Boring All Girls' School

Brought up in single-sex school can be of different experience all together. Amongst girls, we were more carefree, we don’t need to behave and pretend like angel, we are what we are - no faking, original & beautiful. In class, we didn’t mind if anyone of us picking noise collecting gold, popping or squeezing pimples, plucking eyebrows, cleaning ears wax, ventilate feet by removed shoes or resting both feet in the desk drawer, in addition, lifting up pinafore skirt, slipped hand in and adjusted our inner white blouse were common scene.

All girls’ school came with strict discipline rules, short hair, kneel length 'A' shape skirts, short nails, and NO NO for all accessories like hair pins, hair band, earring and fancy spectacles. We all looked pretty much the same, confused teacher by calling us the wrong name, and due to the square and stone look, no guys would give us a second look, and we missed all the romantic relationship, thus making our parents the less worry parents on earth.

Since our exposures to guys were limited, we choose alternative – pen pal. (Readers, those days computer & handphone still in the mid of invention) Those days, the greatest person we look forward was Mr Postman, delivering our pen pals letters, with beautiful & scented writing pad, nice and neat handwriting gain the immediate attention, letters circulated in the class for reading, all girls chip in to draft the reply letters. Being innovative, some of us created fun by using toilet roll for writing letter, and in return we got Hell Bank Notes attached with a nasty letter. Keeping too many pen pals can be costly, we recycle our stamps by spreading thick glue on the surface, and the recipient would easily wash away the stamping ink for reused.

Those girls exposed to disco party, and occasionally fetch by boy friend became the central attention, she was the talk in the school, emerging her ‘grade’ higher than us. We were like ‘katak’ (frog) looking up from the well.

Spending years of school days, looking and seeing the same sex was very boring, and I presume our school should had contributed majority of spinsters’ population in the country.

Those days in College - YMCA Jewell House

During our college days, we were put up in YMCA hostel, 11 floor with 200 rooms, 9th & 10th Floor were catered for the female student with strict rules for security concerned.

Single room for each of us with basic facilities like desk, bed, fan, heater & wardrobe, common sharing areas were bathroom, pantry, TV room & laundry.

Busy traffic flow happened in the morning, bathrooms were specially packed, girls were seen walking with their toiletries bag and a bottle of white liquid, white stuff are Dettol mix to wipe on toilet bowl before sitting on it. Each and everyone were busy brushing up at the long stretch of sinks, some took long time cleaning, rubbing & massaging their face, some were like split of lightning zoom in and zoom out, some walk around with white mask on their face, some with white pimples cream dotted on their face, some with mourning face and frizzy hair. (some said woman most prettier time is in the morning, this had proven wrong)

Showers were separated by cubicles, some ‘book’ or reserve the bathroom by letting the shower running with their clothes in it, while they were doing their brushing. During winter time, it was difficult to undress where the cold breeze will some how flow in from nowhere, the fabulous idea was to let the shower running much much more earlier to allow the hot steam warm and fill the whole bathroom for undressing made easy.

The pantry consisted of dining tables, chairs, refrigerator, stove and cooking utensil, all of us were allow to store food stuffs in the refrigerator, but scenario of missing items played repeatedly without catching the ‘rat’, getting annoyed and frustrated, some came out with brilliant idea of labelling ‘POISON !! Do not eat’, ‘Stolen from …(name)’ to deter the act. Exam was the time that everyone had amnesia or temporary lost memory, causing the disgusting worms growing and nested in the fridge and at the he sink.

No hand wash and our laundries were done with washing machine & dryer, I shrunk my cardigan and track bottom 2 sizes smaller with paid dryer, where back home offer free sun for drying and size guarantee.

Watching TV for leisure, you need to group up a few to convince others that majority win, you then can pick your likable channel.

In general, it was not that easy to live under the same roof with difference culture and multi races from Singapore, HongKong, Malaysia, Japan, Brunai, Australia & Thailand, tolerance & compromise are the key words that tie all of us together without hair pulling drama.

Those days in College

Back in ages ago, I am one of the very few Asian in the girls’ college, I was surrounded by the gigantic female Aussie classmate. I muted most of the time with only return smile to acknowledge my agreement or disagreement, maybe I am shy & introvert then, or maybe over shocked on the difference culture, I love to observe the girls around me, they are pretty, young at 16, 17, 18 or so. To them I may look like the malnutrition girl from the Somalia or Ethiopian, small & short.

At the class, some dressed well with make up, perfume, scarf, accessories, they looked professional and 10 years mature, some were just simply simple, faded cardigan top with flare skirt, they don’t even mind their torn pantyhose, and rubber bands were used to tie up the holes to mend the ugliness, so, you can imagine each leg with a few rubber bands sticking out like some kind of seeds hanging from her legs.

The girls smoked before & after class, chewing gum was to freshen their breath, they often disposed by sticking it under the desks, I used to peep under before settling down. Some desks looked like Tangyuan (Glutinous rice) ball sticking on it, with variety of colors and there were hundreds of it.

Unlike the quiet shy Asian, they were actively participated in all the Q & A posted by teacher, when a question raised, 90% of my classmate will raised hands, some stand up with hand waiving in the air to get attention, some calling the teacher, some were closed to shout. But the naughty teacher love to pick Asian L. I can see their disappointment for not being picked.

On top of school bag, they have a makeup bag to keep cosmetics, skin care, cigarettes, lighter, condom, pills and lot more expected & unexpected stuff in it, after school, they zoomed into toilet for freshen up before they adjourned to somewhere else.

Despite the differences in culture, I found them nice, honest, no faking, naïve, playful and possessed happy go lucky characters.

Teacher's Predicament

My little L entered standard 1 this year, the new comer orientation was good and effective, 3 teachers were in the class to help up (compare to 1 teacher previously), all parents' worries and problem were addressed accordingly.

Among the teachers, thumb up for the junior teachers, possess the attitude of enthusiasm, joyous, humorous and gained instant liking by the student. Some senior teachers turn out otherwise, looked fierce and cold, unapproachable and unfriendly.

Little L gets the 'clam shell' (difficult to get her open mouth) teacher as his class teacher, she hardly talk, and most of the time rooted on the seat doing some paper work, long enough for the spider to weave cobweb around her, due to her ignorance, the student tend to look for fun to kill the bore. They started chatting, playing with stationary, hitting and beating each other, complaints went unnoticed from student that shouted like 'teacher, he beat me', 'teacher he take my pencil', 'teacher, he take off his shoes'.

On the 2nd day, the class remained noisy, 'clam shell' teacher started execute her power, she started to confiscate things that will make noise or arouse the noise from student, soon, her table was piled up with tumblers, erasers, pencils, rulers plus an active and talkative student sitting next to her table. With her sudden stern action the class immediately as quiet as a church.

Those parents watching or peeping through the window along the corridor, were seen discussing on the move, 'See, good for the student to get fierce teacher, they behaved.' 'Yah, much better if spare the rod' responded another mother. Not far from there, stay a group of parents objecting the move, 'Why frighten the young kids? ‘Why can't the teacher be a bit more patient, give warning first before the drastic move’. 'Should raise this issue up or complaint to the school.'

I am caught in the middle musing, at times it is pointless to complaint, as teacher will revenge and give hard time to the student for the whole year. This maybe worst and it hurts little soul and carry the unpleasant experience throughout their life. Equally bad, if we just keep silent and let the teacher behave like jail officer giving out stern order. I should say no one is perfect, we ought to teach our children how to behave and how to avoid punishment.