Dictionary!

Yesterday was a wonderful day!

One of our regular customer came by and gave me a Chinese-English dictionary. She must have known that I had been trying very hard to improve my English language skills. I appreciate this act of kindness very much as it will come in really useful for me when I have to search for words that I do not know.

Learning English can be really tough. However, with the help of friends and the friendly people around me, I am even more encouraged to pick up the language faster. I know it will help me in my job and even when I do finally go back to China.

If you are reading this and are working at the MOE, do speak to me in English and test my English every now and then OK? I can only learn faster when I start speaking or listening to people speak. You may also laugh at my response, if it is wrong... that's OK! I appreciate a little fun every now and then! The mos timportant thing is I have to learn!

Afterall, what is life if we cannot make a fool of ourselves every now and then???

Thank you, my friend, for giving me this dictionary. I will put it to good use!

My First English Class!

Some time back, I wrote about signing up for English Classes. Well, it's been almost 3 months ago now and I finally signed up for my Elementary English Class. I've always wanted to learn to speak better English. Since coming to Singapore, I have picked it up a little but I still have a long way to go. I think the most important thing is to have someone to practice with, and that is the toughest part in Singapore. Singapore is a multi-racial country and most people are able to speak a good level of mandarin. When they know you are from China, they immediate start speaking to you in Mandarin.

While I did not really like my stint at Bread Junction, there was one good thing about it. As the staff were mostly Malays, they only speak to me in English, and like it or not, I have to learn it. We got along quite well, with a help using our hands to gesture and make some signs! Sometimes when it does help, we even make funny sounds! Quite funny actually!

For my first class, we were made to buy some photocopied notes at SGD3 per set. Not very impressive notes as you can see from the picture, but good enough to learn I guess. For those of my readers who are new, a friend is helping me translate and maintain this blog despite her busy schedule. I am very appreciative. She wanted me to start this to help me earn some extra money from Google Adsense but so far, it's not alot. Nevertheless, she's been a great help and mentor actually!

The class that I am attending is Elementary English and we have about 7 students, 5 of which are Chinese. I am glad to see so many Chinese learning English. Two are locals. The first day, we learn basic alphabets. I already know some of these as I use Pinyin to type sms and to do this, I have to understand basic sounds and letters. Nevertheless, it was a good revision and I learned some new words too.

Just like a bad student, I sat right a the back of the class, playing with my pen. Naturally, I do pay attention too while taking some pictures for you of course. Ha ha! Our teacher is a middle age lady who had taught English in school before. That's good because I am impressed with the Singapore schooling system and if she is good enough for the schools here, she must be pretty good!

I am really looking forward to the next few lessons where they actually teach you conversational English. Afterall, I think for me, being able to converse is more important than knowing how to read and write well.

Learning English!

Some of my readers (particularly Urich), has been very helpful to me by letting me in on some of the places where I can learn English. However, I never did have the time to go check them out, much as I wanted to. Recently, one of my working colleague told me to check out the local Community Center as they tend to be cheaper and that was what I did on Saturday.

My first task was to find the nearest Community Center and I had to ask around quite a bit for that, not knowing there is one, just about 500m away. A nice lady pointed this out to me and I made my way there to ask if they have any basic English classes available. Well it turned out that they do... so I was rather elated. However, after some further checks, I realized that the class had already started at the end of Jan and they had already finished 2 classes which means that there is no way for me to catch up, even though they allowed me to join the class mid-way through. The next class starts in May, and I decided I must sign up for this one. However, registration is not opened yet, so I have to wait at least one more month or so.

I decided to look at some of the other classes available and chance upon some Aerobics and Yoga classes. I had heard about Yoga but had never tried it. I hear it's really tough... and good exercise for the body. I was quite interested and so inquired more. For whatever reason, I do not know, I decided to sign up for it even though it cost $65 for 10 sessions and the next class starts on the 24 February. Maybe it was my disappointment in not being able to sign up for the English class immediately that caused me to part with my hard-earned money. Somehow, I just wanted to start learning something quick, rather than wait till May to start my English class.

Was there buyer's remorse after I got home?

I don't know... but I do feel the pain of losing $65 just in a few minutes! I've never been so extravagant! Hmm... maybe I was letting my emotions get in the way when I was deciding what to do from now till May when the English class will start. Well, I will decide if I regret after my first Yoga class...

I just felt I needed to get some flexibility into my body, as jogging is making me a little stiff...

My new workplace!

It's been almost a month since I started work at my new place at MOE. I'm very happy to be here and would like to show my readers how my new work place looks like. It is a large canteen at the MOE(Ministry of Education) building in Buona Vista catering to the staff as well as workers in the area. However, outsiders have to obtain security passes to enter the canteen. For some reasons, the security is tight here. Nevertheless, the crowd is good, the business is good and I am sure my boss is a happy man!

Work begins at 6.15am. My boss made me in-charge of the keys so I have to be the first one to be there and the last one to leave. I leave my home at about 5.30am to take the first train from Bedok MRT to Buona Vista MRT and usually get to work at about 6 to 6.10am. I usually leave work at about 6pm when the canteen closes.

While this is still a 12 hour day, the hours and place are fixed so at least I can plan for my own private life. For example, I can plan to meet some friends after work or even buy some groceries. The 12 hour work day is not even an issue as I have been working a 12 hour plus day since I first came to Singapore more than 2 years ago. Believe me, life in my hometown in China is much tougher. Besides a 12 hour plus day, we have to cope with poor and unreliable public transport and road / weather conditions and most of all, a rather insignificant pay package of less than SGD200 (USD165) per month. In my previous work place, it is almost impossible as the boss will hold me back or change my schedule at the last minute.

"Any recommendations from my readers ... will be most appreciated."

We also do not work Saturday and Sunday. This leaves me time and I intend to use this valuable time to take up some courses (once I have saved up enough money). First on the list will be an English course and second will be some IT courses that will help me to use the computer more effectively. Any recommendations from my readers on English courses and / or IT courses (use of word/excel) will be most appreciated. I also hope to buy my own computer once I have enough money. Currently, I have to use the cybercafe near my home, which can be a little inconvenient.

Enjoy the pictures I had taken for you!