius happily sharing away their experiences too. Well done, boys!

Xin Yii, so genuine is sharing tips on how to score for PMR.

My Form 6 students tried their best in sharing how to prepare for SPM too..

The journey to the jungle trekking begins! :)

One of my favourite hike so far...a leisure hike, with streams and waterfall at the end.

Personal preference :P

Way to go guys!

The jumping and splashing begin!

More splashing and fun!

Program Jalinan Kasih: SMK Katibas Sayang SMK Kapit @ Waterfall.

Sweet Xin Yii and her idol teacher, Mr Yong.

Another last minute photo before going back to school..

Tada! on Siew Zhen's knee. How excited was he!

            On Saturday afternoon, together with nearly 25 prefects of SMK Katibas and my students, Mr Yong Jik Kam and three more Katibas teachers, we went for hike to a waterfall behind the school.  We have to take a long boat across the river as the current was quite strong.  It is another first time for Siew Zhen to experience a leech on his leg! I thought he was screaming out of fear but later, he confessed it was out of excitement.  As the saying goes, take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints.  Thanks to photographer cum co-organizer, Mr Yong for taking the memorable photos throughout the 3 hours hike. While the students jumped off the rocks into the deep pool at the waterfall, I kept praying non-stop for their safety. Bringing a group of students under your care is different from the personal experiences with friends, you have to shoulder the responsibility despite having their parents’ consent. Thankfully, the hike went well and the students really had the fun of their lives.

   

         That night, after a delicious local dinner, our students were entertained by the Cultural Club of SMK Katibas.  Their cultural dances, with bamboos, smokes, costumes, makeup and songs really moved our hearts. I was told this was the last batch of students coached under our current teacher, Mr Nicholas Vicky. Mr Nicholas had been a warden and a great leader in SMK Katibas since his first posting to SMK Katibas.  In fact, one of the reasons we chose SMK Katibas as the school to visit is due to its prestige of being one of the best hostel in Kapit zone.

   

         This program ended with an unforgettable group photo which had the natural greenery as the ‘backdrop’. My students were so reluctant to leave Katibas that we agreed to cancel the 9am boat and reschedule for them to leave at 12:30pm.  Students signed their names on the camp’s t-shirts, leaving behind names, phone numbers and FB contacts.  In short, the objective of exchanging cultures, sharing experiences, creating memories and bonding friendships were attained.  Heartiest thanks to SMK Kapit for giving me the green light to carry on with this program and SMK Katibas for being so co-operative and supportive throughout this 4 months’ preparation.  May the relationship between both schools remained and more schools will get to cultivate the educative habit of school visits. Afterall, we learn best from the looking at others’ strengths and minimizing our weaknesses.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Love starts from Home

Just had lunch with my colleagues and we discussed about F-A-M-I-L-Y.

I understand not everyone is lucky to be born in a loving family. Many are from broken families, like my students. Some of their parents got married as early as 15, thus the alarming divorce rate. Children are either raised in single parent homes or stayed with their grandparents.

Is having a loving family so hard? Is it possible to be happy though not rich? We talked about the importance of money in starting a family. Is it acceptable to get married when the man has not own a house? Not forgetting the furnishings, wedding receptions, dowry...

And then there's the topic of having little ones. I naively pointed out having a baby will bring joy to the family and bring the members closer to each other. Simply because that is what I see in my family. The arrival of baby Xin Yu one and a half years ago did bring lots of happiness to my parents; same goes to baby Jian Liang. Oh, how I miss him now. Hope his Jaundice is gone by now...

Sadly, that's not the case to the others. A baby might potentially welcome more conflicts and quarrel between husband and wife and among the in-laws, especially when money is the concern.

(Note to future hubby: Should disagreements arise, it shall be dealt by sunset. Promise? As for $, hm...I believe we will do just fine :) )

Perhaps, I never know how difficult life would be without money. Like what he said, I'm lucky because my parents showered us with love since young. I'm TRULY grateful to be born in my family. We are far from rich, we have our little disagreements. In fact, just last weekend, I actually burst into tears when mom suggested to arrange me to sit with her colleagues during koko's wedding. How immature and embarrassing to recall I actually stormed out of home and walked all the way to Merdeka Plaza, dropping by St Thomas cathedral, and that is when my loving daddy called, 'We are at Merdeka Plaza dy, where are you?'

30 minutes of cooling down, once I met them at the lobby, things just fell back to normal. I saw my parents, walked up to them, shyly smiled and if not mistaken, we held hands and shopped. Geez, blaming the hormones? Anyway, the reason I burst into tears was I thought I was not important so they can simply chunk me into any empty tables. Ah....attention craver =.='''

What I want to point out is that, LOVE. If everyone loves the family, then they'll work hard to make it a happy place to be. Right? But people keep telling me it ain't that simple. I've come across rich families who are so unsettled and just they want more, and more. Is it really hard to start and have a happy family? What are you willing to sacrifice for it? It's such a big step into the uncertainties that lies ahead....

Turning 26 in a couple of days. I wish for a better Malaysia, and that every family will play their part to provide a loving environment for their children. Just read Kenny's blog, he has his worries whether he'll be a good husband and father, like his late father. I like how he showed his love for Ming, openly. I truly wish them both a blessed marriage =)

GE-13 is over. Many are saddened, angry and disappointed by the results. I shed three tears, dared not picture what lies ahead, fell back to sleep, alone, in the king size mattress at Kingwood Hotel.

May LOVE filled yours & my home daily.

God is good. Life is good. Reminder to all and myself, count your blessings. It can never go wrong. Merry May to all of you =)

Theme of Violence in 'The Curse' which affects two characters

Discuss the theme of violence in the ‘The Curse’ and how violence has affected the life of two characters in the story.

          The novel I have chosen is ‘The Curse’.  The theme of violence is prevalent in the novel. The first character that has been affected by violence is Azreen.  From the very beginning, we can see how Azreen has been subjected to violence in her childhood.  Saleh Abdullah was a very stern father who would not hesitate to discipline Azreen whenever she was defiant or rebellious as a child.  Her mother, when reprimanding her for slapping a classmate in school has reminded her that her father has punished her ‘a thousand times’ whenever she misbehaved, yet she was so stubborn.  One incident was when Azreen’s father accused her of stealing mangosteens from the estate and she was caned severly by her father and scolded by her mother.  Her parents refused to believe that she was telling the truth when she said she only picked the ripe fruits from the ground.  Azreen reacted to the beating by not eating her dinner and sulking in her room.

          Violence begets violence.  Azreen threatened to hit Mohd Asraf with a hockey stick between his ears when he tried to tell her she was ‘ganas’ or aggressive. Azreen did not think twice about taking part in the silat-cum-boxing matches in her school even though she was a girl.  In one match, she ended up giving an innocent spectator a bleeding nose.  Azreen did not change her ways even when she grew older.  After the Old Lady’s death, Azreen turned on Mohd Asraf who was irresponsible, like a wild cat.  She beat him, scratched him and kicked him till she broke down in exhaustion.  She was angry because of his stupidity and anger.

          Another incident of violence is when her parents thought she was responsible for the motorcycle accident with the bull that has caused her mother to be paralysed.  Azreen has to go to bed with slases of rotan all over her legs and back.  Ever since that incident, the relationship between Azreen and her father has been strained.  Azreen found it hard to forgive her father when she learned that he was the one who had killed her sister with his parang.  It was only after he has died that Azreen can put the past behind her.

          Another character that has been affected by violence is the Old Lady.  She was a beautiful, modern and educated young woman who has the misfortune of marrying a man who was a wife abuser.  Ever since he lost his job, he has been drinking heavily and returning home late every evening.  Then he started to hit her.  First, it was a slap on the face and he apologized when he was sober.  She forgave him. The following week, she was hit again.  He hit her on the chin, a shard of broken bottle he was holding slashing her on her neck. The hast straw was when he kneed her in the stomach and kicked her when she was down.  When he pounced on her, she stabbed him with the kitchen knife.  Her whole life changed after that incident.  Even though the police listened to her story and let her go free, the damage was done.  She was seen as a husband-killer.  She was a mad woman who has slashed her husband to death in the kitchen.  All her friends avoided her like a leper and she was forced to live alone in an abandoned house in the jungle.  Many superstitious stories were created about her and people in the village were afraid of her.  They would not let her come back to the village.  When she relented to go to Mohd Asraf’s grandmother’s house to see whether she could help her, she incurred the villagers’ wrath and they tried to chase her away.   When Mohd Asraf’s grandmother died, he led a mob to her house in the jungle and subsequently the Old Lady was killed in a fire that burnt down her house.

          Violence is never a good thing.  It should be avoided at any cause. We can seethe harm that violence does to people as seen from the characters of Azreen and the Old Lady.

(Sharing purpose: Taken from Baby Steps The Curse & Poetry Form 5, Setia Emas)

An unforgettable incident in "The Curse"

Describe an incident you would never forget in “The Curse” and give reasons why you would always remember it.

          An incident I would never forget in “The Curse” is when Puan Fatihah fainted out of shock when she saw a silhouette of a Pontianak that looked like Madhuri appearing from behind a pile of tree trunks.  But the woman who came towards her was not Madhuri.  She has long hair and she floated in her white gown. Puan Fatihah’s voice failed, her head started spinning and she felt faint.  The last thing she could remember was the sad pleading eyes of the woman and her long fingers reaching out to touch her.  Thankfully, she lost consciousness.

          I would never forget this incident because it makes me sympathise with Puan Fatihah.  I find it sad that Puan Fatihah is a victim of her own belief in the supernatural.  Prior to the encounter with the Pontianak, she has gone to see out the bomoh to get a charm to win back her husband’s affections.  She is superstitious enough to resort to such a desperate act.  It is her superstition that makes her believe what she sees as a ‘ghost’ and that is why she faints from utter shock.  What is so ironic is that she has thrown away the first charm which is a small piece of paper with written incantation into the river.  The result is her husband has taken the younger woman as his wife and she has only herself to blame.  Now that his younger wife is dead, she must win back her husband’s affections with the help of the bomoh.

          I also feel sorry for Puan Fatihah because she is so pathetic. She cannot bear her husband a child and always feels insecure as she has no power to keep him all to herself.  I can feel her pain of insecurity as she looks at the mirror each day and sees her aging face.  She is haunted by ‘the deepening lines, the crow’s feet, the sagging skin and double chin’.  Which man can still stay in love with a face like that? Her insensitive husband has spurned her and laughs at her insecurities.  Her declining beauty has caused her to feel envy towards Madhuri and to be angry at her husband.  This is really pathetic.

          I also find this incident memorable because it reminds me of how fragile a woman can be.  Puan Fatihah has tried to be strong and put up a great pretence of liking the second wife.  She has actually succeeded in deceiving everyone in the village and even Madhuri herself.  Madhuri, in her last letter to Azreen has told her sister that Puan Fatihah is such a kind and understanding lady whom she looks up to as an elder sister.  Madhuri sees her as ‘such a dear sweet woman’ and is not sure whether she can emulate her goodness as a person and a wife.  Poor Fatihah!  She has suppressed her emotions and has to endure the fights she and her husband have been having lately over trivial matters.  She cannot get his attention when Madhuri was alive and she still cannot get his attention after she was dead.  She was so emotionally fragile that it was not surprising she fainted when she came face to face with a ‘ghostly figure’ who has reached out her hands to touch her.

          I would not forget this incident as it has taught me not to believe in superstitions nor resort to solving problems by using supernatural methods.  All of us have problems and we must not let them overwhelm us.

(Sharing purpose: Taken from Baby Step, Setia Emas)