Feeling the urge to listen to his music again, we sat down in front of the computer and heard his songs on youtube. Despite having watched him on television perfoming several times , those original and classic cool moves of his fascinated the both of us again. He was such an interesting and captivating performer. Watching these videos made me wish I had gone for at least one of his concerts.

I personally prefer his soft ballads. He is able to touch the heart and soul with his soft, clear and unique voice quality. Even at a tender age, Michael Jackson’s powerful yet endearing vocals captured the hearts of many. This ability to connect with listeners makes him, in my opinion, one of the best singers I have ever known.

As a child in the Bahai Children’s Choir, we used to sing  the songs ‘We are the world’ and ‘Heal the World’. These songs till today, hold so much meaning to me and I’m sure to many others around the world.

I remembered hearing on a television interview with Michael Jackson that one of the most honest songs he had written about himself was the song ‘Childhood’. We listened to it and were very moved by the song. I could not control the tears that kept flowing. I can only imagine what kind of a childhood he had -- that which revolved around rehearsals, performances and recordings.

If you have never listened to the song ‘Childhood’, here is a link you can go to and see some pictures of Michael Jackson as a young boy.

Michael Jackson’s life was definitely far from perfect but his music and his person, as a great performer, has left an indelible impression on all his listeners. Whether we know it or not, I feel he has to an extent not only made the world a better place, but also influenced others to this ideal -- through his music and thus his life on earth. 

For the last week and a half, we made a 10 day trip to Guilin and Yangshuo, both of which are in the Guangxi Province of China. We will write more about our travels to these 2 places in our next post. As for now, Ajeet will be moving from the B747 to the Airbus 330 and will be undergoing training for the next 2 months. It will be very intensive but I’m sure it will be pretty exciting too. As for me, I will be looking around and researching my options.

Here are some pictures that we took at the wedding:

3 sisters at the Chinese dinner

The happy couple

We celebrated the Chinese New Year in Shanghai this year as we did last year. Unlike last year, where we had a snowstorm, the winter has been rather mild this time. What I’ve always enjoyed about celebrating the Lunar New Year here is the spectacular displays of fireworks. The climax is at midnight when all you see outside the windows are splashes of colours blooming like flowers in the midnight sky. I am definitely going to miss this when we leave.

Without looking at these fireworks and firecrackers, the sounds they make are so similar to those of gunshots and explosions. I had this thought just a few days ago: these sounds that bring so much excitement and joy to people here have an opposite effect on people living in war torn countries.They feel fear and sadness instead. It’s moments like this that I am thankful for the peace we have and wish the world has more of it.

Having never had the chance to set off fireworks in Singapore, we bought ourselves some. On one of the nights, we went down to an open area and set off two fireworks. I did not manage to muster enough courage to light them up so ajeet did. I just stood aside and enjoyed the scene.

Below are the videos I took at midnight on New Year’s eve and of us setting off the fireworks.

We left for Chennai 2 days later and took a pleasant overnight train to the little town of Chipurupalli. We shared the train cabin with a very friendly Indian family who had lived in Kenya for fours years. After about 16 hours on the train, we finally reached our destination and were warmly welcomed by my parents-in -law.

Since we visited India only once a year, my mother-in-law made sure that we were well-fed. Every meal was a feast of curries, rice and Indian sweets! So by the end of one week in India, both of us definitely gained some weight. Ajeet’s brother, Ashok and his family joined us for 2 nights and it was nice being amused by our niece of 1 year and 4 months. Her comical imitations of her parents and grandparents just made everyone laugh. Apart from catching up on each other’s lives and visiting family friends, we made a few trips to the nearest town to buy some things and also visited a reservoir. On some evenings, we would take short walks around the neighbourhood before heading home for a sumptuous dinner. Time passed quickly and before we knew it, it was time to board the train back to Chennai to catch our flight back to Singapore.

After a week of enjoying Indian food, we were ready to enjoy Chinese food in Singapore. Before taking our return flight to Shanghai, my mum, ajeet and I had lunch at Changi Airport. We had ‘Chicken Rice’,'Fish Slice Soup’, ‘Char Kway Teow’ and ‘Cheng Teng’. It was definitely a satisfying meal. 

We returned to Shanghai on the 30th of December in time to bid goodbye to 2008 and welcome the New Year. On New Year’s Eve, We had a yummy Cantonese dinner with one of Ajeet’s colleague and his family, followed by a quiet count down for Ajeet and me.

We are happy to be back in Shanghai-our home for the past 1 year and 7 months. Although the weather  here is much colder than what we had experienced in Singapore and India, we are cherishing these winter memories before we head back to Singpore in April this year.

http://vimeo.com/2228238?pg=embed&sec=2228238

This music video entitled ‘Armed’ was shared with me by my friend, Meiping. When I first saw the title, I thought it was going to be a song about war and peace. However, it was not what I had expected.  It had nothing to do with war or ammunition but rather, it was about trying moments in life. As the video played the words below, it engaged me in a spiritual sense and inspired me very much.

‘Armed with the power of thy name, nothing can ever hurt me. And with thy love in my heart, all the world’s afflictions can in no wise alarm me..’

For those who watched it, it would be interesting to hear  your views after watching the video.

After this teaching stint, I was hunting for another job again. Soon, I  was an English enrichment teacher at the Singapore International School. For one academic year 07-08, I taught Grade 1 and Grade 5 students  English every Saturday morning. I had students from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and China. Though the diversity sometimes proved to be a challenge in lesson preparation, it made lessons interesting with the different experiences and views they shared. Here is a picture I took of some of my Grade 1 students on the last lesson. The rest couldn’t wait to run out of the class and begin their summer holidays!

 Below is a picture of my Grade 5 students consisting mainly of Chinese and Taiwanese. Although they were not too eager to do grammar or writing exercises, they were certainly excited to play word games.

 The small class size and the big spacious classrooms in both the schools I taught here were great. Students could move freely during certain activities without bumping into each other or furniture. Also, the small numbers in each class made it easier  for me to manage the class and give more attention to those students who needed it.

I did not continue teaching at the Singapore International School anymore after one year as we wanted to use the remaining time to travel around China. Instead, I started giving tuition at home and have been doing that since. This has given us a lot more flexibility in planning our trips.

Apart from teaching, I did some volunteer work with Hands on Shanghai- a volunteer organization that plans and organizes charity events and programmes.  My duty was to monitor enrichment programmes in a migrant school. The migrant school I went to was pretty basic. It had a small compound with about 7 to 8 classrooms and each classroom was packed with 45 to 60 students. Tables and chairs were old and sometimes broken. Despite the humble setting of the school, students were always full of energy, cheerful and keen to learn.

I was also involved with the English Corner Programme at the Jian Qiao Private School for  a year. Together with some friends, we conducted English oral lessons for the chinese students there. Through these activities, we found new friends whom we meet up with occasionally.

Many colleagues of Ajeet’s and their familes live in the same compound as us. We get together sometimes for dinners or a game of badminton. It’s nice having a small community here. In between work and meeting up with friends, we try to travel around China. I must say that apart from the occasional food scares, it has been enjoyable living here. We have a few more months here before returning home. Time will pass very quickly but I’m sure we will make the most out of it! =)

Links:
Hands On Shanghai: http://www.handsonshanghai.com/

Ajeet and I are very happy for my second sister and her fiance, Hamada and we would like to congratulate them on their engagement!

To the couple: As the preparations begin and the craziness kicks in, remember to  cherish and enjoy the process of making that defining moment happen-when you become husband and wife! Here’s a poem I found from the internet for the both of you.=)

On the brink of married life you wait with wonder:

The coming moment, mystic and mundane,

Brings law and love incongruously together

To form a bond both passionate and sane.

For now it has to be about the party:

Guests must be fed, clothes bought, proceedings planned;

But underneath there is abiding beauty,

Redeeming what the decencies demand.

Praised be the pillars on which we place our lives,

Standing more secure than else we might;

And praised be those in whom such sense survives,

Whose love becomes for all a source of light.

So do we celebrate, as the moment nears,

A love that counts its happiness in years.

  I like using these herbs, which are quite versatile in many recipes, in cooking. Also, they’re recommended for beginners, like me, at growing herbs. This is a website that I find quite useful with this new hobby. http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/herb-index.asp

Below is one of my favourite pictures taken in Nanjing 08.