My dear friend, Ah LOng Jie's journey through her teens is documented below:
When I passed my primary school leaving exams and moved into SAC
located downtown, I didn't know I was headed for the world of urban
living right on Bras Basah Rd - the middle of town.
My long
45-minute bus ride from the east of Singapore gave me glimpses of the
world, where hawkers peddled noodles and ice kachang balls and
sometimes in front of the coffee shops selling Hainanese chicken rice;
and where sarabat stall sellers sold bryani and teh tarik.
I
was the gawky twelve-year-old from the gangster-infested district of
Macpherson growing into my teens and discovering a new world.
I
morphed into the urban gal - running for buses which never waited,
while glancing at the Catholic High boys in khaki shorts and
oftentimes with unshaven legs . To many, they demonstrated a lack of
civility and were often compared to the "English educated boys" at SJI
as crass and unfashionable. To me, they were geekish Chinese educated
boys in cute shorts.
I was meant to enjoy the gastronomical
world of enjoying a spread of cuisine offered around the school area -
relishng Victoria Hotel's chicken rice in cool air conditioning, the
beef noodles with fresh sliced beef in thick dark soy based gravy
laden with lime and irresistible chilli or the luxury of the Western
pork chops after I have scrimped on my pocket money. After school hours
, we would also saunter into the Bugis area of transversites and to
more wonderful culinary delights, and a mixture of Mandarin and English
songs blasting from the tape recorders. Shopping was part of our
lifestyle, as I recall buying music tapes by Karen Carpenter and
Bee Gees.
Inside our school, a linear British designed block of
building which housed about 500 girls, I remembered fondly the Friday
morning masses where having a religious moment meant a morning away from
classes. I totally leveraged on it (God forgive me).
The
pre-class courtyard mass and singing in the mornings liberated my lungs
and allowed friendships to be formed across the snaking lines of
giggling girls.
My CCA, one of which was school basketball, was
the sole reason why I grew from a dwarf and gained five centimeters of
height - I could reposition my place as the second person from the
front to the middle of the line after lower secondary.
The late
sports teacher Mr Quah's military and communist athletics trainings
toughened me, gave me gusto and a fearless streak. I also morphed into
an unfeminine androgynous gal which barred me from boys who were
threatened by my boyishness and adroitness.
As I write this and
watch the London Olympics, I am pleasantly reminded of the gold medal
we won for the nationals inter-school games for 4X100m relay . The crowd
at Kallang Stadium cheered jubilantly as we surpassed the other gal
teams.
That experience of elation and pride is still not forgotten
though I cannot remember my running mates except for Peggy Teo. At that
time, our modest lifestyles meant there was no camera to record the
medal ceremony.
Then there were Girl Guide days of campfire
singing, knotting and obstacles courses, cooking outdoors with the most
scanty resources of twigs and burnt leaves. In the midst of the urban
setting outside the church , there was smoke spiraling as we hope that
the rice will be cooked and the soup boiled. We would huddle proudly
together to eat the little that we cooked with happiness and in
unabashed camaraderie. "Be prepared" was the mission mantra. That was
imbued in me.
My school days at SAC are dotted with
bittersweet memories of play , pranks and sometimes prayer. Bitter
because of the angst of the growing up teenage years, sweet as I was
often emotionally comforted with our singing songs from ABBA, Don
Mclean, Roberta Flack and the movie Grease.
Never one to shine academically, I was contented to pass adequately to move on to college.
I didn't realize that the best days of my life were over because
college and university proved to be a bore and quite forgettable.
SAC was truly the place where I grew and blossomed.
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