Shuxiang
Before the trip, I began the trip to West Timor alone with personal goals and own objective to achieve. But during theses 2 short weeks, having been through good and bad times with the group, I believed all of us have ended the trip with 15 other friends.
Friends who share the same passion and share the same feel about voluntary work. This I feel, is one of the hardest to find in nowadays Singaporeans. Teenagers don't feel for such things anymore, they only have play, money, more play and more money.
Especially in this fast paced era, when u are expendable, u are redundant. This goes out to Mona, Adrian and Kellyn who all leaved all their work and headed for the Timor trip. Doing it and talking it is a big difference and you all shown that difference.
There we were each and single one of us, with 15 different mindsets and family background, race and religion forming team seedling fission.
Although we didn't make any remarkable changes to the lives there, by teaching whatever English knowledge we have, I believe we have set in motion a good cycle which maybe reinforced by our next visit. For them to start interacting with English and practically open a window to the world. The earlier they start the lesser to catch up. Start late and you're forever trying to keep up. Never in pole position and when you make a mistake, u become obsolete and slowly you are forgotten by the world. Left behind by society and trapped there.
Small effort by us, big difference to them.
Hopefully, they will all carry on learning English, keeping the will to learn and make it out of the poverty trap.
So hard for the young not to succumb into the claws of poverty, you can't really tell if there's the passion within them, they are too young to know the poverty cycle, how to break out of it, and the importance of studying.
You can only constantly try to teach and educate and hopefully they dun get influenced by bad distractions and step out of control.
What can u you do to stop this bad influence? Nothing, practically nothing.
The adults are practicing it, the parents are practicing it, the officials are practicing it and the gahmen are also practicing it.
So easy to go wrong, so hard to stay straight.
SF is growing @
1:15 PM
CY
Day 16 in Kupang, West Timor
Everyone dreaded for this day to arrive. We bonded with our neighbors real close despite the language barrier. Most of us had tears flowing down uncontrollably like waterfall. The villagers cried and kept hugging us, couldn't bear to let go.
My emotions overwhelmed me when I hugged Rifal, the gorgeous little guy who caught me eye since day 1. He was crying hard too. Gwad, it was so hard to let go.
Thankfully I didn't forget to hand the photos to Ibu Peggy, requesting for her to help me send it to my school. Mona, Marinah and I couldn't stop crying even in the car, on the way to the airport.
At the airport, some cried more when we hugged Ibu Peggy. She was our mother for the past 15 days. Really fed us well. Love you and thank you, Ibu Peggy!
It didn't feel good to be back in Singapore, unfortunately. It was only 16 days, why the magnetic longing to be back in Kupang? This sucks. I wanna return. I have to. I gotta.
This is one journey I do not wish to disembark.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
Last Day of Kupang Life
Today marked the end of the West Timor Trip. Everyone was rather gloomy. I took a last photo with Maxi. The SF team then bided the workers goodbye…We hugged each other. The tears in my eyes were struggling to burst out and it exploded, so were the workers.
After loading our luggage, we were ready to part. We waved to the workers and soon they disappeared from our vision. Within ten minutes, we reached the Airport of Kupang City. Auntie Peggy, Pak Leif and John accompanied us into the Airport. At that moment, everyone was unwilling to part. Auntie Peggy also cried. Though we been there for 16 days, the bond was very strong.
Bye-Bye Auntie Peggy, Pak Leif, John, Maxi, Teddy and the workers at the hostel that cooked and looked after the 15 of us.
Bye-Bye Michael, Prity, Elias, Chris, Lala, Cynthia, Marcos, Aldo and the other kids as well as the young adults in the orphanage.
Bye-Bye to SMA 1, the school that I’m assigned to, Miss Sandy, the leader of the English Department and the 9 classes including 10A, 10B and 10C that I interacted with.
We had lunch at the Jakarta Airport. There was this dish which tasted horrible. Esther challenged me that we shall have a game and the loser shall eat a mouthful of the dish. We played the scissors, paper, stone game. Haha…I won. She was forced to eat it. Haha…it tasted disgustingly that she spited it onto her plate. Haha…
We landed at Changi Airport at around 8.20pm. Finally home!!! We were welcomed by Pak Budi, members of e-club 3310 as well as the family members of some of the SF mates. I really enjoyed spending the fruitful trip with the 14 of you. I swear!!!
Adrian, Alfian, Caiying, Desiree, Esther, Jun Quan, Marinah, Mona, Redzuan, Shu Xiang, Vinz, Wei Qiang, Yihao and Zhenni see ya on the 8 April 2006. Remember to keep in touch….To be continued….
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
The time has come for us to leave Kupang and return to Singapore. The farewell was an emotional one. The ladies staying opposite us were crying and this made the farewell even harder. But ultimately, we had to go to the airport.
Ibu Peggy, John, Maxi and Pak Lif were there to send us off. Once again, the situation turned extremely emotional as Ibu Peggy started crying.
As we walked into the boarding hall, Kupang became memories. Memories of our 15days there.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
Just reached home. So nice. So great.
Hmm...left Kupang at 5am. Every1 was hugging and crying. Couldn't bear to leave, I think. After all, we had stayed there for 2 weeks. Though the trip was over, but friendship never ends, we’ll meet again. I’ll definitely be back to visit them.
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Esther
Just finished all the blog entries for trip to west timor ... spent the whole of my yesterday & now to publish my 15 days of emotions .. i came back last night ... .. when the plane nearly touched down, i couldn't even recognise i've reached spore ... thinking spore is full of hi rise buildings & cars, i see none .. i tot the plane still in Indonesia .. lol ..
Feeling weird that I’m able to surf my net again, feeling extremely weird with me alone in my room, furbished with proper bed, fan & other personal stuff ... toilets .. no more manual flush ..
Where’re the rest ?? i log into my msn & see you all there ... feeling weird not to see your face when we 'tok' ..
Feeling weird that when i open my room door, i see my mother's room ...
Feeling weird ... weird so weird ... when will this feeling be over?? soon i think ...
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
Steven
Now I am back to Singapore and it feels kinda strange. Some things seem to be lacking. Aye, I am back to the FINE city.
I saw another me in the mirror!
SF is growing @
10:00 PM
CY
Day 15 in Kupang, West Timor
A morning visit to the Governer of Kupang. Warm and friendly guy, a little too affectionate to an extend. Was delighted to see Pak Mortar outside the building after the short chat. He was there to find me. Got certificates printed out for my 15 kids (lemme relish in da moment, could ya?) and I had to sign on all. What an experience.
Next stop, distribute clothes to some of the villagers @ Oseo.
Back at Matani, I received the photos. Anis, and a few other ladies crowded around me. I printed some photos for Anis. He was extremely thrilled to receive it. The ladies also requested to get some photos of Rifal and Tato. I gladly gave it to them.
Spent the entire afternoon writing small notes beind every personal photo to my 15 kid, Pak Mortak, Ibu Hennie and Ibu Mary, who have taken care of me so well. Rifal and Tato were playing Pinball and browsing through the photos and videos on my laptop. Enjoyed their presence by my side.
After a while, we prepared for a farewell party arranged for us by the same people that organized the welcome party. I didn't eat much, mostly because of the vibe I was getting from Ansis. He was so quiet and depressed, knowing that we would be gone tomorrow. Plus the fact that I was coughly madly, voice-less and all - nothing was good. But the locals enjoyed themselves I'm sure.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
15th Day of Kupang Life
Time really passed fast. It’s down to last two days of our Kupang life. In the morning, we went to meet the governor. (Of Kupang? Not sure). We wore our striking yellow polo tee. After some photos taking with the governor, we went back to our hostel.
We loaded our boxes of clothing to be delivered it to the people at the rural villages. Particularly, I saw this little boy. One of his fingers is affected. It became black. Pak Budi was there to “instruct” the granny what to apply on the little boy. So pathetic…
After the distribution, we went to a “restaurant” to eat. It was a buffet style. We took the varieties and amount we want. Some of us even tried the orange juice. The orange juice was “alright” just that “tablespoons” of un-dissolvable sugar was added. After the lunch, we went back to the hostel again.
Everyone was exhausted and hence took a nap. Later on, some of us (Marinah, Mona, SX, Yihao and Me) decided to go to the orphanage the last time to play with the kids. They were running like nobody business. We then realized that they are forbidden to run out of the orphanage. The five of us (eagles) were like catching the little chicks. Haha…Took some photos with the kids and bided goodbye to them.
At night, we had a farewell party organized by the “You Ai’ group. The dinner was as sumptuous as the first welcome dinner. We also put up a performance, sang two songs. The “BoLe LeBo” and “Kapang Kapang”. Also joined in the “Pocho Pocho” and sang the “Lao Shu Ai Da Mi”. We ended the party by repeatedly singing the two songs again. We bided goodbye and off we went.
When we reached the hostel, everyone was busy packing their stuff. After packing, I was dead beat hence took a nap again. Leaving less than five hours…Can’t bear to leave…
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
Our final day in Kupang. Woke up early in the morning to meet the Governor of Kupang. He is a very warm person, who likes to hug people. Maybe it’s the culture in Kupang, and quite a lot of us were not very used to it.
After which, Pak Budi and Ibu Peggy brought us to a plantation where many fruits were grown there. Then we set off to a village to distribute clothes. It was so heartwarming to see them smile and that they were very happy when they receive the clothes, especially the kids who do not have much decent things to wear.
Went back to the hostel. Had to spend a lot of time entertaining my students. Around 5 or 6 batches of them came and we chatted a bit. They gave me some presents and once again, I felt very bad not being able to prepare gifts for them.
Night came and it was time to go to the farewell party. The party didn’t seem very well planned, and close to 20+ of us had to be sandwiched at the back of the truck. At the farewell party, we sang a few songs and dance the Po Cho Po Cho. There was occasional unhappiness but the party ended well.
Last day in Kupang, Adrian, Alfian, Desiree, Esther, and I didn’t slept a wink. We had some local beer, Bintang while we chatted the night away till it was time to prepare for departure.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Esther
we woke up early to meet the Governer, then later we went to a planation, and to Oseo village to give out clothes to the villagers there... a grandma even danced happily b4 we left .. so cute ... !!!
Then we went to the market to buy avocado & den went back to the hostel ...
At 8:20, we were picked to the farewell party ..
Now i am back in the hostel, feeling emotional ... i think i ll be missing the 'whore room', maybe the plastic green chairs that we everyday sat on, the corridor that i passed thru, the other 14 teammates that have been together for 2 weeks
It is our last day in kupang ... soon there will be no more cementing, no more car pushing, no more teaching .. no more selamat pagi... selamat malam .. selamat tinggal ... no more crampy bumpy lorry rides
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
Steven
Paid a visit to the Governor in the morning and then help to distribute clothing to the village. Some of the clothing’s were too sexy for them!
Last but not least, the farewell party. It was an emotional and teary party. I can see that our eyes are filled with tears of happiness.
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
CY
Day 14 in Kupang, West Timor
Today was the last time I taught my english class. I didn't want the time to pass fast. Did an hour long recap on what I've taught them for the past 4 days and hoped it would have enforced it in their minds.
Asked each of them write anything about themsevles that they want me to remember them of. I wrote a few information on the board for them. Took a couple of class photos with them.
At 10am, Teddy was waiting for me outside school. but couldn't leave until 10.45am. Took many individual shots with them, received presents and chatted with Ibu Mary after a while.
After lunch, we did a little bit of souvenir-shopping, about 30 mins drive down. Bought many sashes for our friends and I got myself a travel bag, in replacement of my old one.
There was a friendly soccer match waiting for us and we wasted no time meeting the almighty soccer girls of Kupang. They are good. One look at their build and muscles, woah...Hail to girl power!
Final score of 4-1 to the girls, obviously. Given that some of us are soccer-idiots, including myself, I don't think that was a thrashing. We had Adrain - the dependable professional goalie, SX - our hardworking and skilled midfielder cum striker and Anis - the ultimate scorer.
2 funny incidents:
1) During warm-up, QL received the ball, got his legs tangled and rolled over together with the ball.
2) One of WX's shoe went flying on the field as he tried to kick the ball.
LOL...
On the way back, Pak Budi kindly drove me to get my photos developed. I could get the photos by tomorrow. Can't wait!
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
14th Day of Kupang Life
Today was the last day of school for me in SMA 1. Last day of interaction. I was assigned to 10C again, the one and only class that I went in twice. The students were surprised and happy to see me again.
I saved the introduction and went straight to questions and answers session. Though we met the second time, they still had questions for me. Luckily, if not I did not know how to conduct the class. Once again, I played with them the word game. Everyone was enthusiastic. Since they were my last class for the last day, I bought a lot of goodies for them (amounted to 41,000 RP). I could see the corners of their mouths move up (SMILE).
.
A guy, Deddy, from the class performed for us. He sang a song, “Because of you”. He really sang beautifully. I was too obsessed in his performance. The class was dragged till 11am which was supposedly to end at 10.30am. By the way, something to share - All classes end their day at 11am every Friday (Muslims have to go for their prayers).
After the class, I proceeded back to the “teachers’ room” as Miss Sandy had informed me earlier on that she needed to gather feedback from me. By the way, it was an informal feedback session. Besides chatting with her, there was this English teacher who posted a really tough question to me. She showed me the recent English examination paper taken by the third grade students. The question was what do you mean by the commissioner of the work”? I was stunned. The options were (a) invisible (b) scattered (c) rebuke and (d) retire. Oh man, obviously all the answers seemed weird to me. Her answer was “retire” and she asked for my answer. I made a wild guess and just chose “scattered” and guess what? She told me a lot of teachers chose “scattered”. I was huh…???
After about 30 minutes of conversation with Miss Sandy and the teacher, they presented me a gift. I was so touched and kept thanking them. Miss sandy had a request from me. She told me that the English teachers have been looking forward to visit Singapore to interact and exchange pointers with the Singapore’s teachers. However, she has spoken to Pak Guido about it and yet to hear from him. Hence, she asked me if I’m able to help. Hope I will be able. Wait for my news…
After lunch, Pak Budi and Auntie Peggy brought us to two souvenir shops to buy and bring something that we can bring back to Singapore. However, I never get anything (Nothing really interesting). After some shopping, we went to the stadium for a friendly soccer game with the local girls’ team. When we reached the stadium, the girls were already there practicing. All of us were simply SCARED by their built size. Haha…
Here we began the game, in less than five minutes, I was attacked by a ball aiming at my face, and the only reaction I thought of was blocked. How foolish could I be? I blocked it with my hands. Haha…FOUL. Oh man, so paiseh!!! That’s not all. My left shoe was loose that it flew off when I gave a kicked to the ball. Haha…Whistle blown.
I was playing the role as a defender. I was all the while defending my opponent from getting hold of the ball. I was and really giving all out. At that moment, I lost my gravity and fell on the ground. Oh man, there was a slight tremor I felt at the field (haha…).
However we lost to them, 1 to 3. Come on, we only practiced for around 15 minutes before the game. It was a good quality effort by everyone in SF.
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
It was my final day at SMP 2. The students there were really very kind and nice. I received quite a few gifts from them. Sadly, I didn’t prepare anything for them as we simply had no time to do any shopping at all.
In the late afternoon, we finally had our soccer match with the local girls’ team. Needless to say, we were thrashed. They were professionals while many of us couldn’t play soccer well. The best among us were Shu Xiang (Striker cum Midfield cum Defence), Adrian (Our Fantastic Goalie, if not for him I guess we would have conceded a lot more goals), John (Our Hero who scored the only goal for us). The rest worked really hard in defending and attacking, like Mona and Weixiang. I was so ashamed of myself when I let in an own goal.
Final Score 4:1
When we arrived back at the hostel, I was shocked and surprised to see 5 of my students at the hostel waiting for me since 3.30pm. Chatted with them for a while before going out for dinner at the mall. The Nasi Ayam Goreng was so salty that I bit onto a whole bunch of salt stuck together.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
Inevitably, we had our soccer match. Ddidn’t mange to play full match due to my illness (just some coughing, nothing serious). 4-1, considered pretty well. Well done, team.
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Esther
Today is my last day teaching .. class 8B, Alex's class ...
I asked the students to form a word with the 1st letter of their name den we played “scramble egg”.
The whole class were laughing very loudly including the teachers .. more came in to watch .. but i felt the best when a shy guy did his 'punishment' sponaneously after seeing the rest doing too .. he dared not at 1st in spite of how much encouragment given .. even the eng teacher , pak benny, whom 'in-charge' of me joined in the game ... lol ... That's real fun .. !!!
At the end of the class, we took pixes together & the principal gave me a gift ... i was thankful that they had accepted me & always gave me a full 1 hr session for the 5 days ... thx a lot ..
At late afternoon, we went for a friendly soccer w/ the kupang's Girl team ...
the stadium looks torn down, the running tracks were orangish soil, & field were not trimmed & even ... but the players are very professional, heard they were swift & strong .. i didnt play but i did cheered for them ...
The score ... 4:1 .. can guess who won rite ??!! .. but our team did a marvellous job too lor .. (@ least this is wad i see) ... we had shu xiang, mona, adrain & anis in the game ... buay pai 1 ok ... =P
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
Steven
It was the last day of teaching in the village school. It is indeed rewarding to be a teacher.
Later in the day, we shop for Timor soveniors and then played soccer with the kupang team. They were indeed fierce and powerful. However, in the 2nd half some of them were worn out and we managed to score 1.
SF is growing @
12:45 PM
CY
Day 13 in Kupang, West Timor
I have offically lost half of my voice.
This morning's lesson was a little draggy. Maybe it was due to my inability to join the class in singing that made me felt slightly dejected.
Brought my laptop too but forgot to borrow Wan's speakers, hence the music was not loud enough to attract full attention. Wrote the lyrics for Westlife's 'My Love' and DJ Sammy's 'We're In Heaven', and sang along together. In return, I wrote down 2 Indonesian songs but up to now, I've only managed to learn the chorus for one of the songs.
In the afternoon, Shoe drove our dormitary's motorcycle, with Desiree and I (you can never find 2 pillion riders and none with helmets in SG) to visit the 2 houses that we cemented last week. The 1st house was very well done. The 2nd house was not as good as the 1st but still, it's dry and paved. Both owners were warm to us and you could see the gratitude in their eyes. The feeling was good.
I have apologize, on behalf of the Chinese Committee, that tonight's event did not turn out as planned. The initial figures given to us was 100 families. However, the numbers that eventually appeared was less than 10. Disapppointment was inevitable but we tried to make the best out of it. I'm glad it's over.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
13th Day of Kupang Life
Haizzz…today my class supposedly starts at 9.30am. Still, I have to wake up at the usual time and get ready by 6.30am because Pak Guido had to drive the rest to school by 7.30am. Hence, I decided to drop down and follow Vinz to his school, SMP 2 – Junior High School.
VINZ and I went to the assigned class. The students were delightful too. Both of us took turns to answers to the students’ questions. We also played the word game with them. When the class was ending soon, oh my god, it was raining heavily that I could hear the cats meowing and dogs barking. How am I going to go back to my school by 9.30am? I waited for the rain to stop before I walked up to my school, SMA 1, a 10 minutes walk from Vinz’s school.
Fortunately, I managed to reach my school on time. I was then assigned to class 10B. The students were pretty hushed too. Perhaps that was the first time we met, hence they were shy haha…I played with them the word game. This time round, I teamed them up into four teams. They were very active and engrossed in the game. This is what we called team work and enthusiasm.
I promised them that the winning team would be treated with drinks and biscuits while the losing team would have to perform for the class (Sing and Dance). Team 1 was trying their utmost in coming with words. However, they lost to the other three teams. Hence, team 1 performed twice for the class. Why twice? (I played using the words “Indonesia” and “Singapore”). Haha…they lost for the two games. It was really happy and enjoying to hear them sing and dance.
Students from 10B were also delighted when I rewarded everyone with drinks and biscuits (amounted to 23,000 RP). I’m so contented and satisfied with my performance today. An A+ for it.
After lunch, the Chinese Committee prepared the food for the Chinese workshop later in the evening. ZHENNI cut the “Nian Gao” in slices while I helped to mix the flour with water for the coating. After which, we dipped the “Nian Gao” into the coat and fried it. VINZ helped out with the frying. A while later, ZHENNI made the dough for the “Tang Yuan”. When the frying was done, we got ready other goodies bought from Singapore and off we were for the workshop.
Once again, we were at the venue earlier than expected. The wait was longer than you and I would have expected. It was more than two hours man. In the end, we started the workshop only at seven plus. I thought the climax was everyone lighting up the candles for the lanterns.
However, you would not believe that a workshop was presented by 15 people to only 7 participants. A miracle man. For those participants who attended, hope you have enjoyed. For those who never attend, is your own loss….Haha…
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
Started the day with going to SMP 2 again. This time round, I had to go to 3 different classes and interact with them.
After Shu Xiang, Desiree, Mona, Esther and Wei Xiang’s school ended, Pak Guido brought us to try Ox Tail Soup. The meat was extremely tender though there wasn’t much meat.
In the evening, we went over to Lucy’s house for the Chinese Comm interaction and cultural exchange. The turn out was pretty disappointing. The figures which were promised kept decreasing and in the end, only 6-7 people turn up.
Talk about Chinese Festival Seasons, had some game and some Chinese Traditional Food.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Esther
Tired to type le .. i have been blogging for the events on the trip to west timor since 1pm .. shall write in point form ...
> taught a new class, 8A .
> asked them to act out the script from Conrad & Ali the baker .. it were scripts for the Goal Setting wrkshop .
At night ...
> went to someone's hse to do a gathering w/ the indo chinese youth
> the gathering was from the Chinese Comm. , to introduce chinese festivals, their relating legends, what to do/eat to youth who have lost their chinese culture .. ..
> only introduced dong zhi, CNY, lantern festival & duan wu jie according to the seasons ..
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
Steven
I finally had a chance to meet the Indonesian-Chinese locals today. We told them the 4 main Chinese festivals and together, we have a great time lighting up lanterns.
SF is growing @
10:45 PM
CY
Day 12 in Kupang, West Timor
Did a review of what I taught yesterday and also did a dictation. Explained to them the purpose and importance of going to universities through the dictation passage.
After that, I slowly shared Singapore's multi-racial countrymen to them. Pak Mortar was equally intrigued and asked me a couple of questions too. There were a few instances when the students and teachers were in awe. Things like 40-storey high HDBs, showing them Singapore dollars, and writing out chinese characters.
They wanted me to sing but I have it planned for tomorrow, hence I asked them to think of an Indonesian sing to teach me and I will teach them a Singapore song.Took their class photos for them too. Hope I can get them printed and distributed.
Had English lessons with the same village kids @ the orphanage again. Taught them body parts and animals, and played some english songs with them. Though the kids did not completely understand, I believed they enjoyed themselves tremendously. Their laughter and excitment echoed through the night.
I think most of us hurt our throats. I'm so gonna lose my voice soon. Should have sung in school today instead of tomorrow. Gwad...
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
12th Day of Kupang Life
A good start for the day!!! Today, I started my class at 7.30am. I was assigned to the smartest class in the first grade, 10A. Wow…
The leader of the class brought me to the class. When I stepped into the class, all of them were respectful and polite. The day before, I prepared three games to be played with the classes for the next three days. Besides a brief introduction of myself and Singapore, I requested the class to ask me questions. Initially, they were quiet. As time passed, they became more active.
I gave them two so called IQ questions, “the triangle” and “number 15”. The class was indeed bright. They managed to answer the two questions correctly within a short time, split seconds? Haha…I gave the class my address and email as well. Hope there will be a chance to keep in touch.
After the class, the leader and a girl from the class walked me back to the “teachers’ room”. On our way, I asked them about the “oject” - motorcyclists that carry passengers. They specifically said that it is not safe and the rider would actually cheat people. We chatted around for another 10 minutes before they parted for their next lesson.
My timetable for the day was not good. It was because I had three periods of breaks before my next lesson. Hence, I took out my organizer and wrote down my experience with the students. At the mean time, I was listening to my MP3 too.
When I was writing half way, a group of boys was asked to kneel down. There was this teacher (Discipline master?) who gave each of them a tight slap. I was shocked. That was not all. He even kicked their knees. I was oh man…Initially I pitied the boys. However, from the look of their faces (still giggling), I guessed they deserved it perhaps because of their wrong doings? The teacher finished off the punishment by giving them a tight slap again. Wow…it was unbelievable. The school is so strict.
When I continued with my writing, I met the temporary English teacher whom I met during the first day. She “invited” me to accompany her to a class. On the way, she told me that the class which we were going, the students are stupid. After I heard that, I was???. Why use stupid? However, I was looking forward in meeting them.
The students were indeed a bunch of noise-makers. Haha…But I could tolerate. For every question they asked, and every question that I answered, the teacher had to do a translation. This could be proven that their English level was minimal. They were even shouting across the class. I had to wait for them to simmer down before I could continue.
On the sixth and seventh period, I went to class 10C, another group of interesting students who were active in asking questions. I played the three games with them too. For the word game, they scored better than 10A man. (Aiya, I gave them more time mah). Hahaha….I requested the class to sing me the Kupang traditional song, Bole Lebo. “Bo…Lele Bo…Tanah Timor LeLe Bo...” it was perfect and beautiful.
In the afternoon, we planned an English workshop for the students in the village. The response was better than the day before. I was so sad that they do not even know the alphabets. However, they are interested to learn. I had really great fun in guiding, singing and dancing with them. The students were and I bet they are diligent (Alamak! As I wrote, the tears were running in circles in my eyes, oh man).
After the course, we had a combined song singing, “Old McDonald had a farm”. With that, we ended a two days course with the village kids. All the best to all of you…Ganbette!!!
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
Had to wake up early again today. Went to the same school but this time round, I had to go to 3 classes, all of which were different classes. First 2 classes were aged 14years old hence I was able to better interact and play with them. I played with them the word games hoping that their English would improve. The last class was probably quite a bad experience. The students were aged 14-16 and many of them were Ah Bengs and Ah Lians. They refused to listen, refused to interact, and refused to answer any questions. In the end, I had to keep doing the talking and hope that there would at least be some response from them.
Straight after school, I went over again to Shu Xiang and Desiree’s school. Mona was there as well, and all of us had quite a fun time with the students there. They were very spontaneous.
In the afternoon, we cancelled our soccer match and went to the orphanage again. This time round, it wasn’t goal setting. It was English Workshop for the Village kids. The same 50 odd students came and we began the teaching session. We taught them some basic stuff, some songs and dance so that they will be more interested in learning.
After that, we had a briefing for the Chinese Comm.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
Was supposed to have our soccer match today, but we had an English workshop instead. We all felt tat it would be more meaningful instead. Indeed, not only meaningful but also fun. I enjoyed the times that I spent with them.
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Esther
Writing on 22nd as last night the whole hostel went black out .. the whole place was extremely dark & i was just going to bath ..
Yesterday, Marinah & i went to Giovanni & teach .. met my 1st class .. it was alright .. There was a student Alex .. going to be my translator for the nxt 4 days ..
The interaction was ok & the class's standard of english was not low but the problem was that they couldn't speak well .. i enjoyed the whole session.
After 3 pm, all of us went to the orphanage for the Goal Setting Workshop to 50 village kids .. i guess they aged fr 6 to 15 ba .. we taught them moral values like not to take things that is not yours & try to instil the importance of education to them .. The whole event lasted for 3 hrs.
I believed the kids had or might have learnt sth & enjoyed it .. as Marinah told me that a kid found a lost note book @ the end of the workshop & passed it to her .. ^V^ .. it's always good to know a little difference is being made to someone's life ..
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
Steven
Today, I finally have the chance to teach in the village school. Their standard of English is really bad. The Principal can't even say One to Five in English. We managed to complete 70% of our booklet and I can see that the pupils had a great time. They probably didn’t enjoy lessons in the past.
SF is growing @
1:45 PM
CY
Day 11 in Kupang, West Timor
Adrain, Wan and I were up by 6am and was prepared to leave for school by 7am.
My 1st time teaching basic english to a class of 15 bright students was quite a joyful experience. I was told that they were handpicked, 5 from 3 classes. Not knowing that this would be my class for the rest of the week, I exhausted everything I could think of . The announcement came only @ 10.30am, after class has ended.
Pak Mortar and Pak Emil gave Adrain and I a ride on motorcycles home respectively. I was clueless to going about planning tomorrow's lesson until Pak Emil sent me an SMS later in the afternoon, suggesting to me to share Singapore with them. I shall do that in 8 hours time!
Later that night, we went to Pak Danny's house to celebrate his son's birthday. But we were there more for the dinner. Supposed to mingle with the chinese people too but there weren't many to talk to and we weren't sure of what to say.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Steven
Today went to the city school – SMA 4 (high school) to interact with the students. I was rather nervous in the first class I had, until the teacher stood up and said thaty this class can't really speak English and ask me to move on to another. Phew. The other classes are indeed better in their English and I get to sell Singapore to them and also learn about Timor culture and food.
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Wei-Xiang
11th Day of Kupang Life
Today was the second day being a teacher. I was at the school at around 7.15am.
I was assigned to a second grade class for two periods. One thing to note, each period is 45 minutes. When I entered the class, OMG!!! Less than half of the class was present. To start off, I started off with the ice breaker which I promised not to do it again. Damn boring. I had no choice caused I could not start the class with just less than half of the class present man.
The students came in one after another and I was obviously interrupted. The “discipline master” stood outside my class to cane those late comers terrifying…When almost all the students were present, I started the lesson, topic on employment and unemployment. There were five questions whereby the students had to answer orally. I had a difficult time in getting the students attention because they were either keeping quiet or heads down not looking at me.
I noticed that the class was boring. Hence, I prompted them a question, “Do u all want to continue with the textbook?” Only four students answered me. I repeated myself again. At that moment, I was fed up and pissed off. The class was not answering me. I even wrote my question on the board but still not all answered me.
Fire was burning in me and I told them off. “In Singapore, when the teacher asked the students a question, the students will definitely answer the teacher back (not all times lah). Once again, I used a “harsh” tone to ask them the similar question again. Eventually, all of them answered me. I did away with the textbook and allowed them to ask me questions regarding Singapore.
Amazingly, they did know some Chinese greetings. Hence, we decided that I teach them some Chinese, we communicate in English and in return they have to teach me Bahasa Indonesia. Time really past fast. Did not have the chance to accomplish the task but was happy when I left because I could sense that the students were sensible and willing to learn.
During the third period, it was supposed to be my break. However, I met another English teacher. We chatted for a few minutes and there came another English teacher who interrupted our conversation and requested me to join him for a period. Since I had nothing to, I joined him.
The class was damn noisy, the opposite of the class earlier on. I could recognized some potential “BENGS” and “LIANS” (Aiyo never judge a person by his/her cover). During the period, as usual, they asked me questions regarding Singapore. I could sense that (intuition) that the male teacher was speaking ill of me (perhaps I was sensitive?) because he was speaking in Bahasa Indonesia. Additionally, the students were obviously laughing at me as if I’m the clown in the circus. I was burning inside, but I managed to control myself. Count yourself lucky!!!
The students were enthusiastic in knowing Singapore too. They even posted questions on prostitute and sex. I was not embarrassed (I was asked during the dialogue session, remember?). However, I answered to their queries rather confidently.
After the third period, I joined the female English teacher (gave her my contact details as requested) which I spoke to earlier on. I followed her to the class. I personally like the class. They were obedient and were able to ask me sensible and interesting questions. Some questions to point out were, “Will dreams come true if we were to walk round the Fountain of Wealth in Singapore?” and “Why Singapore government name a park as Scientist and Space?” (I couldn’t answer to the latter) Haha…
The class also shared with me the culture of Kupang. When you meet someone, you have to shake his/her hand and two sides of the cheeks touching each other. I did it with a girl and a boy in the class. Indeed an interesting class!!! It was also the first class that I revealed my address to as requested.
In the afternoon, we had a Goal Setting Workshop for the students in the rural village which was held at the orphanage. The response was very good. We started off with the “ten cents” game. “Where’s my ten cents coin, where’s my ten cents coin…
Skits were also put up for the “Conrad” and “Ahmad the Baker” stories. The students also deployed their creativity in constructing the tallest model using the availability of plastic bottles. The team that I helped out won…Yeah…Hope they had fun and learnt from the workshop.
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
Once again, all of us had to wake up darn early to go to school. I finally got to start interaction in one of the school in Kupang, SMP Negeria 2. This school is a junior high school in Kupang with students who are aged 13-16, which is something like Singapore’s Secondary School.
The school had a guide for me, Ibu Erny. She was extremely nice and she brought me to a 13 year old class. I interacted with them using English, so as to build up their confidence in speaking English. Afterwhich, I went to a 15 year old class and I was left alone. Ibu Erny had to go to a different class. The experiences of interacting with a class full of students were initially intimidating, but soon after it became a joy and laughter could be heard from miles away.
I finished off at 10.30am, took some photos with the students there and head of to Shu Xiang and Desiree’s school to wait for Pak Guido to pick us up.
Back at the hostel, we had pasta for lunch. After eating, we realize that the sauce left wasn’t enough for Pak Budi and Ibu Peggy. Hence, while the rest went to the orphanage to prepare for the goal setting for 50 odd village students, Shu Xiang and I stayed back. We managed to whip up tomato pasta sauce before going to the orphanage to participate in the goal setting. There was so much fun, joy and laughter in the air.
At night, we had to attend a guy’s son birthday party from the Chinese Committee. Pak Teo had invited us over and we had no choice but to go. We could have done something more productive instead of going there to celebrate. Even though the main aim was to mingle and interact with the youngster there, the figures alone were sad.
Finally, it was over and we went back to the hostel. Did some lesson plan for tomorrow’s class before turning in.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
Unable to teach today. Was sick. But went for the goal setting. I tink it was very interesting n enjoyable 1. But somehow I felt disappointed when we went to meet for the Chinese com thingy, nothing much about that.
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11:30 PM
Steven
Today I have the honor to invite Zhenni to join me for my city classes. We have quite a lot of fun interacting with them and we even sang our national anthem. It was touching when the class sang their Indonesia anthem to us.
Later, I joined Zhenni in her school. The students performed some songs for us and in turn we performed the song – Cupid Love, for them. And then, it was pocho pocho again.
SF is growing @
2:00 PM
CY
Day 10 in Kupang, West Timor
Finally, we did something that was supposed to be done last week. We were dropped off at different city schools for the 1st time this morning. My school was beside Adrain's, about 10 mins drive away from Matani.
My school is SMP Negeria 8. It's Junior High because of the P. Senior High is differentiated by the letter A. Pak Budi and a few other people accompanied me into the headmaster's office for a brief introduction. Then I was left with Ibu Mary, the headmistress, and a couple other teachers, Pak Emil and Pak Mortar.
We went to every single morning class there were. 9 of them to be exact. I had to introduce myself repeatedly and I tried to improvise each time. Some kids asked me a few questions, of which were the same. They were curious about Singapore's educational system and how I thought of Kupang.
There was one boy who asked me if sex was allowed in the classroom. Sure, I was taken aback by the question posed but my answer did not hestitate. I replied that it was not allowed in classrooms, either anywhere in public. Moreover, if the girl is below 16, whether or not she is willing to have sex, the guy will taste the rotan. Pak Emil was my translator throughout. The class whinced at the word rotan. Good...haha...
After that, we went back to Ibu Mary's office for a little chit-chat, drove me out for lunch and even sent me back to the dormitary after that. They were very hospitable to me. It is a good start.
Goal-setting committee did their thing at the orphanage with about 50 village kids. Played mind-boggling games with them and instilled some morales in them. Very meaningful.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
10th Day of Kupang Life
It was the first day of school. Went to the school to communicate and interact with the city kids. I was posted to SMA 1 (Senior High School). The school is the largest senior high school in Kupang City and is believed to be the largest in Indonesia. Wow…The building was huge but renovation should be done at the entrance (process of construction?)
Miss Sandy, the leader of the English department planned a five day timetable for me. Really appreciate that. She then brought me to my class. I had my first lesson with the first grade students. I was accompanied by a temporary English teacher. I started off with the ice breaker. It was so boring man because there were 50 students in the class and that some students spoke too softly (not even the ants could hear man). Anyway, I had a difficult time in remembering their names. After the dreadful ice breaking, I taught the class past continuous tense.
The students are fast learners. However, they lack the confidence to speak up as well as in the answers they gave (maybe there are afraid of making mistakes). After the first lesson, I went back to the “teachers’ room” to take a break before my next lesson.
I was then assigned to teach the second grade students. This time round, I got away with the ice breaker. Something worth mentioned. The teacher who accompanied was an amiable lady who is married with two children. Guess what? At her age of 35, she already has an 18 year old son who is now studying in University. Do your calculations! When did she get marry?
I really admired her because after her high school, she settled down and looked after her children for 10 years before pursuing her university degree. While others have to take the normal five years to complete the university, she was able to do it in just four years. Excellent!!!
I referred to the English textbook as a guide. I taught the students the next topic which was “Expressions”. Here came the interesting part. The students had to demo the expression, “ouch”. However, they couldn’t give me that ouch expression. Hence, I gave a girl on the front seat a real hard hit on her hand. Immediately, she gave me the ouch sound and expression. Haha…Impressive!!!
There was an activity whereby the students have to pair with their partners to complete. While the students were busy, the teacher chatted with me regarding Singapore and I gave her my contact details too. After the activity, there was sometime left. The students asked me quite a lot of questions. The questions include education system, the symbolic sign of Singapore, tourist attractions and etc…
I had a really great and enjoyable time teaching. Been a teacher is not easy. Tomorrow is a better day!
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
English Workshop started today. Had to wake up damn early and go to our schools. All of us were separated into different schools. Initially, many Rotary Club people were to drive us to our schools. However, they all backed out last minute and it was only left with Pak Guido and Pak Budi to bring us to the schools.
My school was the second last, and hence I wasn’t able to start my interaction with the students today. So I only met up with the vice headmaster. Pak Guido then sent Esther to her school while Pak Budi and I went to pick up the rest. The roads there were extremely confusing and we ended up taking a lot of wrong turns.
In the afternoon, we had a meeting to discuss about our goal setting committee plans. Afterwhich, we were informed that someone from the Chinese committee will be here at 5pm to discuss about the activities the Chinese Comm wants to present. In the end, they were late yet again and it was pretty late when they finally arrived. There was a lot of miscommunication and all they want are things done as accordance to what they want. We have no choice but to oblige.
We ended the day with a debrief.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
Teaching was a good experience for me cos I've never done anything like this b4. The students are quite well-behaved, very very friendly.
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Esther
Today is my first day to teach the city kids english ..
We all woke up early & wore "formal wear" .. bought in the pak budi's boutique last nite (near 11+) .. i was being laughed by redzuan that i looked more like a social dancer .. lol .. we were sent off to our respective schools by Pak Budi & Guido, president of Kupang Rotary Club (each of us are teaching in a school)
I was allocated to a junior high, SMA St Teresa .. but changed to another nearby junior high, SMA Giovanni ..
I didnt start teaching in the school as it was near school's release time .. i left & fetched the rest who were being sent to school early ..
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
CY
Day 9 in Kupang, West Timor
Had to abandon the original plan of tribe-visiting due to the unexpected heavy downpour which caused the roads to be muddy and dangerous. One of our cars got stuck in the mud and it took quite a while to get it out. In fact, all the cars needed a pull and push factor. The guys, once again, proved that they were worthy being a man. They were the heroes of the day.
Stopped to have lunch at 1 point on our way back to Matani. Had packeted rice. The view before me was magnificent. Something that can NEVER be found in SG. I was loving it.
The ride back home was terrible. Thankfully I can able to control my motion sickness, though on many occassions I thought I'd have puked right there in the car. I almost went bersek.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
9th Day of Kupang Life
Today, we checked out of the hotel at 7.30am. After two sets of breakfast, we went off to our next destination, to the tribal village at a mountain top where there live a total of 100 families. The journey was bumpy and steep slopes were conquered.
Due to the rain, there was a mud slide (correct term?) It was impossible for us to continue any further. We had no choice but to travel back. Unfortunately, here came the problem. It was difficult for the cars to drive up the steep slopes.
Here came the power of teamwork again. Everyone contributed to the pulling and pushing of the cars. It was strenuous. I needed some tonic drink man.
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
The plan for today was to visit the tribe in Soe, up in the mountain. However, the road there was deadly. All our cars and truck got stuck halfway and all the guys had to help to push and pull the cars and trucks out. There are a total of 6 cars and 1 truck to push and pull. The weather was not helping much either as halfway through pushing and pulling, rain starts to fall.
Thankfully, many of the villagers there came and help us to push and pull those cars and truck. After about 2 or 3 hours, all the cars and trucks were saved and we decided to head back to Kupang.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
Was supposed to visit a tribe in the mountain area but didn’t mange to in the end. It rained suddenly, causing the road to become muddy. Couldn't proceed on. The worst part was to push the cars uphill. Not 1 but a couple of it. Was back to the hostel after a tiring day. Wonder if I have the energy to teach tomorrow? Hmm...
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Esther
We went to Soe (heard it's @ the south western of timor) .. the journey was 2 hr drive from kupang ..
On 18th, we went up the mountain to see a famous waterfall .. forgot the name .. the water was cooling ..
We slept in the town's best motel (yup!! cant compare w/ hotel 81 but it's beta than wad i ve expected).. oh .. i saw beds .. remind me of my own bed.. (we sleep on mattress in the hostel)
Today, initial plan was to visit the tribal village deeper down in the forest & a marble manufacturing factory but cancelled due to the rain .. (the road condition make cars move tougher in rain) ... on the journey to the forest.. one of the car got stuck in the mud pit & all had to u-turn back ... the males had to go push cars UPHILL .. the uneven & lots-of-pits road make the job so tough & tiring .. pity the guys sia ..
I felt so much to help but i coudn't as i hurt my hand .. i fell down when i was trying to skip from one slippery bench to another to go take photo .. sakit sia !!
We went back to Kupang straight .. the journey sucks .. i vomited .. motion sickness .. shag ...
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
Steven
A day of pushing and pulling cars. It has demonstrated our team spirit as well as the villagers spirit. The villagers helped us without asking for a single cent. I really admire the mentality they have – not to beg but suffer alone. They don’t hate us because we are rich, however they help us and I could really feel their kindness.
SF is growing @
10:45 PM
CY
Day 8 in Kupang, West Timor
Morning flash! We were in 2 local newspapers. Spent some excited moments relishing in the photos and were whisked away into a few cars to Soe, located on the mountain top.
The ride here lasted at least 3 hours. We stayed in the best hotel they have there. The weather here is smiliar to that in Genting. Went sight-seeing. The view from the top is breathtaking. No words could describe my emotions at that point in time. Amazing, absolutely amazing...
We had a freshly roasted pig at one of Pak Budi's friends house situated near our hotel. Talked to the owner who was able to converse with us in Mandarin and learned that the poor pig was only 7 months old and it took 4-5 hours to grill to perfection. The pork was very tender, especially the one they smashed with chili.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Weixiang
8th Day of Kupang Life
Today is so called a rest day for all of us. I woke up at around eight plus in the morning. It is already considered late. Everyone got ready at ten to set off to Soe. (Spelling correct?) However, due to the rain and delayed by the members of the Rotaract club of Kupang, we left the hostel to Soe at 12 noon.
The journey was rather long, but with the accompanied of my MP3, the journey was spice up with music (obviously). However, my ears were disrupted by the Chinese oldies played by the Pak Pak (don’t know his name). I had to really compete with his increasingly volume with my MP3 volume. In the end, he still outshone me. Damn it.
The ride was rather giddy for some of the SF mates because we had to travel in “S” route. Finally, we reached and checked in to a hotel at Soe after two plus hours. After lunch, we went to a mountainous area for some scenery viewing. It was extremely beautiful (indescribable besides beautiful). We took quite a lot of photos and I had a couple shots with our driver, Teddy. But why this teddy doesn’t smile? Cool? Extraordinary? Haha…
After the mountainous scenery view, we went to a waterfall (never will I see it in Singapore). Some of the SF mates went down to the water. However, I found it troublesome to take off my shoes, so just stood aside to see and helped Alfian to take some photos (hope it turned out nice).
After the excursion, we went to one of the Paks house for our dinner. I had a chance to flavor the roasted pig hehe…the chili was “outstanding”. It burnt my tongue man. After the dinner, we had to mingle with the Paks other than ourselves. ESTHER and I went to the kitchen and chatted with two Paks (one of them is Pak Danny, the dance teacher who taught us Pocho Pocho) and the owner’s daughter.
We realized that the owner’s daughter had actually spent 9 years of her life working in Australia, Sydney. I had quite a wonderful time chatting with them. After our chit chat session, we went back to the hotel. So SUAY! I had diarrhea. I went in and out of the toilet for five times man.
I was so tired that I went off to bed without taking my malaria pills. Never mind, shall take it the next day.
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
Supposedly, we were to set off for Soe at 10am. However, the time got delayed by 2 hours due to the sudden heavy downpour. For a moment, I thought the trip to Soe will be cancelled as the traveling time was pretty long.
Thankfully, the rain stopped and off we went to Soe. The journey there was extremely bumpy and long. It took us 3 hours to reach there. But the scenery there was simply so beautiful that I think no words could describe it.
We were at the top of the mountains, so close to the clouds and so near to heaven. I felt so carefree, so happy and so at ease with the surrounding. Afterwhich, we went to a waterfall and tried the springwater.
At night, we had dinner with the people there and mingle with some of the locals who host us for dinner.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
The locals brought us to Soe for sight-seeing. It was a long journey. Hours and hours of driving. The weather there was quite cold but still manageable. The sight was majestic. Could see clouds floating below us. Went to see the waterfalls next. It was ok though quite small, I feel.
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Steven
This was the first time I stood on top of a mountain and the feeling was great! It was freezing cold and very foggy up on the mountain. Too bad I had a tummy ache; I couldn’t really enjoy the visit.
SF is growing @
1:30 AM
CY
Day 7 in Kupang, West Timor
It rained again this morning. This time around, it came ler. ZN and I woke up to the sound of our alarms @ 7am, heard the rain, looked @ each other and went back to sleep. We woke up 50 mins later. Shiok! Haha...
A few of us went back to the 2nd house to complete the finaly layer of cement. It took us only an hour plus. Joined the rest @ the orphanage after that to clear some weeds outside and played with the kids later on.
After lunch, we went for yet another dialogue session @ another church. Marinah and QL became the hot favourites the moment we stepped on stage to prepare to be bombarded with questions.
It was very interesting to watch them being swamped by little boys and girls. They had to be dragged out by us. The 2 "celebrities" with Pak Budi, had the honored to plant a coconut plant each outside the church.
Just before heading back for dinner, we made a quick stop @ Ramayana shopping mall for some of us to purchase a sweater. Pak Budi is intending to bring us to mountain top to visit a tribe with population of less than a hundred.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
7th Day of Kupang Life
Today, the group was divided into two. One group went to the second house to touch on the second layer of the cementing. The other group went to the orphanage to help out. I chose the latter. The purpose at the orphanage was to clear the weeds.
ADRIAN, JQ, ZHENNI and I helped out at the farming land. The workers taught us how to pull out the weeds with the parang. It was pretty easy. The job was well done as we and the workers managed to clear the land fast. The sun was burning hot. At that moment, I could feel that I have suffered from dehydration. However, the sun had provided a rather distributed sun burnt? Sun tanned? Haha…
After the hard work, we went into the orphanage to play with the kids. After a while later, we returned back to hostel for lunch and got ready for another dialogue session with another group of students.
It was pouring. When we reached, I was shocked. There were a lot of students present. Performances were put up too. It was enjoying but the duration was rather short. Here came the dialogue session. We were asked to be seated on the stage.
Particularly, ALFIAN, ESTHER and I were appointed to answer the question on dating, love and sex. At that instance, I was…HUH!!! Why me??? I was taken aback but was ready to answer.
My reply was, dating starts when a particularly girl or boy likes a particular boy or girl. As time passes, there will be love. Love will be formed. When there is trust between the two parties, then there will be pre-martial sex. However, if you want to practices sex, remember to do it safe. Wear condoms. Thank you! Haha…safe answer, I guessed…
The session lasted for an hour man. It was interesting though. An autograph session took place after that. Two Kupang idols were discovered. They were crowned the Miss and Mr. West Timor and they are none other than our dearest MARINAH and VINZ. Applause!!!
After the event, we went to the shopping mall. I bought a leather jacket for just only $100,000 RP, (around S$18). It’s so cheap man! Some of us tried out the bubble tea. I tasted a Mocha bubble tea that not at all tasted like one. After which, off we went home.
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
We divided ourselves into 2 groups. Together with Alfian, Cai Ying, Shu Xiang and Wei Qiang, we went back to the second house to complete the second layer of floor cementing.
After we are finally done with the cementing, we head to the orphanage to clear the weeds that were extremely overgrown. There were limited parangs hence some of us had to use our bare hands. Soon after, we switched with the rest inside the orphanage. We went in to play and look after the kids while the rest inside came out and clear the weeds.
In the afternoon, we went for yet another dialogue session. There were many performances put up by them and it was very interesting and enjoyable. We get to know some university students as well, and surprisingly, our photos were published in the newspaper the next day.
After the dialogue session, Pak Budi, Marinah and I were given the opportunity to plant in a tree at the backyard of the church which the dialogue session was held. Some tribe people turned up and gave us some blessings.
The soccer match with another group of students had to be cancelled due to the lack of time.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
Finally finished cementing the 2 kampongs. Stayed at the orphanage to play wif de orphans. They never failed to amaze me with their joy. Something which I could never find it elsewhere.
Another dialogue section...omg...
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Esther
This mrn'g .. the team was split into 2 .. go to do the final touch up for cementing & go to the orphanage to help out & i chose the latter ..
i was excited that i was able to see the adorable kids again .. i m missing them so much ..
they were bathing when we reached, Desiree, Marinah & i went to help the kids to bath & dress up .. the kids are really very very cute .. & they seemed to rmber us .. =) ..
after lunch .. we went to another dialogue session .. this was more fun but yesterday's one was more "fulfilling" on the context wise .. both sessions were crazy as we were all being asked for name, contactable methods & today's one was so much like a fan & idol meeting up session .. many were asked to take pixes, autographed, write name, email, contact no etc .. lol !!
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
Steven
The team split into 2 in the morning, one to the cementing (final touch up) and the other one to the orphanage.
Then, it was the dialogue session at noon. One question raised by the student was how they can be abreast of the fast moving world and modernization. I answered by telling them to read more newspapers, magazines everyday and to study hard. Only then they can work as professionals in the future, earn money for their family and improve the economy of Indonesia.
SF is growing @
10:00 PM
CY
Day 6 in Kupang, West Timor
It rained heavily in the wee hours of the morning. ZN and I slept on the floor earlier, thinking that it would be a rather warm night. To ZN, it was still okay when it rained. But I was freezing. Thankfully it only lasted for a while.
We returned to the 1st house to lay the final layer of cement on the hardened surface. Most of it was done by our workers. It wasn't that we didn't offer to do the work but they insisted on working on it.
Would you wanna a job done or a job well done? Hence, we let them do, since they have more experience and skills than the 15 of us.
Went back for lunch and was brought to a church where we met a bunch of high school and university students. The dialogue session was to exchange culture, religion and lifestyle of the 2 different countries.
For the 2 hours that we were there, we were literally sweating (not perspiring) like cows. Chatted with a couple of students personally after the session and gave them our email addresses.
The night didn't end well. The debrief was an emotional one for some, in a negative way. A distorted picture was viewed and it caused a stir. Nevertheless, it ended and everyone got their much needed rest.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
6th Day of Kupang Life
Today, we continued with the cementing work. We went back to the second house and finished up with the cementing of the other one and a quarter room. After completion, we returned back to the first house to apply the second layer of cementing. The formula is 1 packet of cement and 3 pails of water.
After the second layering, we went back to the hostel for lunch. The next activity was to have a dialogue session with the students in Kupang. The session started off with a performance put up by a choir group. The children presented two songs. Thumbs up for them!!! They really sang harmoniously. After the performance, the dialogue session began. The questions asked include, lifestyle, education, entertainment and many others.
After the session, we bided goodbye and these time round, all of us went to the supermarket for shopping again. Bought relatively much items again. We also bought few bottles of Bintan (Beer). With three drunkards in our gang, SX, VINZ, ZHENNI, definitely there would be beer. Hahaha…Down Down and Down…
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
We went back to the second home to complete the first layer of cementing. After we are done with the first layer, we went back to the first house to complete the 2nd layer of cementing the floor. This time round, we only add water into cement and we spread it over the entire floor to make the floor smooth. The first house was finally complete.
We couldn't finish the second house as we had a dialogue session with the local University students. The topics that they like to talk or discuss about are topics which are sensitive in Singapore. Topics like politics, government policies, races and religions. Overall, it was quite enriching to see how the students in Kupang respond and their views on certain topic like education.
We got to know quite a few of them and we exchanged email address, hoping to keep in touch. After the dialogue session, we went to the supermarket to do some grocery shopping again.
The night ended with a heated debrief.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
While doing the cementing, some of us went to play wif the kampong kids. Taught them a game. Even the adults were enjoying themselves though they did not play. Every1 was enjoying the moment. Laughter was in the air.
Attended a boring dialogue section in the church....YAWN....so bored tat I don't wanna talk anymore.
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Esther
Finally, 1 house was completed .. However, the touching up of the floor was not done by us .. the workers did it as it's is the final & the movement has to be fast .. so in the end we helped them by mixing the cement & water & passed to them ..
The task was completed before lunch & after, we prepared ourselves for a dialogue session with some Indo CAtholic Uni. students . we discussed, exchanged & enquired topics on unemployment rate, subsidies on education fr. goverment etc of spore & indonesia ..
Tired tired ..
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
Steven
Today we started serious work. We went cementing the first house in the morning. It is not an easy task as it was quite labor-intensive. All of us split into the digging soil section, mixing the cement section and laying the cement section. It was a tiring day so to speak.
SF is growing @
12:00 AM
CY
Day 5 in Kupang, West Timor
Woke up @ 7.15am, ate instant mee goreng for breakfast and was out on the road by 8am.
Our mission for the day was to floor cement for the houses we visited yesterday. We underestimated the amount of time needed to complete per house. It took us the entire morning and afternoon to finish the 1st layer of cement. There is 1 more layer to go before it's considered done.
The recipe for the 1st layer is as follows:
1) Dig soil and transfer into house.
2) Make sure the soil is evenly distributed on the floor.
3) Combine 1 packet of cement with 6 packets of sand and 3 containers of water. Mix thoroughly.
4) Spread over soil and smoothen it out.
5) Leave it to dry overnight.
1 awfully hilarious incident: WX speeded downhill of a 40kg sack of "semen" (cement, actually)
Not wanting to waste time, we proceeded on it the 2nd house and managed to complete the kitchen before dinnertime. Marinah and Mona created games to played with the village kids while the rest were cementing. Some of the rotartians chipped in monetary prizes.
It was rewarding in non-monetary ways to see the kids enjoying themselves immensely. Our tiredness soon disappeared and even had the energy to play 'Where is my 10 cent coin' after dinne, among ourselves.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
5th Day of Kupang Life
Today everyone had to get ready by eight. We proceeded to the first house for cementing. The packets of cement and sand were extremely heavy. At that point of time, I decided to use the running tactic. Haha! Perhaps, it was due to the heavy weight of the cement and sand that exert pressure for me to speed forward.
Cementing in Singapore will only be possible if I’m a construction worker or a worker from a renovation firm. However, in Kupang, everything is possible.
Firstly, we had to dig soil from the owner’s land and level it on the floor. After which, the cementing process began. I have learnt that the formula for cementing is 6 packets of sand, 1 packet of cement and 3 pails of water. Particularly, the way the workers measured the height of cementing needed to level and that it must be perpendicular to the floor was amazing. What they needed was sticks, string and their visual. Amazing man! The mixture was then laid.
After lunch, we went back to the first house to complete the rest of the cementing. After which, we proceeded to the second house. Unfortunately, we experienced a shortage of sand. Luckily, the owner has it and hence what we needed to provide was just cement.
The power of teamwork was unbelievable. We formed a human chain and within minutes, the soil was leveled on the floor. At the end of the day, we only managed to cement three-quarter out of the two rooms.
Now I realized how much hard work the renovation and construction workers have actually put in to ensure that we, Singaporeans have a proper house to stay in. As for the workers in Kupang, really admire that you can use the availability of tools to its fullest. Salute to all of you! Cementing to be continued…
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
Things start to pick up and we started doing meaningful things. We went to do floor cementing for 2 houses. We spent almost an entire morning and afternoon just on the first layer of the first house. The work was tedious and tiring. However, it was extremely meaningful as it was nice to see the villagers feeling happy about having a cemented floor.
I guess cementing is something which I would not have the opportunity to try in Singapore. Hence, it was an eye opener. It was interesting to see how they measure the quantity without any use of machineries. First of all, we had to dig up soil to cover up the uneven ground of the house, next we have to use the sands and mix with the cement. Following which, we pour water in to complete the cement making.
The night ended with debrief.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
I must say that cementing is not an easy task. U must know how to mix the cement, level the ground evenly and etc. Every1 was working hard under the hot sun. At the end of the day, all become dark-skinned and feel very shagged. Didn’t manage to finish the 2 kampong. Will strive hard tomorrow. Jia you!
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Esther
today, i woke up early (6.30am) to prepare to do cementing for the 1st hse @ 8 am .. though i woke up early & slept late last nite, i felt refreshed & hyper ..
.. everything seems fine & i found all the processes to cement a room satisfying & interesting
> Process
1. Dig soil to fill up the holes on the floor
2. Mix stones & cement & water, then level on top of the soil. The flooe is measured with appropriate height with poles & strings ard the room
3. Level the floor properly & again
4. Add in mixture of cement & water as last base to smoothen it
Finally, we we finished cementing the 1st hse & went to the 2nd hse .. the worker & us worked fast enough to complete process 2 (aimed to finish up process 1 oni)…. Yeah!!
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
CY
Day 4 in Kupang, West Timor
WX and I woke up @ 6am to wash clothes for the 6 of us. We then proceeded to the orphanage with Alfian, Desiree and Esther.
The kids were having their breakfast when we reached. Their personality shoned then already. Marcos and I instantly clicked after breakfast. He couldn't leave my side all the time I was there.
Lala was smart enough to know that I'm afraid of balloons and kept chasing me around with a balloon in her hand. Chris was the laidback little guy, who I managed to get his attention when he gained interest in the flying stance I did with Marcos.
Michael and Prity were the big brother and sister of the group. They are the sensible and matured ones who know how to have fun and at the same time, look out for the rest quietly.
After 2 hours of endless fun, it was time to visit the "real" estates, as Pak Budi put it. That long and thirsty journey on foot made us thank Singapore for what we have. Soild shelter, good sanitation, eletrical entertainment and comfort.
The purpose was to check out the 3 families whose floors will be cemented by us. One of the owners was overwhelmed by our charity that he cried to Ibu Peggy. It was heartwarming and heartwrenching at the same time for me.
We went on to help Pak Budi cleared some land to be used as the orphanage's padi field. As usual, we girls can't help. They didn't allow us to. Anyway, it called for strength and skills.
Pak Terence, who is Pak Budi's co-pilot, is here to stay with us for a few days. He welcomed him by bringing all of us to the city for dinner. The fish and chicken were yummy, so was the chili.
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
4th Day of Kupang Life
Today, I decided to pay a visit to the orphanage. Five of us, ALFIAN, CY, DESIREE, ESTHER and I reached the orphanage at about seven plus.
The kids were in the kitchen having their breakfast. Hence, all of us offered to feed them. There I was feeding Lala, an adorable girl with short hair. It really reminded me of teletubbies. Haha…
After their breakfast, we played with them. Pasting stickers on every part of their bodies, hands, legs, forehead and ears. They were enjoying themselves. At ten plus, the rest of the teammates gathered at the orphanage. Our next activity was to visit the people from the villages.
The standard of living is really shocking. Some of the families have substandard homes. As we walked, we offered to help one of the families facing the situation. The owner was very grateful that he kept thanking Auntie Peggy. Tears were rolling down from the eyes of the owner. Tears were also struggling to burst out from the eyes of Auntie Peggy, but it was controlled. I was extremely touched.
As we walked, we also paid visits to some of the villagers’ homes. When we offered sweets and biscuits to the kids, I could actually see smiles on their faces. They were easily contented. Singaporeans are simply too fortunate. At the end of the visit, we have chosen to help two families to do the cementing of their floors.
After lunch, we traveled to a piece of land that Pak Budi has planned for his agriculture purposes. Our purpose was to clear the land by chopping down the trees. Majority of us wore the wrong footwear. When I saw that the land was rather muddy, I was omg.
I managed to try cutting down the trees using the parang. The tactic is to chop slanting to the woods of the trees, the V way. After a while, we went further front of the land. Here came the problem. I was holding Zhenni to get out but unfortunately, my slippers sank into the mud. Haizzz had to blame myself for my heavy weight.
After much “hurdles”, I escaped from the muddy land. However, my pair of slippers was fully soiled with mud. Luckily, there was a pool of water, hence managed to clean it haha…Unfortunately, there was a thorn in one of my fingers. Luckily, Maxi helped me to pluck it out. Terimakashi.
The funny part was, in the process of the “operation”, thanks to the group of lamers, CY, ESTHER, VINZ and ZHENNI. Quoted from Vinz, “our WX here has injured himself, please call 1900 112 6868 now to support. Hahaha…
After which, we had dinner outside. The BBQ fish was delicious, so was the orange juice. Yummy!!!
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
After 3 days of not doing something productive, we finally did something today. First of all, we went to do some village visiting on foot. The living conditions there were very bad. There is no proper flooring, no proper sanitation, and no proper food. The villagers there have to survive on corn, peanut and rice only. During the dry season, things would be worse and they only have corn as their breakfast, lunch and dinner.
There was this one family whose child just passed away due to starvation. The family was very poor and couldn’t afford food for the children. The story was heart-breaking and made me realize how fortunate I am, and I should not complain about eating Hainanese Chicken Rice (Something which up till now I still hate to eat).
After visiting the village, we proceed on to a land that was very far away. Armed with a few Parangs, we began clearing the heavily dense grassland. The trees and plantations there were simply too thorny and I was pricked with thorns stuck in my flesh. Thankfully, Maxi was able to help me dig out the thorns from my flesh.
Pak Budi went to pick up his friend Terence, who is also a SIA pilot. We then head off to a nice eating place to eat.
The night ended with a debrief.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
Went to the orphanage. Had a fun time wif the children there cos they are very adorable. They like to play wif us a lot. Just carrying every single one of them tire me out. After that, we went 4 a walk around the village. Visited a few kampongs. Their living conditions were bad. Wonder how they could endure all tis. Ddecided to do some cementing for 2 of the kampong the next day. Hoping that this could somehow improve their life. Went to Pak Budi’s farm. Not considered 1 yet cos it was still covered wif trees. Hence, we took a parang n started to chop down the trees. TIMBER-trees down. Hurray. Hehe...
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Esther
This mrn'g , Caiying , Wei Qiang, Desiree, Alfian & i went to Captain's budi's orphanage to help out (we volunteered ourselves last nite in the campfire)..
The kids are all very adorable .. they were having their breakfast when we arrived .. we helped to feed them ... so cute .. too bad that i dun noe how to speak Bahasa .. i wanted to interact with them so much .. Captain Budi told us every kid had their own sad story to tell .. ..
Later, we went walking ard the village & visited 3 families .. All the floors had no proper cementing .. every inch & corner of the house are full of dry mud, sand & stones ... some houses were small that 1 bed has to squeeze in 5 family members ..
Captain Budi & Peggy promised the 1st & 2nd house that we will help them to do cementing .. i was surprised & touched when a man in the 1st family cried with gratitude ..
& the 3rd .. we will give them food as it was the poorest of the village .. one of their kids was starved to death .. pitiful itz it?
after the visit, i was told all the families now could not do their farming due to the drought now .. & the only consumable is corns .. felt sad for them ..
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
CY The intial plan was the start teaching city kids this week. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, it was postponed. To when, no-one knows. We are living each day as it comes. Hence, Pak Budi drove some of us, myself included, for grocery shopping at a "nearby" supermarket. According to the locals, it's near but for Singaporeans, no way man! It's about 15 mins drive down. We have been too customed to finding a convenience store at every few metres, for example, the over-populated 7-Eleven. The supermarket is spacious but not as organized as Singapore. Not as well-lit too. WX and I bought 219,000 rupee worth of snacks and drinks for the 6 of us. Wohoo~ We were taken to a beautiful beach an hour ride away from Matani. The ride there in the truck was bumpy and enjoyable, more so with Maxi, the happy-go-lucky laughing machine, and Teddy, the F1 wannabe driver. Love it! At the beach, we had a bonfire and set up a tent. Took numerous photos while waiting for the Welfare team and Pak Budi to return with food for BBQ. The color of the sea, the waves, the rocks, the sunset - everything about the beach was panoramic. The BBQ-ed corn and fish were simply delicious! We threw the remains of our food everything but the rubbish bag. Haha... Something that we would be heftily fined in SG. 'You can throw anything anywhere, as long as it's natural.', this I quote from Pak Budi. We had the campfire among ourselves. Pak Budi and the rest left and were back to pick us up a couple of hours later. Mona was the leader of the pack. Played several entertaining campfire games. Brought back many memories of secondary days.
Day 3 in Kupang, West Timor
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
3rd Day of Kupang Day
Today, went to the supermarket to buy some? a load? of necessities. Spent a total of $281,000 Rupiahs. After lunch, we got ready for the campfire.
Hooray! JQ, ZHENNI and I had a chance to take the ride from Pak Leif. It was really a marvelous ride man. Pak drove damn fast and with us standing throughout the ride, it seemed as if we were taking the standing roller coaster ride, which could only be experienced in Kupang.
When we reached the beach, we cleared the part of the beach which we intended to have our campfire at. Everyone was helping in finding logs and woods for the campfire as well as setting up of the tents.
The welfare team then went off to get the ingredients for today’s dinner. What about the rest then? Initially, everyone was taking photos of the beach surroundings and the beautiful sunset. After which, ZHENNI, ADRIAN and ME were singing some songs played from Zhenni’s hand phone.
After quite a long wait, the welfare team was back. I helped out with the peeling of the skin of the corn. Tonight, we had BBQ fish and corn. The fish was tasty and the corn was sweet. It was a superb dinner.
After the dinner, we gathered and sat in a circle. Here we began our campfire songs, one after another. We were in high spirits. Some songs to remember were, “If I were a farmer’s son…dig dig here, dig dig there”, “The first day I came to Kupang, Pak Budi gave to me”, and of course the “chi ke cha, chi ke cha, chi ke cha cha cha” and many more. We also played the “seven game”, whereby we have to clap if the numbers are multiple of seven or contain seven in it.
A zillion thanks to the Welfare Team, MONA, SX and WEI WEI.
When we reached the hostel, the six of us were still hungry. We decided to eat our cup noodles discreetly. At the meantime, I also calculated the amount payable by each of us for the things we bought today.
Hope you guys still remember. We have to keep our accounts transparent. Transparent means something that can be seen through. An example of transparent is transparency. So what is transparent? Hahaha….Lolx!!!
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
After realizing that the schedules for the schools in which we will be teaching in were not out, we were rather disappointed. However, Pak Budi decided to bring us to a supermarket to do some grocery and necessity shopping. His car couldn’t take all of us hence; some of us including me went to the Orphanage.
It was so nice and happy after seeing the kids there. One particular girl called Lala came over and sat on my lap the moment she saw me. We had a lot of fun playing with kids especially seeing how smart some of them were already at this young age. Michael and Prity were already matured enough to take care of the rest, Chris is very street-smart, Lala is quite attention seeking, Marcos kept holding on to a book trying to read, Edu kept holding on to my cap, playing with it. The kids there really bring a smile to me whenever I think of them. Zhenni even had a try in feeding Cynthia. It was hilarious because Cynthia refused to chew the food, she just stuff the food in her mouth. We had a hard time trying to get her to chew and swallow the food.
We went back to our hostel and started preparing for our campfire night. Pak Budi and Ibu Peggy brought us to a beach where the scenery was magnificent. The sunset was so glorious that I kept snapping my camera. Afterwhich, we set up tents and build a campfire by finding large logs or broken trees.
The BBQ was fantastic. Ibu Peggy’s BBQ corn was so delicious that I wanted more and more and more. But eventually I only managed 2 as the BBQ fish was excellent as well. Simple food yet they managed to make them into something that taste so heaven.
After we were all fed and watered, campfire game started. Mona led us through the campfire, as we sang and dance and cheer. The whole day was an eventful one.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
Wei Qiang
When was the last time I had a campfire? Pri 5? Yup! So long ago. This time round, the campfire was a bit different. It was set up by gathering all thde firewood, piled them up n poured kerosene. 1 matchstick n it was done. Even the bbq was unique. Jus corn n fish..hehe…but it was nice.
SF is growing @
11:30 PM
Esther
This afternoon, we finally went out to the supermarket to do some shopping ... i imagined the place to be like Bedok's Giant (w/o air con) but it was like a warehouse .. no lights ...
After shopping, Desiree & i decided to clean up our room .. hmm .. looks beta ..
Later at night .. We went to the beach for our campfire ..
The beach was very different from spore's beach ... much more deserted & "natural" than the Changi Beach .. we set our tents there (in case raining ba) & the campfire .. Meanwhile, waiting for the Welfare Committee to buy the food for BBQ, we took lots of pixes ... beautiful ..
SF is growing @
11:00 PM
CY
Day 2 in Kupang, West Timor
Only had a couple hours of sleep. Totally didn't expect to debilitate oursleves completely today.
Woke up @ 6am, went to 2 fish markets by the sea. Now that's what I call fresh! It was unlike our "wet" market and supermarkets. You bet it's wet alright...
Proceeded on to the orphanage for the 1st time, owned by Pak Budi and his wife, called Roslin Orphanage. The kids were brought in since they were as young as 1 day old. How sad it that huh? And boy are they irresistibly adorable! Those huge innocent eyes, small faces and puny bodies. It was unfortunate that we couldn't speak Bahasa Indonesia.
"Hash" cross-country style was next. That was a mountainous climb to the top, literally. To make things worst, we weren't properly dressed for the occasion. We were in slippers, with no water or towel. Heck! It was a great workout for all of us.
Went to one of the Hash organizer's house for dinner later that night. It was a welcome party kinda thing for us. But I think they are the ones enjoying more. Looking at them sing and dance somehow makes me feel old, in a good way though...
We taught them Frienship Dance and they taught us a traditional Indonesian dance called "Pocho Pocho". It's basically line-dancing. Nothing challenging but can be fun if given the right attitude and companions.
Adrain found his love right then on the dance floor. Oh la la~
SF is growing @
11:59 PM
Wei-Xiang
2nd Day of Kupang Life
Today was a fresh day to start with. Woke up and got ready at around nine plus in the morning. All of us went to two fish markets with Pak Budi and Auntie Peggy. After the market shopping, we headed back to the hostel. Some of the teammates were helping out with the preparation of food.
As for me, I chose not to help. Not that I’m lazy, it was because there were so many people doing the same thing. I just do not want to help for the sake of helping. I was chatting with ESTHER, KELLYN and JQ. Thanks Esther for her lame riddles and jokes. Haha. After lunch, we took a break as there was no activity announced yet.
After a while, we were told that there was an activity lined up for us, and was meant to be a surprise for us. When we reached the destination, the scenery was great. It was at the mountains. Then I realized it was a “HASH” gathering. We had to walk down the slope of the mountain and after a turn, a tiring climb on the upward slope of the mountain. It definitely required a lot of leg muscles man. I completed the 4.0km walk pretty fast, haha. Personally think so.
After everyone had completed the walk, we sang the “HASH” song and had to finish a bottle of drink. Down, down and down we went. After the activity, we went straight back and reached the hostel at seven plus.
Without bathing, we changed to our SF t-shirt and went to meet the people from the “You Ai” group for a welcome party. Had a sumptuous dinner and was “dragged” with other few teammates to sing “Xiao Wei”. Next, the SF team put up a performance, presenting a Singapore song, “Home”.
Following up was the friendship dance performance. We taught and invited the people on the floor to dance. In returned, the “You Ai” showed us the “Pocho Pocho” dance. In Singapore, we named it as line dancing. I had a wonderful time dancing. However, it was so hot and stuffy. Everyone was wet with perspiration.
We bided goodbye at around 11 plus. It was indeed a “warm” welcome by the local people and I enjoyed the day. After washing up, off I went to bed at around one plus in the morning.
SF is growing @
11:40 PM
Vinz
The sun was already up by 6am, and soon after, all of us woke up to get ready to go and explore the fish market. Pak Budi and Ibu Peggy brought us there, the truck ride was one hell of an experience mainly because of the uneven road. This is one kind of experience I believe it’s hard to experience in Singapore.
I think Ibu Peggy bought quite a lot of stuff especially since there are a total of 16 young people staying there. We helped out in plucking vegetables and I gave one of my first times there. I helped to remove the backbone of squids. The process was tiring and smelly, but yet fun and experiential.
After lunch, we headed for the Orphanage that is 100% funded and built by Pak Budi and Ibu Peggy. The kids there were so adorable and carefree. How nice it was to be kids, with no troubles and worries. We couldn’t stay for long, and we were headed next to the mountain top.
Over there, we realized that we had to participate in a mountain dash with the Hash people. The scenery that was simply breathtaking. However, we couldn’t keep looking at the scenery as we trek the mountains. There are so many rocks and uneven paths that our eyes have to be constantly looking on the ground.
Following which, we had dinner with the Chinese Committee people in Kupang. There was a short singing session in which we sang ‘Home’ to the people there. We also taught the people Friendship dance while they taught us Po Cho Po Cho, a tradition Indonesia dance.
The night finally came to an end as we were all dead beat after dancing for so long.
SF is growing @
11:35 PM
The Humanitarians
Adrain
Alfrian
CY (Caiying)
Desiree
Esther
Kellyn
Marinah
Mona
Redzuan
Shoe (Shuxiang)
Vinz
Wei Wei (Wei Qiang)
Wei-Xiang
Yihao
Zhenni
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