Aberdeen, Scotland

I sat through all the presentation praying to myself saying please, please, please dont let me be next. Eventually everyone had gone and I knew that it had to be me, my heart started beating faster I started to shake with fright. Pulling myself of the chair I stood up not knowing what was going to happen.

Guess what? I felt great once I got up their I was still shaking a bit but I felt fine. I think in my presentation I could have had some additional information. I could have remembered some interesting facts in my head instead of just reading of the board. I could have been more specific with my facts and made it more interesting I think that I would have been able to catch peoples attention a bit more if I had added some additional information. Saying this I think that my presentation went pretty smoothly.

I think I was able to show not just the importance of Aberdeen but how nice a place it is as well. I spoke nice and clearly and I am pretty sure everyone could hear me. My slides were nice and clear you could read them properly and you didn't have to strain your eyes to read the text. My overall presentation was good I also really enjoyed finding the information as you lear new interesting facts on the way.

I felt that on a lot of peoples presentation their was too much text so at parts it became a bit boring. In my presentation I didn't have as much information on my slides but I think that was ok because I had more facts in my head that I told them. I focused mostly on the environmental and historical facts but some people focused on other points of the presentation which made very interesting so next time I am going to try that,

Next time I do a presentation I am going to add in some more fun and interesting facts to keep everyones attention. I enjoyed doing this presentation and would like to do another in the future a bit like it so that I can add more to it. I am happy with my final results and if you want to look at my presentation here is the link:

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AXZgT8mLr03lZGZidGp3czNfMTA0ZGozNnFqY20&hl=en

The New Year!

Okay, so this might sound weird to you but I have decided that one of my new years resolutions is to blow dry my hair more often! See my mum is always complaining that my hair looks greasy and would look so much better blow dried, so to please my mum and make her happy I am going to blow dry my hair as often as possible. I will also be able to wear my hair down more often as it won't be so puffy as it usually is. When I was back in Scotland for the winter break my hair looked so much better as it was really cold in Scotland and their is no humidity to make my hair puffy and fluffy. Finally when I came back to Malaysia my hair went back to its usual self, all puffy and fluffy. Tonight when I get home I am going to have a shower and then blow dry my hair and start this new years resolution! This is a benefit for me and not just my mum and I am happy with this resolution.

The one other new years resolution that I have decided on is that I will give away 365 of my things one for each day of the new year. For example I might give away a vest top one day and the next a hair bobble to make other people less fortunate happy. It will also put a smile on my face to know that others are becoming happy through my generosity. I will be able to help give 365 people a better time for once and that is what counts. Knowing this brings a smile to my face. I think that this will also set a good example so that others will start to do what I have been doing. I hope one day I will be able to put a smile on everyones face.

Just Smile!!!

Yes!!! I had finally gotten to the top! It was time for me to hope into my tube and whiz down the hill in my rubber ring. This was the best part of my holiday, I went to aberdeen ski centre on the 23rd of december with my cousins ready to go tubing. Normally they use this fake flooring like snow to tube on but the snow had come down so heavily you couldn't even see the fake snow flooring! It was a long and hard climb to the top the tube was pretty heavy and it was a steep hill but it all pays off when you get to the top! I sat down in my ring the man gave me a push and I was of whirling round the tight bends until I reached the bottom having the time of my life. This had to be the best part of the winter break!

Also spending time with my cousins was great fun I am very close to them as they are around the same age as me. Their names are Jamie and Thomas, they are both boys but I am still great friends with them and enjoy having them around. I will always remember the day that I went tubing with them it was so fun there is no way I could forget! I hope to be able to go tubing again with them and really enjoyed my christmas holidays in Scotland and can't wait to go back again.

pictures from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Orphans_program.jpg http://www.gamestown2010.ca/media/communityImages/700x500/Kamloops/23MAR_HARPER2.jpg

http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/grafix/profile_logo/kaimhill.jpg

2010 ZEITGEIST

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyE2vy9edY4

Check out my own 2010 zeitgeist!

MM OLIVIA!

In class we did a couple of activities to find out what our profile was and my one is MM, I am also in the gestalt section. If you don't know what gestalt means it is from germany and means that you learn and think in a smooth but surprising way. You don't like to be told what to do in order but prefer to just go with the flow. 

The profile MM say that I am able to learn best through movement and by focusing on the whole picture. I honestly don't agree with this at all I prefer to be sitting down and listening and looking. Also I prefer to have things written down one after another so I know what I am doing. Looking at whole picture normally confuses me a lot, but they also say things about me that are definitely true. They say when I am under stress I may feel clumsy and stuck and don't know what to do. This definitely explains me when I am stressed and down at times.

To help me I can be encouraged that learning is very important and when I am feeling down I  also need encouragement. It also says sitting near the front of the class where I can see but can't distract others with movement should help me. I think that this should help me quite a bit and will sit near the front when I am having difficulties at paying attention. Also I feel that I learn better by having someone near by who is able to help me when I am stuck, not to give me the answers but just to be their for support. A student who understands what I need help with would be perfect for sitting beside in class.

I think that the MM profile is 50% true and 50% not true about me, sometimes I feel like I need to sit alone when I have loads of work to do but if I need help I prefer sitting near somebody. Knowing that this is my profile I would like to improve some of the things that they think I am bad at. Also I would like to keep up the positive things about me like being able to see the whole picture straight away and things similar to that. It helps knowing what my profile is and for the most part I am happy with this I put myself down as being left handed but when we tested me I can actually do most things with both hands, so that is probably why some of the facts don't actually suit me. I am really excited that I was able to find out that I can write with both hands!

Lit.Circle Collaborate Constructively

"Politeness is the poison of collaboration."

A partner can have benefits and downsides depending on who you are working with. Working with my partner Michelle has been a benefit as we have been pushing each other to the limit and helping each other to improve our Literature circles. I feel like doing more work on my Lit.Circle if my grade goes towards someone else's so I am always getting a good grade when I work with someone. You also don't have to do as much work if you work constructively with your partner. You are able to meet new people and make friends with them while you are working together. Everyone gets feedback from one another if you work in a group or with a partner. I think it improves your working skills to collaborate with others as you go.

Their can also be challenges through working with a partner like having to figure out a way to work on the same document and who is doing what pieces of work. Once you have done that though you will whizz through everything that you have to do so easily. It is really fun collaborating with your partner and learning the ways that they work so it might help you when you dont understand how to do something.

I have gained a lot of understandings about the book hatchet from michelle as she has explained parts to me that I didn't quite understand at parts of the book. I am feeling really confident about my next literature circle now and think that I will really enjoy doing it. Having a partner secures me and helps me on my way to a better grade and I really enjoy having one.

"Collaboration is no longer painful - or precious."

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/collaboration_2.html

  

Papua New Guinea

 The reason that Papua New Guinea is so much poorer than Australia and New Zealand is because when the English sent over prisoners to Australia and NZ when they were freed they would decide to stay in Australia and NZ to create a family and living. This meant the population was growing much quicker than New Guinea's and had a much higher standard of living. Also Jared Diamond believes that geography plays a big part in modern and wealthy areas such as the UK and America. I think that reason Australia and NZ are much wealthier and modern countries is also because Papua New Guinea was happy how it was and did not need to think about becoming more wealthy or modernized. Their way of living was fine and didn't need to be changed.

Sometimes I wonder why Malaysia to me seems much more advanced in technology then Scotland. I think this is because Scotland takes small steps at a time but started before KL and that Malaysia takes massive leaps not as often as Scotland takes small ones. this might be part of the reason that Australia and NZ are so much richer and modernized than Papua New Guinea. I think that this can be changed in time and Papua New Guinea can become slightly more modernized obviously not as much as NZ and Australia but much more than they are now. 

Technology is something that New Zealand and Australia are both very good at using on a day to day basis. Papua New Guinea is not as able to use the technology yet as they have not created even a small modern city yet. Papua New Guinea is very capable of having a good life without even needing technology. Papua New Guinea would love to be more modernized but since they didn't ever use steel they wouldn't ever be able to make anything out of it, this means not technology and no big modern buildings. 


Papua New Guinea will someday catch up with New Zealand and Australia and will become a new, bigger and better city! Just Wait and See!

Not Those Kids Again!!!

 These Blue-spotted Mudskippers were trying to out-pout each other to gain ownership of this clump of mud!

Not again, it was just yesterday when I had another group of kids invading my territory! Aagghhrrr,  better skip out of here fast before some kid falls on top of me! Wow what a lucky escape, I remember when I saw my cousin Theodor being sat on- not a pretty site! Allow me to introduce myself, I am Antonio a mudskipper who lives in Kuala Selangor Nature Park. I like it very much here but at times like these when there are a bunch of rotten kids planting mangroves here it can get a bit wild. I am going to do a runner to a bush over there where no kids can tread on me, so here I go................
  
  It is very nice and quiet over in this corner as a matter of fact it is quite cosy being surrounded by all of these big lush green leaves which are a gazzilion times bigger than me! I don't normally hang around in bushes you see I normally create holes in the mud and live there. Ooooh that must have hurt! Did you just see that? Some guy just stepped on one of my friends the crab!  I better go and see if he is still alive! Make sure I am not stood on as well would you? He is fine, luckily he was able to dig a hole into the mud really quickly so that he could escape. Lets go see how those kids are doing planting those mangroves then, eh?
     Wow quite impressive. their doing pretty good compared to the last group of kids that were here! Oooh be careful with that little mangrove my dear.  it looks like it's away to fall over! Quickly pick it up! Sometimes I get so frustrated when they don't understand what I'm saying - I feel like jumping in there ear and screaming down it sometimes! Sorry about that I am just needing something to eat that is why I am so cranky, lets go and find something yummy then.
       Look what I have found a juicy looking dead fly yum, yum! It was a real tasty, plump, squidgy and slimy snack, just enough to tide me over. I think the kids are getting ready to leave now, it looks like everyone has planted a mangrove. The one thing that I don't understand is why they wash off all the lovely mud from their clothes and bodies? It smells and feels so good to me! But I guess a humans got to do what a humans got to do!

No sooner had the bigger one seen off the smaller to the lump in the distance than an even bigger pouter arrived!

http://digdeep1962.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html