My Kiasu Teenage Life in Singapore (2 page)

Just now all of us (about 15 of us) went to Nancy's room. We joked and laughed. I enjoyed listening to the jokes very much. The “baby jokes” were SO funny. I've got to tell you all of them when I get back. Here's one: What's gross? Seven dead babies in a can. What's grosser? A dead baby in seven cans. Another one: What's gross? A live baby with dead babies in a car. What's grosser? The live baby eating its way out. What's grossest? The live baby coming back for second helping!

Everyone has her own way of talking. Jen Nee likes to say, “Like …” in front of every sentence or “sort of” so often. I hope I don't catch it. Jen Nee is like me in some ways—she can't remember timetables in school (what class is when), she's bad at directions and, in Penang, when she was in a floating class (where each class is held in a different classroom) she didn't know where to go. She just followed her classmates. Like me.

I haven't looked through my textbooks yet, too lazy. I spend most of my time writing to you or going here and there.

The food here is so good! I didn't really watch the six o'clock show just now—I was eating and sitting too far away to see properly.

Sometimes my dad too overworried about me. It irritates me sometimes, but later I feel sorry for being irritated.

I'm having social problems. You know what I mean? Everyone (I mean the seniors) seems so sociable and close to each other. Oh ya, when I say “seniors” I mean those who've stayed in Hua Zhong for a year or more, but may be Sec 2, 3 or 4. If you were here, I'd really love it. I think the teachers will be really good, 'coz they have to be.

I feel quite lost in Singapore. The buildings and roads and all are confusing. Everything here is so clean. They fine you for littering, even for dropping a small piece of paper on the ground. I saw this t-shirt that says, “Singapore is a Fine City.” But I'm very impressed with how efficient and posh everything is! Oh ya, there is a law against selling chewing gum here, but we're allowed to bring small quantities in if it's not for resale. At the MRT station, there is a sign with a picture of a durian and a not-permitted sign on it, because durians will stink up the MRT.

In CHIJ they have AEP (Art Elective Program) where a foreigner comes to teach. Betty said the teacher was saying he's bringing a male model (NAKED!) for them but didn't. AEP sounds fun. I might take it. All the clubs sound nice—I feel like taking them all but I can choose only one so maybe I'll choose Choir. Photography sounds nice.

Love, Pei Yi

Tuesday 31 December
(Third letter today!!)

Dearest Mei Yee

Last day of the year! In the morning, we had a briefing. The people from MOE (Ministry of Education) gave us talks, then the seniors sang for us. We had food and were supposed to mingle around and get to know ASEAN scholars from other hostels too. Then, Pau Leen, Jen Nee and I went to buy textbooks. We had lunch, then went to Coro (short for Coronation Plaza; another abb; abb=abb for abbreviation). Coro is a shopping centre very close to our hostel. There's a nice grocery store on the ground floor and lots of different stores upstairs, like bookstores, music stores, gift stores and pet food stores. Bought S$12 worth of 30cent stamps. I spent time reading birthday cards while they bought textbooks. I saw some huge cards (as big as two TV sets)—very funny and they only cost S$14!

Pau Leen has a lot of jokes to tell—I love jokes. I've copied quite a few in my diary. There are a lot of pretty and smart girls here.

I like drawing robins; I got the idea from a Christmas card. I love reading funny cards and
Archie
comics.

I keep wishing you were here. My dad went back today.

No letters for me at all—how disappointing.

Love, Pei Yi

Wednesday 1 January!!!

Dearest Mei Yee

Phoned you this morning. So nice to talk to you!

We played basketball today. I'm not good at it but it was OK fun. I'm writing to you while watching the six o'clock show. The TV's blur.

I like some of my hostelites very much: Pau Leen, Nancy, Betty and Jen Nee to name a few. Some of the seniors stayed at Orchard Road from last night until 7 am this morning! They went bowling. Orchard Road is the posh street that you see on TV with all the Christmas lights during Christmas. All the stores are huge and very expensive! Teenagers like to hang out there, especially at the cinemas.

I told Jen Nee about my friends in BM, especially about you. You know, I won't accept the truth if I don't like it. Like, everyone tells me that when I come to Singapore and stay so far away from you, we won't be as close as before anymore. Maybe it's true but I just won't accept it.

The seniors were shocked that I like the hostel food. My tray was eaten so clean that Betty brought some of her friends to see it! Like my tray is a piece of art or something. It's so disappointing not to receive any letters. I check the letter racks about twice a day.

Love, Pei Yi

Thursday 2 January

Dear Mei Yee

I'm now in CHIJ. It's 9.15 am. No lessons yet. I'm the only ASEAN scholar in my class. At the beginning of today, I was miserable, quiet, lonely and scared 'coz I felt lonely in class. I'm quite lost in school (I mean my sense of direction). Some people in my school puff out their uniforms at the chest and some wear their belts at their hips.

Hi! It's 2.30 pm. I'm back from school. School dismisses at 1.20 pm. I'm beginning to enjoy it. Our form teacher is Mrs Simons. My classmates are nice. There's a very friendly girl who looks very cute. Her name is Yoonphaik.

Our lessons are very interesting. The teachers are very interesting; they teach properly. Well, that's my impression of school after the first day … Our Add. Maths teacher is nice. Our history teacher is a Eurasian. Sometimes she takes her students to Malaysia or Java to see what they're learning. She said we might go to Penang this year.

The canteen food is so damn expensive. I ate delicious
wonton mee.
I want to join Choir. They sing Latin songs and sing in parts.

Our history is only about Malaysia and Singapore. Sigh! We have to write three-page essays for exam—you would be good at that. We did have some lessons today. Oh ya, I'm doing Combined Physics & Chemistry, not Pure Physics or Pure Chem. The Physics I learn is easier than the Science classes'.

Tomorrow, I'm taking a drawing test to see if I can take AEP. I really, really hope I'll be accepted to take AEP! They have free trips to Europe, America and Japan. They teach pottery, jewellery design, textile design, art criticism, art history, photography and art appreciation, and they have trips to buildings, art galleries, museums and art exhibitions. The teachers are really qualified and are from overseas. Only four schools in Singapore have this programme. But this programme is very difficult and we have to take it for O levels if we study it.

Alisa has a lot of admirers from my hostel and other hostels. Nicole is very
manja.
Sometimes she flaps her arms. I still have homework but I'm going to read
Archie
comics.

I'm a bit famous for eating everything on my tray during meals.

REPLY SOON! REPLY MORE!

Love, Pei Yi

Friday 3 January

Dearest Mei Yee

I've just taken the AEP test. There were two papers, half an hour each. For the first paper, we drew our hand holding something and for the other paper, we drew a building. I can't draw buildings.

There are a lot of cute and colourful posters pinned on my school walls everywhere; most of them are the societies' campaigns for inviting members. The art room is full of all sorts of creative things. Some pop art and all very colourful. Also sculpture. There was a life-size dummy that looked like a mummy and it scared me to death. I thought it was a dead person or something.

The room where we learn Malay is air-conned. For Eng. Lit. we read a love poem by Shakespeare. The teacher is nice.

My classmates aren't as good at Maths as I thought they would be, fortunately. My Maths teacher, Mrs Simons (she's Chinese but married to an
ang moh)
is very good at teaching.

Slept the whole afternoon, read
Archie
and broke my alarm clock. I read
Teenage
magazine and also
Teen
at night.

Your lucky day—30 Jan; the horoscope says your family will be an important aspect of your life this month.

I read an article in the papers today about a pair of seven-year-old twins in Penang who have a disease, progeria or something, that makes them age quickly. Their sizes are like four year olds but they are balding and dying fast.

Jen Nee's roommate is not an ASEAN scholar. She's just rich. She pays S$4000 a year for the hostel, S$3000 as a “donation” to Singapore, S$2000 to her school and S$57 a month in school fees! Singapore makes a lot of money through its education system!

I wonder how many bricks were used to build my house, or this hostel?

I haven't touched my homework at all today.

Love, Pei Yi

Sunday 5 January

Dearest Mei Yee

Why don't you write to me?? I just came back from Beauty World where we (nine of us) had lunch and then shopped. I'm locked out of my room 'coz I forgot to take out my keys and I can't find Nicole. We thought the name Beauty World was so funny, like we're going there to become beautiful, but actually it's just a very normal shopping complex. It's actually quite old. There's a huge foodcourt on the top floor with tons of different food stalls, almost like the hawker centres in Malaysia.

There was a machine there where you insert 40 cents and choose from four colours: red, blue, green and yellow. You arrange them according to the colour you like the most and the machine analyses your selection and tells you your character. It says I'm spontaneous and trusting and sometimes easily fooled. It also said I want to be famous. Everyone laughed.

I bought Chicken In A Biskit, Indomee, potato chips, a notebook and a file. I'm famous for my appetite.

Pau Leen is so cute and funny. She looks like the Abominable Snowman in one of the jokes and when she smiles, her rows of white teeth are so cute. When she smiles, you can see two rectangular rows of teeth! I'm going to take a photo of her to show you. She's quite tomboyish and very disciplined! She's also very fit and muscular and plays tennis and tons of other sports.

Yesterday was real fun! We and some other people from another hostel (CJC Hostel) went to East Coast Park. Have you been there? There're nice bike paths to cycle on. I rented a mountain bike and cycled a very long distance. We had a Signature Hunt, which was fun. I had to propose to so many people, and do other embarrassing stuff: kneel down, hold a guy's hand, walk around hand-in-hand with a guy and announce we're newly married, say “You've nice hips and a cheeky face” to five guys and hold their hips and pinch their faces … Some girls had to slow-dance with guys. There are over 80 names on the list and I've got only about 19 of their signatures. Three weeks more to do it. We also played three games—very, really, really fun!!

I've received my swimsuit and letters from my family. I phone home every week. My dad made a list of advice for me:

1  Focus on your priorities: safety, health, studies