‘I hate this school. I hate china. I want to go home to Malaysia,’ he said as tears started to stream down his cheeks. ‘I know how tough it is for you,’ I said to him. Often people do not understand how much of a psychological impact it would be for kids to adapt to a new life in another country. I think the same goes for adults. The only reason why adults don’t complain too much is because they lie to themselves and camouflage such sadness and inadaptability with other things, that is, getting drunk in a bar on the weekend. Secondly, it is also possible for an adult to decide without much thought of packing up and leave. These are the only two reasons why adults don’t do what they should. ‘Frandsen. I am here. I am here if you need to talk. And I will help you,’ I advised him. He nods his head as he goes back to his seat. The students are currently preparing for their Interdisciplinary Project. His group is making a pencil holder made of recycled materials. Apparently, they got into an argument because Frandsen didn’t like what he was tasked to do. Normally, such arguments would be resolved in a minute or two. But because of the baggage that Frandsen shoulders, he took it further than he should and got personal with his group members. Although he isn’t a slow learner, he is not the brightest of students. Fortunately, he wasn’t the naughtiest too. I thank god for that. However, he gets ridiculed now and then for his pronunciation and lack of knowledge. My class, you see is quite a smart ass and intelligent class. Having no privileged education (but from a privilege family), he sticks out like a sore thumb. The thing is I have no clue whatsoever how to improve his situation. It is basically a social problem. He doesn’t have friends and that’s about it. He’d probably feel more adjusted when there are friends around him. I know how lonely he feels because I feel the same way too. As he sat on his chair, I felt a tear filling up the corner of my eye. Song of the Day: Angel by Robbie WilliamsFinger Acrobatics Performed by Avloomat @ 1225hrs
April 4, 2007...9:32 pm
I Hate This School
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April 9, 2007 at 8:10 am
When I was in Indonesia with my dad, I used to be everyone’s hell. Worst than what Frandsen did. After days of endless tantrum, a neighbour gave me a slingshot as a gift. I had a few miss shots, and was chased after by a few angry animal across the village…..and so there was a ‘tiny bit’ of amok every now and then.
So the neighbour gave me a small fishing net, thinking that its not as dangerous as a slingshot. But he was wrong. I went to the river to try my new ‘toy’; caught a big fish which bit me. …..I didn’t know what it was, but it hurts!
To keep me away from trouble, my dad bought me a water buffalo as a pet- I named him ‘Ba ba’. I ride on his back all day by the fields, like a princess on stallion….. a gleeful girl ever!