Monday, February 18, 2008 / 13:34

Globalisation has different impacts on different people. Consequentially, some might support it whilst others might view it as a threat. Hence, globalisation can be safely defined as an international integration. It is a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society.

The positive impact of globalisation is that countries which have adopted a pro-globalisation policy have experienced an improvement in their standard of living as a result of an increase in income levels. Through trading and foreign investments, these countries have earned enough revenue which they have then used for education, health, defence, housing and transportation purposes. Through free trade, consumers from these nations have now the choice to purchase either foreign-imported or local goods. Thus, the increase of lifestyle choices has led to a better quality of life. Globalisation have three main impact on people. Economically, socially and environmentally.

The economic impacts. Increased competition among nations is also another impact of globalisation, both positive and negative. It is positive in the sense that increased competition for foreign investments and markets has led to further growth in the country such as the development of infrastructure. One such country that has benefitted from the intense competition is China, Dalian. However, inccreased competition has also its deficits in the sense that many developing countries encounter difficulties attracting foreign investments due to reasons such as poor infrastructure and political instability and are therefore caught in a situation where poverty remains throughout the lifespan of the living generation, and subsequentially it might be prolonged across generations. Another positive impact of increased competition among nations is foreign talent. With the advancements in technology, with globalisation, people a re able to move form country to country in search of leisure activities and employment. Highly skilled people are in high demand and with globalisation; people are presented with the opportunity to find empolyment in another country.

Another negative economic impact of globalisation is the widening of the income gap between the rich and poor countries. Not only has it resulted in rapid development in many countries, globalisation has also contributed to the spread of poverty in many other countries.

The social impacts. Through globalisation, there is an increase in the awareness of foreign talent by travelling, surfing the Internet and watching foreign movies which has all been made possible only by the creation of globalisation. A negative social impact of globalisation is the loss of local culture as the identical appearances of global brands such as McDonald’s and Starbucks have created a homogenous culture around the world. Globalisation has also led to the spread of pop culture acrooss the world that includes rap music, MTV and Hollywood movies that to many people have influenced youths negatively, losing their interest in local culture.

The negative economical impacts of globalisation such as environmental degradation have resulted in many people and environmentalists to oppose globalisation. Deforestation has caused many other environmental problems such as soil erosion, extinction of flora and fauna, increase in flooding and the haze. Globalisation has also worsened environmental problems such as global warming. Though, supporters of globalisation have argued that globalisation has its good economical impacts such as an increase in awareness of sustainable development.

What’s my take on globalisation then? Well, as I sit in study room with air conditioning from Japan, furniture from China and uploading my homework on the Net, I’ll have to say that I am in favour of globalisation. I mean, who am I to complain?

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 / 18:11

As the famed philosopher and writer Voltaire had said, “Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.” Personally, I find food to be a pleasure. Something that is evidently hereditary. During weekends my family and I would often go out as a family to different cultural eateries to try out the food. So far, we have eaten Indonesian, Chinese, (halal, of course) Italian, Mexican and the most recent being Turkish food.

We chanced upon Café le Cairè located at 39 Arab street by accident. My brother made a wrong turn and we saw the shop and decided to try it since we were famished and we didn’t really think that we could rely on my brother’s terrible sense of direction. Since we did not have any knowledge nor experience in choosing the Turkish dishes, the waiter suggested a few dishes that were their specialities.

The dish that I particularly liked was the Foul with Harissa and Hummus. It is a combination of Foul Mesdammes, Harissa and Hummus. Foul, which is fava beans cooked with chick peas garbanzo beans, garlic, lemon and olive oil is a popular working class breakfast in Turkey. Harissa is a Tunisian hot red sauce or paste made from chili peppers (often smoked or dried) and garlic, often with coriander and caraway or cumin and served with olive oil. It may also contain tomatoes. It somewhat resembles sambal and chili sauce. Hummus is a puree of chickpeas with garlic and spices added.

The dish was served with chickpea dip and pita bread. The hummus was especially delightful, tangy, lemony smooth and creamy. The harissa was salty and hot, with a roasted pepper taste to it. I didn’t try the foul Mesdames so I wouldn’t know how it tasted like.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend you to try this dish. I assure you that you won’t regret it!

Enjoy!

Friday, February 8, 2008 / 13:47

Dear Mrs Yeo,

How are you? I hope you are feeling better. Everyone in 4E6, myself included, misses you and your wacky lessons. We were saddened to hear last year that you would not be teaching us anymore. Anyway, even though you are not here, I still feel as though you should know what has happened or is happening here at Kent Ridge.

Firstly, let me talk about the Community Involvement Programme (CIP) that was conducted yesterday. Instead of having the CIPs for the different levels held separately during different days, the school has incorporated all of our CIPs on one day. The day, Youth Hands-On Day, was a no-lessons day. This year, the activities are more beneficial to the community as compared to the CIP activities in the previous years. The secondary one students had to clean the school compound, including all of the classes. The secondary two and five students meanwhile had to be rag-and-bone men and women for the day. By that, I mean that they had to go from door-to-door, along Teban Gardens, to ask for old newspapers to be recycled. The secondary three students had an entrepreneurship workshop whilst the secondary four express and normal students had a visit to the homes of elderly folk.

To prepare for our visit, we had to prepare food hampers to be presented to the elderly upon our arrival at their homes. We were to form groups of three to four. In my group were Ren Feng, Ernest, Suriani and myself. We were assigned to go to the home of Mdm Chen Yoke Lan, located at Geylang Bahru. Aunty Anita was the in-charge of our group. We received a surprise once we reached the apartment, which had two small bedrooms and an equally small living room. Apart from the fact that she was wheelchair-bound, the old woman surprised us as she was not alone, as we had initially assumed. She was in fact staying with her husband and a tenant. They were a very welcoming and cheerful couple and that relieved us, as we did not want grouchy, grumpy and bitterly elderly folk who would not have appreciated our efforts. Although there was a language barrier between us, I felt that my visit to the elderly’s house was greatly appreciated by our hosts as I felt they were deprived of the attention, love and care that they deserved.

Even though their home could use cleaning up, our gracious hosts insisted we do not trouble ourselves. We left after chatting with them, so as not to intrude on their hospitality. We then separated and joined different groups to help them. I joined Marvin, Wei Siong and Roy’s group. Mrs Tee was supervising them. The elderly lady present was a single woman in her late sixties. She used to stay with her sister at another apartment but moved out following her sister’s death. As she was never married, she was truly alone and had no one else in the world.

I really felt that this CIP activity was a fruitful exercise as it has truly opened our eyes to the plight of these senior citizens. It makes me realise how us as youngsters and children, it is our responsibility to take care of the old as they have taken care of us as infants. I made a promise to myself, that I will never, ever let my own parents ever come to such a miserable state. I really appreciate the CIP activity and fell fortunate to g=have experienced it. Even though flag-selling is still a noble cause and does help the senior citizens indirectly, I felt that this direct approach of actually witnessing the standard of their living really tugs at our heartstrings. It truly exemplifies our school value, the Heart of a Saint!

Anyway, I hope I have not bored you with my endless chatter and hopes this letter brings you a little happiness as it comes directly from my heart. Please do get better soon and come back to Kent Ridge. I hope to see you soon.

With lots of love,
Fatimah A Salam
4E6

Wait here”, my sister told me. “I’m going to find my friends”. With that, she left me in the foyer of my new school, Kent Ridge Secondary School. I looked about and all around me were secondary one students, just like me. But unlike me, they were either accompanied by their parents or their primary school friends. There wasn’t a familiar face at all. I felt like a lone tourist in a foreign land.

I walked about the foyer aimlessly, reading the posters and appearing nonchalant. But in truth, I was a bundle of nerves. Initially, my parents had wanted to accompany me but my sister who would be taking her O’ Levels that year assured them she could take care of me. But once we reached the school, she deserted me. I was devising ways to kill her in her sleep when from the corner of my eye, I spotted a couple of familiar faces : Shazwani and Firdhaus who were my schoolmates in primary school had just walked through the foyer. I attempted to approach them but was blocked by the seas of bodies that of my new schoolmates and their anxious parents. When I finally got to where I last saw Shazwani and Firdhaus, they were gone. Afraid I might be lost, I did not try to pursue them and stayed where I was, mentally cursing the students and their parents who had blocked my way earlier.

As I stood at the foot of the stairs that was situated in the foyer, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and sae a girl there, the words that came out of her mouth next were the most beautiful words I have ever heard.
“Hi! I’m Juraidah, a student councillor”, she said “Follow me, I’ll bring you to your class.” I stared at my angel for a few seconds before my brain processed what she said. I nodded eagerly. She brought me up two flights of stairs to the hall. Once I was safely settled, my angel then smiled at me, spread her wings and took off. Actually, she walked out of the hall.

I then took out a book, Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Dancing Puppet, and started to read. As I engaged in my favourite pastime, my anxiety slowly subsided. I
had fallen in love with books from the time my father presented me with my first Enid Blyton storybook, “The Flyaway Cottage”. In a way, reading was a rather therapeutic experience for me. As I read on, I slowly lost awareness of my surroundings as I delved into the realm of fantasy and fiction. Instead of students around me, I found myself alone in another place. I felt like I was part of the story as it captured my imagination and brought me to new heights.

I was finally awoken from my stupor by the school bell. On stage, an intimidating figure decked out head to toe in Adidas sports gear greeted us in a loud, booming masculine voice. He introduced himself as Mr Koh and welcomed us new students into the school. After that a series of figures of authority in the school gave their routine, and I have to say highly boring speeches. After the last speaker, Ms Chamb, our principal, we were dismissed and a student councillor brought u to our classroom on the first floor. After the councillor left us, a fair-skinned woman who was in her mid-30s and slightly greying around the temples greeted us in cheerful American-accented English and introduced herself as our form teacher, Ms Karina Heng.

After our basic introductions, Ms Heng gave us a set of expectations. She called them Ms Heng’s six P’s. They are: Politeness, Punctuality, Practise, Properly, Preparedness and Projection. In six words, she had summed up the essentials that are requisites in making a good student. After she had finished setting her expectations and class rules she left and more student councillors came and brought us to the hall for icebreaker games. I had fun playing games such as Concentration and Whack-O. But as the saying goes, time flies past fast when you’re having fun. Sure enough, it felt soon when it was time to go home. We went back to our class and packed up.

My sister came to fetch me from class and we walked out together. By that time, the anger I had felt towards her earlier for abandoning me had completely subsided. Still, she felt guilty and apologised. She asked who had brought me up to the hall. I simply said, “An angel”.

Monday, February 18, 2008 / 13:34

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 / 18:11

Friday, February 8, 2008 / 13:47

Like An Angel

WANTS

Break The Silence

FRIENDS!!!:)

Credits

Rewind