English or Chinese, which should be first? (For EC)

I think Chinese has many praiseworthy values. E.g Di Zi Gui, Ru Jia Si Xiang 弟子规,儒家思想. If we could infiltrate these values into Early Child-care system, it would be good. My experiences reveal that it’s easy to ask little kids to do something, but resistances are met for upper primary kids. By then, they would have their PERSPECTIVES formed. It would be harder to form good values/habits.

My previous firm invited a English & Chinese toastmaster clubs to demonstrate public speaking. I heeded the English speakers w/drowsing eyes, but my tired eyes sparkled like diamonds during the Chinese session led by Ang Mo Kio Toastmaster Club. What caused the magic? Handsome speakers?

The Magic of Chinese: (I was captivated by the content & joined the club)

Just 4-5 characters could describe any situation, e.g 温故知新, 擒贼先擒王

A sentence could become a poem, e.g 国之珍贵，家之珍贵，更胜于生命之珍贵！

By looking at a character, we could guessed its meaning. E.g 口

The same pinyin sound ‘ai’ could mean a variety of characters. E.g 爱，艾，碍 etc.

Wrong pronunciations could lead to quarrels, e.g 是vs 屎

It’s concerning that many people are belittling Chinese, including our Chinese race. Would their first ancestor climb out of his coffin, if he heard their words? They couldn’t speak & write Chinese! To prevent the scenerio from worsening, I think we should enforce deep interest in Chinese in Early Child-care system. It’s easier to say & write English than Chinese, so it’s better to master it at these critical ages of learning. Moreover, anyone who study Di Zi Gui by heart & understand its implicity won’t be led astray. My favourite phrase is 勿施于人上句是己所不欲!

Regards,
Shernee Chng 莊薛霓
I’m one who like to share useful info, I’m in Instalgram & Twitter too, www.shernee88.weebly.com is my interest in home designs

P.S: inspiring communities, https://sites.google.com/a/dizigui.org.sg/chinese/infonews/events/learning-classes/ws-courses/wccc2021

https://www.facebook.com/AMKTM

Thailand, Hatyai Tour: Unique Experiences

I went to Hatyai, Thailand, on May 8-10 by Tiger Airlines. It was a budget trip with delightful shopping & dinning experiences.

Unique experiences:

1. There were taxis at Hatyai airport, but unlike Singapore, hardly any taxis or buses in the city. There was a train station and the main transport is tutus that charged by destination distance.

2. The super-mart Top at Central shopping mall has a pretty display of fresh fruits, e.g. each type of fruits was displayed in orderly columns. E.g Customer can buy 1 apple, instead of a nos. of apples. I heard that the wrapped cut-pineapples were nice, but we were already full. There were many open containers of salads, customers can mix & match.

3. The MK restaurant at Central Festival mall had yummy steamboat & courteous staff who lend the restaurant a delightful atmosphere with smiles & greetings. We still felt happy, although they spoke in foreign tongues. The hanging roast ducks looked tempting, they should cut a piece & let us try. It’ll act like a pacifier! We took pic for each dish, they must have found us odd. All the staff carry cheerfulness, joy was in the air. It must be great to work there. No wonder someone said that your staff is your 1^st customer.

   There was a big food court where you could see the huge ice-skating ring below, if you sat near the center. The cinemas area has many sofas, and you could buy your tickets just by touching a wall-screen.

4. Buffet at Sky cafe at Lee Garden level 33 with pretty surrounding night scene. But there were 2 wings from the lift, you must go to the staircase side for clearer night scene. To go level 33, you must take 2 lifts. The food is cheap, I liked the chicken wings & glass-noodle there.

5. Hatyai Ice Dome is freezing cold & fun, 150 bahts/pax, we were there for about 1 hr & took many pretty pics. We had fun at the ice-slide, my sister also took a tyre-slide at a snowy hill towards the exit. After that, we came to an area where there were abundant flowers in comfortable temperature. It was like experienced spring after winter, wonderful!

Regards,
Shernee Chng 莊薛霓
I’m one who like to share useful info, I’m in Instalgram & Twitter too, www.shernee88.weebly.com is my interest in home designs

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/117560450067127971657/117560450067127971657/posts/p/pub

P.S. brown words are adjustment

Learn EQ Emotional Intelligence

Recently, I’ve attended a course about EQ Emotional Intelligence at my church. It was full of insights, I realized that I’m weak in areas like ‘Avoid Blaming’ & Avoid Over-functioning”.

In the past, I tried to say yes to everything & allow people to cross my boundaries. Give people an inch, they want a yard. My ex-boss saw my weakness & asked me to say no sometimes & quit doing for others what they should do themselves. After taking his good advice, my life changes.

Avoid Blaming:

I start to speak up, if needed. This principle is stated in, Proverbs, Bible too. If I meet any low-class person, I’ll ask at heart, “Why is he so terrible?” I’ll wish that I can change such faces into my idol, then I’ll look squarely at him & be a laughing elephant. Of course, this needs courage especially if he’s a boss. If I can’t change the situation, I’ll tell God to change me & let him be taken care. I’ll keep reminding myself to avoid letting such persons to enjoy free rental in my heart.

Avoid Over-functioning:

I hate to ask for aid, as I like independence. I hate it if people dilly dally at others expense. I like to protect helpless people. Those are termed as over-functioning, I like to do things for under-doers Eg. Advise people to do something, when they didn’t appreciate & dislike your advice.

During group discussion in the course, they asked t me to just be self-responsible. Let the under-doers clear their own dishes. How to aid others, when we are sinking by force? Great idea, I’ll do that & be a happier person. Hi hi …

So, to be emotionally intelligent, we need to find solutions. Stop blaming & over-functioning!

Regards,
Shernee Chng 莊薛霓
I’m one who like to share useful info, I’m in Twitter & Instalgram too, www.shernee88.weebly.com is my interest in home designs

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/117560450067127971657/117560450067127971657/posts/p/pub

Bend Your Rules If needed, like Mr Lee Kuan Yew

Mr Lee Kuan Yew, our 1st Prime Minister, had bended many rules too. During British empire, he, as a highly educated Chinese, was treated unequally by them too. They came back to re-rule us, after Japanese Occupation was over. They still put on their superior mask. So Mr Lee joined hands with Communist Party & were able to overthrow them.

Many countries were ruled by Communist Party. Singapore will be one of them, if Mr Lee Kuan Yew was complacent. But he believed that Singapore must be ruled by the people. So he seeked like-minded people. Malaysia was on the same page as Singapore. So, they together defeated the powerful Communist.

During a rally, Mr Lee scolded,”Cowards (He think the Communist were cowards), do you want cowards to govern Singapore?” He was a man who had strong views & dared to speak up his views at the risk of offense. Many world-leaders had benefit from his views.

When Malaysia abandoned Singapore, he cried for us. He was seen as a threat in Malaysia parliament. Malaysia was worried that Chinese population had exceeded Malays. Mr Lee believed that equality between Chinese & Malays was achievable. The difference in views caused conflicts.

It was a miracle that Singapore survived! Mr Lee bended his principle to rely on Malaysia to survive. He must do that to account for about 2 million lives. His principle became rely on ourselves! Could he do it? If he failed, Singapore will fail. With such a huge stress, he must have many burn-outs. If he felt that the stress was too much, he wanted to be a playboy. What would happen to Singapore?

Luckily, Mr Lee was able to go the extra mile & toiled for us with his brain. Did Mrs Lee prepare many healthy food for him? His mind with clarity told him that high rise buildings suited Singapore, although many countries with this idea had failed. He decided to learn from their mistakes & succeeded.

Mr Lee Hsien Loong must be stressed to have such a role-model. But he was lucky too, to be able to observe his dad & be a close disciple. Mr Lee Hsien Loong has done a good job too. He has his strengths. E.g He looks more amiable, speaks better Chinese. If his mum thought that his dad was good-looking, he is more good-looking!

Mr Lee Hsien Loong, just do your best & don’t worry. The worse enemy is ourselves, & we need determination to defeat ourselves. If you remain upright, we will back you up.

Hope that God bless Mr Lee Guan Yew, who had so much love for us. He would be happy, if we follow his foot prints & make Singapore a better place.

Regards,
Shernee Chng 莊薛霓

P.S. On watching Channel News Asia, I was so touched by his contributions. Then I went to make a cup of green tea, but ended up with a cup of coffee. I scolded myself for my zombie state. So after the program, I decided to write to clear my disturbed mind.

Philippines, Manila: After-thought & Resort World Hotel

One interesting thing about Manila was that the Mall of Asia shopping mall is so large that it has many entrances. If you use the side entrance, you’ll have to queue up to go through the security check. Women/men to queue on either side, whereby the security gay or guy would check your bag quickly. So the queue time was fast.

My pal told me that a Filipino salary was only S$200+! I wonder how they survive, no wonder many of them come to Singapore to work. When we were in a taxi, on our way to a casino at Resort World hotel, we saw people peddling their goods. When the vehicles stop, they’ll ask if anyone want to buy their goods. It was interesting that we could see horse carriages on the road too.

Sorry, I forgot to mention about the casino at Resort World hotel. On the last day, we went there by the transport provided by Microtel hotel. We planned to come back again to retrieve our luggage. But when we were there, we realized that we could put our luggage at the casino reception counter. And after taking our free entry passes, 3 of us went back to retrieve our luggage. So we needed not rush back later. The rest stayed on to play or watch the singers performed on stage.

After sometime at the casino, which has 2 levels, we had our lunch at the food court on top. A few hours later, we departed. We needed to catch the scheduled shuttle bus at the terminal near the casino to the airport. And we had our dinner at the airport, which has many eateries that offered cheap food at level 4 or 5

Overall, it was a enjoyable trip that I would recommend. 

Regards,
Shernee Chng 莊薛霓
I’m one who like to share useful info, I’m in Twitter too, www.shernee88.weebly.com is my interest in home designs

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/117560450067127971657/117560450067127971657/posts/p/pub

P.S. I’ve added 2 photo albums ‘Manila, Day 3: Buffet 101’ & ‘Manila, Last Day: After-thought & Resort World Hotel’ via https://plus.google.com/photos/104331980020812706066/albums/5987152098796423025

https://plus.google.com/photos/104331980020812706066/albums/5987153956023799585

 

Philippines, Manila, Buffet 101: Day 3

I’ve a fun Batam trip, but custom check there needed about 11/2 hr due to peak period. Now back to my last post on my memorable Manila trip.

Buffet 101 restaurant, besides a great ambiance, was a food paradise. I’m a big eater, but I’ve never had such a full dinner! It was just a stone throw away from Microtel hotel. It offered crabs cooked in few styles, Japanese delights, many varieties of dim sums & raw seafood too which we could ask the staff to barbeque. Its signature dish is tempura, & offered free flow of drinks/alcohol! We had a few glass of fresh water melon juice. My parents who were on the bottle, had a few glass of beer too.

I usually try all the dishes for buffets, but this time I couldn’t due to too much varieties. Too bad my stomach couldn’t take in any more, I didn’t try the yogurt, fondue, fruits etc. When the bill came, we paid cash. Buffet 101 gave 20% disc for cash payment, & additional 10% off if you bring a local elderly. So we paid only about S$30/pax!

Regards,
Shernee Chng 莊薛霓
I’m one who like to share useful info, I’m in Twitter too, www.shernee88.weebly.com is my interest in home designs

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/117560450067127971657/117560450067127971657/posts/p/pub 

P.S. The fun Chariot ride only needed 600 pesos/pax, about S$18 

Philippines, Manila, Day 3: Chariot at Intramuros, 163 Mall

I’ve shared many pics of Rizal Park, Fort Santiago, Rizal Shrine, Jollibean, San Augustin Church: https://plus.google.com/photos/104331980020812706066/albums/5968027804528417889

And pics of Intramuros, Chariot::

What link? Nevermind, pics are in the album right after the above album.

We went to King Knight hotel for a fun Chariot ride for about 1 hr, including teaching. How much is it? I’ll have to check my notes. They taught us how to balance our body, while turning the Chariot. We were guided on the ride too. And we had a few stops, whereby they explained the sites & took pics on our behalf.

We had such fun that I wish I could have more for free. I know that Singapore also has Chariot in Sentosa. But it was done on sand instead of road, & not sure how much it is.

After the ride, we went to 163 Mall. On the way, we passed by Chinatown & discovered that Manila has Lucky Chinatown too! We agreed to meet our driver at the car park 1 hr later. I bought a jean-short at about 100 peso, S$3! Our driver bought a bag too. Too bad that we had to rush to Buffet 101 restaurant, else we could shop more at the wholesale mall.

To be continued, I need to visit my parents & sail to Batam for a few days for LNY later …

Regards,

Shernee Chng 莊薛霓
I’m one who like to share useful info, I’m in Twitter too, www.shernee88.weebly.com is my interest in home designs

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/117560450067127971657/117560450067127971657/posts/p/pub

Philippines, Manila, Day 3: Jollibean (Popular Eatery), San Agustin Church

Sorry, I’ve not been blogging for about 3 weeks! Letting myself enjoy the joy of Christmas , ponder over my past year & new year. My new year resolutions would be into charity. that would push me to work hard for them. I want to learn cycling too.

Back to blogging, we rode & cross a road to The Sound of Music Museum after Rizal Museum. There was nothing much there, except to hear our humorous guide played & sang a song with a piano. I would appreciate it, if he was a boyfriend playing our song. After it, he asked us to put on hats & took photo with some costumed guys. Then, he asked us to tip the guys who lend us their hats.

I though due to lack of time, he would take us upstairs to have a quick feel of how it was like, .But he said upstairs had nothing much. And during our ride to a souvenir shop, he asked us to tip him if his service was good. We did so, but his request had dampened my joy.

We quickly went to our awaiting hired car to Jollibean, a popular fast food joint, we were hungry! Six of us had a good set lunch for a total of about S$24. My sister preferred the fried chickens at Choking.

Forgot to mention that our 1^st stop for day 3 was San Agustin Church:

The Philippines is one of only two Catholic countries in Southeast Asia -thanks to the nearly 400-year presence of Spanish missionaries in the country , there are thousands of churches around the country.

The oldest surviving churches — the 400-year-old San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila .

A British invasion, several massive earthquakes, and World War II bombs failed to topple the building. Today, thousands of visitors walk past the Chinese-style dogs guarding the entrance to view the expansive interiors and trompe l’oeil ceilings.

The Philippine government named San Agustin Church a National Historical Landmark, and the United Nations awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status to the church, as one of the Philippines’ four major Baroque Churches.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/the-oldest-churches-in-the-philippines-021459898.html?page=2

We passed by The Binondo Church on our way to Jollibean:

The “Minor Basilica of Santo Lorenzo Ruiz” in Binondo, Manila came about due to the Spanish colonisers’ distrust of Chinese settlers in Manila.

The church was constructed by the Dominican order in 1596 to meet the Chinese Catholic community’s spiritual needs. It was destroyed by the British in 1762, by an earthquake in 1863, and by American bombs in 1944. The present reconstruction was only completed in 1984.

The Binondo Church’s bell tower is its oldest surviving part, and the one that displays the most conspicuous influence from Chinese architecture—a five-storey octagonal building that resembles a Chinese pagoda. And once you’re done exploring the church, head out to have an instant Chinatown food fest.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/the-oldest-churches-in-the-philippines-021459898.html?page=3

Regards,
Shernee Chng 莊薛霓
I’m one who like to share useful info, I’m in Twitter too, www.shernee88.weebly.com is my interest in home designs

Philippines, Manila, Day 3: Rizal Park, Fort Santiago, Rizal Museum

We rented a cab for 8 hrs at 350 peso/hr, about S$12/hr, through Microtel hotel on day 3. We went:

1. Rizal Park

2. Fort Santago

3. Church San Agustin

4. Beautiful Intramuros & have fun rides in Chariot

5. 163 Mall
6. 1Buffet 101

Our 1^st stop was Rizal Park, where we rented a horse carriage at 150 peso/pax for 15 min The lovely carriage can seat 4 paxs, it gave a tour of the park. We were happily surprised that the driver crossed the road with us on his carriage. The park has many statues & a beautiful stationary train.

Our 2^nd stop was Fort Santiago, we found a spoil F.O.C tram there. So, we had no choice but to take a horse carriage ride again. My dad can’t walk for long distance. This time, it was for 6 paxs for 1 hr with a tour guide – 500 peso/pax, about S$17.

Fort Santiago was built on 1571, former headquarters of U.S. Army. It was seized by Japanese military on 1942, where hundreds of people were tortured & executed. Destroyed by the Battle of Manila in 1945. Used as a depot for the U.S. Transportation Corps before it was handed over to Philippine government in 1946.

Within it, there was Rizal Shrine. It was a museum built in 1953, from ruins of a structure dated from 1593 for army soldiers, officers & their families. A model of the cell of national hero who fought for Philippine independence, Jose Rizal during his jail, was an attraction.

Above was the history of Fort Santiago & Rizal Shrine. I’ll post the pics of the museum too, to let you glimpse what was about it.

To be continued on next post.

Regards,
Shernee Chng 莊薛霓
I’m one who like to share useful info, I’m in Twitter too, www.shernee88.weebly.com is my interest in home designs

…

Philippines, Manila, Unique Experiences

Philippines main religion is Christianity they’ve a TV channel about it. First morning on Microtel hotel, I accidentally tuned in to it. It was live broadcasting Christian songs. My sister who was in the toilet, liked them & thought they were pop songs.

 Lilian Too, famous in feng shui, has created her influence here. We could found her shop on our way to locate the famous Chinese-style eatery in MOA, Mall of Asia, with handfuls of clients. The eatery was on level 2, one could reach it from the exit beside Forever 21 shop. Just turned right & walked all the way straight, it was at the corner. At Lilian Too’s shop, we bought something that were out of stock in Singapore.

We waited more than ½ hr at MOA for the shuttle bus, on day 2. My parents wanted to buy beer, we learned hat the bus will stop-by the supermarket on its way to Microtel hotel. It was faster to walk there, but we dared not ask for direction. Finally my 3^rd sister asked the road police for help, out of frustration. The bus came shortly, after its driver received the walkies-talkie call. He explained that he didn’t see us at the bus stop! Not sure why that happened.

 

Regards,

Shernee Chng 莊薛霓
I’m one who like to share useful info, I’m in Twitter too, www.shernee88.weebly.com is my interest in home designs