The "No Friends" Bench

"I miss my friends at England, Ummi,"

"Of course, they weren't really friends because they don't always play with me during break."

 I said to my mother one day after school.

 "So what did you do during break?"

"I sat at the No Friends Bench..." 

  What's that may you ask? I remember during Year One at Red Hall Primary School while I was at England 7 years ago, there was a bench for those who didn't have friends to play with during recess; The "No Friends Bench".

  At the time, the word "friends" to me are people who play with me during break...   I always used to sit there because, well, not all the children wanted to play along with me... It works by making the kids who didn't have any "friends" pair up so that no one is left to be lonely. Even if no one comes, a teacher will eventually find some kids and pair them up.

  It's very different here in Malaysia. Lonely children are left alone like no one even cares. this is the reason for the kids who then becomes teenagers became introverted because they didn't spend much time with people when they were little. This No Friends Bench are  make the children think they are at fault for making the child lonely whereas if applied in Malaysia, the other kids will be like,"Ooh, that kid is all lonely... pity him(obviously being sarcastic). This is EXACTLY what I experienced.

  In my opinion, the teachers at my England school are really caring about the children's needs.(I really respect the teachers in Malaysia that are more focused on the child's mentality and social life rather than their education.) Some teachers say they trying to help the student but sometimes just focus on their education rather than even taking a look at their backgrounds.

  For example, when a student's background is so tragic to the point they are suicidal, they can't be forced to work harder as they need to be handled delicately. My point is, teachers should really focus on giving attention to students on their social life and their mental health. Who knows? You could save a life or two. As for the teachers out there who are already doing that, keep up the good work!

Living Overseas - My Earliest Memories

3 years old. At 3 years old was my life transition from a normal Malaysian life to living overseas. My family and I went to England on 20th-something of September 2009.The flight was from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai and then to Newcastle. We went there mainly because my father wanted to do his PhD but of course, there were also other reasons and benefits. It's killing two birds with one stone.

Me sleeping at the airport while waiting for the plane.

   When we arrived, we didn't have a home yet so we stayed at my father's friend's place for a week before finally getting a home at Bowburn. If it hadn't been for the community we had there which were mostly Malaysian, surviving would have been a rough. They managed to help us out by sometimes lending us some stuff we didn't have. They were nice enough to teach us where to find Halal food and how to know if it's Halal or not and some other important information.

  I really disagree when people say "Good for you, you've lived overseas for four years whereas I haven't even took a step out of Malaysia!" Living and travelling isn't the same. Travelling means staying in a rental house or hotel for a few days or weeks whereas living means you have to worry about your children's school, a permanent home It's not the same for every one. Some even ended up homeless. Although it was kinda tough in the first few months, we were able to get through it and managed to live an average life.