I'm currently studying for my Postgraduate diploma in Education, and things are looking great! I really am enjoying my time in NIE now, and I look forward to my career ahead as teacher.

I kinda know that most student teachers enter the schools bursting with enthusiasm, but become more cynical as time passes by. Nonetheless I hope that I will be able to impact my students in my early career, and sustain my enthusiasm as time goes on!

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Haha just for fun =p

初めてイコマのクラスについて

先週の日曜日には初めてイコマで勉強しに行きました。ちょっと怖かったけど、興奮していました。多い人はイコマがいい学校だと聞いた、でも安心したことができません。ー＿－’’　いつでも日本語を話さなくちゃいけないと、怖くなりました。

でも、イコマはNUSの日本語クラスより簡単でした。＾＾　NUSのクラスに会話はとても多いで、ストレスも多いと思います。イコマですが、書いたことよりあった、クラスも非公式のと思います。

この夏休みに、「皆の日本語」の３７課までできたい、次の学期に日本語４級を習いたいです。そして、１２月の日本語能力試験３級を受けたいです。大望じゃないですか。。＾＾’’

皆さん、一緒に日本語を上手になるへ行きましょう。


（もし間違いを見たら、直していただけよろしいでしょうか。　どうぞよろしくお願いします＾＾）

The case for faith

I've been reading the Case for Faith by Lee strobel for the past few weeks - I think it has been a good refresher for me. I remember that this book was one of the main books that influenced me to become a Christian again. Really want to say thanks to Huanyan for kindly lending me the book.. it's a easily digestible that is book nice to read, seriously recommend reading it, if you haven't done so recently.

This is the second time that I'm seriously reading this book, and while some parts of it I find not that convincing anymore, one thing that really struck me was the portion of the book titled "the Faith experiment".

"Sitting and brooding over faith and doubt will never make a believer out of anybody," came Anderson's response. "Neither will reading all the right books or hanging out with the right people or even making the decision to believe. Ultimately, you must embark on your experiemnt of faith by doing what faith would do."

"Jesus said that if we continue in his Word - that is, contunie doing what Jesus says - then we are truly his disciples. Being a disciple means you're a 'following learner'. And when you're a following learner, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

"Knowing the truth doesn't mean filling your head with knowledge; this is the Hebrew 'know', which isn't gathering information. It's experiential knowledge. Like Adam Eve - he didn't just know her name and address; he experienced her."

"To experience the truth and be set free, you have to be a following learner. In other words, do what Jesus says and you'll experience the validity of it. It's kind of like riding a bicycle. You can't watch a video or read a book about it; you've got to get on one and get the feel of it"

I think that one crucial aspect of faith that I have not remembered.. Just like what the Bible says in James 1:22: " Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." How many times have I challenged myself to go by faith recently..? Not in the recent period of time, definitely.

Will it remove doubt from my life..? I honestly don't think so - even leaders doubt, and even pastors backslide. But is this something that, as a Christian, is worth following? Defintely.

2 big questions been on my mind recently, as the exams approach nearer.

1)What do I want to invest my time in?

and

2)What should I invest my time in?

Jasmine mentioned on Saturday that we should spend some time clarifying our questions Christianity and God. It's quite true that often times we are bothered by some questions or problems in life, but yet strangely enough we are also unwilling to find the solution, or to solve the problem. I fullheartedly agree that it would be good to spend some time on this issue..

Which brings me to the 2 main questions that I'm pondering about now. Just like clarifying doubts about Christianity is an important (and good) thing to do, what other things should I invest my time in?

This whole train of thought was preciptated by my mom, interestingly enough. What should I invest my time in is a seemingly easier question, but just as vital as what do I want to invest my time in.

Frankly, I haven't got the vaguest idea what I want to do with my life. Which isn't very uncommon in general, but, shouldn't life be more than this? My mom has been talking to me about it recently, and I find myself agreeing with her. There should be more to life than this..

I had breakfast today with my mother today, and she was saying that she did a mental count in her head and estimated that she had probably 10000 days left to live, or possibly lesser than that (since she's around her fifties now). What a frightening thought - to be able to estimate a number and say "This is probably the amount of days I have left on this earth". o_O

~

Actually, there is a third question in my mind right now, but that one maybe I write about it some other time bah.

~

John 20:29 - Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

It's been a long time since I've read this verse, and Jasmine's sermon was a timely refresher for me.

Seriously, another pay hike?

Singapore PM's salary stuns White House official

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A senior White House official on Tuesday admitted he was floored by the news that Singapore's prime minister earned five times more than US

"I'm going to emigrate and run for office in Singapore," the official said on condition he be identified only as "a senior administration official who sits in disbelief after reading that story."

On Monday, the Singapore government had announced a fresh 25.5 percent pay hike for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, boosting his salary to 2.05 million dollars per year.

Bush gets paid 400,000 dollars per year for doing his job, according to the White House.

Combined with personal investment income, he and his wife Laura reported 618,694 dollars in taxable income in the 2005 fiscal year. They had to pay 187,768 dollars in federal taxes.

But maybe Bush shouldn't feel so bad. The Singaporean's paycheck is eight times fatter than Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's.

~ ~
Ok, you know, I'm quite pro-PAP in certain aspects. High pay = anti-corruption. I can accept that. Works for the EPL.

But seriously, you're telling me that if we don't raise LSL's salary by 25%, he's gonna either turn corrupt or hop to a private sector job that pays him more?

To quote Eric's msn nickname - "To the 66.6%, well done!"

Even other countries are laughing at us now..

~ ~

Heard from my friend who's working in the banking sector that a recession seems imminent. Let's hope it's not true..

Chinese New Year in Suzhou

Well, came back from China a few days back. What an experience it was.. whilst this time my trip was confined to Shanghai and Suzhou, nonetheless, got to take a deeper glance at these two locations. (Shanghai province is a mindboggling 60 times the size of Singapore man. China is big!)

Suzhou has changed a lot since the last time I went there - especially in the Industrial park zone. Many of the buildings that were half constructed the last time I was there was fully operational and bustling with people. Got to see how the people who live nearby live their lives. And it's really beautiful man - if I could describe it, it would be Singapore, if we had huge amounts of land.

Everybody was geared up for the festive season, man the fireworks were amazing. Mom said that Suzhou people are known for being able to balance between work and play, and man, do they play hard. The night time sky was positively erupting with numerous fireworks.. people here are willing to buy the kind of fireworks they set off during NDP..

Really regret not bringing a camera -_-

Got to use the swimming pool at long last.. really thanks to ellson for getting me swimming goggles.. Need to lose weight very badly haha.. But even though I swam like everyday, I think I still gained weight in my trip there.

Also managed to see more Shanghai too... Went walking with my mom and my cousin around the Shanghai area.. Fuzhou avenue was like a gargantuan orchard road.. Got to see Shanghai Tan too (or as the locals call it, 外滩). Ate an amazingly lousy KFC too lol

That's 上海滩. Stole it from another website lol. And no, it's not a glamour shot, the whole stretch really looks that beautiful at night.

Also got to meet up with my cousin (on my mother's side) Wen Jun, who's a doctor.. Glad to have met her; haven't seen the relatives on my mother's side for a very long time - 10 years maybe even.. A very friendly person ^^

The next time I go to Suzhou, the thing I want to see is the suburbs.. From what I heard from Sally, it is a stark contrast to how people live their lives in the SIP..

It's really makes me bemused, that in China, like 99.999% of the people are living in totally abject poverty (by Singaporean standards) , but the remaining handful, lives a life that is really eye opening to many Singaporeans..

Got time, must go there and see see ok.. Can be very inexpensive, if you don't go with package tour ^^