Unwritten

While I was busy mugging my History at the benches below Hall A after dinner today (tomorrow's the much dreaded History test!!), all of a sudden, a mixture of three rather loud voices nearby brought my attention to some three people walking towards the bench next to me. Upon closer inspection, it was i) Kai Rou (fellow boarder, primary school friend) , ii) my primary school teacher 许老师, (Ms? Mdm? Mrs? Xu [I'm not sure of her marital status]. It took me quite a while to realise who was that anyway) and iii) a slightly plump man I couldn't recognise. Naturally, the first thing I said was “hi” to my teacher (and Kai Rou and that man, a certain “Mr. Francis”), she said “hi” as well. I then expressed my shock by her sudden visit and questioned her about the reason of the visit. She said it was to see how we're doing and to do a certain “report”. Well, fair enough.

Although that teacher in particular did not teach me during my primary school days in Malaysia, somehow she knows me, and I know her. We (Kai Rou, Chern Yuen [they were already finding him once they came by], Shu Shien [who joined in a little later] and I) discussed with them about life in Singapore, school, and then we brought them around in the boarding school. Apparently, they were very much impressed, as everyone is when they see the excellent architectural design and the efficient system of our boarding school. With the occasional inclusion of Shien Yang and Zhi Hao (they were apparently unimpressed by the attitude of my teacher's partner Mr. Francis when apparently he said some things that were insensitive to their respective primary schools and in particular, ahem, Shien Yang's body size [thus the need for a Fat Acceptance Club]), we showed them around, the computer room, the laundrette, the music room, the fitness centre... It concluded rather fast. And then we decided to tour them around Hwa Chong.

We walked past the international school, into C block, across the canteen, on to Kah Kee Hall, out Ooi Tiong Ham hall, to the Tan Kah Kee statue, down the lane, into the toilet block, out through the IH homerooms, up to the multi-storey carpark, further our way to the SALT centre, then it was back to the international school, back to the boarding school, and then it was bye-bye (for we need to prepare for study time).

It was a very satisfying experience I'd say, being tour guide for my teacher, bringing them around Hwa Chong. While we were brought around by seniors during the Sec 1 Orientation, this time round, Chern Yuen and I were guides. Throughout the tour, it was talkative me, who went on and on about the school's history, the clock tower being a national monument, the consortium system, the CSE system we're currently in, the attendance taking using EZ-link, level assembly vs. flag raising, teachers' homerooms being like a “home” to both teachers and students, furniture in the teachers' homerooms, HCI being the only school with a multi-storey carpark, SALT centre bring named after our distinguished alumnus Ong Teng Cheong, how Hwa Chong rented SIM our land for a cheap price... Guess they might be a bit overwhelmed by too much information, but talking a lot is somewhat my forte, I talk and talk non-stop once I start and it is difficult for me to stop, prior training in speech-making during primary school days must have helped.

But of course, I shall not discount Chern Yuen's role as a guide, although he had less things to say as compared with freakishly talkative me, it was ultimately a collaboration between Chern Yuen and I that completed the tour as we complemented each other. Good job, Chern Yuen (and me of course)! Thanks to Kai Rou and Shu Shien too, who helped us out by sharing to them about St. Nicholas when we couldn't cater to both of them at once.

During the tour, I was especially excited to share about CSE and HP. Despite initial teething problems, I came to like both (CSE and HP) since the very start. I told them about travelling from lesson to lesson, carrying our bags around, the mentoring system in CSE, good things about HP (while Chern Yuen went on about SMTP), the IH homerooms of Ms Cheong, Ms Gwee and Mr Lim, the interior design of their homerooms, how HP lessons are conducted in their homerooms. Somehow, amongst all academic rigour and inconveniences, I found that I like CSE and HP very much indeed, and in fact, my liking is increasing by the day. Maybe it is the mere exhilaration of accomplishing HP tasks/assignments and the thrill of the ever-changing CSE that elevates my liking day by day :)

When they finally left, that was when I walked back to our rooms, saying “phew”. Firstly, it was because I wasted so much breath explaining every single thing I can think of about my school. Secondly, the weather was SO DAMN HUMID that we were sweating profusely by the time it ended.

On the negative side, once I started to loosen up a little in my room, Shien Yang and Zhi Hao were downstairs complaining to me about them... :P But you know what, I think that I'd prefer to end on a positive note. Overall, I thought that it was thoughtful of my teacher to even think of visiting us even though we had long graduated from primary school, and it was definitely a fun experience showing you guys around!