btw, how rude of me not to thank Fang and Sun for condescending to spend yesterday with me *grins*. thanks for the cake, the present (The Road Within: Travelers' Tales), the pink flower (!) and most importantly, your companionship
i'm sure you have come across deaf people who leave cards that reveal their disability, hoping that you will buy soft toys from them? then you will politely decline because why bother to spend money on a miserable small item that is ridiculously over-priced anyway? and that you may be vaguely irritated by the intrusion becos you lost your train of thought while he did that and are thrown off-track as to what you want to say
anyway, i met one such individual (Vladimir) tonight. and of course, tried to engage him with whatever little sign language i know
he's Russian and will be staying here for the remaining 2 weeks and 5 days. really curious as to whether he will earn enough money eventually to pay for his air-fare and stuff. if you have any inkling of what's happening here, do enlighten me, ya?
knowledge is a double-edged sword. i didn't see Vladimir as a hovering fly that i brush away absent-mindedly as i would normally have done. I saw him as an able-bodied typical 27 year-old who has dreams and aspirations like the rest of us but has to give them up and resort to soliciting for income(?)funds(?) from strangers who don't even bother to throw him a second glance.
why is God so good to me? (okay, i'm a Buddhist and believe in God, but let's not get hung-up about technicalities here *grins*) why on earth do i deserve to be born, with all my limbs functional and all my senses intact?
it may be a good thing to be ignorant and selfish after all. at least, you have peace of mind....
of course, i'm ignorant about music but i think some of the stuff played is quite mainstream. it just happens that they are neither Caucasian nor Chinese and so that's why their music is showcased in such a high-brow event. i can easily imagine A-mei in this kind of setting if she weren't Chinese. Solid lung power (or at least in the past), fancy dancework, mini-skirts that taunt your imagination. A-mei can easily be a kindred spirit to these African ladies!
Afro celts delivered as promised by the compere. I was wondering why the latter was making so much fuss about one mere band. hmm, hanging my head in shame in retrospect. The synergtic fusion of Chinese orchestral music with Western instruments with African drums was just one fabulous testimony to the power of music. you get caught in the moment, thinking that all the things that have been consuming your mind are petty and insignificant and that you are such a self-righteous fool for getting so absorbed in them. and you shout loudly "We want more! We want more!" with the rest of them after the band has finished their gig because you want the magic to go on and on and on. forever. never-stopping
perhaps world peace isn't such a far-fetched ideal if we all come together and make great music
taxi-driver uncle exclaimed "wa, so gui!" when i told him of the ticket price ($25). i felt sorry for the man who is like a taut string, probably working bloody long hours every day, stretching himself to the limit, yet denying himself a decent break because of the reality that he must simply hold on.
i am only young once to fill my slate with all the wacky things i wish to accomplish. may i never be so swamped by my worries that i fail to utilise my youth.
met my BS2 and BS3 sign lang instructor in the morning and we took bus 74 together. she works as an admission officer (if i read her finger spelling correctly) at Ngee Ann
we conversed via signing first but because i was sooo lousy, she eventually took to writing in a note pad since communication would be much faster that way. so the conversation was kinda one-sided, with her writing furiously and with me nodding/shaking my head (too) vigorously, eager to acknowledge but lost as how to elaborate upon her words
i tried to sign whenever i could and internalised more signs in my lexicon! and felt really chirpy and cheery by the time i arrived at school. it's good to put to practice what you have learnt. and it's liberating and surreal that i "talked" to another person for 30-40 mins without using my voice once. (even if i wrote in the note pad way more than i signed. ha!)
other stuff...
--there are not many Shanghainese sign speakers around. and it's difficult for a SEE user to interact with a Shanghainese sign user~she had to resort to gesturing and described the whole process as "like chicken talking to duck" (i always had the impression that different sign languages share a lot of similarities so it's possible for people of different sign lang to communicate. apparently a fallacy) lastly, when i told her that the group of people i was in charge of during NDP Spontaneous Lightpoint didn't know how to sign the pledge, she said it's an obvious way of determining a person as being schooled in the Shanghainese sign.
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Dr. Madalena is willing to supervise my Hons thesis!! (going ahead with the lang acquisition of hearing children with deaf parents) so you can imagine the rush of exhilaration and relief i felt when i read her email. plus, her comments like "this can be worth investigating, i agree, ...." and "I also think the project may have an impact on the social and learning/schooling conditions of these children in Singapore" got me so high that i thought i wouldnt need an afternoon nap today (but nay, was wrong:P)
my Hons thesis gives me a reason to be utterly convinced that i won't be wasting my time in EL Hons; it also provides me with a reason to continue taking these sign lang classes. so it's not seen as a drag liao but something viable that i can continue to draw strength from. Wooohooo!
happened to meet weixiong (army pal) at the central library. what ought to be a cursory hi-and-bye encounter turned out to be something refreshingly memorable as we stood there, chit-chatting for quite some time and covering a lot of ground in the process
Him: Am i holding you up?
Me: No lah, my classes finished liao
later... Me: Am i holding you up? Shouldn't you be zapping your book?
Him: it's ok, got two hours to zap the [RBR] book mah
with such formality out of the way, we talked. a line in 细水长流 reads 多年以后又再相逢, 我们都有了疲倦的笑容 and i couldn't help thinking how that line was suited for him. weixiong was this guy whose voice gets progressively high-pitched as he gets more excited and is a master at the art of crap talk. many a time had we spent together in the armskote, me deliberately trying to provoke him so that i could get a kick out from hearing his high-pitched voice. the good old days of childish, senseless bickering!
that air of innocence is gone as weixiong is subdued and resigned now. he's stuck in a course (civil engineering) that he dislikes, he's pessimistic about his future (becos of the lack of demand for graduates like him in the economic downturn) and he has just come to terms with his life after emerging from an emotionally low period last year. he has fallen in love with Philosophy though, having enjoyed and done well in an introductory module, and is now taking more Philo modules.
well, it was a bit depressing to learn of his recent happenings. more so as i can relate to how he's feeling, since i used to treat my EL modules as a lifeline to sustain me throughout the horrendous semesters. and i might not even be that passionate about that particular module in the first place
alex, i agree with you about the redundancy of staying on to make small talk after you have said your His. but i do that becos sometimes i need to assure myself in a hypocritical sort of way that intimacy is not lost even if the common ground under us is pulled away. that if we chance upon each other again, we will care enough to slow down our footsteps, dismiss aside all thoughts of "But I should be doing something else...." and have a proper conversation that doesn't feel contrived. that if we care even more, we can simply pick up our friendship from where it stagnated and advance from there
my conversation with weixiong radiated lots of good vibes. so, here's to small talk!
a couple of stuff that i did yesterday made me feel good. cos i think it's the little things you do that differ from your usual routine that makes life memorable?
--i called eng tiong (my da ge from NS) to wish him a happy birthday. turned out that it was a belated birthday greeting. given my habit of just sms-ing to friends on their birthdays, you may wonder why i am showing eng tiong such "special treatment". well, i don't quite know myself.
i'm glad that i cast aside all inhibitions and just called. since i'm always fearful of taking the initative. and seeing that i can do that for a guy whom i haven't even met for years, i don't see why i can't do that for other friends
--watched Pleasantville, a movie that i have always wanted to watch. the film is kinda built upon stereotypes and doesn't really explore the complexities of human nature. but it's all sweet and fluffy and i like it. i will probably tell you this the next time we meet, kaiming but i will still say it here.:P if you enjoy watching Chocolat, you may consider watching Pleasantville as well. these two movies have similar themes and are both "wen xin xiao pin"
it's a recent change but i no longer see films as merely a source of entertainment liao. i hope to be able to derive deeper, sharper, more sophisticated insights whenever i watch a film. and it beats me how in all my years of obsessing about mass comm and its merits, i haven't even thought about whether i'm receptive to the idea of gaining such value-added perspectives.
shame, shame on me
--bought Jay Chou's latest CD! detractors will say that his latest outing is no marked departure from his previous albums and it's "no kick" listening to songs that sound pretty much like one another. i agree.
but i guess that's what separates a fan from a critic. i still like his latest album. unreservedly. and i look forward to the day when i go "karaok-ing" and belt out his latest hits
really enjoyed his 东风破 , specifically this line which awed me incredibly
＊一壶漂泊浪迹天涯难入喉
ended up listening to the song on repeat mode for close to 2 hrs (?!). (which is a peculiar habit of mine btw: if i really like a song, i just leave it on repeat mode and will only move on to the next song until i'm thoroughly sick and tired of it)
promptly asked changsheng today whether he has any nice "tong su" Chinese Orchestra CDs that he can lend me. ha! that's how much i like this song!
what i have to say seems too important to be relegated to the comments link..hence this thread...ha! me egoistic
wanna thank you for your patience and support. your warm words were like a balm to the soul and were very much appreciated
looking back, i can't imagine how i allowed myself to go to pieces so easily. and i always claim to be this unflappable bo-chup character who dismisses life's trials with a nonchalant waving of the hands that signifies, "ai ya, why bother"?!
shimin, you really pared away the clutter and got down to the crux of the issue. that could have been me writing all these words, except that i was feeling too distraught and sorry for myself to do so. ha! i really agree with you about the need for a mindset shift. there's nothing wrong with receiving criticism. i was too overwhelmed by the fact that i was booted so unceremoniously and didn't try at all to get answers that would help me to gain lessons from this episode
i guess you pick up these things as you go along? so i won't be so weak next time
fang, i have nothing on my conscience. i leave it at that? but of course, there's the nagging thought at the back of my mind that pesters, "maybe your best isn't enough". i won't be disheartened though...still fantasizing myself as GTK and everything :P
Katherine Anne Porter wrote, "Don't be afraid of giving yourself away, for if you write, you must. And if you can't face that, better not write."
well, this quote sums up what i have been trying to do with my blog so far. but yesterday, when it came to the crunch, i found that i couldn't practise what i preached after all. i stared at the computer, obsessing about the possibility of potential lurkers using this episode against me (ridiculous, i know!) and finally shut it down in exasperation.
but i won't have myself as a hypocrite. that's why i'm laying bare this incident in what i hope is a reasonable showing of grace and dignity intact. i will like to reassure you guys that i'm feeling much better though. the mere fact that i'm typing this entry furiously attests to me getting back on my feet liao.
for the uninitiated, i taught for 2 weeks at a tuition centre. then, last sunday, the person-in-charge called me up to fire me, saying that she had asked feedback from my students and that they "don't understand"
it was really dumb of me not to ask her to elaborate on my failings then but i was too shocked and hurt to react intelligently. cos i didn't see it coming
felt like such a failure becos i'm going to be a teacher after all and to be told that i suck is really a personal attack to the core of my being. only 4 students and i couldn't do my job well?! and the thing is that i have always been confident that i will be a great teacher, immodest as this may sound. teaching isn't just something that i want to do; it's something that i always thought i would do well. am i bound on the wrong trail and hence wasting taxpayers' money?
i just couldn't believe that my students would say such a thing because i have never observed anything amiss in my classes. i repeated several times and asked if they understood before moving on. if they felt this way, i must be this horrible smart-ass to them, knowing the stuff well but not able to package the knowledge in a level they will be comfortable with.
but i didn't think i was that terrible at reading signals. and granted that i sucked, i couldn't believe that these boys would keep quiet and not tell me during the lessons. because i don't think they are the reserved sort. it can't also be that they are intimidated by me because they are bigger in size than me, for goodness' sake. plus, i thought i was on easy-going terms with them, since i did make attempts to make small talk *grins*.
which is a round-about-the-bush way of saying that i didn't think i was so inaccessible that the boys felt that they couldn't tell me their truth. i may be defensive by saying this but i was adamant that i didn't teach badly. which is why this pill is so bitter to swallow
so, i was more inclined to think that the person in-charge fired me to fulfill her personal agenda and that she used the "don't understand" as an excuse. and the fact that she fired me on sunday when my lesson was on thursday added major weight to my conspiracy theory. how else could she have found another tutor so fast? but then again, i don't understand why on earth she would want to do that for? i mean, why go through all that unnecessary hassle if you don't think your tutor is incompetent?
in short, i tortured myself by going over and over this vicious cycle of destructive thoughts. and i haven't even listed down some sideline thoughts, for fear that they would make me look real pathetic and foolish. more than anything else, i was afraid that this incident would leave lasting scars in my psyche and i would always be doubtful about my ability to teach.
Angeline suggested that i go and approach my students if i really felt so bu gan yuan. gotta get to the bottom of things. i said "No way" at first becos my contract conveniently stated that i not approach anyone related to the tuition centre after my stint and i want to play safe and not implicate myself in anything legal
later during the night, i felt this righteous indignation and anger rising up within me and i was kinda repeating "I'm not going to take this lying down" in my mind until the voice grew so loud and resolute until i thought i was going through with it.
then, i woke up this morning and decided that i will not be this pathetic stalker who hangs around the centre so that he could pounce on teenagers and harass them for feedback.
i could ask the person in-charge point-blank to justify what she meant by her statement. yup, i'm going to do that when i get my pay next month. actually, i had the opportunity to do so yesterday but i was afraid that i couldn't keep a tight rein on my emotions and embarrass myself, what with my voice coming out as squeaky and whiny and my body shaking and what have you
thank you for reading to the end. and i'm grateful for your patronage becos i sure as hell don't want to go through this alone. thanks for sharing this with me. and don't worry--i feel better today and can even look at what i have written so far and laugh at myself for being melodramatic (as always!).
ending this with a favourite prayer:
God grant me
the serenity to accept
things i cannot change,
the courage to change
things i can,
and the wisdom to
know the difference
happened to come across yuan peng and we took the train home together. i'm definitely not as nice as before because i looked at the sign as the train was pulling to a stop and groaned, "oh no, only Somerest?!"
it didn't matter whether i was in the mood or not. i just didn't want to make small talk. i pined for "The Movie Lover's Guide to Watching Films" and wondered wistfully about the glorious time i would have spent reading it on the train if i hadn't met him
actually, yuan peng and i have a lot in common, since we are both teachers-to-be and are acquainted with the same group of people. plus, he is a pretty good conversationalist as he introduces new topics into the conversation ever so often and helps to keep it smooth going. and he's a really nice guy (this is not added as an afterthought!)
but i don't feel "clicked" with yuan peng. and i know i would have reacted with far more warmth and enthusiasm if one of my "hokkien beng" army mates had called me up then. the ironical thing is, of course, this army mate and I will definitely have less in common, except for the fact that we spent some time together in a god-forsaken army camp an era ago
i never cease to be amused by the way how we feel we are friends with some people, and not others. though as i grow increasingly unapologetic about the person i am (a nicer way of saying that i am an arrogant, self-righteous, chest-pumping fellow?), I don't feel the desire to be "Mr Nice Guy" as acutely as when i was a teenager/younger adult
i don't know if i like this change in me? i like to do a fair bit of introspection these days but i dread thinking about the answers. so ta-ta!:P
participating in 2 YEPs has really made me embrace the idea of keeping a journal. it's like i am so paranoid these days and no longer trust my mind to remember the things that i want to remember. should i bemoan at becoming neurotic or should i rejoice at this more disciplined Le? anyway, that's why i'm typing this at 1am when i ought to be engaged in more worthwhile stuff (watching Friends vcds, for instance)
i spent this year's National Day with the deaf community at the SAD. a First for me! and since i am reporting back for NS duty next year, i have this annoying habit of thinking that all annual events that i am involved in for the first time will never be tried out for subsequent times. i am really treating my NS liability as a death sentence
sitting at the reception counter and waiting for "customers", i grabbed the chance to be the group leader of these 2 families because there were 2 little boys among them. i wanna "xian" xiao hai zi!
interestingly, all 4 parents are hearing-impaired while the 2 boys, Zhenlong and Jianliang aren't. Zhenlong is in pri 5 this year and you would be left awed by the way he signed rapidly with his parents, without any trace of hesitation. except for a few conversational greetings, i was stumped for stuff to sign and my poor retentive skills didn't help either. sometimes, i saw a sign that i knew i had learnt previously in my classes but i just couldn't match the sign to the darned word. so had to rely a lot on finger spelling, which really shouldnt be the case since i have honorably graduated from the Beginners' Stage liao. other times, i did a Joey and smiled and nodded along intelligently and tried to act like i was in the know
not hard on myself though, for this is after all my first time interacting with the deaf for an extended period of time and so things can only get better from now on. got to internalise some words in my long-term memory also. but thank god that Zhenlong was around because he acted as a bridge between the adults and me and hence basically saved my ass several times
i really appreciate how communication can be saddled with obstacles because some SEE signs indicated in the dictionary don't tally with the signs that deaf people actually use. so, it gets pretty discouraging as i realise that the lessons can only take me so far after all. plus, the exasperating nuisance of having to unlearn and relearn certain signs so as to facilitate interaction with them. additionally, one of the fathers signed that he is Chinese. so i assumed he meant that he learnt the Shanghainese sign lang and isn't that familiar with SEE after all. hence, another communication barrier
Huiyi (another volunteer) asked Zhenlong how he managed to pick up English and Mandarin since his parents couldn't voice to him, owing to their disability/cultural difference (depending on your stance). uncles and aunties talked to him? or he had a nanny? he replied, a bit curtly (or maybe i was too sensitive) that he "learnt in school lah". he remarked that he "also don't know how he picked up sign lang one", which made me feel that he didn't like to talk about such things
Zhenlong did say that his chinese is "hen lan" (lousy). so for a fleeting moment, my heart froze and i was going, "please, don't let him be from EM3"
i think that the language acquisition of hearing children in a largely silent environment is rather interesting. do they find it difficult to cope with 3 languages, especially Mandarin? what are the expectations of their hearing-impaired parents? will these kids be disadvantaged, academic-wise? how do parents ensure that their children learn English well, given that most vocab words, so essential to boosting grades for compo, don't have equivalent signs? maybe i shall fine-tune these lines of thought and pursue this topic as my hons thesis
i had a most enjoyable time teaching them how to sign the pledge. i could teach them something in their area of expertise (i.e. signing), i was feeling patriotic and warm because it was the National pledge i was signing on my nation's birthday and i was utilising my mediocre signing skills!
Jianliang's parents often stopped to guide him the proper way of signing. so i kinda took over and gave him additional attention. it just touched me awfully the way his parents were serious in wanting him to sign well. and jianliang was committed and even managed a "thank you" after the whole thingy. usually, he was this mischievous spolit brat who constantly demanded for freebies (ha!)
zhenlong asked me ever so often just what i meant when i uttered such-and-such Chinese phrase. though his Chinese standard may not be up to par, come to think of it, i really need to learn how to talk at the level of my charges nonetheless. and kids are really trusting. he took to me and entertained me with ancedotes and asked me to accompany him to go to the loo (for fear of ghosts) and then tried to scare me and asked me to look for a lighter so that he could play sparklers and basically didn't leave me alone, feeling like an idiot and second-guessing my decision to be there
awesome fireworks display. the fireworks actually stayed in the sky for some time instead of just vanishing into thin air after exploding. is my fuzzy head playing tricks on me or is there a difference between watching the Preview and watching the actual Parade after all? do they use cheapo fireworks in the former?
the conclusion is obvious but yes, it was worth enduring all the shitty isolation for this. and i will do it again in a heartbeat
p/s: it's 2.35am now. gosh, i really took some time with this!
okay, so it was just at Toa Payoh's Cash Converters but hell, i finally understand how shiok! gals feel when they indulge in retail therapy
a fortnight ago, i picked up 16 (!) Friends vcds at the above-mentioned place dexterously and i thought it was going to be way difficult to top that
i dragged borong there today and i wasn't even entertaining the possibility that Friends vcds would perhaps lie obediently in wait for me. and lo and behold, the vcds were everywhere . some glorious minutes spent picking up all the vcds from the shelves in quick succession.
(to add to trivia list: i have excellent hand-eye coordination, as exemplified by my skill in picking up Friends vcds from Cash Converters shelves)
my mind was a blur as i was simply overwhelmed (oh my gosh, 20+++ vcds?!). tried to keep calm and organise my thoughts as i decided which vcds i would buy for myself and which i would buy on behalf of changsheng and kaiming. quality of decisiveness used to great effect because see, i had to buy for three people!
practically bo-chuped borong as i made hasty calls to the duo. to his credit, he left me alone and helped me find even more Friends vcds!
struggled to carry 16 vcds to the counter. cashier was flabbergasted that this siao lang wanted to buy so many at one go. suggested that "after watching them, you can re-sell them to Cash Converters". to which i answered automatically and resolutely, "No!"
i am a little dismayed and disturbed at how people will want to sell them to Cash Converters in the first place--does this mean that Friends is no longer as popular as before? even so, why not just keep them for sentimental sake? to remind yourself that you once cared so much for the sitcom? the vcds don't exactly come cheap leh. i really don't understand why people feel that selling to Cash Converters for a miserly sum of $2 each is a more viable option than letting them collect dust at home.
whatever. their loss is my gain man! and i am somewhat consoled by the fact that Friends vcds do sell like hotcakes at Toa Payoh. blink an eye and they are gone from your sight. so there are other vultures like me around
and of course, my emotions got propelled to a greater high because there was this promotion that allowed you to buy two vcds for the price of $6. Cheap cheap sia!!
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Remember the long draggy emails that i used to send indiscriminately? well, borong said that he misses my emails and that he has been telling his other friends that he has a friend (yours truly) who writes sophisticated Singlish (whatever that means. i think he means that i may ramble on in Singlish but my grammar and sentence structure are still pretty much intact)
he likes my writing style! and he feels that i write of mundane events as if they are truly significant to me
okay, shall disregard the subtle accusation that i lead a meaningless existance. and will resume my junk-mail bombardment of your victimised email inboxes. haha!
earlier.... thoughts within the week
--i am still unaccustomed to telling new acquaintances that i am an Arts student. i know it seems horribly ungrateful of me, especially since the EL department has practically thrown me a life buoy but part of my holding back stems from the fact that i think it's lame to pursue something not-too-noteworthy as English Language. and i cringe when i see people raise their eyebrows and maybe think to themselves, "what, this guy blows $5000++ every year to study English?!"
but rest assured, guys, that this is not going to degenerate to a (all-too-usual) whining session. i am actually looking forward to going back to school this semester *gasp* and that speaks a lot for itself
--i look at my clothes and no longer despair that i am wearing the same old stuff every time i go out. i finally feel that i have more-than-enough T-shirts!! now all i have to do is to ditch my social-reject personna and get out of the house more often *grins*
--Sun has put up a wish list on her blog. I was indifferent initially but i have come to think that this is a simple, yet effective way to spice up your life. set yourself little goals that you can work towards so that 1) the days don't slip past like a blur and 2) you feel a sense of accomplishment because you did indeed do some things within this time frame and hence 3) you deem your life as more meaningful
but i thought and thought and finally decided that while there is stuff that i would like to have eventually, there isn't really anything that i want urgently. my allowance has just come and i think i am in that cautious mode, not wanting to splurge it too fast too soon. so KIV Sun's wish list
--the MOE personnel sent me a birthday card prematurely!! they probably sent out the cards to all August babies at one go. but petty grudges aside, i am made very conscious of the fact that i am turning 23 soon
so i am feeling nostagic for the past year and am wondering if i have achieved anything significant within these 12 months
during my 2 and a half days stint as a volunteer with SIF's 1st International Service Learning Conference, things noted--
1) got to use a video camera daily and fancied myself as a director. Shiok!
2) Mr Yong, from Cambodia and president of the Khmer Youth Organisation spoke about why his organisation is a worthy bridge between the government and the grassroots because it has always been transparent in its dealings. which is a refreshing breath of air from the usual corruption so rampant in his country. i am so bred with the notion that singapore is a righteous and politically stable nation that i never stop to consider how life would be like if it weren't so. yet another thing that i have taken for granted about S'pore
3) Dr Tan, a doctor who has been doing humanitarian work in Yunnan, mentioned about how community leaders would rather that he build health clinics rather than invest efforts in training village doctors. but he nonetheless carried on with his work. he elaborated on how important it is to equip people with skills so as to ensure continuity.
for someone who has been on two construction projects (kinda) and has always thought of construction as a vital component of the move-away-from-poverty process, you can imagine just how stunned and foolish i felt
4) when asked how he could find it within himself to uproot his entire family to Yunnan and indirectly forgoing his children's educational prospects in S'pore, Dr Tan said, "the Singapore education system is good, (brief but significant pause ) not the best. there are good educational systems elsewhere too"
then acknowledging an indian speaker, he continued, "in fact, my wife thinks that the schools in india are very good. well, at least they teach proper grammar there" (to wild applause and laughter from the audience)
Hilarious.
5) Dr Tan explaining his reason for undertaking volunteer work, "I am a PSC scholar. I feel obligated to contribute back to society" (or words to such effect)
after meeting a few my-gosh-you-are-so-disgusting-i-dont-wanna-be-associated-with-you!! PSC scholars, i felt humbled and invigorated by his statement. I salute you, man! (though technically i am a MOE scholar now. but i wanna be associated with Dr Tan!)
6) example of prosocial behaviour--a speaker delivering a topic on terrorism remarked on how there is an increasing trend for petty crime in Vietnam.
1st Vietnamese student (from ASEAN fellowship program) took to the stand and asked the speaker to elaborate on his point because he felt that Vietnam is a safe country and that the presence of such remarks will give people the wrong ideas
speaker tried to pacify by saying how the rate of petty crime in Vietnam is way below the rates in more developed countries in Europe. Just that such a trend does exist. Also pledged assurances that Vietnam is a safe country and that in fact, he has just enjoyed a holiday there last year
after some time...
2nd student asked if speaker agrees that vietnam is a safe country, then where's the basis for such remarks. also asked if speaker could retract his comment from his slides
speaker justified his comment by saying that in Ho Chi Minh, there is indeed such a trend. more assurances about why Vietnam is a safe destination for both tourists and businessmen
intense session huh? this is exactly the kind of behaviour YEP hopes that we will exhibit man!! will the ordinary Singaporean have done likewise though? and it pleased me immensely to see how patriotic these top Vietnamese students are.
to conclude,
fantastic conference, with renowned speakers delivering their lectures with spunky wit and humour. i have gotten too used to stuffy boring old Chem lecturers. sigh sigh
i love Vietnam! if there's anything that will make me take on a third project, it will be because it is based in Vietnam. it's silly, ridiculous even when you consider that there's so much of the world that i havent explored and yet i am returning so bloody often to Vietnam! but i can't help it. ha!:P
just overheard this on the radio on my trip to Singapore Association for the Deaf (SAD) premises. yup, i really liked this song when i was in sec sch. (i think aida will raise eyebrows and make eeeeewwww noises now *grins*)
anyway, i volunteered to be a group leader for SAD's Spontaneous Light-point, which will be held for the first time on National Day. so, i am sorta part of a legacy!
the volunteers there seemed to be a close-knit, tight group. as i watched them laughing and gesturing in swift, incomprehensible-to-the-uninitated-me moves, i felt sad and lonely and wondered if i were ever going to break into that group some day.
why the hell do i willingly put myself through such shitty isolation? I asked. what's my motivation for becoming a volunteer anyway?
but then again, i really do want to practise my sign language skills and get inducted (somewhat) into the deaf community
so hopefully, i start to get to know the people soon?
we played Charades since this would be an ice-breaker game used during the Light-point. the instruction that the players had to communicate to the audience "without sign lang but acting" struck me quite forcibly as a trivial example of how the hearing-impaired perceive their world
learnt line-dancing (!) to the tune of We Will Get There.
must practise how to sign our National Pledge. most volunteers already know how to do likewise!
