Week 35, 2011

Being a SUPER MINORITY... How does it feel like?

I am a minority... and it's not the best thing in the world. I used to be the majority in Indonesia because I was the same as everyone else, and I'm Javanese, which if I'm not mistaken, is the biggest ethnicity Indonesia. So I was the total opposite of minority.

But now, (1) I'm living in a foreign country. (2) I am not Chinese, and I'm Malay [I'm not exactly Malay but I am Indonesian]. (3) Nobody in school takes the same class combination as me [true!] (4) I joined the school late so I'm sort of like the "newest" student in Sec4. So the point is... I'm different from everyone else. Which is good in a way... But it's also not so much of an advantage when you're talking about privileges and stuff.

So today, we had this Social Etiquette Workshop, which was cool, except for the fact that Muslims were excluded from the dining experience. Since we were fasting, we were only joining the workshop for the "studying theory" part and not the dining experience. It sucked really badly. And it's a total shame too...

The teachers said that the SE Workshop would also be a platform for class bonding. But how are we supposed to bond with the class when the class is not even complete? Another reason for this Workshop was to prepare us for interviews to get into JCs, Polys or maybe to get a job. But for all I know, the JC and Poly interviews are already done (or at least some of them are). So the timing is not exactly right. And next week will be the Prelims. And usually the week before Prelims or Common Tests or MYEs or EOYs is the most important week... So why take away our time that could have been used for studying? Why didn't the SE Workshop take place earlier this year? To think of it now, it even seems like it was planned so that the Muslims couldn't participate with their class. Although I know it isn't true, because I know the school is trying hard to not make the minorities feel left our or disadvantaged. Like for instance, Muslims who are fasting are dismissed from ASP earlier so that they can break fast at home. Which is cool. But because of this SE Workshop thing, it just feels weird...

So.. the question is "Why didn't you bring this up to the teacher?" Well, I was going to... But I thought even if I did, it wouldn't change anything as stuff like this need to be planned really early. And changing this would mean that the trainers would have to change their schedule. And postponing this would also mean that for the students who are going to go for interviews... They would be at a disadvantage because of not having the workshop earlier. So.. yeah. Never mind.

Mother Tongue 'O' Level Results Are OUT!

I got a.... B3 and distinction for Oral. It's not good enough.... I was quite satisfied with it at the beginning because I kind of knew all along that I'm not that good in Malay and I might get a B3. And I was correct. But then my Malay teacher came to me and said that I could do better and that I "have to" retake. So I guess I'll retake. And to think of it, I actually didn't put my 100% effort into it... Which might have been one of the main causes to my B3 and not A1/2. My parents also said the same thing, to retake. So I'm gonna retake.

Byebye to all you lovely people who read my blog and respect my opinions. :-)