September 10th, 2011
Flutters of the heart
Happy things that have been making my very depressing week slightly better:
Having the time to read and just focusing solely on how the plot in the book thickens
Being alone in a very public area with lots of loud chatter – and to not only not mind but actually enjoy the solitude
Girly afternoon tea with my best friend who convinced me to screw my diet and just enjoy the taste of good red velvet cupcakes and macaroons while it lasts
Trying to inject colors to an otherwise dull lesson plan
How did you use to remember the colors of the rainbow? Mine was Michael Jackson Killed His Brother In USA hahaha poor MJ.
Well behaved kids who actually pay attention to everything I say
Making an otherwise boring topic like the convection of heat really fun. This is a mini homemade tornado!
Those pictures were taken with my Ipod touch and edited with Instagram, the rest of the pictures were taken with my camera.
Happy dainty earrings
Creative tag lines by an organization I’m extremely proud to be a part of
Today, we visited a school in Batang Kali for a half-day meet and greet session with 150 students and their parents. All 8 of us future teachers were quite nervous since it’s our first proper school visit where we actually have to interact with our students in full blown Malay since they almost don’t understand English at all.
This school is chosen for Teach For Malaysia fellows to be placed at for 4 weeks during our training, so we had to convince them kids that it’s REALLY fun and they should attend the “summer camp” even though it’s during their year-end holiday. I think we did a great job, cause they were all super enthusiastic at the end of the day! We also had to convince the parents, which wasn’t too hard since all we had to say was it’s FREE and they were sold.
We ran a one-hour long activity filled with games and basically drilling to them that learning can be fun and why education is important, and at the end of the day I was completely drained! Not only did I have to speak out really loud to get their attention (using my teacher voice, NOT to be confused with screaming like a lunatic), I’d also underestimated how absolutely tiring it is to speak in Malay. No idea how will I be able to have the energy to teach for one whole day if I already feel like dying after one hour T__T
But it was all completely worth it cos we were able to get the kids to be excited about school! They were probably just excited to see such young enthusiastic people as their teachers, so I hope they don’t hate us too much when we begin to make them work harder than they’ve ever worked before.
You know what, I think I’m going to really enjoy my next two years 
I foresee lots of “WHY THE HELL AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF???!” but I just have to tell myself that it’ll all be worth it. And it will be.
Related posts:
good morning teacher miss lim!
i was one of the naughtiest in my class, and i had to sit directly in front of the teacher’s desk. not sure that teacher still remembers me but i definitely remember her! don’t think i am much better behave now actually.
hm…
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Purple
I use mandarin to remember.
Haha urs was really funny!
mine’s a bit random
Mak
Jah
ke
hutan
beli
ikan
ungu
wow the guy who sat in the first row who was looking backwards looks kinda cute. can you help me ask him if he minds older women wtf
I actually admire teachers a whole lot. Things they go through to educate young minds to be brilliant people in the future. But sadly I feel many young teachers these days in Maktab Perguruans are just not as dedicated anymore. I had a teacher who came in the first day of accounting class and exclaimed, “semua orang pergi ambil tuition”, like wtf. I guess to her it’s more of a “Why teach well when all the kids are taking tuition lessons anyway?” Urban schooling problems.
Anyway, Kuddos to you Suet. May your 2 years of teaching impart wisdom and life skills to your kids and yourself.
You have no idea how much I admire you right now. Keep up the good work Suet!
p/s: ei post pictures of you in your ‘school uniform’ la. i wanna see. Sorry ah jaga tepi your kain cannot help myself wtf
You should be so proud of your T4M efforts, Suet.
And honestly, no endeavour is ever worth undertaking if there are absolutely no ‘WTF am I doing?!’ moments embedded within it. Without those moments, there would be absolutely no affirmation afterward! 
Also, Michael Jackson Kena Halau Balik India Utara
Woohoo rock on suet! During your times of ‘why the fuck’s we’ll all be here cheering you on!
So we should address you as Teacher Liew from now on…
So you had started teaching in a school in Batang Kali now. What subject you’re teaching by the way?
I remembered my teacher also taught me about the ‘Micheal Jackson Killed His Brother In Usa’ for Science.
Good on you Suet Li!
hello there, i REALLY admire your courage and strong determination to participate in this TFM program. with your execellent academic results, you could have just stay and work abroad to earn big bucks but you did not! you chose to come back with the hope of changing the lives of those less fortunate and promoting the importance of education in rural areas. i’m very proud of you and THANK YOU on behalf of the next generation!
I used the exact same MJ story to remember the colours!
your entry made me smile
really admire ur enthusiasm for the teach for malaysia project! jiayou 
Hi! I really love your heart shaped aviators! May I know where you got them from? Hee. Thanks! :B first time commenting on your blog! But started reading your blog way way back.
Micheal jackson kata hidup bagai insan unggul…omg! I still remember..my teacher will be proud of me !!
Rock on!
ganbatte!
I wish I had a teacher like you when I was a student – enthusiastic and passionate about making learning fun.
All the best! I’m really looking forward to reading about your journey with TFM
i feel ashamed that everyone is commenting properly and seriously except moi. OK i decided to be a serious adult next time when you blog. but please still help me ask the older women question anyway wtf
ccc, im not lim! haha is there any creative way to remember in mandarin?
pea, haha yeah it is random!
strawberry, wtf u damn perve la!!! i ask edi, he say don’t like wtf hahaha
joanna, hahah really ah? well there aren’t really a lot of perks of teaching, so i guess it’s natural that they attract less dedicated people. thanks, i hope so too!
hullo, awww thanks!
hahah nolah my uniform is baju kurung only!
ksuan, you’re right! and i love that mnemonic, i’m gonna teach them to my kids! better than killing killing all hahaha
bs, thanks!! i love u all!
kityen, hahaha nolah i use my first name! i’m starting in batang kali during training in dec! probably math and english and science.
yerdeh, thanks!
ling, thanks so much for your encouragement! it means a lot
do support us all throughout the program, i’m very fortunate to be working alongside similarly dedicated and passionate people as well!
tien, hahah it’s the easiest way!
carol, thanks! it means a lot
ann, i got them from h&m a long time ago! not sure if they still have them.
lizzie, hahaha so noble one your one hahah
shaolin, thanks! i will rock on like the rocker teacher that i am
jean, thanks!!
fauxfashionista, thanks! i cant wait to write more about it too
strawberry, hahaha u damn bodoh la but i love your comments! dont gatal with my students ah!
hm, i am not sure now, liew? may be. well, saying in mandarin sort of rhymes.
Selamat pagi, Cikgu Liew!
I memorize the rainbow colors by using their short forms: MeJiKuHiBiNiU.. It’s Indonesian btw..we call ‘indigo’ as ‘nila’
Hi suet, love your lomo effect photos.. you may want to participate in this lomography contest in facebook.. do check it out!
http://www.facebook.com/Lomolicious?sk=app_139229522811253
all the best to you! cheers!
What were you reading?
picture of dorian gray
your earrings are so cute! may i know where u got them from?
a shop in between ikano and curve!
Mine was: Mat Jenin Kata Hang Bodoh Ikut Unta. Lame right, but it was taught by my teacher then. HAHAHAHAHA
Btw, good job and gambate~! =)
Hi Sweatlee,
What app did you use to take all the pictures? they look really nice
i used instagram!