~aGaINsT aLL OddS...~

(When was the last time I updated my blog? Two weeks ago? Gosh!! How I miss putting up a new entry! I'm so sorry peeps, the Internet seems unable to penetrate the quantum of my new place. Hence, I wont be able to write down something as often as I did in the past years)

The school was old, but I was new. Unlike many of my friends who had received warm welcome from their principal, I have never had a chance to even experience it. On the day I reported myself to the school, the principle greeted me with "Cikgu baru lagi? Awak dari mana pulak ni? Kami tak dapat pun apa2 surat tentang kedatangan awak ke sekolah kami" I felt so much dejected and rejected. It was surely not a good kickstart for your teaching career aite? So, while I was trying hard not to cry, I put on my smile and explained to her that I had been asked to report duty at the school and showed her my letter. She quickly skimmed my letter and eventully smiled when she learned about my option. "Eh, awk ni opsyen BI rupanya. Kami memang dah lame tunggu cikgu bahasa inggeris. Selamat datang ye ke SMK Sungai Besar" Whoa...siapa yang sangka that your major really plays a crucial role in making you be welcomed to the school?

So, there I was. In a small town, very far away from the rest of my family and friends. I was posted in a place that is located at the end of Selangor boarders. You have to drive for nearly an hour to get to the next town, which is Kuala Selangor. It takes only 45 minutes (or less) to reach Teluk Intan from Sungai Besar. In less than two weeks, almost everyone in the school and shopkeepers in the pekan knew me. "Cikgu Inggeris yang baru datang tu" " Cikgu yang jalan laju-laju tu" "Ala, Cikgu Aziati yang yang suruh kita cakap Inggeris tu" were among the remarks that that I often heard about me..[okay, accidentally heard!]. Oh ya, there's another one "Cikgu yang terjatuh kat tangga masa perhimpunan tuh" Yes!! I did stumble and fell on the stairs when the principal called out my name as she wanted to introduce me during the assembly. Oh, malu giler!!! There goes my new resolutions for this year!!!

You'll be shocked to learn that the students' proficiency is surprisingly very low. I remembered when I had to enter a form four class for relief and asked them "Can you understand me?" The students stared at me blankly. Finally, I wrote on the board "Can you understand me = Adakah awak semua faham saya?" and the students immediately said "No!![oh, tau pulak no tu tidak ye] Cikgu, cakap la bahasa Melayu kitaorang tak faham la" before someone shouted "cakap jawo ke" and someone else added "cakap banjar pon ok" I didn't know whether I should cry or laugh. There were quite a number of Chinease students who could not understand English and have poor vocabulary of Bahasa Melayu. I couldn't make them to understand me, nor did they make me to understand them. So as a last resort, I made myself to learn Mandarin instead. Thanks to Hanafi, a form four students who apparently attended a Chinese vernacular school before, I got myself a new lau ser to linguify my Mandarin. hohoho. In return, I voluntarily tutored him English.

Oh ya, the school assigned me to be the form teacher for 4A6, also known as 6 Jahanam. Some teachers even called the class as the National Zoo. My class was isolated from other forms (dont ask me why). When I first entered 4A6 last Friday, I could hear monkey sounds, chirping birds, and thousands of other unidentified sounds from far away. As they saw me walking into the class, they greeted me with "cikgu, cikgu yang jatuh kat perhimpunan hari tu kan?" instead of the normal "Selamat pagi cikgu" or "Good morning teacher". What a blast! hahaha. So, as expected, the class proficiency is relatively low as well. Hence, I wrote some english words on the board and asked them to draw in their books. I knew it was so like primary or kindergarten things to do, but I just didn't know where to start in just 30 minutes, and during the last period. Sume orang pun dah takde mood nak belajar. We later played hangman and of course, made so much noise that might disturb other classes. Thank God, our class was quite alienated from the rest of other classes.


Apart from being assigned with 4A6, I was made responsible for other posts as well. Here's the lists so far:
1) Jurulatih [or perhaps jurulEtih?] olahraga
2) Ketua Penyelaras Bahasa Inggeris tingkatan 5
3) Guru Penasihat Kelab Badminton
4)Pengurus Pasukan Bola Keranjang Sekolah
5) Ketua Projek Nilam
6)Ketua Unit Siar raya PSS sekolah
7)Ketua Unit Elit Bahasa Inggeris for PMR and SPM (I have to come to school every Saturday for the extra classes)
8) Jurulatih pasukan pantun sekolah. (Darn, apparently some of the teachers spied on my certs)
9) Jurulatih silat (okay, I have to start hunting for my silat uniform. Cant remember almost all of the pencak..ches)

......and the lists go on. I cant remember all my jawatans and I've been told to expect more to come. I'm still not sure how and where to start. I hope that I would survive somehow and give my very best in all my undertakings.Wish me luck and spare me some prayers. Until we meet again peeps. With heaps of love, I pen-off.