Angela is 12 today!!!

We celebrated Shan Min's birthday with the Sebastians and Matt's brother Toby and his family on Saturday 25th April. Sadly, it will be one of the last few of such gatherings before the Sebastians head to Down Under for good.

Tennis Update - by a very proud Mommy

This is a quick update on our tennis prodigies - Angela and Mark.

Angela has made it to the STA sub-elite team. She now trains 11 hours a week (9 hours at the Sub-elite and 2 hours with her personal coach Uncle Jon). She is really enjoying the game now and is finding the Sub- Elite training challenging and fun.

Mark (the one in dark blue t shirt and white shorts in the pic on the left) has just been promoted once again to the next level - Intermediate Advance. The funny thing is that most of his tennis mates are 'giants' compared to him. They average about 1.5 times his height! He played a match with a boy today (the one just to his left in the pic) and Mark beat him 4-0!!!! Way to go, buddy!!!

A Trip To Sungei Buloh ... by Mark

Thursday:11 March 2009 6.00 am
Today I woke with a start. I jumped out of bed, ran downstairs and changed into my school uniform while my mother whipped up a scrumptious breakfast - the most important meal of the day. I was very excited that morning as I was going on a school excursion to Sungei Buloh!

7.00am
I headed to the canteen as I always do every weekday. Then, as fast as my feet could carry me, I pushed past the boys in the crowded canteen to get to the Parade Square for assembly. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to bring a story book to read during Silent Reading Time in the Parade Square. I prayed very hard that the prefects would not catch me not reading a book. Just as a prefect was approaching me, he turned to another boy who was talking loudly to his friend. I gave a sigh of relief.

8.00am
When it was time to go to Sungei Buloh, I saw a massive bus parked at the foyer. It was the BIGGEST bus I had ever seen! I ran up the bus excitedly. I sat ALL the way to the back of the bus where my best friend Brandon was sitting. The bus was very noisy as there were many boisterous boys pushing and shoving each other, all talking at the top of their voices. The teacher-in-charge shouted out loud ,”Stop all that racket!”. The boys ignored her completely and continued chattering away.

9.00am
“Finally we are here!” I told Brandon excitedly. Both of us jumped off the bus joyfully. We were filled with excitement as there were towering trees all around us. We were transported into another magical world of nature!

10.00am
We saw robust Rain trees that looked like GIANT umbrellas. They were filled with loud chirping birds that almost deafened our ears!!!! While we were so engrossed in the wild life, we didn't notice that there were pesky little mosquitoes having a BIG feast on us. We ran around in circles as we tried to evade the mosquito attack. As quick as lightning, we whipped out our insect repellent and sprayed ourselves with it.

11.00am
Suddenly, out of nowhere a scaly Komodo Dragon appeared from behind a shrub. It crawled clumsily towards the nearby river and slithered into the muddy water head first. I was careful not to go too near it as it has a poisonous bite. All my classmates quickly took out their cameras and started snapping away. It was indeed a majestic creature!

12.00pm
When it was time to leave, our class was so noisy that some visitors shot us an angry look. I was so embarrassed. I tried to tell my classmates to keep quiet but as usual, no one listened to me. I was so relieved when the school bus finally arrived to pick us up. I was exhausted and my feet were aching.

When we got back to school, I was impatient for my father to pick me up. What a tiring but interesting day!