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07/03/08 - Only three weeks to go till the end of the course. This stage has really started to become stressful now, with assignments to get done, and lessons to teach. I did my first hour long lesson yesterday, which was on reading skills about achievements. I had to come up with this lesson from scratch (and also had to write about it in an assignment), and finding a reading material for an Elementary class wasn't easy, so I had to turn to BBC Newsround for my source of an article in 'simple' English.

The article I chose (link) was about a Scottish student who cycled round the world. I actually took quite an interest into this article and did some further research on the subject, and it was actually quite interesting. I think the BBC will be making a documentary on it, so I'm hoping it will be recorded for me for when I'm back in the UK. I found it ironic when I came to Malaysia that the two things I wanted most was a bicycle and the internet, which are stated as the two most innovative things ever invented.

As for what I'll do after this course for the remaining time I spend in Malaysia, I plan on taking driving lessons (as it's cheaper than taking them in the UK), and I may see if I can do some voluntary teaching somewhere. The Young Learners extension to my CELTA course isn't till the end of the year, so I can't hang around too long. I really would like to know how to properly control kids in a class. I did my first Sunday School class at the Petaling Jaya church, with ten, fresh, new students (and Pathmini, who's nice to see again), but I couldn't control them very well. Guess that's why teachers need lesson plans!

Further to what I put last week about my poor quality social life, I had another Pastor at the Peatling Jaya church sense that I was lonely. This is about the fifth time this has happened now in the two and a half years I've been coming to Malaysia. I should take a hint and do something about it, but at the moment there aren't many options for me. I need to get this course finished and get my certificate so I can atleast work in Malaysia, then I can focus on fulfilling my ever lasting loneliness...

14/03/08 - It's been another rollercoaster week in terms of motivation for me. The week started out really nicely, getting to see Jyothi's family again, and meeting Tharani again, who I met on the Port Dickson trip. We went to the water playground at KLCC Monday morning, which was quite fun, and kept me quite motivated for the rest of the day, and I managed to get some work done. Tuesday was OK, as I got to see everyone at college, but was a little draining, as college can sometimes be.

Wednesday though, was probably one of the worst days I've had in Malaysia. I spent the whole day at home, slowly trying to get just something typed up, but the solitary confinement was just unbearable, and I probably got less done in the whole day on Wednesday then I did in the short time I had on Monday, when I was motivated. But Thursday after college, Shakira gave me some help with my lesson plan for next week, and I've arranged to meet Sam and Chris later on this week. I guess it's good that I didn't have to teach this week, the time off is very nice.

As for today, my motivation has gone up again. Tharani, her mother Mages, and another of Jyothi's sisters has been staying over at their place. I brought my laptop and did some college work there, and every hour or so, Ranjita and Tharani would come in and check up on me, and just joke around with my things, which is a welcome distraction, compared to spending the whole day alone with nothing to focus on other than my work. And I took Ranjita to church for the first time in a month, where she really seemed to enjoy herself.

Lastly, the 12th general election in Malaysia took place on Saturday. There had been a huge number of flags and banners across every town and city, I expect across the whole of Malaysia. It's much more exciting than in the UK, where parties only target people in the home, with leaflets and media on the internet and TV. But with the elections now over, it seems that all these banners and flags will be left to slowly break down and be picked up by anyone who feels they're in the way. Hopefully they won't over do it on the next general election.

21/03/08 - Only one week left of college, and my teaching practice at British Council is now over. My final class, of only five students, was a language lesson, which can be quite difficult. Despite improving on my weaker points, mostly eliciting, my stronger points, low teacher talk time and time management, weren't as good as they usually were. It was still a to standard lesson, but definitely not my strongest. Despite all the effort and stress I've undergone in this course, it's going to be quite a shock when it's all over. I'll have to keep myself extra busy after it...

Tharani and her mother have been staying over the past week at Jyothi's house. Despite how little I've seen of Tharani, she seems to be very overly attached to me, and at times favours me over her mother. She just bring a lot of light and energy though, and Ranjita seems more attached to me when she's around too (competition, maybe?).

Easter is on Sunday, and there's not one Easter Egg to be seen (Malaysia being an Islamic country and all). I've asked for some Creme Eggs to be saved for me for when I get back, it's a shame they don't do the smaller eggs all year round in the UK. I had hoped to meet Bee Leng, from college, to attend her church for Maundy Thursday, but the monsoon weather (which has been happening frequently lately) called that off. I spent today (Good Friday) at Petaling Jaya, and plan to spend Easter Sunday at Taman Wahyu, where hopefully, I can bring Jyothi back to the church for the first time in two years...

28/03/08 - After three months, my college course has finally come to an end. Though I'm happy that having to do assignments and teaching practice is now over, deep down I wish that it didn't end. We were a great mix of people and it's a shame that the course is now over. The dinner we had together at Santinis was a nice way to end, and hopefully I can keep in touch with some of the people I was closest to. I'll also miss the students that we taught, who were all really great people, and really committed to learning English.

I'm feeling a little burnt out from it all at the moment, but I'll be having a five day break in Brunei in just over a week. I guess I should feel lucky I only did the part time course, the full time course would have been hell. But now is a case of making use of the next two and a half months before going back to the UK. Rubina has offered me a place at doing some teaching at a school she works at, so I can do some volunteer teaching there to build up my experience. I won't get my actual certificate for atleast another two months, but should be getting a report from the college within a week.

I hear there was snow in the UK on Easter Sunday, glad I'm still here then. I managed to get Jyothi to finally come to church for the Easter Sunday Service, with Ranjita, Tharani and Velan coming along too. It was a nice service, though I think the church is focusing more on the Youth Concert that will be taking place tomorrow. I was suprised to find there was no church photo after the service though. Meanwhile at the Petaling Jaya church, they had 28 children attend, which must mean many adults came too. How did they fit all these people in one small church?