Staff CIP at Chek Jawa

It was drizzling at about 6am. The bad weather aggravated my desire to 'skip' this staff outing, and I did not relish the thought of probably more mud or sand getting into my shoes. I took my own sweet time to bathe and then left home at about 7.10am. Soon, I managed to hop into a taxi, but was actually half hoping that I would miss the bus when I reach school.

As the taxi driver turned into the school, I saw that a lot of teachers had already gathered at the foyer, but none had gone up the bus yet. Feeling slightly disappointed, I paid for the taxi fare and went to collect my bun and bottle of water.

But as you can see from these pictures that show the scenic views of Chek Jawa, I do not regret for going there. There was a guided tour of the entire area, where we walked through a coastal forest on a boardwalk and we were basked in the symphony of natural sounds- delightful chirping of birds and the melancholy of the croaking of frogs or insects. We also had a chance to see different kinds of plants and creatures, particularly mangrove trees and sea weeds.

(The one in red and yellow T-shirt is me, looking rather forlorn.)

(Team of colleagues for guided tour.)

Then, our tour guide led us climb up a flight of stairs. I was delirious with joy when I started to see the canopy of trees in the forest, beneath the clear blue sky. I echoed out the familiar tune of the Chinese movie 刘三姐 and to my pleasant surprise, 夏老师 replied with the same tune. 我们开始对歌了一会儿。

此时，歌瘾已发作了，而且还是一发不可收拾。我和夏老师不断地切磋歌艺，从广东歌、中国民歌、台湾民歌、黄梅调至流行歌，我们都无所不唱，乐此不疲，乐在其中。好久没有这样轻松的感觉了！没想到夏老师也这么热爱唱歌，还挺会模仿郑智化的腔调呢！

跟着，我们就在这座桥上，一边瞭望浩瀚无垠的海洋，一边拉开嗓子，唱着我们熟悉的歌曲。嘹亮的歌声仿佛带走了压抑在我胸中已久的郁闷。感谢天主赐给我这么宝贵的机会，让我能够在大自然的怀抱中疏解压力。
可当我唱到《楚留香》这几句歌词时，心中却涌起一股感慨。

尘沾不上心间，情牵不到此心中，来得安去也写意，人生休说苦痛。
聚散匆匆，莫牵挂，未记风波中英雄勇，就让浮萍轻抛剑外，千山我独行不必相送。
。。。。。