On Life and Work

Apropos of nothing, I want to share some of the thoughts that I went through while in HQ.  I know that sometimes (often?) there is a feeling of disillusionment when we think that we are only working for someone else's pleasure and not necessarily for what is 'best for our children, best for Singapore.'

I want to say that as I matured in a HQ environment, I've learnt to pull my own ego back whenever these thoughts come around. Almost always, the genesis of such feelings is because WE THINK WE ARE RIGHT.

I hope I do not sound harsh. If you feel such disillusionment, I would first like to pat you on the back. It tells me that you are passionate about education. Passionate about doing the right things, instead of only doing things right.

But hear me out.
We do not always know what's right. Nor are we going to be right all the time.
Everyone uses his/her own personal judgement to make their decisions.

Before we even come to that, I'd like to ask you. What sort of boss do you THINK you would like?
(a) A boss who follows the instructions of his/her superiors all the time.
(b) A boss who does what he/she thinks is right all the time.

I believe many would choose (b).
I would as well. But I remember a time not too long ago when I was working on a project and I did not entirely agree with my boss (Boss I). When the project went up to the bigger boss (Boss II), I was happy to hear comments that, to me, sounded like many things would be changed.

As I recall, when we went back to the office after that meeting in which I thought 'many things would be changed', the response from Boss I was "That went well. We just need to make a few tweaks to our plan and we should be good to go!"

I was floored!  And so were a few others with me.  In private, we questioned just what the hell Boss I was doing.  It seems that we all heard something vastly different from what he had heard!
We were upset, angry, frustrated that we didn't have the same ideas. Most of all, we were worried that what we were doing would be thrown into the trash by Boss II and we'd have to start from scratch all over again.

I'm sure that back then we were wishing that we had a boss that could follow instructions.
We wanted a type (a) boss.

Do you know what Boss I was doing?
He was exercising his own professional judgement.
He heard the same things we did. But decided to see how best those comments could mesh with his own vision of what the project was to be about.  He was a type (b) boss.

It took me a long time to realise this.  I'm glad that I was never ostracised despite me always wearing my heart on my sleeve on how I sometimes disagreed with Boss I's decisions.

I've realised that leadership is a lonely role.  That you have to balance both expectations from above and below and mesh them with your own vision of how things should be.  And in a field like ours, you almost never know if you were right.

It takes courage and a strong will to go your own way in the face of opposition from your superiors and subordinates.  It takes skill and wisdom to know HOW to go your own way without being condemned by both superiors and subordinates.

It is a balancing act.
Recognising this has made me kinder to bosses. They are people too. And their job isn't easy at all.

I also recognise that the source of my frustrations, besides my passion for education, stems from an implicit assumption that I KNOW WHAT'S BEST.

That, is an amazingly egotistical thought.  In the face of so many others who have been in the industry for so many years and faced so many different situations and challenges in education, I thought I was better than them, smarter than them, more moral than them.

That is why, when they did something I disagreed with, I immediately responded with a "What?! That's ridiculous!", instead of a "What does he see that I don't?"

From here on, read my previous post dated 9th Sept on cynicism.

I'm not saying that we should douse the fire that burns so strongly in us on the importance of education and the work that we are doing. God forbid that that happens.

But the words 'be positive' ring very true if we are to continue in education.
First of all though, I think I have to be humble.

God bless.

Moved!

Hello! We are back from the Newport trip! Though it was a day trip, I found it enriching and somewhat tiring due to the time on the road. In any case, it has also given me time to think through one thing: that I should not compartmentalise my life/ our lives through so many different blogs documenting different aspects of our lives. I thought it would be good to see how my writing or my life (for the matter) has changed over the years and when you looked back, they really do bring sweet memories and also a good depository for me to store certain resources. So, upon reaching home, I merged all blogs together and they are exported and imported successfully.

So, see you there! And take care of yourselves, meanwhile.

Mid-week!

I've got an email from a friend: How is life on the other side of the globe? What keeps you occupied?

Life has been busy for both of us. Ken, without a doubt, has gone full gear with his studies with assignments due each week. For me, apart from planning and preparing for meals, I have been busying myself with going to school.

School? Yup. I have gone to visit an elementary school on Tuesday to offer my service to them. It would not be too much of a commitment, just a few hours and in an area that I'm comfortable with. I was there to chat with the the officer from Boston Connect and to know how I could offer my help. The school was a busy place, as with all schools and I nearly felt a little bad to take up their time. I was apprehensive, of course since I am in a totally different culture and knowing that this is a neighbourhood school, the challenges would be more. But, I believe all these would provide more insights about education in the Boston Public Schools and I'm sure I would learn heaps from the teachers.

Besides that, I attended a self-defence class signed up for me by Ken in his college. I cannot explain in detail here as it is highly confidential =p But it taught some tactics that we could use when faced with danger. I realised too about the weaknesses of my body and though I can last the distance (as in endurance sports), I really am not up for tactical games. My body is just not conditioned for attacks or contacts and I believe that is why I always avoid contact sports. =p There will be a simulation next week and I am so terrified! The facilitators (BC police officers) are so HUGE! How on earth would I be able to escape from their clutches? *sweat*

OK, I have to go back to cooking and baking. My baking stuff came just 5 minutes ago! Yay!

Sunday thots

We had a change in schedule for our Sunday. Instead of the 4pm service, we are now going for the 11am service. Why? Because we have signed up for the honeymooners class at 9.45am and International Fellowship after service at12.45pm. That basically would make our Sundays for fall.

9.30am.

We were early for the class (as usual) because we really couldn't predict how fast or slow the T takes; I find it inconsistent at times. While we roamed around the building and finally hibernated in the Conference room, I was lured by the sounds of children, their singing. As I took a further look, it was a Sunday class and they were learning to sing a certain tune.

I wanted to be back in the classroom again, to be with the children. I find my heart longing for that. I'm not sure if that was an indication from Him (a prayer request) but I would be writing in to a school staff soon to volunteer my time there.

It also occured to me that I should spend my time enriching myself in language arts and in particular, literacy development. I have always been interested in this topic since undergraduate days and Ken has suggested that I try to ask the lecturer if I could audit/sit in the classes. So I went in to her website and look at her syllabus for the course and lo and behold, they were somewhat the same as what I did for my grad years! Even the readings were not too alien to me. So I have to decide if I want to sit in and this would have impact on how I spend allocate my time to the other areas as well. Decisions...decisions...

9.45am.

The participants for the Honeymooners class started streaming in (service had just ended) and there was another Asian couple and we were just thinking if they could be Singaporeans (and indeed they are!). The class started with our very jovial facilitators and we were asked to share about ourselves and one funny thing that happened to our wedding day/honeymoon. Ken and I were stuck. We had none! All others had stories to share (something has gone wrong) and well, we practically just had to share how we brought forward our wedding so that we could turn our travel plans into our honeymoon. Hahaha.... (laugh leh). It was nice to see couples who were so lovey-dovey to each other; it's indeed a great sigh to behold!

11am.

Service started. Walter Kim again!

12.45am.
Went for the International Fellowship. When I stepped into the compound, the immediate thought that came to me was that it was just like how we did it when we were in Youth Fellowship!!! And because this Church attracted a lot of international students and scholars, it basically was like a campus ministry to me. They were very intentional in what they were doing and most were zealous for the Lord. Oh, it reminded me of my days with Campus Crusade and I was like being transported back in history! We had makan session, all prepared by a small groups (the fellowship is made up of various small groups) and followed by worship and Bible Study. We joined one group that was made up of Chinese Canadians, ABC, Hong Konger and Chinese. It was a good meeting and discussion!

The programme director has been very warm towards us and remembered both of us. Said he wanted to introduced a Singaporean couple to us but in the end, I think he has forgotten. I suspect there was indeed a sizeable group of Alamaks in our midst. We just have to wait and see.

2.45pm

The church activities ended and it's back to the two of us again. Well, this could well be how we spend our Sundays. I am looking forward!

Just so you know...

Chicken tastes like chicken.

Lobster tastes like Crab Meat & Potatoes taste like Chips

We've been wanting to try some lobster in Boston for some time now because everyone has been telling us about how ridiculously cheap it was.

It wasn't really a craving or anything. Neither of us is crazy about lobster in particular or even seafood in general. We just thought we should give it a try since everyone has been recommending it so much.

However, we were reluctant to spend the 30+ USD or so just to try some lobster and decided to go down to Shaw's to see if we could just buy some from the Supermart and cook it ourselves!

We went to Shaw's yesterday and found live lobster!! And had no idea how to cook live lobster!!
So we saved that adventure for another day, ended up buying lobster chunks and headed home to prepare lobster rolls!

And that was what we had today for lunch. Lobster rolls and chips!
Even the chips are self made since we decided to buy some potatoes with the lobster rolls and fry them ourselves.

Hence the conclusion. Lobster tastes like crab meat and potatoes taste like chips.

Tonight we find out what chicken tastes like!

Lynn's account is here.

First training

Guess where I went today?

It has something to do with children.
Definitely related to what I was doing.
But then again, I have gone through this before.

Nope. It's not a tour in the Boston Children's Museum though the place I went was close by.

It's Boston Partners in Education and I was there for my training as a volunteer to the elementary schools. It was a 2.5 hours training on literacy and Math and of course, those were stuff that I was and still am familiar with. It's good to have a review and to hear those familiar terms again - zone of proximity, constuctivist model, wait time blah blah. I was excited to go back to school again but yet at the same time fearful because of the difference in cultures. Let's just see how it goes.

When it came to Math, I sensed that the instructor wasn't too happy about the new change to Investigative Math (whatever it is). He was just passing the remark that a lot of ...ahem... educators out there were just waiting for this 'new' thing to pass. Sounds familiar? No? I thought it does =p

I'm real keen to see how's the school scene is like out there in the public schools. Oh! They have chartered schools, innovation schools, pilot schools...so many types of schools. Interesting!

My first class. Oh, what joy!

I went for my first Women's Bible Studies & Fellowship at Park Street Church and I sooooo LOVE it! The reason? The women were so warm towards one another (and this, not pretentious) and there were 2 more other Singaporeans in the group!

Since this was the intro lesson, we basically...introduced ourselves (duh!). I learnt so much about Boston or US for the matter through the short session of introduction.

Of the 20-women group, a few of them were from California and mostly relocated because of their husbands. They shared that when they first came, it was hell for them. Some phrases popped out - mean Bostonians, reckless drivers, etc. Oh my! I wouldn't expect fellow Americans to give comments such as those. One of them shared that she basically had to suck it up for the first 2 years in Boston but of course, after that, she found Boston lovely! =)

Mean Bostonians? Ken and I have not encountered such people except for the fact that we got shouted at by the driver of the T (train). Oh, actually they were not shouting at us; they were informing all passengers about the T. But everytime they shouted, we couldn't catch a thing. Sometimes, I wonder why they have to waste their breath when none could really understand what they were yelling about. Just say slowly and properly!

Reckless drivers? Drivers who do not follow the rules? Oh baby! You have not been to the other side of the world. Come to Asia - Vietnam, India, Cambodia and China for example and you will get a RUDE shock! Many years ago, China was worse. I was totally annoyed at the endless horning of the vehicles when I was there in 1997. But look how much that has changed since then. Oh anyway, a Californian was just telling me that there is basically no point in having a car in Boston since the public transport is so good. Of course, unless you want to go out to the outskirts, you definitely wouldn't need a car. AGREE.

And on the cold harsh weather? Wear a good, waterproof boots. The ones that we are wearing now are not going to help. And for the clothing? Just keep on buying until you find one that fits (meaning - able to shield you from the cold).

And then, of course, I had the pure joy of chatting with our 2 tropical girls. Woot! Oh my! I tell you, I was DYING to talk and we just went on and on until they realised they had to 'collect' their kiddos from the childcare. But it seems that there is quite a big community of Singaporeans here and many from Harvard and MIT, so they said. Well, I'm waiting to get connected with them!

So, there goes my first session. I can't wait for next week!

Harvard Square

Yesterday, both Ken and I attended the first Public Lecture Series and it was given by Governor Deval Patrick who shared on education. It was an inspiring speech no doubt as he shared his life story and how 2 teachers in particular impacted his life. A little about him: He was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago and educated at Milton Academy and Harvard University. Governor Deval Patrick served as assistant attorney general for civil rights under President Bill Clinton and general counsel for the Coca Cola Company before he was elected governor of Massachusetts in November 2006. He has made public education a priority during his administration. As he has said, “I understand how education can transform a life because it is what transformed my own.”

After that episode, while walking home, Ken and I had a short discussion on the personal belief of teachers. This is important as it shapes how you look at education as a whole and the children who are placed under your charge. I feel it also helps shape your attitude when the going gets tough. Well, we shall not go into details as the topic alone can constitute a paper and Hargreaves would definitely do well in it. However, one thing Governor Deval Patrick shared caught my attention. In his words, he said. "Education is about creating responsible citizens, not preparing people for workforce." Hmmm.....(a lot to say but shall reserve it =p).

Anyway, back to a lighter topic. Today, we decided to go Harvard Square (yes, on a weekday), as opposed to visiting during the weekends because both of us really dislike crowds. It was about a half an hour bus ride and the area seemed to be rather English. It has a laid-back kind of attitude, I thought. We checked out L.A. Burdick cafe as recommended by a friend and it was also a good opportunity to try out the cakes there so that they could serve as benchmark for my baking attempts in future. My review of the place is in my foodblog.

Anyway, we were walking aound the area and Harvard Graduate School of Education was just round the corner and we were hoping that we would bump into the two-metre-tall man but nope, tough luck. The Harvard Uni campus is nice and provides a relaxed atmosphere. I quite like it!

And as usual, we went home after two hours around Harvard Square, including the time spent in the cafe. Either we didn't explore the place well enough or the place was really just a nice little area for chilling out. Or maybe we are just two boring people. I tend to agree with the last statement. =p

New Blog

http://sglsoe.blogspot.com/

This is where you go to read my personal notes on stuff I read for my coursework...

Or, you could go there to find the next cure for insomnia. Be my guest.

We are one year old!

We have spent one year together as a married couple! Woot!

This one year has been amazing and each day spent fruitfully with each other. We realised during our courtship that the Lord giveth and taketh, and our time on earth is short. So, instead of getting upset over small and big stuff (or petty stuff) alike, why not trash things out quickly and make peace so that we could live each day lovingly?

And we did just that. God has been truly gracious and wonderful in providing us with each other and we couldn't be more thankful.

And today, since it was our anniversary, we decided to go out! (huh...?) Err...we are truly home people and even though we intended to go Quincy Market near the harbour for a good meal but in the end, just settled for a normal one. Lobsters seemed expensive and we thought we could go for it again next time. Erm, yes, we are just really practical people and of course, even though we grew up in the city, we got bored with walking around the shops and spent more time in Borders instead =p Next time, we should really go hiking!

And today, it was pretty exciting in Church. There is something unique about Park Street Church. The church is very welcoming and wanted every one to be part of the family and one way of doing that is to connect and SERVE. So, today, there were booths set up and we went shopping for the ministries that we wanted to grow and serve in. There were just so many avenues! Both of us (more of I) were interested in the honeymooners classes for couples in their first few years of marriage where we could learn principles for developing a marriage that will last a lifetime. It would be fun learning from other newlyweds too!

Oh! There were also others that we were interested in but we would update again. And, we bumped into my ex-churchmate who is studying in MIT now for her PhD. I know she's in Boston and I'm supposed to catch up with her but little did we know that she is also worshipping at the same church. Whoah!!!

God is good, all the time!

random conversation

After cooking chicken porridge...

Ken: How come you didn't take pic of the porridge?

Me: Because they are cha-pa-lan food mah. I used yesterday's chicken and then just threw in other stuff. Nothing to blog about.

Ken: But there is a person in the kitchen in charge of making the leftovers taste and look good right?

(Ken has read some of my Rulman's books on chefs)

Me: Yah...think it's some manger person. Wait. I check.
(moments later...) It's called the Garde Manger. But he's in charge of cold food!

Ken: Yah...you wait till your porridge is cold.

Me: ???

This is a random post on a very lazy Saturday when every young college kids out there are making lotsa noise and these relatively older folks here are just chilling in front of the screen, in the presence of each other. Blah.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh more lame comments by the hubs and I am always the victim..=(

Me: You know, last year this time, what were we doing?

Ken: I know...we were saying the marriage vows.

Me: Nope...wrong...I was in the make-up room and my sisters were helping me with the decor.

Ken: (pause for a while & then burst out laughing) Wah...you need so many sisters to help you with the teh kor (panties in hokkien).

Me: Noooooooo...it's decor (pronounce properly) DECOR!!!!

Ken: (laugh and laugh and laugh)

Me: ???

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was some sound coming from outside.

Ken: What's that?

Me: Who? Who?

Ken: It's an owl.... (and laughs)

Me: ?????

Who's the boss?

I finally ran my first half-marathon for the year and I'm embarrassed to say this. I mean, after all, I have an upcoming marathon and am way behind my own training schedule. Of course, I could give excuses such as the move to Boston, the settling and blah blah. But, well, I'm not so kind to myself; I'm just plain lazy.

So, knowing that AHM is round the corner back home, I thought it would serve as a motivation for me to run a half-marathon as well. Anyway, I really OUGHT TO. So, the hubs accompanied me to run the first 6km and then I was on my own.

I chose a new route which provided me lots of shops to look at as I ran past them. This made running the long distance A LOT better since you could admire the displays and along the way, stopped for a while to look for some particular stuff. Oh, the joy of window shopping!

It was a smooth run until the 13km which I turned into the oh-so-familiar slopes. I have a love-hate relationship with slopes/hills. While I know it is extremely tiring to run or even cycle on slopes, they do our legs good. It was during the run on the slopes that I finally panted. Otherwise, it was all right.

Of course, into the 17km, the legs were tired and your mind as well. But it is during this time that you need to press on and tell your legs who's the boss here. They will listen IF you do not listen to their complaints. And listen they did and I managed to sustain the last few kilometres.

I run without ipod. I used to. But as I run more, I realised I need to listen to the rhythm of my own breathing and the kind of sounds my strides make. They give you indication of how you are performing there and then and you have to inform your mind of the necessary actions to take.

It is ALWAYS interesting to listen to what fellow runners are talking when they are in a race. Some of them are inspirational while others just darn funny. Instead of listening to some dance music that could motivate you to run (no doubt), try listening to your body, your fellow runners and get the motivation to run faster when others encourage you to go on or even better, if you surpass some of them.

I'm anticipating this moment again in November when thousands run through the 5 boroughs of New York and I'm waiting to hear the cheers the supporters give and of course, the ever-encouraging remark from fellow sufferers in their breathless, weary tone: Press on! Don't give up! You are almost there.

New York Marathon. I'll see you on 7 November. =)

Early Summary

So here's an early summary of the week.
Monday was a public holiday, Tuesday was LSoE's orientation which, to be honest, was quite a let down.

The upside is that classes on Wednesday and Thursday were very nice. =)

Wednesday was "Leadership at School Level" with Irwin Blumer. Thursday was "Educational Change" with Andy Hargreaves.

It took about 10 mins to warm up to Blumer. I reached class early, looked at the people hanging around outside, saw the classroom was empty and decided to just go in. Classic introvert.
Noone followed until Blumer came in. I stood up, greeted him, and was met with a rather blank, distracted stare. He seemed quietly hostile right up to the point when class started 10 mins later and he formally introduced himself to everyone.

"My name is Irwin Blumer and there are three things you probably ought to know about me. The first thing is that I wear a hearing aid, so to me, I always sound like I'm shouting. It may not sound that way to you (his voice is really very soft...), but that's how it sounds to me. So if you can't hear me, you have to tell me."

"The second thing you need to know is that I hate wasting people's time. This course is about the practical aspects of being a school leader. If what I'm saying is not practical, you have to tell me. Otherwise, I'd be wasting your time and I hate that."

He delivered both these lines with the exact same face he wore when I greeted him. Quietly hostile I'd call it, but what do I know...

"The third thing you need to know is that I have an amazing sense of humour. <pause for laughter> You probably don't see it, <breaks into a small grin while he pauses for more laughter> but I do. I've been in education for many years now and you need a sense of humour if you're gonna last that long."

I like this guy already. =D

Blumer is very focused on the practical. Even in his assignments, he emphasises time and again that we need to be concrete and concise on what we're talking about. Provide practical examples and don't just spout theories.

Hargreaves is probably the exact opposite.

It doesn't take long to realise that Hargreaves has an amazing mind. He has a PhD in sociology, reads widely, remembers what he reads, and is extremely adapt at connecting the theories that he has read about to real life.

Andy's course feels a lot more theoretical to me. A lot of focus is given to exploring classical and modern theories of education as well as change.

The professors are friendly (even Blumer) and intelligent, and the classmates are nice as well.

I look forward to both these courses already. =)

Reflections after ED 617

I've attended two classes so far. ED617 is on Leadership at the School Level by Irwin Blumer, and just came home after ED819 on Educational Change by Andy Hargreaves. I'll talk a little more about the classes later perhaps but for now I just wanted to share some thoughts I had while reflecting on yesterday's ED617 class...
Comments welcome.

First of all, I was struck by how values-based the roles and responsibilities of a principal were. I had read about it before and brushed it off as a natural conclusion, but now it struck me as something not just relevant, but absolutely integral to the role of a school leader. I believe Dr Blumer’s comment about how his role was to draw out our personal values and beliefs on education that left an impact on me, as well as Sergiovanni’s declaration that Principalship (and indeed all of education) has a moral purpose by virtue of the unequal relationship between principal and teacher and teacher and student.

With this thought, several more followed.

As much as all of us may sometimes see the ugly side of education and end up feeling rather cynical about the whole system, we cannot afford to allow that cynicism to extend to our own values and beliefs, especially if we are school leaders.

There is a need for all educators to understand that the system, while flawed as it may be, generally means well, and that sometimes, systems don’t work as well as they should because of the lack of understanding of the people running them. A simple example in the Singapore context is that of the Enhanced Performance Management System (EPMS).

The EPMS was designed to be a developmental tool. It makes this very clear. However, over the course of time, some teachers and even some of their supervisors perceive the tool to be one for teacher assessment. In such cases, the system means well, but has been let down by the people working within the system. Yes, the system could be better designed to move away from such dangerous misconceptions, but it is important to stem our own cynicism of the system by noting that it meant well.

It is also important for us to recognize that the people who misunderstand and subsequently misuse the system do not do so maliciously. They may do it out of a genuine misunderstanding of the purpose of the system. They may do it because they feel that this is a special case where the end justifies the means. But they rarely, if ever do so as a consistent means of abusing their position. Supervisors may genuinely feel that the EPMS is a tool for teacher assessment, either because they were not explicitly told otherwise, or even because their experience of the EPMS from their own superiors have suggested as much. Or they may feel that in a particular instance, the EPMS was needed to justify certain actions that the school wanted to take on a teacher. He may have been under undue stress and may have convinced himself that this would be the only time this would happen and that it is only happening because it was the only way for something important to be done. He may struggle with this as he thinks it part of his role even though he himself might be a very moral person. (Which is one important reason to recognize that our role in education IS indeed moral.)

In other words, by and large, people are good, but we also have to recognize that people do and will fail every now and then. The Christians reading this should be very familiar with this concept. If we do not fail, we would not need Christ. However, even non-Christians should recognize that none of us are perfect, so it makes sense to be kind and think kindly of those who fail because that could very well have been, and probably at some time will be, us.

What does this mean in the practical context? Firstly, as individuals, we should always examine ourselves and our own values as these are what will provide greater consistency in our actions and decisions. Secondly, we should all try to think kindly of others and approach our work and others in a positive way. We try to avoid cynicism not because everything is always rosy, but also because there is a greater potential for good to be done when we are not cynical rather than when we are. Finally, it is our responsibility to spread both of these attitudes to whoever we can, through our actions and decisions or through dialogue and discussion. This will inherently improve the whole system that we are working in and hopefully produce in practice the system that we hope for in theory. Those of us in leadership positions have an even greater responsibility to do so.

In summary, three things are important for all educators.

1) Be true to yourself

2) Be kind to others

3) Be an example to all

=)

More than 3 weeks into Boston and we are settling real fine. Ken's started school and geting real anxious about work. The readings are a lot and he's getting uptight about a particular module on school leadership. I have not seen him in such deep thoughts for a long time and recently, I saw that side of him more and more. So, yes, he's been real serious about his studies. =) And it's nice to be able to spar with him on issues pertaining to education; it's our passion after all!

Today, I went down to Boston Partners in Education, an agency which seeks to involve the community to enhance the academic achievement and nurture the personal growth of Boston's public school students by providing them with focused, individualized, in-school volunteer support. Yes, I signed up to be a volunteer and went down for the interview. Ken was supportive and went with me and as usual, directed me to the place (my sense of direction is really awful).

The interview went ok. Actually it was just a chat and I guess the main reason why I wanted to volunteer is because I want to know more about the US education system and to be constantly in touch with the classroom. What could be better than being directly involved? I have time on my side and basically, I just want to keep the passion alive. Well, they would do the match soon and who knows, I would be in the classroom again in October! A kind soul (from an interest group) from BC has also emailed me a contact from a school whom I could liaise with if I want to help out in the school. Yea!

We went to Chinatown after that but were sorely disappointed that it was just-like-that. Maybe we didn't really explore that area well? But I guess both of us just wanted to head home. Might as well since Ken has an evening class by Hargreaves.

I must have my cajun food when I'm at South Station!

Bubble tea in Chinatown. Lots of them!

Boston Marathon. A marathon I would not be able to run. Photo would do just fine!

Full-time housewife

Yesterday was Ken's first lesson or his faculty's orientation (rather) and I was pretty much on my own. So what did I do?

In the morning, after brekky and QT with the hubs, I set off to Boston Public Library to borrow all the cookbooks that I wanted. Gosh! This library is superb and holds most of the books that I want (except for some which were like, gone forever - couldn't be recovered). So I went home with 5 cookbooks to be devoured for the next 21 days:

- Food network kitchens cookbook
- 75 wok & stir-fry recipes
- Harumi's Japanese cooking
- Everyday pasta
- Culinary boot camp

After lunch (just plain biscuits which we wanted to finish) and an online movie, I went supermarketing. It was during this trip that I started to think about my new role as a housewife. Yes, I traded teaching to be one working for the household. Now, I do more comparing of prices of food across supermarkets and planning meals (which could be a real challenge). Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I felt enriched reading up on cooking (not just the recipes but the art and science of it) and appreciated the time to do what I like. But sometimes, I wonder how much I am contributing to the society by my staying at home. Oh yah, did I mention that I spend about 2 to 3 hours just in two supermarkets?

Of course, the hubs enlightened me in the evening with some of his thoughts. I'm thankful for his wisdom but am also excited about an upcoming interview for a volunteering position related to education.

So there you go, on a normal day like this, I do research on cooking and also the practical part of it and when the weather permits, I will be training for my marathon which I have very much slackened. I should be hitting >20km now!!! I'm leaving you with a pic of a car that I love...the red JEEP!

Orientation, Internet, Football and Shopping!

So, quick weekly update.

The past week has been filled with orientation programmes.

Tuesday night was grad international student welcome. 

Wednesday was international student orientation. 

Thursday was grad student orientation.

I have no idea what happened on Friday. I think my mind chose to voluntarily forget everything as a symbol of mourning for our loss wireless connection.  That’s right, on Friday evening, our wireless internet died. No idea why.

We thought we might have to wait for Tuesday (after holiday) before we could find someone to figure it out, but rejoiced Saturday evening when it came back on.  And then decided to die again on us again on Sunday evening.  Every other day.  Maybe the college went for some half-price wireless programme and didn’t read the fine print...

Saturday was brilliant. We went for the Boston College first football game of the season.  First ever American football game for both of us. I always wanted to watch gridiron, so it was fun. =)

The match itself was fun, though it isn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. All credit to the players, but the start-stop nature of the game REALLY slowed it down a ton.  15mins on the game-clock takes about 45mins real time. Including the half time 20min break (which was the only time during which game clock time was even remotely similar to real-world time...), the whole game (which in game-time is about an hour...) would end up taking about three and a half hours.  That’s how Americans spend their weekends; getting sunburns watching American footy.

Cricket is worse of course but that’s another story.  Next, I should find out how long baseball, hockey and basketball games last before going for them.

This coming Tuesday will be Lynch School of Education orientation.

This Monday, incidentally, is a public holiday. Labour day is supposed to mark the official end of summer.  So long summer, it was swell while it lasted.

So because the wireless decided to take another shot at the afterlife, I’m drafting this while offline, aware of the promise of weekly updates that I just made last week.

Hopefully, once this is done, I’ll knock out a chapter summary of one of the books I’m reading for one of my modules.  Book is called “The Principalship: A Reflective Practice Perspective” by Thomas J Sergiovanni. 

I’m on the last chapter now. This would be impressive if I didn’t tell you that it’s also the first chapter I’m reading since that’s what the author advised.  It would be even less impressive if I told you which page of the last chapter I’m on, so let’s skip that.

Monday late afternoon as I type this, the wireless has come alive once more.

We spent the day trying to get to Watertown to do some shopping.

Started off badly as we waited almost an hour for the bus. We were rather discouraged, but pressed on.

And I think we're both glad we did. Wife managed to get her long awaited Dutch Oven at a pretty good price, and I enjoyed bargain basement shopping and hunting for deals. Nice pair of shoes for $20!

Back to school tomorrow. Oh well. =/

Go! Eagles! Go!

We waited for Hurricane Earl to sweep into our area on Friday, around 8pm as forecast by the weatherman. But...there was only heavy rain (not even storm!) and then our internet connection was cut off for another 24 hours. Apa ini!??

What a HUGE disappointment! The tropical girl just wanted to experience what a hurricane is! Bummer! Hurricane we did not have but we couldn't sleep well nonethless because of all times of the day, our dear neighbours decided to have a chat in the wee hours of the morning and they have come to a conclusion to involve the others as well. Their voices were so loud that a microphone would be unnecessary. It was torturous. The night before, some young lads decided to come together to watch a football match and made a din in the area as well. We were panda-eyed and gained some muscles here and there by getting on and off the bed, trying to open and shut the windows, according to the volume of the noise. I regretted not bringing my ear-plugs. I vowed to blast my music early in the morning just so that they could get a taste of their own medicine. Alas! The loudest the computer could go could only wake dear hubs up. In the end, it was revealed that we should show mercy. =p

We also decided that we shouldn't allow unhappy incidents to affect us and we went for a football match at BC. Homeground! We were supporting the Eagles! Hubs was excited and I tagged along. Who knows? I might enjoy! And I did! Hubs was explaining to me the game and it was exciting to watch the players in motion, their tactics. But it was a rather slow-moving game ( I don't know how to really explain; Ken should know) and by the 3rd round, we decided to leave since the Eagles was going to win anyway.

It was nice - Ken teaching me about American football and I, educating him about cooking =p.

Oh yea! Happy belated Teachers' Day to my fellow colleagues!

Ardent fans!

Autumn is almost here!

The falling of leaves signals the beginning of Autumn. Goodbye Summer! You made me sweat!

Orientation whee!!!

The orientation continued throughout the week and even as I am typing this, Ken is still in campus, attending the various sessions while I dropped out in the middle to come back to my culinary world.

Thus far, the people (students & staff alike) have been incredibly helpful and extremely warm towards us. Each spoke with much enthusiasm and confidence about BC that you felt it is the place you really want to grow with. I just attended the session organised by the Graduate Students' Association and I must say I enjoyed most of the sharing (just that I could get restless after a while =p).

I didn't go for the whole thing, that's for sure. In fact, for yesterday, I only went for the harbourcruise organised by BC. When I met up with Ken after his day of orientation, he was so hyped up and of course the pride he had when he got hold of a book for his required reading. It was by Andy Hargreaves & his academic advisor, Dennis Shirley (oh, Hargreaves! I love his works; he has impacted me much in my work when I read his papers last year). So, dear Ken was going on and on like a young boy about how he could loan the book for one whole semester (?!!) and some of the tips that he gathered from the sessions.

I'm excited for him as he's starting his term. He has his own anxieties too, of course. But as I gathered from some of the questions from the international students, I felt Ken is in a better situation than most of them. For one, he doesn't really have to think too much about finances (although the wife will help to deplete some of them) and thus does not have to concern himself with part-time work. He could really devote his whole attention in his studies though I hope (and I know he will) he could maintain work-life balance. The other students were asking questions about how to get jobs and stuff which, to me, was a great burden for a student. Having worked full-time and study part-time, I could totally empathise with them - the struggle between work, finances, studies and personal life. It's not easy at all. And to think that they have given up a lot in terms of finances, family and opportunity cost to travel miles to study here, that, is a decision that requires great courage and determination to pull through the whole course.

It's great to go back to school, to be in such an atmosphere. It's a great college and I'm sure Ken would be enriched greatly. As of now, I think he's raring to gooooo...and he has borrowed all (if not, most) of all the required readings! Oh! I'm sure he has much to share about his experience. Stay tuned!

Following are some pics taken while we were going for the 1.5-hour harbour cruise. A must-do if you are in Boston.

The mob from BC.

Orientation

"Hi, I'm Lynn from Singapore. I'm not under any programme. I'm just accompanying my spouse."

Applause given at my introduction. I was perhaps the only one (if not, another) who was not studying but was present at yesterday's International Students' Orientation. It was an informal session in which we had existing students in an panel giving advice to the new ones.

Of the turnout, almost 1/2 of them were from China. The rest of the students were from HK, S. Korea, Kenya, NZ, and some S. American countries. Singapore got her respresentatives from Ken and another fellowman, Matthew, who will be studying Theology (how's that?!). We were actually quite surprised to see another Singaporean and of course we immediately made contact with him after the session.

The BBQ was All-American buffet style, complete with buns, hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, pasta and cookies. I must say it was a good change from the Asian food that we have been having. We managed to catch up more with Matthew who just came over 2 days ago and looked seriously jet-lagged. =p

Back home, I have decided to enter this challenge on foodblog. Not that I wanted to win desperately but since I am already learning and experimenting with cooking, it is a might-as-well kinda thing. The challenges are also interesting; I would still attempt even if I don't sign up for it! Stay tuned for more updates in my foodblog!