Greetings from Singapore

Eleven fellow migrants to Singapore sharing a common BBGS heritage came together this weekend. In addition to the Singapore residents, we also had visitors join us from KL and Melbourne.

Over glasses of sparkling wine and apple tea, girls ranging from Class of 1983 to Class of 1992, quickly got down to the business of introducing each other and sharing our favourite BBGS stories. It didn't take long for us to discover many interesting professions and subject matter experts including insurance, financial planning, dental, occupational therapy, jewellery and interior design and plastic surgery - which incidentally got the longest airtime (wonder why?)

Let's meet some of the ladies shall we?

Van Kit Meng and Poesy Liang

Van Kit Meng has settled in Singapore for over 20 years, having come across the causeway to study at the National University of Singapore. Her family has recently re-located back to the island state from the Middle East. She even remembers me clinging to my mother's skirt during her days in primary school so to honour that amazing memory, I called my mom in the middle of dinner and had Kit chat with her!

Poesy Liang travelled all the way from KL to join us. She had us in stitches with stories of her escapades in school such as spending hours at the Royal Selangor Golf Club instead of attending geography class, and missing her Home Science exam. She vividly recounts the tale of making up for the exam by cooking char koay teow - "I remembered to add the si ham last!"

Moonlake Lee and Mrs Chew Hai Hong

Moonlake (and her sister Tinkerbell) had the most well-remembered names in BBGS, thanks to her hippie parents. After living in US and Canada for almost 15 years, she's been in Singapore now for over 6 years and is part of the management team for her husband's multi-specialty dental practice in Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

We also had the privilege of catching up with Mrs Chew Hai Hong, who taught Modern Maths and chemistry. Mrs Chew, whom we affectionately called Mrs Chew Ha Ha because the amount of laughter that emanated from her classes, took early retirement from BBGS to travel with her husband to Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Her principal occupation nowadays is looking after her 3-year old grandson.

CLASS OF 1987 (Seated L-R) Seto Wai Ling, Tan Lu Meng (Standing L-R) Joanna Yeoh, Loh Yee Git, Chang Wei Fun

The Class of 1987 was the most well-represented at the gathering. Apart from myself, the other guests included:

Seto Wai Ling, who flew in from Melbourne to join. She describes herself as a "professional student" and is currently pursuing postgraduate studies in Japanese

Tan Lu Meng (Jaclyn) is an occupational therapist with her own private practice. She's lived in Singapore for over 17 years and never fails to amuse us with her stories of the infamous 3C1 vs 3K hockey game and Puan Naaimah impersonations.

Loh Yee Git (Jean) just moved back to Singapore from KL and manages regional Marketing Communications for a telco. She remembers being very quiet and shy in school and only broke out of that mould when she went to college in the US.

Change Wei Fun (Patricia) is a qualified actuarist (thanks to career advice from Miss Yeap!) and Financial Controller of a major insurance company in Singapore. She joined BBGS from Kuen Cheng and remembers being baffled about why BBGS school rules were so strict and couldn't understand why the girls were more interested in Bible Knowledge instead of Hong Kong Cantonese serials?

CLASS OF 1988 (L-R): Audra Khoo, Jeanette Poon and her daughter Jasmine

The Class of 1988 was represented by:

Audra Khoo, who's best remembered in BBGS for flouting all rules with regards to hair length, colour and school uniform, turns out to be a beautiful glamorous fashionista (of course!) We had a good time laughing over the number of offence slips she used to get from me :-)

Jeannette Poon, who brought along her daughter Jasmine, is a qualified nurse who currently works with one of the top aesthetic (i.e. plastic) surgeons in Singapore. Of course, she gave plenty of advice about botox, liposuction and face lifts....not that any of us need it but we'll keep her phone number...just in case!

All in all, it was a FANTASTIC reunion which lasted till 1 am for some of us. We can't wait to get together for the next one...KL Hokkien Mee at Big Eater Simpang Bedok anyone?