DAY 7

'Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow'
Anonymous

Freakish~ one by one of our team members suffered diarrhoea whereas some of them kept vomiting continuously. I pity Yani as she tried to attend to most of their needs while Anwar was worried upon looking at everyone's condition especially Fazli, hence most of them were being sent to clinic. Surprisingly, none of the cooks got affected. We hardly knew the cause of it. Initially they assumed it is due to the seafood that we cooked but again, Fazli and Yani said that it is not. Hooboy! I shall just leave this matter here.

curser at 10:09 AM

Introducing my beloved cooking team!! Heheheh!! From left>>Moiz and Imran 

curser at 10:04 AM

Hmm and there goes another member frm my cooking team..that is khalid 

curser at 10:00 AM

And..............that's me! with maysarah =) 

curser at 9:58 AM

DAY 6

'Look back and realise how many times you have thought I can't do this but when you did, amazing huh!'
Anonymous

Jeng jeng jeng!!!! It is my cooking day!!! I only realize last night and to think that I need to cook for 22-30 people plus being the only rose among the thorns makes me slightly panic. Hahahaha! But the girls kept telling me that things will be fine since most of my team members are good cooks.
(oww…really? Hehe) so due to my enthusiasm I woke up at 5a.m, ready to prepare for breakfast.Hahaha! (Laughing my head off) I was so worried that I might not know how to light up the fire that I called Adil to teach me. Hooboy~ it is only about 6.30 a.m Moiz and Imran appeared calmly and started to make French toast. Me? I'm stuck with khalid trying to make coffee. Tsk tsk~

Later, at noon we went to 'pajak' (market). We took 'angkut' it is like a public transport which is similar to buses in Singapore and it was my first time riding it. My first experience going to the wet market was great =) It instantly reminds me of geylang and pasar tani. It is muddy and crowded as the aunties were busily bargaining and finding their stuff. We have Adil our 'saudagar faqir' and Heri with us so bargaining was not much of a problem. Overall, everything ran out smoothly though we hardly follow the menu that we have prepared from Singapore. But of course, cooking for the whole day is a tiring task especially when I need to wash the frying-pan at 12 a.m alone! It is the slightest thing on my mind that I will face that, hmmm~ still, it is something that I can't possibly forget =)


curser at 9:43 AM

place for us to eat>>> from left anti-clockwise Fazli,Aziz,Dzul,Nur,Anwar,Fil,Iman and Maryam. 

curser at 9:38 AM

the 'pajak' 

curser at 9:30 AM

mamam..at ibunda 

curser at 9:22 AM

3pe and saHIVa 

curser at 9:21 AM

DAY 5

'There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience'
Archibald Mcleish


As usual, we had our subuh prayer early in the morning. Thaharah and I took the initiative to stay up for a while and help the students with their English conversation. I was told that most of the students are 'bataks' so it was not surprising to see the students greeting loudly as if they were shouting. The theme for that particular day’s conversation is shopping and I can still remember vividly as I walking through I heard some funny questions like 'what are you?' while others reflect tenseness on their faces as soon as they saw us passing by, hmm…perhaps they are stressing out in trying their best to please us by delivering the correct usage. Nonetheless, the experience is an enjoyable one =)

Later, around late afternoon we went out for lunch at Ibunda hotel. The food was superb! I like the prawns and the fruit juice is indeed indulging! But as usual, I don’t eat that much.tsk tsk~

We soon met people from SaHIVa (sadar HIV Aids), it is a student body from Universitas Sumatera Utara that helps to disseminate the danger of Aids. Oh well, the students are amiable except that instead of looking around to learn more about the activities that they did, Ain and I got 'stuck' as Surya and some others kept throwing questions on us like the living condition in Singapore, our schools, shopping…hmmm! Before we know it, it is time to go back at Darul Hikmah. So what I have learnt so far in warung saHIVa? Nothing much…Sigh! So there goes my day…~


curser at 9:12 AM

DAY 4

'The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'
Lao-Tze
I did the same thing for today!>>>teaching English! Except that I have a class of my own.Today, Maryam helped me with my class and we had so much fun! I love my class so much! The students were very responsive as I taught them Barney's song; it is just to let them 'chill' before I begin my lesson. Later, we played 'hangman' and we had this bet that if the students guess it wrongly they will be punished and if it's correct then I shall sing to them.Haha! Oh well! Maryam and I were good enough to give them a difficult word to guess so they end up being punished by us.Hehehehe! They did sing for us, it is an Arabic song that I have never heard before but it is an excellent one. I think Zhaki was lucky because he passed by our class and I called him in to let him hear the sound of the holy innocence!

After the lesson, Maryam and I looked around at the class next door. We saw the stern-looking teachers, Imran and Dzul..Hehehe..pity the students as we noticed there's hardly a smile in each and everyone's face. (takpelah skali2 dapat cikgu garang oklah tu =p )

curser at 9:15 AM

DAY 3

'In seeking wisdom the first step is silence; the second, listening; the third, remembering the fourth; practicing; the fifth, teaching others'
Solomon Ibn Gabirol


Suasana hening di pagi hari tiba-tiba dipecahkan oleh bacaan Al Quran yg begitu merdu menusuk telingaku. Aku bergegas bangun dari tidurku lalu mengintai ke luar jendela. Kelihatan bulan yang tersipu-sipu melepaskan gelap pagi kepada siang.


Aha! Oh well, it's been a long time since I last wrote a 'cerpen', using those flowery intros and description. Mmm! By the way, it is day 3 and I woke up as soon as I heard someone reciting the Quran, it was very nice and soothing. I wash up and tried to wake the others but failed. So I end up praying alone.

Later, at about 10a.m, each of us was assigned to teach and interact with the students in English. I helped Nur with her students. Initially, the class seemed dull but after our ice-breaking session the students began to enjoy the lesson. It was something that I enjoyed the most that day despite of my sorethroat.


curser at 9:11 AM

cikgu garang's class..hehehe 

curser at 8:53 AM

the kids are practising silat..tough kids eyyy.. 

curser at 8:46 AM

it's not easy to get bread in medan,so we should be thankful and appreciate what we have. 

curser at 8:40 AM

i.t room 

curser at 8:33 AM

DAY 2



'The world is empty if one thinks of only mountains, rivers and cities;
but to know someone here and there who thinks and feel with us and who,
though distant, is close to us in spirit; this makes the earth for us
an inhabitable garden'
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Well, today is much better than yesterday because of the food! Hehehe..the chicken porridge was not bad. After all, I need energy for refurbishment so I can't be bother what’s for breakfast, as long as it's edible it's okay with me =p
It is our first day doing refurbishment and I was totally excited, preparing my 2 pairs of gloves the latex and fabric material. I decided to put on the latex glove since it is much easier to wash but well, I guess that is when my first nightmare begins. Hmm…'something' happened and I think my tongue slipped as I mentioned something that I hardly think of the consequences that might arise. Well, it was only after Moiz laughed that I realize a wrong message is being sent. Unfortunately, the latex nightmare remains eternally..
Shucks me ~…
(Moral of the story: think of what u want to say and how to deliver it 'safely'.)

Still, I had a pleasant time interacting with some of the students. Among them is Ali Hamdi, a 15 yr old boy who's initially quiet but then he became enthusiastic as I asked him about his family, hopes and dreams. Throughout our conversation, I can see that Ali is an ambitious person. He wanted to be an Arabic teacher just like his father and he was really proud to tell me that his father is a successful person as he manages to complete his studies in overseas and is well known by a couple of teachers abroad. Initially, I was surprised upon hearing that. Perhaps, I was being too stereotype in thinking that the people over there might not have the money to provide good education not mentioning to study abroad. Hmm… oh well, if there is a will there is always a way ~ wink*

At night, the games were a success! We played Wacko and 'other' game. (I can’t remember the name of the game) The children enjoyed it very much and were eager to take part though they were unfamiliar with it. It is a pleasure to see them having a good time. At the same time, reflection is more being done in such a relax manner. We discussed problems involving the breed of mosquitoes and ways to combat them. Also, we played a game before ending our day with exhaustion. Oh! I almost forgot, I learn something new today. I was talking to 'Pretty' (Delia Alfida) when Fazli passed by us and I said something like ‘apa tengok-tengok’.Pretty asked me what's the meaning and as I explained she said 'Ooo di sini kita cakap maya kelih-kelih'…so guys..maya kelih-kelih? =p


curser at 10:00 AM

It's Ali! =) 

curser at 9:44 AM

refurbishing.. 

curser at 9:42 AM

refurbishment-done 

curser at 9:40 AM

Erm...well the girls room..no comment hehehehe 

curser at 9:39 AM

jemuran =) 

curser at 9:33 AM

'writing is thinking.
It is more than living,
For it is being conscious of living'
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

First and foremost my apologies to everyone for taking such a long time to update my blog as I've been busy with some task. Nonetheless, here's a piece from my YEP journal that I would like to share it with all of you and of course it will be a long one…so be prepared to roam with me for 18 days =)


DAY 1

I can't believe that I will be going to Medan, Indonesia. All this while I've always known Medan as a place where my granddad originated. I hardly knew him because he died before I was born. My mum told me that he was from medan but she couldn’t figure out his ethnic. According to her, he could be a Javanese or 'melayu asli', hmmm what a waste ~ So here I am at the Polonia Airport, Medan with hundreds of questions lingering on my mind to unfold the history, background n cultures of this city. As soon as I reached the airport, I can't help feeling a bit panic as I received my luggage with my sleeping bag left untie. Things got even more confusing as several workers at the airport offered to help me with my stuff. Fortunately, I acted fast by saying 'no' and hurriedly stood beside Aziz. (kes selamatkan diri..hahaha)

Things started to get better as we board the bus. The street wasn't that bad .It reminds me of Thailand (the 'zoom thailand' syndrome). The first shopping centre that caught my eyes is Ramayana Shopping Centre. Instantly, it reminds me of my 1 day tour at the Civilisation Museum in Singapore where we had our cultural exchange lessons. There, I saw names like Ramayana, Yantra, The Brahman etc. I guess the name 'Ramayana' depicts the strong sense of Hinduism that still remains apparent in Indonesia, especially Bali. Later, as we reached 'Pondok Pesantren Darul Hikmah' we got surprised by such an overwhelming welcome from the students and teachers. Subsequently, we were then entertained by the 'nasyid' performance and some 'prolong' speeches made by VIPs. After their performance, I got the chance to talk to some of the students. They are amiable though there are some which are shy as well. Nonetheless, it makes a good start at Pondok Pesantren Darul Hikmah.








curser at 9:02 AM

this view was taken outside the school compund 

curser at 9:01 AM

the Jilbabs.. 

curser at 8:58 AM

selamat datang~ 

curser at 8:56 AM

pic no.2 

curser at 8:54 AM

At Changi Airport 3pe and family 

curser at 8:50 AM