"Kantang" (translate: potato) - the Singapore lingo to describe a person of chinese race that embraced the western culture predominantly... So I was commenting to my colleague yesterday that I saw this guy wearing this tee that says " I <3 HC" . (HC being the initials I go by @ work..) so told her yay.. i got fan-club.. she was like T_T". then I realised HC doesn't stand for my name (obviously) but my alma mater.. T_T". her comment = you 're from HC? but you are not very "han tze".
Puzzled.. Han tze? Oh yeah.. I get the idea, westerned = potato; conversely, cheena = sweet potato.
Frankly, I don't really think my jc is that "han tze" though.. despite the fact that more than 50% of the cohort usually comes from the school next door.. the tchs kaki-shorts.. and we have our school song in chinese language.. Oh well, it does not affect me that much... afterall, I'm pretty "cheena" by nature, being brought up to speak solely mandarin with some broken Cantonese (and I'm not full-fledged cantonese.. supposedly to be hakka - think was on my birth cert ? do they have that in ic?).. and i only learn to converse in english in primary school.. cuz haha.. my class is the class with the sole 10+ of non Chineses deposited in my class.. (cuz my class is one of the three class that were different of different session while the remaining cohorts - to facilate us to be in the same session as our siblings.. - oh yeah, that time, dual sessions were still applicable for primary schools..).. nah, not that my primary school is racist and only admit chinese .. I guessed cuz maybe it was a hokkien huey guan school.. and slightly atas.. so.. haha.. (to me, I think my parents chose that school cuz it's just across the road - not because it's an elite school- thought think it is now... think my bro was fortunate enuff to get the ballot and hence a slot in the sch- cuz haha he was born in as the influx year - the year of Dragon).. So I get to enjoy that direct access.. :) and (my children will ba.. if I pay to join the alumnus .. then kid can study there... ) oh yeah, I still speak a lot of Mandarin compared to English.. ahha (and not surprisingly.. the english subject is the only subject that I didn't score a star for.. oh well.. tsktsk.. spoilt my cert... )
And due to some twist of events (cuz in the inital school selection, I anyhow chose SCGS for my sec sch when I wanted to get in TKGS but I thought my grades should not get me into SCGS (but I like the blue uniform and it's in town area?) and never considered any of the SAP schools.. haha.. oh yes, cuz my bro was in the cheena ulu cchs then (ulu cuz u walk all the way in and flooding occured during rainy days.. )and the scary HUGE deep lake.. and the all white semi-transparent uniform, I anyhow completed my sch choice.. nah, never aspired to be rafflesian.. haha.. anyway, didn't make it thru the second round of the "screaming test" in P5 so haha dun want to be in the non-gifted class in the gifted schools.. (And I flunked the "screaming test" in P6 again.. cUz like b'cos of my sucky english... also not sure why i get to go for the "screaming test again" after the release of the psle results.. haha..). Got my results and realised that the silly first choice i made is an independent school (ie. expensive fees... ) and yep, I be there unless I resubmit my choice of schools.. bo biah, so i chose the nearest sap sch (not knowing that it was a highly-ranked sch....)
Oh yeah, my parents pretty much left it to me to make the school choices.. and course choices.. (even in the the transition from lower sec to upper sec... I almost chose c.lit instead of history (cuz i wanna take biology and I dun think it's viable for my peabrain to take 2 humanities and 3 sciences --ahha) - cUz the books were thin.. haha.. (later, i realised, it was thin cuz every word (almost) is testable.. ) Same for my JC.. okie, I chose the far far away school cuz I could travel and see the other side of the island... (lame right?) and get to meet a whole set of peeps.. (cuz think most of my schoolmates either flocked to tj or vj.. & both schs are like darned close to home... - i appreciate the proximity only when school starts and reality sets in.. I need to wake up darn early to get to school on time without being late... )but i like HC.. (not because it's my inital la..)
I think I've a weird way in decision making in the past.. in someway, bimbotic.. but if not because of that, I would not be where I am.. or won't be in chc (or maybe will still be, prolly in a different zone?)
But thank goodness for my erratic way of decision-making.. I am where I am now.. (cuz I was sick of choir (oh yeah, funny that now I serve in choir ministry..) so i joined a drastically different cca - vnr..(translate: sea scouts).. which is good, cuz I got to know ming... else..
the only SILLY decision I kinda frown upon - placing the accountancy as 1st choice of course for uni. and I get to live with that.. :( Sigh... hopefully path will change (sooon)
super digress.. anyway.. back to the kantang vs han tze issue.. think I'm mixture of both.. :) but speech-wise i admit.. more of the sweet tuber.. haha... as u can see... I can blog in chinese too.. (see the earlier post) and yeap, posted the handwritten post CUZ I thought it's cool that I could still write in chinese.. :) and rather neatly too... lalalalalla
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