Entries for June, 2008
I did it again... I landed somewhere new - Planet Tabulas - a bit like the Little Prince in the story I read today, "The Little Prince". I read it in a dark classroom on a mattress with the light that was coming through the door's window from the corridor... by the way.
This is my first post to a w'blog. I've been wanting one for two main purposes: - to clarify, or amend, or compensate (or something), any misunderstanding arisen from my sending of slightly edited and quite long standard e-mails under the pretense that they are "pierssonal", and to share my photos. I could use one of many other services for either of those, but with my own desires determined, I looked for and found this host. If possible, this, or otherwise another page, is where you can find my e-dribble, or w'drool, or mysalivations, depending where you ail from via the internet, at any one time.
Today I woke up (the second time) to either my phone's alarm or text message alert saying that my employer had "arrived"; I didn't check when I turned it off. On the way to my phone, I had glimpsed a car through my bedroom window, and in only my boxers I checked properly through blurry eyes to see it was him and closed the curtains (rudely?) on the way back towards my bed. I think I got dressed and picked up my things faster than ever before, faster than you could say "kangaroo rifle" to all the kangaroos, and I didn't leave anything behind! ...My keys were in the office.
Normally I would prefer to read in a lighter room with the light that would come in through any window from outside, or outside with the light that would come 'direct from the sauce' (and it does round here!), but I was actually trying to sleep. I went to bed late last night and didn't sleep so well. Today I also wanted to go for a swim and take zoom photos of funky boats but the weather was too contrastingly discouraging.
Here is the body of the standard personal letter I sent:
I did it again... I landed somewhere new - Planet Tabulas - a bit like the Little Prince in the story I read today, "The Little Prince". I read it in a dark classroom on a mattress with the light that was coming through the door's window from the corridor... by the way.
This is my first post to a w'blog. I've been wanting one for two main purposes: - to clarify, or amend, or compensate (or something), any misunderstanding arisen from my sending of slightly edited and quite long standard e-mails under the pretense that they are "pierssonal", and to share my photos. I could use one of many other services for either of those, but with my own desires determined, I looked for and found this host. If possible, this, or otherwise another page, is where you can find my e-dribble, or w'drool, or mysalivations, depending where you ail from via the internet, at any one time.
Today I woke up (the second time) to either my phone's alarm or text message alert saying that my employer had "arrived"; I didn't check when I turned it off. On the way to my phone, I had glimpsed a car through my bedroom window, and in only my boxers I checked properly through blurry eyes to see it was him and closed the curtains (rudely?) on the way back towards my bed. I think I got dressed and picked up my things faster than ever before, faster than you could say "kangaroo rifle" to all the kangaroos, and I didn't leave anything behind! ...My keys were in the office.
Normally I would prefer to read in a lighter room with the light that would come in through any window from outside, or outside with the light that would come 'direct from the sauce' (and it does round here!), but I was actually trying to sleep. I went to bed late last night and didn't sleep so well. Today I also wanted to go for a swim and take zoom photos of funky boats but the weather was too contrastingly discouraging.
Here is the body of the standard personal letter I sent:
I did it again... I landed somewhere new - Planet Tabulas - a bit like the Little Prince in the story I read today, "The Little Prince". I read it in a dark classroom on a mattress with the light that was coming through the door's window from the corridor... by the way.
This is my first post to a w'blog. I've been wanting one for two main purposes: - to clarify, or amend, or compensate (or something), any misunderstanding arisen from my sending of slightly edited and quite long standard e-mails under the pretense that they are "pierssonal", and to share my photos. I could use one of many other services for either of those, but with my own desires determined, I looked for and found this host. If possible, this, or otherwise another page, is where you can find my e-dribble, or w'drool, or mysalivations, depending where you ail from via the internet, at any one time.
Today I woke up (the second time) to either my phone's alarm or text message alert saying that my employer had "arrived"; I didn't check when I turned it off. On the way to my phone, I had glimpsed a car through my bedroom window, and in only my boxers I checked properly through blurry eyes to see it was him and closed the curtains (rudely?) on the way back towards my bed. I think I got dressed and picked up my things faster than ever before, faster than you could say "kangaroo rifle" to all the kangaroos, and I didn't leave anything behind! ...My keys were in the office.
Normally I would prefer to read in a lighter room with the light that would come in through any window from outside, or outside with the light that would come 'direct from the sauce' (and it does round here!), but I was actually trying to sleep. I went to bed late last night and didn't sleep so well. Today I also wanted to go for a swim and take zoom photos of funky boats but the weather was too contrastingly discouraging.
Here is the (adapting) body of the standard personal letter I sent:
Standard friendly letter 1
I'm living near the coast about an hour-or-so's drive South of Kuala Lumpur (KL) and over the state border into Nigeri Sembilan. The area is not uniquely attractive or novel, but still quite interesting. Port Dickson, where I work 4 days a week, is a relatively wealthy town. It has a few resorts, but the two that are in my way are mostly just visited by Malays - probably from KL - and the one closest to town is notoriously haunted! Costa Rica (or on one side of the building, "Co ta ica"), it is called. I walked around it yesterday and actually find it quite an attractive building, but supposedly it's had a second investor for the last year or so, and is going bankrupt. It's right near the Tuition Centre that I work at, and I went to check it out because some large ship was taking an impressive portion of my view. It's quite funny actually, to stand at the the 200m stretch of beach before an impressive resort's towering building, and be watching various boats and industrial machines so near to the bathing holiday-makers. I think I'll attach my penis extension soon and take zoom shots of various boats.
Maybe as I pick up Malay, I can find out from locals here and also further south around Melaka (Malacca), exciting pirating stories. I have hardly had the opportunity to learn Malay, as I'm teaching English full-time, and the staff at VL (the Tuition Centre) are Chinese-Malay. If I go to buy food, Malays insist on speaking English, even if I attempt Malay, and Chinese often assume you are mistaken. The Indian who runs a business selling roti canai ('roti chanai' is pancake with dahl or fish sauce) in a stall at the end of my street is keen to teach me some Malay. He cannot read or write, but knows Tamil, Mandarin, Malay and English as a result of serving pancakes.
A couple of weeks ago was the Buddhist holiday Wesak Day. I went with the Boss and some of his family to a temple in BKT, the nearest town to his village, and washed a small statue of Buddha. In the evening was a parade with statue of Buddha on floats, driven by noisy trucks and lit with noisy generators. It was pretty in a way, but also characteristically Chinese... Hehe. My camera's battery was flat anyway.
The father, A Chong, of my boss, Chuen Hua, has a jackfruit orchard outside their village. He continues to work there despite the family's protest concerning his health. Jackfruit is pretty tasty, but you couldn't eat a whole one! You must know what I mean!
North from Port Dickson (the furthest South I have been), is VL where I work 4 days a week, then a few minutes further is the house I share with Steffen, my German fellow English teacher, then Lukut, which is the town I live in, then a couple more small towns, then through a few miles of palm tree plantation is BKT, where I teach every Saturday, and further are some villages (mostly ethnic Chinese, Malay, or Indian) one of which is most of the staff's family's, and further still is the KL international airport!
BKT is not as wealthy as Port Dickson, and this makes it more novel and attractive to me, except for the lack of boats... And I haven't been to the "nice" beaches South of PD yet. The children I teach in BKT (I dont remember the full name) seem more real to life, and they arrive on small motorbikes with an older brother or parent or grandparent, rather than in a shiny car. It's true thought that my most terrible - I mean difficult! - class is there, Form-1 Group-1, probably about 12 or 13 years old.
The laws are actually quite flexible here, but one must be careful of-course. Because anyone in the public service gets special government benefits but half the standard salary, there are actually standard under-the-table bribes, like a guarantee to pass a driving test. That costs 50RM. I have decided I want to get my driver and rider licenses here, and possibly even heavy vehicle if I can arrange it. If you are caught by a cop breaking a petty law, and he would be threatening to fine you for 400RM, the standard bribe (for anything) is 30RM for locals, and us (Steffen and I one motorcycles on day) too if we are in the know. I can probably also go to KL and bribe to have my work permit completed faster, but i was told that would cost a-lot.
PS They have been calling me Ben, Ben Ten, or Teacher...Sometimes my full title which seems to be Teacher Ben or, one time, yes, it was Mr. Ben!
{ music } Office atmospherics
{ book } blogging instructions
{ show } a carrot.
{ mood } awake
Written by choben at 08:07 PM.
Did you notice a slight cock-up in my previous entry? If so, then you are fooled! I so did that deliberately...
I'm listening to "Vain Dog" by Noodles, a Japanese rock band. *See content > mixtape* It sounds kind-of grungy but catchy and bouncy too...dunno how they do it over there! The funny thing is that they pronounce dog as "doog" and drop as "droop" ...Try saying "Vain dog in rain drop" like that! Wacky
The meal I just ate was one of the best I've had here in (this humble corner of) Malaysia, despite the noodles being a bit soggy because- I'll explain... Also, it was so hot that it stung my tongue on contact. I've really learnt to distinguish two types of spicy-hot food, if you will, here. There is the type that maybe doesn't cause much pain, but you feel the heat in your breath more and your nose opens up like its a tap to a dam. The other just stings, but one's nose only leaks, like a creek in a rain-forest during a drought. Sorry for the change of pronoun, but I'm knackered.
So today's entry starts at the end, now, which is not static of-course. Aren't I clever? No, today's entry begins at the end. The end is when I was listening to "Vain Dog"; The end of the song.
Before I came home with Steffen, had a pee/shower (Don't you love the effect of "/"?), ate my tom yum ki teow with all it's yummy Tom and flat rice noodles, and booted my laptop gently, Steffen and I went for a swim. =)
...Imagination time...
Well we took off our running gear the last time back at the house and put on "board shorts" to go swimming in, and walked past some locals sitting outside a food stall who asked where we were going (or maybe why my nipples were showing in Malay) and had a giggle at our plan. We walked to and then through the Glory Beach Resort to the beach. We walked at the sea for too long and discussed the strange nature of the local low tide. We then walked in shallow water and discussed the improbable possibility that there are poisonous jellyfish or the deadly shellfish things in the Malacca Straits. We also discussed the probability of stepping on a rotten fish. We also discussed the certain squishy mud that was surprisingly unlike the sand of the beach or Pacific seabed. We discussed the notion that it's a bad idea to go swimming, or standing, in the sea in a thunderstorm, a few times. We discussed many things as we walked out to sea, and we were surrounded by lightning, but not much thunder. Steffen commented on the stars, and I mentioned that maybe there was a reason why at low tide it seemed impossible to submerge our bodies totally within sight of the coast. We discussed many things, and when we were far enough out to sea that I could only just touch the bottom with my toes, we started to walk back again. We discussed many more things, and ended up crawling out of the sea. I told Steffen that in my interpretation of American language, the crawl that he learnt in the army is a "commando crawl". He told me the translation from German is "glide"...Way cooler.
Before that we went jogging to and at the park and I was properly exhausted.
I wanted to write about my actual teaching experiences today but I'm ready to throw myself over to bed.
Well I taught years 3 and 4 today ...or yesterday, rather. They were my favourite lessons with these classes so far. Also surprisingly, I planned very casually this time, in effectively 1 1/2 hours for both classes. I generally don't like to use negative methods of discipline in class, and so I planned differently for yr3, only 3 Chinese boys today who can be quite naughty. I have learnt quite fast that I can't apply directly the teaching methods for adult classes that I learnt in my TESOL, and so have experimented with various lesson structures. For the generally cheekier or less motivated classes, I have been trying an initially less exciting lesson, so that I can focus more on involving the students before we have some fun. This worked like a dream with yr3, who behaved almost as well as my larger but well behaved yr4 class. With the children I am happiest when I don't have to resort to strict and scary tactics, because it means they must be engaged in the lesson. In this case I can finish my lesson plan without rush. I planned mostly the same activities for both classes, but focussed on syllabus target language for each class. I only gave them a small amount of written Q/A exercises, as they need it for exam practise and if it's not too much to be boring it can help set new grammar structures in their wee minds.
The warm-up for yr4 was a series mostly improvised "games" where we sit in a circle and choose pieces from my collection of trinkets. We categorised them into colours and into shiny and not shiny, and interviewed each-other to use mostly third person verb forms: "Yan Xin likes pink," "Nick, Arif and James like blue," "They like red," "We all like silver!" etc.
We then read my dialogue as a group role play, and I briefly asked questions.
On the other side of the hand-out were some small dialogues and exercises using the same verb forms for expressing like or dislike of foods. I used this as an opportunity for my not-too-lengthy tuition block, which is school standard as I still have to prepare students for exams which will mostly test foundation theory of English. When a student has finished the exercises, they may take a colour pencil at a time from my cup to colour in pictures on the photocopied handout. When one has seen the colourful text-book, the copies seem so dull that I think I had at-least as much enthusiasm for this part of the lesson as the students did! I finished by setting a little homework and trying to read a story from the new fat disney books that are so prized by the staff. ^^ Of-course they can't agree so after suggesting Peter Pan, I surprised them with Aladdin. I'm sure the originals are better anyway...
I had a good laugh with yr3. I taught roughly the same lesson structured differently. I began with the dialogue so as not to excite them too much. We then went directly on to read the hand-out dialogues and I gave them as much tuition as they could possibly handle (how much, do you imagine?) and followed with plenty of communicative exercises. This is where we had laughs, as we asked if "they like nasi lemak" or "pizza", and I had to explain things like why we say "like to eat fish-balls" with a plural but "pizza" without. A break from the work-sheet, we next did what yr4 did as a warm-up. Then I made sure they finished the spelling exercise and labelled appropriately before offering them colour pencils and reading "Hercules" for five minutes. Their homework is the verb form exercises on the work-sheet.
Note that each stage of my lesson usually comprises of many activities, that I maybe too often improvise.
Anyway, I don't know why or if I should describe my lessons in such detail, but I did. Such is the magic of a journal.
Maybe my blog will actually be read when I put pictures throughout it. X-\
{ music } the same song again, now
{ book } instrutucioioejvionds
{ show } through sore tired eyes
{ mood } tired
Written by choben at 05:36 AM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian#Flavour_and_odour
This is a chapter of the article on Wikipedia for the durian fruit. I'm slowly eating one that I bought yesterday, and I bought one last week too. Steffen hates it and I'm addicted. It's true that it stinks, and so does one's burps and breath for hours after eating it... But I taste creamy caramel, and if it's not so ripe and creamy, I taste more sweet nuts. After reading the article, however, I now understand why I tasted so much more when I was first offered to try it. It's a wonder I ever tried again!
"In Malaysia and Singapore, most consumers prefer the fruit to be quite ripe and may even risk allowing the fruit to continue ripening after its husk has already cracked open. In this state, the flesh becomes richly creamy, slightly alcoholic,[19] the aroma pronounced and the flavour highly complex."
...Thus the "occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry-wine, and other incongruous dishes" become more frequent and incongruous.
Check it out! (To teach a block of phrasal verbs is so very boring.)
{ mood } chipper
Written by choben at 02:19 PM.
Steffen and I went to Seremban by bus on Saturday. It's OK i s'pose; I got some nice shots but it seems the impression on my mind will never manifest further through the camera. I hadn't loaded the film properly. I found out last night when taking pictures of torrential rainfall illuminated by the street light near our house. I have nearly finished the same roll again now, and I have another to use and one full, so I think I'll probably bother to develop 3 at once when I buy more film. Hopefully you notice the increase of eye candy in my last post.
In Seremban I bought a guitar. It was the cheapest full size acoustic in the shop - a Valencia classical/nylon string - and was made in Chine. Steffen told me I was laughing when I attempted to bargain. I'm a happy beginner player again! =o}
We didn't have enough money for the taxi when we realised we'd missed the bus in Seremban 2, but we payed the driver at home... That was nearly an adventure.
The outcome of the trip to Seremban and Jusco's in Seremban 2 was a guitar for me, two sweet potatoes and a bowling game for us both. Steffen took some video footage too, but I missed some of my nice photos after all.
Written by choben at 05:32 PM.
This morning I watched Germans and Polish in the Euro Cup with an afterwards satisfied certain German. Maybe I'll watched England play, or somethin'. I then went to bed at about 5 and got up at 9 at "the family's" place. I rode A Chong to his orchard on his wife's motorcycle, and that was nice. I went to The Store, which is not just a store, but a big 4-storey store. That was a good laugh, and I bought Steffen and I cheap tennis raquets and balls. There is a tennis court across the road from the school here, in the park. Supposedly soccer and basketball are popular here, and everyone plays or used to play badminton, but swimming and tennis don't seem popular at all.
Today I might take a beginner Mandarin class, but it depends on whether the teacher turns up, and whether it seems a good idea. Maybe, instead, I could take a very basic class with lil' kids! I just ate a dumpling. Inside the leaf it is slightly salty sticky yellow rice with sweet kidney bean paste inside... Pretty good! I also finished my durian today, and I like it more and more. I'll have to try one of those weird durian drinks or dishes soon.
Last night I helped to start the barbecues at the Low house, and we had a long-lasting barbecue during which everyone must cook some any of the various food for one's self. Steffen and I conspire to show them how a German/Aussie bbq is done at our house, with some limitations on my part, of course. After everyone else had gone to bed, we managed to stay up until the soccer game.
I'm not so sore in my legs anymore as I was after our jog and exercise the other night (the first considerable exercise for a month!), but a couple of particular muscles in my arms are so stiff and sore that I can't raise them to my face!
My docs make nice Australian souveniers even if I don't wear them, as door-stops for the front door and my bedroom.
Written by choben at 08:23 PM.
Well, I finally got - or got round to getting - this bluetooth thing working last night. I don't know why; I somehow managed to get enough sleep to work again the next day. ^^
It's been a big weekend; The weekend has been lotsa-things but, not like it's been a weekend.
I'm crazy to be up now, waiting for a Euro Cup football game when I'm so brainched in, but I am. Here thanks to the bluetooth, you can see cruddy little photos I just snapped with my phone camera. I got the phone back a week ago, so hopefully now it's worth inconveniences by producing conveniently snapped images I wouldn't waste film (gulp) processing on.
...In the case that you might be interested, I'll get some of my SLR photos up too (when I learn to use a camera).
Starting from the end, our house, this is our (mine and Steffen's) kitchen,
The view about three hours ago from the front door,
TV and dining areas (they are distinct),
The flag looks up-side-down; A side-ways photo of a side-ways flag on the wall near the TV:
This is where we eat, occasionally. Notice my boot-doorstop:
This is the study before Steffen. There is roti on the table:
My personal shitter:
Hall du Ben-jammin':
(Sleeping Beauty) Welcome! Door:
...and that's where I sleep sometimes.
Spain isn't kicking Deutch butt. Goo'night...
{ music } commentator
{ book } instructions
{ show } Euro GerVsESP
Written by choben at 02:23 AM.
