Last weekend, we were asked to go to a
MFD branch in
Johor to host an English camp so we took a four hour bus ride there and were given three full days to teach students (ages 9-14). We decided to revamp our entire curriculum and start from scratch because we felt unsuccessful with our lesson at
Selangor. We developed word games and decided to use Dr. Seuss' "Cat in the Hat" to guide students through basic words. We also made a
Powerpoint so we could show them our lives in America.
Pre- and post- assessments were given to the students so we could compare their results and see if an improvement was made after teaching.
A weekend of teaching English is definitely not enough. The kids needed some time to get accustomed to our ASL and our teaching style. After they finally warmed up to us, we could only give lessons in a short span of time. They might have learned several new words and new rules but it definitely will require years for these students to finally be comfortable with the English language. Learning vocabulary words seemed so easy for the students at
Johor but once it came to English rules and pronouns, they showed signs of struggle. Maybe we were not able to make a big difference with them academic but I hope they become more motivated to study and work on their skills.
Many Deaf Malaysian students have low self confidence-- they believe they cannot succeed in America either because they are not smart enough or will not have the money to get there. They have seemingly decided that becoming a student at
Gallaudet is impossible. I hope now that they have met us- we changed their minds.
I have to admit the last week was quite frustrating for me. Maybe it is the difference in culture but it seems that time management differs completely between America and Malaysia. Here, many last minute plans are made and frequent changes are made in schedules. It wouldn't be fair for me to expect perfection from them but many things could have been avoided. After two weeks here, we were finally given a copy of the schedule today. There is also a lack of communication in the office and we were told different things from different people. Aside from that, everyone at the office is very friendly and curious about us and we enjoy talking to them. They learn from us as much as we learn from them!
I am also very homesick-- the food and lifestyle here is way too different. I am too used to living in clean, new conditions so sleeping on hard and flat mattresses next to lizards on the wall isn't too pleasing. At least I can really say I've lived through that.
On a brighter note, we have found our perfect breakfast! We went to this Indian restaurant in
Johor and had
Apom (rice flour dough dipped in coconut milk and brown sugar). We loved it so much-- we had it three mornings in a row! We also discovered a delicious drink with
longons (fruit resembling
lychees) on the bottom.
We drink coffee and tea often here because they make it so well especially when they blend it to the point of foaminess. We don't have to add sugar or
susu (milk) because it is already included.
While working at
Johor, we lived at a "
homestay" for the weekend. Basically a
homestay means we crash a person's home for a minimal fee and pretty much live with them (think
couchsurfing!). We stayed with an elderly Chinese man named
Jomi and his 4-years old son. It was quite an interesting experience-- we were shocked at the state of his very simple place but got used to it after a couple of nights. It was so bad that when the
MFD president arrived a few days later to join us, he ended up ditching us because he couldn't stand the thought of sleeping there and escaped to a hotel. :)
We had a nice BBQ dinner one of the nights there outside our
homestay-- Deaf grassroots came over and had honey/
blackpeppered chicken (Diana's new favorite!) with us and we chatted the night away. We also were taken to this gorgeous tree house restaurant where we ate barefoot on the floor up in a tree! I wish Maryland had something like this. We touched Danga Bay, a cute little boardwalk and did some shopping.
Lucky for us, Malaysia
fingerspelling is pretty much the same except for T and G plus it is easy to understand their sign language-- as expected, with Deaf people it is all about facial expressions and gestures. Any Deaf person can understand another Deaf person.
We felt more successful in teaching at
Johor because we were more prepared and had worksheets for the students to do. The students were energized and motivated to learn so we had a productive weekend. Many of the students' hearing parents were involved and came often to watch us teach, bringing us snacks. I could sense their support system and am very grateful that these kids have parents like that. Involved parents often, if not always, lead their children to success. To thank us, the students showered us with several gifts to remember them by! One family gave us figurines of angels because they believed we were angels for teaching their kids. It was very sweet of them :) We felt like celebrities because the kids kept asking for our autographs and photos with us!
Once again, we said our goodbyes to the students and wished them the best. I already wonder what kind of people they will turn out to be.
