A Taste of Love.
A Taste of Love
I'll admit it. I really didn't felt like going for love letter making this morning when I got home late (as usual) from CCA last night. I wasn't in the mood for slaving over a hot tiny stove to fold and roll the fragile little pancakes and stuff slips of paper inside them. The only thing that dragged me out of my bed this morning was the fact that I'd promised a few people that I would go for it.
Even so, I arrived around 15 minutes late, entering a canteen with many people crowding around a table, watching the "expert" on how to make those simple snacks. Teachers, students and children alike were ready and waiting to start the long, arduous process.
I started working with Jia Teck on one of the pancake makers, and the first batch came out pretty badly, with most of the pancake being stuck to the, well, pan. We then spent another five minutes on scraping off the charred remains and reoiling the pan with a few swipes.
We worked a little faster on the second batch, quickly throwing the folded paper onto the letter and immediately folding them with both hands and chopsticks. It took us some time, but we got it done. I felt a little proud of my first creation. It may have not been professional, but hey, the paper was safe inside, and the letter itself was not unfolding.
A few songs (Obviously including the Happy Working Song) later, Sara, Shuqi, Jia Teck and I were getting used to the cycle - Pour batter, close, wait, put paper, fold, rinse and repeat. The only things breaking the monotony was us singing to whatever song that came up, and simple chats with everyone else.
The teachers were strategically crowded around the table near the television, as they wanted to watch a pretty exciting match for the Australian Open, and thus depriving me and Jia Teck of Pokemon, but then again we really didn't mind.
I also saw Mr Lim coming in his army uniform, and found out he actually came all the way back to the hostel from re-service just to offer a hand to help out in making the love letters. He declared that although he helped in the previous year, he has no recollection on how anything is done. No matter, as a few minutes later he was folding the delicate snacks as skillfully as any other one in the canteen.
Mr Yeo was interacting quite alot with the children, and also enlisted their help with the "project". They soon turned themselves into deliverymen and letter counters, making sure each class had enough. They seemed to be enthusiastic, and always were rewarded with multiple thanks and smiles. I looked at them, and wondered whether they ever though of growing up to be a Dunmanian.
I got some time to talk to Liang Wei and the Year Two guys who made much progress with the help of Mr Siva. I rarely talk to the Year Twos, but was glad that I was able to get a short albeit fun exchange with them.
Around some time, we saw one of the cleaners looking into the canteen, seemingly curious about what we were doing. Jia Teck thought of giving him some of the love letters, and he was very grateful, thanking us and promising to share with his colleagues. We also gave away some to any hostel people who dared to ask.
Mrs Theng came in halfway and was shocked to see what our love letters looked like so far, complaining it was too thick. Apparently, her method of making the love letters required half the amount of batter we'd been using for the past 2 hours, and we were quite surprised ourselves.
We also saw Mr Sng making time to bring his family down to help out for a while. His presence alone was greatly encouraging, and we saw yet again how humble a principal we had. He wasn't afraid to ask us anything - When the love letter he was folding crumbled, he gave me a look, somewhat meaning "What now?" I gave a little laugh saying "Don't worry, you can eat it."
The process of making these love letters were filled with warmth, a little from the pans, but so much more from the atmosphere of everyone spreading the new year cheer through this simple snack. I really didn't regret going for this, as I got a look at how much the teachers loved their students, and the effort they put in to give us this little bit of emotion - After all, these letters are all packed with an important ingredient - love.
I'll admit it. I really didn't felt like going for love letter making this morning when I got home late (as usual) from CCA last night. I wasn't in the mood for slaving over a hot tiny stove to fold and roll the fragile little pancakes and stuff slips of paper inside them. The only thing that dragged me out of my bed this morning was the fact that I'd promised a few people that I would go for it.
Even so, I arrived around 15 minutes late, entering a canteen with many people crowding around a table, watching the "expert" on how to make those simple snacks. Teachers, students and children alike were ready and waiting to start the long, arduous process.
I started working with Jia Teck on one of the pancake makers, and the first batch came out pretty badly, with most of the pancake being stuck to the, well, pan. We then spent another five minutes on scraping off the charred remains and reoiling the pan with a few swipes.
We worked a little faster on the second batch, quickly throwing the folded paper onto the letter and immediately folding them with both hands and chopsticks. It took us some time, but we got it done. I felt a little proud of my first creation. It may have not been professional, but hey, the paper was safe inside, and the letter itself was not unfolding.
A few songs (Obviously including the Happy Working Song) later, Sara, Shuqi, Jia Teck and I were getting used to the cycle - Pour batter, close, wait, put paper, fold, rinse and repeat. The only things breaking the monotony was us singing to whatever song that came up, and simple chats with everyone else.
The teachers were strategically crowded around the table near the television, as they wanted to watch a pretty exciting match for the Australian Open, and thus depriving me and Jia Teck of Pokemon, but then again we really didn't mind.
I also saw Mr Lim coming in his army uniform, and found out he actually came all the way back to the hostel from re-service just to offer a hand to help out in making the love letters. He declared that although he helped in the previous year, he has no recollection on how anything is done. No matter, as a few minutes later he was folding the delicate snacks as skillfully as any other one in the canteen.
Mr Yeo was interacting quite alot with the children, and also enlisted their help with the "project". They soon turned themselves into deliverymen and letter counters, making sure each class had enough. They seemed to be enthusiastic, and always were rewarded with multiple thanks and smiles. I looked at them, and wondered whether they ever though of growing up to be a Dunmanian.
I got some time to talk to Liang Wei and the Year Two guys who made much progress with the help of Mr Siva. I rarely talk to the Year Twos, but was glad that I was able to get a short albeit fun exchange with them.
Around some time, we saw one of the cleaners looking into the canteen, seemingly curious about what we were doing. Jia Teck thought of giving him some of the love letters, and he was very grateful, thanking us and promising to share with his colleagues. We also gave away some to any hostel people who dared to ask.
Mrs Theng came in halfway and was shocked to see what our love letters looked like so far, complaining it was too thick. Apparently, her method of making the love letters required half the amount of batter we'd been using for the past 2 hours, and we were quite surprised ourselves.
We also saw Mr Sng making time to bring his family down to help out for a while. His presence alone was greatly encouraging, and we saw yet again how humble a principal we had. He wasn't afraid to ask us anything - When the love letter he was folding crumbled, he gave me a look, somewhat meaning "What now?" I gave a little laugh saying "Don't worry, you can eat it."
The process of making these love letters were filled with warmth, a little from the pans, but so much more from the atmosphere of everyone spreading the new year cheer through this simple snack. I really didn't regret going for this, as I got a look at how much the teachers loved their students, and the effort they put in to give us this little bit of emotion - After all, these letters are all packed with an important ingredient - love.
posted by someone who stopped to think at
02:30
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