Graduation Week - part 1

First off I would like to apologize for the delay in this post. I had every intention of posting at the end of last week but it turned out I need a little more time to digest everything before I could write about it.

Last week concluded the school year here in Malaysia. As I suspected, the week went by much too quickly, but I did make a point to absorb every last minute of it. With the graduation program on Wednesday, our entire school spent both Monday and Tuesday mornings in the small auditorium rehearsing for Wednesday’s program (see bottom picture at the beginning of post). We all enjoyed having the opportunity to see each class’s dance which everyone had worked hard to prepare over the past month (Class A Red's dance in the top picture). After being gone in Brunei for a week, I especially liked having all the kids in one room as it made it easier for me to see them all and spend time with all of them.

On both Monday and Tuesday evenings, the teachers all came back to school to work on the backdrop for the stage. As you can see in the picture, it had the school’s name in Malay and Chinese and then we decorated it with balloons and graduation caps. This was one of the many highlights of the week for me. It was nice to get to spend more quality time with the teachers and especially outside of the regular school routine.

When Teacher Hiew and I arrived on Monday evening I was pleasantly surprised to see Leon sitting in the back of the auditorium. I had completely forgotten that he would be there. During the weeks he stays with his aunt who is one of our teachers, so naturally if she had to be there, he would be there as well.

Before walking in I slowly peeked my head around the doorway and whispered his name. It took a few times of me whispering for him to look up and see me and when he did he came racing toward me and jumped into my arms. That small moment flew to the top of my best experiences here thus far. The look on his face when he saw me and the excitement he had as he ran towards me still makes me a little teary eyed. I didn’t do too much to contribute to the actual backdrop on Monday night because I was happily keeping Leon entertained. I don’t think I have ever met such an attention-deprived child. We were at school from 8pm – 11:30 pm and he never slowed down… and typically this is when children his age should be getting tired and going to bed. One of the “activities” we did consisted of Leon jumping off the top step of the risers on the stage (there were only three steps and this was not high) and into my arms. I think he would have been very content doing this the whole night if it were not for my arms getting tired. He also really enjoyed rolling a roll of masking tape back and forth. I was amazed at how easy it was to keep him entertained. Why do we think we have to buy children all sorts of toys when they can be entertained with something as simple as a roll of tape? When I did decide to take breaks (from playing) and help the teachers, Leon would sit down nicely next to me and try his best to help too. I think it is safe to say that this night goes down as one of my favorite evenings here in Sabah. I was happy to be around my teachers and was able to give Leon the attention that he desperately needed.

4 of the boys in my ABC dance goofing off

Christo and Daryl (A Red 6yr. class) dressed for their dance

When Wednesday arrived I was a bit tired from late nights and early mornings of preparation and wasn't completely mentally prepared. However, I was excited to see everything come together. Since my third day of being here I had known that November 18^th was graduation, but it always seemed a long way off. Now all of a sudden it was here. It had completely snuck up on me. Teacher Hiew and I arrived at school around 7 a.m. The students were to be to school by 8 a.m. as normal and then the program started at 9 a.m. Up until the start of the program I kept busy making sure all of my boys got their "costumes" on and that you could see the letter or number on their shirt clearly. Once the program started I sat by the 6 year olds and attempted to keep them quiet as an introduction was given and the chairman of the school board gave a speech (which lasted a good 10 minutes or so as he said it in both Mandarin and Malay). My 6 year old boys were 3rd in the line up to preform. Not only did they look adorable in their costumes (which consisted of a white t-shirt that had either A,B,C or 1,2,3 on the front and blue shorts) but they did the best I'd ever seen them do. I was so proud of them and I could tell they had fun doing it. The whole graduation program consisted of the following: A welcome from one of the board members, a speech by the board chairman, a speech by three of the 6 year olds (one child gave the speech in Mandarin, one in Malay and one in English), a dance by each class (some of the classes did one dance all together and other classes split in half and did two dances), awards for the top three students in each class, recognition of each 6 year old... and the program closed with a song by the graduating 6 year olds.

Although it was sad for me to know that I wouldn't be teaching the 6 year olds next year, it was fun to see how excited they were about graduating. I especially enjoyed seeing all of the children with their parents. Several of the parents made a point to introduce themselves to me and gave me the ultimate compliment, saying their child often mentioned me at home and enjoyed having me as a teacher.

The graduation program was a success. I was pleased with how my 6 year old boys had done and felt blessed to be part of such a wonderful school and community. I enjoyed the day and didn't let myself get a little sad until it was all over. Not only did the 6 year olds graduate but it was my last day seeing Leon. Although I am sad, it is for purely for the selfish reason that I will not have him as a student anymore. Leon is going back to live with his family (he has two younger brothers) and next year he will go to a kindergarten that is closer to his house. He is so excited about this, as like any kid, he loves being with his parents and his brothers. Teacher Hiew has told me that he has very loving parents so I am hopeful he will now get more of the attention he deserves.

Believe it or not, I still have more to share about the week... however I am going to pause here and post Part 2 of this blog in a few days.

The 2009 graduating 6 year old class

Refreshing Week Behind - Bittersweet Week Ahead

This past week myself and the 4 other Malaysia YAGM spent the week in Brunei. It was our first retreat of the year and we will have two more through out the year (every 3 months). Going into the week, although I was excited for the opportunity to travel and visit another country, I was honestly a bit sad about the time away from KK and specifically the Kindergarten. Upon arriving in Brunei I realized it was nice to have some time to relax and reflect on the past three months. The week was much needed. It was a very good opportunity for us YAGM to get to know each other better and it was especially good for all of us to get to know Laura (our country coordinator) better and vice-versa. We had bible studies every day and spent time discussing our time here thus far; what was going well and what could be improved. Then we spent the rest of our days touring the capital city, Bandar Seri Begawan where we were staying. Click here to see a picture of the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque we visited. This picture doesn't do it justice... it was stunning.

Thursday was the highlight of the retreat for me. Myself, Erika, Ellen and Kelsey took a day trip to Ulu Temburong National Park. The park covers about 10 % of Brunei. It was just so nice to get away from any type of city and spend some time in nature... the jungle! To get to the national park itself we had to take an hour long boat ride, a 20 minute car ride, and then another 20 minute boat ride, through the jungle. It was absolutely beautiful and quite impossible for me to describe. When we arrived at the national park we climbed up over 1000 steps and then climbed up even further into the canopy walk way. This walk way was on three different levels. When you got to the first level you were near the top of the trees. You walked a bit on the walk way and then went up again, this time you were at the top of the trees. Again walked on the walk way and then up to the top level which was above the trees. On the top level as I turned around I was completely surrounded by the jungle. For miles and miles it was all I could see. Again, the image is indescribable. We were on no time constraint so I took a little bit of time just to take it all in; breathe in the smell, listen to all the different sounds, and look into the jungle.

After descending from the canopy walkway and then the 1000 steps we took another short boat ride into the jungle and then walked a short distance to a small waterfall. Right before coming to the waterfall we came to across many, many butterflies. They were not like any butterflies I had every seen and were bright purple in color. They were flying all around us as we walked through. Quite magical, really. We were prepared with our swimsuits and were able to swim in the waterfall. After leaving we then spent at least an hour tubing down the main river back to our home base where we had lunch. The tubing was lots of fun and relaxing. We had good conversation and enjoy the beauty of the jungle that surrounded us. There was a good current that carried us down stream and we even came upon some baby rapids, which was fun.

The week left me refreshed and happy to return home to KK. It was a week of many stories, many laughs and smiles and even a few tears. It was a week of many prayers and great sharing as we all journey through this year together, depending on God but at many points still unsure of our direction. It was a wonderful week.

Now, this week will be different... both happy and sad. I can't wait to go back to work tomorrow and to see the children. However, the sad part is, this is our last week of school. Our graduation program is on Wednesday and the last day of the school year is Friday. The graduation program will be lots of fun. Each class has prepared two dances (one of which I have prepared with the 6 year old boys) and will preform them for the school and the parents that are able to attend. Thursday and Friday are fun celebration days but Teacher Hiew has said that not all of the kids come to school. So potentially Wednesday could be my last day seeing some of the 6 year olds. I still have yet to come to terms with this and am staying very much in the present, trying not to dwell on that too much. At the same time, these past couple weeks I have spent every free minute in the 6 year old classes playing games with them and doing activities. Last week (Monday, before I left for Brunei) I taught my ARed (6 year old class) how to play Heads Up - 7 Up, one of my favorite games from when I was that age. It was a bit difficult to explain at first but once they got the hang of it they really enjoyed it.

I will be sure to post a blog at the end of the week to tell you all about how the week went, especially the graduation program.

Here is a bible passage we discussed this week that I found quite meaningful.

"As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

-Colossians 3:12-14

I hope you all have a wonderful week!