BONSOIR!

The City of Lights! (That's Paris by the way)

Straight away I realized that Paris is not going to be as easy as London. The problem of the language barricade aside, it is a totally different kind of city, so unlike those that I've been to.


1. The French make out. A lot. And in public. In the museums, in the parks, even while crossing the road. And seriously some of these PDA goes beyond mere kissing...by the way I am not complaining, i'm not a prude anyway, i'm just stating what I observed. =p

2. And I just realized this internet cafe charges me a bloody 4 euros per hour. That's like 8 dollars! Gosh. And I thought London was expensive. So I'm not going to extend my time..and stop here..haha..anti-climax I know, but AU REVOIR!

LONDON!

I was determined not to let my blog become a domain where I talk ONLY about school and students, but that's hard for most teachers because our work takes up so much of our time, and like what many people guessed correctly, our social circle is indeed rather limited outside of school. Hence the lack of updates on my blog. =p

But here I am blogging...at a small little cybercafe off Charing Cross Street, London. Actually, I logged online to ..ahem...set exam paper * sigh, very tak-glam * (have to email exam questions to my colleague), but seeing Glen's tag I decided to blog..just a bit.

London's been great....staying at this backpacker's hostel which is like right smack in the middle of West End, where you can barely walk 100m without walking past a theatre. Plays, musicals, drama, it's everywhere! Sharing a pod dorm with 5 other people: Rachel and Amanda from America, sweet Hirokochan from Tokyo, veteran and seasoned traveller Auntie Boots (she's lived everywhere it's impossible to categorise her nationality, although she looks Chinese) and an American guy who parties the nights away so I have never got to talk to him so far. Great fun in a backpackers' hostel!

Although I intended to spend minimally on this trip, I realized that it's next to impossible. The musicals and plays are so tantalizing that I have to indulge myself. (at an average of £30 per ticket I think indulge is the right word.) But they are so fascinating compared to anything i've ever watched before. So far i've caught Les Miserables and Equus (staring Daniel Radcliffe, i.e. Harry Potter stark naked). Hopefully Phantom of the Opera tonight?

And the selection of DVDs here is AMAZING. I am referring to world cinema/arthouse films from all over the world. And some are actually cheaper than in Singapore, like only £3 - £5. And the selection is so much wider compared to Sinagpore where censorship is practiced with an iron glove. The oh-so-notorious-in-Singapore Borat hangs on HMV's shelves in London like nobody's business, and it is actually rated 15+. All the famous movies that I could only hear/read about in the past are all calling out to me. Another indulgence.

Okay okay..now I have to get back to setting my papers...because London awaits me! More when I next get online....

Yeah...haven't been updating my blog..obviously. Was feeling lazy..and boy have I been busy.

Firstly I am now officially living at Jurong West. TWENTY SIX kilometres away from where I work. Leaving behind all my favourite hang out places, places filled with nostalgic memories from the time I was a student. Aljunied, Serangoon, Hougang, Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, Paya Lebar, Bedok. Very near places which brought back unhappy memories...especially NIE and Sungei Gedong army camp. =p

Well actually I was born in the West (West Coast Road) and only moved to the East halfway through primary school. Nevertheless, my friends are mostly living in the East and there is like hardly anywhere to hang out in the West except for like Jurong Point and West Mall. Maybe things will get better as I slowly explore Holland V. =p

Secondly it's the start of Term 2... and now I'm the proud civics tutor of 07A08, although I've yet to purchase my Romanis house T... (bye bye Loy Fatt..maybe in two years' time) My class is rather endearing and I feel comfortable with them (so far)...a pity I'm not teaching the whole class for GP. As for my other GP classes...well still awaiting further observation haha ..but there is this class which kind of reminds me of 06S23..it's also filled with sportsmen, and the silly boys were trying to convince me that they are members of the school netball team...just like Colin claimed he was from the Environmental Club and how the s23s were pretending to be someone else.

By some strange twist of fate, I'm not teaching any of the students that I was teaching in the first three months.....kind of miss them, but do still see them around quite frequently in school and online ..

Oh...and can I just gripe about my timetable. It's night time and all dark by the time I reach home everyday. And since I leave my house in the wee hours of the morning, I hardly recognise my neighbourhood in broad daylight. * fumes *

07S09!

My very first PAE form class! And a fairly interesting assortment of personalities, from the seemingly unobtrusive to the blatantly attention-seeking. (No prize for guessing who falls into each category)

A fun-loving lot, the students have bonded with each other pretty well (judging from the amount of camwhoring and level of noise from the chit-chatting during tutorials), especially since they bothered to take the effort to take these class photos even though it is a temporary class.

This one, in particular, was pretty memorable. Other classes were having PE and running around the track, so we had to make use of every bit of time to pose, shoot, and get out of the way before we get trampled on.



Having received their O level results last Friday, there are only 2 weeks (with plenty of holidays in between) left before the JAE posting results come out and PAE 07S09 will cease to exist. I guess it's impossible for the whole class to stay together, and I'm not even sure if I'll be teaching them in term 2. Still, I hope it was a fruitful and enjoyable PAE for them, and that everyone is happy with wherever they are going. =)

proud owner of a set of wheels

Just collected my new car today. =) While people around me are all congratulating me, i am not exactly overjoyed because the car is a painful reminder that i am moving to the god-forsaken place known as jurong West. (And having spent 1 year in NIE and 2.5 years in Sungei Gedong I feel that I am fully qualified to say thatJurong West is indeed a remote place. To give you an idea, if you look at the street directory, there are only 10 other blocks of flats which are located further west than my own) In other words, the car is out of necessity, not out of luxury. =(

NEW TERM

The new term is kind of...uneventful.......for me. So far. Haha. Since JC1 tutorials only start in Week 3 I don't have that much on my hands at the moment. Although on the first day of school I did receive numerous SMS from my students who are now in JC2. They all read something like this:

MR CHUA! How come I'm not with my class for GP! I very sad leh, nobody to talk to! Can change class or not?

Well, I guess S23 is especially affected since they are split under 6 different GP tutors (although I can safely say that they are in good hands. They should be glad that they are not under some people, and of course I'm not going to mention names here!) Anyway I hope that my three classes can adapt quickly to the new environment and start striving towards their A levels. And I DO miss you guys. =(

Speaking of which, I have FINALLY finished my blog entry about S23, having procrastinated for some time. Yeah..so those interested do check out that earlier entry... hee

Just came back from orientation finale. It was deafening, having to hear them cheer and shout in an enclosed space such as the CC. Sob sob I do miss the days when I was a student, where I can shout and jump and act crazy without having to worry about restrictions and social etiquette and sense of propriety. I think it is rather sad that as we grow older we become more conscious of how others perceive us and we find it harder and harder to act the way we want to.

Saw some familiar faces in the J1 batch, from MSCO of course. Liankai, Tong neng, etc and a few more who I don't really know that well. I wonder if I'll teach any of them...=p

Harajuku...the haven for Japanese teenage fashion. After trotting down Takeshita Doori with its very enticing shops (even for me who is not really an avid shopper), we came to this strange looking building which is like buried in some back alley.



This building is called Design Fiesta,sort of an art gallery for budding artists wannabes who cannot afford to hang their canvases in the pretentious hallways of prestigious art galleries. Mostly art students I would think. But it is really a place where creativie flows freely, as can be witnessed from the facade of the building.



There are numerous rooms in the building, not spacious by any standards, which anyone can presumably rent for a number of days, and just put up whatever they wish to showcase to people. As we walked around, people were still hammering, gluing, painting, and whatever, busy putting up their displays with the kind of meticulousness and attention to detail that only artists have. Some are eating their packed lunches, friends and relatives come visiting and to lend their support, enthusiastic artists wander around hoping to get a stroke of inspiration. All in all a very friendly and conducive environemtn to get the creative juices flowing, something which will not happen in our sunny little island.

There was this group of talented and friendly young manga artists (oh did I mention they were cute as well) who were deeply apologetic that they were still working on their displays. However, they were happy that we showed interest in what they have to offer and allowed us to take a look at whatever was ready. I was captivated by this particular picture.

I thought the use of colours was striking and the expression on the girl's face was deeply enchanting.

Some other random pictures of this fascinating little alcove:




All in all a great way to spend a lovely afternoon, especially when you have to seek respite from the mind-boggling and overwhelming fashion apparels that are pouring out of all these shops in Harajuku. Another memorable moment!