2008 has been a good year overall...lotsa diff experiences and episodes of life to think and talk about =) that means this is gonna be a long post...hahaha...

Did relief teaching as a job for the first six months of the year at balestier hill sec sch...i still rmb the vice principal and some teachers guiding me along the way, teaching me how to take the students in hand, showing me the diff places during my first week...slowly i learnt where the diff classes were (including the art room and workshop which i haven't encountered in a long time)...and soon, i was also adapting to the whole schooling environment...national anthem during morning assembly and den lessons here and there...when got break den go canteen eat haha...

Also enjoyed my time with the students and staff there...altho certain students got on my nerves sometimes (considering i dun get angry easily), the majority of them were still alright and i had quite a lot of fun with them...teaching them maths and talking to them about their lives, getting to know them better...i believe in some ways, i like being a teacher/mentor to others and help them if i can...as for the staff, they were really very helpful and sometimes we even got treats from them =)...haha...and i also made frens with the temp staff who were juz like me, working for a few months onli...at least i still keep in contact with one of them up till now 6 months after we've stopped working there... =D

In March, I also started giving tuition to 2 brothers passed on to me by a tuition agency...again a new experience as they were my first tutees...it took a little time for me to get used to the way of their learning based on their experiences with past tutors as well as in school and from there, i kinda came up with my own style of teaching...it's mainly a soft approach with lotsa encouragement while at the same time making sure they dun take advantage of my kindness and slack...haha...i'm still teaching them this year and hopefully their results will improve further as i teach them more...haha i dun wan to earn money when their results aren't better...

In June, I had another student from my own sec sch as a tutee...teaching him A Maths until his O lvl exams in Oct/Nov...

Went overseas twice last year...to Hong Kong with family and Taiwan with 1mba peeps...i really like to go overseas and these 2 trips were really fun too with all the shopping, eating, sightseeing, enjoying etc...wun mind going back these places and more again this year! haha

Entered into smu in aug...and attended 3 diff camps be4 sch started...sports camp and ftb were really great while bondue was not as good haha...made lotsa new frens and really had fun...as the sch term started, i got an insight into how life in smu would be...after hearing all about the mugging spirit and ultra-competitiveness, i got to witness it myself in school...haha thankfully i dun follow this culture...

Overall, i like my life in smu...coping quite well with academics for the first sem (and hopefully for all the others in future =P), joining samba masala and enjoying myself during pracs and soon-to-come performances, organising patron's day which will be a really valuable experience, bonding well with my grp mates and some other frens along the way (not forgetting my bunch of army dudes who went into smu with me too hahaha), it's been quite a journey thus far and there should be many more experiences nxt time... =D

Ok the 2008 post is over...the 2009 post will come soon...