Somehow the days seem shorter back home in Alor Setar. I put it down to my
predisposition for long afternoon naps here. It's the weather- afternoons are all
quiet and woozy..
My days have been busy. I'm actually sleepy now at 12.30am. Sleep is not as
elusive as it normally is at vista. Sleep is seldom elusive at home.
I went for my medical check-up yesterday. I had my Mantoux test done at the
government hospital's TB clinic. There was even a methadone clinic right next
to it. It's so cool! (forgive me, I have a warped sense of cool-ness) Healthcare
service here has really come a long way. It's high time I change my over-
judgemental preconceived dismal opinions about the hospital service in my
now-not-so-ulu hometown. Maybe I should consider returning to work here
when I graduate.
I did the rest of my medical check-up at KMC. One big plus point of getting my
medical check-up done in a private institution was that I got to pee in a sterile
plastic bottle instead of a small paper cup as would be the case in the Alor Setar
general hospital. I always dread the pee test. I vaguely remember the first time I
was handed one of those plastic bottles (I went to a private institution) with no
instructions at all. It stumped me a bit- how was I going to miraculously get my
pee into that little transparent bottle? I'm not very bright, as you can see.
When I did my pee test in the GH more than five years ago before going to
INTEC, they used little paper cups- slightly bigger than those used to offer free
sample beverages in the supermarket. And you had to carry your paper cup-ful
of pee from the toilet to the counter in full view of everyone.
My Mantoux injection area is raised and erythematous. And it hurts.
Inflammatory response seems to be hard at work there. Let's hope when I open
my eyes tomorrow it won't have expanded any larger as it did last night. 3
centimeters, dear skin, do not cross that perimeter.
After my medical check-up, I slept the afternoon away. Then went for bhajan
session at night.
Another reason why my days are so short is that my mornings are virtually
non-existent. But it has always been such.
Mom cooked crabs today. She said I should eat everything at least once before
I leave for Strathclyde. I think so too, so I won't leave with any regrets or
unfinished business. Eating crabs turned out to be really tiring. I sat at the table
and chomped for two straight hours. I was so tired so I had to lie down again
after lunch.
Mom asked me to help her do something.
Mom: wen chin afters in the afternoon can you help me do something?
4.30 you help me watch my 'bu liao qing' can or not?
Me : I never knew can help people watch show 1...
Then after her lie-down, mom decided it made more sense if I went for her
tuition instead and she stayed at home to watch show.
So I went. I normally take over from my mom sometimes when she's not free.
Once again, I was touched that the kids liked me for who I am. Sincerely.
Kids seem unaffected by outward appearances. They don't seem to see if you're
fat or thin, tall or short, pretty or ugly, tidy-looking or unkempt. They adore
the pot-bellied man with bushy eyebrows who comes all the way on a
motorcycle to tell them a moral story at the end of every lesson. And they also
like the thin, specky girl with curly brown hair tied up in a pony tail, looking
very sweaty and trying to talk too loudly.
I think they liked me when that girl forbid me from leaving before listening to
her ghost story (which involved a university hostel's bathroom, blood and the
ominous warning not to answer if someone asks you 'do you want a red
jacket?'). And when that boy wanted to show me how he could spin a book on
one finger. And lastly, when they all stood up and said 'thank you teacher..' to me.
But I am not a kid. I do not have their innocence or their uninihibition. So in my frugal manner, I
just smile and nod appreciatingly.
I let them make sentences and write it on the board.
example question:
proud- father- policeman- country safe- peaceful
answer:
I am proud of my father because he is a policeman. He keeps the
country safe and peaceful.
The girl who did that question on the board wrote:
I am proud of my father because he is a policeman. He make sures the country
safe and peaceful.
While I can correct
'make sures' to
'makes sure', it is difficult to explain why the
correct sentence has to be
'He makes sure that the country is safe and peaceful',
but
'He keeps the country safe and peaceful' is allowed without the '
is'.
In difficult situations such as these, I cheat on the explanation and just let them
be content that what I say is the LAW. Which cannot, in any case, be wrong.
It's not that different from our PP2 MCQ questions, in which case the given
answers are the law.
With 15 minutes more to kill before the much-beloved Teacher Chai comes to
beguile them with his tales of morality and valour, I play a little game with
them involving occupations.
description: 'One who deals with medicines'hint: person who works in the pharmacy where you buy medicines from if you
don't see a doctor.
attempted answer:
pharmacianSo now I am a future pharmacian.
