8.30am (Auckland time)
went to airport, check in cargo luggage. luckily it was only 19.4kg. hand luggage was 6.7kg. also lucky.. ngam2 je..
11.20am
boarding... got a nice place next to d window. my seat was 50K. d guy next to me was HOT! lol...
12.05pm
Kapal terbang ku berlepas menuju ke Brisbane... transit for 2 hours. bengang juge kerna ngak tahu menahu psl transit d brisbane ni till d time nk berlepas.
about 5pm (Brunei time)
Arrived at Brunei airport. Waited for our luggage like ages. Then, being told that our luggage were sent to Jakarta straight away because we r in transit. I ended up with my hand luggage n laptop bag. No clothes n toiletries.
Picked up by d hotel shuttle. Since our transit was more than 8 hours, they provided us with free hotel. Stayed there overnight. Giler best n mewah. this was my rum in Brunei.
not to forget the delicious nyummy free meals.. buffet mestilah mkn byk2.. bkn senang nk dpt free fud yg sdp kat hotel mahal..lalala~
Thursday, 20 Nov 08
7.30am(Brunei time)
trn mkn breakfast dgn nisah kat cafe hotel. mmg muntah kedarah mkn... bukan mkn lagi nmny.. melahap, menelan, mencekik..haha. then naik atas ambil bag n waited for d shuttle to bring us back to d airport to continue our journey to Jakarta. took sm pics at d lobby wit nisah. but i only hv a pic of nisah n d lobby wit me rite nw. my pic is in nisah's cam.
Around 11am
bersyukur sbb everythng goes fine at d custom. waiting inside for our plane. bought a few souvenirs. d shop accepted foreign currency. So we did not have to change our money. I just paid using credit card n NZD. oh, n i thought tht Jakarta uses d same plug as msia n brunei. that was y i bought an adaptor in brunei in case i couldnt find any in jakarta airport. while waiting, we met fellow auckies msian at d airport. they were on their way back to msia and transit for 2 hours in brunei.
11.50am
berlepas lagi dan kali ni straight to jakarta. no more transit2. penat dh transit2 nih. now, i finally get to worried about travelling alone in jakarta.
1.10pm (Jakarta time)
landed safely at d airport. alhamdulillah skali lg sgt lega to get through d imigresen. n i hv to say, their airport was sooo like a duplicate of puduraya... soo many ppl offerring their taxi service, even d foreign exchange counters were like pudu's bus ticket counters. i teman nisah look for naim n ajiSSS. Nisah said they shud b waiting for her at d arrival gate. but naah, nope, nein we look all over d place n there was no sign of em. n suddenly we arrive at god knows wer.. n there they were hahaha... they waited at d wrong arrival gate rupenye. then they teman me pulak to get a cab. honestly, i hv prob with IDR cos their money was like soo big i mean d digit. ribu2 lah pening pale aku. nk convert pn ssh. so i ended up getting a cab which was NOT a cab at all. It was a big, black, new, shiny Mpv. n also cost me like 250 000 rupee. after converting it to NZD i realised tht it cost me about 40 NZD. DUH~ but then i think d price was ok. cos rupe2nye.. hotel yg kononny kata sgt lh dekat 4m airport ms aku book tu sgtlh jauh n lama. jakarta's traffic was no dif then kl's. jam memanjang. pening2.. dh lh panas dpt bapak taksi yg peramah amat. sakit pala gue... ngak mau berhenti mulutnya... mau di suruh diam nnt rude pulak. layan ajelaa... d best part was... he seriously wanted me to charter him everydy for 400000 per day to go anywer. konon2 bilang aja mau ke mana bapak bisa tunjukin tempatny... nak mampos?? aku bkn anak raja doh. klu setakat pergi jln2 sehari suntuk for 400000 n not inclusive of d entrance to all d attractions baik tak yah. dahtu duit tol sah2 lah aku kene byr. nk g hotel tu pun aku kene bbyr tol. dh lah balance amik trs. tp mmg aku niat nk sedekah je duit lbh tu kat die. tp klu die pulang leklok kn lg baik. ni senyap2 trs simpan. hmm mngkn thts hw it works here. its ok no big deal. yg pntg gue udah slmt smpi d grand Flora Hotel yg jauh nk mampos d tgh2 bandar.
so impressed wth d service of this hotel. siap ada security kat entrace. bag aku pn kene screening. ingt aku nk bwk ape??? aku pn tkt nk pndg muke die garang sgt. aku senyum pun die tak senyum blk. sioot je!! wek!!! tp mmg patut pn ada security yg baik coz d area was soo padat n d people some look very kind n sm sgt mencurigakn. but the segurity guards around this area were so helpful. n remember??? i used to work in a hotel b4. of course i didnt 4get hw it felt doing their jobs in d hotel. so i gv d bellboy 2USD s his tips. actly, wer did i get those us dollar?? those were my tips at Copthorne b4. n now i gv sm to them. just bcos i used to had d excitement of getting tips. though it was just a dollar. thts better thn nothing. i want him to hv tht same feeling. after checking in, it was about 4pm jakarta time. i was so tired just want to rest in d room.
finally i can go online n call my mum. i knw they worried cos wen i managed to charge my hp, i received 2 notifications of missed calls 4m both my parents. n unfortunately, d plug wasnt d same s brunei n msia. so i had to call d house keeping department askng for an interntionl adaptor to chrge my hp n laptop. yeah n d internet, was 24hours free. so thts wat i hv been doin in my rum. interneting... new vocab, ppl... haha. dah mlm2 lapar giler hny ada muffin yg dpt dlm flight je. soo aku pn bedal lah magi mini bar. tu pn aku convert siap2 br brni amik. skrg dh pndi convert dah hahhaa...Hari ni aku check out dari apartment ku di Wellesley. Dgn penyerahan kunci bilik aku kat RA, maka rasmi lah aku sebagai seorg homeless buat 2 hari bermula hari ini.
Sepatutny kene berambus kul 10am. Tapi kami sume sepakat nak lengah2 kan masa sbb once kitorg dh kuar, kami mmg dh takde tpt len nk gi. For the time being, kami merempat di bilik Ain sbb Ain br pindah ke Mount Terrace. Wpun bilik Ain kecik, namun dgn baik hatiny die menerima aku n Nisah.. hehe tq ain.. muah2... lol...
Tp, satu je ler.. mmg ler takleh nk gerak sbb blk die agk kecik n brg2 sgt byk... dgn luggage kitorg lg.. soo... tak banyk yg blh di buat.. bak aku kata kat nisah...
"Aku pandang ko, ko pandang aku. Aku pandang dinding, dinding pandang aku..."
Mlm ni hajat di hati nk tgk Private practice n Ghost whisperer kat tv. tp mn nk cari tv... so kitorg cdg nk merempat ke rmh anep lak.. hahha.... tu lah gaya homeless students yg berjaya. Jadinya, mlm ni kami tdo kat lounge anep dgn sleeping bag kami.. mujur ada sleeping bag. byk berjasa ok sleeping bag tu... dan skrg ni... mn aku nk dpt tenet??? tu pasallah skrg ni tgh merempat kat ground zero uni. bersyukur lah uni ni ada tpt berteduh yg ada tenet free wakakakaa.... blh lg lah nk blogging ni....
aku mmg serabut, kusut masai, tak terurus, serabai, etc2 minggu ni. Pki bj yg sm 2 3 hari sbb brg2 n bj sume dh pack n simpan rmh org. haih mcm2 pengalmn dok overc ni......
Ku pusing ke kiri
Ku dongak ke atas
Ku tunduk ke bawah
Ku pandang ke hadapan
Ku menoleh ke belakang
Kemudian,
Ku bangkit dari katil.
Lalu,
Ku lompat2 dan
Ku joget2 tanpa alunan muzik
Tiba2
Terus ku duduk mencangkung
dan senyap sepi beberapa ketika...
Ku muncung kan bibir sepanjang yg boleh...
Lantas terdetik di hati..
"Camni rupenye perasaan berada dlm blk yg tiada sentuhan jiwa, tiada barang2... sungguh bosan."
Rupa2nya... semua brg2 yg menyemakkn bilik dan yg ku rasakan sampah sarap dan pelaburan yg membazirkan duitku adalah inspirasi dan sumber ilhamku.... (-_-")
b4 this i said that i might gona hv to add about 1 or 2 boxes of stuff to be moved out. unfortunately.. d number increased beyond my expectation. Finally, after finished packing evrything.. s in EVRYTHING, the total of packed stuff r...
1 big box of appliances
1 box of my booksss
1 box of books from Eva
2/3 boxes of clothes
1 box of shoess
1 box of beddings
1 laundary basket filled with stuff
1 box of fan-present
1 ampaian
1 picnic basket full of novels and magz
1 guitar...
duh~ which crazy woman is goin to buy soo many stuff when only staying abroad for only like 2 years??? -ME!!!! !#$%^&*!!
thats not d climax of d story.. We (oh..forgot, me n nisah) moved our stuff into Zira's house. Soo envy her house... damn pretty but, have to climb 4/5 floors cos no lift..lol. CLIMB! yup we climbed up the stairs with ALL those boxes and stuff... giler menggigil pale lutut gue! seriously, my knees were shaking for like hours... but then really greatful coz I gotto keep my stuff there for free. If not, I ll definitely have to send my stuff into storage and pay like seriously a lot for 3 months... so thats really great.
This afternoon, i went down Queen St to look for this mak cik punye music box.. haih kenapalh kwn2 aku suke mntk mende2 pelik n merepek.. she wanted a so called "spesel" music box.. duh~ it's nearly Christmas. When I asked or search for "spesel" music box, all i got were Christmas music boxes-with Santa or if not with all d dwarfs... aku belikan br tau.. nk sgt yg spesel! haha... But then, I decided to checked out my favourite gift stall... n I decided to buy this...
Saja suke2 letak gbr ni.. diambil on d way to Queenstown rasenye... dr dlm kete hmm...
Dear Atie,
"Life is a box of chocolate. You never know what you're
gonna get."
It's true. Life is full of surprises... Always expect the unexpected. Coz you never know what await you in the future.
"We make our own destiny. We have to do the best with what God gave us."
I am a person who complains a lot... Always forgot that there are people sufferring out there.
I might hate what I got.. But, what I like might not be d best for me n what i hate might be for my own betterment. I got to learn to appreciate and be grateful with everything that i owned.
"You got to put the past behind you before you can move on."
I'd been sucked into my past which made me difficult to start a new beginning of this journey. 'Let bygones be bygones'. Maybe that's why I found it really hard to forgive and forget....
Lastly, I really take his mother's words personally...
I always asked "What's my destiny?". Dont lie.. coz I know you might have been asking d same question too.
"You're gonna have to figure that out for yourself..."
And with the last quotation from "Forest Gump"... I leave this poem by Robert Frost for me and you to ponder upon...
The Road Not Taken
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Ku email hotel yg bakal aku duduk kat Jakarta dh msuk berapa kali tp x berbalas juge..
Ku email Airasia yg sengal tu pun x berbalas.
Ku mahu change flight bookings dgn Airasia pun x berjaya..
Ku mahu add 1 more checked luggage dgn Airasia pun tak lepas...
Nex Wednesday dh nk fly off... skrg ni kepala ku berserabut dan sgt rimas sbb byk sgt persoalan tak terjawab. Aku ngamuk ni ada aku call sembur sume org ni kang... tak pun suh abah sembur... haha men sembur menyembur mmg menarik. Dah lh nk kene wat international call dr NZ ni... byk lah lak credit aku haih pening2...
Mungkin hr yg panas serba serbi menambahkn kepanasan hati yg sdg menggelegak dari bbrp hari lepas.
Begini rupenye bumi Oklen bl dihujani sinar mentari...
"Someone has told me that grass is much greener on the other side..."
(Cartoon kat TV)
Well the grass sure is greener here but, nothing is perfect in this world.
lepas je abis EDUC225 semlm, aku mmg rs cam nk jerit sepuas2 hati aku kt dlm hall tu... mujurlh blh control lg.. hehe aku pdg hijrah kt dpn aku pon dah dok menyengih smpi ke telinga tgk aku hahahah... happy giler weh dh abis sem ni... yg pentng skali tamatnya exam bermaksud masa utk bersuka ria, dan masa utk packing brg... yabedabedoooo!!! aku nk blk mesia!!!! hahaha gaya cam dh 5, 6 thn dok cni.. tu tak tgk brg2 aku lg.. klu tgk brg2 mst org ingt aku dh menetap kt NZ ni 10 thn.. giler nk mampos byk... nyesal lak jd shopaholic ni.. aku pun tak phm ape aku pk ms dok shopping sakan tuu.. perfume smpi 4, 5 botol.. tu pun nk bg org satu botol.. hehe... aku blk mesia nnt.. sape dpt hadiah perfume dr aku tu phm2 je ler... tp dlm byk2 perfume tu ada 3 perfume yg aku xkn bg sape2...
- DKNY Be Delicious - sbb aku dh lama impikn perfume tu dr awal2 die kuar.. ms tu sedey sgt.. x mampu nk beli, hny mampu hidu org pki...
- VERSACE Crystal Clear - sbb bau nye sgt elegant, berwarna pink, n aku suke giler bau die... bau die ada ala2 perfume lama aku CLINIQUE Happy in Bloom.
- JLO sth2 - sbb tu hadiah dr my best fren from OZ... mak cik Kelsey syg.. sgt syg nk pki... only used it in certain occasions...
Aku rs aku dh kemas about 50 - 60 % of my stuff... tp sgt pening skrg sbb kemas cmne pon xblh nk get rid of em.. kene humban sume kotak2 dlm blk aku gak. so far i have 2 full-backpacks of clothes, 1 box of books, 1 big box of electrical appliances, 1 box of shoes, n 1 picnic basket of novels. n thats not it, i might hv to ad another 2 more boxes for beddings, n more clothes. oh n 1 laptop bag , n 1 big luggage tht i ll bring home. hmm c... 10 yrs in Auckland.. hahha shit laaa... byk gale!!
i made a list of friends n family members n d list of souvenirs tht i wana buy for every1... n OMG!!!! damn i m sooo gona broke, man! its like a never ending list... thats 1 prob wen u r very close to every1.. huhu... i felt like a santa clause making a christmast list... giler pjg list aku... sp yg aku tak rpt mintak maaf lah byk2... mmg aku terpksa kuarkn dr list.. rmi sgt kot.. anak sedara, mak, bapak sedara.. sume2 lah.. nnt gather, klu ad yg x dpt.. nnt kecik hati ssh lak... hmm xpelah... nnt shopping souvenir pulak... huhuhu... x sbr nk blk.. yeeeehaaa!!!
"kalaulah mampu untuk aku lukis ruang kosong di hati ni, kalaulah mampu untuk
aku kongsi dan coretkan omong2 kosong yg berlegar di hati, mungkin aku tak perlu
menelan setiap rasa yg hadir..."
Yup, I felt sad, useless, hopeless, lonely, angry, and uncertain... its a mixture of myriads of unpleasant feelings that broke my heart into pieces...
Now let me interpret the sketch for you, in case u cant c d relation of my feelings! d volcano indicates my anger which also related to my patience that has come to its limit. d tree standing there alone in a middle of no where portrays my loneliness. Friends are important in my life, but they come n go, we cant share everything with everyone at anytime... this is my life. i have to stand by my own feet, cope with my own life... n thereby, standing up for myself.. alone. d eyes n d rain... duh~ isnt it obvious that i was feeling sad that i could cry a pool of tears?? what else?? oh yeah.. the tree n the d flower at d right corner of the pic indicate that it is autumn.. nearly winter... it is useless to keep those leaves on their branches... hopeless... the tree has no control of its own life, its leaves, the flower cant hold its petals from falling... this is life.. we have to cope with life, surroundings and situations. i am powerless of what's coming... i do see its coming, but the least that i could do is to wait and watch evrything passes by... lastly is d wind... it shows my uncertainty of what will happen in the future, how i would react, what should be done... n d list goes on...
i know that those brief discriptions are merely the surface meaning of my sketch and thus, do not imply the deep underlying meaning of the real reasons for all those feelings inside me.. but i just dont know how to portray all those feelings. they are too personal to be shared. I cant even share them with my own self. what else with others...
dari masalah keluarga, kawan2, perasaan, pergolakan diri yg tak henti2 menguji kesabaran, membuatkn aku semakin dewasa dan membimbing aku menjadi aku. tipu daya manusia, mainan perasaan, angan2 yg tak kesampaian, semua adalah teman. teman datang dan pergi. begitulah hidup ini. semua yg hadir akan pergi, dan hanya menemani diri buat sementara waktu.
kawan... rakan.. sahabat dan teman... sedih bile memikirkan yg kite diciptakan utk bertemu dan berpisah di atas ketetapan Illahi. pertemuan hanyalah suatu detik yg singkat. sesingkat degupan jantung, hembusan angin yg bertiup, kerdipan anak mata, yg tak mampu di hentikan mahupun diulang kembali. sedih bila mengenangkn, hari ni kite bertemu, esok kite berkasih sayang dan mesra, dan lusa kite berpisah tanpa mengetahui penghujung cerita. apa mungkin kite akan bertemu kembali dan bersama2 menyambung mengukir lakaran putaran cerita pahit manis kite bersama suatu ketika dahulu...?
buat warna2 yg pernah hadir mewarnai lukisan2 hidupku walau cuma sedetik, aku ucapkan ribuan terima kasih yg x terhingga kerana kehadiran kalian telah melengkapkan lukisan2 ku. walaupun hitam, kelabu atau betapa gelap sekalipun warnamu, kau tetap penyeri dan pelengkap lakaran lukisan2 ku. buat warna2 yg bakal hadir dlm hidupku, ku alu2kan kehadiran kalian... cuma ku harap... jgnlah kau tambah lagi warna2 kegelapan dan kesuraman hidupku ini... izinkan jari jemari ini menari bebas melakar sendiri corak dan warna lukisan yg bakal ku lakarkan... mungkin ia takkan seindah selalu... tapi biarkan aku menjadi aku... dan biarkan warna2 itu menjadi penyeri hidupku... walaupun lukisan ku hanya bertemankan warna2 nan suram, biarpun berlatarkan hitam dan putih, ku sayangi dan hargai setiap cebis yg terhasil.
kalau lah ditakdirkn kite boleh dapat sume yang dihajati.. nescaya kering-kontanglah sungai2 dan lautan di muka bumi ni... togellah hutan2 yg menghijau kat dunia ni. tp, kalau skrg ni, aku diberikan satu peluang utk satu hajat aku ditunaikan.. satu yg aku hajati ialah KAU...
Memang sekarang ni aku ada kau... kau sentiasa available bile aku ada masalah... tapi, sayang.. hati kau x pernah available utk hati aku yg berwarna pink ni... mungkin pink bukan warna favourite kau... tapi aku yakin, pink tu penyeri. aku tahu, kau cemburu dengan apa yg terbentang depan mata aku... tapi aku sebenarnya lebih cemburu dengan apa yg mendampingi kau. sebab walaupun kau sentiasa available untuk aku, tapi aku tak pernah berpeluang berdamping dgn kau. memang aku kuat cemburu.. biar satu dunia tahu... kalaulah mampu untuk aku lukis ruang kosong di hati ni, kalaulah mampu untuk aku kongsi dan coretkan omong2 kosong yg berlegar di hati, mungkin aku tak perlu menelan setiap rasa yg hadir. kalau senang sangat nak bagitau satu dunia apa yg sebenarnya berlaku, apa yg sebenarny ada dlm kepala otak dan hati aku memanglh hidup ni mudah.
orang kata, xda ape yg mustahil dlm dunia selagi kite berusaha... tapi aku tak setuju. kalau betullah xda ape yg mustahil.. dah lama bilik aku ni penuh dgn bintang2 kat langit. dan korg mesti xkan berpeluang nk tengok bulan dan bintang... dr muzapha pun xperlu nak terbang ke angkasa, sebab angkasa dh lama kosong... tapi, ada je benda yg mustahil sebenarny dlm dunia ni. kite ni hanyalh insan kerdil. dan aku sedar, kalaupun kau kata aku lagi hebat dari kau.. tapi pada aku, aku ni hanyalah pipit yg x setanding langsung dgn kau. pipit x mampu nk terbang sama tinggi dgn helang. tak kire walau brp kali aku berusaha, aku akn sentiasa perlu mendongak ke langit utk pandang kau.
aku harap satu hari nanti, kau akan sedar yang pink tu mampu mnjadi penyeri dan pink tu suatu yg sangaaaat manis... tapi, mungkin pada hari kau sedar hakikat tu, hati aku dah tak available utk kau.. mungkin jugak pada hari tu, wpun hati pink aku ni msh available, tp mungkin availability tu x compatible dgn kau. dan kalau pun hari tu memang akan hadir, aku tak rasa pipit blh berubah jadi helang. dan takkn mungkn blh terbang seiring dgn helang. dan mungkin atas sebab itu, kau pilih agar kite terus begini... kau akan sekali sekala terbang rendah seiring dgn aku. tp helang, xkan mampu bertahan terbang rendah selama2 nya... jadi mungkin takdir kite mmg begini... unless.. kau berubah menjadi pipit atau aku yg jd helang hehe... maka, aku rasa lebih baik kite terbang jauh jauuuuhhhh.... bile rindu, baru kite jumpa...
sekian...
kisah helang, pipit, bulan dan bintang....
p/s-setiap malam jgn lupe kire bintang kat langit..
kalau berkurang maksudnya aku dh curi sikit dan bg kat org2 yg aku syg dn hargai..seperti keluarga, leen, kelsey, noly dan nisah.
kalau bertambah.. maksudnya, aku dh bebaskan sikit buat sedekah utk org len kongsi kebahagiaan hidup ni...
trimas.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Labels: Feelings, Life, Love Story, Merepek 5 commentsCinta... mengapa perlu terbitnya rasa cinta di hati ini? Adakah hadirnya hanya sekadar mengukir perit dan luka? Tidak... Cinta itu suatu yang indah anugerah daripada Nya. Namun, mengapa indah yang ku cari pada cinta, seakan tak terlukis di hati? Semakin cuba ku mencari erti keindahan cinta ini, semakin pedih yang kurasakan... apakah cinta ini bukan yang tercipta untuk ku? Silapkah aku menerima cinta ini kembali setelah sekian lama hati ini ku kunci? Jadi, milik siapakah hatiku ini? Perlukah aku terus mencari? Atau, cukup sekadar di sini?
Cinta...
Aku akur, hadirnya ia suatu yang cukup indah dan bermakna...
Hanya indah buat insan yang mampu menyelami dan mengerti akan kewujudannya...
Bukan salah cinta, hati merana...
Namun salah diri yang terlalu alpa.
Cinta....
Ya, memang benar “hadirmu tidak diundang, pergimu tidak dipinta”,
Namun, cinta tidak mampu hadir sendiri...
Manisnya cinta perlu dicari...
Cinta...
Aku penat dengan cinta...
Hati ini terlalu rapuh...
Pernah dulu ia retak dan berkecai...
Kini, ia kembali berdiri...
Namun, bisakah ia bertahan lagi?
Cinta...
Begitu tinggi nilai cinta...
Kesabaran yang tinggi merupakan harga yang perlu ku bayar
demi secebis cinta....
Mampukah aku memupuk kesabaran yang kian punah?
Cinta...
Tuluskah ia menerjah ke ruang hati?
Atau sekadar mengubati luka dulu yang ditinggal terbiar?
Lamaran cinta, perlukah ku terima?
Andai cinta masih setia menanti, mungkin masih ada ruang di hati ini...
Penatku pada cinta, tak terlawan rinduku padanya...
Ku perlukan masa...hadapi diriku ini...
Yang masih tewas dengan penafian sendiri.
Ya Allah... moga cinta yang ku cari tidak membuatkan aku leka pada cinta Mu yang hakiki...
Moga cinta ini mampu membawa ku dekat pada cinta Mu, ya Rabbi....
Nukilan hati,
-Nur Izzati Hassan 2007-
On the 18th September 08, I went for my 4th school visit. This time it was Newmarket Primary. It was the best primary school in the district managed by the best principle, as they said. . It was quite a small school compared to other schools that we have visited previously. Located at the centre of Newmarket, it was an urban school.
Knowing that we’ll be visiting primary schools sounded like a waste of time. But, having my experience in a NZ primary school totally changed my perception. NP was awesome. Though, it was just a small school, they had so many resources and the school was very students-friendly. They had playgrounds for the kids to play during playtime, classrooms that are well-organised and decorated with students’ arts/works. I was so impressed at their classrooms. There is nothing to be compared with Malaysian classrooms.
I went to three classes of different year levels. Most of their classes are of composite classes. That is to mean, the composite classes consist of students from different age group. For example, a class with 7 and 8 y.o, 8 and 9, and etc. This was caused by continuous enrolment of students throughout the year. However, I found the idea very brilliant as it allows the students of two age groups widen their horizons. I was so impressed with the answer that I received from an 8 years old girl from the first class that I visited as a respond to my question. I asked her, “What are you supposed to do right now?” He answered me in a very professional and intelligent way, “Oh, actually, we are supposed to do the reading activities. There are 3 activities and right now we have to complete the first task. The girl sitting with the teacher in front was being tested on her reading skill.” I was so impressed with the descriptive answer that I received.
My encounters of their thinking ability made me wonder about our education system. If I were to ask a Malaysian student of the same age group as the previous boy, would I be able to receive almost the same level of respond? Will their behaviours and responds portray such a thinking society? Others might oppose my opinions, but this was exactly what I saw and what I had analysed through my observations. Being in a Year 2 NZ classroom would not be the same as being in a Year 2 Malaysian classroom. I am not suggesting that we should blame the kids for not thinking critically or creatively or mastering the higher level thinking skills, here. They are totally innocent. I am about to question the efficiency and compatibility of our education system with the modern community that demands higher levels of thinking and consistently thinking.
Thinking without being able to express your thoughts is another useless point that I want to emphasise here. From my observations, I came out with a conclusion that what made Malaysian students and NZ students differ the most is the fact that NZ students generally are outspoken. Malaysian students on the other hand, found it very difficult to voice out opinions, ideas, critiques, or disagreements. Thus, that might be one of the reasons why Malaysian students do not see the importance of thinking out of the box.
“Nah, I don’t have to think about the answer to that question. The teacher already has her answer. Or at least, someone else might just answer it. Or even better, the teacher will answer the question herself. There is no point giving out my opinion if I am sure that my answer would not be accepted. I’ll just embarrass myself.”
This is a normal perception of a Malaysian student when the teacher posts a question. I know because I was one of those students. “Been there, done that.” Unlike the above situation, students in NP were very friendly and expressive. They voiced out what they feel and think. They asked when they were curious. They showed maturity in their answers. I really like the idea of allocating “play time” in their school schedule. Kids need to play to learn. They need hands-on activities to learn and develop their skills. They learn as much from their peers as from teachers. It is the socio-learning theory introduced by Vygotsky. They even provided with games in their classes. At first, I had some doubt as whether those games and toys are of help or hindrance to the learning process of the class. But, after being in their classes, I realised that the students are responsible of their own actions and they know when to play, what to play, and when to stop. They agree to the rules that they can only play if they finished their works early. They understand that they are only allowed to play games that suit the theme of their learning that day.
Sepatutny aku kene study compsci right now, but perut dh memekak mintak diisi, n asik off task dari td... tu yg tgn gatal nk buat new blog. compsci paper this 7th nov. exam fever is yet to be felt....
Felt like it was only yesterday i arrived here... n yet, another few more weeks i m goin home for summer break... part of me agak regret jugak with my decision to go back. of course, if i went back, i ll miss d experience of christmas here, miss d fun of summer break, miss d opprtunity to attend summer school.... n d list goes on... but my family sume dah berharap ati balik this year... i admit... wat i m goin to experience in msia during this summer can be experienced later when i go back after this course, but another constraint is financial matter... if i were to stay here during summer, i ll surely be spending like hell here... travelling here n there, eating out every so often, shopping like a crazy woman... n yadaa yadaa yadaa... besides, i just resigned, man! next year goin to aussie.. mana nk cari duit??!!! LoL! whatever, i should stop this consistent procrastination and off task behaviour.... nak makan. lapaaarrrr.... mcm mn lah nk kurus... kuangkuangkuang!