Category: Diary

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Diary

Back From Spain!

¡Hola!  We are back from Spain.  Spain again, you say.  Haven’t we visited Spain like 2 years ago?  True.  But since we have been dipping in and out of the language for three years – the word ‘soaking’ would have been a vast exaggeration – touring Spain thus becomes one of our favorite choices.  Fortunately, there are lots to see in Spain.

“This is Cynthia and I with Gaudí in one of his houses!”

This year, we have visited one of the Canary islands so far off from the inland that could well be part of Africa.  But they are significant enough to be printed onto a 50€ bank note.  We have also visited the southern part of the country where the territories were lost to the Moors – Muslim from North Africa – and were re-conquered by the Spaniards.  Majestic Islamic influenced architecture monuments can still be seen in southern Spain today.  And since we flew directly from Singapore to Barcelona this time, we have spent some time to cover points of interest that we have missed in our last trip.  To my avid readers, after failing to visit the Picasso Museum in Barcelona twice (due to timing) and the Picasso Museum in Paris once (due to renovation), we have better luck this time.  On top of that, we have added 3 more UNESCO World Heritage Sites into our list.

To be totally honest, while I always look forward to a long holiday break, a fragment of me cringed at the physical demand of traveling in Europe.  The planning of itinerary and the logistics of the hotel and car rental booking, the rather long flight time (24 hours to reach Gran Canaria), lugging my rather heavy photography gears, and getting used to left hand manual driving through the narrow roads in the small towns and the mountain areas.  In no less than three counts, we nearly smashed our car onto the stationary cattle and a dashing deer at night.  Having said all of the above, every trip to Europe has always been a rewarding experience – both in the culture and nature departments.  I hope to share the journals and photos soon.  Preferably a faster turnaround time compare to our last trip to France.  Stay tuned.

A blog entry written on a SIA plane a couple of hours prior to landing in Singapore.

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Diary

Singapore National Youth Orchestra – A Musical Chemistry

We’ve missed the previous media invite on the LANXESS SYNO Classic event due to our Spanish commitment.  And they are kind enough to invite us for the main event that took place yesterday at Esplanade, an event coincided with the JP Morgen Corporate Run that caused half of a highway in town to be sealed off.  We were forewarned about the anticipated traffic condition so as the clock struck EOD (end of date) at work, Cynthia and I made haste to our Singapore’s very own theater by the bay.  I love the architectural design of Esplanade.  It cost – if I remember correctly – 650 million dollars to build.  I thought that was a lot of money.  Years later, the integrated resort next door cost billions to build.  That is Marina Bay Sands.

“A Musical Chemistry” is mainly performed by Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO).  The program involves a short piece by Richard Wagner, which to be frank, I have not heard of before last evening.  A piece by Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 25 – which I love to death.  I can easily hum the notes from beginning to end.  We have Lara St. John as the guest lead violinist.  Deep inside, I was hoping that someone from within SNYO would take the lead position.  That would truly speak for the quality of the orchestra.  But I can also understand that as a public event, having an international master such as Lara St. John would help to attract the crowd.  I am not too familiar with the violinist scene.  The only violinist I deeply respect is Hilary Hahn.  Lara St. John’s approach to Tchaikovsky’s concerto is unique, in a sense that she devours the music supplied by the orchestra and pours her personality into the music.  Her phasing and timing is significantly different from the traditional recordings that I am familiar with.  In a way, I did struggle a bit to see how this free spirit performance gelled with the structure provided by the orchestra.  One audience during intermission commented that she felt exhausted – in a good way I suppose – watching Lara St. John performed on stage.  In the contrary, I was totally absorbed into Lara’s own world and was yarning for more.  During the meet the artist session, I asked if it was her first visit to Singapore and she replied that this trip is her second.  Her first visit was to the Zoo.  And I said to her, you should come back to Singapore one day and perform for us.

Then there was the world premiere of a piece written by Darrell Ang, the musical director of SNYO.  It is called “Fanfare for a Frazzled Earth”.  Something to do with caring for environment.  It sounds modern (it has to be) and contemporary with lots of complex dialogs between the instruments.  I am a more classical kind of person and have always been struggling with understanding a modern piece of musc.  This piece sounds lively, almost like a celebration.  It is shorter than we have anticipated.  That left me wonder how beautiful it would have been if he could expand the piece into a full fledge symphony.  Last item of the program is Symphony in D minor by Cesar Franck.  A Dutch composer I have not heard of.  I may explore on his other works later.

Last evening was an emotional evening.  Because I was once played in Hong Kong Youth Orchestra.  I would say, the standard of SNYO is really high.  When I heard and saw the entire orchestra playing and moving in unison, that brought back fond memories.  During the intermission, Cynthia commented that such feeling must be exhilarating.  And I replied that in real life, the orchestra spends much time repeating short segments of the music, usually stripping down the individual or a subset of instruments.  To that extend, once an orchestra pastes all the parts together and plays, that feeling is exhilarating.  However, that short moment of spiritual joy only happens through months of practice, a few bars at a time.  That makes such moment more precious I suppose.

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Diary

Bethany And I, At Botanic Gardens

I can now begin to understand why some single men like to borrow babies in order to chat up with girls.  When I walk alone, no one stops and looks at me.  But when I carried my niece Bethany, inside the Botanic Gardens one fine Saturday, all the women around me smiled at – collectively speaking – us.  Bethany is a chick magnet, I discover.  She must have ignited the maternal instinct to all whose around us.  And I have not received that much attention since the last time I have paraded myself by the swimming pool, in my condo, wearing my swimming gear, under broad daylight.  All those domestic helpers, they really should find some real works to do.

One fine day, my sister messaged me and asked if we should bring Bethany to the Botanic Gardens, now that Bethany can walk.  Jolly good idea.  It would have been fun had we been able to catch some morning sun.  But alas, it was a Saturday.  And Saturdays are full of morning rituals such as housecleaning, such as I waking up early and do my blogging, such as Cynthia trying very hard to get out of bed.

I finished my lunch first and hence I was tasked to take Bethany out for a walk, while my sister, Benny, and Cynthia continued to have a good chat over their fish and chips.  I had no idea how a baby would react if she is momentarily taken away from her parent.  I thought Bethany would scream, but she did not.  Nevertheless, I briefly took her out, feeling totally awkward, and returned to the restaurant only to be sent out by the gang of three.  OK.  Perhaps I should plan a longer walking route.  I carried Bethany, under a hot sun, from one end of the cafe to the first patch of green land that took less than 2 minutes of brisk walking.  I found a nice piece of relatively shaded flat land and I put Bethany onto the ground.  After a few minutes, I ran out of things to do.  So I lifted Bethany up and headed back to the cafe.  I suppose I have yet to discover how to spend time with a toddler.  After we regrouped, I continued carrying Bethany and the four of us were running around in the garden playing catch-me-if-you-can with Bethany.  Eventually, she felt asleep on my shoulder while I was soaked in sweat.  I couldn’t even open my eyes.  That reminds me.  Next time, I should wear a sport headband and carry a fresh towel.

Benny took the photo below inside the cafe, zoomed in through the glass window.  He love this photo and so do I.  Benny observed that one time I put her onto the ground, she came right back to me with open arms.  So we reckon Bethany and I are bonding, somehow.  Bethany and I were quite far away from the cafe.  When I waved at the trios, Bethany followed my cue too.  Later on, my sister asked, “Was she able to recognize us inside the cafe?”  I am not too sure.  Maybe I shall ask her once she can speak.

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Diary

Touched By An Angel

Auntie Bernadette, we reckon, is around eighty years of age.  She is my Godmother Betty’s best friend and together, they have literally followed our Lord’s teaching: leave all that behind and trust that God provides.  You would have thought that in a country like Singapore, one must have a job and earn a living in order to survive.  Bernadette and Betty have no children, they devote their lives to serve the Lord, and in return, the Lord does provide.  It still amazes me every time I think about it.

This evening, after work, Cynthia and I have dropped by TTS Hospital.  We went through the emergency area and I saw nurses and staffs moving the still patients from wards to wards.  So much work going on in serving the community, in improving the quality of life.  Such contrast to my work environment, a banking environment specifically.  Today, I have also got some crisis at work.  People were running around frantically trying to get some presentation slides updated for an upcoming meeting.  Comparing the two, what I do for a living seems dull and meaningless.  If this world rewards people – monetarily speaking – based on the real contribution to our society, I would like to be an ambulance driver.  I love to drive fast and I love to save lives.  In my today’s job, I save people’s asses.  That does not seem to satisfy me fully.

Auntie Bernadette is hospitalized.  Hence we were at TTS Hospital.  Shortly after we found Bernadette, a priest has arrived.  We were surprised.  It was one of the Seven Catholic Sacraments: Anointing of the Sick.  In the past, it was used to be called Last Rites.  Today, it is part of the healing process.  It was the first time I see how this Sacrament is carried out.  Cynthia and I prayed along.  Throughout the session, I looked at Auntie Bernadette.  I was captivated by her eyes.  Such fire of faith and conviction, as she absorbed every word the priest said.  Those child-like expressions, such purity in heart.  Jesus once said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  I was moved deeply, looking at Auntie Bernadette.  I was ashamed too, for my faith and the fire within does not even measure up to a tiny faction of what she exhibits.

According to Auntie Bernadette, it is God at work that she is hospitalized.  So that she has the opportunity to talk to the nurses, ease them off their daily stress and pray with them.  Even when she is sick, she is still doing God’s will.  After the priest has left, Auntie Bernadette held our hands and prayed for us.  I can tell you honestly that whatever that was in our thoughts, Bernadette spoke them out in words.  It was as though she was reading our minds.  The prayer was so powerful that Cynthia was moved to tears.  It was as close to divinity as I have seen lately.  Today I am touched by an Angel.  I think it is still not too late to repent.  In the spirit of Lent, I shall leave you with two simple passages that are relevant to this Easter season.

Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return ~ Genesis 3:19

Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel ~ Mark 1:15

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Diary Linguistic

Say What? It Is Level Pre-Advanced 1 at Las Lilas School?

Compare to my good Spanish classmate Monster, I am a lot more conservative.  When his colleagues asked him which level he is at after spending close to three years learning the language, he humbly replied, “Intermediate”.  After all these years you are still at intermediate? they would ask.  And he would reply, “Yes, intermediate”.  To be frank, I have no idea how many levels there are, what the next level is going to be.  I feel as though I am still at the elementary level.  Because I am still feeling so very inadequate.

The good news is that Cynthia and I have passed our exam.  My score is not that great, which means I have to study harder.  I treasure wake up calls like this.  We humans are the lazy bunch.  We need a kick every now and then to get us back on track.

Pre-Advanced 1 started with a new teacher Amelia.  Our previous teacher Alejandra is taking a short break and has returned to Spain to deliver a baby.  I think it has something to do with the Spanish culture.  All our teachers so far at Las Lilas School are lively and warm, cheerful and fun loving.  In today’s class, I have put in extra effort trying not to look like a retard (especially when Cynthia was stuck at her week long project management exam preparation course and could not be there to help me answering all the questions).  Otherwise, Amelia would be wondering what Alejandra has been teaching us all these while.

Going up one level has certainly come with added challenges.  Today’s class’s theme was fitness, or vida sana.  No more simple, overused verbs that we have been relying on for close to three years.  We now have to form sentences with more formal verbs.  Such as fruits and vegetables provides vitamins (comer frutas y verduras proporciona vitaminas), enough sleep rests the body (dormir suficientes horas descansa el cuerpo), and drinking too much alcohol damages the liver (beber mucho alchol dañar el hígado).

What else have we learned today?  Grammar, of course.  I was not even shocked by yet another new tense to conjugate, with all its irregularity glory.  It is affirmative imperative (imperativo afirmativo) and negative imperative (imperativo negativo), which is intimately linked to subjunctive (subjuntivo).  In fact, negative imperative takes the form of subjunctive while there are two exceptions for affirmative imperative.  I am still struggling with subjunctive (and the rest of other tenses to be honest).  How in the world do Spanish and Latino people manage to use grammar of such diversity?  Whatever secret they have, I admire their ability to express things around them in such colorful variety.

Some asked: What do you get out of learning Spanish in Singapore?  Unfortunately, I do not have an inspirational answer to that question.  Learning a language works my brain muscle, which I like.  It is a common hobby for Cynthia and I.  Developing a common hobby of any type is good for a couple, mostly.  And I still believe that learning any skill opens up opportunities in the future.

On a more practical note, last night we had non-stop thunderclaps for one good hour followed by heavy rain.  Immediately, I associated the event to one of Prince’s classic “Thunder”.  This morning, I have transfered three of Prince’s albums onto my wireless phone and listened to them in our car.  When the first song from “The Gold Experience” was played, I instantly recognized that the narrator was speaking in Spanish.  It was a pleasant surprise.  Not that I fully understood what “Nuestra presentacion especial comenzara en breve.  Pero antes un mensaje de nuestros auspiciadores” meant.  At least the narration was not that foreign to me, compares to the first time I heard the album in 1995.

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Diary

One Crazy Week

I listened to the acoustic recording of the quake captured from the deep ocean with goose bumps all over my body.  I suppose I could imagine the terror induced had I come face to face with such force of nature.  The 2011 Japanese earthquake had lasted for 2 minutes.  That has triggered a series of aftershocks, a tsunami, a potential nuclear meltdown, and an impact to the global economy.  For the past one week, I have been glued to the news from the Internet feeling deeply saddened.  That puzzled me a bit because I do not usually feel that attached to the disasters worldwide.  Maybe deep inside, I admire the Japanese people and culture more than I think I do.

This week has been a crazy week.  My mother in Hong Kong was hospitalized for a minor operation and how I wish I was there with her.  One colleague of mine’s grandfather has passed away and I said to her, “Go home and spend time with your family.  Don’t worry about that minute of meeting”.  I suppose falling back into routines helps one to return to normalcy.  And normalcy helps one to momentarily forget the pain.  I did not have the heart to grant her that wish.  There were two major deliverables this week and in the mist of all these chaos, one of my colleagues has lost his sanity – figuratively speaking – because he thinks that he will be asked to leave the company soon.  So I said to him, “Keep your head down and continue to be productive”.  I suppose different people handles stress in a different way.  Constantly having to deal with his momentary lapse of sanity seems to have worn me out a bit.  And hence, summing all up, it has been a shockingly depressing and incredibly busy week.

I have a different approach when it comes to work, compares to some of the colleagues around me.  I believe that knowledge and experience should be shared.  Because together, we can do so much more.  Don’t you worry that one day your job will be taken away from you, some have asked in the past.  I would be in deep trouble if my job is hanging onto what I know today.  In contrary, I would be happy if more and more people can do what I am doing.  That way, I can move onto other things in life and create new knowledge, create new experience.  I think there is enough food to share around (again, figuratively).  Even when the time is bad, deep inside, we are hunters.  We will be able to find something else to eat, somewhere, somehow.

Last Sunday I took Cynthia to the IT Show.  I would imagine that must have been a terrifying experience for her.  The gigantic exhibition hall was filled with people.  Mostly men talking in some geek languages, ogling at products that meant nothing to her.  I am a seasoned IT Show visitor.  IT Show is not a time and place for shopping.  When I visit an IT Show, I know exactly what I want to get.  At the exhibition, I checked where the Creative’s booth was located and under my supreme leadership, we zoomed straight into the location that mattered: Creative’s cashier.  I took a look at the pamphlet.  Yes, the World of Warcraft headset was on sales.  Big discount.  So I ordered three headsets there and then.  The man who manned the cashier was surprised at my efficiency and determination.  I went in as fast as I went out.  Cynthia was shocked.

Today is unlike the previous days, my working day has ended with a sunny blue sky.  Finger crossed, I am hoping for a better week next week.  My world and the world I am living in.

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I’ve Survived The Tuesday!

Some of you may wonder what I have been up to these days.  There are little updates here.  Yes, I have an excuse.  A good one.  My new hosting company wrote to me a week ago and recommended me not to update this website until they have completed the hardware upgrade exercise.  One week of not writing online is a long time.  So I publish my entries sparsely, still waiting for them to inform me that work has been completed and I can go back to my usual blogging rhythm.  No such luck as yet.

But like I said, that is an excuse.  Lately, my life has been gravitated into this invisible whirlpool called March the Eight.  That is today.  I have always been nervous about Spanish examination.  Because I am linguistically handicap.  One week is hardly enough to revise what I have learned in 20 lessons, which in retrospect, I should have studied incrementally over the duration of the two courses.  The luring of online gaming seems too strong for my not so strong mind.  The more I study, I more I realize what I do not know.  The more Spanish words I squeeze into my brain, even more seems to have vanished from within.  Some scientists say that we have tons of untapped brain power inside our heads.  God has granted us an equipment good enough to function as apes in the past, as human today, and as alien life force in the future.  I don’t know.  I am not feeling it.  Especially not this evening, when I took the Spanish examination.

This afternoon, our boss wanted to meet us in the office in town urgently.  It had something do with our performance review, new salary, and bonus reward.  I was nervous, of course.  When a new management team takes over, old timers like I are often targets for pruning.  Since day one of joining this organization – or any organization for that matter – it has been like one survival game after another.  On the 21st floor, designated for casual meeting, with a fantastic view overlooking the Singapore river and the new integrated resort, an event took place.  It was an event organized by the women, for the women.  Apparently, we have invited the first Singaporean women team who climbed the Mount Everest as key speakers for the event, to share their experience.  The entire floor was filled with women.  I could not help but to feel a bit out of place while waiting for our boss to summon us.

Singapore’s birth rate has been heading south lately, and rapidly.  Every day there are news on why it is so, what we could do.  One friend joked that if we take the iPhone away from the Singaporean women, perhaps more babies would be made?  In one newspaper forum, there was a discussion on what if one man can take more than one wives.  More sex, for sure.  More babies, I do not know.  The other day, on radio, the DJs have posted this question on air: Do you find Singapore girls attractive?  If not, why not? I think the DJs wanted to know why people here are not getting married.  I find it hilarious.  Because we always get to like what we have (quoting Doris Lessing).  There is little to do with the quality of Singaporean women, or men.  The simple reality is that some do not want to live together, have sex, may have babies, and grow old with someone else.  It appears that the singles do not mind to perhaps die alone, and die lonely.  Or maybe, the future seems too far away.  According to one international survey targeted to only women, Singapore is their first choice for relocation.  I am not sure what our government can do with this piece of information.  More women certainly means the possibility of more babies.  Our country is on survival mode.  That much I can see.

I too am on survival mode at work.  Fortunately, being average has gained me another year of work.  I hope how I did at the Spanish class today is sufficient to take me to another level of learning Spanish.  I don’t know what we can with Singapore’s dwindling birth rate.  Perhaps take the iPhone away from the men?

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Weeding At Pulau Ubin

When I told my friends that I was going to do weeding at Pulau Ubin, those who have been playing World of Warcraft with me would say: Herbing?  Yes, one of my favorite past time in that online world is to pluck flowers.  And I thought, weeding is like part of what gardeners do.  It is like how I helped my aunt in Paris to maintain her garden during my summer school holiday.  OK.  I was wrong.  The scale of weeding at Pulau Ubin has way exceeded my expectation.

Pulau Ubin is an island off the northeastern corner of Singapore mainland.  It reminds me of our recent trip to Lamma Island in Hong Kong.  Except, Pulau Ubin seems much smaller, less developed.  According to the guides from National Park, there are no more than 50 families living in the island.  Today was the first time I landed on Pulau Ubin, thanks to a corporate volunteer initiative I have signed up for.  I was so looking forward to this trip that even though I was down with a flu yesterday, I willed myself to get out of the bed this morning.  Surprisingly, I felt OK.  Mind over matter no doubt.

The jetty that transported us from the mainland to Pulau Ubin took 12 of us at a time.  The van that transported us from the meeting point to the reforestation zone took 10 of us at a time.  We have chartered four vans.  So, we must have about forty, eager to do some serious weeding.  Before we started, the guides shared with us why the removal of evasive plants is needed (they tend to take up a lot more nutrient and grow a lot faster).  And what would happen to the weeds (recycled in the form of wood chips and used as fertilizer).

We were told that some plants are weeds and some are not.  To be frank, in the beginning, most of us were confused, unable to tell the difference.  We hesitated.  And we pulled the wrong plants.  As our confidence grew, we aimed higher and higher.  Below is a photo taken using my phone titled, “A Pile of Weed”.

Most of the weeds took five to seven men and women to yank them off the ground with our gloved bare hands.  Some are trees as tall as one story high.  We had 2 hours of solid weeding, which could become strenuous.  Imagine yanking a tree out every other few minutes, under a hot sun.  Towards the end of the activity, looking at how enthusiastic we were in pulling out trees one after another, the guides from National Park hinted to us that we should wrap up.  Because next week, there will be another group from one of the polytechnics here to do weeding.  We have to leave them some, I suppose?

Before we left, I looked around the area.  I was amazed at how much weed we have removed.  I wish I had taken a before and after image for comparison.

P.S. The Chinese translation of the island’s name seems to mean “Island of Sensitive Birds”.  But I must confess that I have not seen a single bird flying above us.  Also, we were reminded to be extra careful when entering into bushes.  Because there may be sleepy snakes inside.  Fortunately, we have not seen one neither.

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Oscar, Job Fair, And A Book Published

Round about the time when Natalie Portman gets her well deserved Oscar win, my sister has her one-liner of fame on The Straits Times, our national papers.  And Cynthia has published a book.  Let’s go through the events in sequence.

I had to give the local Oscar media invite a miss due to work commitment.  What a shame.  Because I was told that sumptuous breakfast buffet and champaign would be served at a cinema, courtesy of FOX.  Nevertheless, in the evening, I tuned into Star Movies while playing Warcraft on mute.  I am a huge fan of – besides “Black Swan” – “Fighter” and “King’s Speech” and hence, I was looking forward to hearing some of the acceptance speeches.  Natalie Portman looked radiance.  I am happy for her win, and her pregnancy.  Meanwhile, I am considering to unfriend TK because he did not think that Portman performed well on that show.  TK, if you are reading this, you have until the next time we meet to say something very nice about Natalie Portman.  Or my decision will be final!

*     *     *     *     *

I am usually not the type of guy who talks about work.  Suffice to say, I have no clue about what my sister does for a living, what Cynthia does for a living.

Last weekend, my sister messaged me to see page B7 of our national paper.  The news is titled as “Bumper Year for NTU Job Fair”.  I can see that a lot of her hard works (and her colleagues too, no doubt) are reflected on the news snippet.  Such as a record turn-outs of  employers at the event and the featuring of iFair – an online system that facilitate job hunt.  So, what did my sister say on papers?

iFair allows students who are overseas and who cannot come back in time for interviews to interact with employers.  Having a virtual presence also offers more cost savings.

One student – through the virtual fair I presume – has secured a job with Temasek Holdings.  Starting salary?  Between S$6,000 and S$7,000.  Now, I sure did not know that fresh graduates are so well paid today.  I will think twice before buying fresh graduates lunch next time.

*     *     *     *     *

A few years ago, Cynthia and her friend wrote a book called “Communicate Effectively With Your Indonesian Domestic Helper”, which can also be found in our national library.  This year, they have released a second edition with content updates.  Will this book be featured in my website alongside with the rest of the book reviews?  You bet.  On first look, this book can well be renamed to “Communicate Effectively With Your Indonesian Wife or Husband”.  Because I see sections on kitchen … and bedroom (I have to admit that I have not looked into the book in detail, as yet).

So, what did Cynthia write on the acknowledgement page?

To my husband Wilfrid, for his ideas, endless support, love and inspiration.  To my mother Rosaline, for her valuable comments throughout the development of this book and for reviewing the final manuscript.  To my brother Eric, for his unfailing confidence in me.

It is heartwarming, to say the least, to see my name featured somewhere in print.  To be totally honest, the only tangible support I have provided during her time in co-authoring the book was to make sure that the free-to-use OpenOffice is up and running in her computer.  Because Microsoft Office is way too expensive.  Having said that, I am thoroughly touched by her one-liner.

“Communicate Effectively With Your Indonesian Domestic Helper” is written by Cynthia and Siau Leong.  It is available from all good bookstores.  ISBN: 978-981-4328-48-7.

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Diary Linguistic

In This Deep Pool Of Español

Today included, I have thirteen days to prepare for my upcoming Spanish examination.  Over the years, I have this recurrent dream.  In this dream, I would be inside an examination hall staring at exam questions that I have no clue on how to answer.  And it is always this sense of anxiety that wakes me up.  If I am to trace the root cause of this nightmare, it would likely be pointing to the time period when I was studying for my degree.  You see, in my four years direct master course, I only had three examinations.  In addition, only the last two mattered.  There was no examination at the end of the second year.  In theory, one could be bumping around for three years only to face the brutality of a series of tests in the span of a couple of weeks that determined one’s future.  You can imagine the boiling pressure.  No wonder we have so many pubs within the university perimeter, thanks to student’s syndrome.

How do you study for an examination?  For me, I often start with a timetable, laying out what I need to do on paper.  Systematically work through the activities and assuming that the plan is good (it has to be), everything is going to be OK.  This time is different.  For a start, after close to three years of learning Spanish, I am still hovering at the basic level of hi-how-are-you and my-name-is-so-and-so.  I may have learned a lot along the way.  But language is a skill that if you don’t use it, you don’t have it.  So I am doing some soul searching lately, on the things that I suck when it comes to Spanish.  I am looking beyond this upcoming exam and am looking at where my Spanish learning journey is heading.  I think I have been bumping around for a bit too long.

Our Spanish teacher has a beautiful way to describe the necessity of learning grammar; something to do with the structure of discourse; something to do with the expression of one’s wisdom.  Lately, I have been reading about communicating grammar in a discourse level.  I am no linguist or learning expert.  The jest of it, from what I have internalized, is that learners should interact naturally in a real communication act.  Since Cynthia is also learning Spanish (she is the reason why I am in this deep pool of español), we should use each other as a practice target communicating on topics that we have no idea where they are coming from (versus artificial learning environment whereby we know what is to come).  Why haven’t I thought of that?  I could talk about the monthly S$7 lunch special at my canteen today.  I could talk about the pumpkin soup, assorted German sausages, sauerkraut, potato glatini, salad, black forest cake, and a drink I had today.  I could talk about the friendly patrol attendant I met today, whom was surprised that I know the timing of their shifts.  He would be surprised had he know that I also know besides pumping petrol, he has to clean the kiosks and clean the toilets.  I could talk about this lovely song I heard over the Spanish Internet radio station while I was stuck in the traffic this morning.  I wrote down the lyrics and it went something like “deep inside you cry cry cry, don’t let your hope die die die”.  I could talk about how I love Google because with a mere fragment of lyrics, it tells me that the song is by Oceana and it is called “Cry Cry”.  I could talk about how I am determined to memorize the verb conjugation, to relearn something basic such as numbers, seasons, and days of the week, to practice Spanish using the two textbooks we have bought and have yet used, and to inject some Spanish vibes into my head through the Spanish Internet radio every day from now till March 8.

OK.  It is time to do some serious research on how to say all of the above.  Be right back.