Heritage at Singapore National Museum

"To collect photographs is to collect the world"~Susan Sontag

Before my visit to the National Museum, if you were to ask me on my thoughts of heritage, I would answer that the museum decides what constitutes as heritage and showcases it to its people. It painstakingly arranges valuable artefacts into neat categories and explains their importance via handouts and audio guides. Hence, I would expect a clinical introduction to Singapore's heritage, as what its sleek, seemingly cold exterior suggests.

Upon entering the National Museum, the first installation that greeted my eyes was a commentary on the devastation of Earth due to global warming. I wondered why the guy was opening his legs wide; perhaps he wanted to present his desire to escape from the surging "flood" of melting walls.

I soon noticed that photo-taking was a common activity among the people who were at the museum. Be it

close-up shots or

long-distance shots, everyone was preserving memories of their loved ones, which ranged from

their significant half,

their friends,

their child to even

themselves. (yes, this is a narcissistic shot of yours truly. Do I look as trendy as the mannequins behind me? Haha.)

This is when I realised that we need not rely on the museum to pave the way for our heritage to be preserved. Armed only with mobile and digital cameras, we have the ability to create and record our own heritage. Several decades down the road, when the National Museum gets an entirely new makeover (as is inevitable in fast-changing Singapore), we can regale our children and grandchildren with tales of how we had fun at our National Museum in 2007.

Kudos to the National Musuem for not forgetting this human element and empowering us to interact with the exhibits in such a fun and interesting manner. Now, as the time ticks relentlessly by and the year comes to an end, it's time to get contemplative,

examine oneself on the glazed ball and plan ahead for 2008!

Happy New Year, all....

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/bd3f1/

I just got myself a travel journal at virtualtourist. I will commit myself and aim to pen at least 200 tips before june 2008. Yay! Nothing like a goal to work towards

Sigh, it's a shame that I have to dye my hair black before school reopening but well, it was good while it lasted. grins.

Lao people (3)

The day before our departure was particularly memorable because Phonekhan, the receptionist of Sengprachanh Hotel asked his lecturers for leave from his classes just so he could bring us Singaporeans to a popular beer garden for an afternoon of drinks. Really sweet of him! He is featured here prominently with his newly purchased bike. My readers, this isn't your typical mundane photo. This bike cost Phonekhan US$1400 and took him ten years to save up for since one can't usually pay via installments in Laos. I felt a lump in my throat as he revealed all this. Ten years?!! ten freaking years!! I am not sure whether I have even strove so determinedly towards a goal before. I simply had to take a photo of him and his bike to remind myself of the spirit of perservance.

The beer garden. One of the favourite haunts of Lao students as they come to such places after school to drink Lao beer, eat food and play cards. Indeed. An excellent place to listen to music and chill out with friends.

if you can't see clearly, this is what we ate....

Tada! Fried crickets! Once I got past my psychological barrier, the crickets actually didn't taste half bad. very crunchy. I surprised myself by helping myself to more crickets, which might have caused the stomach upset I had later in the evening.


Noi and Mee wriggled in distaste when I told them that we had fried crickets for tea, so I guess fried crickets mayn't be what you call a staple dish in Laos. Haha. Mee even taunted how it served me right to have a tummy ache. How unkind. (Just kidding, Mee. Haha.) No regrets lar, though I guess I would think twice before trying this delicacy again.

Although we only spent around two hours there, it was an impactful trip. I felt lucky that Phonekhan and Nit went out of their way to create this indelible memory for us. :P

Lao people (2)

Meet Mee, my feisty 22-year-old coordinator who accommodated our every request and put her life on hold to show us the wonderful sights of her country. Also the person who expanded my lingo with colourful words such as "ka dek" (shameless), kic (more than friends but not boyfriend-and-girlfriend status) and "sexpert" (I have no idea what this means).

here i was during my first week, griping about how vientiane doesn't seem to be very vibrant because there is a lack of things to do at night. Not even night markets! Having come from Bangkok where my peeps and I cheong-ed a different night market every night, you can imagine how this was awfully disappointing for me. :(

Then, we met up with Roderick, the second-in-command of the Singapore embassy in Laos. He just made the city seem so much exciting by pointing out all the recommended eating outlets when he was driving us around. Optimism surged in my heart. Haha

But it wasn't until Mee and her friends brought us around that Vientiane steadfastly revealed her charms to us. KTV at River Side Restaurant. See and gasp at how big the room is! There is space for them to dance uninhibitedly! (Okay, I danced too but not with so much grace or boldness. haha). Chinese songs are available too but unfortunately they are indicated in Lao script, so never in my life have i sung so many boyband songs. A1, Blue, Backstreet boys, Westlife, the whole works.

After KTV, the night was still young as we sashayed into Romeo, the hippest disco in town. Notice how we are gathered around a table. Take note, there isn't a dancing floor in the disco, so people dance with a table separated between them! what a paradigm shift, i tell you. We Singaporeans, assertive (or pushy?) as always, tried to shift the tables and create a small dancing space but the tables were promptly reinstated. okay, we get the hint *sheepish grin*. it was a good night nonetheless.

After recovering from my hangover (oops), it was back to my heroic self as we promptly dug in at this korean bbq place, Seven Plus Health Centre (what an absurd name). it was quite a surreal experience as never in my life would I expect to eat korean food in Laos. But I did! And maybe it was the novelty but it tasted more appetising than the meals I had in Korea. haha

Mee and her friends also gave me the know-how so that I could bring my Singaporean counterparts to Moon the Night restaurant. I kept insisting that the name came about because it's all about exposing our buttocks towards the night sky in a show of defiance. Anyway, this is where I ate fried buffalo skin (very tough to chew!), fried Wai Wai (their instant noodles was so good that i bought one pack home) and to-die-for iced coffee (my smile on the above photo says it all). haha.

Of course, they brought us to other places but I was either too sick or lazy to take photos, so that's that. Anyway, without the hospitality of the locals, Laos wouldn't have been half as memorable. Shudders. It would have been such a shame if we returned to Singapore, armed only with anecdotes at how lackluster the food at restaurants such as Kua Lao and Le Central (duly recommended by Rough Guide and other travel guides) was!

Lao people

I was attached to the National University of Laos, where I had the opportunity to teach students who are training to become English language teachers as well as people who are already teachers

let me bring you through some of the classes which i taught

The Year Twos
I only taught the Year Twos two lessons but somehow, this was a class which I would remember for some time to come. Maybe it is because the two lessons i had with them were wildly successful and hence memorable. haha.

For the first lesson, i gave each group several pictures and instructed them to construct one sentence per picture. It was quite tedious to explain to them how I wanted their presentations to be conducted but after they got the hang of it, it was poetry in motion. I could actually see for myself that they learnt something from the lesson as the last few groups who presented did not make any mistakes with regard to capital letters and full-stops. If only every lesson goes like that. sob sob.

The second lesson in which I got them to pass down one sentence and have the last member write it down on the board generated much interest. i guess this enthusiasm poured over into the second half as they enthusiastically participated in the choral reading, their voices loud and cheery. what an ego boost. haha.

3E1 The people in 3E1 seemed more reserved than the Year Twos, so it was quite challenging to draw them out from their shells.

I liked the lesson in which they tried to work out the English words for the ingredients of their favourite Lao dish. Could tell that they were serious about wanting to share with me their culture. And I was really touched by them organising a farewell ceremony for me, complete with a framed picture of That Luang. what a thoughtful gesture!

Continuous Year 1 I was quite stunned to step into their classroom the first lesson and realised that I was about to teach teachers. like, wow. they didn't have a General English teacher before me, so i felt rather honoured to be their first teacher for this subject. some of the ajarns went to buy the textbook because they heard that they were going to have a teacher. wah. i hope i didn't disappoint them with my youthful looks and lack of experience. *swallows throat*

this was the only class in which the ajarns would give feedback during the lesson, so they really kept me on my toes. i can't just blurt out, "i don't know. my NIE notes never say", right?

Continuous Year 2 This class had the dubious honour of their teacher being unprepared for lessons. just go into the classroom and whack. haha. They also have the honour of being the most intellectual class, since one student asked me questions like, "how many opposition parties are there in Singapore?" (jaws drop) and "is Singapore a top-down or bottom-up management?" (jaws drop even wider)

I can't believe how tickled they were by BINGO! it was a good lesson.

~~~

During the trip, if i were to be asked whether i would sign up for overseas TWA again, i would have answered how inclined i might be to sign up for Cambodia. now, after this 3-week stint, i actually don't mind going back to National University of Laos and teaching them again. yah, it surprises me also.

Back from Laos!

A: so, what's the best thing about your trip?

Le: (without hesitation) the people. very, very hospitable people

I'm really glad that i pushed aside my temple fatigue and went on this trip.

loads of things have happened. hopefully, there would be loads of updates on this blog as well. haha.

in any case, witness my transformation from black hair to bleached hair to reddish brown hair.

if you read my post from a year ago, you would notice that i have always wanted to dye my hair red.

a small but significant dream come true!

and it only cost US$12!

yes, detractors, i know very well that DIY in Singapore costs cheaper but I was informed that a dye job costs US$5 initially. which self-respecting wanna-dye-hair guy wouldn't leap at the offer right?! anyway, USS12 for a dye job at the salon is quite a good deal. Bopenyang (Never mind). :P