What a hug means to you?

Lately, selalu terasa nak tulis somewhere about my son. He's growing up so fast MashaAllah. Can't believe he's 2 years old now. Semakin loving and cheeky day by day. Instagram is not my preferred medium for some personal reason and I don't like my current handwriting (dah lama sangat tak pegang pencil) hence, diary is not a good option too. So, I think blog is the best place for now (even though I deeply feel this will not stay long hahaha). But I still need to write it somewhere so I can refresh and recall my motherhood moments with him in the future. Orang sekarang pon tak baca blog dah, so this is just righttt for my personal reference.

Kids are amazing and full of surprises. So does my son, Fayyadh. 

When I thought he is too young to understand, 

he actually picks up things naturally, in his own sweet time. 

Most of the time, when Fayyadh cries, be it because he wanted to follow Ayah/ Atok to work, or he wanted something which I refused to give, or that "just cry" cry, cry-for-no-reason (I know most of you can relate this), I would offer him A HUG.

Our normal conversation be like:

Fayyadh: *Criessss out loud*

Me: Oooww, Fayyadh is crying, Fayyadh sad. Fayyadh nak ikut ayah, tapi ayah work. You want Mama to hug you? 

Fayyadh: *Nodded* Nak Mama hug...

and we hug...until he is emotionally stable. or until I successfully distract him with something else.

but there are also times when he simply rejects my offer. He would continue crying or running towards the door, ignoring me for few minutes, but I could guarantee (confident! kahkah) he will come back to me either to show me that he is still sad (expected me to pujuk or offer him a hug again) or come back to me with the sweetest face " Nak mama.." and hug me tightly (dalam hati mama, yassss *big grin* haha) 

Sometimes, I also suggest him to offer a hug to other people (bukan random people la of course). Bila weekend, cousins ada dekat rumah, biasa la every 5-10 minutes mesti ada adegan dan incident2 tangisan. 

Abang Eqal: *Criesss out loud*

Fayyadh: Abang Eqal....*awkwardly try untuk pujuk  abang* 

Me: Fayyadh, Abang Eqal is sad. You can ask Abang if he needs hug okay?

Fayyadh: Abang...Fayyadh hug okay? 

and all I could remember is..the offers never naturally come from him.  

until recently, for the first time ever, the offer came naturally from him. 

One night, when we were reading one of his favorite book before bedtime, Fayyadh surprised me by showing his lovely act of kindness. We have been reading that book for a few months now, so I didn't expect anything new. When we reached this one page, there was a sad fish with tears. Normally I didn't spend much time on that page because I liked the next page better (more fishes). So i would quickly flip the page as soon as I finished my sentence. But it was different this time.

When we reached that "sad fish" page, Fayyadh stopped me before I even began talking. 

Fayyadh: *pointing towards the fish* Mama, fish sad. Fish cry. HUG. HUG.

Me: *Slowly pickup* Ohh yaa, fish cries. what do you do when fish is sad? 

Fayyadh: Hug fish *he really pulled the book towards him, hugged and kissed the fish*

and I hold the page a little longer...

I still remember another sweet moment when Fayyadh offered me a HUG for the first time. I was on the prayer mat, just finished solat, while he was busy playing with his toys next to me. Biasanya kalau baca doa memang purposely baca kuat2 so dia dengar sekali. So time baca doa tu, biasa la ada ternangis2 sikit and he could sense it, maybe sebab tone cakap tu berubah kot kan. He immediately stopped playing and came to me. 

Fayyadh: *Wipe my tears* Mama cry? Mama sad?

Me: *Silent and look into his eyes*

Fayyadh: Fayyadh hug Mama okay? Okay? Boleh?

and we hugged...melting....

I was so touched and surprised by his act. I never expect him to understand and apply them in any situation without cue from me especially at his age. But he did anyway. And since then, I realized he becomes more aware of other's feeling and sadness, and he offers HUG more frequently now.

Normally he is a cheerful baby after school, excited sangat bila nampak Mama dekat gate. But yesterday:

Fayyadh: Mama, Fayyadh nak jalan jalan. 

Me: Fayyadh nak pergi mana?

Fayyadh: Playground.

Me: Ohh, Fayyadh nak main slides? Buai laju2 kan? Tapi sekarang hujan. Can we go next time bila Ayah ada?

Fayyadh: *slow tone* Hmm...Okay Mama.

Few seconds later...

Fayyadh: Mama, Fayyadh sad. Nak hug

Me: Ok sayang. Come mama hug... 

He now knows how to describe his sad feeling as well.. 

What a hug means to you? I personally think , a hug means the world to our child. For them, a hug means safe, secure, comfort, love and everything more than just a physical touch. Just like adult, they also have a bad and good day. They also have this indescribable feeling where they don't even know what they want, just like us (especially women haha). But most of the time, A HUG is just enough, to make them feel good again. 

Choosing a Stroller - Tips and Review

My son is turning 2 in a week! I am quite busy recently searching and browsing some tips and recommendations from articles/blogs, all related to toddler, parenting etc. It suddenly crossed my mind that maybee I should also share something on this topic, which might help some blur/clueless parents like me.

So my first sharing is about one of the most important baby gear (at least for me), STROLLER. I spent quite some time doing survey and study about this when I was pregnant 2 years back. and I would proudly say, it is really worth my time and effort because my son loves his stroller until today and we still use it almost every weekend.

Here are some tips of choosing a STROLLER for your baby.

1) Know your target.
First is ARE YOU GONNA USE IT? most most important. Some parents prefer babywearing so stroller is the last option. Some people are not going anywhere for a year, so why bother? haha Some parents are lovely and strong enough to carry their baby all the time.

If yes, like me, please proceed below:
How frequent you might use it and where (depends on lifestyle), you want to use it from baby until what age? for everyday use or travelling (by flight, by car)? who's gonna handle it most of the time? These are important so you can narrow down your options later.

My target is clear. As my husband is away most of the time, I might need to handle it alone, by myself with my baby. And I want to use it weekly (during weekend to be exact). Cita cita nak pakai sampai anak bongsu (tak tau berapa) so must be highly durable and only one stroller from birth until at least 3/4 years.

2) List down all the criteria and prioritize the criteria based on your target above. I will share all the criteria below with my priority from the top. No problem, thanks me later ok.

a) Weight and Dimension - Trust me every year you will see more and more lightweight stroller being introduced to the market. Why? Because 'light' is easy especially if you travel by flight (must be <7 kg). Dimension is important as well because some strollers are so bulky that it can't even fit a compact car like Myvi.

b) Brand and Price - Totally depends on your budget and target. You can easily get the simple umbrella folded stroller as cheap as RM100 but the price can also go as high as the sky. You get what you pay.

c) Duration of usage - Some strollers can be used as early as newborn  but some are more suitable for 6 months and above (see criteria d) below). On average most strollers can be used up until 20 kg.

d) Recline and Facing - Some strollers can recline flat (or nearly flat). This type can be used from newborn. Some strollers cannot fully recline but associated with travel system, can attach with carseat with additional adapter. Not many strollers offer both front and rear facing. Mostly are front facing. But I personally think rear-facing (facing parents) is not an important criteria because normally by the time (age) we bring our baby to public area, baby is big enough to prefer front facing.

e) Folding - I likeee this. One of the reason I choose my current stroller is because of this feature as well. One hand folding is way to go. I am bias but I totally reject stroller with complicated folding. One of my friends totally regret buying the complicated folding stroller. There was one time we traveled with her without her husband, so while she was carrying her baby, we helped her to fold her stroller but after soo many instructions given we still failed and gave up. Some strollers, you even need to detach the body frame and the seat to fold like whattt? Maybe because I need to handle it myself so it is such a hassle. No No.

f) Safety point - If you don't buy random brand and super cheap stroller I could guarantee the safety part mostly has been taken care of. Just double check to make sure. But there was one incident happened in front of me at the mall, a baby fell down with her stroller while going down the escalator. Luckily her father was quick enough to catch her.. Not because of the harness because the baby was still attached with her stroller but for some reason, suddenly, the seat was nearly detached from the body frame, like a swing hanging. I wish I know what stroller it was, unfortunately I didn't. But one clue I think it must be the type yang boleh attach detach the frame and seat.

g) Accessories - Canopy Peekaboo, air circulation and basket size. Not so important criteria but I really loveee my stroller air ventilation mesh. One of the great feature to look at so your baby can sleep comfortably. Canopy -I love my canopy too! Super big can cover my baby completely when he's sleeping. less distraction and stare from people. I never see any other strollers with the canopy as big as mine haha! Oh but mine doesn't come with the peekboo window, minus point but I don't care because the ventilation mesh is just enough to peek my baby. Basket - big basket means can put more shopping bag, your handbag, baby bag and etc. basically I love most of the features of my stroller. kahkah

Other criteria you can consider - Tyres (3 or 4), Adjustable footrest and handle, easy to wash the seat padding, suspension, color

With all the criteria and target above, I had 5 strollers in my survey list. I plan to use it regularly from newborn and I believe in hand-me-downs concept so nak guna sampai anak bongsu kononnya. And bajet tak banyak sangat sampai ribu riban, so my final survey budget is around RM1k to RM2k, which is the average range of good  to high quality stroller in Malaysia.

These are the final 5 strollers I had in my list and the reason why I didn't buy them.

1) Quinny Zap Extra 2- 8 kg, newborn until 15 kg
Pro- Front and Rear facing.
Cons - I don't like the folding system. Bye

2) Babyzen Yoyo - 5.8 kg, newborn until 15 kg
Pro - Lightweight, cabin size (very good for traveling), easy folding
Cons - Almost burst my budget, quite pricey. So many 1 to 1 copy of Yoyo-like in the market (different brands) which you can easily get as low as RM300. I even bought the cheap one for travel but my son doesn't like it. When I was traveling overseas early this year, I could say only 1 out of 10 use the original Babyzen Yoyo, another 9 use the Yoyo-like but not Yoyo haha.

3) Recaro Easylife - 5.7 kg
Pro - Lightweight, cabin size
Cons - I dont like the design. so plain. haha

4) Mountain Buggy Nano - 5.9kg, newborn until 20kg (this one share almost similar features like mine, almost ended up buying this one)
Pro - Lightweight but can use up until 20kg.
Cons - No ventilation mesh

5) Baby Jogger City Mini Zip YAY! I love love my stroller. 7.3 kg, newborn until 25 kg weyy!
WARNING! Bias review detected. kahkah
Pro - One hand folding woot woot! super easy I can handle it myself even with my another hand carrying my baby. A bit heavy compare to the other stroller but I like the compact folding. Never try to bring inside the plane, but I think if you keep it properly inside the bag, inshAllah boleh lepas because it doesn't look bulky at all. SPACIOUS! Anak boleh berguling2 atas tu haha can still fit my 4 years old niece comfortably. Ventilation mesh and big canopy - super love. Flat recline.
Cons - I love everything about it but let's just be real, nothing is perfect. I wish the padding is a bit thicker buttt i've found a solution for that, buy a stroller padding from Lazada. so no Cons for my Baby Jogger City Mini Zip.

The retail price (2016) was RM 1790 but I got a super nice deal during Baby Expo at RM 1390 + free bag.

See my baby sleeps on his stroller comfortably until now. 

Even my 4 years old niece doesn't look outgrown on it. 

If I was given a choice to buy another Stroller, I would definitely go with the new Baby Jogger haha. Been eyeing the Baby Jogger City Tour since released 2 years ago (just a few weeks after I bought my City Mini Zip *sigh*) 

p/s: This is solely based on personal opinion and experience. Most of the information was taken from my 2016 survey so might not be the most updated one.

Any questions? So happy to help! No  bias review. Promise. hihi

One and a half year later...

Suddenly, an email pop-up on my laptop screen. "Unknown has left a new comment on your post "Skytrex".  Oh wow now I remember I had a blog. I mean I still have, but being abandoned and left behind, because life is so much more than blogging kahkahkah. But when I received a comment on old posts like this, I feel something is incomplete, I miss writing and sharing. To be honest, even though I browse instagram, facebook, twitter many times a day, when it comes to travel review, parenting experience, and some other concerns, I still looking/ searching for a blog. Because it is more details and convenient.

I just realize my last abandoned post was longgg time ago during my 2nd trimester. and today, one and a half year later, I am a mother to 1 year old son. Ahh how times flies.

New Zealand Part I

No, don't guess. This was obviously taken at Queenstown. Sooo cantik like everyone should really at least 'know' this place. Alhamdulillah I was lucky enough to be there. 

I've always wanted to visit New Zealand. Tapi bila dengar pasal cost, gulp gulp delay niat murni tu. Almaklumlah duit gaji sekarang masuk keluar macam air tanpa segan silu. Oh I'm not the "last minute" or impromptu type of person when it comes to traveling. Biasa nya kalau jauh2 ni I planned it soo early ada yang more than 1 year earlier kihkihkih. 

Tapi berbekalkan concept 'installment', semua trip goes well in term of budgeting. Tak penah la rasa like totally broke I couldn't even breath. And I applied this 'installment' method to all trips especially yang mahal2 and jauh. So how this 'installment' method works in traveling?  

1) First thing first. Survey flight ticket awal. Not that you have to browse airlines website everyday, but at least get the rough ideas of the price trend/range so whenever you see great deals, boleh terus grab without hesitation. 

2) I normally grouped my travel budget into 5, transportation (air/ground)-accommodation-activities-pocket money

a) air transportation - flight tickets/ luggage/ visa/ in-flight meal

b) ground transporation - public transport/ rent/ fuel/ toll

c) accomodation 

d) activities - entrance fees/ adventure fees

e) pocket money - souvenir/ emergency money/ food 

3) So the reason I planned my trip early is to ensure I don't have to cram all costing into my 1 month salary. Takde la sesak gila takde duit time nak pergi tu. Normally on the very last month/ my last salary before the trip, just tinggal nak spare duit for "pocket money" only. The rest should be settled monthssss before. My tripmates pon seems comfortable with this method. 

4) Sample of 'installment' method and how it works in my NZ trip?

March 2015 - air transportation (Air Asia KUL/MEL - RM 750)

July 2015 - air transporation (Jetstar MEL/QZN - RM 1140)

September 2015 - accommodation (booked all hotels Te Anau/ Wanaka/ Tekapo/ Queenstown/ Glenorchy - RM 1120)

November 2015 - air/ ground transportation (flight baggage + meal/ apply visa/ pay for car rental - RM 914)

December 2015 - activity (booked bungy/ skyline gondola/ milford sound - RM 790)

February 2016 -  ground transportation (fuel) and pocket money (RM 300) + additional RM 1000 for souvenir and fun moneyyy 

So overall cost for my NZ trip for 11 days 10 nights is RM 5000 per person all in (excluding souvenir sebab totally depends on what you spend). See when you apply this 'installment' method takde la rasa terbeban sangat macam sedebuk duit nak keluar kan hihi. You have some space to breath, relaxx, pay, and repeat, breathh againn until your trip. I am purposely sharing the cost breakdown as my first NZ post because I really want people to know, it is not that mahal. and sooo doable :D :D So you can start dreaming of New Zealand now.....until my next post! which definitely gonna be moree excitinggg. 

Jiuzhaigou Costing

My husband promised to write for Day 5 & Day 6, (Yeay!) so I think I'm done for now hihi except for overall budget. 

How much we spent? Roughly around RM5000 overall for 2 persons which I think very affordable. Awal2 time planning rasa macam omg mahalnya entrance fee, mahalnya domestic flight etc. but after dah tengok view yang cantik sangat, like dream comes true punya level, sangat sangat worth it. In fact takde la mahal sangat pon. Here is the summary of all my expenses for 6 days 5 nights:

(2 person)

Transportation

Flight AirAsiaX                RM 1062

Flight Sichuan Airlines    RM 1052

Ground Transportation     RM 400

Accommodation

FlipFlop Hotel Chengdu

2 nights (Day 1&5)           RM 180

Caiyun Hotel JZH

3 nights (Day 2,3,4)          RM 368

Entrance Fees

JZH Park x 2 days

1 adult + 1 student             RM 700 (RM 207/adult/day, RM 135/student/day)

HuangLong x 1 day

1 adult 1 student                RM 360 

Meals + Pocket Money      RM 600 (RM 50/day/pax)

Visa                                 RM 180

Total = RM 4502 for 2 persons

RM 2251 per person

But there are a few ways you can do to reduce the cost more:

1) Buy the domestic ticket earlier. About 3months before the trip, it was around RM300-400 per person tapi orang tamak slalu rugi. Bajet nak tunggu lagi murah skali hahhh a month before check dah mahal

2) Take bus both ways from Chengdu to JZH (But I wouldn't really recommend this, 11 hours were more than enough plus you'll need an extra day)

3) Spend only 1 day in JZH park. You might miss a few attractions but if you plan wisely you can still get the best out of it. Tapi 2 hari memang just nice. Not too rush and tenang and dapat cover everything

4) Ask everyone to bring student cards. kahkahkah Pity my husband. Too old for a student card ;P

Anddd if you asked me about food, to be honest I didn't do research on that too much, we brought enough beriyani from brahim, instant porridge with serunding, snacks biscuit chocolates, tuna and nutella with wrap. Kenyang selamanya. hahaha Tapi we bought fresh peach, apples, bananas etc everyday. So life is good :D

Jiuzhaigou Review Part III

Day 3 & 4

We started the day a bit early. The weather wasn't look promising. Gloomy, cloudy, no blue sky. So we prepared rain coat and sweater. Bila sampai entrance, tengok manusia pergh ramai ya amatt. Dah kenapa semua orang bangun awal kekeke. So we went straight to the ticket counter. 1 adult for my husband and 1 student ticket for me. Thanks Vandy for letting me keep my Vandy card. I'll use it wisely (Ehem!) The ticket price for student was half okayyy sape taknak rugi la :P After entering the park, I realized they didn't check my student card, so bermulalah idea idea jahat untuk hari esok which I thought was brilliant until........

Jiuzhaigou Park Map -taken from Google

You see the Y shape? so that was pretty much everything you will cover in Jiuzhaigou National Park. We started the first day with the right branch (which I think sangat bijak because more attractions and still fit to walk), meaning from Premival Forest, Swan Lake and all the way down. We already paid for the shuttle bus (terpaksa) so better make use of it. In the beginning, we're quite lost on how the shuttle bus works, so belasah je. Naik mana yang sampai dlu (blue bus/ green bus) lepas tu baru pikir. Then we figured out that the shuttle bus wont make any stop on the way up. So you have to stay in the bus from the entrance until the very upper right/left branches. The bus will only stop at every attraction point on the way down. But we prefer to walk down instead of bus hopping. You better take my advice on this, WALK as much as you can because the walking trail punya view lagi cantik, mendamaikan, tenang dan sebagainya which you wont get to see if you take the bus. and the rest, I'll let you explore by yourself hehe

We ended our first day at Suzheng Village, sebab hujan and kaki dah penat lapar dan sebagainya. Keluar je park, we rushed to the Bus Terminal to buy ticket for HuangLong. Where is the Bus Terminal? Good Question, go out from the park entrance, and take right, walk straight ~15minutes until you see this building.

Jiuzhaigou mouth travelling passanger transportation center- even my Chinese friend doesn't get the meaning until now. Like seriously your mouth is travelling?

Our hotel was at the left side of the park, so we had to walk about 25 minutes back from Mouth Travelling (macam best pulak term ni) to our hotel. Anddd we saw a halal restaurant yeayy. Good news to all muslim. hihi From the park entrance, no need to cross the road,just take left, walk about 10minutes, there is one street where people sell souvenirs, ubat ubatan, buah etc, keluar je from that street carik kedai ni (green color with obvious Halal sign), opposite tu Jzh Local Taxation Bureau Office (I think red color). Don't forget to ask menu in English and enjoy! :D

We really underestimated the second day, we thought it was going to be raining all day, we thought the crowds were less, we thought it was okay to buy 2 student tickets since they didn't check it on Day 1, but... we were totally wrong. kahkahkah. Day 2-very nice weatherrrr, blue skyy, hot and sunny (we wasted some space in our bag with sweater raincoat etc).

So my husband bought 2 student tickets, we were happy queuing, planning, laughing (happy to save hundred bucks) until we arrived at the gate. Guess what? The ticket lady asked for student card pffftttt Kantoi... So I was passed, thanks again Vandy, but my husband didnt make it. He acted like finding the card in his bag sambil berfikir untuk melompat pagar dengan aksi yang sangat mengkantoikan (nasib tak buat phew). kahkah, And I was inside alone, observing the other gates, carik idea utk meloloskan suami, sambil tergelak dalam hati confident sangat tdi. kahkahkah and finally I got an idea, TINGGTONGG I asked husband to change gate since not all staffs were that strict, and he made it with full of confidence hahahahaa. 

We covered the left branch on the second day/last day. We pretty much covered everything except for Mirror Lake. It was raining on the first day so we didnt make it, and windy on the last day. Sobs sobs Visit mirror lake memang kene right timing, pagi when there is no wind, and tak hujan, baru the reflection clearr. Watch this video and don't missed Mirror Lake like we did :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGq6FXcpxtY

We ended our second day in Jiuzhaigou with having a big fat dinner at the Halal Restaurant. Yeay. It was so tiring, rasa macam kalau dapat massage memang syiokk gila. haha But Jiuzhaigou is very beautiful, heaven on earth, hidden treasure or whatever you wanna called it. World Class National Park. 5 star.

Jiuzhaigou Review Part II

Day 1 & 2

I bought the flight ticket to Chengdu during AirAsia promo few months ago around RM550/person. It was quite a good catch I guess because I never saw the same/ cheaper price anymore (I re-checked the price a few times for my friends but the price was going higher everytime).

We departed from KLIA2 at 6.35pm and arrived at Chengdu International Airport around 10.40pm (no time different between KUL and CTU). It was easy to get taxi outside the airport, however, try to avoid the ulat ulat ticket yang approach, go straight to the taxi queue.

English is very rare in Chengdu and Jiuzhaigou. I saw a few signboards in English at the airport but  communication in English wass sooo hard. Really talking like alien and human. As I had seen that coming, I prepared flash cards just like my previous trip to Seoul. It was much much helpful this time around. A good tip is to put all the address, instructions, reservation number and hotel phone numbers on the flash card with both English and Chinese font. Flash cards will really come in handy during your trip.

Flash cards. Yes this is what I did with my leftover namecard.

We stayed at FlipFlop Hostel in Chengdu. A good hotel. Great location (10 mins walk to Xinnanmen Station), Staff was good in English and all instructions were written in both languages, clean and cheap. It took about 35 mins from the airport to this hotel (~50RMB). Our journey to Jiuzhaigou started on the next day.

Nice simple room - Flip Flop Hostel Chengdu

Cozy lobby. Boleh lepak2 ade foosball and snooker.
A lot of foreigners stay here.

Xinnanmen Bus Station

Since there are 2 options to get to/from Jiuzhaigou from/to Chengdu, we decided to try both options. We took 10 hours bus ride from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou and domestic flight for the return. There was no midnight bus from and to Jiuzhaigou. The first bus was 6.30am if I'm not mistaken. We immediately searched for the ticket counter when we arrived Xinnammen Station that morning around 6.45am (Walked thru the entrance, the ticket counter was on the left side). We only managed to get 8.30am bus (135RMB per person). They provided quite a lot of buses to Jiuzhaigou (every 15mins), just make sure you come as early as you can.  I swear that was the longest bus ride I've ever had. But the view along the way was Subhanallahhh breathhtakinggg.

Feel like stopping every ten km for pictures.
 Too bad I was sharing the bus with another 30 people. *sigh*

Taken randomly from the bus. Cantikkannn T_T

Experience naik bas 10 jam? Hmmm ours was 11 freaking hours to be exact. It was a longggg one. Pheww. The driver was ok, no crazy driving skills, or speeding etc. The road/ highway development was very impressive. I felt like surrounded by the high mountains everywhere. We crossed at least 6 tunnels with the average of 5.5km each. Helooo macam mana boleh buat tunnel tembus banyak2 gunung ganang sampai 5km??? Perghhh power gila! The majority of the bus passengers were Chinese so you should expect to hear the sound of spitting every 10 minutes of less. Like petuihhh here and there. That was "ok" too.

Howeverrrrr, we had a bad experience with the toilet. Huargh. Me and my husband called it a Nightmare-toilet. The bus stopped 3 or 4 times for lunch/ toilet break. During the 2nd stop kot, we went to the toilet. I've been to anywhere in this world, tapi ni first time jumpe expensive nightmare-toilet. We had to pay 1 RMB okkk almost RM0.70cent. So I expected a very nice comfortable, luxury, clean, candle-light-dinner type toilet (over). Berangan puiii. Skali masukk Oh Oh OH MY GOD. How I'm gonna do my business heree?? I didn't know how they even called it a toilet? It was more like a peepoo-cubicle? the wall was at my chest level around 1 meter, without door. Tak perlu pintu pon as you can clearly see/hear what others were doing. Urghh. As I walked to the very last cubicle, kiri kanan kalau toleh boleh nampak this girl was peeing that lady was .....etc. Like so transparent anddd to make it worse, they didn't even provide the bowl. Yes no toilet bowl. It was just like a longkang panjang. 1/2 meter depth and shared with between whole line. Sad but truth, what the front people discharged will eventually flow just "under" you. Euewww. Like really eeuwww. Andddd I managed to snap a picture of it. curik2 snap sambil tergeli2. Go imagine now. 

Hi orang sebelah orang depan buat apa tu T_T

Anyhow, it was a memorable one :P

3 hours before we arrived Jiuzhaigou, the assistant driver was promoting tour packages and guides to us. He wrote down names and contact numbers for those who were interested. He made the Jiuzhaigou park sounded scary, hard, tiring and all so that you'll be attracted to his tour package. No no obviously he was not talking in English hihihi So macam mana kitorang tau apa die cakap? Jeng jeng jeng. We're lucky we met this guy on the bus who was from Italy but has been working in China for 2 years. He speaks basic Chinese, so he was our translator all the way. So don't take the tour. You're not gonna need it.

The bus arrived at Jiuzhaigou bus station around 7pm. It was already late so the ticket counter was closed by then. We're supposed to buy another bus Ticket to HuangLong, but we bought it the next day. We took taxi, I showed my hotel flash card to the taxi driver, checked-in and we're done for the day wuhuuuu!

p/s: Our hotel in Jiuzhaigou was 15minutes walk to the entrance which was among the nearest one. Try to find the nearest hotel to the entrance to save your walking time and energy. 

Jiuzhaigou Review Part I

Jiuzhaigou is more to love-at-first-sight kinda place for me. When I first saw the pictures, I fell in love right away and immediately booked the flight tickets. But I fell in love even more after my visit. Jiuzhaigou is a really a peaceful, wonderful and beautiful hidden treasure on earth. Here is a few important things you need to know before planning to go to Jiuzhaigou:

1) The nearest International Airport from Kuala Lumpur (by AirAsia) is Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
2) There are 2 transportation options to go from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou, one is by 45 minutes domestic flight and another one is 10 hours bus ride.
3) Quite high amount of Energy, Cost and Time are required for Jiuzhaigou trip. I never read this anywhere and just realized it after my visit to Jiuzhaigou, which I think is a good tip to know beforehand, YOU NEED TO BE FIT. Banyakk gila berjalan until I reached to a point where I can't feel my leg anymore T_T. I wonder how the makcik2 can do Jiuzhaigou with formal dress and high heels, excuse me?
4) English is almost none in Jiuzhaigou, and Chengdu is no any better. So be prepared to speak like an alien there.
5) Two main attractions in Sichuan is Jiuzhaigou and HuangLong. Recommended to visit both. However, during my stay in Chengdu, I saw a lot more suggested tour package from Chengdu including 4 sisters mountain, horse riding trip, panda observation etc. You can do more research about them if you have more than 5 days to spend.
6) Peak season to visit Jiuzhaigou is Autumn. But bear in mind you need to fight with the exceptionally large crowd during peak season. But I'm so sure the view is gonna be exceptionally beautiful as well. Life is really about making decision isn't it? hehe
7) Free wifi in China means Free Whatsapp. They blocked all social media facebook, instagram, twitter or even google. So be well prepared, booked everything before hand, google as much as you want before depart.

Here is the quick summary of my trip.

Day 1- KLIA2 to Chengdu (Overnight at FlipFlop Hostel, Chengdu)
Day 2 - Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou by 10 hours bus ride (Overnight at Caiyun Hotel, JZH)
Day 3 & 4 - Jiuzhaigou National Park (Overnight at Caiyun Hotel, JZH)
Day 5 - Jiuzhaigou to HuangLong by 4 hours bus ride (Overnight at FlipFlop Hostel, Chengdu)
Day 6 - JinLi Street, Chengdu. Fly back Chengdu - KLIA2

Honeymoon

I am now a wife. Alhamdulillah. Will definitely write a special post for that. Can we skip that for now? hehe.

Honeymoon. As exciting as it sounds :P I am so excited to share about my experience. But don't worry this is not going to be a fishy2 mushy2 geli2 post. I am hopelessly not that type as for now especially in public :P (well who knows I'm going to be one later? kahkah)

I believe most couple has their own preference in choosing their honeymoon destinations. Some might prefer to be city, rural area, beach, highlands and etc. It also depends on time constraint, cost, interests and blablabla. But for me, I personally had no 'dream honeymoon' or whatsoever. I have a super long list for my vacation destinations, dari Malaysia sampai la ke bulan :P But never cross my mind to make them my honeymoon destination.

Me and my husband (I still feel weird to call him husband) never discuss about this honeymoon thingy. Not until the very last month before our marriage. Itu pon lepas kawan kawan rapat sye tanya about our honeymoon plan. Knowing me, I always have plan here and there, book tiket, study airbnb ahhh that is sooo my thing. But not this time. Awkward gila nak cakap pasal honeymoon sebelum kawin. Or is it just me? kahkahkah

Due to a few circumstances seperti duit yang dah banyak habis, bekalan cuti yang tak berapa banyak, masa yang suntuk, and a lot more... we were left with not much choices. My one and only criteria was "I don't wanna look tanned since the reception at my husband's side is a month after my side, so  anything related to sun is a big NO NO." kahkah poyo tak. But husband thinks beach/ island is so lovely and romantic for honeymoon. Which I doubted a bit earlier, but I am totally agree with him now :D So husband buat research sikit2 and promised me there will be no water activities, no sunbathing and etc. So don't worry I wont look darker than I am, after the honeymoon. haha.

Banyak sebenarnya island and beach cantik dlm Malaysia but we filtered out Sabah sebab tak sempat beli flight tix and we also filtered out Terengganu because we can always go there later :P so that was like taken out a big chunk of all the islands in Malaysia. Husband also preferred to go somewhere not too far, he didn't want to spend much time on the road. Buttt surprisinglyyy, we discovered that there was a private island near Pangkor yang sangat cantikk, rare and tak pernah didengari. Easily reached, cantik, an island, and affordable price. Anddd we go for it! Introducing to youuu, my honeymoon destination, Pangkor Laut, Perak, Malaysia. kekekeke. It's quite near to Pulau Pangkor, but it's totally a separate island, a private one ok. Sangat bertepatan with its tagline, One Island One Resort. Gituuuu.

Husband made a reservation a few weeks before, which was kinda late anddd we had to pay the GST urghh menyesal. Tu la malu malu nak cakap pasal honeymoon konon lepas tu rugi kene bayar GST. Padan muka thanks! T_T. The total expense is around RM1800 for 3 days 2 nights for 2 persons including breakfast, lunch and dinner. I first thought it's quite expensive, yelah slalu duduk hotel bajet jee, but if you ask me now, It is really worth every penny spent. Tak tipu. It is even cheappp for a luxury 5 stars hotel. Whyyy? Sebab best sangattt from the services, staff, room, food, ambiance, view and everythinggg. Stay tuneee I'm gonna share about Pangkor Laut in the next post. Promise! (berapa kali janji dah, tolong la jangan percaya haha)

Infinity Pool

Sea Villa, our stay for 3 days :D :D

Korea Trip Review

I just came back from Korea yeayy! But now that I'm back to the office, urghhh post-vacation syndrome like always. The flight ticket was bought almost one year before the travelling date. Such a long wait, huh? Nak tiket murah punya pasal gigih la sikit tunggu hehe. Good thing is, I have my own sweet time to study/research/plan for my itinerary. And I've started planning a few months before the trip. This time I think I did quite well kahkahkah credit diri sendiri pon boleh la, becauseee I don't speak korean, I don't read korean and I am afraid there will be so many ayam itik conversation later, so I am a bit over prepared for the trip. I promise to myself I'll keep the stories here so I can refer them later, but of course not now. I need my own sweet time for this as well.

Show off gambar satu :P 

Till then!

Monday Blues

Monday can't be any bluer (?) than this. Weekend terasa panjang when you spend your days with exciting activities. Seperti bermundar mandir menghabiskan duit di Pasar Siti Khadijah? And tomorrow is a public holiday. Like hello tak boleh ke kasi je Isnin cuti sekali so you don't have to deal with Monday Blues? Sadly, No.

So bangun pagi macam biasa siap2 and I decided to bring a pile of books to the office today (for whatever reason. why today?) Konon macam nak study la kot to let Monday slips away quickly. Ada la dalam 3kg kot buku2 tu. And for whatever reason jugak, harini nak pakai high heels instead of the flat shoes. Ok fine.

Sampai dekat kereta, alamakkkk I left my car keys upstairs. (I didn't know it was just a beginning, a lot more to come) Ok no complaint since ade elevator pon not that I have to climb the stairs. Ok jalan jalan seperti makcik2 yang bajet busy bawak buku seguni dan berkasut tumit tinggi. Sampai depan bangunan office. Aaaaaaaaaaa menjerit2 dalam hati I left my access card at home. Urghhh. Call everyone, since esok cuti, semua org pon either taking leave, or lambat lagi sampai or ade hal blablabla. No way out, I had to go back and take my card at home.

Bila dah sampai station Damai macam... uhmmm boleh tak kalau tinggal je seguni buku ni dekat lrt station. takkan la ade org nak curik buku kot? Not gonna walk back and forth with those books. Ok tinggal dekat tepi2 dinding, walked 5 steps or less, turned back, ambik buku balik because I saw a kakak cleaner and 2nd thoughts crept in, what if she threw away my books? Berjalan semula ke kereta dengan seguni buku. Sampai rumah, rushing naik atas, bukak pintu, masuk rumah, terlupa tutup pintu  (or memang tak berniat pon nak tutup pintu sebab sekejap je) dann taddaaaaaa seekor kucing telah berjaya menfollow masuk ke rumah. Yes, you have no problem with that. Tapi kasihanilah saya, saya sangat penyegan dengan kucing T_T. Bermula lah episode "Aku dan Kucing on Monday (blues)". Kucing itu pulak sedang membunting yang gemuk maka bertambah tegaklah bulu roma. Huarghh. Meowww2 Quack2 Grrrr Shuhh2. Ape la aku nak buat dengan ibu mengandung ini tskk tskk. If someone saw me from the outside, he might think there's a kungku fighting filming in my house, but the reality was just "Aku dan Kucing on Monday (blues)" short story.

Beberapa minit berlalu, akhirnya berjaya meloloskan diri dari ibu mengandung itu. Tanpa memukul mahupon mencubit manja. Cume menjegil2 kan mata je kekekeke. Ambik access card kat dalam bilik, berjalan seperti makcik2 bajet busy dengan seguni buku. Sampai LRT, touch and go card menyatakan insufficient balance?? Why now why *&#$%@^&# Thanks! Topup, sambung berjalan dengan berpeluh2 seperti berlari 3km di pagi hari and here I am. Mengadap laptop, update blog sebab penat sangat padahal baru pukul 10.30am? Buku tah ke mana study tah ke mana. Maka kenapakah kau beriya sangat nak bawak seguni buku tu pagi tdi? Pffttt. Entahlah..

Boleh tak fast forward pukul 5.30pm cepat? Like superrr fasttt.

Random

Tiba tiba teringat dekat blog. Like hello after 6months? kahkahkah Life is so good, and fast that I just missed everything in here. Banyak nya hutang post.  I need to write it here no matter what, so I could re track everything just in case I need it later haha

-Bangkok
-Whitewater Rafting
-Tenggol Island
-VS is still on no worries. hehe even I haven't update anything since few months ago. My kids are good and currently enjoying their school holiday
-Umrah

Ok so let's just leave it like this. Next time I open this blog, I should know where to start hahahahaha.
Till next time. And yes, I'm alive

Skytrex

Sempena #VisitMalaysia2014, meh nak review sikit Skytrex Adventure at Bukit Cerakah, Shah Alam. I went there last 2 months kot. Macam last minute plan. Dh plan lamaaa tapi biasa la to get everyone together during weekend yang free is almost impossible. haha. So adhoc plan is so far the best.

For those who planned to go to Skytrex rajin2 la check their website for booking. http://www.skytrex-adventure.com/ Susah jugak nak booking lagi2 kalau school holiday. I called myself lucky sebab dapat book only a few days before. Tapiii itu pon dapat slot at 2.00pm which was not our preference. We preferred morning slot konon2 taknak berjemur panas but it wasn't that bad sebab dalam hutan kan. Tropikaaa sangat matahari tak dapat menembusi pokok2 gituuuuu. 

So we chose "Extreme Challenge" (RM55) or I should say the hardest from 3 circuits. Bukan nak berlagak hebat tapiii alang2 dah pergi kan, better pergi yang paling best. And I would recommend this Challenge even for first timer. you'll get the best out of it with Extreme Challenge. UNLESS, for those yang ade acrophobia (baru google nama) or height phobia, try la Little Adventure dulu. Yang lain2 tu rendah ke tinggi ke gemok ke kurus ke, take "Extreme Challenge" and I'm so sure you'll survived. hehe

Before we went there, we googled the Extreme Challenge images and read a few reviews. Saje nak get all excited and be prepared kononnya. Bile tengok gambar flying fox from 22 meters above the ground mcm WOW scaryyyyy. anddd we thought that was the scariest challenge, and another WOW image was when you have to walk on a single rope from one platform to another.

And here's Expectation Vs Reality

Tip 1: Be there early. At least 30 mins before your slot. Boleh beli2 air dulu ke kat situ
Tip 2: Wear sport attire. Sport shoes sebab senang nak grip atas tali.
Tip 3: Go to bathroom first. Selesaikan apa2 yang patut. There's no way outtt once you've started.
Tip 4: Rent a bottle holder. Bawak air mineral, Camera/phone.
Tip 5: Have fun! hehe

Bila sampai sana ade satu counter untuk Skytrex, so register dulu and buy the park entry ticket (RM3 not included in Skytrex ticket). Bawak duit sikit utk glove etc. Lepas tu ade bus transfer exclusive for Skytrex. Jangan naik bus yg general for park. That one is different route. Bile sampai dekat sana, fill in the form, buy a glove (RM3) (highly recommended), rent a locker and bottle holder (RM5). Then, wear harness, safety briefing (pay attention to the instructor because you've to be independent almost all time, the instructor is not waiting for you at every platform) andddd you're good to go!

First Challenge was sooo tiring. We have to climb 14m high ladder. Gila penat nampak sangat stamina sangat mensedihkan kahkahkah. Lepas tu first flying fox 22m above the ground crossing hutan2 pokok2 mcm wowwww. I looked down before the jump, It was when my adrenaline rush started and never stop until I made the jump hooorayyyyyyyyyy it was so much funnn. Tak cuak pon :P and the view was aahhh all greeennnn so refreshing. Ade 34 challenges for Extreme circuit. There were 5 of us. But one platform can only be occupied by 2-3person at one time. Kadang2 orang 1st dengan yg ke-5 hardly met each other. I hold the camera so I have to swap the sequence a few times to get everyone on the camera. hehe.

Flying Fox! Yang paling best paling fun-Level 1

Walk on a single rope- Level 2

When I googled, I thought this one would be the scariest. But surprisingly, this was the easiesttt of all the challenges. Everytime we finished one challenge, we always hoped the next one could be this, or the flying fox. hahaha sebab yang lain2 lgi payahhh 

No, this one was not that bad. Even ade missing wood plank in the middle. -Level 2

Tarzan - Level 3

This was the last challenge, ini mcm cuakk jugakk. You have to be tarzan. Hold the rope and jump to the next tube. Hold the rope was easy, Jump was not that hard buttttt the hardest part was to stop at the next tube macam susahnya nak bajett.You have another option to just walk on the rope at the side tapiii try la to do the tarzan bestt. hehe

 (Source: Google)

 I didnt take any picture here sebab cuak sangat berpikir cmne nak jalan kahkahkah. And of all the 34 challenges, I should say this is the toughest. Nampak macam senang and I didn't expect this to be that scary, but it was. Sebab the tube was sooo unstable macam kne balancekan diri sndri. Pls get nervous for this one! hehe 

And group photo. We did it yeay!! Extreme Challenge Survival.

Cost: RM55 (extreme) + RM 3(park entry) + RM 3(glove) + RM5 (locker and bottle holder) + RM2 (mineral water) = RM 68 per pax.

So worth it! Klang Valley area. Dekat, tak payah carik accommodation, yang penting best! 

Skytrex Shah Alam is Highly recommended.  

VS 3

"We can do no great things, only small things with love" - Mother Teresa

It was a game day! since cuti skolah pon dh nak start, we didn't want to pressure the kids so much with all the academic thingy during school break kan. So we brought puzzle, we played origami, and I also brought my Pictureka and Uno Stacko.

Random games for everyone. they can play whatever they want. Pictureka was quite new to them. So macam ramai yg interested. They fought several times over the sand clock timer. Semua sibuk nak jaga the timer. But a few of them memang betul2 bersemangat gila nak main. Pictureka is about finding things on the 3x3 tiles. I bought it from US for my younger sister. Tapi bila dh besar die macam dh hafal pon tile boards tu haha. I am so glad to see the Pictureka became beneficial again.

Some of the kids joined the Origami group. I didn't have the chance to go to the other games sebab non stop layan diorg main Pictureka. But I saw the sampan, love shape, swan, rocket and other origami flying here and there. They're having much fun.

Pictureka pon bagus utk English vocab. sebab ade banyak jugak bnda yg diorg tak paham the meaning but now they remember sebab nak menang. Uno stacko maybe macam not really suitable for their ages kot. They ended up playing it as Lego. and the other volunteers also showed them the domino effect from the Uno stacko.

Overall, it was a quite relax day. Tapi we, the volunteers rasa macam we have to standardize all the games. Means that kalau sorang buat origami, semua kene main origami. Kalau tak the kids pon mcm tak stick to one game, nak try itu nak try ini and the classes looked like a mess.

So, our PM had planned a schedule until end of December for the Volunteer Session during School Break. And guess what? Every session ade 15 minutes "bedtime story session". The kakak2 kene tell them a story before the session ends. And and and and my name was there for one of the session. Ahhhhh nervous! a few more weeks until my turn T_T. help me help me.

VS 2

"Never underestimate your ability to make someone's else life better- even if you never know it" - Greg Louganis

The feeling before going to the second session was different than the first time. I didn't feel nervous anymore, the excitement was doubled. While driving, I started to recall their names and cute faces, imagined how welcoming they are when I stepped inside the house, lovely hugs from everyone.

The activity for the night was drawing and painting. Our PM brought a few boxes of BUNCHO colors and drawing papers for the kids. Of course they were happy. Well what is more happier than skipping mathematics books for an art class? Uhmm except for me coz I'm *#&(#@(% at art.  Tangan botol tahap maximaaaa. hehe

When the session started, I sat with KH and PU again, and TP. They needed to write their name at the back of the paper. So I tried to be as artistic as I can, I wrote their name in block letters. Tak cantik pon but they were so impressed. Puji2 banyak kali sampai rasa nak kasi hadiah kahkah. And they asked me a few times, "Kenapa kakak ingat nama saya?" " Macam mana kakak boleh tau nama saya?". Maybe that is one simple way to make them feel appreciated. So, I'll try my best to remember each of them. 

Anddd the drawing session started. Hands up and I surrender! I really can't draw. They asked me to draw hello kitty for them. Ok fine it was not that bad but I hardly imagined how hello kitty looks like. So me being ehem kakak yang moden dan bergadget bajet canggih, I googled Hello kitty on my phone to guide them. Tapi PU merengek2 suruh lukiskan jugak. Dia kata kalau die lukis mesti buruk. I didn't want to spoon-feed them, so I made a dotted shape of hello kitty and asked her to connect all the dot.

"Kakak kenapa hello kitty kakak buat kepala besar badan kecik?" Pffffttt even PU can judge how bad my drawing can be. Art-failed! 

Then, I helped them with the buncho colors. Hello Kitty is pink but too bad there is no pink in the buncho box. Berguna jugak ilmu seni zaman sekolah dulu so I mixed the red buncho with white to make pink color. and I also mixed a few more colors like blue and yellow to make green, just to make more variety colors. 

TP and PU drew Hello Kitty, but KH changed her mind a few minutes later, she wanted to draw a house. Bukan rumah bodoh2  tu, a 2 storey house which looks so much like RKK. Kan dah kata KH sangat sesuatu. She is different than the others. 

Tengah2 lukis tbe2 PU tanya "Kakak, kenapa kakak tu (pointing her finger to a volunteer yg bermakeup agak tebal) kulit die putih sangat? Dia kenapa?" I tried hard not to laugh, and thought of an appropriate answer. Ahh kidsss so innocenttt. Soklan macam tu pon nak tanya. huahuahua. So I said "Dia cantik sebab tu die putih" Yes, not very convincing but I can't think of more creative answer. haha

So presentinggggg.. my kids's drawingggg hehe. 

After the session, one of the volunteer shared his knowledge about drawing and personality from psychologist point of view. I never know the selection of colors, the type of drawing can show one's behavior. There was one drawing of a house with black as the background which is very rare. So that kid should be given more attention, maybe she had a bad history, or a problem that she kept inside. Well, It's our task to figure out. and I'm gonna find out why KH insisted to draw a house instead of hello kitty? It must be something...uhmm

Tak sabar nak next week!hehe

VS 1.1

"We rise by lifting others" - Robert Ingersoll

Her innocent voice slapped me in my face. I shouldn't be angry I should know how to control my voice I should be more patient I should treat them nicely. It's good such things happen at the beginning. It gave me times to reflect.

From that moment, I am being extra careful with my words. The PM asked them to finish at least 5 pages of the Mathematics exercise then they can choose a new novel to read during school holiday. PU had moved to another volunteer because she didn't get full attention from me as I also helped KH with her math. When doing the math exercise, I can see KH is smart but looked like she was hiding something, something to do with her emotion, from me, from the world. I told ya, KH ni sangat sesuatu. But, I haven't figured it out yet. Time buat math tu, die tunduk until her face nearly touch the floor. I tried to get her attention, asked about school, about what she likes, but her voice was so low  and I couldn't hear clearly what she was saying...until I realized, she was crying. Yes, tears rolled down her cheeks.

So I asked her to pause doing the math. I didn't think finishing the math book can make her happy. I knew asking her the reason why she cried was not a good idea in that condition. She must be so sensitive and my question can make things even worse.

Then another tinggg!! idea came out. Yeay! Thanks to zaman2 sekolah yang selalu main dalam kelas. So I draw a few 3x3 grids and we played tic tac toe! Guess what, I managed to change her mood quite instantly. She was so happy playing tic tac toe. And for the first time, I actually counted the marks and planned a strategy to make her win. Kakak yang baik sangat pls. But ehem! I just let her win by 1 point ONLY. kahkahkah nak jugekkk.

Then we continued with math until she finished all 5pages. Bila saya nampak je die macam nak sedih I tried to distract her by asking random questions macam dia suke main sports apa, cikgu kat sekolah garang ke tak, and sambung tic tac toe jugak. I found her more effective to pause a few times rather than pushing her to finish the math rushingly.

Then I checked her school bag to find her exam paper, and guess whatttt?? The only exam paper she had received was Bahasa Arab. Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Long pauseeeee... Silent mode. Urghhhh I read it a few times but the one thing I can captured was only the front page. I learnt arabic in primary school and takes 2 classes at Vandy. But why everything seemed so alien to me. Penyesalan. Nampak sangat belajar dulu semata2 utk pass exam je. sobs sobs. Dengan perasaan down tahap 7, terpaksa asked another volunteer to review that paper. Tskkk tskkkk masih menyesal.

After all, I really enjoyed the first session. Alhamdulillah. Can't wait for the next. Semoga sihat, berkelapangan dan berkesempatan to join the next session. Amin

VS 1

"Give your hands to serve and your hearts to love" - Mother Teresa

I reached at rumah anak yatim RKK early so thanks to the traffic. There were a few volunteers already there. Seeing all the cute faces came to me nak salam and hugs ahhhhh melting. Lupe terus pasal nervous. The session started a few minutes later, when our Project Manager (PM) arrived. Then, the kids were divided into groups according to age. There were about 20+ of them between 4 to 12, all girls! Semua pon malu2 taknak duduk dengan abang2, nak kakak nak kakak.

The plan for that night was to review their exam papers and check if they have any homework to do. But it was not so formal because most of them had done with final exams and had packed their books. So I began with two kids sat in front of me, KH and PU. KH is 8 years old and PU is 5 years old. PU sangat gigih buat homework, she had to write 1-100 in her mathematics book. PU is veryy outspoken and smart. At her age, I think she has a nice handwriting, buat kerja pon laju je. But, she needed extra attention.  Everytime she wrote one number, she will asked me the next one, eventho she knew the answer.
"Kakakk, lepas ni no berapa?"
"Kakakk tengok la saya tulis ni betul tak?"
"Kakakk, tolong la saya buat ni"

Whereas, KH is a bit passive, so pendiam and sangat sesuatu. Dia asik cakap die bosan. Otak saye pon ligat berpikir what to do. Dah la tak tau syllabus darjah 2 belajar apa. and thank God tiba2 ting!! I got an ideaa. To teach her Colors in English.
"Alaa kakak saya tak tau, saya cuma tau merah, red je"
So I asked her to list down all the colors she saw in that room. Then I taught her how to say it in English. That session lasts a few minutes until the PM distributed Mathematics books for everyone.

KH saw my Uno Stacko and kept checking my bag. First time saya tegur biasa "Eh, jangan kacau barang kerja kite tu", the second time pon biasa2, and the third time, tak berniat pon nak marah but maybe dah terbiasa suara kasar tiba2 she asked me with an innocent voice in a very low tone "Akak, akak marah saya ke?"

Ahhhh I didnt mean to. I mean ok I forgot that they're different. I played with kids a lot, I have a lot of little cousin, but I forgot that I can't treat these kids like how I treat my lil cousins. These kids are different. We never know what they keep inside. We never know what that tiny body had gone through in life.

I felt so guilty. Beyond words.

VS0

"Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can" - Arthur Ashe

Since I joined the VS facebook group, I had missed a few session because of my other plan that falls on the same day with the session. I was a bit frustrated. So when they changed the day from Sunday to Tuesday, I was sooo excited coz I know the chances of joining the session on weekdays are much higher than weekend. Biasa la weekend selalu je ade hal, tapi weekdays bukan setiap hari pon balik kerja lambat. and I tried so hard to be available on Tuesday night everyweek, to be with the kids.

My first week, was a bit hard. Even before I decided to go, I had plenty thoughts in mind. Because I don't know anyone from the team and I am a new comer so macam a bit awkward coz they already know each other kan. I don't know what to expect from the kids. I don't know what to prepare and what to bring. Macam dah lama tak rasa nervous like this except for work-related. It's true when some people say getting out from your comfort zone is a satisfaction. It was really fun!

My first session was on Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm. So after reading from the facebook group posts and texting another volunteer who also joined, I prepared myself with A4 paper and a box of pencil. They said we will teach the kids mathematics and review their exam papers since it is towards the end of the  year so most of them have done with final exams. I also brought uno stacko and a board game Pictureka which I have at home just in case we got extra time to play.

I drove off from home after maghrib. I've studied the map a few times and I'm sure it's gonna take me about 10 minutes to get there. Along the way, banyak sangat benda nak pikir, dah la tak penah mengajar, dah lama xbelajar jugak. nervous gila pls and I even thought of youtubing "how to teach kids mathematics", "the right way of teaching" and everything along the line. Nak jumpa volunteers2 lain pon macam nervous jugak. lupa dah macam mana nak bersocial dengan strangers. semua pon nervous first time kot pfffttt.

I will share my very first experience later in VS1. And you know what? It went so well :) I think I did good. Alhamdulillah. hihi