 Diana Utami, Omar Belkadi and I went to Chicago in a double decker bus. That was the first time I got on a double decker bus. In Malaysia, we are a bit skeptical in chosing a double decker because there was a terrible tragic accident involving a double decker bus last two years. One of the passengers of the bus died with her head's missing after the bus rammed into a divider and she was on the ground deck during the accident. I was praying all the time hoping that there would not be a fatal accident or something during my ride. One thing I observe here in the States is that the drivers and motorists are driving slowly compared to Malaysian drivers. That made me a bit confident taking the Megabus to Chicago. We departed at 9.15 a.m. and I took the upper deck together with my friends. We arrived in Chicago on time at 4.30 p.m. The weather was nice and we took a taxi to Willows Hotel. After we left our luggage in the hotel, we went to Michigan Avenue in a adjoining bus after a few metres of walking off the road to the hotel. The weather was always cold in Chicago..in fact freezing cold and colder than Kentucky! We saw the great Michigan Lake and it was beautiful! After taking dinner at the Food Court in one of the malls, we went back to the hotel. Our room is small but it is clean. I like the body lotion provided by the hotel because it was a good quality one. I have never had a very good quality body lotion provided by a hotel. Or may be I have never tried any since I have never bothered to apply any when I was in Malaysia. Funny. Now I am in the States, I can't leave home with applying body lotion! It is so dry here that my skin is peeling off by itself. Come spring, things would get better I guess. Less skin peeling.. The following day, it was raining and misty. We took a train ride this time. The visibility in the city was impossible with the Lake faded in the thick mist. It was a beautiful sight! You can see the summit or peak of the tower missing or faded in the thick mist. We took some great photos by the lake. We went on the hop on bus to get to the aquarium and the museum. We watched the Beluga Whale show in the afternoon and I must say, they have a good collection of aqua life here. Oh there was also an old seal in the aquarium. A huge one! Unfortunately, I did not see any big sharks like I got to see in Kuala Lumpur Aquaria in KLCC tower! There was also a diver swimming in the tank feeding the fish as a display for people to see here. Oh we watched "Happy Feet" 3D movie with the sound effects and action effects too! Our seats tickled us and there was wind blowing under your seat for total physical effects. The staff blew bubble soap to give extra effect to the movie. Later in the evening, we went on the hop on bus for a tour of the town. It was raining and freezing cold. Though it was freezing cold, Omar and I went up the upper deck to be with other tourists with our guide to view the whole city. It was awesome and I really enjoyed myself taking lots of pics in the rain! People waved at us and they might think we were crazy people sitting in the rain in the chilly-bone weather! The next day, we went to the Planetarium and went around in it within an hour. Nothing interesting though. All the shows were closed and some were in the process of updating their service. However, I snapped lots of photos of the astronomy tools, commets and planet models. Then we went to Michigan Avenue again to shop. I bought a cleansing set from Clinique, some clothes and a pair of Levis jeans. Diana bought a jacket and a sweater. Omar did not buy anything. After dinner, we went home. I stopped the bus too early that we had to walk a few feets to get to the hotel and we walked along the zoo's lake. The following day, we went to the Natural Museum to watch the "Journey of Sue" in 3D. I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary but Diana went asleep. Very funny. I got to take pics of the biggest dinosaur's remains in the world! I bought a few mood rings and post cards too. We were supposed to ride the trolley but we did not check our Sky Deck ticket! It was a complimentary ride that came along with the Sky Deck ticket. After taking a bus ride to Michigan Avenue, we walked 5 blocks to Willis Tower to go up the sky deck. It was taking too long to reach the top as the main elevator was under maintainance. After almost 2 hours of waiting, we got to be on the sky deck. The view was awesome! I took pictures on th Ledge! The ledge is a glass balcony that can show you Chicago's aerial view for 180 degree. Be careful, make sure you are not afraid of height. I was afraid a bit, but I crawled to get to the middle of the ledge and took some pics. It was awesome. Anybody who wants to visit Chicago must go up the Sky Deck, the second highest building in the world. I was so proud to see KLCC was enlisted as part of the highest building alongside the Willis Tower. After taking dinner, we went to the bus stop to wait for the megabus to head back to Cincinnati. At 9.30p.m., came a women down a bus telling us all sort of stories of how unfortunate she was. She said her husband was killed in accident that day and she had no money and no place to go! She even made storiesof how she was pregnant with 6 children left behind at home to starve. What a con! I just said I was sorry to know that. She thought Diana and I were dumb as other people. Who would believe her anyway? Then the bus came at 10.30 p.m. and I took the best VIP seat which was the front seat in the upper deck! I got to sit all by myself alone in the bus. We arrived in Cincinnati at 4.00 in the morning and our bus was involved in a minor accident with a car. What a start for a day! Anyway, we were lucky, while the bus driver was sorting out with the police and the other passengers, our bus number 25 came. The lady bus driver was kind enough to stop picking us home. I arrived home at Hampton Farms safely and started my sleeping journey for hours for the rest of the day! The best part of my spring break was when I had the chance to meet my friend whom I knew through online before I came to the States. I haven't seen him and his family at the beginning of my stay because he was out station. The last weekend I met my friend and that has completed my stay when I have met all my friends here; Kathy Burns and Greg Fouss. I am so happy to be able to see them in person. What a spring break! |
My Classes In Ockerman Middle School
 to make it three weeks of my internship in Ockerman Middle School, I was so glad. I was so happy that I got the 6th Graders. I shall miss them when I am gong to leave next week,. I wish there would a smiley that can show my face expression of being gloomy! I love talking to Jacob Crowell, Nicky, Megan, Austin, Jamie, Andrew, and Alberto everyday! They would come and hug me and ask so many questions everyday. I even got them in videos! I had taught poetry in all five classes. Along the way, I had done a few powerpoints and videos for the class to enjoy and learn. Jacob Crowell shouted in the class " Madam Lila, you must be the best teacher in the whole world because you have videos in all of your classes!". Hahahaha....I love that boy! What a compliment. Kids love videos and that can attract their attention. Jacob's class is in the 7 th period and I can understand how bored he would be in the 7 th period. He welcomed videos very much! Anyway, my lesson is on peotry and it is always nice to listen and watch some poet recitation from famous people or even school children. Poems have a lot of motivational and inspirational words in them. I got a video recording of some of my winners, for pleasure viewing. I gave a packet of chocolate to all winners of my classes and extra one to the 7 th period! They are so talented and I really enjoyed listening to their grimmes and whinnes. Ockerman, I am going to miss you dearly...Jorden, do you miss your teacher? |
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Ocker 2 nd Week 007.JPGShooting Day
 a shooting adventure! Frank sent me an email asking me whether I wanted to go to a shooting club named Miami Shooting Club on Saturday. I replied positively but Hassan could not makeit. So, on the February 12, 2011, I went alone with Frank to the shooting range. Carol could not make it too as she was tutoring a student who has a learning disability. Most of her students are ADD. Frank came to pick me up at 9.00 a.m. and he drove along the countryside to a place called Miami, Ohio. It was a lovely sight to see the barns and horses here. A lot of farmers' houses too which are put for sale. We arrived at 9.35 in the morning and went to see the places and shooting range. There was a group of sharp shooters who were taking part in a shooting competition for 300 yards. Then we went to a place where peopel can shoot anything even a CPU! Empty shells were everywhere! The first time I heard a gun shoot at a near distant, my heart wanted to explode. It was so loud, lucky I was given an ear protector by Frank. Then we went to a place for the shooting of shot guns. Frank got 3 shot guns and a rifle. I tried all 3 shotguns. It was fun and it was not difficult at all. I shot at the distance of 30 feets. I almost got a bull eyes! Wow....not bad for a beginner, Frank said that to me. But I think if I were to shoot in the summer, it would be a better result. The weather was cold as usual at around 44 F and my fingers were almost frozen. I had to take off my jacket and gloves so as to give myself some comfort of shooting. My feet was cold too. I should have brought my boots to the shooting range. I was taught to load bullets and how to handle a pistol. It was heavy and my hands were cold. But I managed to shoot quite good too. After shooting, we went to Wall Mart and I shopped pizza and fruits. Then we headed to Frank's house to take lunch with Carol at home. Frank cooked for us rice, vegetable and salmon. At 2.20 p.m. Frank sent me home in his Honda S2000 sport car converter .....in the winter! I have never had a ride in a sport car before and that was fun! I am glad that I went out today. |
Internship at Ockerman Middle School
 for my internship. I got 6 th graders and they are 11- 12 yearsold kids. My partner teacher's name is Linda Williams. I had a great time being with the kids at Ocker. The first they were curious and they waved and said "Hi" to me. But I already get to know a few of them. Jamie, Jacob, Megan and Ally Stanton. The following week I was in Ocker, I got more friendly students came to shake hands and said "Hi". I had done my country's presentation on the second day of my first week in Ocker. The kids loved the video presentation and they asked a lot of questions. One of the questions was "Madam Lila, if you are covering your head, how can you go into the beach, do you wear bikinis to go into the sea?". It was hillarious and I said, we did not go out swimming anymore and mostly kids and men would take the swim out in the sea. The first two periods we could not make the video presentation but only the power point was working. Towards the end, the last three classes had a lot of questions to ask me. The next morning, I showed the first two classes my video of Malaysia and the kids loved it too. One of them asked me; the video potrayed that as if Malaysia was a great place to be with everything is there.I said, "If you asked, I woud definitely say yes, it is because I come from Malaysia and I love my country very much".  |
Host Family
On the February 6, 7 and 8, I went to a friendship family in Cincinnati, Ohio. The couple that Hassan and I got lives in Anderson Township. They have a lovely house with a spectacular view with small woods and lots of deers, squirrels and birds! In the house itself there are three big fat fluffy cats! Mr and Mrs Dukes love to travel and they just got back from Morocco. That probably why Hassan was chosen to be part of the teachers coming to this family. I asked Carol about me. She said that she wanted a Moroccon and a Malaysian teacher because her daughter had travelled to Malaysia. I was so happy that I got a good family with warm hospitality. Frank picked us up at the Cincinnati World Affairs and brought us home after some refreshment. On the way home, we stopped at the top view; which looked like a park with lots of jogging track. From the top of the hill, we could see the Ohio river and the town on the other side. Then we went to a supermarket; BIG, and bought oyster sauce and a sushi packed for our dinner. That first night I cooked fried rice with lots of brocolli and shrimp. Everyone tasted it and said that it was scrumptious. So, the following night I cooked again to all 4 of us. They all had champagne with the rice and they love it! (I didn't take the champagne,of course.)  On Saturday, we went to the Cincinnati Museum with Frank, Carol and Hassan. It was the first time I got the chance to watch IMAX movie on the Hubble Telescope. The cinema was awesome because it was a dome screen, You have to lift your head to see all and move your head left and right. We also had a tour of the museum that we had the chance to go into Amtrax Chairman and Board Meeting Room. I spent a lot here buying key chains for people back home. On Sunday, we walked along 5 miles of Anderson Trail at the neighbourhood. Wow, I have never walked this far before. It was suprising to see Frank and Carol were so fit walking that distant. They probably do their regular walking all the time. I was uncomfortable as I needed to go to the bathroom after 2.5 miles. There was no restroom of course along the trail. Lucky there was a pet shop cum hotel that was opened that day. Mr Frank Duke went in and asked if it was ok for me to use the bathroom. The shop owner let me use his toilet. I was . Then we headed home in only a few minutes. We even took a picture of an old log cabin built some 300 years ago. After we rested for a while, Frank and Carol took us to a Mexican restaurant; Two Amigos for lunch. Wow, it was scrumptious and sumptuous del trio with lots of shrimps in it! There were some tortilla bread and rice too. I could not finish the bread but managed to eat all the shrimps and talapia! The drink was superb too; a mango punch with an umbrella on top of it. Then after lunch, we went back to the house and at 5.00 p.m. Carol and Frank took us back to the apartment. I arrived home at 5.30 p.m. At 6.00 p.m., I had to go to Elizabeth's house to watch Superbowl and there was a party, more of a eating and drinking party while watching the game. Steelers lost and Gray won the game. I went home at 9.00 p.m. feeling tired because I got a busy day that day. |
SHOP TILL YOU DROP!
Ever since I was here in Kentucky, the wonderful people of NKU have taken me on tours to a few interesting shopping complexes and outlets. In comparisons, there are pretty much like the malls that we have back home. Once I was in the bus, our handsome bus driver, Mark, asked me "Do you have such malls back home?" I replied,"Of course! A lot of them, coz I love shopping every end of the month, hahaha!" Now I will give a recount of my shopping day that I had so far.  with Mr David and Ruth to get some winter clothing. I bought only two sweaters as I did not want to buy a lot of clothes in such a hurry. On the way back to the apartments, we stopped at Kruger to get our groceries and toiletries. I spent USD61.63. January 9 : We went to Cincinnati New Tower to get a bird's eye view of the city of Cincinnati and the Ohio River that separates the two parts of US; north and south of the States. I bought two fridge magnets and some postcards of Ohio. I made a big mistakes of not buying 10-12 magnets as my colleagues love to get these magnets as souvenirs. Then we headed to Macy, but I did not buy anything as nothing there appealled to me. January 11 : Walmart! I have some friends who are working in Walmarts. I have never thought I would be shopping in this famous American-family-favourite store! I spent USD50.00 at Walmart. Wow, everything we buy here is taxable. When I bought a small bottle of shampoo, I was informed of the price and the tax of the goods that I bought. I struck me because a single item was taxable regardless its price and quality. January 14: We went to a Halal Store and it was the place that I had been waiting for. I wanted to get some chickens or may be halal beef to cook my special "Rendang"; a Malay authentic cuisine for the International Potluck at the Student Union. I spent a lot here and I got my decent rice and chicken curry at this eatery. Next door it was Walgreens and I took the opportunity to shop again! I went into the supermarket with Diana to get some supplements and to my joy, I found a cute little rice cooker! I spent another USD27.80 here in Walgreens. At Walgreens, I saw a policeman with his big pistol on his waist. I asked Ruth why was it they ever need a policeman to guard the supermarket. Ruth replied that probably it was not a safe neighbourhood and probably there was once a robbery there  that they neededa policeman there. Back home we only have security guards to patrol the supermarkets. January 22 : Omar, Vincent, Adi, Diana and I went to Goodwill in Newport on our own. We took the tank bus number 25 and reached Newport at noon. We asked around on how to get to Goodwill and lucky came this guy, named Joseph to our aid. He showed us the way to Goodwill till to its door step. Gosh, we were so lucky! I bought a pair of winter sneekers, sweaters and two bags. Unfortunately, we could not get the bus on our way home. So, we were stranded a few hours till the last bus came. It was a good experience though we were out in the cold chilling weather for hours. To put it laconically, we had fun all day long regardless the misfortune of being stranded in the cold. January 23 : Kathy Burns is my good friend living in Marrietta, Ohio. She came to see me after she had a night at her step-daughter's house the day before. She took me to lunch at Pizza Hut and then we went to Toys R Us to get some toys for my kids. I managed to buy only two MP3 as I could not get a PSP available there that day. Then we went to JC Penny and I bought an hearing for myself and a wedding ring for my husband. I gave Kathy a T-shirt as a souvenir. We had a wonderful time and she went back to her daughter's place at 8.00 p.m. She promised to come and visit me again before I went home. |
WASHINGTON D.C.
 D.C. on January 4, 2011 along with 4 other Malaysian fellows. I arrived at the airport at 6.45 a.m. in the cold freezing weather of Washington D.C. We were greeted by one of IREX staff and later waited for 2 Bangladeshi fellows who went missing in the airport.It turned out that they could not find us at the exit. We were taken to Washington Plaza at around 9 a.m. and registered ourselves in one of the rooms. I am here for the International Leadership and Education Programme (ILEP) 2011. I will be going to NKU after 3 days of orientation days in Washington D.C. I stayed at the Washington Plaza for 2 nights. During the last day here, we visited Smithsonian Museum and the Capitol Building for half a day trip.It was marvellous to be able in the university which is so famous for the movie; "Night At The Museum"! |
