They were among my last batch of students in SMK Kanowit, Form 2 in 1982…
…right before I got my transfer to a school in Sibu.
I remember they were very naughty and playful and some teachers were up to their ears trying to get them to settle down and keep quiet so they could carry on with their lessons but I never had a problem with them. I would just have to look into their classroom or walk by and they would all pipe down instantly. No, I would not say I was very fierce or strict with them – somehow, it just turned out that way and I grew to like them a lot as we did get on very well together. I guess the feeling’s mutual as they got me a present when I was leaving and we had the above photograph taken for remembrance – I have kept it to this day…and when they had their reunion here last Saturday evening, they invited me to join them.
I did not take a photograph of everything we had that night but dinner started off with this very impressive dragon boat…
…with all the delightful cargo…
…on board.
Among others, we had their signature dish – the curry fish head…
…and also these lovely freshwater prawns…
…that came with their very nice and soft own-made bread…
…to savour, dipped in the awesome gravy.
I loved the dessert…
…very much but by then, I was already too full to have much of it. The or nee (yam paste) was really fine and very well-done and not too sweet.
I could remember a few of the men fairly well but I could not, for the life of me, figure out who the ladies were. Just look at them now…
…and I’m sure you’d understand why. They’re all in their 40’s now and I sure am glad that they are all doing very well – there is one running a Thai restaurant in Sydney, Australia and one has a computer company at Low Yat in KL, some are in Singapore…and all over and a couple are councillors in their local district council in Kanowit even!
I enjoyed the get-together with them very much, with the very lavish and scrumptious dinner, lots of photographs taken and catching up with one another’s lives…and these very sweet ex-students of mine even got me this very nice gift…
Ahhhh!!!! Cookies…
…in their very handy Tupperware containers!!! Just in time for Chinese New Year!
So who says it isn’t rewarding to be a teacher? It most certainly is when you have such lovely students like I did…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Aw. You must be very proud to see them all grown up and adult, serious in the real world.
You’re really special to them, for them to still remember you after all these years and invite you for a get-together. 🙂
Life of a teacher, huh? Touching lives, molding the young minds. What a noble profession you have.
Indeed, I am. So very glad that they’ve made something good of their lives and at least, they have matured into wonderful individuals with the precious values of gratitude and appreciation – many lack these in today’s “ME” world of wants, wants and more wants – it’s like “see what I can get from you but don’t expect anything from me” kind of thing these days.
I’ve retired now…for over 7 years. It was good, not very financially rewarding in my time…but good in its own ways – this would be one of them.
wow. what a awesome gathering. not only great companies, but the food really look delicious!
I do hope in the far future i will have such great events.
You don’t come home often, not even for Chinese New Year. I know many students do…and they have their own reunions, though they may or may not invite their old teachers to join them. 😦
We have our own reunions too, my classmates and I – once in a while, despite all of us being so old already. Some have migrated and they even take the trouble to come back from abroad for these gatherings.
When did you start in Sacred Heart?
December 1991, those days when school reopened in December, the “wise” idea of the MOE at the time.
This is thoughtful. After all these years.
I remember the dragon boat as my sil had this in her wedding. The dessert was lovely. Pitiful you were full to enjoy them. ^^
Oh. You also have the tupperware gift. I got mine from my sil and her hubby for cny this year too. ^^
I did! Full also must eat, I love or nee…and they do it really well here – very fine and smooth, not very sweet. The mochi rolls with tau sar inside, not so nice though – Kingwood does it a lot better.
Yes, very nice Tupperware with cookies – saving till CNY, dunno nice or not the cookies. Indeed, it was so very sweet and thoughtful of them.
Wow! Look at the size of those fresh water prawns!
These are the medium ones – around RM45-50 a kg here. I’d usually buy these, not the giant ones at RM70-80 a kg.
Wooot, I see a handsome teacher in the first picture! What a nice gathering with your students! And they can still remember and keeping in touch with each other after 30 years! I love that first dish, especially that ham wrapped something..
All’s good in that dish. I sure enjoyed them all.
Didn’t see you in the picture in the gathering, sobsssss….
You have to be friends with my ex-students – all their photos on Facebook – you can get to see me there. Hehehehehehe!!!!
They didn’t tag you, hehe…
They did. I hid them from my timeline, so shy see my own face…and so fat some more. Hehehehehehe!!!
It was nice to be able to keep in touch all these years…
Yes, so glad one of them did and they invited me to join them for their reunion. Had a great time recollecting those good ol’ days.
All the foods caught my attention, hehe…
Will be taking my Singapore friend for these – he’s coming again soon…but not here, better than this. Hopefully, no wedding then – always fully booked. 😦
You must be a well respected teacher in school then, otherwise they will not remember or invite you for the gathering. As usual, food looks great and that gift just come in time for the CNY.
I guess I must done some good somewhere along the way…
Freshwater prawns curry with bun sounds good!
Great. Something like eating chili crabs in Singapore in 1972 with slices of baguette.
Wow ..not bad. You still kept on touch with them. Well done ! I’m sure most of the teachers have lost contact or don’t bother to get in touch with the students except those close ones or known ones.
Aren’t students the ones who are supposed to do that, not the other way round? These students found me on Facebook…
I wanted to tease you by saying that usually the teachers who are fierce would not regard themselves as fierce. But then, seeing how lovely your students are towards you, I guess you are right. You must’ve been a very good teacher to them 🙂
I would say I could be fierce but with good, not necessarily academically, students, I would try to be even better and nicer. It works both ways. Isn’t it the same in our everyday relationships? It’s all about giving and taking…loving and caring, what goes around comes around.
Such a blessing reunion with your students. It’s glad to see your students making the efforts and time by keeping in touch with the teacher.
I sure am glad they did. Not many, especially those these days, would bother…unfortunately and very sadly so.
What a lovely post, Suituapui. Your students are a wonderful group of individuals and it is quite obvious that you mean a lot to them; and vice versa. 🙂 Your photos are wonderful.
Thanks. I sure am glad to have such wonderful students and I sure do hope the feeling’s mutual.
Indeed it is rewarding as a teacher.. you proved it every now and then.. your ex students come back to visit you… give you souvenirs, goodies and most of all, they still remember you! 🙂
For that, I am indeed most thankful. Sure makes everything most worthwhile. I don’t think one can get anything like this in most other jobs or professions.
lovely post! after all these decades, imagine all the collective experiences that have been accumulated by the people in that class, and the different journeys they’ve all taken that have brought them to this point 🙂
Yes, I sure am glad that they’ve turned out well in their lives and they’ve kept in touch with one another – many, these days, don’t bother – it’s a very individualistic (selfish) society now, a dog-eats-dog world – I know some who cannot remember/don’t know the names of some in their own class. Sad.
LOL….sit so shy.
HUH…where were you in the gathering photo? you were the cameraman ka?
Lovely cookies la. After eat can use the container. Tupperware is a Good brand.
Yes, I took the photo with my camera before I joined the group and the others snapped away with their cameras, smartphones, ipads. Yunno me lah, camera shy one – so old, so fat, so ugly…no need to be in photos anymore. Just joined for remembrance ok lah…not for public sharing. 😉
Yes, we have a lot of Tupperware – Teachers’ Day, end-of-year farewell parties…I also got one huge hamper once from my group of Literature & English tuition class students, long ago. Dunno if the cookies are nice or not – haven’t tried yet. But coming from Tupperware, I would think they would be pretty good.
Wow! Such huge portion of food served. Looks yummy. And yes, very lovely and thoughtful of your ex-students to invite you in their reunion.
You must have been a great teacher to them, inspiring them back then :).
Even though I’ve left school for almost 30 years now, I can clearly remember a few teachers who touched my life in one way or another and made a very lasting impression in my mind.
Would be nice to let them know…if they are still around.
1982 I’m even not yet born….lol
But still very nice can gather again, hope someday I can join simlar gathering my my schoolmate~
You’re very young. Good to stay in touch, cherish the friendships made over the years. What is life without friends?
Ah, I see that you are much beloved by your students. I do remember teachers whom I liked a lot back in those days but I have lost touch with all of them. It is wonderful that your ex-students have invited you to their class reunion. And I see that there’s lots of good food 🙂 It is certainly sweet of them to give you that lovely present. Those Tupperware cookies are of good quality and very tasty. Someone gave some to my mum before.
Good eh? Can’t wait till Chinese New Year to feast on them! You can initiate your own class reunions and invite your teachers. We do that but of course, at our age, there are not many of them left. 😦
You look good in the photo. Dashing young man. :p Tthe prawns must be finger lickin good. Slurp!
Not very long to go… Around two months? Hehehehehehehe!!!!
Soon soon…;)
“I’ll be right here waiting for youuuuu….” 😀
wow so nice that they invited you to their gathering! well you should really proud of yourself for planting so many successful people… and i bet seeing them all grown up and being successful in their life is the most happy thing for you!
Yes, the greatest reward any teacher can hope for – to see the students excel and do well in life…and are still very down to earth, steeped in good values inculcated in them over the years, values that are sadly very lacking in today’s society.
Wonderful reunion. Good to see the young teacher in the photo.
I was in my 20’s then…so so long ago.
We have a few things in common; my Christian name is the same as yours and I was also a schoolteacher in my previous homeland.
…but you moved on to greener pastures; I stuck around till the end.
Not always greener!
Oh? Everyone seems to give the impression it’s a bed of roses, all good there…and all bad here. 😦
Wow…so many years your student still remember you!! Sorry to say, i cannot remember any of my teachers in school, hahahha, yes i am that bad. :P:P
Food looks good, Paramount? Food presentation and that curry look like the one at Sheraton. If you didn’t mention Paramount, i would think it is at Sheraton.
Ah!! Or Nee, now i missed this dessert!! I remember Hock Chu Liew has a nice one. Ok, next trip back i must have some. hahahha
I think you could remember Mr Ong, your English teacher but he had passed away. Just a year older than me. 😦
The chef was formerly with Sheraton but personally, between the two, comparing the same dishes, I still think Sheraton has an edge over this place – but this one’s a hotel – halal/pork free.
They sell this or nee at the pasar malam – saw the other day, did not buy. Will do that sometime, see any good or not.
By special request…
*One of the photos taken by one of the students*
1982…I not yet born!! My secondary school one, I don’t ever think of want to go back, hahaha!! Due to I’m a super drama queen that time, better avoid that!! Great to have most of them meet up, nowadays really hard to find time to do such a reunion meet up, like my primary school one, has planned for years, but never happened!! =.=!!
Oh? You were a problematic student? Not unusual, young people are always to caught up with their own lives to set aside time to get together, old people too. Great to have everyone so eager – when we organise our own, it is so hard – almost like begging people to join…and even then, there will be a few who will not bother to show up. I guess those old friendship ties mean nothing to them. 😦
Lookit those prawns! the kuah so pekat! mesti sedap…
Yes, loved the gravy, went well with the bread…but with bread, it can be a bit too heavy for a full-course Chinese dinner. There was rice with the curry fish head too!
How wonderful! What a meaningful gathering.
One of those things that make being a teacher worthwhile.
I love the first dish, love how they present it, nice!
Glad that you enjoyed the gathering!
I’m glad too. Yes, very impressive presentation.