Cats, chocolate, and planet Earth

Recently, my students were required to give presentations on a topic of their choosing. The instructions were simple: 3-5 minutes long with 2 minutes of questioning afterwards, make eye contact, don't read, and provide some type of visual aid. The possibilities for this assignment, then, were limitless. I mean, think of how much one could discuss with so few requirements...yet, somehow, one of my students sent me the following email:

"hie mr andrew.
im faezah mohd bakri from group 11.
i would like to change my oral's title from CATS: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SCEINCE AND MY OWN EXPERIENCES to FACTS OF CATS. the points ive found aren't really suitable with my first title."

I can't quite track her thought process exactly...because I don't know how the second title improves or changes anything she's said in the first. Nevertheless, I reluctantly complied and waited for a rousing presentation on cats, from the perspective of science and personal experience. My friends, if any one of you could be in the room during this presentation, I would probably lose it.

Another student comes up after class to provide me with her already-late presentation topic. When asked her topic, this clever girl, while sheepishly looking over at her friend Nor Faeqah, replies, "the mittos of chocolate." "The mittos?!" I replied. "Yes, yes, the mittos...you know... mitt," she answered. "Oh, right. Of course. 'The mythos of chocolate.'" Wheww! At least I figured out what she said--with the help of another student. "So," I said, "what is a myth about chocolate?" "You know, if we eat it, we will get fat," she said apprehensively. "Umm...thats not a myth...thats actually true. Are there any other myths about chocolate?" I said. "Yes, yes...if you eat it, you will get pretty," she quickly retorted. "What?" I laughed. "Thats not a myth!?! Are you just making these up?" Laughing and grinning, she said, "yes, yes."

Uh huh. Still, I have yet to be moved by any presentation topic. Perhaps one of the guys will have something better. So, I spoke with two guys later:
"What will your topic be?" I skeptically asked. "Salt," the Chinese Malaysian triumphantly replied. "Uh huh. And what will yours be?" I moved on to the next Malay. "Planet earth," he said in a veiled tone as if he knew that there was no way I could pass this. "Well, anything about salt or planet earth," I hopefully replied. "Yes, like how it raise blood pressure." "And, like the system and the planets," the other quickly clarified. I offered my approval and now must wait til the day of reckoning; when these two among many others must actually follow through with their poorly-thought through presentation choices of cats, chocolate, salt, and planet earth.

Here's a picture of me and some malay students from my English class. As you can see by their faces, many are quite scared and shy to even be pictured with a white dude. Haha! I think shyness is just their general demeanor. Teaching has been wonderful and frustrating at the same time. Getting some of these girls to talk can be like pulling teeth! But it can also be fun and rewarding to see the students speak English and enjoy themselves during class. Though I think I have a natural tendency to be more charismatic and extroverted (oftentimes inciting a lot of laughter and whispers--especially when I demonstrated 'a strut' and 'a California/turtles-from-Finding Nemo accent), its the preparation part that can be killer. 18 hours of class doesn't seem like too much (a little more than a normal course load at Princeton) but making these English lessons fun can be a challenge. If you have ideas for games or activities, I'd love to hear them!

This past weekend some friends from church and I drove to Kuala Lumpur for a weekend away from Penang. I was glad to take a little trip--I definitely needed a change of pace and scenery. I stayed at a friend's uncle's house, who gave me his life story in 3 parts, a few of which were in Chinese, I think. That's him pictured in a lawn chair in his family room--he slept there that night too...a lawn chair...in his family room. So I got into KL and went to take some pics of the Petronas towers (2nd tallest building) at night. I arrived to see a beautifully-lit, Islamic architecture-styled building. I stepped out of the car, and the lights shut off immediately. Fortunately, my cam was still able to take some cool pics. Later that night was an experience...I saw more lady-boys than I ever have seen and ever will see (I vow to you now) again. I got way too many looks and really had to just keep moving through the club street--our group didn't go into any clubs...needless to say. The next day, after waiting in line for an hour and a half (getting the last of the tickets), I went up to the sky bridge which provided a great view of the city. After checking out the KL tower (5th tallest tower), the rest of the group and I walked for what seemed to be days checking out different malls etc.--like I said, a bit touristy for my taste, but a fun time nonetheless. That night, after listening to a little jazz at an outdoor concert, I went home and crashed. Some dimsum for breakfast with our host and I headed back to Penang smelly and in need of sleep. I was glad to check out KL for the first time and I'm anxious to head back to see Thaipusam, a Hindu forgiveness holiday during which thousands of pilgrims climb 270 steps to a Hindu temple in Batu caves north of the city. Although that may not seem too interesting, the pilgrims put long, thin, metal rods through their skin....keep checking out my blog:-P