Trip to Peranakan Museum

To find out more about Emily, we went to the Peranakan museum. Looks can be deceiving, the design of the museum mimics that of the Raffles Hotel, not much like museum. However, once i step into the place, i feel that i am immerse in deep peranakan culture. After a few rounds around the museum, i realize myself gaining a deeper understanding about Emily and why she was so obsessed with power, wealth and status. In the peranakan world, being wealthy and powerful is everything, marrying into a rich household is a even more glorious achievement. Sophisticated is a very suitable word for the peranakans. This is evident not only in the types of cutlery they use to the type of clothing they wear for important events. The cutlery they have an array of patterns, from flora to butterflies, enveloping the entire plate/bowl. Furthermore, food plays a very important part in Emily, it is used as a way to socialize and get to know more people. The wedding dress that they wear seems very heavy, with intricate patterns on both the headdress and the dress. Unlike modern gowns, they are often red in color to signify prosperity as the peranakans are known to be half chinese. Going to the peranakan museum has not only brought the character Emily alive to me but it also allows me to learn more about peranakans. In conclusion, going to the museum has not only aid me in my preparations for the upcoming test but also broadens my horizon about others

Task 1

We slept in our boots

About the writer

Steve Carlsen was born and lives in Dowagiac Michigan. He joined the United States Army in October 2000 and went to Infantry Basic Training, and Airborne School in Ft. Benning Georgia. He then reported to D Company 1^st battalion 504^th Parachute Infantry Regiment. 82^nd Airborne Division in Ft. Bragg North Carolina. He deployed to Kosovo in November 2001 as part of peace keeping operations. He Deployed to Afghanistan in of December 2002 where he participated in combat operations. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 2003. He currently attends Southwestern Michigan Collegewher his professor, Dr Michael Collins challenged him to write about his experiences.

In the poem, it is written in the point of view of a soldier, or rather all the soldiers, from the use of words like"we" and "I run as fast as I can". All the soldiers seem to be doing same thing at the same time. this is evident from"We fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks" and"We slept with our boots on so we were always prepared". this shows that they are very organised. He also introduced religion in the poem. he states that" Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns Washed in the blood, and baptized by fire". this shows us that he knows that it is against his religion to hold a gun and kill somebody and he knows that he would be punished soon. The poem gives a rough overview on how a soldier is going through war by revealing to us his feelings and actions.

The situation of the poem is during a landing operation. this is evident from"Where we would land we had not a clue

Bullets are flying, the LZ is hot " LZ stands for landing. from the evidence, it can be seen that the situation is very serious and he has to be quick to avoid the enemies fire. He was in the middle of an intense fight as he had to"I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more". this shows us the type of atmosphere the soldiers are feeling during a war, as they have to be quicker than the enemy to avoid being killed, hence telling us that the atmosphere was tense and they could not slack for a moment.

Lastly, the poem is written in simple and straight-forward language which makes it easier to read and more reader-friendly. The author also includes a few terms used in the army like" Lock N Load" and strong words like"shit" to allow the readers to feel with the soldier and allow them to feel what the soldiers are feeling. in conclusion, this poem talks about what a soldier experience in war.

I just took my learning profile and I realized that I am best at interpersonal and musical. i feel that these two points describe me the best. i enjoy communicating with people and seem to get along with strangers just fine. i like to make friends and go out with them occasionally. For being a musical person, i feel it is partly because of the fact that i am constantly plugged on to my ipod and listening to music for hours on. i guess i cant survive a day without music by my side.

My weakest is Naturalistic and linguistic. i feel that time to time, i find it hard to find the perfect word for the situation and i prefer using graphs and tables to just plain word documents. However, i am surprised that i am not naturalistic as i always help my dad with gardening during the weekends, but i have to admit that i did not enjoy gardening and sometime i feel that i cannot "connect" with nature.

Hence , it can be seen that i am inclined towards music and people.

Really in need or a scammer?

Today, after Malay Special Programme (MSP), I boarded bus number 157. I was on my way home. it was then that i witness an interesting event. it was an handicapped-friendly bus and the bus roughly looks like this:

i was standing at the two parallel standing cushions. So, now on to my story. i saw an old malay woman, with a floral-patterned shirt on seating at the front four seats(on the right of the picture)next to her was a boy from a JC.

After several stops, she suddenly started talking to the JC boy. the conversation was short. "Can you lend me 40cents?"she spoke coolly. the gentlemen, who was engrossed in messaging with his phone, without any questions asked, handed over the 40cents in small denomination, silently, to her. After which, continued texting, as if nothing happened. the woman on the other hand, after receiving the 40cents, took a look at it. She was unhappy.
after another few more stops, a chinese couple boarded and sat at the other two seats. to my surprise, the lady repeatedly asked the old man for another 60cents(40 + 60 =100)the old man ignored her,and to further express his discontent, he got off the sit.
the lady was looked very angry.
at the next stop, a chinese lady boarded the bus and sat next to the Malay lady. they exchanged glances temporarily. the malay woman asked the chinese for another 60cents and the lady just ignored her. she was frustrated at her futile efforts. Meanwhile the lady pretended to be on the phone to prevent the woman from talking to her again.
Not long after, the stop which i should alight came and i wished that i could stay a bit longer to see how the event unfold.
In my opinion, i feel that if i was seating next to her and even if she is a scammer, i would have given the 40cents she wanted so as to prevent any other events. As to if she is a cheat or not, i find it hard to determine so i would just leave the decision in your hands.

my favourite poet

“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” Robert Frost once said and cannot help but agree with him.
Robert Frost was born in San Francisco on March 26, 1874. He moved to New England at the age of eleven and became interested in reading and writing poetry during his high school years in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He was enrolled at Dartmouth College in 1892, and later at Harvard, though he never earned a formal degree.
Frost drifted through a string of occupations after leaving school, working as a teacher, cobbler, and editor of the Lawrence Sentinel. His first professional poem, "My Butterfly," was published on November 8, 1894, in the New York newspaper The Independent.
In 1895, Frost married Elinor Miriam White, who became a major inspiration in his poetry until her death in 1938.The couple moved to England in 1912, after their New Hampshire farm failed, and it was abroad that Frost met and was influenced by such contemporary British poets as Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke, and Robert Graves.
By the time Frost returned to the United States in 1915, he had published two full-length collections, and his reputation was established. By the nineteen-twenties, he was the most celebrated poet in America,
The author of searching and often dark meditations on universal themes, he is a quintessentially modern poet in his adherence to language as it is actually spoken, in the psychological complexity of his portraits, and in the degree to which his work is infused with layers of ambiguity and irony.
i first got to know of him when i was in primary 4, when my sister's literature text was a book entitled "Robert Frost's Poems" by Louis Untermeyer. at that time i had no interest in poems and have not touched the book till now. flipping through the pages, i realise that Louis has gave a detail analysis of almost each poem.
the three poems that i picked are:

1. the gift outright
2. a considerable speck
3. the silken tent

these three poems are the most quoted poems by Robert which illustrate his ever- growing and increasing variety.i would recommend everyone to read his poems and maybe you might get some enlightenment.

it lesson 1

Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

1. the use of figurative speech in the poem is evident. in the first line, "Nature's first green is gold," it is a symbolism as green cannot be gold, the line is to show that nature is very important, just as important as gold to humans.In line 2, hue is just a colour or shade and it cannot be hold on to. it is a metaphor. from line 3-5, the figurative speech used is also a metaphor as the leaves are not flowers but the leaves are as beautiful as flowers.
2. i like this poem by robert frost as it is simple yet full of meaning. it describes the importance of nature from, "green is gold" and "early leaf's are flower". even though i did not study the poem in depth, i know that there is a strong message behind it.
   

My favourite character in Village by the sea

My favourite character in Village By The Sea is Lila. She is the older sister of Bela and Kamal and takes over a parenting role in her dysfunctional family. Although she has an severely ill mother and a irresponsible father, she is resilient and is often concerned over the bleak future of she and her family. Out of all her qualities throughout the book, i would just be discussing three of her qualities:filial piety, dutifulness and frugality. Lila is a filial daughter.This is evident from"She stopped to add a little extra milk to it" and "Lila lift her head and help her drink in little sips from the tumbler". From this, we can deduce that Lila was very filial towards her mother. This can be seen from the way she fed the mother and even added extra milk in the tumbler before letting her mother drink when milk was so expensive and precious to them. Lila is also a dutiful sister. This is evident from" She made them tea" and " stay home and do the cooking and washing and look after the others". From the evidence, we can say that Lila is a dutiful sister as she is fully aware with her family's situation and has no choice but to take on the "mother" role in the family.She also performs her daily chores and duties without complaint. Lila is also frugal. This is evident in"Lila was not used to being rich."and "she bought some jaola."From the evidence provided, we can conclude that she is frugal as she bought the cheapest fish one could find even with the amount of money Hari gave her. In conclusion, Lila is a filial, dutiful and frugal daughter, sister and "mother" respectively.I admire her because of her array of qualities displayed throughout the book which helped her through the obstacles in her life.

My favourite part in Village by the sea

My favourite part in Village by the sea is in Chapter 13, as it wraps up the whole story in a very fairy tale manner. It also gives the reader a feeling that Hari and his family has managed to overcome multiple obstacles and challenges that they faced throughout the story and emerged victorious. Hari goes to Bombay and got a job in a restaurant and even learns the skill of watch mending in the midst. He earns a small fortune and gets home to support his family financially. On the other hand, Hari’s mother gets free treatment at a hospital while their father kicks the habit of drinking toddy. They have a happy family reunion and their family relation improves compared to the starting of the book.
After reading this part of the story, I would silently be happy for Hari and his family as they overcame all odds to transform their dysfunctional family into one that has always been a dream world for Hari, Lila, Bela and Kamal. I also gives me a sense of relieve that their hardships are all over and that life is filed withed many opportunities and chances which are just waiting for someone to come along and grab them. We can also learn that no matter how tough some tasks might be, there will always be a glimmer of hope that will guide us out of the ordeal just like it did for Hari.

Playing with stereotypes, 12 April, 2009,The Sunday Times Pg 11

In his article, Ignatius Low talks about a serious societal issue in Singapore. Though he manages to dodge bullets and paint the picture in a light-hearted- humorous even- manner, the underlying sentiment is evident – do we have an overdose of elitism in Singapore?

Low describes how a Facebook quiz had labeled him as an RGS (Raffles Girls' School) girl at heart. The quiz, posted on the wildly popular social networking site, is titled, ‘Which Singapore Elite School Do You Belong To?’ Topical bias aside, the quiz itself is an attestation to the widespread elite mentality among Singaporeans.

Curious, I logged onto my Facebook account to attempt the quiz. After going through the ten very carefully constructed questions, I was told that I belong to Raffles Institution. I was relieved that it was a boys’ school, especially after the writer of the article got told he was an RGS girl at heart! That aside, I experienced an inexplicable sense of unease, after being told the results. Was it because the all boys’ school was known for producing smarty pants, students who stuck their noses up at everyone else? Could it be due to my natural allegiance to Hwa Chong Institution and the assumed ‘rivalry’ between the two schools? Or perhaps I have never thought of myself as a ‘Rafflesian’. All the questions pointed to an obvious truth – like many, I have my stereotypes.

ACS boys are rich, RI boys are proud and Hwa Chong boys are gentlemanly. Okay, admittedly my last classification might be due to a little bias. But the issue here is, is it healthy to have such stereotypes? I think not. Low brings up that ‘in Singapore, academic achievement is such a key component of a person’s success.’ I feel that this is true because since young, my parents have been reinforcing the fact that studies come first. Naturally, my view on education is that I have to excel and take the brightest path before me – the ‘elite’ path?

While I do not think there is anything gravely wrong about wanting to be in an elite school or even being an ‘over-achiever’, I believe we cannot apply stereotypes to people who are not in similar institutions. A healthy dose of elitism will produce bright sparks while polishing the hidden gems. So as long as we help to keep the complex in check, we will not have to deal with the emergence of extreme and detrimental stereotypes.

'Made in Singapore, coveted abroad, shunned at home'

Personal Reflection:

This article by Tessa Wong depicts a painful reality of the Singaporean mentality – we’re just not proud of ourselves. When I was reading the article, I was thinking to myself, is there really a brand called Kwanpen? I have definitely heard of brands like Louis Vuitton and Prada – handbag labels that immediately ring a bell to me. But as a Singaporean, being unaware of my country’s own label left me rather abashed.

There are two sides of a coin. Both consumers as well as the brands themselves have their parts to play in this societal debacle. For one, consumers have always had the mindset that foreign brands are more superior than local brands for the simple reason that labels from abroad, most of the time, carry a much deeper history and background that give the brand credibility. On the other hand, brands themselves, as mentioned in the article, are apprehensive of marketing themselves as Singapore brands. This implies that they are naturally filtering out locals in their target audience. Hence, we see a vicious circle – local consumers turn to foreign brands because local marketers turn to foreign buyers, and vice versa.

The solution that is being devised – the Get-Singapore drive, leaves me feeling skeptical. Is this really the answer to our flawed mentality? Is this drive attempting to reverse a collective mindset that has already been comfortably nestling for too long? It will no doubt be an uphill task but yes, it is too easy for me to pass comments. I think a change of mindset is not impossible but it will be a long and winding process that we will all have to be massaged into, slowly.

Begin with supporting local football, perhaps?

newspaper article review

i refer to the newspaper article dated Thursday, March 19, 2009 "Woman gives birth on plane, leaves baby in bin".
i feel that it is completedly absurd that the woman actually had the audacity to dispose of her own flesh and blood, furthermore, she gave birth to it on the plane and dumped it in the bin!
i was so shocked when i read it that i feel very strongly about it. from my point of view, it is wrong to do that and that i am relieved that the mother and baby are reunited. but i have a burning question in my mind. Why did the airline give clearance to her in even though she has the 36-week mark in her pregnancy?

you can find the article at: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/308425.asp

books that i read

Frankly speaking, i have not read many books in the past few years. all that i know is that the books that i read recently were extremely good books that once you start reading it, you cant bear to part with it. The two books are:

1. Kite runner, by Khaled Hosseini
   
2. My sister keeper, by Jodi Picoult

Now, i shall summaries the latter to you.
A girl called Anna was born for a reason. Her sister is diagnosed with leukemia and their parents specially change anna's blood to match her sister's. Anna, who has received countless number of operations even at the age of 13, wants to sue her parents for not allowing her to her human rights.However, in the end, anna dies in a car accident and ends up donating her kidney to her sister, even before the lawsuit was over. so this is roughly how the story goes.
i hope that i can read more books in the future, and i am already starting on a few books.
Hope to finish it by the March holidays!

Blog prompt

News clip #1:Fishy business
a speech to raise awareness of the cruelty of whaling in japan.(not real)

Dear fellow citizens,

it has come to my attention that there is a growing trend of whaling in japan.this is not only bad news for us but for our future generation.Lets think about this, if whaling in japan does not stop, then in a few years time,we will have no more whales to eat,and with no more whales the future generation of japan will not get to taste the succulent meat of the whales anymore.So i am urging all of you to spread the awareness of whaling to your friends and family and tell them about the terrible fact of whaling.
This is for the good of the whales and japan's future generation.

Thank you for your kind attention.

What is education?

So, what is education?

It's a tough question as education can take all forms and can mean different things.

These are just some of the many "forms" education can take:

• the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill
• knowledge acquired by learning and instruction
• the gradual process of acquiring knowledge
• the profession of teaching (especially at a school or college or university)

However, many think that education is just about learning.

No, not to me.i feel education is more than that because if a child is expose to good education, then he/she will have good morals and habits which cannot be easily shaken when they grow up and when they are exposed to bad influence.

So, what is education? i would not want to decide what it is so i will leave it to you to decide.

new to blog

Hi,i just started blogging.