Desmond Keong

In the past, I used to take Bus 51 which passed by Hajjah Fatimah Mosque and Arab St. Never did I have the chance (or urge) to explore the alleys and the rich Arabian and Muslim cultures. Yesterday (16 Mar), I finally have the opportunity, together with Siew Huang and our CCA — Innovation and Enterprise (I&E) Club to explore the mystiques of the Middle East, all condensed in Arab Street, Baghdad Street and a few others which I have forgotten the names.

It was supposed to be a "Treasure Hunt" for the lower secs and Sec 3s to discover the names of the shops based on the clues given. While the girls were frantically combing the streets for the answers, we (together with the senior members) happily sat at Blue Oasis to chit chat and have drinks. In the midst of our conversation, I was asked to guess the age of the lady boss at Blue Oasis. The answer I gave was 40+. The answer turned out to be near 70. For goodness sake, how is she able to maintain the collagen level beneath her skin. I guess I need to use 56487437 SKII masks with 200 times pitera to look as youthful.

After that, the ladies went to Four Seasons to purchase the accessories while I explored and roamed around Arab St on my own. I bought a magnet which bears my name "Desmond". Now I know my name means Man from South Munster which has its origin from Irish Gaelic. What I found to be quite true was the characteristics which states a "studious, upright hardworking and peaceful guy who is faithful in love but inclined to be jealous". Haha… I agree.

After that, we had lunch at a restaurant called "Semar", situated at Baghdad Street. I would never think that was a restaurant in the first place coz the interior and deco did not look like a restaurant. We had to remove our footwear before we were allowed to go up to the second level. There were no chairs. We had to sit on the carpeted floor which looked similar to Japanese style. The food, which tasted a bit unusual, was generally ok though — in fact better than I expected. I was challenged to eat an olive from the Middle East that was claimed to taste like oil pastel. I really tried! Verdict: Not too bad la. Though it did taste a bit like oil pastel, it was ok lol. Just a bit too saltish.

It was indeed a new experience for me to learn and immerse in the cultures of the Middle East. Hope I can have more opportunities like this again. In fact, the next thing I am keen to know is the cultures and food of the Mediterranean countries. Maybe next time?     

This year is the most challenging and unfortunate one for me. Never did I know I have such an arduous task to turn the table round for so many people. By right, this batch of sec 2 is supposedly the best batch ever. But it turned out to be the reverse (at least for my classes), be it in terms of attitude and performance. I always say PSLE T-score is not an accurate indicator of one’s performance in secondary school. Looks like my premonition is going to be true again.

       The tablet is a good servant but a bad master. If used wisely, it will engage students’ learning. If used inappropriately, it will pull down the grades greatly. The latter is currently taking place now. Whatever the case, we should always be aware that everything has a limit. Beyond the limit, trouble and harm will befall us.  We should 好自为之!