There appears to be some activities that are the same worldwide. Having just completed my first keep fit class in Ranau I was struck by the similarities between my gym class in St Germain de Livet and the one in Sabah. It was held in the same sort of multi- purpose hall that has a rather run down forgotten feel to it; a group of women of all ages and many shapes and sizes and an extremely fit and slim teacher leading us all. However instead of the CD player that jumps in France my new Chinese teacher has headsets and a microphone to give us instructions. It was fun and everyone was very welcoming to me and I paid the huge price of 2 mr which is less than 50p. Yesterday I was presented at 2 assemblies and I had casually said that I would sing a song with my guitar thinking it would be a low key affair. However the Monday Assembly is a big deal - all the teachers were very smartly dressed , the children were all lined up at attention and prefects and teachers prowled around making sure they stayed still. The national anthem of Malaysia and the Sabah anthem were sung while the flags were raised and then each school sang their school song. There seemed to be lots of very fierce talking by the headteachers and then an inspection of finger nails and presenting of envelopes for having good exam results. I suddenly felt quite nervous as I was being presented as "Miss Fiona" from the British Council but managed to say salamat pagi (good morning) and sing a little Good morning song which you'd think from the applause was something special! I now seem to be known as Miss Fiona and I suppose it has a certain charm to it. What do you think?!
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Miss Fiona sounds charming! You'll be a local celeb now.
ReplyDeleteDid the fitness class have A/C? Must be pretty hot and humid at the moment.