Middle weekend of the first term holidays. I am in KL to do some training for IB Geography. Even though it's during the holidays, I'm excited because hopefully I'll be able to cross some I's and dot some T's.
A few of us flew up to Malaysia yesterday morning. Very early morning! Got picked up at 5:20am so I was up at 4:30. Mel's sister and family are staying with us and Matilda is super excited to see her cousins Zoe & Emma. So she didn't want to go to sleep. Wouldn't be too much of a problem normally but she is sleeping in our room. I probably got to sleep around 1am!
Part of our programme involved going to visit our sister school in Putrjaya which is 30 or so km south of KL. As per usual with Air Asia, our flight left Singapore 45 mins late which threw our timing out. We didn't get as much time as we would've liked watching lessons at Purajaya. What I did see was great though. I think I have a clearer idea of where we we'll be in 2-3 years time. And that is exciting!
We got a taxi up to KL after we finished at Putrjaya. We planned to leave at 3pm and asked to have a couple of taxi there at that time. One turned up and took a couple of us to the airport. The next one didn't want to take the rest of us to KL. Too far? Not sure! Eventually we got a couple of taxis to turn up. It was interesting to see the country side. It was kind of weird seeing lots of open space instead of lots of high rise buildings.
We got to the hotel in KL around 4:30pm. As we were checking in one of the guys realised he had lost his passport! Such a pain, but he was able to get a replacement from the British Consulate which has eased his stress somewhat.
The hotel is really nice and I have a good a view of Petronas Towers from my room which is cool. In case you don't know, these buildings used to be the tallest in the world before Taipei 101 and the new one in Dubai.
I started this post in KL but the training was very intense and I never got around to finishing. So I'm doing it now back in Singapore. As I said the IB training was intense. So much information to digest! It was really good though. There were a few other teachers in our group that are in a similar position to me - new to the IB system and actually teaching the course. It was great to swap experiences and ideas.
I was concerned about being behind in terms of how much we had covered. I'm not quite as far behind as I thought, which is good. But I am behind and we will have to catch up somehow. I do feel more confident about things now and I think I will be able to make some of the lost ground.
One of the best things about being an expat is meeting like minded people. The people in our group were really interesting. Mostly from the UK with a couple of Kiwis and Canadians thrown in, they're teaching in places like Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Australia and even NZ. One of the Kiwi guys works at St Peter's College in Cambridge and had joined the NZGS just as I was leaving so it was good to catch up with him and hear how things were going back in Hamilton.
This post is taking a long time! First week of term is finished now. Mercifully, it's a short week because today is a public holiday for Hari Raya Haji which celebrates the end of the Hajj. Today is going to be a lazy day I think. I was hoping for a sleep in but Tilda decided she should wake up at 5:30 this morning. To be fair, she has a little cold so I can't really blame her.
The first week was pretty good though tiring. Quite a bit of stuff to get through before the Christmas holidays. It's an 8 week term which is great but it creates a fair amount of pressure. I guess we'll get there though. We're not planning to go back to Australia or NZ this Christmas. Moving here and getting set up was an expensive exercise. We're not destitute or anything but catching up will take time. Mel was excited yesterday because she got her first pay since starting work:)
I can't think of anything else to say right now so I'll be off.
Ciao
Tone
Friday 26 October 2012
Wednesday 3 October 2012
On the bus
Mel's mum & dad are here a for while which is cool. Last Friday they very graciously offered to look after Matilda so Mel & I could go out. We went to a smallish school do for a bit and then headed to Holland Village for dinner. Holland Village is a popular place for drinking and eating. We had Mexican for the first time in ages. It was great:) Thanks Grandma & Granddad!
As we were siting on the bus on the way home I was looking around at the other passengers. I realised that there were 3 or 4 of them that I see regularly on my way to school. Most people tend to go to work or school at around the same time each day so it makes sense that you would see them regularly. I think this is true of every commute I have had - from the super crowded trains in Japan to driving myself in Thailand and New Zealand to my bus trip here in Singapore.
As Mel and I talked about it I started to tell her about the different people I see regularly. There are of course my colleagues who live in the same area as me. No offence but they're kind of dull because I know who they are.
The first regular I noticed was "elegant Chinese lady". She is always impeccably dressed and always looks aggrieved to be travelling on public transport. Especially when she doesn't get a seat. There's also "wannabe elegant Chinese lady". Not quite as well dressed and less aggrieved about taking the bus.
One of my favourites is "surly uni student guy". He always sits in the same seat. And alway in the aisle seat with his bag on the window seat to stop other people sitting there. Most Singaporeans are too polite to try and sit next to him. But not the middle aged ladies. They have no problems in forcing him to get up and move his bag so they can sit down. In fact, I suspect they quite enjoy it:) But not him. The look on his face is pure anger. Cracks me up every time!
The other person that makes me giggle is "sleeping Malay woman", who travels on the Number 170. This bus runs from Johor Baru across the causeway in Malaysia right into the CBD. It carries the day labourers and others who do most of the shitty jobs like cleaning toilets. The 170 is always full. Always! And "sleeping Malay woman" must get on early because she is always in the same seat (in front of the exit door). And she is always asleep. Not just head down, eyes closed asleep. But full on, head back, mouth open asleep. I am positive she snores.
Another funny one is "cuddly teenage couple". They sit as close as humanly possible snuggled under a jacket. The air con is always on on the buses and sometimes it gets a touch chilly (even for chubby foreigners like me). But these kids are covered in goosebumps and shivering hard out. They have their arms around each other and the girl has her head buried in the guys neck. The first time, I was surprised when they got off and I saw that they were actually separate people.
There is one woman who I find somewhat disturbing. "Religious Korean woman" sits there with some of kind prayer book in her hands. I know she's Korean because the print on the cover is Korean. She has a kind of cycle. First she opens her book and reads something. Then she looks up and starts talking under her breath. I assume she's praying. Next she moves her head from side to side like she's stretching. Then she yawns. A big wide open mouth yawn. Then she she goes through cycle again. She usually manages 2 or 3 cycles before I get off.
Good times:)
T
As we were siting on the bus on the way home I was looking around at the other passengers. I realised that there were 3 or 4 of them that I see regularly on my way to school. Most people tend to go to work or school at around the same time each day so it makes sense that you would see them regularly. I think this is true of every commute I have had - from the super crowded trains in Japan to driving myself in Thailand and New Zealand to my bus trip here in Singapore.
As Mel and I talked about it I started to tell her about the different people I see regularly. There are of course my colleagues who live in the same area as me. No offence but they're kind of dull because I know who they are.
The first regular I noticed was "elegant Chinese lady". She is always impeccably dressed and always looks aggrieved to be travelling on public transport. Especially when she doesn't get a seat. There's also "wannabe elegant Chinese lady". Not quite as well dressed and less aggrieved about taking the bus.
One of my favourites is "surly uni student guy". He always sits in the same seat. And alway in the aisle seat with his bag on the window seat to stop other people sitting there. Most Singaporeans are too polite to try and sit next to him. But not the middle aged ladies. They have no problems in forcing him to get up and move his bag so they can sit down. In fact, I suspect they quite enjoy it:) But not him. The look on his face is pure anger. Cracks me up every time!
The other person that makes me giggle is "sleeping Malay woman", who travels on the Number 170. This bus runs from Johor Baru across the causeway in Malaysia right into the CBD. It carries the day labourers and others who do most of the shitty jobs like cleaning toilets. The 170 is always full. Always! And "sleeping Malay woman" must get on early because she is always in the same seat (in front of the exit door). And she is always asleep. Not just head down, eyes closed asleep. But full on, head back, mouth open asleep. I am positive she snores.
Another funny one is "cuddly teenage couple". They sit as close as humanly possible snuggled under a jacket. The air con is always on on the buses and sometimes it gets a touch chilly (even for chubby foreigners like me). But these kids are covered in goosebumps and shivering hard out. They have their arms around each other and the girl has her head buried in the guys neck. The first time, I was surprised when they got off and I saw that they were actually separate people.
There is one woman who I find somewhat disturbing. "Religious Korean woman" sits there with some of kind prayer book in her hands. I know she's Korean because the print on the cover is Korean. She has a kind of cycle. First she opens her book and reads something. Then she looks up and starts talking under her breath. I assume she's praying. Next she moves her head from side to side like she's stretching. Then she yawns. A big wide open mouth yawn. Then she she goes through cycle again. She usually manages 2 or 3 cycles before I get off.
Good times:)
T
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