Dungun Hotels
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Happy New Year!
Entry 9 of 18 | show all | print this entry |
My day started a little before 8 o'clock, when Fauzi brought me a packet of nasi lemak (coconut rice, sardines in oil, and half a hard-boiled egg) for breakfast. Today is registration day at Sekolah Imtiaz, meaning that today students in Forms 2 & 3 move into their dormitories in preparation for the first day of class tomorrow. Forms 1 & 4 begin in about two weeks, on the 15th. As a result, the environment here has been frenetic (busier than usual, I am told). I am taking a short break until 9 this evening, when the principal will address the whole school in the canteen, which doubles as an assembly hall (dewan).
This morning I went to the main office, which is connected to the teachers' room. The teachers' room is a large shared office with a desk for each of the teachers. The senior teachers, like Fauzi, are next door. In the teachers' room, there is a divider separating the men's section from the much larger, and much more populous, women's section. In fact, of the eight or so male teachers, the majority are Ustazi (female: Ustaza), teachers of the religious classes and supervisors of memorization of the Qu'ran. They are also some of the only teachers who have been educated outside Malaysia, in Egypt, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. They are all either fluent or highly proficient in Arabic. My Bahasa Melayu (and their English, with some exceptions) is still at a level where I can only get a general idea of what is being said, but they are a fun group, and mostly only a few years older than me, which should be good.
Later, in the library, I met the female teachers, who make up the other 75% of the teaching staff. I'll be perfectly honest - I couldn't tell some of them apart since they look so similar with their heads wrapped in a tudong. But they all seemed quite nice and receptive, if shy, and I am sure I will get to know them over time. This was also my first chance to meet the two English teachers other than Kartini, my "mentor." I expect that I will be working most closely with them during my time here. Several of the teachers mentioned their interest in improving their own English, and so I think that the mutual interest in learning language will provide additional incentive to interact outside of class.
Lunch today was maybe the best meal I've had since arriving in Terengganu. Westerners see eating with one's hands as primitive, but I'd be lying to say that I don't enjoy certain kinds of food that way. For people here, eating nasi with a fork and spoon is like eating a slice of pizza or hot dog with a fork - you can do it, but it's just not right. We also had some fresh raw vegetables, chicken, and fresh fish, which I am told is available every day from stalls in front of the school, so long as the weather is good enough for fishing.
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