Today's a very special day. It marks one year after I first entered the school for my first lesson. The first lesson I had at 9am was Engineering Math, and we were doing some basic tutorials on functions, practically A Math stuff. Ever since I left MI, I wondered whether the choice of going to study in a polytechnic, where the style of learning and the environment were very different from what I had been going through for the past 10 years, was the right one to make. Before that, the past 4 years I had were eyeing that one spot in a junior college, until last year, that one month of experience totally forced me to make serious reconsideration. If I was operating at 80% capacity in a centralised institute and yet score single digits for every test in the first month alone, I might not even stand a chance going beyond the first term in a junior college. Thus, I made the decision to go to a polytechnic. I had wanted to get into aerospace technology, but perhaps I was destined to take another route, one that had easier competition and more doors to many portals. In February 2008, I was posted to Mechanical Engineering. So, after all those months of work and slacking, I'm now here. Indeed, being posted to a course with a sky-high cut-off point was a blessing in disguise.
Anyways, on to the fifth day of the reflections. If not for the posting to my current course, I might not be here today posting stuff about a joint community trip to a foreign land. So, off we go, with the fifth day.
It was the fifth day, and also the highlight of the trip. In the morning, we met up with our students before having Joey leading the warm up, playing games such as before we settled at a corner to ask our students about their ambitions. Ivan wanted to be a nurse like his mother, so that in future, he could use the money he earns to build a house for her. Dellwen wanted to be a chef to cook delicious food for his family in future and others. Mierco wanted to become a scientist who would come up with new ingredients and food to contribute to the community. I was taken aback by their dreams, for although they still young children, they had already have made rough plans for what they wanted to do in the future! I remember that even at that young age, all that I ever wanted to do, was to study hard and clear my PSLE so that I could get into a good secondary school. Dreams could come later on in life. In addition, the students all wanted to take their education to a higher level, to go on to study at a high school before going on to a college or university in future. The children were also given the assignment of letter writing. They would reply to the letters written to them by friends from NJC. As they were not veterans with their usage of grammar and vocabulary, we stood by them, providing them with assistance in correcting their mistakes. Although the letters they wrote were simple as compared to the letters written by an average 10 year-old child in Singapore, these children wrote their letters with great sincerity and effort, and that was what made their work stand out.
We returned to the centre for lunch, and started off on our rehearsals for the Cultural Night performance. It started out badly at first, for most of us had forgotten some lyrics to some songs. The Cultural Night committee went straight into an urgent meeting to find a solution for the problem at hand. We decided to not sing for two song items, but we would go on to perform all the songs with actions. We noticed some of the children from Candau-ay Elementary School who had come down five hours ahead of the Cultural Night to watch our rehearsals and attend the concert later in the evening. Although we wanted very much to spend time with them, we had a goal, to put on a good performance for our hosts at Saceda Youth Lead, representatives, principals and teachers from the schools around Dumaguete and not to forget, the children we made friends with.
Soon, it was dinner, and an hour later at 8pm, it was time for the Cultural Night. We were greeted with another pleasant surprise when we were told that a traditional percussionist band was there that evening to not only watch our performance, but perform for us as well! The opening ceremony of the Cultural Night was very solemn, with the singing of national anthems, but once that was done, the mood changed in the blink of an eye. Everyone was in high spirits, ready to celebrate the time we had that night.
Our performance that evening went very well indeed. It was followed by a performance by a cultural percussionist band, and there was the finale, where we all danced to the music played by the band! The band’s music was something that I have never heard before, very original indeed. Their music gave me a feeling of peace in my mind and soul. I felt like I was floating in the air, relaxing, forgetting my worries. Moreover, the instruments they played were all hand crafted by them, from recycled materials. Remarkable. After the Cultural Night ended, some of us stayed behind to admire their instruments and their music, before they left on their journey to perform at another location.
That night, was also the only night where we had supper. We were given eggs to eat. However, the eggs were only the tip of the iceberg. There was something more to the eggs. Inside each egg, there was an embryo. Some had tiny bones and feathers, some had none. Yes, the egg yolk and egg white was still in the egg, so except for the embryo, the egg was still normal. That is the Balout. It was voted the Second Most Exotic Food in Asia by the National Geographic.
For consuming the Balout, we got a reward. It was a biscuit covered with bread crumbs, with a layer of cream sandwiched in between two pieces of biscuit. The cream tasted like vanilla ice cream, only better. Once again, the night ended with another debrief.
Tomorrow's the final day of our module, and after that, it's freedom for the next few days before school reopens again. There would be a group presentation in the morning, followed by lunch, and everyone would go for a movie after that. However, for me, I would be going to sit for an evaluation test for basic theory at the driving centre. Hopefully I would be able to pass it, book practice sessions every Wednesday for 11am slots and sit for the actual basic theory test on Thursday, 7Th May. Once done I would be taking lessons every Tuesday and Wednesday from 8 to 10.40am, before going to school for self study and lunch till 1pm. Hopefully, I would clear everything by July, latest August, so that I can break the time limitations of taking the public transport home before 12am in future.I just hope everything can go well without any errors tomorrow.
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