Public examinations: A matter of life and death

In an exam-oriented education system, it is very important for students to:

get good grades (good grades = A)

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excel academically (it won't matter if they flunk their social skills)

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make school proud by getting all As or be the one who has the most As in the country (nasib baik other countries dont have UPSR, PMR or SPM - or else, to be the best in the country might be thought not good enough)

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study hard for exam; not for life!

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As a result of all the above:

The school took away my sister's one week break. Therefore, instead of enjoying her holiday with her family, she had to attend 'extra classes' from 7.30a.m until 11.50a.m (Monday-Thursday).

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She did not have time to watch her favourite Korean drama which her big sister had downloaded for her to watch during holiday.

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So here these are a few important questions that linger on my mind recently:

Is 'taking away' school holiday from Year 6 students and replace it with compulsory Mathematics/BI/BM/Science periods  actually 'legal' in Malaysia?

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Since when is making students to attend extra classes after school or on weekend not enough?

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Since when are Year 6 students being denied their right to enjoy their school term break? 

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Since when is going to school Monday to Friday from 7 a.m until 12.20 p.m not enough?

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What went wrong with our education system? Who should be blamed?

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As a future teacher:

 Do I want my students to be well-trained or well-educated? 

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Do I want to see my students being deprived of their 

      childhood/teenhood?

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Time will tell. 

Welcome back to blogosphere

Guess who's back in blogosphere?

I'm back! I am really stinking tired, but I am back!

After my 6 days holiday in Beaufort, I touched down at Kuala Lumpur International Airport this morning. Contrary to popular belief (a frequent flyer does not suffer from jet lag), I still get jet lag from my 2 1/2-hour long flight (plus 2-hour drive from Beaufort to Kota Kinabalu International Airport).  I think most of my exhaustion while flying comes from lack of sleep on and off the plane. Yup, I am old and my mum said I've been old since I was 17. :)

Herm, break is over and I am so not ready to go back to classes tomorrow. The assignments?? I have one due next Monday which is worth 50% of the overall mark as well as a micro-teaching to "look forward to" next week! Arrghhh! The rumour of the intense final-year at IPBA has been confirmed.

Ok Florinta, get back to work! I think I need to cut down my leisure time to 70% and spend more time in the library. Yeah, I'll do that! A-huh, fingers crossed!

Btw, how's everyone's day going? 

The Getaway

I will be going home soon! Beaufort, here I come! Hold on, I’m not talking about the one in UK ya. My Beaufort is just a small and quite town located at the southwest region of Sabah. For those who have never been there, these are some of the beautiful snapshots that were taken in different places in Beaufort. For further information,please JG.

                                                            Courtesy of borneo-tourism.blogspot.com

                                                                                courtesy of dkian2000@www.flickr.com

                     courtesy of l_i_g_o_n_g@blogger.com

                                                                                                courtesy of Rush Murad Photography       

                                                                                             courtesy of l_i_g_o_n_g@blogger.com

My flight is scheduled on March 14, Monday, early in the morning. 

AaaRgH! I just can't wait to be home this Monday. If I can, I will go home like NOW! I have no idea why but no matter how stress* I am, just being at home with my family miraculously takes it away and I can do things much better. How good would it be if I can stay home everyday, just like my secondary school days. I'm not saying that I don't like my life and my friends here. I do! In fact, I feel so blessed to be surrounded by great and beautiful people whom I called friends. Maybe I am just that type of person who loves to be at home with my family. 

Honestly, one week is not enough for a break. You need a sort of holiday to get-into-the-holidays if you know what I mean, something which can’t be achieved within just a week. Moreover, with the ongoing stress of assignments and exam study, I bet this holiday won’t be the same like my previous ones as I can't afford to spend the week by not peeping and working on my assignments. But that's alright. I will look on the bright side of it - I hope I'll be more motivated to complete all the tasks given considering that my family is there to take care of me or in other words, ada org jaga makan minum kita. Hehe..:)

Well, I guess I could go on and on and on! But, I am exhausted and my bed is calling me. So, I will end this entry here and hope that I can sleep through the whole night. Btw, happy holiday everyone. 

Goodbye, until then. 

*stress - 

Q: How come I am so stressed? 

A: I have been super busy, it's the final you see. :)

Vulnerable

I am feeling vulnerable,

At times. 

Yes, I said it.


I open myself to the unknown once more, 

The innocent is corrupting me.

Pondering if this should be real,

Is it true?

It's all one big blur. 


Go away insecurity,

Stop stirring up my emotion,

because it's time for me

to piece together my disfigured heart.

My Life as a Dancer

It’s Saturday and instead of doing my assignments, I spent my Saturday noon by browsing all the pictures that I have in my external hard disk. While browsing, I came across those pictures of  me dancing and it reminds me of those happy moments in Sydney. 

Thanks to Ashwin, my life as a dancer started because of you. Ashwin was the Cultural Director of Malaysian Students Association (MSA) and the Entertainment Producer of Sydney Malaysian Festival 2009 (MFest 09). Well, being a freshman at that time, I was so eager to enjoy my university life to the fullest. So when I heard that MSA was looking for dancers to perform in MFest '09, I was so excited because I thought that it could be a great opportunity for me to expand my study abroad experience. Even though I had very little experience in dancing, it did not worry me at all. Err, a little maybe. Well, I still could learn right? So why should I worry? 

To shorten the story, I signed up my name as one of the performers. But to my surprise, Ashwin asked me to not only dance, but also to choreograph a Sabahan ethnic dance. I was like WHAT?! Me? Choreograph? You've got to be kidding me! I was so damn surprised! Ashwin said he wanted  Sabahan and Sarawakian dances to be performed in MFest this year (2009) and Jane and I could help him to realize the dream.

I knew it sounded ridiculous since I was not a dancer myself, what more of choreographing? But I hated to say no. As a Sabahan, I do want my culture to be exposed to the global audience. And how could I turn down that request just because I thought I was incapable of doing so? Well I said to myself "THIS IS A CHALLENGE'! So, I ignored the doubts and fears and said "Alright, let's do the thing!". 

Alhamdulillah I had my friends especially Farouk, Danny, Izza and Intan to help me to overcome all the hardships. I would say the highlight of our journey as dancers was when Danny formed a dance group named RENTAK. RENTAK’s first public performance was during Malaysian Night at one of the hotels in Blue Mountain . I officially joined  and performed with the group in June 2009. RENTAK was invited to perform in 'TONG 09 as well as Sydney National Conference Game (NCG) opening ceremony which were held at Malaysian Hall and UTS respectively. After that, Alhamdulillah, offer datang mencurah-curah. Wah macam celebrity pula kan. 

                                                                       TONG '09

                                                                                                  Photo credit: Farouk

                                                                       NCG '09

                                                                                          Photo credit: Azriq Aiman

                                                                    GOSFORD '09

                                                                                           Photo credit: Azriq Aiman

                                                                      MFEST '09

                                                                                Photo credit: Azriq Aiman & Farouk

My first ever MFest experience. I performed three dances during this MFest; Malay Joget, Sabah Daling-daling (choreographed by me) and Ngajat (choreographed by Jen). 

                                                 iCLUB INTERNATIONAL DAY '10

                                                      Photo Credit: Den Angelles

This one was big! We actually competed with other international students in order to win $1200 cash prize. And guess what? WE WON THE FIRST PRIZE! Awesome!! (Read more about this here)

                                                                       MFEST '10

                                                                                Photo Credit: Farouk and Arniza

My second MFest. This time around I joined MFest as not only a dancer but also the Cultural Director of MSA and one of the Entertainment Directors of MFest 2010. There were times when I had a breakdown and felt like giving up because I had to do triple jobs at one time; managing, choreographing and dancing.  Can you imagine that kind of pressure? But Alhamdulillah it went very well. I survived! 

The overall experience was just amazing. I would never trade it for anything in the world because it taught me so many great things in life: 

• There’s nothing impossible in life. We can achieve anything if we      work on it.
• Friendship and teamwork matter! I owe it to my friends for all the good times and fond memories. They did not just teach me how to dance but most importantly, they also taught me to believe in myself and to have faith in others. They were there to support and cheer me during good and bad times. SO BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU. (macam academy award acceptance speech pula..hehe
• We don’t have to be the official Malaysian ambassadors in order to promote our Malaysian cultures! We ARE the ambassadors of our great nation, whenever and wherever we go. It’s our responsibility to promote and showcase the unique cultures and traditions of Malaysia to other people. So don’t ever say no if you were given that kind of opportunity in doing so. MALAYSIA BOLEH!

My point of this whole long entry was to say that I am so proud of everything I've done. It is something that I will be able to look back on years down the road and still be proud of the accomplishment.

Sorry to bore you. If you read to the end, thank you. If you gave up, it's ok. :) 

Goodbye, until then. 

The Key

I wished I could shut the door

and pretend like I had lost the key forever.

I wished I could just spend a day at mirror kneeled

and pretend like I wouldn't be able to stand up again.

I wished I could just lay on my bed for the next 20 years

and pretend like I was a dead body.

Oh how I wished you had come and saved me

and gave me back my lost soul
For so long I have lived in a misery

For I was no longer could bear this pain

Oh how I wished it was just a nightmare.

If only you could find the key to the door

and make me stand on my two feet again

If only you were the key

If only.

A poem to my BFFF

Hey you,

You, who called yourself as my best f***ing friend forever,

You, who have always been such a wonderful person to me, 

You, who are so special in my heart that no words can describe. 

Hey my BFFF, 

I'm telling you to wake up and open your eyes. 

I think you have slept long enough. 

Dear my BFFF, 

I wish I had magic wand to make it go away,

When you are sick, it gives me quite a fright,

So please let your illness be ended. 

Dear my BFFF, 

I miss you everyday. 

Please keep up your spirits,

You are great, and that's all matters.