Wow it has been like one yr since I last blogged. Well, I had forgotten most of the things that happened last sem in uni, plus there's nothing interesting to blog abt durin last sem, so I will blog abt my teaching practice which I am currently taking this sem...

        There's still two more weeks to go and I can be free..hiaks hiaks.... but actually I am free now coz I had finished my observations....that's why i have the time to blog...at school now...hohoho.... no more lesson plans to write, no more shouting at students....except for the last few days next week...when I end my teaching practice.

         Hmmm....how do i describe my teaching practice? Well, one word----tiredness. Why am I tired? because of writing lesson plans....and when you spend so much time preparing a nice lesson plan, the lecturer won't show up, you get desperate coz you run out of creative ideas to insert in the lesson plans- the induction set, the activities.... For every class that we teach, we need to write a four to five pages lesson plan. So imagine how many pages i had written during these past 2 and a half months......i also lost count...haha.....maybe i can sell it to my juniors or any publishers out there who wants to publish my lesson plans for form 4...lol.....My friend, on the other hand, is smart.....i think i can count her no. of lesson plans...lol....maybe i should be like her....but nah....i duno when the lecturer will pop out...so better be prepared....plus there is also the preparation of making the teaching aids, drawing on mahjong paper, coloured cards...all the materials and handouts self sponsored coz we do not get paid during the teaching practice.

          Writing lesson plans and preparing teaching aids is one thing, but actually applying and teaching the students is another challenging thing. Most of the time, the lesson plans are useless.....no use spending so much time and the students dont appreciate them....well, at least i enhanced my writing skills...Lesson plans, i think, are mainly for the lecturer and the supervisor teacher to see....and maybe sometimes a guideline for us, but really, if you compare my lesson plans and the lesson plans of the real teachers in school, you will be shocked...In the real teachers' teaching record book, four or five lesson plans can fit into one page. So you can imagine that the real teachers' lesson plan only requires two or three sentences: the topic and exercises. Well, what to do, this is teaching practice....practice writing lesson plans so that we will know how to summarize it in the future....lol...

               Well, i dont blame the teacher actually, they really hav no time to write lesson plans...one teacher told me that if she was to write lesson plans as long as ours, she does not need to sleep....true...for me....i really did not get much sleep during this teaching practice.....i wonder y some of my seniors say it is so relaxing...maybe becoz she is teaching the afternoon session and i am in the morning session?

                Now, move on to the students.....for me, i had to learn class management and i failed badly i guess....the students in the first week are like angels...then the second week and so on are history....i guess i am too boring for them..haha...but i am really trying hard to make the lesson more interesting by playing games, watching videos(in which i had to borrow lcd projector from  the lab and set it up for them), playing song for them....but do the students appreciate them? ya they show it by sleeping,   saying :" teacher why such childish games?", "the song is depressing...bla bla bla" 

Ya i do hope i can let you online and play dota or whatever online games or watch dramas but do u think its' possible??? well, at least i tried...and i guess I will need to keep on improving....patience is a needed virtue in the teaching profession and after all I a m still learning.....

However, they are sometimes when i find the students funny and interesting..., listening attentively to me, greeting me, appreciating what I had done and all these makes the teaching practice more bearable...lol...Let me share some funny and sometimes annoying examples in my school....

Scene 1

me: do your work now.

student: i dont have pens.

me: where is your pencil box?

student: i forget to bring.

me: why dont u forget to bring yourself?

student: because my mother fetch me to school.

me:=_= ||

Scene 2

me: the word apparition here means sth that appears suddenly, like ghosts....

student: ya, like Miss Liew...

students laughed......

Scene 3

me: what are some of the ways to lead a clean and healthy life?

student: being loyal to gf....

me: |||

Scene 4

student: teacher, do u have Facebook?

me: yes...why?

student: i want to add u n then buy u as pet.

me: =_=

Scene 5

guy student: teacher, he is touching my xxxx(X RATED)

These are only few of the examples that left me speechless and sometimes amused…haha…..There are also a lot of classes to relieve and going in some of the worst classes where other students may pop into your relieve class and ran out of the class before you even had the chance to call them back was certainly an experience i will never forget....And there was a fight in school a few months ago where some students were sent to the police station. But then i should be thankful because i do not teach the last class...like some of my coursemates did...the students even said to my coursemate : "teacher, you do not need to teach us anymore...we are hopeless already..." At least my school is still quite ok compared to the other schools with very poor discipline...

Teaching in school is indeed a challenging job which requires a lot of love and passion. Through this teaching practice,  I learned a lot thanks to the school and the students….but most importantly I got a lot closer with God as I continue to find strength and love from Him to love and teach my students. I may lose my temper sometimes but then i will learn to love them again with God's love. God is also so good to provide me a place to stay just near the school, a good supervisor teacher and lecturer, transport to church…so what more can I ask for? I guessed I learnt to be more thankful and patient….thank you God for leading me through!!!!

Tat’s all for this time and I will see if I have the time to take the final pictures of my students and the school before I leave school next week…..after that it will be the long awaited holidays…yeah!!!

My hostel n room

  Well, was thinking of posting this for a long time already. So I finally found the time to post some pics of my hostel n the room tat i am currently staying in, staying until the end of second yr. The block i am staying now is all single rooms..so the block is quite small compared to my first yr block...Let the pics do the talking.....

this is my opposite block...my block looks the same..so i lazy to take another pic...otherwise ppl think i am crazy taking so many pics of my hostel....it's an old block..so dun expect too much from it...still, it looks ok from the outside la...

Next, we have the common area, where there is a tv which has no antenna at first, but someone from the office finally put one yesterday...so can watch tv now...but still blur for some of the singapore channels....yes we can receive singapore tv channels here!!btw only my block has tv around this area...so we have to fight wif many ppl for tv sometimes..However, to tell the truth, most of us dun hav much time to watch tv la...

the room beside the tv area is the "washing machine" room

the washing machine room...wif the washing machine...

u need to insert three 50 cents syillings for it to run...so i hav to save my 50cents everytime..haha...

Now lets visit the toilet.....It's old n so its not really nice..but wat to do, still hav to use it...only one bathroom n two toilets...need to fight again...

Let's look behind my block..its the area for u to hang n dry ur clothes...it's the window view from my room..i look out my window n see clothes n trees....=_=

I am staying in ground floor...(my block is only double storey...not like my first yr block which has three storeys)

so this is the short corridor leading to my room at the far end...

Before i go to my room, lets go up the small staircase...

There are only 3 rooms upstairs

th center one is the store room, i think....look at the big hole..eerie..

Finally, back to my room....wanna see my room???

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******************tadaaaa******

my untidy room......

my untidy table

i am satisfied wif the size and new furniture of the room but not wif the wall condition of my room...

uni students still scribble on the wall???!!!Wan find gf or bf also dun need to conteng dinding gua.....

my frens say they wanna repaint or paste wallpaper....but i am lazzy...plus i will only stay in the room for one yr n move to new room.....so if i repaint also no use la....

At least my board look better wif the cute animal magnets tat i bought...

So, wat do u think of my room?? I am ok wif it la..shud be thankful hav a room for myself....so i close both of my eyes n dun see the bad things lo....(oh no i am gettin fat :p)

haha!!! tats all for this post!!!

End of holidays....

 My two months long holidays have come to an end....wat can I say....I am goin bac to second yr first sem in UTM. Gettin older?? Have to study n look after juniors when go bac..hmmm...a bit lazzy to go bac....tats the side effect of lazying too long at home.

Well, lazy to blog n nothin to blog so just put some pics up as a replacement for typing???!!!

I made sushi yesterday...failed though coz I rolled wrongly.....looked like spring rolls...but then still happy coz at least I made sth during these holidays for my family....

Then after the rain in the evening, went for a walk wif mum in an umbrella around my neighbourhood ( still drizzling a bit though..felt a bit crazzy leh walk in the rain..haha...my mum called me to so accompanied her...but got a surprising reward from God) guess wat....saw three rainbows...haha....in different places at my same neighbourhood.....

It was a magnificent sight but unfortunately my hp cant take the whole rainbow into view n also a bit blur the pic...

It was like a big arch over the clear blue sky....

there are double rainbows in the pic below..but the second rainbow looked quite faint in the pic so cant see clearly..looks like reflection of the first rainbow haha....

Btw my cute cat followed me n my mum out for a walk too...it followed us just like an obedient dog..haha..maybe becoz we called it "Hotdog"....hehe...

Wat can I say but praise God for His wonderful creations...trust me its prettier seeing n feeling the rainbows n blue sky for urself than seeing it in the pics....

Well, since holiday is coming to an end, its a mixture of feelings btwn leaving home n goin bac to uni....lookin forward to uni life again but also missing home...especially my family n my cute cat...can only say ganbatte to myself for this coming sem....2nd yr here I come!!!!

Reflections

          Yup...mereput at home-tats the phrase to describe wat I was doin since I came bac for hols last month. Wat do I do at home?? Basically, putting on weight by eating too much, spoiling my eyes by watching too much tv n surfing the net, trying to exercise but fail miserably.....occasionally goin out wif frens which was a blast, reading Purpose Driven Life, watching my cat flip-flopping, sleeping and day dreaming.

          Still, time passed by quickly and before I know it, it's June---and I hav abt four weeks left before I go bac to UTM for my second year. Wow, can't believe I am goin to be someone's senior edy. I still wish to be a junior....coz can be so carefree n goof around, being pampered by seniors..haha...But then, I know I hav to grow up n move on eventually.

          There was one evening when I heard the kids next door shouting lovingly: "Papa...Jia you!! Papa...Jia you!!" I guessed my neighbour and his children were playing some sort of game and his kids were cheering him on. It was such a touching scene which somehow triggered me to think abt my family and the future. I was thinking when was the last time I told my parents, especially my daddy tat I love him. I had never drove my daddy around before. It had always been my parents and my bro who kept fetching me around, doin things for me.   

           I have always been a girl who is so dependent on my family and friends. There are so many things that I always ask other people to do for me, and I give up so easily when I do not know how to do certain things. Before this, I had my bro to help me, he was so patient but at the same time he did hint me a few times tat I need to learn and not to be afraid of doin simple or difficult tasks...just imagine these words coming from my bro who is younger but more independent than me(miss him so much). Still, he would do watever tat I ask without complaining. And I regretted never thanking him and telling him how much I love him. How I took things for granted, thinking he will always be around, not realizing he will leave so soon.

            There are still so many things tat I do not know how to do, or am I simply not wanting to grow up, to take up responsibilities??? My minds are filled wif so many thoughts and concerns for my family and my future. As my parents get older each day, how am I goin to take care of them? When I am studying in Johor, who is goin to help them at home since before this my bro had always been a lot of help to my parents compared to me. I am like the small lil' gal who is shy, protected so well by my parents, afraid to do this n tat and thinking I can get away wif it. But coming to think of it now, I am the eldest child in the family. Isn't it the eldest child's responsibility to look after my parents n sis? I was thinkin one day when my parents left me, can I look after myself? Can I stand on my own feet?  Am I goin to learn to grow up and take care of my parents?

             I shared this wif an online fren who had been through a lot, n I guessed matured a lot too from his life experiences...He said I was worrying too much...the time will come when we will hav to learn to grow up, learn to take care of ourselves. He told me I am indeed in the process of learning, coz I am now studying away from home----there will always be opportunities and situations to help me to grow up, to learn to take care of myself... not to be afraid....life is like tat. 

           Some bible verses suddenly popped into my mind---"I will never leave u nor forsake you." "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid." Even if there is no one to depend on, there is still God who will help me through every circumstances---so why should I worry and be afraid? Again, it's the matter of learning to trust in God to lead me where ever He takes me.

trapped in a lift...

        Trapped in a lift for the first time today when I went to Everise BDC wif my mum n sis today. At first the lift kept moving up n down the first three floors. Then it stopped at second floor but the door would not open. There were 8 ppl including me n my sis n mum. The other five ppl were a mother wif her toddler n three small daughters.  

       When the lift door did not open after we pressed on it many times, we knew we were trapped. Luckily the lights were still on in the lift n my sis was beginning to panic. However, the other children in the lift did not look frightened as they did not seem to know wat was happening. My mum calmed my sis n asked us to pray. I was scared n all kinds of negative tots kept bombarding my mind. What if no one come to save us, or they take too long to save us? Wat if  we run out of oxygen supply? Will we be suffocated inside the lift? Am i goin to die in there? I thought abt my bro...he was also suffocated by water...did he noe he is goin to die?

         I was terrified but i prayed to God at the same time. I know i hav to trust in God. The other woman kept on banging the door n my mum pressed the alarm. As i looked at my mum, she did not look frightened at all,  she was so calm n kept askin us to pray to God. I was thinkin how strong my mum's faith is in God compared to mine. My mum is really transformed by Christ. Lookin bac at myself.... Why am i doubting God's power?

         We did not know how long we were trapped n the air inside the lift was gettin thinner n harder to breathe. The toddler was beginning to look restless. Suddenly we heard a man's voice askin us whether anyone is inside. We replied n he told us to wait as he went to seek help. I was thinkin r they goin to call bomba n tore open the lift door wif axe or somethin...

        Then a miracle happened. The toddler pressed on the "open" button n amazingly it opened just like tat..eventhough we pressed on it for dunno how many times before this. We were all so relieved n  rushed out of the lift. I was expecting a crowd outside but no one seem to know there were ppl trapped inside the lift. The person who seek for help saw us n was also baffled to see the door suddenly opened. He said it must be jamned or wat. But I kept thanking God coz I noe He must have help us somehow.

          I think we were trapped in the lift for abt 20 minutes..but tat twenty minutes felt like an eternity....Learnt a valuable lesson today....tat is to trust God completely...even if i hav to die...i noe i am in God's hands.

p/s: Of coz another lesson is...dun be lazy n take the stairs...haha...