Malay Dance at Bukit Panjang

Today was the Malay Dance @ Bukit Panjang. We learnt 4 types of Malay dance. Listed in order from slow to fastest, they are:

1. Asli,
2. Inang,
3. Zapin
4. Joget/Rong geng

The introduction of the zapin (Zar-Peen) is called Taqsim (tug-seem). This introduction is by the Gambus, which is a Malay Stringed instrument. It looks like a guitar, but instead of having a flat underside, the underside is concave. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qanbūs The Taqsim can last for 5 to 15 minutes.

The ending of the zapin is called "wind up". At this point, the dancers will yell "wind up". At this point, the music is at its fastest.

The dances were quite interesting. All of them, with the exception of the Zapin, start with the right leg. For the Asli for example,we would move from right to left with different arm movements. The dancing is mainly repeated steps.

However, it was a fun experience. This is the second last BPGHS session. Unfortunately, next Tuesday is POP (Passing Out Parade), so it is likely that I will not get to go for the BPGHS exchange.

Performance by Wild Rice, and other news.

Wild Rice - The importance of being Kay Poh

We had a performance by Wild Rice. The title as seen above is rather satirical. The play focuses on 4 neighbours and how they try to tolerate each other. More on this later.

The main characters were:

1. A Policeman
2. A Indian Resident from the HDB block
3. A Chinese Housewife
4. A Malay singer

In the story, the Chinese Housewife goes to the Void Deck to complain about the Singing of the Malay Singer, who is practicing before her sister's wedding in which she is performing. They both get into an argument as the Singing has a permit to perform at the void deck, while the housewife says that it is distracting her daughter from studying for "a very important exam".

At this point, the policeman shows up. He had lost a cat, Blacky, which his supervisor had ordered him to take care of. He is searching for the cat, a stray, so that he would not be scolded by his superior. At this point, the housewife tries to engage the policeman to help her quieten the singer. However, the policeman is tricked by the singer, who tells him that she saw Blacky.

At this point, while heading home, the woman is almost hit by clothes thrown down by somebody. It turns out the the clothes belong to the Indian resident. His wife threw the clothes down as he did not reserve a seat in their favorite restaurant for their wedding anniversary.

After this, the play goes on, and the characters manage to solve their problems. The play was packed with humour and was very interesting.

Other News:

Well, As you might have heard, a HCI student posted some grievances on STOMP. (http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/what_bugs_me/418626/teacher_takes_students_belongings_to_teach_them_a_lesson.html) He complained that his belongings were "taken away" by a teacher. However, this student certainly omitted certain points:

1. The teachers were safeguarding the items for them. Safeguarding. If they had been lost, he wouldn't have seen them again. (The last sentence is a quote from another student)
2. The classroom was not locked. All the classrooms involved had perfectly functional locks. It only takes 5 seconds to turn the locking knob.
3. The teachers posted a EMB message to the students whose belongings were safeguarded. The message was posted immediately after the belongings were taken. (The EMB is a sort of message board for teachers to send messages. The messages can be addressed to CCA groups, the entire student cohort, each level of the student cohort or private groups)

Furthermore, the incident has caused HCI to come under fire from many people, who only have a warped understanding of the issue.

For example:

horowitz said on 26 Jul, 2010

how can HCI allow its teachers to possibly commit theft within the school compound itself? the teacher should be sacked!!

We should reflect on this incident. Why did this happen?

Helping out with DSA

Today, I went to help out with the HCI DSA batch 2. This batch was the non-GEP batch. (There are two dates for the DSA exercise. The earlier date for GEP was about 2 weeks earlier, but I was unable to go as I was supporting the SJAB team at the SYF opening Ceremony.) Anyway, the people helping reported to LT3 at about 7.15. We were briefed first while we waited for the students to arrive at 0800. When we reached Kah Kee Hall, we saw groups of children and parents waiting to enter the Kah Kee Hall. We were arranged into groups - 1A to 1L and 2A to 2L and 3A to 3L. We were arranged in a line and among each number, we were given folders, as we were meant to collect and submit the papers of each student to the General office. After we took the attendance [of our groups], we left for the next location (either Interview, General Ability Test or Maths)

My group was first for the interview. While waiting for the other members. I chatted with the other members of the group. It turned out that one of them was from HPPS (aka my primary school). It was quite enjoyable talking to them.

The rest of the day was unremarkable as we were mainly bringing the students to the different locations. However, I did enjoy pointing out some of the landmarks to them. At about 2 pm, the exercise concluded and everyone headed home.

Racial Harmony Day. And Other News.

As I mentioned in a earlier post, I was performing during Racial Harmony day. The performance was done with the 11 HCI students and the Bukit Panjang students. We were playing two gamelan pieces. The first piece was Kebo Giro, and I was playing the Saron (on the right).

The piece sounded like this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlap5WulHOw

However, we had to perform the pieces four times for the Secondary 1 to 4 levels. Thus, we only got to explore the cultural bazaar after most of the stalls had packed up. Also, we missed the Indian Mass dance. The experience was quite interesting as I have never performed in front of such a large crowd. I was wearing A Jacket with a white shirt and Black trousers. (But because I had no black trousers, I had to wear track pants) There was also a cap for us to wear.

The cultural bazaar was also quite interesting. Most stalls were selling food, such as éclairs, Nasi Lemak and Chicken Curry. There were some stalls which sold snacks and drinks as well as some game stalls.

Other News:

I sprained my ankle last Sunday, accompanied by a cold. Thus, I had to wear a rather uncomfortable ankle support and I was unable to go for CCA.

News.

Well, I've been rather busy.

SJAB National Comp.

Recently, the HCI SJAB AC team made it to the National Competition, so most of us went down to support them @ Nan Hua Primary School. It was very exciting, and there were separate components, for each prize. The components included Transportation of Casualties, CPR, Footdrill, First Aid Long Case, and First Aid short case. (PS, It was on Sunday, 11th July, for pretty much the whole day.)

It was quite interesting watching the Footdrill, and certainly a good experience. The First Aid Long Case was also interesting. For one of the cases, a woman was worrying over her son, and was hindering the first aiders, but she was very resistant although they tried to get her to calm down. In the end, she became a casualty due to hyperventilation. However, I must agree that the casualties were very good at acting, and very convincing! It sent chills down my spine watching the woman trying to stay next to her son, as it was very realistic.

In the End, we swept the National Champions for AC and First in each category!! :)

http://www.hci.edu.sg/ViewBreakingNews.asp?BID=226 Yay!

A Bunch of tests.


Hmm... Another Reason why I took so long in posting this was that I have a lot of tests.

1. 13th July- Maths Test on Inequality and Statistics
2. 14th July - English ICAS
3. 15th July - English Comprehension -40% of Term 3 LA marks.

And many more to come...

Racial Harmony Day.

As you might or might not know, I am in the Bukit Panjang Government High Exchange Program.

So, for the first part of the year, the BPGHS people came to HCI for some activities:

1. Dumpling Making
2. Calligraphy
3. Dragonboating (I didn't go coz I was ill :( )
4. Lantern Making.

Then, it was our turn to go to Bukit Panjang:

1. Kueh Making (I brought mine home for my family. Sadly, the results were inconsistent. For example, when we bit into the kueh, sugar would occasionally spurt out, or you might get a mouthful of dough, of pandan flavoured dough, but still dough all the same.)
2. Batik Painting
3. Gamelan Practice

Gamelan is quite fun, and it is a form of traditional Malay or Javanese Music. The instruments are very varied, including a gong, some xylophone like instruments, drums, and stringed instruments.

We are performing on Racial harmony day. We must wear a traditional Malay costume which our friends @ Bukit Panjang have kindly provided. Being the first time I have performed to so many people, I am very excited and frightened.

Also, we had to go for another Gamelan practice today, so I had to miss my CCA.

Resorts World Sentosa Visit

I visited Resorts World Sentosa on Friday Night. There was a promotion, so, for two dollars, you could enter and look around. However, only some sections would be opened for public view, and there would be no rides. Also, it was only open from 7pm to 10 pm.

However, it was still very fun, as we were still able to see some of the attractions. After entering, we went to eat dinner,as it was already 7.30 and we had not eaten. We ate at the "Hollywood China Bistro". It seemed more of a fusion restaurant than a proper Chinese Restaurant. For example, the tea cups were very wide at the top and were probably about twice the size of a normal tea cup. In fact, judging by the name and the restaurant, it seemed more like a Chinese Restaurant you might find in America. It was somehow less authentic than other upmarket Chinese restaurants. However, it was still quite an enjoyable meal.

After dinner, we decided to head to "New York", before moving on to "Madagascar". It was just as well, as "Madagascar" was off limits. In "New York", we walked around. It seemed as if we were really in New York. Even the minor details were there. For example, on the side of a building, there was a fire escape, remiscient to those in sitcoms like "Friends". The rubbish bins were also green, and labelled "Please help keep New York City Clean".

Also, we got to see the Battlestar Galactica, although we only got a glance from New York City.

All in All, it was a very pleasant experience.

PS - My photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ng_jonathan_sy/sets/72157624262730078/

My favourite poem

Messy Room by Shel Silverstein

Whosever room this is should be ashamed! (Line 1)
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window, (Line 5)
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall. (Line 10)
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear, (Line 15)
I knew it looked familiar!

The poem uses mainly hyperbole and personification. Personification is less frequent, occurring only in Line 11, "A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed," This makes the reader think of a person in the bed, rather than a Lizard. This is also mainly due to the fact that the lizard has a name. 

Hyperbole is quite frequent, with it mainly referring to the messy room. Generally, it would be rare to find a room as messy as the above mentioned room. 

Also, the twist at the end makes the poem more enjoyable. The narrator has been "putting down" the room, and complaining about how messy it is. However, he finds out that it is his own room. "Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear, I knew it looked familiar!" (Line 15 & Line 16) This twist is also present in most of Shel Silverstein's poems, if you have read more of them. I have actually read quite a few of his poems, and his is one of my favourite poets. The others being Roger McGough and Kenn Nesbit.

I also like:

Food Fight
	by Kenn Nesbitt

We’d never seen the teachers in a state of such distress. The principal was yelling that the lunchroom was a mess. It started off so innocent when someone threw a bun, but all the other kids decided they should join the fun. It instantly turned into an enormous lunchroom feud, as students started hurling all their halfway-eaten food. A glob went whizzing through the air, impacting on the wall. Another chunk went sailing out the doorway to the hall. The food was splattered everywhere— the ceilings, walls, and doors. A sloppy, gloppy mess was on the tables and the floors. And so our good custodian ran out to grab his mop. It took him half the afternoon to clean up all the slop. The teachers even used some words we’re not supposed to mention. And that’s how all the kids and teachers wound up in detention.