Friday, February 10, 2006

hello

i bought many dvds this week since they were on sale in HMV. "Sideways", "Lost in translation", " The motorcycle diaries", " Finding Neverland", and "Mostly Martha". I have watched all of them before except for "Mostly Martha". I was feeling nostalgia for certain sentiments and moods they evoked even though i don't have vivid memories of the story details. Films speak to us differently at various points in our lives. I am curious to know what associations , thoughts and feelings would arise now when i watch them again.

around 8 months ago, i lost my wallet in Ann Arbor ( USA). I remembered losing it after watching "Kung Fu Hustle" in Michigan Theater. I never got it back even though I did search frantically everywhere. Yesterday, a Michigan grad student emailed me and told me that he found my student card lying in the alleyway behind the Theater. after such a long while, i don't really care about the wallet anymore, with the money ,social security card and all that, but it's nice that something of sentimental value like the student card had appeared there and Paul Griffiths, the guy who found it, had offered to sent it to me by mail.

kids thrive in the imaginary, it seems. i have been teaching this five year old kid, Grace, how to play the violin. her mother wants me to get her interested in music and the violin. it has been quite a challenge to keep her still, and make her play notes on the instrument. i realize that the best way to communicate with her is through the use of fictional characters, role play and imaginary situations. For example, it is hard to make her play the whole of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in one go, especially when she finds the new notes very difficult. the only way it seems is to tell her a story about a family of stars that have somehow descended from the Heavens, and have landed themselves in her violin case. she has now to give a concert to the stars, to keep them entertained, especially mummy and daddy stars. that's when she begins to play through the song a little more enthusiastically and excitedly. i am still learning her language in this whole process!

2 comments:

Sher said...

ur an incredibly patient teacher. i think i wld hv thrown her out by now. oops, come to think about it, i'm quite an impatient mother too.

Jie Jie Ng said...

oh, c'mon, i think you are more patient than you believe yourself to be! i suppose for me, i can continue teaching Grace because i enjoy the moments with her. she is really fun to be with even though it takes quite a bit of effort to make her play the violin!