Joe's return

Hi guys!I hope you are O.K.It has been a while since I last posted an update(sorry).
By the way, did you know that MEGAN has taken her 1st Tae-kwon-do class?Putting on my red hat,I think that she will become very good.Anyway,that's all I can tell you now.
Oh,that's right.I won a competition.(Spelling & Computer skills).
And, I TOPPED WESTERN AUSTRALIA!!!!!!!!!!!.Anyway,Cya!

Hello again from Land Below the Wind

Joseph is back updating this blog after a very silent 9 months. Please leave him comments as he looks forward to hearing from all of you. Today he's gone with Dad to spend 2 nights at the plantation, while Megan spends time with Grandma. Mom's gone to Ladies Camp. You'll hear stories of this trip upon his return.

T.V. in Malaysia---Part2

HI again!Your#1 guide 2 T.V. in Malaysia!Evidently,I forgot to add the FUN channels (They are:Nickelodeon,Playhouse Disney,Disney Channel&Cartoon Network)Every day after we finish our school-work and activities in the afternoon,we always watch them.At 6:00 in the afternoon(18:00 in army time),we watch a show called "Phineas and Ferb".It's about these 2 boys(Of course,Phineas&Ferb)who are having their school holidays.In the 1st episode(Called"Roller-coaster"),they build a roller-coaster.And so on...

June Update....Part One

Hi y'all!It's me.We just came back from dad's ladang(I already told you what a ladang is so no need to reexplain)My family and I stayed one night(And it was a long drive(6 hours,to be specific)tapi saya got to duduk di the front)(Guess what?My dad got his own kereta and we are moving:)out of my grandparent's house:(into an apartment)Well I guess that's it!Stay tuned for more in Part Two.See ya!Pzzzsome of it is in Bahasa Melayu.Bzzzzz.Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.(Screen flickers,then turns off)

Lovely Lilies

A massive bouquet of lilies at the Kinabalu Wing, STAR.

TV in malaysia---Part 1

Hi!Joseph again!Your#1 guide to TV in Malaysia is ready to guide you!#1:TVIQ is a channel on Astro for kids to learn.Some of the shows are:Maths Mansion,Emily's World,Super Why!,Just Write,Write Away!Count TV,The Wiggles,Puzzle Maths,Number Squad,Jobs for Juniors
etc. etc.#2Ceria(Which means happy)before we found TVIQ,we watched Ceria,which became boring because(1 Most shows are copied.(2 Some shows are Malay.i.e. :Adi&Ayah,Captain Boleh,Geng Bas Sekolah&(3 It always repeats!!.Most other shows are for adults.Signing off!P.S.Comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Homeschool!!!!

This time it's only me,Joseph.So let's get to the facts.Homeschool=Home+School=(definition)Place where you live+ Place where you learn=living at the place where you learn,thus,home school.My subjects are:Math,English,Literature and Creative Writing,Word Building,Science,Social Studies and Bible Reading(Since ACE stands for Accelerated Christian Education,It's a christian school).There are Goal Cards to mark goals.Signing off! Bye!

From the Kids

Hi!It's us,Joseph and Megan.So far,so good(Except for the drought,:(which ended yesterday:))Our school has been a little off track(If you know what I mean).Why?Because of Mum's errands to run.It gets so boring following her everywhere.On the bright side,though,my dad's building a sulap/hut when we visit him at his ladang/nursery.Dad bought us a Mosquito-click(Which by the way,is a little contraption with 1 black end and one thin end.To use it,you place the thin end on the bite/itch and press the black end.)Bye!P.S.Please comment!!!!Signing off!

May Update

So I am now looking for more activities for the kids!

We are still looking for that 'perfect' abode for our tropical adventure! With Dad busy with the nursery and seed plantings, it will be quite a while to go before we can actually move in our house - if we find 1 now. Till then, I would be calling my agent friends and short-listing possible places!

Meanwhile, we wake up to this view every morning!


The kids are doing well - although after our short Melbourne trip, they came home with a bit of a cough. The first sign of illness since we got here! Yet they do not ever slow down or stay quiet for very long. Good sign, yes? J is getting more and more adventerous with food; he's actually eating the local vegies. M has a long way to go in that department. She loves the Yam and Corn ice-cream flavours tho! Mom says that M looks and seems 'healthier' here than she did in Perth. I say, whatever :-)

We're a bit lacking/slow in the homeschool front and its all my doing; my poor kids have to bear with all my ad-hoc errands. Still I am happy with their progress; J is loving maths and science more than ever (thanks to TVIQ); M is reading and likes maths too. We try to squeeze what schoolwork we can, when we can. Often times the pool or the beach is just too beckoning! Toughing it out here, guys!


J is loving the sparring sessions at taekwondo now. Surprised me too! He's liking the friends there and certainly enjoys being 'coached' by older more 'abled' friends. I asked him once who were friendlier, the 'friends' at church or taekwondo; 'taekwondo' he said. Makes you wonder...


M's teacher is very pleased at how well M is doing at piano. Being so young, short legs and fingers, she still manages quite well. J's still re-learning 'good' techniques; I tell him to keep it up so he can put that grand-piano we're eyeing for in Perth a good workout!

The kids can't wait for Dad to build a shack/chalet at the plantation so they can start 'enjoying' the jungle life we brought them here to experience! Until there are functional and near civilised toilets, Dad refuse to take them along! So we are mainly 'stuck' in town when he's in the jungle, awaiting his return. He is leaving again today, coming back sometime next week. That's what his schedule is like. Dad is darker now (naturally) and also is little bit more buff than ever!!

Anyway, that's all for now.

April Update

3 months ago we left DownUnder to chance an opportunity back home. We left our steady and comfortable job. We took the kids out of a fantastic school. We left behind an amazing church. We left behind an amazing bunch of friends. We left behind a good life in pursuit of a chance in a lifetime. A chance to own and run an oil-palm plantation, in a country that is one of the biggest palm-oil producer/exporter in the world.

So here we are; temporarily living with my kind parents, still looking out for a rental house to live out of. That in itself is a 'shock' to our system. Always having our own home and landlords ourselves, being in a reversed role is somewhat a little hard to swallow. Nonetheless, great lesson to be learnt. Our cargo full of household stuff from DownUnder still sits in boxes, strewn across my parents formal living and outside verandah.

I've chosen to homeschool J & M, despite alot of opinions from very well intended people. I am thinking of only the best for the kids; they do not and cannot yet speak the local language. So placing them in a local school would be very foolish of me. The thought of locking them up into a school term also troubles me as I forsee spending a lot of time in the plantation when it is more established in the near future.

So where are we now?

J is doing great progress with his Homeschool. I admit that we don't stick too much to the work schedule as we still have errands to run during the course of the week. He enjoys Astro (what kids don't!) especially TVIQ. Seeing how educational the show is, I don't reprimand them too much for watching a little more TV than I normally would allow them. I am blessed to have found fantastic piano teachers for J & M. J's piano teacher was a concert-pianist and has a natural love for teaching music to kids. His wife is M's teacher, who is also my new trusted friend (;-). She is lovely with M, very gentle yet firm with M.

J's taekwondo coach is good too. I think she is/was a national coach and trains champion fighter. Yet, she is very kind and gentle with J. She doesn't push or force J into doing things he is uncomfortable with, like sparring! The other kids at taekwondo are also alot older than J. Being only 8, he is probably 4-6 years younger than the lot. BUT they take the time to teach and show him moves, if they see he is lost. He usually is, my poor bub but he tells me he doesn't mind. The look on his face says he enjoys the class.

(more next post)