Something that took place in school

Many things have taken place in school since I entered. I have already been in Victoria for a year and have experienced many things, but this is a particularly memorable one. During our time in the school, we will have free periods here and there. Our class normally wreaks havoc. This time, it was something different…

“Guys! Mrs Ng is not here today!” my friend hollered. The whole class was relieved from the impending doom of a test. We burst into peals of laughter and cheers. In-class sports and Chinese chess competitions would be carried out and occasionally a fight would break out. That day was different. The atmosphere in the classroom was that of a studio. Our monitor produced a beat on the whiteboard while the whole class followed. An astounding effect was produced. It sounded as if a real percussion band had been erected out of class 1A.

Each of us took turns to come up with a rhythm while the rest provided background beats by clapping. But it was not the sound or rhythm produced that affected us. It was the pride of the class spirit that I believed swelled in each and everyone’s hearts. It was this that united the class as one family as sung in our weekly school song. “Victoria thy sons are we”… I would like to add a sentence that truly expressed what I felt at that time. The sentence is ‘Victoria thy sons are we and Victorians brothers we are’. This was something that took place in school that swept away first impressions and personal grudges that existed at the beginning of our secondary school lives.

Even a teacher felt that way. A teacher who was strolling pass for her next class appeared at the doorway of the classroom. She gave us a warning to keep quiet so as to not disturb the ‘politicians-in-making’ in the other classes. In addition to that, we thought we were about to receive more reprimanding but instead, she stunned us by commenting on our strong class spirit. I’m sure the whole class had their heads lifted high.

The title of this essay may look disturbing as it reveals poignant undercurrents but there are many enjoyable experiences that happen in school as well. School can actually be fun.

3 Best noodles in Singapore
Are you craving for good food? If so, let me introduce you to five different kinds of noodles I recently ate which I think is fantastic. They are the beef noodles at East Coast, ramen at Liang Court and pasta at the airport.
The beef noodles at East Coast was sumptuous. My mother was the one who introduced me to the food. The texture of the noodles was smooth and enticing at first sight that had me salivating for more. Although the portion is rather small and may not satiate one’s appetite, but they are still mouth-watering.

The second destination for divine noodles was the ramen at Liang Court. My father and I went to pick my mother as she works there but my mother decided to have dinner there. Thus, she introduced to us the best ramen I ever had. The ramen noodles were thick and filling but served at the right portion with an extraordinarily tasty soup. The aroma cannot be described as it was a potpourri of flavours. The specialty of this ramen store is the egg. Ironic isn’t it? The egg is only cooked only on the outside. Once bitten into, hot uncooked yolk gushes out and fills your entire mouth. The combination of all three into a single bowl of soup is certainly worthy for the money we spent.

The following day, we went to the airport to eat Popeye but instead pass by a Japanese restaurant. On closer inspection, we realized it was a hybrid of Italian food cooked in traditional Japanese style, from pastas to pizzas. We decided to step into Waraku. The rice used in baked rice was cooked in the traditional “sticky” style but that enhanced the taste, bringing out the aroma of the rice. The pasta offered by the restaurant offered were unique as it had Asian ingredients such as crab roes. The noodles had a texture offered only by Japanese as well. It was truly delicious.

These are the noodles which I have tried and enjoyed the most so far. If you feel puckish after reading this, please head down to the eateries to fill your stomachs! I assure you that you will love the food as much as I did.

My Tuition Teacher
My tuition teacher inspired me to write this. This is a recent recount of her story. My tuition teacher is twenty-one years old and has not graduated. She teaches me English thus I have decided to write this essay which is dedicated to her. Her brother, being my best friend shares with me a lot of stories about his sister. Anyway, this is just a little background about her.

Firstly, she is my church mate who has just returned to Singapore from Germany after completing her extensive studies. At that time, she was not my teacher yet. But, I was in need of English tuition as secondary school life was hard to cope with. My mum approached her for help and here I am, at her house writing this essay.

She gave me extensive exercises to do and taught me how to write good expository essays and how to improve in my comprehension. I slowly improved and acquired a few skills. She followed by testing my limits, making me do a sec 4 comprehension essay. I did pretty badly but it was expected. She guided me through the blog assignment given by Mr. Reuben Li and corrected my mistakes. A great teacher-in-the-making indeed!

I am really grateful to her for bringing me thus far in this short period of time although she tends to bully me as our age gap is only eight years. I find myself being ordered to help her take stuff at times but I think it is only right after the work she has done for me.

All I want to say is, “Thank you!”

Chinese Chess Obsession
I began playing Chinese chess at the start of my secondary school life. I was hooked the moment I started. After the June holidays, my class, still in the holiday mood would take out their chess sets during recess and begin an intellectual war while I, with no experience was usually left out. I would join the more uncouth side of the class side for soccer. My good friend took pity on me and started my learning journey and taught me the rudiments of Chinese chess, sparking off my passion for the game.

Any spare time I had, I indulged myself in traditional warfare books so that I could be tactically prepared. I eventually began out-witting my father in the game (not like he was that good) but a win was still an achievement. I started climbing up the ranks of my class- from “recruit” to “sergeant” and began killing off a few people in my class. But there was the legion of “unbeatable generals” that could give you a run for your money. I learnt that no matter how good you are, there would always be someone who is better than you.

Each morning, before the teacher comes into class, I would be playing Chinese chess just to improve my skills but one day, that landed me into dire straits. The headmaster “happened” to stroll past and caught us red-handed. That resulted in a two-hour detention but that did not stop us. The both of us continued the war, mesmerized by the Chinese characters on the pale tablets laid out on the intricate grid board.

Slowly and little by little, my skills improved and finally, I gunned down one of the “generals” and was promoted to the legion. One thing I have learnt from this half year of playing chess is that if one has the passion for something and pursues it, the goal will always be within our reach.

A Special Moment I Enjoyed With My Family
There are many special moments I have spent with my family but our trip to Taiwan during the December holidays was particularly memorable.

Recently, I went to Taiwan for an eight day trip. Since I had been to Taiwan many times before, thus, I expected nothing new. In fact, I expected the worst. The weather on that day did nothing to bolster my spirits but instead, cast a gloomy shadow. Due to the weather, the flight was delayed by almost an hour. Every kid on the plane was happily wearing out their thumbs on the built-in consoles while my console was not functioning and this did nothing to lift my spirits.After a long ride, we finally reached our destination.

That night, we toured the night market. There were many sorts of food available, some of them gourmet. They had chicken backside which might sound irksome but was actually mouth-watering. The glumness portrayed on my face was still visible but I was considerably cheered up by the prospect of sampling the cuisine. The next few days were just sightseeing, something which I abhorred and felt it a waste of time until the fourth day.

On the fourth day, we drove up to a hotel situated in the highlands. It was located near a village so every night, the villagers would come over and perform their traditional dances and play native and intricate instruments. I loved their performances and my view of Taiwan was slowly changing. It was very interesting to know the culture of Taiwan.

The time I spent with my family was truly memorable. We would share a bowl of piping hot beef noodles or even buy a hotdog bun each and sit at the roadside, wolfing down our lunch. When we went to the beach, we would collect stones and pile them up as high as possible. I felt that as I grew older, I drifted further and further away from my parents but those moments allowed me to spend precious quality time with them, a precious commodity which was lacking in our daily lives.