First generation Malaysian

My parents and I had the pleasure of spending last Christmas with Juwita Suwito and her mother. Our lovely Malaysian songstress (and ex-BBGSian of course!) was gracious enough to accept an invitation to sing at my parents' church in Penang. We were all totally WOWed by the power and melodious subtleties of her voice...amazing!! If you ever get a chance to hear Juwita sing...please GO!

I happily volunteered to sell her CDs and they were all gone in a matter of minutes. Says more about the singer than the seller, I'm sure ;-)

Juwita was recently featured in The Nut Graph and you're welcome to read her story here:

First Generation Malaysian

You go girl...we're so proud of you!

Candle 35: Seto Wai Ling & Chang Wai Fun

What happens when a classmate you haven't seen in 22 years announces on Facebook that she's stopping by Singapore? You happily round up other BBGSians and have a mini-reunion of course!

(L-R) Lu Meng, Seto Wai Ling, Joanna & Chang Wai Fun having dinner at Cedele in Wheelock Place

This evening, I had the pleasure of catching up with Seto Wai Ling and Chang Wai Fun, another 2 schoolmates from the Class of 1987. As expected, we repeated our life stories, recalled silly school stories, caught up on the goss about fellow classmates and teachers and it was a barrel of FUN! When we meet Lu Meng, we'll always get the drama story, the hockey story, the "all American girl" story...in that order...we missed the Naimah one this time, though...you're losing your touch girl :-) We'll definitely be meeting up again after Chinese New Year (once I get my act together and actually start planning a reunion for Singapore-based BBGSians)


Seto Wai Ling arrived in BBGS in Form 4 as a minor celebrity, having won national chess championships. She studied Economics & Philosophy in NUS before accompanying her husband to MIT in Boston. There, she threw herself into Japanese language studies while enjoying the myriad activities that MIT had to offer. She currently resides in Melbourne and calls herself a "professional student".


Patricia Chang Wai Fun was THE Mathematics wizard in my year, sweeping all the prizes while I could barely understand my dy/dx. Not surprisingly, she went on to study Actuarial Science in Canada and is now the CFO of a large insurance company. She has also worked in China & Indonesia and currently resides in Singapore with her family.

Back2BBGS in Tatler

Our gala reunion in August 2009 was so glamorous that we made it into November's issue of the Malaysian Tatler. Check this out....no more "kuih talam" parties for these glamour dolls!

Thanks to Irene Chen (Class of 1984) for this lead.

Happy 2010

Dear Friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

As 2009 drew to a close, I couldn't help re-playing one precious memory - the gala reunion of 4 August. What an outpouring of love that was!

From the shrieks of excited middle-aged women, to the beaming smiles of our beloved teachers, it was evident how big a part BBGS played in our lives and how much we wanted to see its re-birth. For one glorious day, we filled the halls of the Pavilion KL with images of BBGS and the strains of our school song and choral speaking reverberated all day long. Tears flowed freely as we greeted our dear Miss Cooke who walked into the hall, supported by Miss Moey. That image reminded me so much of the words of Isaac Newton who said; "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."

I am so grateful to the team of girls who made this dream come true and to all of you for your overwhelming support. It was one of the principal goals that inspired me to start this blog.

If you would indulge me, I'd also like to take some time to re-cap the 2009 achievements for the Back2BBGS blog, in which you've all played such a big part:

• Blogged 80 posts - the highest since our humble birth in 2007
  
• Collected 34 stories for Project Kindle...yippee...keep those stories pouring in!
• Digitized the early history of BBGS through the Women of Vision exhibition
• Served as the platform for disseminating information and rallying all our girls for the gala reunion, as well as provided research for numerous newspaper articles about BBGS published this year
  
• Recorded the healing and closure that took place as we all set aside our bitterness and stepped into the Pavilion KL for the first time

Thank you so much for reaching out to me. I have so enjoyed our communications in person and online and I invite you to keep in touch with me and with each other. You are welcome to continue sharing stories of reunions, achievements and memories. Let's keep this fire burning...

NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA

With all my love and warmest regards,
Joanna

Thank you teachers

The mediocre teacher tells.

The good teacher explains.

The superior teacher demonstrates.

The great teacher inspires.

~William Arthur Ward

Season's Greetings from Joanna

Dear Friends,

Firstly, let me wish God's richest blessings on all of you and your family this holiday season! How truly blessed we are to find ourselves in the bosom of dear ones - a truth that I've been powerfully reminded of in 2009.

When the bottom fell out of the economy earlier this year, I received a call informing me that my role had been axed. Although it wasn't easy to bid farewell to a wonderful team of colleagues and the security of a paycheck, this news gave me exactly what I needed - a six-month break and a healthy bank balance.

Within 48 hours of reaching out to family and friends, I was enveloped in kindness and received invitations to stay in homes all over the world - a privilege I happily exercised. The Glass Half Full series chronicles this welcome break.

My heart overflows with gratefulness when I think of the many precious memories that were created this year:

• Our Yeoh family was reunited with Julie's homecoming to Malaysia during Chinese New Year, and family ties were further cemented when we took a family vacation to Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Bodega Bay and Las Vegas
• A wonderful vacation to Candidasa, Bali where I enjoyed massages, snorkelling, fishing, massages, drinking, making new friends and I did mention Balinese massages didn't I?
• Spending time in New York City with my friends Andrew, Isabel and their beautiful boys. The many hours spent wandering through the inspiring Metropolitan Museum and Central Park has deepened my love for the Big Apple. And a big Thank You to Elaine Li for showing me the world beyond Manhattan, and to my NYU friends for the intellectual stimuli
• Hunting down the Liberty Bell, Independance Hall and Philly cheesesteaks in historic Philadelphia with Julie was good fun! We also made a side trip to Washington DC where we narrowly escaped a deadly train crash...thank God...
• Visiting and learning about the Amish community in a town called Intercourse ;-)
• Witnessing the gala reunion for BBGS (Bukit Bintang Girls'School) at the Pavilion KL was a dream come true. Thousands of girls and teachers came together to celebrate the spirit of a school that has outlasted its bricks and mortar. I am so blessed to have contributed to the event by writing the Back2BBGS blog and the Women of Vision exhibition
• Travelling to Australia to witness the wedding of my cousin, Aaron and the baptism of my god-daughter, Alyssa. Being able to catch up with so many good friends made it feel like a proper homecoming
• Enjoying 5 minutes of fame when the Star newspaper published an article on my career and travels, through which I connected with old friends and a gentleman who asked me if I liked younger men...YIKES!
• Watching all five of my god-kids grow in stature and spirit is such a joy. I'm so grateful to their parents for allowing Aunty Jo Jo to contribute to their development in her nutty, unconventional way

Let me say a big THANK YOU to all my family and friends for your kind words, hospitality, a warm bed, storage space, countless coffees and cakes, food, wine and friendship. All good holidays must come to an end so when October came round, I found myself another position at a oil & gas services company in Singapore. This city state will continue to be my home as I believe it's the perfect beach-head from which to catch the crest of the Asian century.

As we bid farewell to the noughties ('00s) and enter a brand new decade, let's continue to be grateful for all that we have and become all that He created us to be.

Here's wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR and a blessed 2010!

Candle 34: Melinda Tai Mei Lian

Hi Joanna,

I found your blog by chance—what a joy! I am not sure if my story will qualify for your project. (Joanna says: Of course it will. This forum is for BBGSians of any age and creed. CBNers stay away!)

You probably do not know me as I was many years ahead of you at BBGS from 1962-1974. My headmistresses were Ms. Ma Tak Yan in Primary 2 and Ms. Cooke in Secondary. I remembered how I was such a riot at primary school for talking too much in class and was often send to the office. Those were the days. Ms Cooke was a joy and a sweetie---I always looked forward to her class.

One of my fondest memories was “Funfair Days” where each class would either cook, make something or perform for the event. One of the best times was when our class was voted for cooking the best popiah! There are so many teachers' names that I may have forgotten, the ones that I remembered fondly was Ms. Boey, my Bible teacher. Despite her disability she is forever cheerful and helpful.

I have some great friends, unfortunately I have lost touch with them when I got married and immigrated to the United States.

Melinda Tai Mei Lian

http://www.melindatai.com/

Candle 33: Chang Wai Min

When Wai Min walked into the mall, I recognised her smile instantly. She's one of these people with bright cheerful dispositions that light up a room! She's from the Class of 1985 and was a Shirtliff cheerleader at school.

Wai Min came to Melbourne to study accountancy and stayed on to work, marry and raise a family. She has 6 kids (yes, you read that right) ranging from 15 years to 9 months. She keeps up with BBGS news through this blog and was only too happy to share her memories.

One funny story includes a teacher with strange pronunciation who kept referring to John Marlowe as "John Mah-lau" (monkey in Cantonese)...haha...

Thanks for dropping by at the mini-reunion, Wai Min. Let's do this again soon :-)