Random Thoughts by Pauline

April 6 2016, Wednesday

More re-unions

I must be one of the happiest teachers in town! In March alone, I was re-connected with two former students, Tina and Lawrence. The stories of re-connections are quite dramatic. I feel so flattered that I can’t help sharing my pride and joy.

On March 5, I was invited by HKKKWA Sung Fong Chung Primary School and Bowie Anglo-Chinese Kindergarten in Taipo to give a talk on how parents can support their children in learning English. That topic has been quite welcomed by parents of kindergartens and primary schools. In the past years, I have delivered this talk quite a few times with school hall at full capacity each time. I keep updating the content though the framework remains the same – parents are to encourage and support not to teach and that they should respect school efforts!

Tina has her two sons studying at Bowie Anglo-Chinese Kindergarten. The audience was adorable responding most appropriately and raising thought-provoking questions. At the end of the one-hour talk, as I was leaving the hall, a young lady approached me and spoke to me awkwardly. She told me that I was her English Language teacher and that she herself is also an English Language teacher of a primary school in Kowloon Tong. She acted as though she had just met her superstar idol. We chatted as she walked me to the bus stop. She even boarded the bus though she lives next door to the school. Tina reminiscence all the loving memories emphasizing that it was my strict demand of grammatical accuracy that led to her taking up teaching as her career. She was so full of compliments of me that I almost blushed. I invited her to join the 10^th Anniversary Ceremony of the Hong Kong Women Teachers’ Organization.

On March 23, I received an email message from a former student, Lawrence. He is now a senior training Captain of Singapore Airlines. He and his classmates are trying to organize a reunion event. So he searched for his teachers and found my blog entries. In his first message, Lawrence wrote fondly “You would be pleased to know that many of the students that you had nurtured have achieved great accolades in their respective fields today.” He repeated a number of times that it was because of me he has a strong foundation in English. We have been in correspondence for a week now by both email and WhatsApp messaging. He even sent me stunning photos of lightening and halo and islands as seen from the cockpit. I have promised to attend their gathering to be held in July.

What more can a teacher ask for! I am blessed!

Random Thoughts by Pauline

September 4 2015 Friday      

I never knew

 

I never knew this would be the last summer, the last Sunday, the last conversation, the last meal, the last holding hands, the last shopping spree, the last trip with my mother. Had I known, I would have stayed with her the whole summer vacation. I would not have taken the Balkan trip. I would not have arranged the massage on that Sunday. I would have lingered longer after the meal. I would not have let go of her hands to go to the canteen for lunch. Only now I realized why she was nagging for round-the-clock companionship. She would not want to leave this world alone. She didn’t. We were all there. Oh how I regret not to have treasured her more! Why was it I couldn’t see it coming? She knew her days, hours and minutes were on countdown. But we were not sensitive enough! She had always been such a fighter! Only a week after the operation, she was discharged from the hospital with the doctor declaring that her recovery was satisfactory. And yet when home, she was not her strong agile self anymore. She was so feeble and fragile that she seemed to have shrunk. Five days later, she complained of breathing difficulty and was rushed to hospital on the sixth day. She died two days later at 11:35 in the morning on September 2 Wednesday because of multiple organ failure. Now she is lying all alone in the freezing box awaiting cremation. She would love to have her hair done and cheeks moisturized. Mom, I miss you so! I could have done better! 

Random Thoughts by Pauline

July 3 2015 Friday          

A Tale of Two Cities

I just returned from a four-day trip to Singapore. I have been to Singapore quite frequently in recent years not only for educational exchanges but also because my sister’s family had moved to Singapore in early 1990s. More importantly, I have a very good Singaporean friend whom I crown as the Ambassador of Hospitality. He takes leave every time I visit and insists that he pays for all expenses. In his words, he is “reciprocating” for what I do for him when he is in Hong Kong. But for sure I have not been generous as he is in terms of money and time. I have never taken any leave driving him around. Nor have I put him up in world-class hotels. That is how this friendship of close to three decades has sustained.

 While I was enjoying my holiday savouring local cuisines and fresh air, I couldn’t help comparing Singapore with Hong Kong.  

 If the ethnic composition of a country can reflect the degree of its globalization, then the city-country of Singapore is intrinsically more cosmopolitan than Hong Kong. According to 2014 figures, of the 5.5 million people living in Singapore, 2.1 million people are foreign nationals. One-third of the 3.4 million citizens are foreign-born naturalized citizens. Ethnic Chinese predominate (74.1%) followed by significant minorities of Malays (13.4%), Indians (9.2%), and Eurasians. There are four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca of the country and you hear it spoken even at street stalls.

 Hong Kong is predominantly a Chinese society. According to 2011 figures, ethnic minorities made up only 6.4% of the 7 million population. Our official languages are English and Chinese. Unlike Singapore, rarely do we hear English being spoken. Cantonese is everyday spoken dialect with the use of Putonghua or Mandarin catching up due to the increase of mainland tourists.

 So which government has a tougher task to unify the people? Singapore for sure! And yet, scenes of confrontations between pro- and anti- government fronts have become quite a common sight in this demographically homogeneous city of Hong Kong. We can cheer that this is democracy in manifestation and despise Singapore for the lack of it. But at what cost and for what cause? We seem to have forgotten that conflicts can be resolved and differences can be tolerated for benefits and successes to be shared. Meanwhile with the government faltering and councillors filibustering, Hong Kong stagnates!

 Look at our West Kowloon Cultural District project first proposed in 1996. Almost 10 years have gone. On this wedge-shaped development site of 40 hectares, only a temporary promenade has been developed. If software is to be counted, then there was the West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre, a combination of traditional Cantonese opera, contemporary visual art installations and film shows in collaboration with the Chinese Artist Association of Hong Kong and various renowned visual artists held for 7 days at the future site of Xiqu Centre in 2012.

 In Singapore, the Marina Bay district built on reclaimed land, a concept similar to our West Kowloon Cultural District Project, is now complete with a 101-hectare Gardens by the Bay, the giant Singapore Flyer, and Marina Bay Sands etc. To name but a few, this resort complex features a 2,561-room hotel, a 1,300,000-square-foot convention-exhibition centre topped by a 340m-long SkyPark with a capacity of 3,900 people and a 150m Infinity Pool.

 As Hong Kongers applaud Singapore for her many successes, maybe it is high time we examined the “why”!

Happy 50^th anniversary, Singapore! May you stay united and prosperous!