Two Gatherings With Students

Last Monday before I dismissed my first class, a student suggested that we went for a drink at "Jonker Walk Cafe". As I had never been to this cafe, I thought it might be very far since its name sounded like it was located at the tourist area.

When I followed my students out of the city campus building, I realized the cafe was just opposite it at the corner of the Hang Tuah mall. Later, I was told that they had chosen this one because it was not crowded like other more popular cafes at Hang Tuah road. No wonder a worker was standing outside full time to attract the staff and students from our establishment with a discount of 10 percent...

In class, the boys were always noisier than the girls. But in the cafe, they were quite reserved. Not only they talk little, they also ordered little.

The girls, once in an eatery, would immediately forget about the diet. Almost all of them took a dish with a drink each.

Many of them had not even had time to take their breakfast before the 10.30am class. It was unthinkable for me who had never missed my breakfast every day at 7am when I was a student, whether I had an assignment to submit or a test to sit for.

Although we were not chewing the baguette in the classroom like the other group, I enjoyed this gathering nonetheless.

On Thursday, it was the final French class with my second batch of TESL students. After one and a half year, I finally succeeded in moving them to organize a meal. When I arrived at the classroom, only a few boys were there. So I assumed the girls were on the way to fetch dishes prepared by themselves based on French recipes but was told that they had actually asked outsiders to cater the food. I began to realize that not all girls were as passionate in cooking as my former student of the previous batch of the TESL students to the point of sacrificing her sleep.

I was giving back test papers when others came with containers. The room was filled with the nice smell of spaghetti tomato sauce. There were also French fries, mushroom soup, drinks etc.

The most mouth-watering dish was no doubt these hotdogs envelopped by melted cheese.

I had bought buns earlier and left in the fridge in my house, which hardened very fast and did not soften much in the cold air conditioned building. Haizam who had brought his own big bowl as if to eat ramen was the first to take a bun dipped in the lukewarm mushroom soup. After ten minutes, he was still having a "hard" time to munch it! All of us were seated around the tables joined together, savouring the food and watching their role plays in French saved in CD and projected on the big screen.

At the end of the gathering, two boxes of ice-cream were brought in for our desserts. I wished the buns were as soft as that melted ice-cream which tasted like mousse.

Towards the end of the semester, I appreciated these students more than the beginning. I thanked them for their attendance, punctuality and active participation. They were among those who made my days at city campus.