1st October

Went to watch the fireworks tonight. Had fish & chips in Central first. Walked along the 'Ladder Street' feeling nostalgic :-) Then walked down the pier next to the Star Ferry. Didn't enjoy much of the fireworks because i) could not stay close to the pier, ii) too far from Wah Chai, and iii) too polluted tonight. Within the 23 minutes' display, could not hear too much 'WAAAAAAAH!' around. Nobody clapped in the end, just the sound of 'HUUUUUUUURRRR' and the polluted air left behind.

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Why can't teachers work happily?

I had a seminar yesterday morning. With a free afternoon, I went back to the school where I had been teaching for over ten years to visit my friends.

The first thing I saw was my old office. It has been changed into a language room. The room is newly and nicely decorated. It is completely different from the old one. There are no more desks but a few computers with high chairs for students to sit on to use the computers. A small stage for students to sit or stand on and a large 47" LCD TV for video meeting with the outsiders. The students are lucky to have a room like that for language purposes. BUT I MISSED MY OLD ROOM. I had lots of good memories there.

I met many of my old colleagues. They have been working very hard since the new principal came. When they saw me, they were very happy to talk to me. Actually not because of me personally, but because they seemed to find someone that understand their feelings. By talking to them, I could feel that there was a kind of grievance inside them. Everyone there was unhappy, not because they have to work hard. But because of ...... Why can't the teachers work happily? What is wrong with the school? I think the principal has the responsibility to deal with it seriously.
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Attitude of learning English

In the book 'A Language Lover's Guide to English' by Siu Sir, "attitude" is the first thing mentioned.

There are five main points to remember, i) to increase English Language ability, one has to read more English books and watch more English TV programmes instead of spending too much time on practising past exam paper.

ii) Avoid using difficult vocabulary; grammatical structures; and wrong use of memorized idioms. When learning a new word, one must learn to use the word in the right situation and the meaning behind it.

iii) To develop the feeling of English, how? To develop such feeling in two months intensely, one must read English books for one to two hours every day. Find one interesting book that suits your level. Besides reading, one must write in English every day. Write what is in your mind. If it is difficult to think of a theme, just write a diary. The main point is to express yourself.

iv) One difficult part of learning English is the great amount of vocabulary in English. How to use the right word for the right genre. Just memorize thousands of words is not that helpful. One must read more, read different genres; think more and ask more.

v) English is everywhere, you can get leaflets from fast food shops, banks or the government department, etc. Don't just read from text books or comprehensions in supplementary exercise books. Reading a large various of material helps you improve writing different genres.
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Learning English

I have read a book about learning English. The book is called 'A Language Lover's guide to English'. It is written by Siu Sir. I would like to recommand this book to Hong Kong secondary school students.

This book is biliterate, i.e. it is written in English and Chinese. It is easy to understand. The examples he uses are autentic and close to young people. It has five different sections: the attitude of learning English; reading and writing; listening and speaking; grammar; English that you cannot learn in class. The writer also shares his experiences in learning English at the end of the book.

I recommanded this book because I strongly agreed with what the writer talks about the attutide of learning English. I will talk about it next time.
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St Catharine's 40th Anniversary Concert

What a wonderful night! The music, the songs, and the smile of everyone are still lingering in my mind. It started with the school hymn that I haven't sung with my school mates for a long long time. It was a beautiful hymn. It reminded me of my old days.

Mr Geoffery Weaver, who was our music teacher, came back from England and conducted the concert. The very old girls, the not very old girls and the very young girls (as Mr Weaver said ;-) ) performed fantastically. I wished I could sing and be one of them.

The whole concert was warm and joyful. The heart of all the girls, old and young, joined together in one. The entire evening showed the very strong spirit of St. Catharine. Although I have left school for such a long time, the spirit of St. Catharine is still amazingly persevered by our very young sisters. I am proud to be a St Catharine girl, old girl :-)

It was great to meet my old teachers, Ms Lau (Mrs Yee) and Ms Sin. I was happy to meet some of my old 'young' school mates, especially Meranda. Thank you, Ms Tsang (Mrs Yung) for inviting me to the concert. I will surely go to the next one on 6th October at St John Cathedral.
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Creamy candy and Chocolate-filled biscuit - YUM

Melamine

I thought Malamine had nothing to do with me at the outbreak of the scandal. First, I am not an infant; second, I have no children; and third, I don't live in China. I have only drunk a carton of Mengniu milk (250ml) so far in my life.

It seems that Malamine is getting closer and closer to me since it was found in more and more food and drinks in the world. My favourite White Rabbit Creamy Candy and Lotte's Koala's March soft milk chocolate-filled biscuit can not escape from the contamination of malamine. There are increasing numbers of products being tested and more food is exposed to be positive for melamine.

Not only my health is affected by malamine but also my pride. Being a Chinese, I feel ashamed:-( Now Chinese becomes the joke of the world which cannot be hidden by the fantastic Olympics in Beijing and the spacewalk mission of the astronauts. The malamine incident shows clearly that China is a nation that does not care about her next generation. The mainland Chinese are so cruel that they could poison their babies for money. I can see kids are loved and cared in most part of the world, in England, in Australia and in Japan, etc.

Why not in China! What a shame!

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