Back in Shanghai

This morning, I drove my family to Changi Airport to see me off. Something seems wrong with that sentence, I know. Cos usually the person who's being sent off doesn't drive the people who are seeing him off. But then, I drove because I won't get to drive for the next 6 months that I'm here in Shanghai so I was grabbing all the opportunities to drive in Singapore this time while I was back.

Yeah, so I had been doing lots of driving over the past 2 weeks, I even drove half of the way from KL back to S'pore (my Dad and I took turns). It's actually more interesting to drive along the small roads in M'sia. The roads are quite winding, you frequently have to overtake and get overtaken, and there are many road hazards (cows, dead cats etc) that you have to watch out for.

Although I'd not driven for the 5 months I was away from S'pore (25 July- 20 December), my driving skills hasn't deteriorated. Do you know why? Because I've been 'practising' my driving in Shanghai. Let me tell you more about it.

Those of you who have been here will know how brave (aka reckless) the drivers are. You need to have nerves of steel to drive here really. I kid you not! They simply weave in and out of traffic, drive against traffic etc etc. So since I sit beside the driver (a wonderful chap my age with lightning quick reflexes) on our school bus, I get to 'simulate' driving by observing the road conditions. I guess that's why my driving skills are not rusty. Or maybe I have wonderful psychomotor skills haha.

Anyway, this visit to Singapore was very short, so the majority of the time was spent catching up with my family members. So glad to be able to revisit our favourite haunts like Marina Square, Vivocity, the Taman Jurong Food Centre (!) etc. I'm also very encouraged by the fact that my Dad went to church with me twice in a week. First, we attended Wesley Methodist in KL, which was where his old school was. It was a nostalgic moment, because he found most of the old buildings where he spent his high school days intact - he even took a picture at his old boarding school and later I found an old photograph of him with his friends taken at the exact spot more than 40 years ago! Then, my Dad also went to the Christmas eve concert at Glory Presbyterian Church. Our church always has wonderful Christmas concerts.

I also went back to NYGH and had said hi to my ex-colleagues and had dinner with a few of them in the boarding school. I also saw a few of my ex-students. Talked to a few of them about how they are doing but some others pretended not to see me. I can't understand why they behave like that. It's true that I was a little strict, especially in 2007, but I've never scolded anyone without explaining the rationale later on and anyone could see that everything I did was out of concern. I don't know why there might be some who think that I'm not approachable.

I think to understand me, you've got to know that I often speak tongue in cheek and you've got to understand some of my sarcasm. I guess younger students might misunderstand my sarcasm. And the sarcasm is never meant to hurt. I don't use sarcasm in a bitter and cynical way. For example, when a student does not complete her work, instead of punishing her, I would ask 'Did you use invisible ink to complete your assignment?' I think sarcasm is good for diffusing tense moments, and I love sarcasm because I am someone who always sees the ridiculous side of life.