Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hey guys,
Time to tell you what else has been going on while i was on my Creative Education Volunteering placement in KL.
Well, after being in BatuArang, it was time to get started on the workshops that we had planned as part of the Summer Holiday programme at Cloudbreak. The two workshops that i had been set aside were - Trash Fashion and Art Beat. As you can tell these were right up my street. So i had to plan a 3hr session to entertain 30 kids. AAARRRGGGH! Yes thats exactly how i felt, but it actually worked out great...The first session involved lots of sewing, beading, ummmmmm beading and sewing which you might think that the boys would hate...but they all totally got into it! Can you believe it. I thought no way are they going to do this....but turns out, none of them had ever done anything like making jewellery before - they didnt even know how to sew...so i had to teach them that...They made some wicked stuff aswell. Anway, my next class was Art Beat, which involved teaching the kids to have fun with Art. The only thing they knew about it was that art has to look like something...so i knocked that idea out of them by doing some drawing exercises, teaching them about abstract art and colour. They loved it. I showed them some Kandinsky, Mondrian and Miro and they soon got the idea about drawing a whole load of shapes and pictures. I made them turn a page of doodles into art - i think they thought i was some arty weirdo but it made them a little less worried about drawing.
So while we were in KL, we spent some time going to some shows, one of which i managed to wangle some complimentary tickets to see a show about an arranged marriage - it was hilarious, best show id seen in ages! In fact it was a one man show - he did an amazing job of entertaining a whole crowd for 75mins! The next show we went to see was about a Malaysian guy who'd been left on death row for 5O years - but you wouldnt have known that unless you read the blurb on the leaflet - it was the worst play i have ever ever been to see. Totally malaysian - didnt have a clue what was going on, i think i lost the will to live just about the time that they started spouting about the 'power of the pinapple" - hhhmmmmm....it was INTERESTING to say the least!!
I also had the opportunity to go to the other i-to-i placement, which is working at an orphanage called TI-RATNA. It was the sadest place. I walked into a little box room to find about 15 kids all under 4 years old with no toys, no staff, nothing. They were all just sat on the floor. As soon as we came in they wanted hugs and to be swung around. Some of them didnt even react to us being there. It was so sad. Its not like they dont have the games and resources available, as they recieve plenty of donations. The problem is, that the local carers say that the kids make a mess with the toys and they dont want to pick it all up after them!!!!! I mean, thats absolute nonesense! So they keep all the toys locked up in there nice new packets in the cupboards! If they taught the kids how to put things away afterwards then maybe it would be ok...but its not!
So, for the final week we were sent to Ulu Yam forest for a few days with 20 kids for a nature camp. Basicallyit was a lot of feelings talk and creative stuff for the kids. It rained a lot and everyone managed to get a leech - i somehow avoided that...but one kid got 5...poor thing, he didnt mind at all! I had a group of 5 to look after and we did path trails, sculptures, games and stuff. It was quite good fun really especially making masks and faces on trees...
Finally, after 4 weeks of doing good, i learnt to love Malaysia. In fact, a friend described it as falling in love with an ugly woman - you get there in the end! And thats exactly what happened. Its a place full of culture, diversitys, rich and poor. I think will miss Kuala Lumpur.
Well now, im in Darwin now and I havent really seen anything yet - just the airport and my back packers even thou its 3pm in the afternoon - i slept in late and because of the time difference im now another 2hrs ahead - so im 10hrs in front of you guys back home.....what a day yesterdasy - i couldnt get a bus the day before as it was all booked up, so i had to hail a cab down in the street (as none of the taxi numbers i had worked!) then turn up and hope i could get on a bus to singapore! so...thats was fine, but i was told that i would arrive by 2.30pm, which worked out ok, but there was trenchal rainstroms on the roads and you know whats its like in asia, they stop here and there for everybody and their wives and then stop for another fag and tea therik (cuppa sweet tea!). so it was 4.30pm and i was still stuck at customs getting into singapore on the border because someone had an umclaimed bag on the bus and customs wouldnt let us through! so i had to make the excutive decision of hopping out of the bus and running to a taxi stand to get a cab straight to the airport! phewy - i got there in time, by 5.30pm i was checked in. That was the quickest amount of time i have ever been in one country for - 1 and a half hours! anyway...the flight was fine, its was the getting into the hostel which was the next drama. i arrived into oz at 12.30 horray, and eventually got to my hostel about an hour later, then had to call the security guard to let me in....except the phone booth outside was broken....i had to leave my bags and go wandering for a phone booth that worked - on my way i found a drunken oz collapsed outside a phone booth down the road with an abbo girl who looked mighty scary - she looked like the girl from king kong at the begining where they are in the tribes.....so i managed to wake up the guard and get in a whole hour later - it was about 2.30pm - so a long 19hr traveling day!
Well, its time to get out there and see what OZ is all about, so keep the updates coming from back home.
Miss you all,
Adele
- comments