The Scorers

The Maiden Camp

Every event, effort and endeavour is a maiden exercise.

So it was with the children at Eagles last weekend.

So very often it is during an outdoor activity that you notice and capture the innate qualities of an individual.

After such a long while with educating children; accompanying them was yet another eye opener.

I had to make the trip although I could leave it to the teachers. There is this special attachment to the children that prompted me to go along. When I was younger, the climb was already a challenge and at this juncture of my life, I choose to ignore the impossible and make all things possible. I went to see little and big ones in action; to see them at their best and at their worst.

 

After a coach ride of an hour or so, we reached the designated outdoor ground.

Yes, the children ranging from 6 to 16.

All smartly attired to depict discipline and order.

i know it is fun time but it is more fun when things are under control.

 The children were all ushered into a hall for further instruction and inspiration.

The guy who is seen inspiring them is none other than my ex student Mr. Wong. Ryui Binn has always been close to his teachers in school. He touches their hearts with his obliging charisma and integrity. When you leave matters in his hands you can be assured that they will be placed in order. His reliable attitude is now made even more apparent in his involvement with school events.

 I am secretly proud of him and was glad he took over the rein and controlled the day. 

All I had to do was to follow his instructions. The role has changed.

What more can a teacher ask for? To see her protege now leading the helm. 

This is what I love to see and it brings meaning into the vocation.

So, Ryui Binn is a scorer.

The younger ones were more responsive and all too ready to participate. In a cheer shout, Yu Kai of yr 4 class, composed a good one for the group and it was the champion shout. 

For this I call him a scorer too.

 This is a scorer too?

Jia Sheng of yr8 is the happy go lucky guy who is up to it for anything except ... make the guess.

He is accomodating but sometimes he needs the push to do it right!

He is a happy boy.

The ascent begins.

We did not know what we were in for. Ryui Binn kept saying it was an easy track and that many had achieved without lifting a finger. The ascent was painless for the light footed and the tiny ones moved so sure footed like the goat. It is good to be young and slim. The jungle trekking would have been breezy. I was surprised to find out that there were some among the teens who found it challenging to climb. It should not be so.
But there were many scorers in that ascent.

Esther was always delayed because of the shoe laces but teacher Ryan is patience in the word. Gently and calmly he would fixed them back for her so that her walk would not be hindered.

 Such display of kindness; the children should emulate.

The forest is home to many species of  flora and fauna. Ryui Binn and his helpers kept reminding the children that we were not to disturb the ecosystem of the natural environment. We are only guests to their home and need to behave ourselves. The children adhered to his instruction.

 Ryui Binn stopped at many points to explain some of the species and their special functions. The cicada is found everywhere but they seemed unperturbed by our presence. A mushroom clinging to the tree for life and food. Urban children have never seen this form of support.

The bamboo grows naturally and wildly here and the use of them are aplenty. 

The children all dressed in yellow scared away insects especially mosquitoes. For many of them, it was first time and it must have been challenging. I heard a ranting " I wanna go back USJ! and another I would be glad to be home... The older ones were more accommodating but there were a few who found it truly difficult to reach the spot. While some found it hard to climb, there were others who were willing to stay behind to accompany the affected ones. I like that. They are scorers.

Little 6 year old Yea Xuen  on the left was a great delight. Small in size but big in attitude.
She took the trekking with little fuss and no complaints.
I call her the top scorer.

 Yr 7 to Yr 10 taking a rest before the descent.

Yr1 to yr 6 descending too. I could not take the risk of allowing them to be on their own. I needed to be with them. But they were such wonderful children.

Joey held Yea Xuen's hands all the way down. She deserved a pat.

Joey is another scorer.

Ryan was always silently present at the most difficult moments making sure the children were safe.

The descent was just as challenging as the ascent.

Ryan, the definite scorer.

The first sign of relief came when we saw the stream of cold water.

Ryui Binn insisted that everyone walked through the stream and not to be afraid of the water.

It was no challenge. Simple.

Clear waters so clean and cool; soothing for the tired feet.

Finishing the ascent and descent was a good feeling.

The organisers were already waiting for the report of the jungle trekking.

Awards for the most commendable traits observed during the walk.
Rewarding the scorers of the event was based on two traits; helpfulness and perserverance.

Joey and Esther were scorers for helpfulness.

Malcom on the left scored for being around to help and Vernise on the right scored in the eyes of the organisers for being perseverant and finishing the line. Her tenacity was real.

Little Yea Xuen has the highest score for being submissive, tenacious and relentless in the pursuit of her score. She is truly a joy to be with.

Hui Ying on the left is also top notch in displaying a helpful nature. Nothing beats her vibrant attitude in making things work for others. She is also a scorer. Jian Ye on the right can be moody but his genuine effort in making others comfortable earned him a score. He hovered around Venise when she needed help. He is reliable. So he earned a score too.

The little heroes trying the rope trap.

The winner is one who makes it through without touching the strings.

Nicholas John is full of fighting spirit and attempts without scare. 

Khai Theng is fearless and is a sport.

Yu Kai tried and scored. Zhia Zhen may be small but he emerged a scorer too.

See the little heroine. No fears. No fuss. Just do it. She did it. A scorer she is; little Yea Xuen.

Prishaa tried her best. A scorer too.

Look at Robin. He is street wise and his posture is a true measurement of strategic planning.

He emerged champions. His physical make up allows him to be subtle and accurate.

I watched him worm through the trap and he was judged the immaculate scorer.

.

Felicia and Satveeka hand in hand pulling each other through the rope walk.

They scored too.

Lean and lithe, Bryan is no brittle man. He is quick and precise and walked through the tyres effortlessly while others screeched. He is ready for that score and scored indeed.

Jonathon is also a quick one with his strides and sure walk. He scored.

Serene is tough material.

 She is deft, skilful and adventurous.

Quiet but a lass of action.

 She is sister to Robin; a family of scorers. 

Matthew walked the bridge with definite steps and completed the bridge walk a scorer.

Yi Ying of year 7 is sister to Yu Kai ; a sporting, unassuming participant.

She is a scorer too.

After a hard day's work, the children were given a treat.

Yes, play, swim, jump and everything.

No reprimand. You all deserve the treat for being scorers of the day.

But the true scorers were the little ones.

The second prize went to group 3; they had 7 stars.

Group 4 had 9 stars. They scored maximum. The members were a reflection of good attitude and team work, My little ones are the true scorers !

The final ride home was a bouncy one along many bumps.

They are a reminder that all good things must come to an end.

Some asked " why must we go back now?". The answer was obvious. 

Mummy is waiting for you...

A day of scorers.
Thank you boys and girls for top behaviour. and superb scores.
Next better time.

Almaty

Where is it?

Kazakhstan. Never in my wildest dream did I ever think I would visit the "tans" lands. Yes, all around the place are countries which end with "tan".

Our guide, another beauty tried her best to speak English; a language I believe not used and spoken by many locals. Aimee was the name of our guide and she related that she is also very well versed with neighbouring lands like Turmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Among these, Uzbekistan is her favourite because it still holds much natural beauty unfazed by pollution of any form.

But she is all praises for her mother land too; Kazakhstan.

That's Aimee. Not the Ting beside her though.

You notice that Kazak is huge, don't you?

She gained her independence in the 90s and has since been on the road to achievements. Actually, to be on a tour for more than 10 days in the cold can take a toll. So, Almaty fell on our laps at the courtesy of the Kazak government.  In fact, the government is on a major effort to lure tourists and to introduce the place to us.

A land of this size and the population is puny; only 17 million with 85 percent of them belonging to the Muslim faith.

 This was a warning to us before we left Istanbul for a 6 hour flight to Almaty.

Believe me, I had never been on a land this cold.

It was cold and seeing snow is the norm.

You see what I mean? It's winter wonderland.

So, to get out of the coach for a walk needed much coaxing.

It was just too cold!

We were taken to the wet market after breakfast .

The breakfast was a change after all the kebabs.

We wondered if Kazak was so backward that we had to see the wet market.

But no. The market is different.

Look at the lush display of fresh fruits.

But language was a real barrier.

Hardly anyone transpire in English.

But I must say we were truly impressed at the butchers all of kinds.

They sell horse meat, chicken, lamb, beef and pork.

All the butchers cut their slices alongside one another.

No segregation and no discrimination.

I know he is cutting horse meat.

We were astounded by the way the butcher held the axe and cut the horse.

He smiled at us.

 The cold provides natural refrigeration.

All meat stay fresh a long while.

Strolling through the stalls was with great effort because of the cold.

I could not enjoy as much as I wanted.

So it was with gladness that we quickly went into the coach for warmth.

Aimee too us around the city of Almaty, the old capital.

She said that it was much, much colder in Astana, the new capital situated in the north. Oh we were sure glad we were not there.

The city square and their heroes of the past.

The horse is like the elephant to Thailand; a national symbol.

 The landscape is monotonous for everywhere was covered with snow. But it is also an experience of a lifetime for I hardly see and touch snow. Esther is also like a national heroine as she is unafraid of the snow.

 At the top of an amusement park, the family took the photo of the year.

 Sara was obviously suffering again from separation anxiety but she sure was glad that we were going home the next day.

The girls and the Beatles.

We notice this pop group is popular in Kazakhstan.

Their songs are played all over the park.

This is the house of music. All sorts of local instruments are in the hall for play.

Overlooking Almaty from a peak.

We just wanted to remember this peak.

 All over the place, ice and snow had to be scooped and removed.

Even the tourists like to help scoop.

This is the oldest church in Kazakhstan.

The birds were a common sight. But they come in great flocks.

Birds of a feather surely flock together.

 Playful Esther with the aunty from Sarawak. They are great pals.

 This is another square where foreign dignitaries gather in the city.

Somewhere among the trees, was on planted by our former Prime Minister on one of his official visits here.

To entertain the girls, dad made a snowman.

It was real small but representative.

Though she has gained independence from the Russian Government only a few decades away, Kazakhstan has malls that are of international standard. It reminded me of the ones in London. The goods are also reasonably priced but are only transacted in 'tenge' and not even in US dollars.

At the airport, we could hardly change enough and the money changer would only take US or Euro dollars and not any other monies.

We wanted to shop longer but time did not permit.

We hardly had an hour of shopping.

But it was an experience seeing the mall.

On the evening before we left for home, we had a real Kazakhstan feast.

The girls enjoyed but dad and I stayed behind in the hotel because of the pain in the knees. The cold had further worsened it.

But at the end of the day, we have to appreciate and praise our very own tour guide, Zaiton for being so thoughtful remembering Esther and the Ting girl for their February birthdays.

As you can guess, the birthday girl must be saying she was not fully dressed and made up for the occasion...

So, with Almaty we bade goodbye to one another and thanked God for his protection, mercy and divine intervention on our visit to Anatolia and Almaty.

Thank you dear God for a blessed trip.