Idlan was Back

5 days and 4 nights was certainly a long time to endure. That’s how long Idlan was away and Anita was taking it hard. Of course she was glad to have him back. Idlan was away with his school mates at the island of Bintan during the time, having a great time ....

His journey home started at 6 this morning with a quick breakfast before boarding a ferry into Singapore. Then came the coach ride up to KL. They were a couple of hours behind schedule but the school was great at updating us with the timing. We learned that they were going to be late the moment they entered Johor through text messages.

We had also been learning about his activities through the school twitter feed.

What was he up to? He had been buzzing since he arrived - after which we brought him straight to dinner. He tried all sorts. He started off with canoeing, building rafts, jumping off boats, doing the flying fox, climbing coconut trees and bungee jumping. Then came the trek up the hills before more water activities. There were also come community work where they build a water filtration system for the local village. Then came the cooking - disappointingly Idlan made pizza.

Mummy is happy now ...Being able to speak Malay helped as Idlan became the interpreter when they were doing the filtration system. He also said that the food was better than expected. They stayed in a dorm with around 20 in a unit, spending the time with his friends. He enjoyed the sunset and the great weather at the island - so much so that he is now tanned. The final evening was spent around a campfire having some marshmallows.

We were glad that we allowed him to go although at the beginning we were rather apprehensive. He was definitely having a whale of a time. Now, he was off for a couple of months of summer holidays. We have yet to plan what to do next, but first he could do with a nice long shower ....

Sending Idlan Off

Since the Raya period, Anita had been brooding. Idlan dropped a bombshell saying that he wanted to join his friends for the school trip. Initially he was not very keen but I was sure his friends talked him into going.

The location? I would elaborate more once he returns, and he would be away for 5 days and 4 nights.

And he was off ....Yes, the driver of the "Misaikaran" bus does sport a huge moustache ...There would be sleepless nights before he returns on Thursday. Although Irfan didn’t want to admit it, he was missing his brother. Hopefully Idlan would learn to be more independent during the trip as well as having fun with his friends. As for Anita, she had to content with a gastric attack earlier, and I wasn’t sire what else would be in store for her .....

Time to endure ....

A Long Morning

The day finally arrived when Irfan had to sit for the interview for the new school. That started off with some essays and aptitude test. After a short break, it was an interview with one of the teachers. Irfan said that it was easy .... Well, we shall see.

He is not due to change school until next September by the way. For the interview, he had to wake up early and follow us along to the school with Idlan on tow. We stayed at the office with Irfan after Idlan started his class, waiting for his name to be called. He looked rather nervous then. In fact, he slept in our room the night before.

While waiting for Irfan to be calledThe school sure had a long history ...Quick breakfast while Irfan was insideWhile he was doing his essay, we went for breakfast wondering what he was going through. It was all done by 11, when I had to make my move back to Subang. He looked quite confident after and enjoyed the rest of the day off at home.

When asked what the exam was about, he said that he was upset that he didn’t know trigonometry. He had not learned it yet in school. Otherwise, the interview was straightforward and he could do the essays. He was looking forward to change school, so hopefully things would fall in place ....

School Closing

Xmas was coming. Irfan's school had closed a week ago, and it would be another week to go before Idlan enjoy his Xmas break. The end of the year included the obligatory prize-giving - cue Irfan and his scrolls. Irfan changed school but his name was called up for UPSR award. He was not there however to pick up his prize. Anita went up instead.

So, while Idlan had to get up early to catch his morning bus ride, Irfan was still fast asleep ....

Another week and both could have a lie-in in the morning ....

Workshop at School

Idlan's school was the type which approach children education holistically and there were plenty of investment into the pupils home environment and getting the parents to be involved with the school activities and mantra. Anita went to a few courses - mainly how to use the Google Suite as well as utilising the school library. Last Monday, I went to a workshop on bilingualism.

The school wanted us to us Bahasa Malaysia - or our mother tongue - as much as possible as the children's command of English would be upgraded in school anyway. Both Idlan and Irfan could converse in English without any issues and the feeling was that the children would be missing out if their mother tongue was left behind.

The workshop explored our concerns and the advantages of speaking in our mother tongue at home environment, how it actually enriches their command of English rather than curtailing them. Something which I find quite interesting on the whole.

So, cue a few awkward conversation on the dinner table in the coming weeks ...