Oh So vintage!
Ding Ding Ding! The bell start for a new period in school.Class 1 E,that stands for Elite was entered by the headmaster of the school, Mr Balachandran.He was replacing a teacher who was absent that day,as an English teacher he asked each students to introduce themselves in English including to mention their parents occupation.
This happened in 1971,when my mom was 7 at her primary school.Sekolah Kebangsaan Simpang Empat in Sitiawan Perak,the school is also known as Sekolah Gandhi although it has nothing to do with Mahatma Gandhi XD.".....my father is...estate"mentioned by a student whose father works in an estate."No your father is a rubber tapper."the headmaster corrected.After almost everyone in the class has introduced themselves,it's time for my mom's turn to tell about herself.
"My Name Is Azzaha Bt Awang,I am the 10th and the last child of my family....erm...my father works as...umm..he is a typewriter!".The class was silent,the truth is no one actually understand their own introduction!
"No Azzaha,your father is not a typewriter.I know your father very well he is a petition writer."
Luckily he knows about my grandfather.If I were him,I could die laughing,but he never laughed to his students 'of course my mom told me about his character'.*Petition Writer =penulis surat rayuan*
The reason why my mom mentioned my grandfather was a typewriter because everyday my grandfather would be sitting infront of his typewriter typing letters for those who can't read or write.My grandfather can speak 3 additional languages
English,Chinese,and Tamil.I don't remember anything about him because I was too young when he died.He died at the age of 90+...
My brother and I were rolling on my mom's bed laughing until tears of joy rolled from our cheeks :'D.Mom was very naughty during her school days,one day her teacher asked her to pay attention when the teacher is teaching "Pay Attention!"the teacher would say to her,but when she got home..."Abang,macam mana ni? Bila adik cakap je ngan kawan adik mesti cikgu tu suruh 'Pay 10 cent' kite mana ada duit.."
My uncle giggled and the whole house heard about the 10 cent incident! "Adik,cikgu tu bukan suruh adik bayar 10 cent,dia suruh adik pay attention berikan perhatian.Mana boleh sembang masa cikgu mengajar."
My mom came from a poor family and because of her brothers and sisters she managed to get herself a degree in Economics from UKM!
Now she teaches Pra-U,Pengajian Am :)
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