Cikgu! Apa Khabar?

Hello all...

This morning I had breakfast with my family before going to the bus terminal to go back to the Big City when I saw a familiar face coming out of a book store. It was my Math and Science teacher Cikgu S. He was one of my favorite teachers of all time during primary school and without hesitation I immediately called out to him, "Cikgu!" When he turned around I held out my hand to shake his and proceeded to ask how was he, where is he currently teaching and all.

I could see that he didn't recognize me immediately but he smiled and chatted amicably just the same. I think he only began to place me when he saw my parents. Then my sister greeted him. He had been her teacher as well. Then guess what? This random Chinese guy passing us stopped and greeted him too! "Apa khabar cikgu?" he asked.

It struck me right then and there just how much people this great man in front of me had touched during his life as a teacher, just how big his influence was and still is in the community. Oh, how huge his blessings must be as in Islam we believe that when a person teaches no matter how small or simple *teaching in this sense is not confined to the classroom*, he or she will get blessings or pahala. He or she will also get pahala when the person he or she taught passes that knowledge to another person and so on. In other words by sharing knowledge with others, we get cumulative blessings as long as we do it with pure intentions.

I don't know why but meeting my former teacher today set me thinking how lucky teachers are especially those teaching young children the basics of counting reading and writing. These basic skill are what we as human beings use every day in our lives, whether it is to count how much is the price of an item after discount during sales season *ahem* or stringing two words to make a sentence, a paragraph, a blog post, etc. Each time we use these skills, whoever it is that taught us get blessings. How cool is that?

To all the teachers out there, the world now is not as it was during our time and certainly not like the times of our parents. There are new challenges in facing this new generation of young people that you call students. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to be a teacher at this time and age. If you can, please persevere. You have no idea how much power, how much influence you hold in your hands. What you are doing is a noble thing.

One day, most of the monsters students who once had snot running down their noses/whom you had sent out of your class at least 5 times in a month will grow up to become distinguished and learned gentlemen and ladies and you had a hand in making them as such. One day you will be just like Cikgu S, and have your former students coming up to you to greet you, shake your hand. If all else fails in giving you motivation, just think that one day they might even be teachers themselves and they will know what a pain in the behind it can be. (^^)

Until the next post, cheers peeps!

Love,
Phoebe

A Tale Of Me And The Lion Dance

Hello all..
When I was a little girl I used to be petrified of lion dances. Iyo lah, dengan bunyik dorom besar dorang, the cymbals lagi. The beat was so loud my heart in my chest seemed to reverberate to the rhythm. Every time I heard the sound of the lion dance I would cry and pull my dad's hand in a bid to steer him in the opposite direction to get away.

I was about 6 or 7 years old when a group of lion dancers came to a clothing shop where I was in to perform. I wanted to run away but I couldn't because I was trapped somehow. There the 'lion' was, prancing and dancing while batting its eyes *which was actually cute but to the cowering me at that time, it was a terrifying sight* when it suddenly opened its mouth and I SAW A BOY'S FACE. My jaw literally dropped. I was puzzled enough to cautiously make my way closer to the dancing lion.

It's mouth opened again and I saw a flash of the boy's face once more. My eyes dropped to the lion's legs and I SAW SHOES. "What trickery is this?" I thought. Only then did it dawned on me that THERE WAS A PERSON INSIDE THAT LION! Which meant that that boy was the one controlling the 'lion' and it's not a 'lion' gone berserk to the loud banging and crashing of the drums and cymbals after all. Oh, to be fooled all those years! I felt like smacking the 'lion'. Macam la tu 'lion' sengaja tipu sy kan. Lol..

Since then, I no longer feared the 'lions' of lion dances and in fact I came to like them a lot. I appreciate a well-made 'lion' costume and love the bright color combinations. When there's a lion dance performance I would always stop to see them and I could watch a lion dance competition on CD for hours. I admire the skills, creativity, concentration and team spirit the dancers need to have in order to compete. Even just for performances, some 'lions' can be so cute in character *skipping about, tilting their head from side to side while blinking* and realistic that it's easy to forget that they are not really alive.

Breath-taking...

The cutesy Southern lion..

I don't like the Northern lion costume though. They look a bit too demented fierce for my taste.

The rabid fierce-looking Northern lions.

Okay, this is a random thought but I think it would be really cool to learn how to perform and take part in a lion dance. Not the acrobatic stunts God forbid, but just the simple prancing-about-blinking-and-looking-pretty type of performance on flat ground. That would be sooooo cooolll especially since I have never seen a girl perform before. Is it because girls are not allowed to do it? Paling kurang pun I would like to be a part of a well-performing lion dance team walaupun sekadar jadi tukang pungut angpow from the shopkeepers. Yang penting, be a part of it.

Were you ever afraid of lion dance performances when you were young? Or were you that little bugger who would wrestle out of your mother's grasp and run up to pat it *showoff*? Do you have a memorable experience with a prancing 'lion'? Share it!

Before I go, here and here as well are videos on lion dance performances for your enjoyment. Cheers my dears!

P/S: All photos are from Google.

Love,
Phoebe