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I have managed to arrange my tutorials and practicals in a way that I don't have to go to uni on Monday and Friday! How clever is that? ;-)
Today, as I do not have classes, I went to help a master student set up her pitfall traps at Minden. Remember the place where I saw people making sausages? The site is somewhere there, about 20 minute-drive away from where I am staying. It's a private property owned by an ex-professor at UQ, and on his huge land, he is trying to achieve a balance between three land uses: residential, commercial (cattle and forestry) and wildlife (remnant patch of vegetation and wildlife corridors). Interesting property, at the top of the hill and so has a beautiful paranomic view of the surrounding fields dotted with remnant pockets of vegetation. This area has been widely cleared for dairy farming in the past, and thus it is not surprising to learn that these remnants contain rare plant species unique to this area.
We started at 10am and work till about 4pm, resting only for about 30 minutes for a quick lunch. The good thing about working in the field here is the low humidity and cooler temperature. I am sure I would not be able to last this long back home. There were six of us, 4 ladies and 2 gentlemens, with another guy joining us after lunch. We finished 18 pitfall traps in all (we need a total of 60!!!!), which are about 50-cm deep and 30cm-wide. Together with another person, I did a total of about 4 pitfalls. That's pretty neat for someone who are not used to physical-demanding work!
My arms are actually aching terribly now! I can still type, but the pain, especially in my left arm muscles somehow, is annoying. The pain is not acute, but what we Chinese will describe as a "sour pain". I had to ask WL for her "Counterpain" ointment. And Mei teased me by reminding me that "ming tian hui geng hao" (tomorrow will be "better")... oh dear... it's so good tomorrow is a non-uni day.
When I first started to dig the ground with the hoe, I really doubted that I would actually be able to do any effective digging. Luckily there was this 'ang mo' lady who have done more such work than me. She was really good! And I was simply shoveling away the loosen soil while she swinged the hoe with what I saw as ease and effectiveness. Of course it was no easy work, but she proved to me that we ladies can do this work too. So I gave the hoe and the damn heavy crow bar a go too. My motto for today has to be "slow and steady".
In Singapore, we rely heavily on our foreign workers to do many of our physically demanding works. Many of us also tend to label such work as not fitting for "educated" people. Worse, I have heard my peers refering to such work as "bangla work" (as many of our foreign contractors are from Bangladesh). They may be saying it jokingly, but we should be aware that such jokes are no longer acceptable in these times. Worst, I have heard a young friend referred the Malays as "those who dig soil" in Hokkien! I am pretty sure she picked that up from her parents, without realising how racist she was being.
I think it is pretty sad that we have taken the contributions by foreign workers for granted and that some of our young people actually think laborious works are menial. t's actually quite refreshing for me to see 'ang mos' doing the "menial" works here- they resurface the road, clean the tables, wash the toilets, drive the rubbish trucks, remove the weeds from public planting areas, etc (I remember someone ever told me how amazed her Ah Ma was when she first saw them during a tour. In her days, 'ang mos' never had to do such things). Some would argue that these 'ang mos' have better wages, but I doubt Singaporeans will apply for these jobs even if money is good. We are concerned with "face" issue and what others will say.
I am sure there are 'ang mos' here who look down upon on their mates who do these important works, maybe I haven't known enough of them, and so I rather like to continue to believe that over here they are more used to treating everyone as equals (some would attribute this trait to their common background as descendants of convicts). And so, when I dig the pitfall traps today, I actually feel rather good. I feel less conscious somehow and simply concentrate on the work. There weren't the usual remarks from a well-meaning but naggy male that goes: "aiya, let me do it lah. The rate you are going, the sun will be rising again, or from some: "let the workers do it, you don't have to do such works". You just do what you can, slow and steady.
Today, as I do not have classes, I went to help a master student set up her pitfall traps at Minden. Remember the place where I saw people making sausages? The site is somewhere there, about 20 minute-drive away from where I am staying. It's a private property owned by an ex-professor at UQ, and on his huge land, he is trying to achieve a balance between three land uses: residential, commercial (cattle and forestry) and wildlife (remnant patch of vegetation and wildlife corridors). Interesting property, at the top of the hill and so has a beautiful paranomic view of the surrounding fields dotted with remnant pockets of vegetation. This area has been widely cleared for dairy farming in the past, and thus it is not surprising to learn that these remnants contain rare plant species unique to this area.
We started at 10am and work till about 4pm, resting only for about 30 minutes for a quick lunch. The good thing about working in the field here is the low humidity and cooler temperature. I am sure I would not be able to last this long back home. There were six of us, 4 ladies and 2 gentlemens, with another guy joining us after lunch. We finished 18 pitfall traps in all (we need a total of 60!!!!), which are about 50-cm deep and 30cm-wide. Together with another person, I did a total of about 4 pitfalls. That's pretty neat for someone who are not used to physical-demanding work!
My arms are actually aching terribly now! I can still type, but the pain, especially in my left arm muscles somehow, is annoying. The pain is not acute, but what we Chinese will describe as a "sour pain". I had to ask WL for her "Counterpain" ointment. And Mei teased me by reminding me that "ming tian hui geng hao" (tomorrow will be "better")... oh dear... it's so good tomorrow is a non-uni day.
When I first started to dig the ground with the hoe, I really doubted that I would actually be able to do any effective digging. Luckily there was this 'ang mo' lady who have done more such work than me. She was really good! And I was simply shoveling away the loosen soil while she swinged the hoe with what I saw as ease and effectiveness. Of course it was no easy work, but she proved to me that we ladies can do this work too. So I gave the hoe and the damn heavy crow bar a go too. My motto for today has to be "slow and steady".
In Singapore, we rely heavily on our foreign workers to do many of our physically demanding works. Many of us also tend to label such work as not fitting for "educated" people. Worse, I have heard my peers refering to such work as "bangla work" (as many of our foreign contractors are from Bangladesh). They may be saying it jokingly, but we should be aware that such jokes are no longer acceptable in these times. Worst, I have heard a young friend referred the Malays as "those who dig soil" in Hokkien! I am pretty sure she picked that up from her parents, without realising how racist she was being.
I think it is pretty sad that we have taken the contributions by foreign workers for granted and that some of our young people actually think laborious works are menial. t's actually quite refreshing for me to see 'ang mos' doing the "menial" works here- they resurface the road, clean the tables, wash the toilets, drive the rubbish trucks, remove the weeds from public planting areas, etc (I remember someone ever told me how amazed her Ah Ma was when she first saw them during a tour. In her days, 'ang mos' never had to do such things). Some would argue that these 'ang mos' have better wages, but I doubt Singaporeans will apply for these jobs even if money is good. We are concerned with "face" issue and what others will say.
I am sure there are 'ang mos' here who look down upon on their mates who do these important works, maybe I haven't known enough of them, and so I rather like to continue to believe that over here they are more used to treating everyone as equals (some would attribute this trait to their common background as descendants of convicts). And so, when I dig the pitfall traps today, I actually feel rather good. I feel less conscious somehow and simply concentrate on the work. There weren't the usual remarks from a well-meaning but naggy male that goes: "aiya, let me do it lah. The rate you are going, the sun will be rising again, or from some: "let the workers do it, you don't have to do such works". You just do what you can, slow and steady.
Current Mood: 
exhausted
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