The Year in Review (Part Two)

As mentioned in my previous post, tonight and tomorrow mark one of the high points of the year, and something that has become an annual Christmas tradition for me - CAROLS IN THE CATHEDRAL! Based on the traditional English Christmas service with carols and readings, this year's festive spectacular will feature Siobhan Stagg as our soprano soloist.
Besides the cultural significance, audiences also enjoy the concert because they are able to sing along for the carols. There are annual standard ones such as Once in Royal David's City, O Come All Ye Faithful, Joy To the World, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Last year a long-lost Australian carol Christmas Day was brought back to the repertoire, and will be repeated again this year.

Then on Christmas Eve, I will be taking part in my first Midnight Mass at St George Anglican Church in Malvern. Over the last few years, I have learned that a simple Christmas is the way to go; we don't even put up the Christmas tree anymore! For me, it stems back to four important things:

• Jesus Christ (without whom the celebration would just be another mass (we get the word Christmas from a combination of 'Christ' and 'mass'!); 
• food (whether it be the big meal, or snacking on Stollen and Lebkuchen);
• family (catching up with relatives); and of course, 
• music (the above-mentioned concerts). 

If there is one present I would like, it is a copy of Alan Furst's latest book Mission to Paris. This year I discovered, almost by accident, the work of Alan Furst, an American author who specializes in a specific genre of spy fiction - the period leading up to and the early years of World War II. The main characters in his series Night Soldiers include a French film producer, a Russian journalist, a Polish army captain, a Greek police officer, and a Dutch cargo freighter captain, all of whom are drawn into the struggle against the Nazis. This series began back in 1988 with Night Soldiers, and so far I've read through quite a few of them. To find out more about Alan Furst, read an interview of him here.

So far, this is what I know will be happening for me next year. I will start back at my old school, Donvale Christian College, as a casual relief teacher. At the same time, I will go straight on to the final 50 credit points to obtain the full Master of Teaching qualification by the end of next year. I have enrolled for four subjects, two per semester, and this is what they are:

• EDUC90048 - Second Language Teaching Methodology (Semester 1);
• EDUC90587 - Grammar for Language Teachers (Semester 1);
• EDUC90481 - Content Language Integrated Pedagogy (Semester 2); and 
• EDUC90482 - Linguistics and Sociolinguistics of CLIL (Semester 2)

I want to thank all my readers for putting up with my long, sporadic (and hopefully not boring!) postings this year. I wish you all a safe and joyful festive season with friends and family, and all the best for 2013. Cheers and God bless.

The Year in Review (Part One)

Greetings, dear readers

As another year draws to a close, it is time again to look back over the events and highlights that have shaped my 2012.

This year, I had the privilege of celebrating both New Years (Western and Chinese) in China. It was my first visit to the country of my fathers and I certainly hope it won't be my last. To meet most of my grandma's extended family and gain the confidence to speak some Hokkien were the main achievements of the trip.

But the biggest highlight was discovering where my Christian and musical heritage come from. I was fortunate to attend church in China with my relatives and also participate in several family gatherings, which involved a meal and lots of talking and singing. This is the main reason I cannot wait to go back, and take the rest of my family with me, especially my dad.

In regards to study, you may remember that last year ended for me on a note of relief, in that I hadn't
been kicked out of the Master of Teaching (Secondary) course after I had failed my two attempts at first-round placement. Well, this year also ended on a note of relief, but relief mixed with euphoria. Through a combination of hard work and God's grace, I finished the Postgraduate Diploma with flying colours, and can expect my VIT registration any day soon.

It has been a busy year with MUCS as well. Our first gig for the year was the ANZAC Day Dawn and Morning Services, in which you might have seen me if you were watching the broadcast on ABC. It was my first Dawn Service, and one I won't forget in a hurry. We stood in driving wind and rain with no cover, and it was a miracle that I didn't fall sick. This was followed in May by our performance of Haydn's oratorio The Creation in St Paul's Cathedral.
In July, we accompanied the likes of Sylvie Paladino and Delta Goodrem at the Prime Minister's Olympic Gala Dinner, before joining forces with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic and Melbourne Youth Orchestra to perform the Russian Spectacular in October at the Melbourne Town Hall.
December is our busiest and most important month in the year; the concerts and carolling gigs allow us not only to make back cash on concerts which sold at a loss, but also to build for next year. Tonight and tomorrow we will be presenting our annual series of Carols concerts at St Paul's Cathedral. More about that in the next post.

However, the year hasn't been without its share of sadness as well. In August one of my aunts in Malaysia (三妗) finally succumbed to cancer after a brave fight of several years. Thankfully, she passed away peacefully, and her children are all grown up and looking after themselves. My heart also goes out to those parents and families who lost loved ones in the tragic and seemingly senseless shootings in Newton, Connecticut, last week. I pray God will comfort them, especially at this time of the year.

To be continued...