Oh My English!

There's a sitcom of the edutainment type that has finally come to town. ASTRO (our satellite TV station) has been giving us short clips on it and Mama has watched a few episodes. Mama's verdict? This programme teaches you how to use certain expressions properly and correcting the mistakes most Malaysians make when they converse in English. In short, Manglish.. (mangled English?).. Hahahaha..
Anyway, jokes aside, this gives a glimpse of what Malaysians do, especially the learners of English language when they converse or interact with others. It's hilarious but Mama does believe that you learn better with humour thrown in once in a while. The best thing of all, the station also provides a website for this, where you can watch the sitcom and there are also some interactive exercises that you can practise on.
Today, during the extra class, Mama brought along the laptop to key in some data to be sent to the Ministry of Education. After Mama finally finished her non-teaching task, Mama asked the students whether they had taken Mama's advice and tried out the exercises on the website. Some of them did, but most of them didn't so Mama grumbled a bit and said, 'You can spend hours chatting and commenting on posts on Facebook but could not spend a few minutes doing the exercises???'.
So there we were, trying the exercises together and when Mama looked at the pictures, taken (candidly) by one of the students

, Mama realised that for all the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs of being a teacher, this kind of moment is priceless.
As Mama looks back over nearly twenty years of teaching, Mama recalls innumerable tests, trials and times of crushing pain. All of those dissolved when Mama looks at the innocent faces of Mama's students and is reminded of the faces of Mama's students who have walked in and out of Mama's teaching years.
The website's address : http://www.astro.com.my/ohmyenglish/

Wordless Wednesday

Monica Bay, Kemaman

Yeah, Mama knows.. There are cobwebs here and there in this blog. Please let Mama spend some time to clean the 'house' before sitting down to jot something here. Yes, it nearly a month since Mama's last posting. Mama has lots to share but as usual Mama is either procrastinating or plain lazy or simply doesn't have the time to write. Luckily Pakcik Hassan gave Mama a nudge to start writing again.. thank you, Pakcik!!!
So many things that happened and so many things that Mama and the children did recently and Mama really want to share it here.
First of all, during the two week school hols (which didn't seem like a holiday at all), Mama was at school every day during the first week; for the extra class, meeting, on duty and most importantly, tidying up Mama's desk, and of course Mama's room.
Then Mama, the children, Atok and Nenek went to Kemaman, for a family reunion (Atok's side). This kind of reunion takes place every 2 years but Mama never joined them because of one reason or another. Either Mama was busy with marking exam scripts and meetings or simply because the children were still too young to travel far and to manage.
This year however it was Mama's aunt's family's turn in Kemaman, Terengganu to host the reunion. And it's nearer to Kelantan. And the children are bigger (but no wiser) so Mama was quite excited to go. But it was with some trepidation too. Would Mama's trusty old car be able to endure the strain of the long trip? Would Mama be able to drive long distance? After all it has been years since Mama drove long distance.
But that Friday morning, we set out early, at about 6.30am. It was a smooth and relaxing drive, and we used the still not completed Lebuhraya Pantai Timur (East Coast Highway) and we reached Kemaman at about 11am.
So there we were, in Kemaman. Mama was glad Mama made that trip. For the children's sake and Mama's too. They were very excited going for a long drive. When they fell asleep half an hour into the journey, waking up and fell asleep again from time to time, Sis A would ask, 'Dah sampai Kemaman? (Have we reached Kemaman?)'. They were eager to play at the beach and the playground. This is because a few days prior to the trip, Mama googled the place that we were going to stay at and there it was, the pictures of the villas and also the playground and the beach that was nearby. And that was enough to make the children excited preparing for the trip.
And Mama was also glad we made the trip because Mama got to meet Mama's cousins and second cousins whom Mama had not met for years.In this family, Mama has 3 cousins who are born in the same year as Mama. And the four of us managed to pose for a picture!
Atok's family are all over Malaysia. Mama and family were the second to arrive because Mama's cousin from Johor was already there with her husband. Later the families from KL, Selangor and Kedah trickled in and the place was a riot!!!
We were in Kemaman for 3 days and 2 nights and our Kemaman family had planned everything in great detail. Mama really loved the place we stayed. We also went to the Kemaman Mini Zoo (which is not so mini at all) but Mama will write about it in another entry.
It was an unforgettable trip for Bro H and Sis A and until today Sis A would ask,'Bila kita nak gi Kemaman lagi? (When is our next trip to Kemaman?)'
For more pictures----->
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150917341210768.435346.657250767&type=3&l=23f580ce59