Of Bangsawan And Hyperinflation

Block One. History class. So Mr Brookes' position has now been replaced by Miss Daleen, an expat from South Africa who is also a qualified IELTS examiner. It's been two weeks already since we bid farewell to Mr Brookes, and I have to say things are much better now compared to Day One, when she first introduced herself to the class. In the beginning I thought we were going to have an imperious, somewhat scary 30 something year old Caucasian woman from South Africa as our teacher. And the thought of having to endure the pain for the rest of the semester definitely does not make things any better. But I've survived the horror. Now I realise that Ms Daleen is actually a nice person. And to be frank, I am most impressed with her ability to make the whole class participate in discussions and stuffs. Now, even Tiki can't be as silent as she wanted to be in class.

Some random things I've learnt for the past two weeks:

1. Laos is one of the most bombed countries in the world. Not quite a tourist attraction now is it?

2. Seriously, without the US participation in the Vietnam War, Hollywood would have been dead by now. Hundreds of Vietnam War films have been produced since the 70s, and trust me, they will keep making them in many years to come. "Hey we haven't made a film about the Vietnam War for quite some time now. Let's make another!"

3. Citizens of the world should be more concerned with the US and the European countries economic downturn that is taking place right now, rather than diverting their attention to small and insignificant matters like the hyperinfation in Zimbabwe, or the war in Gaza for that matter. People should be concerned with the rising unemployment rate due to job cuts and the failing economy. "Starvation in Zimbabwe due to economic sanction and hyperinflation? Ah, they'll manage." "The survival of our automotive industry or the lives of the people in Gaza? Hm, that's a tough one. I think I'll pick the former." What an interesting time we're living in right now. Sad, innit?

4. I figured that the preparation for Bangsawan which started last Monday is now beginning to take its toll on me. I don't quite like the fact that I can only see the same faces coming to lend their hands with the props preparation every day. God knows what happens to the rest who don't bother showing up at all, even when they have every reason not to hide in their rooms. And I haven't been able to really sit down and study at all too. Haih. That kind of explains why I find myself clueless in Math class this week. I had planned to start over when the path is clear for me, meaning when I am no longer associated to Bangsawan or the high committee of Garnet House. But that will be too late. Luckily Fatin, being a very self-motivated person that she is, had requested Mr Mahadzir for extra classes. And I, being a supportive friend, agreed to join her. And so we had our first class this morning. A week's worth of Mechanics lessons in half an hour. Now that's something. Thanks Fatin:)

5. "The hardest part is waiting." I still haven't received a reply from Cambridge concerning my application yet. I get nervous every time I check my emails. And people keep coming to me every now and then, asking questions like, "How's your application?" "Any news yet?" and "Still in the pool, yeah?"

"Yeah, still swimming." That's what I would normally answer. By the way, out of the five people who were in the pool in the first place, only me and Sabrina are still surviving. Best of luck to both of us.

6. Sapphire's ICAN video is brilliant! Attiyaa, we should do a collaboration some time:)

7. Thanks to Ms Rena, I now understand why female genitalia mutilation (FGM) is heavily criticised and condemned by human rights activists. It's scary as hell! However, it is imperative to recognise the differences between the mild practice of female circumcision at one end of the spectrum and the extreme genitalia mutilation at another.


By the way, according to state-run media on Friday, Zimbabwe's Central Bank will introduce a $100 trillion Zimbabwean banknote (which is worth US $33 on the black market) to try to ease desperate cash shortages. Our saviour, President Robert Mugabe. What a brilliant person he is.