Cultured, refined...
The school put up the Spring Concert in one of the most beautiful concert hall in SH. It was a great night out and the kids thoroughly enjoyed the programme.





Beautiful hall. In my opinion, it is even more beautiful that our very own Esplanade!

Before we left, many friends told us that this place is rich in culture and the fine arts. We should really take our time to savour it. Upon arrival, almost two years ago, a cultured and refined society was the last to be seen. Even kids are not spared. Little Ann was shoved just travelling on an escalator. Kai was invisible when he was q-ing to pay at the cashier.....DH commented that it could be due to the Cultural Revolution or even what happened during the Qin Dynasty that led to such behaviours. Perhaps, that is true... to a certain extent. However, someone once said, a person's determination to change for the better far exceeded the influence of society. This, I find so much truth. You steer your own ship, you look for your own destination. No one can change your journey if you insisted on your own way...even if your way is wrong.

Among the locals that I have crossed path with, I have met some real cutlured and refined people. These people hail mainly from the poorer provinces. All belong to the same country yet all are not the same. What is the reason behind it? Perhaps, when a society becomes richer and money becomes the main motivation for living, people become not so pleasant. The Bible is right to say "For the LOVE of money is the ROOT of all evil" (1 Tim 6:10)

Out of his comfort zone
Recently, I see a change in Kai's reading genre.

Kai used to love adventure, sci-fi, mystery, detective books. Basically those boy-kind of books. I have been urging, nudging, encouraging him to move out of those books. To read books that he could draw some life lessons from. He kept pushing them off, finding them 'boring'. Not that I find Percy Jackson, Narnia, Hardy Boys etc...bad. I just wanted him to widen his persective in life. After a long time, I finally see him stepping out of his comfot zone to try new things.

Last year, his class teacher shared with them, Ann Frank. He was very keen to get hold of the book. It is really not easy to find English books here and even if you do, you would probably be paying a lot more for it. Well, they do have an alternative but usually they are those popular trash novels, at least, to me.

Finally, we found it at a foreign bookshop. Kai read the Dairy of Ann Frank, something out of his usual genre. That was last year. After that, he was back to his usual books, then I went again, doing what mummies do best....nudge, nudge, "they are more nice books you know!"

Beginning of the year, his English teacher encouraged the class to read Totto-chan, The Little Girl at the Window. Just at the right time, we were heading back home for the Chinese New Year and we got hold of the book. For the last couple of months, he has read Wee Kim Wee, Glimpses and Reflections; Mitch Albom, For One More Day; George Orwell, Animal Farm and even William Golding, Lord of the Flies (scream)....I could see that he is beginning to enjoy books of a different kind. These days, he will always ask me what book am I reading, is it nice? I guess my own reading habit has also a part to play.

Sometimes, stepping out of our comfort zone is a good thing. The first step is always difficult but once the first step is taken, you will soon find out that the new zone, although not very comfortable, it is much nicer and richer.

This week, Kai came home with a book borrowed from the school library....a kiddy book by his standard


hahaha

"Why did you borrow this?"

"Easy reading and got pictures mah!"

If you are a parent or teacher reading this, remember never force your kid to do something, never shove knowledge down his throat. Encourage, motivate and most of all, walk the talk.

I haven't lost it...
My tenth anniversary as a stay-at-home-mum (SAHM). Kai was one when I decided to hang up my office wear. He is now 11 years old. Ten long years. Was it easy? Was it hard? To tell you it was sweet and plain sailing is simply lying to you through my nose! Every mum will tell you that having kids is easy but raising them is a challenge.

Prior to being a SAHM, public speaking and making presentations have always been a breeze but after ten long years of raising kids, talking to them only and facing the four walls, I wouldn't expect to still possess these skills. My only presentation these days is probably to my blog and perhaps "talking" to you, my most distinguished readers (if you are still reading).

Recently, I was asked to share about my kids' schooling experience in front of 50 to 80 expats. Not easy for someone who hasn't done it for a decade! Well, I didn't go on a journey for nothing..."if there is any good I can do, let me do it now for I will never pass this way again." I thought it would be good to share my experience with newbie expats. Also, a good way to celebrate my tenth anniversary as a full-time mum! So, with courage from, God knows where, I agreed!

At the end of it, this is the feedback I got....

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know that I had several people say that they thought your words about the school were very interesting and helpful. You gave a very fair and accurate assessment of the school and the expectations of the students enrolled- this is exactly the info that people need to hear when choosing a school...yet, it's very difficult to find out....Thank you again for spending the time and energy to help with the event. You were a very eloquent speaker- fantastic job!
Thanks!

Thank you for the opportunity too. Looks like I haven't lost it!

No care needed but still they bloom
Spring in SH is beautiful. Flowers of all sorts bloomed at this time and the most amazing thing about them is that they are wild flowers, no special care for them but they just bloom when it is time to do so. I guess that is exactly what the Bible says about them...

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you ~ Luke 12 : 27, 28

Leave Mother nature alone and she will reward you abundantly with her beauty.


Peach blossom


Plum blossom


Cherry blossom (Sakura)


Magnolias

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring. ~Bern Williams

Little Ann
I must stop calling her little Ann. She is no longer little. Although young at age, she could sap up all my energy. A very active girl who always needs some kind of activity. She could also be very challenging as she has a mind very much of her own. She is never afraid to walk on her own, away from the usual crowd. Sometimes she ignores instructions and does things her own ways. If it doesn't work out, she faces the consequences and if it does work out, she will say, "I told you so!" Inspite of a very tiring daily schedule, Ann sometimes says the darnest thing to put a smile on my face.

Just the other day, I gave Kai my share of meat. Kai is a carnivore so he always welcome more meat, never complain about the extras. Ann turned to her brother and said, "see mummy loves."

There were also times when after a nice homecooked meal, she would comment, "what a great feast!" Even if it is just  simple porridge with fried eggs. Every nice meal is a feast to her. Such comments always push me to new heights in my cooking and baking. I am always trying out new dishes, some turn out good, some not so good but the beauty of it all, if I don't try, I will never know what is good. I often use this as a lesson for Kai and Ann, to always push themselves beyond their comfort zone.

So you see, education is such, we learn from each other, regardless of our age. Don't ever undermine your kids.

Thoughts...
I think this would be the most depressing state of my mind. Not too long ago, it was Christchurch, NZ which suffered an earthquake. NZ was the place for my honeymoon which saw me drove from the North Island all the way to the South Island. When Kai came along, we were there again with him, just 21 months old. NZ is a beautiful country. When the earthquake struck, images of the cathedral, the square, the hotel were all too familiar. Somehow, there was a closeness when you saw something which you could recognised. NZ is a place which is close to my heart as we have many friends and relations there. It was heart-breaking seeing the damage done to a beautiful city.

Last week, a triple whammy struck Japan. A country which I fallen in love with since the day I set foot on it.

Really, there is nothing bad to say about this beautiful place with the most beautiful people. The first visit was on our way back from the US of A. We stopped over at Japan for two weeks and visited Kyoto, Tokyo and Yokohama. The following year, we were at Osaka and Kobe. Just last year, we went to the home of Mt Fuji, Shizuoka. To watch how Mother Nature showered her wrath, not once, not twice, not even three times...made me crashed emotionally. An earthquake was not enough, a tsunami followed closely, then the Nuclear crisis and as if those were now enough, snowfall bashed on the rescuers trying desperately to save lives. Will she ever stop?

One thing good which came out from this "apocalyptic" disaster was that the world was able to see how the Japanese stood together as one. It was not a "I for myself" but rather "we for each other". Having been there a couple of times, having experienced the Japanese culture, lifestyle and all their goodness, I can honestly say that, it isn't for show. That's exactly how the Japanese behave.

We are a family who never like to depend on guided tours. We like the adventure of exploring the local lifestyle of each country. So without a knowledge of Japanese, just a Japanese-English handbook, we landed in Japan. At Kyoto, we thought we could just hop into a cab and get to our hotel. It turned out otherwise. Taxi drivers told us that the hotel was too near for them to drive us there. Spoke to us in a whole lot of Japanese which we were clueless. We saw a group of teenagers and tried to talk to them with sign language and showing them the map of the hotel. These group of youngsters went all out to help us locate our hotel. They couldn't speak English but helped us by calling their friend's friend who could speak English. Went round the train station to look for the map which showed where our hotel was. It was amazing what they did because it was close to midnight!

At Osaka, the same thing happened. Japan has the most complex train system but the most efficient and most organised. If you exit from the wrong direction, it would take you hours before reaching your destination. That was what happened to us. We asked for direction and this young pretty Japanese lady who must have just finished work and on her way home, took us all the way to our hotel using her cellphone GPS. We felt really bad because it took her at least one hour to locate our hotel. She must have been tired and hungry after a hard day's work. All along the way, she was chirpy, cheerful and chatty.

We met three beautiful old ladies at Osaka, maybe in their seventies. The mochi shop probably belonged to them. It was the most delicious mochi I have ever eaten and served by the most courteous staff. No, they are not your sweet young thing but they are probably the best service staff I have come across. The list could go one about the nice people we met in Japan...
I have been following the news of the Japan crisis very closely. Finding ways to get around the Great Firewall. Two reasons which glued my eyes to the computer and the TV. One, my brother and his wife-to-be are still in Japan. Two, we are not too far off from Japan either. Looking at the news, very often made me teared. It was amazing, very amazing to see how the Japanese respond to crisis after crisis. It was beyond human understanding how they could remained so calm and orderly in the midst of 'near-death' situation. One blogger was so astonished that he questioned "why no looting?". In every crisis all over the world, we saw how people took the opportunity to loot. Even the wonderful world of Christchurch with nice people was not spared of looting.

This was the first time I saw people q-ing up for food in desperate situation. Often, what I saw was people scrambling, fighting when food supplies arrived at a crisis-struck situation. If there was anything good which came out from this triple crisis in Japan, it would be the world saw how the Japanese respond to crisis. A rare asset for a first-class society.

Every life counts, even animals. Owners sharing their limited food with their pets. In this part of my world, animals would have been slaughtered and fought over to keep the humans alive!

Not forgetting the people, whom we will never know, working non-stop on the Nukes. I pray for their safety, for their health, for their families. I pray that the Nukes crisis will end sooner so that the world could put names to the faces of these martyrs. They will stay on till the job is done. In the words of one of the workers, "if I go, I go."

We have read and heard of the Japanese atrocities during the WW2. Many, especially among the older generations, could never forget and forgive them. I hope this event has shown the world that, that generations of Japanese have long passed on. This generation of Japanese is of a different make.

I cannot imagine what the situation will be like if where I am right now is striked with just one crisis. Here, we are away from them yet the people are scrambling for salt. Fearing the sea salt will be contaminated by the radiation and hoping iodine from salt could protect them. They have not paused to think of themselves being exposed to radiation on a daily, hourly basis, working on their computers, yakking on their cellphones, staring at their ipads and iphones and eating microwaved food!

I pray that God has mercy on the people of Japan. I believe with all my heart that this crisis will propel Japan back to its number 2 position in the world economy.

A "picto-blog" dedicated to Japan and all the Japanese...GAMBATEI!










I am now seriously thinking of retiring in Japan. Let me live and die among the gracious ones.

Yes, us...painting
Never in our wildest dream, that one day, we will paint!

All those who have known me for decades, all those who have known me in and out, know that when you talk about art or painting, I will never cross your mind....well, I am proud to say that I did a painting for the very first time in my life!

Aftering seeing and hearing so much about oil painting from a SGSH mama, I decided to give it a hand. I was told that even if you are not an artist, you can still produce a fine piece. So, I made the necessary arrangements and the whole family went for some painting sessions together. It was a great family time!

Are you ready? Presenting... the Shia's exhibition


Kai's. If he was a bit more detailed, this would be a great piece


Ann's. Oh well, she was playing all the time


Dh's. I thought his was the best of all


ahem...yours truly. I shan't comment

So, what sayest thou? There were many encouragements especially from my mama gang...

Kids being kids, Kai and Ann had no patience. DH found it more stressful than working and as for me, I think you would agree that I should just stick to my cooking and baking. Art is something which requires lots of patience and tender loving care which I don't think I have alot!

Miracle no. 1 turns 11
Gone were the days where I organised children birthday parties. I now have a pre-teen. The first time, I throw such a birthday party with no prior experience. Challenging, is the word.

Last Sunday, I had 14 boys (scream..........) in my house...and a girl who could play with them!

Boys being boys, they are boisterious, playful but so full of life. Gregarious creatures, I will call them. The thing about pre-teen birthday party is that I don't have to plan activities for them, somehow, they just make do with whatever they could find. My house was turned into a basket ball court, a hide-and-seek ground and of course a Wii arcade. But you know something, they are very polite and well-mannered. A group of very fine young men. How children behave speaks alot about the kind of parenting they received. They took out toys to play and put them back where they belonged. They cleared up after eating and drinking. That made my job so much easier as I was without a helper only dh was around to maintain "law and order".

I want to be part of his life. As he grows up to be a teenager, a young adult, all the more I need to know his circle of friends and I hope to be part of his circle of friends.


The gregarious boys and a girl


Feeding a group of pre-teens...cooking started early in the morning right after breakfast


Naruto cupcakes for the birthday boy. His favourite Japanese cartoon character. No, I didn't make them cos' if I do, I wouldn't be blogging now

Kai, our miracle no.1 wasn't a very easy baby. He was a crying baby, a colicky baby, a sick baby. He was basically very difficult to look after as an infant. You won't believe this, he would only sleep well on our chest. Perhaps, that gave him security and comfort. All those days are over now, he has grown up to be a great boy. Of course, along the way, there were mountains to scale, rivers to cross but I can see that he has matured in many ways and some important lessons were learned through the hard ways.

My miracle, then and now...


Isn't he a fine young man

His two little accomplishments along the way...


His first pottery exhibition at age 7


Self-published author at age 8

There is one thing which hasn't changed all these years...Kai's love for books. He was and is still an avid reader. I can take away his electronic gadgets, he will survive but if I take away his books, it will throw him into a fits. Looking back and recalling the past, I found out that Kai started reading Classics such as The Invisible Man and Frankenstein at a tender age of four.





There are books all over the house and I have given up picking them up. It is really pointless. His English teacher is right to say that a reader is never stagnating. Walt Disney was right when he said, "There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island."

The greatest gift is the passion for reading.
It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites,
it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind.
It is a moral illumination. ~ Elizabeth Hardwick

Yes, and I have to keep up with my own reading too if I want to engage in his intellectual sparrings.

So, to more good years, my son...CHEERS!

Best words I have ever heard...
It has been an extremely stressful week. Don't anyone come and tell me a stay-at-home-mum's (SAHM) life is boring and "what do you do ha?". I promise you, I will give you a kick on the butt! Well, of course if you are one who spend time at nail bars, shopping malls, nibbling cookies and sipping tea while engaging in small talks....it is a different ball game all together. Then, you are not called a SAHM but a TTM (tai tai mum). Accoding to wikipedia, tai tai is a Chinese colloquial term for a wealthy married woman who does not work!

I had a phone conference with one of Kai's teachers. This is to save some time for the actual Parent-Teacher Conference Day. The teacher was giving me a brief report on Kai and his work progress for the past six months. A big jump from P4 to P5 but he still managed to produce good results. However, what made me most happy and almost brought me to tears was his teacher telling me...

"Kai is a smart and intellectual kid. There are many smart kids but not many are intellectual. On top of that he is also philosophical. However, I must compliment Kai for one good quality - although he is smart and he knows he is smart but he still mixes around and play with kids who are not of the same level as him. He doesn't see himself as superior than the rest and not play with them. I have seen some kids like that, they are smart and therefore don't play with a certain group of kids. But with Kai, no..."

The best words I have ever heard from a parent-teacher meeting regarding Kai. Kai may score straight As or be a top boy but nothing makes me happier than to know that he treats all his friends equally and he does not look down on others. I am very happy that dh and I have left a legacy in his life. We have never asked our children to be saints or angels or Mother Teresa but we have always instill in them kindness towards people. To treat all as equal. DH and I have always greeted the sweepers, thanked the cleaners who clean up after us, have friends from all walks of life.... With this feedback from the teacher, we know that it has rubbed on to Kai and in time to come, we pray that Ann will also pick it up.

Well done, my son!