Hark-the-Harold

Humph, i just came back from Manukau, where they had the annual Polyfest. It’s like the national celebration of high school students as they will compete against each other in performing Maori and Pacifican culture songs and dances. So there were five stages set up with each presenting cultural showpiece of Maori, Tongan, Samoan, Cook Island and Niue people. it was quite cool, as each of the culture has their quite similiar but different song and dance. I personally prefer the Maori and the Cook Islanders. the first for the fiery (eyes bulged out and tongues protuded) and the latter for the good upbeat music (sounds like Sean Paul’s Temperature) and the Hula they did, it was awesome.

After i watched the Maori performance by one of the schools, the spectators started to sing and perform the reply dance. seeing them shouting and dancing made me feel so excited. i don’t know why. maybe seeing them being so proud of their culture makes me happy for them.

I wonder why can’t we have the same thing in Malaysia? I mean if the country is so determined in promoting our very own cultural potpurri, it should start from school so that the students will learn not only to appreciate their own culture but their friends as well. Imagine we have like a performance like this in Malaysia, where each school representing different states performing Zapin, Joget, Inang, Chinese and Indian dance, with each state can perform their own specialty dance, Ulik Mayang for Terengganu, Branyo for Malacca, Canggung for Perlis, Kuda Kepang for johore, Magunatip for Sabah and also Ngajat for Sarawak. When i was in the IPBA i joined the dance troupe for the Inter Teacher Training College dance competition. I did the traditional malay dance. The atmosphere was so good as we all dressed in colourful costume and we performed something that is so uniquely our own. Being a Chinese does not wane my interest of learning how to perform Malay dances too. If only we can bring this to the secondary school level. I heard of Johore state Zapin competition where primary,secondary and even tertiary education institutions competing for the Johore state Zapin champion. So cool.

Hope that i can bring these things back to Malaysia, and start a Malaysian Fest! haha.

I really want to say this. If not i would definitely end up crying to sleep. My english sucks, i am hopeless in English, i made more grammatical mistakes more than i do anything. what must i be so bad at english? tell meeeeeeeeeeeeee…..???!!!!

I know there are many reasons why i suck at english. For example i do not speak english at home, i am not from a former mission or Malays school, i was chinese-ed through out. English is practically my third language after mandarin and Malay. However those reasons are not meant to be excuses for me not doing well, especially when i am doing TESL ( seriously i am even thinking whether i have taken the right course). And seeing my friends doing well in their studies makes my heart sour. i am saying out loud that i really envy and jealous of their achievement. i will kill to acquire their proficiency in English.

My lecturers all said that to improve your language takes times, years if not months. However, i seriously cannot put up with any more critics on my language though i know i deserve every single comment on it because my grammar error is all over the place, i am a Mr.Malaprop and i have trouble expressing myself. I have read novels but apparently that does not seem to help (my english got even worse i think).

Sometimes i really hope i have come from SMK Sultan Sulaiman, have a good command of english and do not speak Mandarin. At least if i have chosen TESL i know i will do well in it as i would have had a good command of English. It really pains me to hear my lecturer saying time and again that ‘ your thinking and arguments are good, i can understand you quite well but again, your language pulls you down.’ Lord have mercy on me really, what is wrong with me?

However, i cannot give up, i will try every thing necessary to improve my situation, if all else fails, then i might consider having suicide or something. Seriously, what’s the point of becoming an English teacher of you cant even write an essay without having grammar mistakes in it? i would not want to be one, would you?

Oh helpppppp………somebody help me pleaseeeeeeee………..

I think i was crazy, i did not know what i was doing. i actually signed up for bungy jumping two weeks ago without realizing what i have got myself into. My mom was like begging me not to go, after hearing the news that somebody was paralysed after doing a bungy jumping. i tried not to think about it and decided to go for it. We waited at the clock tower and got onboard a van to go to the Auckland Harbour bridge.

Without knowing time flies i was sitting on top of the platform, getting my feet strapped with the cord. Friends were cheering for me but i feel apprehensive. I tried not to think of anything. When i approach the jumping platform, i was really nervous. I was saying oh my goodness what have got myself into. i looked down and there was the sea. Even though it was only 40 metres, i was almost shaking. I then tried very hard to smile for the camera before the instructor counted ‘ 5,4,3,2,1′, i jumped, feeling emptiness as i dived into the sea and bounced back again, the feeling when i was freefalling was a bit weird, i feel scared but confused at the same time. When i was bouncing back the feeling was nice.It feels like i am back in the spring sarong hammock all over again. i was hoisted up upside down, it did not feel good but it was alright. and i lost one side of my shoes to the sea too, arrggh.

As i was waiting for the others to jump, i was suddenly caught by the feeling of fright. I was worried that i might fell off anytime soon from the jumping pod. i quickly sat on the floor, trying not to look at the seawater to alleviate my fright. i was the first to walk the bridge corridor back to mainland. All i can think off is to get to mainland and end my phobia.

Well, after watching the video and see how i actually jumped, i was left wondering how did i manage to get the courage to do that. My friends were thinking of doing that again but i am worried about that. Seriously i doubt whether i should go for these type of activities again. They want to go for the 130plus metre height bungy. Nah, i will give it a pass i think. Anyway, i have bungy-jumped for once in my whole life. yippie. Thats all that matters, really.

i was reading my brother’s blog in friendster. i am suprised that he can write in a very interesting way. He narrates himself well and i believe his english is quite good. Good job Bro.

My brother and i…lets just say are unique. Character wise we are as different as heaven and earth (ask anybody who know us both and they can testify to that). He is the cheerful, outgoing, active type and i am more quiet, reserved and somewhat introvert. We excel in different areas too. i was always the book smart and him the street smart. Unlike other siblings, though we are so much different from each other, we never fight, or seldom (i can even remember when did we get into a fight).

We also take turns in saving our asses too. He saved me when i fell from a hill back whan i was 9 and i get him out of trouble when he was ragged by the college folks when he just went in. It’s funny that we are all in the same course and also, we are going to the same university. just hope that we don’t end up teaching in the same school. That will be seriously weird.

I am happy that he found solace in the mass, guess he can now understand why i find comfort and faith in the Catholic church. But coming to new zealand i begin to backslide, we are stuck with a Cathsoc that does not seem to be quite active (not yet maybe, but i am not sure). i really need help with that.

i wish all the best for my brother, both of us were so cute and smart when we were babies and i am sure we can rock the world one day. Onwards the Ong brothers!