Thursday, May 25, 2006
We (Muk, Jia Han, Jerome, Tyn Long and I) went to the Asian Civilisation Museum at 1.50pm, and we reached there at 2.30pm. I went to get the last few answers for my worksheets before the NYPS pupils arrived at 2.40pm. It was very chaotic at the start and we struggled to settle things. The receptionists at the counter looked visibly irritated at the commotion. When the things were sorted out, Muk and I, the guides of Group 8, could finally proceed for our own tour. Jia Han wanted to merge with my group as Li Ki was not here yet, and we obliged.
We gave a very brief introduction about the Museum, but the pupils were looking very bored at first, and they were quite rowdy. But when we went into the galleries, they kept quiet and respected the rules of a museum. The South-east Asia Gallery was packed with so many people that I decided a change of plan and I led the group to the West Asian/Islamic Gallery instead, which was adjacent to the SEA Gallery. Muk and I forgotten to introduce ourselves and the people in group 5 was calling Jia Han a “Shortie”. I managed to introduce them to the Islamic culture after much shouting. Fortunately, Li Ki came and we separated. Muk and I then pass down all the worksheets and let them to do as they learn, which I thought was a good way to teach. I gave them information about the Muslim culture, the Arabic language, and the Mosque architecture before proceeding to the next gallery, the Southeast Asia Gallery. They learnt about the Pejang-style drum and then we went to look at the Khmer, an ancient Cambodian tribe, Buddha. The Buddha statue was under the naga, which was a sacred creature in the Khmer Empire. The naga looked very cool!
Then we saw the supposed Buddha’s footprint. It is a bit too big for someone who fasted for so long to attain enlightenment. Hmm… There were the head cutters, the Dayaks, famed for cutting people’s heads off and taking their hair to put on their shield to display their toughness. Also, another tribe was the Nias, a tribe famed for their class system, with many things to distinguish the higher class to the lower class, like the osa osa, a chair for the higher class, and there was a head carving. I wonder how they ate with that big chicken-like head blocking their way.
At the China Gallery, we saw the magnificent dragon robe, and the pupils were listening intently, not because of their interest in the robe, but because there were many questions on the dragon robe. Anyway, I was like the only one who appreciates the robe. Then we introduced them to Taoism, which was actually a philosophy on immortality instead of a religion, but over time, it changed.
Lastly, we arrived at the South Asia Gallery, where you can see Shiva, the very cool-looking God of Destruction. He had six arms, carrying a rosary, trident, flaming torch, a relaxed gesture, a fearlessness gesture, and a kettle drum. I repeated it so many times, now I could recite it from memory. The Hindu temple architecture was a bit sick and I went through it quickly. After that was the section of the gallery on Buddhism, and we can see a Buddha under a bodhi tree that looked like a halo, actually, it was made to be like a halo. Then, I brought them up from the first floor to the third and there was a hands-on corner there in which I let them try how to write in Arabic.
I brought them to the China Gallery again and Muk and I sat at a corner and waited for them to complete their worksheets before handing them in. The first one who scores the highest wins a packet of Twisties and a V-point pen. Muk and I spent $8.80 on all the food as we bought a packet of Mamee for each of them, which cost $2 in total. The two pens cost $4 in total, which were probably the most expensive items.
We brought them to the entrance of ACM, and they did a feedback form before going. I forgot to say bye to them…boohoo, I so evil. The trip was very fun and I enjoyed guiding my group as they were very obedient and co-operative. I hope that I could come and lead them again, but soon, I’ll be leading a bunch of pre-schoolers to ACM. It will be even tougher to lead a bunch of noisy children, but the good thing is that I can satisfy them easily. I was from NYPS anyway, so I could communicate well with the pupils. I was telling the boys to join Hwa Chong Institution but a few said they wanted to go Raffles Institution. No… Today was a very good experience for me.
