turducken in Canada

Today I was reminded of Thanksgiving at home. No such event here, so I guess I will have CHICKEN

What a surprise. I did happen to spy some frozen, freezerburned turkey drumsticks in some freezer a few months ago. But they were pathetic looking besides being burned after too much time in the freezer. They were more the size of a large crow's drumstick.

Jenn is feeding a crowd and serving turkucken to the masses.  Said she would save a wee bit in the freezer for me to gnaw on when I get there. I hope she means it. A change from chicken would be a treat.  I wont be going to Melaka again this weekend - have another camp to attend.  Maybe next weekend. We can then put together some sort of a Thanksgiving treat and celebrate the day Malaysian style.  As for the turducken, I will let that image dance in my head like a sugar plum.

As for the chicken I wil face it head on once I come to terms that this is what is available to me and serve it with rice

Phonics and Camping

Today I get to show off my talents for teaching phonics - at a ministry conference in JB.  The only trick is to remember how the heck I got there yesterday.  I will be taking a different route, so God only knows how this will turn out. I will be mentoring teachers in one of my schools in the morning and then taking the journey to the place in question. I am happy to do this - phonics seems to be the common need, and why not. Once one realizes that they transfer their own vowel sounds to a new langauage, then can learn to adopt the new language sounds and be understood.  This old goat is going to attempt to demonstrate that need, through my own laughable pronunciation of Malay words using English rules.  No one ever understood what I wanted or where I wanted to go until I figured that out.Curious George is going to help me demonstrate this today.

This weekend I will be joining my base school in a campout on the school grounds. One of those events that the schools must do during the school year. I have done one of these last weekend, so have already armed myself with balloons for water balloon tosses and relays, pingpong balls and spoons for races, and of course my armload of books - which are a constant attraction to all.

Last weekend I was asked to judge a cooking competition. No idea if this will be a requirement this weekend. But very glad I do not have to do the cooking.

I finally found my last school and other great accomplishments

Good thing I am stubborn. Otherwise I would still not have found that last school. A colleague had tried to guide me the other week but he had no clue, and after driving in circles we gave up. I spent two hours trying today. I bought a map, showed it to someone who can speak English and she charted the map for me to take. The is a problem with that in this part of the world. The map is not accurate, and steet names on the map are not in the real world. I dont know how they manage to do that, but there are several steet names not mapped and many that are on the map that dont exist. Good grief.  So, after trying several efforts, and ending up in some very strange places, I began to seek hotels. Hotels employ people who tend to have some English. And I was not disappointed. With three different hotel guides I eventually found my way to the school. Only to discover they were in the midst of a sports day. No meetings would happen. Argh.  But I hung around with them, talked to my new mentees and then headed off into the sunset on another quest. Good grief again. The DLO (distric langugage officer) has an office in the middle of another 'nowhere'. So off I went to see if I could find him. I was given his phone number, but seems that was wrong information too. I rechecked the number several times but when I tried it, I was advised the number is not in use. Now, after GPS cow took control of the journey, I arrived at a place in the middle of an industrial park, dump, and who knows what else, I came upon a building that Madam GPS kept telling me 'destination'. So I tried to enter the parking lot, stopped abruptly by a very serious security person. No gate lift for me. So, found some where to park(ish) the car and walked back. I wandered around the grounds asking if anyone could speak English, and suddenly I heard a chorus of people responding YES. Told them my plight, and then was advised that the KSSR (curriculum seminar) is not here and they did not know where or who the person I was looking for was or is. So I decided I needed to go to the KSSR and find some more of my mentees. But I had no idea how to get there. One kind soul advised she was heading in that directions and I could follow her. Why not, so off we went again, and landed at some school I had no idea existed. I had no idea where I was. I felt like I had driven in a direction like a question mark from the location I had just left. That would lead me to beleive I was somewhere near the downtown of JB and east of it, near the Singapore border. Turns out I was correct in that feeling, but it gave me no comfort because I still did not know where I was. And Madam GPS was just as confused. I attended the meetings and was asked to return tomorrow to deliver a phonics seminar to the assembly. I am actually quite happy with this. I think the material I have and the methods I use will be useful. And if successful - many more Malaysians speaking with good pronunciation. So now the meetings are over, and I dont really know which direction to take to get out of there. Also rush hour traffice to contend with. Lucky for me one of my mentees was attending and also lives in Kota Tinggi and did not bring her car. A guide in the passenger seat who actually gave good directions led me to an area I was familair with. Still scratching my head wondering how this question mark route I took could land me where I found landmarks I know. But who cares. I have stubbornly discovered even more that I can do here - without a map, without gps, Good thing - the both failed miserably.  Now the magic of finding my way back there without having to take that route that created the question mark drive. I am sure I can. And I am sure I will.
stay tuned

I made a sandwich today

Before you read about the significance of making a sandwich here, you have to read through my drivel about driving to work today. Good thing that mentor who was replacing me is gone. She would jump across the room when she heard a crack of thunder, and although she said she could drive in any conditions, she was a wreck when it rained here. She said Oh My God, these monsoons are dangerous - we are not expected to go out in that weather are we?  My reply was 'sorry this is not a monsoon, this is a rain. Monsoons do not start until December.'  So having said that less than a week ago, this morning I got into my little tin buggy and headed to work - with a SWEATER ON. It was raining, and only window clearing wtih this lousy car is ful blast air conditioning. Well, the rain was winning - but still not a monsoon. I had to also lower both sides of the car windows to help clear the fogging inside.  I all I could do was laugh when some clown came flying past me in a low spot on the highway. We were in fairly deep water - the kind you drive slowly through, to be sure you have brakes after the plunge. He did not seem to know that rule. It was like someone had taken an enormous rain barrel and threw it at my windshield. I could see nothing. But better still, the tosser had also thrown another rain barrel INTO MY CAR AND ALL OVER ME. My feet were actually submerged in water. All the papers on my passenger seat were soaked, and myself was like a drown rat. Oh well, it is only water, so I forged ahead. Now, nearing my school, I came to another low area, and foolishly had the window down again because the moisture inside the car was causing great condensation on the windows.Once again a skilled driver came flying past me, caring not about the depth of the water or the safety of anyone. AGAIN, A RAIN BARREL HIT ME IN THE FACE. I arrived at the school completely soaked. I had to admit what happened, and lucky for me the teachers and head mistress found it amusing.
So now for the sandwich, which pales in comparison to the previous accounting.  I trundled off to Jusco on my way home from the school.  Came upon some kind of bread that looks like one of those peasant loaves we buy in Canada. Bought it, went into the contraband area and snuck out with some kind of cold cuts that were wrapped in packaging so they could not be identified. Now all I need to find is some lovely dijon mustard and life will be fine. Until then, a packet of the nasty yellow stuff from fast food outlets will do. I did make the sandwich, and the bread was not bad, the cold cuts were ok, the mustard was still nasty. But what a treat to eat a sandwich. Reason for the trip to Jusco, other than getting the bread, was because I have not yet figured out how to get back north east onto the freeway from the school I was at.  I tried to let the GPS broad help me but she kept telling me to turn right, turn right, turn right, and if I had, I would have been driving into oncoming traffic. What a stupid mechanical woman in that machine!
I think I might even take a sandwich to work tomorrow for my lunch. How Canadian huh, or should I say eh?

Is there a full moon now?

Something odd is going on here. I received a call, on the weekend,  from a colleague who works in Pahang - north of here. Quite north. She came over when I did and turns out she too is from Victoria. She keeps in touch, and knew that I was moving to new location. I could not talk to her as I have had pharyengitis and no voice. I sent her a txt message and explained.  Today with a bit of a mouse voice, I called her and knew it was not her voice. I asked for Michelle, and the person said she was Christina. I asked if I had such and such number and I did. She explained Michelle has left - does not know where she went, and how to reach her. She has come to work here - new from the USA and could not tell me more. I think I threw her off as much as I was thrown off. This person just called me from that number on the weekend. What the heck? Another runner?

working in my own cluster - putting out fires in the old one

A good day at work for me. Not so good in the old cluster. Seems my replacement did a dash back to her homeland, Scotland. I have been getting calls from my old work area - concerned they offended her. I assured them they did not. I witnessed how they accepted her as they did me with the same warmth and kindness I felt.
Not sure what her problem was, but better now than later.

apparently, in this industry, when an employee getes hired and then leaves without notice, they are called a runner.

CAMPSITE ULU TIRAM - SATURDAY MORNING

I was completey impressed with the culinary skills these primary school students displayed at their campsite. There was a contest to determine the most creative and delicious fare prepared. I had to decline the offer of tasting - these kids have a palate for heat in their food that could match the cooking fuel to prepare it. Mine is not so developed. But look at what they produced over a little block of sterno in the middle of a field.

This is the cooking device they had. think of the contraptions we take along with us in Canada to produce a meal.  Now look at this little bit of a thing that created the art that follows.

I had to add this one first. It shows us that boys are the same everywhere on the globe. Their concern is quantity - not presentation. The food looked very good - chicken wings and some kind of deep fried fluffy chippy things. Bowls of the fluffy things and platters of wings. Their bellies will be happy at the end of the meal.

A group of young girls put this together. Pretty impressive huh?

Even the shell dish that holds the food was prepared at the camp site.  No more complaining about cooking back home, right?

Busily working together, they prepare the food for the competition.

Here is one final product.  They could work in a high end restaurant with this artistry of food. Watch the hot peppers though. They are in everything!