Tuition

It's the third week giving tuition to some foreign workers. Some from India while the rest are from Malaysia. The youngest was 23 years old. (I remember). The oldest was more than fifty years old. He didn't tell me his exact age. I have never expected to have a student as old as fifty-plus.

It was a different kind of experience teaching adults. They were definitely different from the kids I taught. Different from Secondary students too! At first, it was only a class of five students. I was the oldest then. In the second week, more students came in to join the class. The class was very quiet. They didn't talk much. The Indians were better at the English Language as they had learnt it when they were in India. They were pretty 'well-educated' as most studied up to university level. They were all from Southern India and came to Singapore to work as Aircon Servicemen. Sometimes, they had to do other odd jobs like cleaning and other labour work.

Happy National Day!

Hihi! I went to watch the fireworks and aerial display near the Marina Bay during the NDP Preview the week before. The aerial display was taken in a carpark in Shaw Tower. I didn't know that you could see the display so well at the top storey of the carpark. But I don't think you could see the fireworks as there are other buildings blocking the view.

National Parade 2008 Preview

Hello everyone...!

These photographs are for Don, The Spammer! He is one of the pupils I taught in a school that is so HIPS lor. Maybe you would guess which school he is from.

Anyway, he didn't believe that I was invited to the Istana. So, I have to take pictures of the invitation card and the uniform that I wore that day. I was a little busy, so I only waited till today to post it on my blog.

Presidential Garden Reception

The visit to the Istana yesterday was quite an eye-opening. My reporting station was at the Environment Building along Scotts Road and I was to report there between 4pm and 5pm. I reached the place at around 4.40pm.

Once I reached there, I had to queue up at the registration counter to verify my identification and obtain a security pass to enter the Istana. After I got my pass, I needed to join another queue for the security check. We were like entering the airport security checkpoint as we needed to declare all metal objects and any form of liquid that we carried. That was quite a long queue but the police officers were quite efficient and I was cleared within fifteen minutes. I then boarded a mini-bus and I was on my way to the Istana. The journey was pretty smooth and short. I entered the Istana through another gate - not the one I expected. I thought I would enter the Istana through the main gate next to Plaza Singapura. That's along Orchard Road if you do not know.

There was a number of trees in the Istana compound. There was also a good view of the city skyscrapers within the compound. It was unfortunate that no photography was allowed in the Istana, so I did not manage to take any picture. The Garden in the Istana was round in shape and was quite big. There were a few huge tents set up within the Garden to house the buffet tables. There was a big spread of buffet in the tents and some high tables around the Garden. Most of the guests at the Garden were grouped according to their respective forces. I was surprised to meet one of my old classmates from my primary and secondary schools. He was Martin, an officer in the Navy before he left the service. We had a good chat and ate good food at the Garden Reception.

The President arrived shortly after the arrival of a few ministers and senior officers. The minister who came to our tent first was Mr Ng Eng Hen, Minister of Education. He was friendly and he mingled with the guests at the tent. He shook hands and chatted with them. A few minutes later, he was ushered to the other tents by his accompanying officers. Another minister then came to the tent. The last person to come was the President himself. When he arrived, many guests swarmed towards him to shake hands with him. I was holding on to my BIG plate of food so I did not manage to shake hands with him. The plate was really heavy as it was made of porcelain. The food was definitely wonderful and I ate to my fill.

About an hour later, it was time for the President to take his leave. The National Anthem was played before he left. Shortly after he left, it was our turn to leave the Istana. An announcement was made for the guests to board the bus at the drop-off points. This time, we took the large buses from SBS and SMRT. The bus I took left the Istana through the main gate along Orchard Road. We were dropped off at the bus-stop opposite Newton MRT Station, which was near the Environment Building.

Presidential Garden Reception 2008

Hi, remember I told you that I was invited to the Presidential Garden Reception 2008? Well, there is actually a website dedicated for that occasion. You can go to the website at this address : http://www.mindef.gov.sg/pgr

I have not blogged for a long time. Same excuse - busy and lazy. :P

Busy HolidaY.

Sorry, I couldn't find time to blog. Honestly, I was made to blog now by a BEE! It's a Honey Bee which goes around buzzing people to blog. I am one of the victims! I always thought the job of the Honey Bee was to go to flowers to flowers to collect nectar to make honey.

Anyway, I was as busy as a bee, going to schools in the morning and tuition in the afternoon till evening. During the last four days, I conducted enrichment classes in the tuition centre I am working in. Finally, I have one morning "free" to blog and do other stuffs. Next week, I will be back to school again for the whole week! Guess I will another busy week ahead.


You can see all the children lining up for Mrs Teh's delicious spaghetti.

It was the last day of the enrichment programme yesterday. Mrs Teh, another teacher in the centre, cooked some nice food,like spaghetti and pasta, for the kids. She is such a wonderful teacher and fabulous chef. I enjoy her very interesting life stories when we chats during our free time. :D