October..

Yet again, this last month has been unbelievably busy and SHOCK...I've enjoyed every minute of it. I keep saying this but days seem to fly by, and it feels like yesterday that I posted my last blog! If I had to narrow the month down into to 3 highlights, I’d have to say that the outdoor cooking , Montfort Open house and Halloween celebrations have been the ones that have stuck out.

spot the 'orang putih' !!

Mucking around with one of the boys..

The outdoor cooking weekend was very similar to the camping weekend we’d done earlier on in our time in Malaysia. However, this time, it was just our boys and the fact that it was by the river near the hostel definitely made it all that more memorable. The outdoor cooking started on a Friday afternoon and it was so nice just to chill out and joke around with the boys in the river. The main activities started that evening when we all sat round a fire that Rory and I made. We made sure it was enormous so that it would burn all through the night and the next day; it was over 10 ft high! We played a number of games and introduced the boys to ‘Chinese whisperers’ and as you could expect, given the slight language barrier, some hilarious things came back out once it’d gone round all 60 boys! Much like the camping, we slept under a makeshift tent of bamboo and leaves as the roof. I made the mistake of thinking that it could never get cold in Malaysia and oh I was so so wrong! That night was probably the most horrendous sleep I’d had since I've been here. What made it worse was all the boys next to me were wrapped up nicely and all I had to cover me, was my wet towel! I lay there, eyes open shivering most the night waiting aimlessly for sunrise to come so that as soon as there was enough light to walk back to the hostel I could run straight for a shower! The whole of that Saturday, we organised some games for the boys including a swimming race and British bulldog. The boys seemed to enjoy it and the weather, not for the last time, provided a perfect opportunity to get ridiculously burnt. All in all the camping weekend was a huge success and most of all I think it made me appreciate at how relaxed I've been since I've got here.

Outdoor cooking

The following weekend was Montfort’s Open house, where we (Max, Liam, Rory and I) would be selling our ‘English delights’. We decided to build off the back of the previous volunteer’s success and do like they did: flapjacks , pancakes and our addition of brownies. We spent the entire day before the open house baking, and we managed to make over 100 flapjacks and likewise for the brownies. We baked for pretty much 5 hours straight and to be honest I don’t really know if what we were churning out the end was even edible! The day was a massive success and what was great was that people we coming back for second and third helpings of each. We’d been warned that people would buy what we’d baked purely on the basis on being white but the fact people were coming back for more meant that they actually enjoyed them! This meant that we sold it all in no time at all and raised about £200 quid profit for MYTC. (More than last year’s lot!) Not only was this good but it allowed us plenty of time to get stuck into some of the other stalls that were on offer. The atmosphere was really good, the weather was ridiculously hot and I don’t think I could have asked for a better weekend.

Our Stall at open house

Couple of our boys manning a stall..

Halloween proved to the most fun I've had since I've been here and it was the first time the boys have celebrated it. Therefore, Rory and I had to seriously step up and make it something for the boys to remember. We got in as much of the classics as we could such as: pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, making toffee apples, a scary film and a game where the boys had to eat doughnuts off a string without using their hands. At the start of the night, we gave the boys some flour, face paint and some fake blood and told them that they had 30 minutes to do their worst. We didn't expect much but we were completely amazed at how they looked, and most pleasing of all was that the boys were buzzing for the games that Rory and I had organised for them. We got some really good photos and the boys said that it was a good night; which is the main thing!

Toffee apples

The from 1-4 boys have all just gone home for their end of year holiday break, so there is only 10 form 5 and 6 boys around at the moment. This means that Rory and I have a fairly relaxed run in before we go off travelling in just under 2 weeks because we will only be giving tuition for these 10 boys, who have exams in the coming weeks. I can’t wait to go and explore more of South East Asia and the I expect the 6 weeks I’ll be spending in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam will bring out some unforgettable stories..

Pumpkin Carving

                                   

Apple bobbing

Doughnut game..

From 2 class with their 'favourite celebrity' posters 

1 month in..

So.. Last post I mentioned that Rory and I were off camping with our boys and the Montfort boys. It’s been almost 3 weeks since then and like most days here, time has flown. Believe it or not, I've been here for over a month now!

Rory and I on the beach where we camped

Sunrise from the tent

To those of you who are familiar with camping, I can assure you that this was unlike any other camping you or I have ever been on. In fact sleeping conditions in my opinion were better when I was doing Gold DofE; purely on the basis that you had a tent that you could zip up. Needless to say I was up the challenge! As you can see from the picture, the structure of the tents that we’d be sleeping under was bamboo, some rope and a massive canvas over the top, so that at least we were waterproof. The whole camping weekend was designed so that the boys could appreciate what help Montfort and San Damiano were providing to them; considering that a lot of the boys are from poor backgrounds, it made them realize how fortunate they are to have such good facilities at their respective hostels. The weekend was much like the obstacle race we’d done and was full of activities, including some absolute classics such as a sack race, tug of war and a human tower. Rory and I got stuck in and we were even able to help the boys win the human tower; as you would expect I was at the base! In the evenings the boys played guitar, sang round the campfire and shared jokes with us. On the second night, Rory and I bought the boys some marshmallows to have on the fire because the majority of them had only seen them on a movie. There was no way Rory and I was going to let them sit round a campfire and not experience this! We also made the boys some chili con carne and I think that this was the first time I've actually enjoyed something I’d cooked. As I mentioned in my last post, mosquitoes were indeed an absolute nightmare because the tent structure we were sleeping under was completely open but luckily Rory and I were able to both sleep under my mosquito net. I expect I owe mum big thank you for tucking a net into the bottom of my bag as yet again Mum had seriously stepped up! All in all the camping weekend was a huge success but it had taken its toll and therefore we were extremely tired and needed a mattress to sleep on. The boys were given the afternoon off when we got back to rest because they had school the next day, so Rory and I didn't mess around and went straight to sleep. This was by far the best sleep I've ever had and I slept flat out for 15 hours, missing supper along the way!

Hog Roast at the camping

The boys in the tent 

Our tent for the weekend

Sack Race

Me and some of the boys messing about

Teaching has been extremely fun and I've enjoyed every lesson so far. I've been trying to make my lessons as fun as possible by chucking a few games such as: Hangman and Bingo but to be honest, I’m not sure whether I've enjoyed them more than the boys because I do love a bit of Hangman!  Nevertheless I think what has been most interesting is the realization of how hard it’s being on the other end of the table! This is because the variation in the standard of the English of the boys means that often some boys don’t understand when others do, so it’s about finding the right balance of which I’m learning day by day. This last week we've got the form 1 and 2 boys starting a project on their favorite celebrities. They had to do some research on the computer and ultimately produce a profile of their celebrity on a poster and present it to the class. The boys have seemed to have enjoyed it and we've given them the incentive of winning a big dairy milk; unsurprisingly as soon as we introduced the prize, the boys worked harder! I also love the amount of time each day that we have to play sport with the boys and most of all that the boys are as competitive as me and put it this way I don’t know many people who are. As I mentioned on my last post I've been playing two of the local sports: footsal and takraw as well as finding time to do some jogging and play football on the field. I’m spending the most time playing takraw as it’s a completely new sport to me. I've got to a level where the boys trust me to kick the ball back over the net but stupidly yesterday, I got ahead of myself to do one of these flips they do and well yeah, I expect you can fill in the rest.. For those of you, who don’t know what it is just type “takraw” in you tube. We have also been jogging a couple times a week and it has been very hard to adapt to conditions because the hills and heat here are considerably greater than back home! However, Rory and I smashed out a 10 km run this week so I’m feeling fit; I've even naughtily managed to find time to loose 5 kg!

Egg fired rice attempt 1

Banoffee Pie!

Being men we are not naturally that good cooks and like anything it requires a lot of practice. When I say practice, I most definitely mean we not a lot of it; it seems to take Rory and I at least 3 or 4 times to perfect a recipe. So far we've tried to make egg fried rice which we made a better job of making look like bad scrambled egg and most recently doughnuts that tasted like stale bread! However, it has not been all bad and last week we made a banoffee pie for the staff here. Unfortunately you can’t get hold of cream but what mattered most is that it was the first thing we’d made that was edible! 
The staff loved it; so we are planning sometime soon to make enough pie for all the boys. (all 60 of them!) On the subject of food I've tried some more amazing food such as: a yellow watermelon and found myself a new favourite fruit called ‘Dragon Fruit’. This dragon fruit gave me a huge shock in the morning, as much like beetroot, it makes your urine red.. I thought was internally bleeding.

Doughnut attempt 1

 I am completely settled here and I like the fact that often it feels like Rory and I are older brothers to the boys. In particular I find it funny that the boys have started to give us nicknames and the best one yet for me has been: “Wayne Rooney’. The boys have not yet said whether they are judging this on looks or my football capabilities but for my sake it’s hopefully the latter.. I dare not ask!

Another wedding

He didn't trust me to do it!

Rory and I at a wedding reception

Sweatyy!

First few weeks

I can’t believe I've been here 3 weeks today! I’m not one to use cliches but I guess ‘time does fly when you’re having fun’.

After 4 or so days in Seremban familiarizing ourselves with the food, culture and most importantly the weather it was time for Rory and I depart for San Damiano. After all, this what we were here for; to start our project.. Or so we thought! Upon arrival at KK airport we were told by one of the staff members that Rory and I were due to be staying with Max and Liam at Montfort, the sister school to San Damiano Boys hostel, for a further 5 days. Although this doesn't sound like such a big deal, I think what frustrated me most was the fact that I couldn't fully unpack my bag. Mum and I had spent hours sorting out the perfect arrangement of how my stuff would fit in and I didn't back myself re packing it without her! At Montfort we did a lot of fun things like: having a tour round KK, and eating out at restaurants, where our first meal was Pork Liver, heart and intestine soup. I particularly love the fact that you can eat a 3 course meal for maximum £2.50 per person! However, the highlight of these 5 days was definitely partaking in an Obstacle race with the boys. The 4 PT volunteers were placed in different teams and we all got stuck in. The main aim of the day was to teach the boys that they could get past any obstacle in their life if they worked in a team to do it. The best obstacle was an obstacle called the ‘margarine hill’ whereby the boys had to work out a way that they could get everyone up to the top of this slippery slope. The whole day was a huge success but let’s just say health and safety would've been having a field day!

The Next day Rory and I set off for our project, we had no idea what to expect. The size of Montfort and the facilities were much better than I’d imagined so this completely disillusioned my idea of the place where Rory and I would be. The Brothers (Monks in charge) in the journey had said that San Damiano Boys hostel was newly done up so I guess all I could do at this stage was wait until I got there! Once we pulled up to the gate and saw all the boys crowding round the car, I think I can speak for both of us that we were incredible nervous; I felt sick I was that nervous. At the same time I was excited that this would be my home for a year, so as you can imagine my emotions were all over the place!

After decorating our room, Rory and I were formally introduced to the boys and told by Remy (the person in charge) that we should tell the boys where we are from, our hobbies, our ambition in life and what we want to gain from this year. From then on we were thrown pretty much into the daily routine and I warn you now.. The first few days were tough! This is because wake up is at 6 am, followed by sports with the younger boys at 6.30. Although we are not obliged to do anything until 10 am (our first lesson) we prefer getting up early so we can integrate with the boys. I particularly like the fact that there is a football pitch about 5 minutes’ walk away and that the bridge you have to cross to get to it is ridiculously unstable. On my first run out on the field with the boys I managed to score a hat trick, which is always nice.. But word got around to the older boys that I did this and they were very keen to see me play, I’d set a high expectation! After sport Rory and I have breakfast, the meal that we have to provide for ourselves. Our usual is noodles from a packet, which we smash down in no time. Our first lesson is at 10 am with either form 1 or 2 and that’s for an hour, teaching them either maths or English. We then have the rest of the day off until 4 pm, when the older boys have sport as by this stage they’re back from school. This again is either football or two of the Malaysian sports I've had a go at: footsal and takraw.  I don’t think I've had a day after sport where I haven’t written off my clothes with sweat, the humidity and heat is filthy. Subsequently after sport a shower is essential and I have about 45 minutes to relax before dinner at 6.45. Following dinner there is prayer time for the boys, in their small prayer room, which Rory and I have got involved in. Friday is by far the best day, as it is meditation day. I’ll always remember the first one because we were about 10 minutes into doing the ummms etc and one of the boys farted! The last part of the day is our second one hour lesson to one of the older boy’s classes at 8 but we can often be there in the class helping a boy with some work until 10 pm.

The two things that have stood out, in my mind as to date at San Damiano are firstly: helping the boys on my first Saturday making some doughnuts (see pictures). I have to say I prefer them to Krispy Kremes and what’s even better is that you can buy four doughnuts for 1 ringgit! (Equivalent of 20p). Secondly, I enjoyed going to a wedding that I was invited to purely on the bases that I was ‘orang putih’ (white person). Random people were coming up to me and shaking my hand, beers were on tap and of course hundreds of photos were taken. We had been warned that the Malaysian’s loved the ‘Orang Putih’ but I could never had imagined the extent to which they did; I felt like a celebrity. Remy even went to extent of telling us, that we could have any girl that we wanted in Malaysia because of the prospect of that given girl coming back to England with us.

I can safely say that I've had the most amazing time and it already feels like home here. Rory and I are off camping with the boys for 2 nights and 3 days this weekend; so I expect my next blog will cover that. We've been warned mosquitoes are an absolute nightmare but I can’t wait!

Miss you all,

Ben

Rory and I with some of the boys

Welcoming party for Rory and I at San Damiano

Football pitch we play on everyday

KK

First beer in Malaysia  (it's very expensive out here)

Obstacle Race

Obstacle race 

Massage in KK (20p for 5 mins.. cheeers!)

A Mosque in KK

Montfort

"Margarine hill'

Rory and I after the Obstacle race

Me after falling in on the monkey bar obstacle

View from my room

Home for the year!

The office

My room

Making doughnuts with the boys

Doughnuts

Rory and I with the cook

Wedding "rice wine"

First lesson to form 1's

My classroom

Me on the bridge near the football pitch