Monday, December 19, 2011

My Once in A Life Time Experience in USA : January 4 - May 20, 2011

posted Mar 18, 2011 8:04 PM by  Tee (lila - I am in my black sweater far right in the pic)   [ updated Jul 7, 2011 8:03 AM ]
Spring Break? Well....like any other "child" in schools, I was looking forward of our
spring break too. On March 8 till 10, Diana Utami, Omar Belkadi and I went to Chicago
 in a double decker bus. That was the first time I got on a double decker bus. In Malaysia,
we are a bit skeptical in chosing a double decker because there was a terrible tragic
 accident involving a double decker bus last two years. One of the passengers of the
bus died with her head's missing after the bus rammed into a divider and she was on
 the ground deck during the accident. I was praying all the time hoping that there
 would not be a fatal accident or something during my ride. One thing I observe
 here in the States is that the drivers and motorists are driving slowly compared
to Malaysian drivers. That made me a bit confident taking the Megabus to Chicago.
We departed at 9.15 a.m. and I took the upper deck together with my friends. We
arrived in Chicago on time at 4.30 p.m. The weather was nice and we took a taxi
to Willows Hotel. After we left our luggage in the hotel, we went to Michigan Avenue
 in a adjoining bus after a few metres of walking off the road to the hotel. The weather
 was always cold in Chicago..in fact freezing cold and colder than Kentucky! We
saw the great Michigan Lake and it was beautiful! After taking dinner at the Food
 Court in one of the malls, we went back to the hotel. Our room was small but it
 was spick and span. I like the body lotion provided by the hotel because it was
a good quality one. I have never had a very good quality body lotion provided
by a hotel. Or may be I have never tried any since I have never bothered to
apply any when I was in Malaysia. Funny. Now I am in the States, I can't leave
 home with applying body lotion! It is so dry here that my skin is peeling off by
itself. Come spring, things would get better I guess. Less skin peeling..
The following day, it was raining and misty. We took a train ride this time.
The visibility in the city was impossible with the Lake faded in the thick mist.
It was a beautiful sight! You can see the summit or peak of the tower missing
 or faded in the thick mist. We took some great photos by the lake. We went
 on the hop on bus to get to the aquarium and the museum. We watched
 the Beluga Whale show in the afternoon and I must say, they have a good
collection of aqua life here. Oh there was also an old seal in the aquarium.
 A huge one! Unfortunately, I did not see any big sharks like I got to see in
 Kuala Lumpur Aquaria in KLCC tower! There was also a diver swimming
in the tank feeding the fish as a display for people to see here. Oh we
 watched "Happy Feet" 3D movie with the sound effects and action effects
 too! Our seats tickled us and there was wind blowing under your seat for
 total physical effects.  The staff blew bubble soap to give extra effect to
the movie.
Later in the evening, we went on the hop on bus for a tour of the town.
It was raining and freezing cold. Though it was freezing cold, Omar and
I went up the upper deck to be with other tourists with our guide to view
the whole city. It was awesome and I really enjoyed myself taking lots of
pics in the rain! People waved at us and they might think we were crazy
 people sitting in the rain in the chilly-bone weather!
The next day, we went to the Planetarium and went around in it within an
 hour. Nothing interesting though. All the shows were closed and some
were in the process of updating their service. However, I snapped lots
of photos of the astronomy tools, commets and planet models. Then we
 went to Michigan Avenue again to shop. I bought a  cleansing set from
Clinique, some clothes and a pair of Levis jeans. Diana bought a jacket
 and a sweater. Omar did not buy anything. After dinner, we went home.
 I stopped the bus too early that we had to walk a few feets to get to the
hotel and we walked along the zoo's lake.
The following day, we went to the Natural Museum to watch the "Journey
 of Sue" in 3D. I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary but Diana went asleep.
 Very funny. I got to take pics of the biggest dinosaur's remains in the world!
I bought a few mood rings and post cards too. We were supposed to ride
 the trolley but we did not check our Sky Deck ticket! It was a complimentary
 ride that came along with the Sky Deck ticket. After taking a bus ride to
 Michigan Avenue, we walked 5 blocks to Willis Tower to go up the sky deck.
 It was taking too long to reach the top as the main elevator was under
 maintainance. After almost 2 hours of waiting, we got to be on the sky
deck. The view was awesome! I took pictures on th Ledge! The ledge
 is a glass balcony that can show you Chicago's aerial view for 180
degree.
Be careful, make sure you are not afraid of height. I was afraid a bit,
but I crawled to get to the middle of the ledge and took some pics. It was
 awesome. Anybody who wants to visit Chicago must go up the Sky
Deck, the second highest building in the world. I was so proud to see
 KLCC was enlisted as part of the highest building alongside
Willis Tower.
After taking dinner, we went to the bus stop to wait for the megabus
 to head back to Cincinnati. At 9.30p.m., came a women down a bus
telling us all sort of stories of how unfortunate she was. She said her
 husband was killed in accident that day and she had no money and
no place to go! She even made storiesof how she was pregnant with
6 children left behind at home to starve. What a con! I just said I was
sorry to know that. She thought Diana and I were dumb as other people.
Who would believe her anyway? Then the bus came at 10.30 p.m. and
I took the best VIP seat which was the front seat in the upper deck!
I got to sit all by myself alone in the bus.
We arrived in Cincinnati at 4.00 in the morning and our bus was involved
in a minor accident with a car. What a start for a day! Anyway, we
were lucky, while the bus driver was sorting out with the police and
 the other passengers, our bus number 25 came. The lady bus driver
 was kind enough to stop picking us home. I arrived home at Hampton
Farms safely and started my sleeping journey for hours for the
 rest of the day!
The best part of my spring break was when I had the chance to
 meet my friend whom I knew through online before I came to the States.
 I haven't seen him and his family at the beginning of my stay because
he was out station. The last weekend I met my friend and that has
completed my stay when I have met all my friends here; Kathy and
 Greg. I am so happy to be able to see them in person. What a spring break!

My Classes In Ockerman Middle School

posted Feb 21, 2011 8:55 AM by Tee Mn   [ updated Mar 26, 2011 9:42 AM ]
I love teaching. Therefore,
 when NKU wanted to make
it three weeks of my internship
 in Ockerman Middle School,
 I was so glad. I was thrilled 
 to have the 6th Graders in my
class.
 I shall miss them when I
 am gong to leave next week,.
I wish there would a smiley
 that can show my face 
expression
 of being gloomy! 
I love talking
 to Jacob Crowell, 

Nicky,Megan, Austin, Jamie,
Andrew, and Alberto everyday!
They would come and hug me
 and ask so many questions everyday. I even got 
them in videos!I had taught poetry in all five classes.
 Along the way, I had done a few powerpoints and
 videos for the class to enjoy and learn.
 Jacob Crowell shouted in the class
 " Madam Lila, you must be
 the best teacher in the whole world 
because you have videos in
 all of your classes!". Hahahaha....I love that boy! 
What a compliment. Kids love videos and that can
 attract their attention. Jacob's class is in
the 7 th period and I can understand how bored he 
would be in the 7 th period. He welcomed videos very 
much! Anyway, my lesson is on peotry and it is always
 nice to listen and watch some poet recitation
 from famous people or even school children.
 Poems have a lot of motivational and inspirational 
words in them. I got a video recording
 of some of my winners, for pleasure viewing. 
I gave a packet of chocolate to all winners of my
 classes and extra one to the 7 th period! They were 
so talented and I really enjoyed listening to their grimmes
and whinnes. Ockerman, I am going to miss you dearly...Jorden,
do you miss your teacher?

Shooting Day

posted Feb 12, 2011 7:36 PM by Tee Mn   [ updated Feb 15, 2011 4:19 PM ]
Guess what I
did today? I went for
a shooting adventure!
 Frank Duke sent me
an email asking me
whether I wanted to
go to a shooting
 club named
 Miami Shooting
Club on Saturday.
 I replied positively
but Hassan could
not make it. So,
 on the February
 12, 2011, I went
 alone with Frank
to the shooting
range. Carol could
 not make it
 too as she was
tutoring a student
who has
 a learning disability. Most of her students are ADD. Frank came
to pick me up at 9.00 a.m. and he drove along the countryside to
a place called Miami, Ohio. It was a lovely sight to see the barns
 and horses here. A lot of farmers' houses too which are put for sale.
We arrived at 9.35 in the morning and went to see the places and
 shooting range. There was a group of sharp shooters who were
taking part in a shooting competition for 300 yards. Then we went
 to a place where peopel can shoot anything even a CPU! Empty
 shells were everywhere! The first time I heard a gun shoot at
 a near distant, my heart wanted to explode. It was so loud,
 lucky I was given an ear protector by Frank. Then we went
to a place for the shooting of shot guns. Frank got 3 shot guns
 and a rifle. I tried all 3 shotguns. It was fun and it was not
difficult at all. I shot at the distance of 30 feets. I almost got
 a bull eyes! Wow....not bad for a beginner, Frank said that to me.
But I think if I were to shoot in the summer, it would be a better
 result. The weather was cold as usual at around 44 F and
my fingers were almost frozen. I had to take off my jacket
and gloves so as to give myself some comfort of shooting.
My feet was cold too. I should have brought my boots to the
 shooting range. I was taught to load bullets and how to
 handle a pistol. It was heavy and my hands were cold.
But I managed to shoot quite good too. After shooting,
we went to Wall Mart and I shopped pizza and fruits.
Then we headed to Frank's house to take lunch with
Carol at home. Frank cooked for us rice, vegetable
and salmon. At 2.20 p.m. Frank sent me home in his
 Honda S2000 sport car converter .....in the winter!
 I have never had a ride in a sport car before and that
was fun! I am glad that I went out today.

Internship at Ockerman Middle School

posted Feb 12, 2011 5:22 PM by Tee Mn   [ updated May 1, 2011 12:41 PM ]
On the February 7, I went to
 Ockerman Middle School
 for my internship. I got
 6 th graders and they
are 11- 12 yearsold kids.
My partner teacher's name
is Linda Williams. I had a
great time being with the
kids at Ocker. The first they
 were curious and they
waved and said "Hi" to
 me. But I already get to
 know a few of them.
Jamie, Jacob, Megan
 and Ally Stanton.
The following week I was in Ocker, I got more friendly students
came to shake hands and said "Hi". I had done my country's
presentation on the second day of my first week in Ocker.
 The kids loved the video presentation and they asked a lot of
questions.
 One of the questions was "Madam Lila, if you are covering your
head, how can you go into the beach, do you wear bikinis to go
 into the sea?". It was hillarious and I said, we did not go out
swimming anymore and mostly kids and men would take the swim
 out in the sea. The first two periods we could not make the video
presentation but only the power point was working. Towards the
end, the last three classes had a lot of questions to ask me.
The next morning, I showed the first two classes my video
 of Malaysia and the kids loved it too. One of them asked me;
the video potrayed that as if Malaysia was a great place to
be with everything is there.I said, "If you asked, I woud definitely
say yes, it is because I come from Malaysia and I love my
country very much".

Host Family

posted Feb 11, 2011 6:43 PM by Tee (lila)  Mn   [ updated Feb 12, 2011 5:22 PM ]
On the February  6,  7 and 8, I went to a friendship family in Cincinnati,
 Ohio. The couple that Hassan and I got lives in Anderson Township.
They have a lovely house with a spectacular view with small woods
and lots of deers, squirrels and birds! In the house itself there are
 three big fat fluffy cats! Mr and Mrs Dukes love to travel and they
 just got back from Morocco. That probably why Hassan was
chosen to be part of the teachers coming to this family. I asked
Carol about me. She said that she wanted a Moroccon and a
Malaysian teacher because her daughter had travelled to
 Malaysia. I was so happy that I got a good family with warm
 hospitality. Frank picked us up at the Cincinnati World Affairs
 and brought us home after some refreshment. On the way
 home, we stopped at the top view; which looked like a park
 with lots of jogging track. From the top of the hill, we could
see the Ohio river and the town on the other side. Then we
went to a supermarket; BIG, and bought oyster sauce and
a sushi packed for our dinner. That first night I cooked
 fried rice with lots of brocolli and shrimp. Everyone
tasted it and said that it was scrumptious. So, the following night
I cooked again to all 4 of us. They all had champagne with
the rice and they love it!
On Saturday, we went to the

Cincinnati Museum with Frank,
 Carol and Hassan. It was the first
 time I got the chance to watch
 IMAX movie on the Hubble Telescope.
The cinema was awesome because

 it was a dome screen, You have to lift your
 head to see all and move your head left
and right. We also had a tour of the museum that 
we had the chance to
 go into Amtrax Chairman and Board Meeting Room. I spent a lot here
buying key chains for people back home.
On Sunday, we walked along 5 miles of Anderson Trail at the
neighbourhood. Wow, I have never walked this far before.
It was suprising to see Frank and Carol were so fit walking
 that distant. They probably do their regular walking all the
time. I was uncomfortable as I needed to go to the bathroom
 after 2.5 miles. There was no restroom of course along the trail.
 Lucky there was a pet shop cum hotel that was opened that day.
 Mr Frank Duke went in and asked if it was ok for me to use
 the bathroom. The shop owner let me use his toilet. I was glad.
 Then we headed home in only a few minutes. We even took
 a picture of an old log cabin built some 300 years ago. After
 we rested for a while, Frank and Carol took us to a Mexican
 restaurant; Two Amigos for lunch. Wow, it was scrumptious
and sumptuous del trio with lots of shrimps in it! There were
 some tortilla bread and rice too. I could not finish the bread
but managed to eat all the shrimps and talapia! The drink was
superb too; a mango punch with an umbrella on top of it.
Then after lunch, we went back to the house and at 5.00 p.m.
Carol and Frank took us back to the apartment. I arrived home
 at 5.30 p.m. At 6.00 p.m., I had to go to Elizabeth's house to
watch Superbowl and there was a party, more of a eating and
drinking party while watching the game. Steelers lost and Gray
won the game. I went home at 9.00 p.m. feeling tired because
 I got a busy day that day.

SHOP TILL YOU DROP!

posted Jan 27, 2011 5:22 AM by Tee (lila)  Mn   [ updated Feb 3, 2011 6:57 AM ]
Ever since I was here in Kentucky, the wonderful people of NKU
 have taken me on tours to a few interesting shopping complexes
and outlets. In comparisons, there are pretty  much like the malls
 that we have back home. Once I was in the bus, our handsome
 bus driver, Mark, asked me "Do you have such malls back home?"
I replied,"Of course! A lot of them, coz I love shopping every end
 of the month, hahaha!" Now I will give a recount of my shopping

 day that I had so far.
January 8: We went to Goodwill
 with Mr David and Ruth to get
 some winter clothing. I bought
 only two sweaters as I did not
want to buy a lot of clothes in
 such a hurry. On the way back
to the apartments, we stopped at
 Kruger to get our groceries and
 toiletries. I spent USD61.63.

January 9 : We went to Cincinnati New Tower to get a bird's eye
 view of the city of Cincinnati and the Ohio River that separates
the two parts of US; north and south of the States. I bought two
 fridge magnets and some postcards of  Ohio. I made a big mistakes
 of not buying 10-12 magnets as my colleagues love to get these
 magnets as souvenirs. Then we headed to Macy, but I did not
 buy anything as nothing there appealled to me.

January 11 : Walmart! I have some friends who are working in
Walmarts. I have never thought I would be shopping in this
famous American-family-favourite store! I spent USD50.00
at Walmart. Wow, everything we buy here is taxable. When
 I bought a small bottle of shampoo, I was informed of the
price and the tax of the goods that I bought. I struck me
because a single item was taxable regardless its price and
 quality.

January 14: We went to a Halal Store and it was the place
 that I had been waiting for. I wanted to get some chickens
 or may be halal beef to cook my special "Rendang";
 a Malay authentic cuisine for the International Potluck
 at the Student Union. I spent a lot here and I got my
decent rice and chicken curry at this eatery. Next door
 it was Walgreens and I took the opportunity to shop
 again! I went into the supermarket with Diana to get
some supplements and to my joy, I found a cute little
 rice cooker! I spent another USD27.80 here in Walgreens.

At Walgreens, I saw a policeman with his big pistol on his waist.
 I asked Ruth why was it they ever need a policeman to guard
the supermarket. Ruth replied that probably it was not a safe
neighbourhood and probably there was once a robbery there
that they needed a policeman there. Back home we only have
 security guards to patrol the supermarkets.

January 22 : Omar, Vincent, Adi, Diana and I went to
Goodwill in Newport on our own. We took the tank bus
number 25 and reached Newport at noon. We asked
 around on how to get to Goodwill and lucky came this guy,
named Joseph to our aid.He showed us the way to Goodwill
till to its door step. Gosh, we were so lucky! I bought a pair
 of winter sneekers, sweaters and two bags. Unfortunately,
 we could not get the bus on our way home. So, we have
been stranded a few hours till the last bus came. It was a
 good experience though we were out in the cold chilling
weather for hours. To put it laconically, we had fun all day
 long regardless the misfortune of being  stranded in the cold.

January 23 : Kathy Burns is my good friend living in Marrietta,
 Ohio. She came to see me after she had a night at her
 step-daughter's house the day before. She took me to
 lunch at Pizza Hut and then we went to Toys R Us to get
 some toys for my kids. I managed to buy only two MP3 as
 I could not get a PSP available there that day. Then we went
to JC Penny and I bought an hearing for myself and a wedding
ring for my husband. I gave Kathy a T-shirt as a souvenir.
We had a wonderful time and she went back to her daughter's
place at 8.00 p.m. She promised to come and visit me again
 before I went home.

WASHINGTON D.C.

posted Jan 25, 2011 7:24 AM by Tee Mn (me in the purple headcover)    [ updated Apr 9, 2011 9:50 PM ]
USA here I come! I arrived
 in Washington D.C. on
 January 4, 2011 along
with 4 other Malaysian
fellows. I arrived at the
 airport at 6.45 a.m. in
 the cold freezing weather
 of Washington D.C.
We were greeted by
 one of IREX staff
and later waited for
2 Bangladeshi fellows
who went missing
 in the airport.It turned out 
that they could not find us at the exit.
We were taken to Washington Plaza at around 9 a.m. and
 registered ourselves in one of the rooms. I am here for the
International Leadership and Education Programme (ILEP)
 2011. I will be going to NKU after 3 days of orientation days
in Washington D.C. I stayed at the Washington Plaza for 2 nights.
 During the last day here, we visited Smithsonian Museum and the
 Capitol Building for half a day trip.It was marvellous to be able in
 the university which is so famous for the movie; "Night At
The Museum"!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

USA

Ruth and I : in Kings Island, Ohio.
Diana, Omar, Vincent and I at Goodwill, Newport, KY on Januari 22, 2011.


Me : In front of Student Union, NKU.

Mrs Metzger, Charu, Michelle, Prasant and I at Mrs Metzger's house.

The ILEP group during our adventure at Mammoth Cave, KY.
I was in the US from Januari 4, 2011 until May 19, 2011 attending a short course and a semester of graduate study in Northern Kentucky University, KY, USA.