Keeping IT Going: Sustaining Professional Growth 2015 Symposium

 What is keeping me going at the moment is the preparation for the Symposium 2015 which will be held on 4-6 th March and the theme is the title above. The keynote speaker, Angi Malderez, will be talking about the "it" as in what is it that keeps you going as a teacher and we have  started an #itis twitter campaign which involves teachers, mentors - in fact everyone involved in our ELTDP. So I now have a twitter account which I'm still not sure what to do with and have two followers but fortunately there are other people who are more into tweeting than me and it seems to be catching on and I have even been photographed and tweeted. I really had to think about what had kept me going in the teaching profession for all of 35 years. I started as a class teacher at the age of 22 and was full of enthusiasm and would spend hours after school, preparing and planning the exciting and wonderful lessons for my class. I had always wanted to be a primary school teacher and there were so many special moments in those first few years as a teacher -  projects; concerts; clubs; pupils starting the reading journey; laughter and fun – that I felt I had the perfect job. It was after a few years when I started my own family and curriculum pressures of conformity started to weigh on me, that my own enthusiasm weakened and I felt that I had had enough.

A class of 3 children at the village school

  Andrew and I decided to give-up our jobs and move to rural France with three young children under 3 and a dog. We were going to start a new life in France; become self-sufficient; spend time with our children and turn our backs on our former careers. However, within a month of my three year old daughter attending “Maternelle” I had somehow been elected as the new English teacher at the local school and the headline in the newspaper read “Anglais pour Cambremer!” which unfortunately for the school the Monsieur school inspector read and demanded to know why he hadn’t been informed! This was the start of my long and not very distinguished career in France teaching English to French primary school children.

Visiting a school this week over a river and into the jungle

  I couldn’t speak French and had no idea how to go about teaching English to children so I did what I could do- which was sing with my guitar, recite nursery rhymes and read my children’s stories to them. If they couldn’t say it then we sang it and I think there is a generation of French children in Normandy who think English is a strange opera-like language! There was no curriculum and no support so I just made it up as I went along. The part-time work became full-time and gradually English over the next fifteen years was made compulsory in all the primary schools and a more structured approach was put in place. My biggest challenge was to enthuse in the children a love of learning a new language, which is a very tall order in a country where English is not spoken. If I could make young children enjoy speaking in another language then the foundation for their future would be laid. I decided that my best tactic for the battle was to make it fun for the children and make my enthusiasm contagious.

The only way to carry your shopping home!

 Of course over the years there might have been days when that enthusiasm has waned slightly but still today when I go into a class I need to have their attention and to see them wanting to learn but most of all enjoying themselves. I was invited by a teacher to read a story to the new Year 1s last week and immediately welcomed the opportunity. There were thirty-five pupils and of course a group of boys who were more interested in what was going on outside the classroom. This was going to need my special story and lots of enthusiasm. By the middle of “I know an old lady” I had most of the pupils on board and by the end I had managed to get all of their attention. I was exhausted! Teaching is exhausting and frustrating at times and we have to think of a million ways of teaching the same things and our creative talents can be stretched to the extreme. However I believe that if you can keep “it” going then it is the most worthwhile and rewarding profession in the world. That is why my #itis  Endless Enthusiasm”.

A water village that I visited this week

The Maliau Basin and the Lost World

Sunrise at Camel Trophy Camp

   Yes I went to the Maliau Basin last weekend and had an adventure! It seems ages since I've had one - (unless breaking my arm could be counted as one) and here I was on my way to the Lost World. It has been on my list of things to do for ages and then suddenly the opportunity came up and I was getting a lift in a 4x4 into the Maliau Basin which is the only way in. The Maliau Basin is a geological catchment area of the Maliau river with steep sides protecting the forest and wildlife within. It was only "discovered" in the 1960s and has been a conservation site since 1981 and hopefully will become a World Heritage site. It is untouched and nearly 600 square km of forest which in itself is a miracle to be chereished.

  It was a 7 hour drive from Tuaran and we arrived at the park headquarters in the dark but managing to see some deer and wild boar on the way. The first night we spent at the hostel and then the next morning at 8 a.m. Suzanne and I got our rucksacks on our back and met our guides and set off from Agathis basecamp. I'm not as fit as I should be and the first 3 km were really hard as it was nearly vertical. We were not only scrambling but climbing up ladders and our guide just kept saying "palan palan" (slowly, slowly) and finally taking it very gently, we were at the top on the ridge and everything seemed easier. After that it was a trek through thick jungle and the huge agathis trees towering above us. The flora and fauna were similar to the Kinabalu area with pitcher plants and moss and lichen and of course many leeches - both tiger and brown! We made our basecamp "Camel Trophy" (strangely sponsored by Camel cigarettes!) at about 2 pm and decided to continue onto the Ki ?? Falls another 3 km but we were  feeling good so off we set again minus our rucksacks. By the time we returned at 5 pm we were tired and had managed to do 14 km in one day without being super fit.

tree bridges

Amazing waterfall and our guide

  The Camel Trophy base camp is a wooden house and we had bunk beds which was a surprise as we were told we would be in hammocks and a generator for some light in the evening. We cooked up some pasta, ate a bar of chocolate and despite it being quite cool and various civets running through our room I slept like a log. It rained heavily through the night but the next morning it had stopped and it was lovely. The next big challenge of the weekend was to climb the ladder up the Agathis tree to admire the canopy. Which I did despite the termites on the rungs and it was well worth the effort for the view.

 After we had come down it was time to hike back which seemed a real shame and I wished we had had another day's hike to Ginseng Falls - but maybe next time. I certainly felt stronger and fitter on the return and would love to do a few day's hike one day. So of course coming down was easier but very slippy and we were back at the HQ by 1.30 pm and ready to start the 7 hour drive back.

Eye ball mushrooms

  I haven't any photos of animals but I did see a gibbon flying by, many hornbills, a flying squirrel, civets, deer and wild boar.

The last bridge to base camp!

Rainy Kuching!

The temple which was having a birthday celebration

Yes the rainy season is in full swing in Borneo and there has been flooding and landslides for several weeks now in various places. Tuaran seems to have been fine but the streets of Kudat were flooded last week as have several other places in Sabah with the rain from the mountains making the rivers burst their banks. Anyway last Wednesday I went to Kuching, a place I love, and one it seems I haven't been for ages so I was excited about the prospect of doing some Kuching shopping. That was not the real reason I was there however and before I had time to do my shopping I had two days of meetings with the Symposium committee at the Hilton. "Symposium" seems to be a slightly pretentious name for a conference which is going to be held on 4-6 March and is involving the teachers that we are working with in the schools. There are going to be keynote speakers who are well known in the EFL world and then lots of workshops run by the teachers and mentors. It is going to be a huge event which entails so many things to think of I'm glad there is a committee of 20 strong to cope with it all. I am responsible for communications which involves the media, film crew, PR company, social media etc.... most of these things I wouldn't have had a clue about last year but am just about holding my head above water and I have had a couple of meetings with film companies who are obviously trying to impress me - which I find rather odd!!

Chinatown

  Anyway, I won't bore you with all the details now as the next few weeks will be getting busier with all the organisational details. Sarong and Ko have an order for 50 "Miss World" sashes in a batik pattern for the committee and helpers to wear so I had to choose and buy enough sarongs. It looks like Sophia and I will be sewing frantically as well. Anyway back to my shopping. I came back with another bark mat for my house which are woven by the Iban tribe. Each of them are different and it is so difficult to choose but I'm pleased with the one I got. The other things I bought were cheap wall hangings and wooden holders to make my walls look more colourful. Of course I was looking longingly at the carvings, totem poles, furniture etc. but they won't fit in the suitcase. Maybe next visit I might be tempted!?

Delicious Sarawak Laksa 

  Kuching has a large Chinese community and after two days in the Hilton I moved out into a small hotel in  Chinatown which was charming if rather noisy. On Friday night it was one of the Temple God's birthday and there was a huge procession of lions, dragons, drumming, flags etc all in the pouring rain. It was such a shame for everyone but they seemed to keep going until late despite all the rain. The next night there seemed to be lots of drumming again which someone thought was just the preparation for the lion dances for Chinese New Year which is fast approaching. It continued to rain over the weekend and it seemed strange to see the river so high and brown, however Kuching is still one of my favourite places even in the rain!

The Mystery of the Banana Thief

Last year around September, I noticed that if I left my bananas in the fruit bowl that some of them looked like they had been split open but on closer examination I realised that they had been very neatly eaten along the seam of each banana. I would forget about it and then put the next bunch of bananas in the bowl again and remember about it until it was too late. I then decided to put the bananas on top of the fridge but I found them on the floor the next morning- again very neatly eaten. My next ploy was to wrap them in a plastic bag and leave them up high on top of the fridge but the bag was opened and the bananas eaten! Was it an animal living in my house or coming in from outside? My windows are slats and are often wide open so to close them each night became the new course of action to avoid midnight visitors. It wasn't a monkey as they would surely peel the banana and eat the whole thing and the slats were too small so I deduced that it must be a rodent of some sort. (I know the detective work involved is impressive!)

My lovely local beach and the horses

I then went away on holiday and came back to a house that had lots of evidence of kecko pooh but no sign of rodent activity so I thought that the thief had disappeared - if it was a rodent. I bought my bananas as usual on the first Sunday market and put them in my fruit bowl. The first day I checked and every banana was intact, the second and third day were the same and I breathed a sigh of relief that the Banana Thief had gone, then the fourth day I found that one little banana had been very neatly eaten. The Banana Thief had struck again!

Flooding at schools this week

What I need is a camera trap to identify the Banana Thief. It is most likely to be a squirrel (and there are at least 30 species of squirrels in Borneo) who just goes wild for bananas and the other possibilities are moon rats, shrews, mice, rats.There are many possibilities and I welcome any suggestions from anyone but in the meantime I am keeping my bananas inside the fridge!

ps- for some reason my photos aren't loading so these are from my phone and previous blogs

Progress Report of Two Months

A Welcome Meal for Kieta

  It is hard to believe I've only been back in Sabah for just over a week as it seems longer now. Anyway apart from losing my glasses on the last flight to Kota Kinabalu, all the flights went well and my car was waiting at the airport for me. My lovely neighbours had kept an eye on my house and even the stray dog that sleeps on my verandah seemed pleased to see me. It was straight into work though, delivering a 4 day training session to new mentors in Kota Kinabalu. However it was very relaxed and good fun despite being a full day for everyone and the fact that the other mentors were still on holiday. The whole of Malaysia had an extra week off school because of the flooding that had hit the East coast of peninsula Malaysia and everyone, except a few of us, were making the most of it!

pineapples, coconuts, crabs, prawns

   I know that anyone talking about their medical complaints/ history is an instant turn off but that is exactly what I am going to do now!  It is 2 months since I broke my arm and I went to the hospital last Thursday and the Doctor thought that my progress was "fantastic"! I then went to the physiotherapist and realised that although I have made progress I still have quite a way to go. Having never broken a limb before I think I haven't really appreciated how amazing our bodies are and what a lot of muscles are involved in achieving movement. I can raise my right arm 90 degrees but am nowhere near 180 degrees  that my left arm can do. The physio has given me lots of exercises to do which I am diligently doing each day. The most exciting news of the week is that I can still swim and even managed a front crawl. I am determined that my swimming will return to it's former standard!

Tuaran Market

  It has been a week when France has been very much in the news and I know that many of my friends and family will be attending the marches this weekend. I hope that there will be no more violence in the weeks coming. It has been good to catch up with lots of mentors returning from their holidays and the next 9 months of the project is going to fly by. A new mentor has arrived in Tuaran this weekend and she will just be settling in when it will be time to pack up and come home.

A Happy and Healthy 2015 from Normandie !

A Wright family selfie!

Well "La Ferme des Vallots" suddenly seems very quiet with all four girls leaving yesterday and leaving Patrick, Andrew, Phoebe (the dog) and me on our own. It has been a wonderful three weeks of being with the family in Glasgow, London, Winchester and then two weeks at our lovely farm in Normandie as usual. It all seems a blur of eating in lovely restaurants or delicious homemade meals and I have managed to catch up with lots of family and friends as well as going to the musical Wicked, visiting "Winter Wonderland" in Hydepark  and generally indulging myself far too much !

Tanya's surprise birthday celebration

It is 25 years since we bought "La Ferme des Vallots" and since then every Christmas has been spent here and I can't imagine spending it anywhere else. I won't bore you with all the details as each family has their own traditions and ways of enjoying their family days together but it is suffice to say that it was as lovely as ever with the family evolving and welcoming partners as the years go by. The exciting news that broke just before Christmas is that Naomi and Neil are engaged and the wedding plans are still being decided. So it looks like 2015 is going to be another exciting year for the Wrights.

 I return to Malaysia on Friday and sadly they are having their share of terrible flooding and another aircraft disaster in Indonesia. This week I have been making the most of catching up with friends. It was -5 this morning and it is tempting to stay snug at home by the fire but the sun has been out and I've enjoyed a few walks in the lovely countryside and a little bit of gardening. Anyway I'm sorry that my blogging has been slowing down and I admire anyone that finds time to blog with their family around - I know that I would much rather spend time with them than a computer. So a very happy, healthy 2015 to all of you who are still reading my ramblings !

Phoebe

The Tea Ceremony and warm welcome to the Mah Family

Yes I know it has been weeks since I've written my blog but I have no computer with me and to be honest not many spare minutes to write it. Anyway this evening is my last chance before Christmas as the family arrive early tomorrow morning. What seems like a month ago, but in reality is just over two weeks ago Andrew and I met in Kuala Lumpur ready for the banquet and Tanya and Anthony's engagement party.

 The first event was to meet at Anthony's grandmother house where we met his parents, grandmother and uncle and aunt who had just flown in for the occasion. I believe the tea ceremony is traditionally before the wedding but this was more for the grandmother as she won't be attending the actual wedding. We each took turns in sitting in the same beautifully carved chairs that had been used by the Mahs for several generations, while Tanya and Anthony served us very sweet tea. We were supposed to give them a red envelope with money or jewelry but of course we didn't have one ready! No one seemed to mind and the next venue was the restaurant where we were to have the 7 course banquet and meet the rest of the family.

 There was about 35 of us in all and we had a lovely meal and were charmed with all the extended family who included uncles, aunts and cousins and we are hoping that some of them will be able to come to the wedding.

  The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying Kuala Lumpur and visiting the sites and spending more time with Tanya, Anthony and his family. By Sunday evening everyone had departed on their way back to Europe and I was left on my own until I set off on Tuesday evening heading for Paris....to be continued!