Bliss

This is my third year teaching in Tao Nan School.

I will be teaching Primary 3A this year.

I look forward to meet my new pupils.

2012 has been a fruitful and eventful year.

During the school holidays, I had the opportunity to bring my Girls' Brigade girls to Hong Kong. Here is a video clip of the highlight of our trip.

In December, my friends and I travelled to Bali and visited the orphans, widows, poor and the needy. We donated food and clothing to the villagers.

We are truly inspired by the faithful workers in Bali who are dedicated to make a difference in their community.

Here is a little clip of the highlights of our trip.

What is your 2013 New Year resolution?

I hope to make a difference in the lives of the people in my community and also travel overseas at least once a year to help the poor and needy.

Happy New Year and may you be blessed with good health!

This afternoon, some **Girls' Brigade pupils, teachers and I went to Scoop of Art located at Marine Parade Commuity Centre for an interesting learning journey.

The pupils had a wonderful time making their own vanilla gelato.

Try making it at home!

Home-made vanilla gelato (No gelato machine required) Servings: 4 children

(A) Gelato mixture

1 cup of full cream milk

2 tablespoon of sugar

5ml of vanilla extract

1 medium sized zip-lock bag

(B) For the ice pack:

6 tablespoon of salt

1 large zip-lock bag

Ice cubes

Others:

Tape

Scissors

Steps:

1) Pour 1 cup of milk into a measuring cup, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 5ml of vanilla extract.

2) Mix well.

3) Pour mixture into the medium size zip-lock bag A

4) Next, fill large zip-lock bag B with ice and 6 teaspoons of salt

5) Add Zip-lock bag A* into Zip-lock bag B* and seal them with sticky tape.

*ensure both zip-lock bags are well sealed with sticky tap to avoid spillage

6) Now, shake the bag as long as you can. We recommend at least 7-10 minutes.

7) You can remove the seal once the liquid mixture has solidified.

(Solidified mixture feels like mash potato)

8) Remove seal and enjoy your gelato!

Be creative! Add crushed oreo, chocolate chips or nuts to enhance the flavour of your home-made vanilla gelato. Enjoy!

**Join us every Saturday for exciting activities. Sign up for Girls' Brigade. Look at our CCA noticeboard for more information. See you then!

While I was studying in Australia, I tried to bake some scones. It is really delicious when you spread a thick coat of whipped cream and fruit jam. Perfect snack with a cup of tea!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

3 cups of self-raising flour

1 cup of cream

1 cup of lemonade

A pinch of salt

1) Shift flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour cream and lemonade.

2) Mix mixture with a knife till mixture comes together. Next, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface* and knead gently until smooth and pliable.

3) Cut scones into rounds using scone cutter^.

4) Bake in a very hot oven at 220 degree celsius for 15 minutes r till golden brown. Serve with cream and jam.

* You will need a substantial amount of plain flour to ensure that it forms a dough.

^ I used a knife to cut the dough, rolled them and placed them into muffin tins. Ensure that the muffin tins are greased and floured. I made about 20-24 muffin-sized scones.

Happy Baking!

Do you like to exercise?

I love to run. It keeps me fit and healthy. Running is also a good way to de-stress. I love running along the reservoir or the East Coast Beach.

In April 2011, I attempted my first half marathon. I participated in the Canberra Running Festival with two friends. One of them is a 64 years old marathon veteran. I have learned several great running tips. Here is his blog. He is my inspiration. I want to be as fit and healty as he is when I am 64 too.

I started training with my friends while I was studying in Canberra in the beginning of this year. We started running 8km once a week and gradually increased our distance. It took me three months to be able to run a distance of 16km.

On 9 April 2011, I completed my 21km run at a good timing of 2 hours and 16 minutes.

I am really statisfied with my first achievement. I hope to participate in a full marathon (42km) in the near future.

My next run will be the MOE Olive 10km run. I need to start training for this run soon.

Have you thought of running long distance?

For people under the age of 12, you may like to try running in fun runs such as 5km or 2km run.

If you do not like to run, pick up a sport. Keep fit for life!

I am glad that I have finally completed my studies in Australia.

It has been a fruitful learning experience studying in the Australian National University (ANU).

My university is located in Canberra, Australia.

Do you know that Canberra is the capital city of Australia?

Many of my friends thought that Sydney or Melbourne was the capital city.

I recently attended my graduation ceremony. I had the opportunity to see my friends in Australia again. I also took the opportunity to bade them farewell.

Why it is a good choice to study overseas?

Four simple reasons!

(1) You get to meet people from all cultures and forge new friendships with people from around the world.

I met people from Europe, Asia and America while I was studying in Australia and had forged lasting friendships. I plan to visit my friends from various parts of the world in the near future.

(2) An opportunity to appreciate the country's food and sports culture.

In Australia, I had the opportunity to try various interesting cuisines and fresh seafood.

One interesting food that Australians love: Vegemite

Another interesting dessert: Pavalova

I have tried lebanese food, greek food, mediterranean food and many more.

I also had the opportunity to appreciate a new sport, Australia Football League.

(3) An opportunity to travel, explore and discover places of interest

I travelled to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne while I was studying in Australia.

In April 2011, I also took a quick trip to Christchurch, New Zealand to visit a friend after the recent earthquake in February 2011. I had the unfortunate encounter of experiencing a 5.3 magnitude aftershock. It was an encounter that I would not want to experience again.

(4) An opportunity to live independently

It was a treasured moment of independence!

I had to cook, do household chores and buy groceries on my own. (No domestic helper or mummy to help you when you are alone. )

Nevertheless, it was a terrific opportunity to have an apartment of my own. I had the opportunity to host birthday parties and invite my close friends for tea. We also had regular baking parties where we baked scrumptous scones, biscuits and cakes for tea.

Do consider an overseas education if you have the opportunity!