a different world

i'm currently using this big bulky pentium 3 desktop running on a red hat Linux platform. it's The Husband's tinker-around-and-practise pc. i must say this Linux platform is rather interesting. i read somewhere about the 19-yr old whizkid who came up with it. genius. and it's free.

for Maal Hijrah we went to Al-Hidayah Mosque in Hepburn, the masjid melayu. very nice and well-maintained. ilhan made friends with 2 makciks over his Power Rangers and 'A New House for Mouse' book. i was observing the naturalised makciks there, some probably nenek's age and who have been there for decades and i wonder how they did it. don't they miss home and things familiar?

ilhan lost Zee, his yellow Power Ranger somewhere in the Freo market on Sunday. i was more sad than mad cos Angah gave it to him. that night he called Angah and told her the news in his tak-bersalah voice. and added that she could buy him a new one plus the pink one, Syd. and 'Power Ranger jahat' if she's feeling a bit generous. haha.

TV's really boring these days. kalau tak tennis on Australian Open, cricket. there's some cricket fever going on with the neighbours' kids batting and bowling on their lawns. i'm trying to understand cricket from The Husband, which Ayah knows inside out, by the way. He grew up at the Singapore Cricket Club and as a boy played the occasional game with the mat sallehs when they were short of people. very colonial game, this one.

yesterday was spent running around and confirming that my options are pretty much limited given the circumstances. first of all, i'm a malay language teacher, and it's not exactly a staple around here. i thought of perhaps doing malay tuition for malay kids here, but from the looks of it, i get the feeling that losing command of the mother tongue (malay) is not really an issue with most malay parents here. a different picture from Bilingual Families Perth, this community-initiated group whom i'm getting to know. they expound the benefits of bilingualism and are full of resources to help parents go in that direction. there are Kidz Language Clubs in lots of languages - Europeans, East Asian, Indian - except Malay. sad huh.

ok, so anyway, my lack of skills in any other employable sector is glaring, and no, i'm not really a childcare person (anak sendiri boleh leh) and neither am i a good cook (we'll get to that in a while). how i wish i'm a doctor/nurse/graphic designer/physioptherapist/podiatrist/chirocpractor etc, then finding a niche is so easy here. so yeah, i was looking thru the TAFE prospectus (their version of the polytechnic) and was looking into some courses which somehow appeals to me.

i was seriously considering getting accreditation as a translator/interpreter from NAATI (the national body) and went to their office and then the unfriendly lady told me 9/10 people fail their test (which cost about $400 by the way). she said they are testing for skills, not bilingualism, and i thought, "OK...so maybe i need to get the skills first". so i went to TAFE and asked about this Diploma in Interpeting, and *dang*...the languages that they're offering this year are Burmese, Thai and African languages. since my Thai is more for bargaining and small talk, and i speak neither Burmese nor Afrikaan, there goes my option.

and then i saw this Diploma in Library Services but it's 2 yrs full-time. i might as well take up a masters or something given the time-frame. and i can't just yet cos only one of us can afford to study at a time, and besides, i can't really work cos then i'll have to spend a bomb on childcare. and so 2007 shall be a year of discovery and learning for both me and ilhan.

i signed up for the IELTS english test just now, a must if i want to get my teaching qualifications accredited. the test and the accreditation both cost a huge bomb, and i have to ace it. i'm a little annoyed, though, at this IELTS requirement. it's complusory for anyone who doesnt come from Australia, UK, US, NZ (dan kawasan mat saleh yg sewaktu dengannya). the academic one that i'm taking is something like A Level GP. the application form asks how many years have i 'been learning the English Language'. amusing, since you need to just open the newspapers classified section to see that the aussies are the ones who can't even spiel porperley.

ok, enough about that. i've contacted a Muslim playgroup recommended by the Muslim Women's Support Committee, and i think we'll join them for a trip to the Zoo on Thursday. Interestingly, on his own Ilhan is attempting to speak in English. it sounds pretty much gibberish except for the recognisable word here and there eg " An-an shsheJUMPshezshezheWATERkdjnkdSWIMMING!" very commendable. among his more successful attempts are "What time Power Ranger?", "Are you monster? I Power Ranger!" , "Are you ok, Baba?" and "Wake up Baba!". we now go on 70-30 malay-english.

on the domestic front, i'm proud to say that the cooking's going pretty well. let me first admit that i'm not the greatest cook, and i've not cooked meals for quite sometime, so i warned The Husband that the first few times might be a hair-raising experience. hence i would like to express my admiration and gratitude for his support and diplomacy about the terlebih cili-terkurang itu/ini for the past week. Ilhan's the best - makan tambah 2-3 kali and he never fails to say dengan muka-muka sekali dan mata tutup-tutup "Mmmm...SUdapnyaaa!!" i love my son! hee hee hee!