The King and I (the movie) and etcetera,etcetera and etc.

Our class watched a movie during IELTS class this afternoon and the movie is called the "The King and I." Surprisingly the story was set in Siam (now Thailand) in 1894. We learnt to pronounce "Siam" the English way which is "See-AM" from Ms Eliza. It was funny. The story is about how a British teacher went to Siam to teach the royal children and wives (Yes, in plural! His majesty has about 87 children and is expecting 5 more!) of the king about western ideas and English. Apparently, she did more than that and even manage to win the utmost respect of the King of Siam whose name I cannot recall as his majesty was always refered as "your majesty" throughout the two hours and half show. I find the storyline quite interesting as it is filled with punchlines, jokes and etcetera, etcetera and etc. (Ha...ha...ha!) My friends and I do not like the classical songs though.
Ms Anna, who was the main character was a strong, no-nonsense and determine woman. She adapted herself to a foreign country easily. Moreover, she even manage to save the monarchy kingdom from being taken over by enemies by convincing the king to do the right things by making the king believe that it was his own ideas! I also love the royal children who are always eager to learn new things. The part where the little princess read a message to Ms Anna so she would not leave, was touching. Awww...So cute. Undeniably, the character that I like the most and probably of my friends as well is...the King himself! His majesty was so funny trying to be serious and his line "etcetera, etcetera, etc." was the most memorable line of all. He is really a good king trying his best to learn about modern ideas so that his country would remain strong without compromising on his traditional roots. It was hard for him but he finally succeeded but died at the ending of the story.
In short, this is a wonderful which touches about the different ideas and customs of the east and the west in the 1900s when the two cultures clashes and began to assimilate in Southeast Asean countries. From this story too, I learnt that the most important thing is to try our best and that being a teacher is one of the best and most respected occupation in the world regardless of one's status, skin colour and etcetera, etcetera and etc.

1. Exercise, Nutrition and Health

Staying healthy is one of the keys of happiness. When you are healthy, you not only feel good but you are able to do all things you want to do. As the saying goes, health is wealth! A rich man will not be happy if he is sick all the time and cannot enjoy his wealth but a poor and healthy man can count his blessings and do whatever he wants to do. So, what exactly is health? Health is the level of functional and metabolic efficiency of an organism at both the micro(cellular) and macro(social) level. In the medical field, health is commonly defined as an one's ability to efficiently respond to challenges (stressors) and effectively restore and sustain a "state of balance," known as homeostasis. Generally, health is the condition of one's body and mind.

Nowadays, as more and more people are getting health conscious, there is a great demand for health products and supplements. Just read the newspapers or watch television commercials and you will definitely see some promotions on such products! However, you do not have to eat health supplements to stay healthy. By simply having a balance and nutritious diet, you can stay healthy. Nutrition is very important to the body. There are seven main class of nutrients that the body needs which are namely carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, mineral, fibre and water. Lacking certain nutrients in your diet will cause malnutrition. For example, deficiency of vitamin C causes scurvy. Carbohydrate and fat provide us with energy whilst vitamins and minerals are important to maintain the physiological processes in our body. We need to eat every of the class of nutrients in the correct proportions as too much or less may lead to health complications. According to the food piramid by the World Health Organization, the food we should eat the most are sources carbohydrates followed by vegetable and fruits, meat and dairy products and lastly fatty and sugary food like chocolate and sweets. We should also drink 1.5 litres of water a day or 7 to 8 glasses of water to keep our body properly hydrated. However, how much water a person should drink also depends on how much our body loses water in our daily activities.

Bread and rice are good sources of carbohydrates, fish and meat contain protein and minerals which are important for growth and vegetables and fruits contain vitamins and fibre. Furthermore, it is better to eat white meat like chicken and fish than red meat such as mutton and beef. Eating various colours of food is also a fun way to eat a healthy meal. For example, red tomatoes are rich in vitamin A while green broccoli is a good source for vitamin C. The way you cook the food also influences your health. Undeniably, steamed or boiled food such as steamed chicken and boiled egg is heathier than deep fried chicken and scramble eggs. Why? Simply because they contain less oil or cholesterol which may lead to cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, we should not eat too much fast food because the way they usually contain high levels of cholesterol and fat. Apart from that, reducing salt intake is also very important as consuming too much salt and 'ajinomoto' will cause high blood pressure and kidney problems. As the saying goes, you are what you eat! Therefore, healthy eating is to stay healthy.

Recently, our government has decided that all fast food advertisements on television must be banned during prime hours to make sure that children are not negatively inffluenced by such advertisements. The move means that fast food companies will not be able to sponsor children’s television programmes. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said that the cabinet approved this after considering the ill effects of such advertisements on children below 12. Chua said the cabinet had also agreed on new compulsory regulations requiring information on the contents of fast food, such as calories, protein, fat and sugar, to be printed on the wrapping or box. Chua said the measures were important as Malaysians were getting unhealthy. He said 30 per cent of the population suffered from hypertension while nine per cent had diabetes. He said 500 out of every one million Malaysians were undergoing dialysis, making this the highest ratio among countries.

Apart from nutrition, physical exercise is also pivotal to keep our body fit and strong. Our body is engineered by God to work and therefore we should not be complacent in using it. Generally, we can divide exercises into three categories which are flexibility exercises such as stretching improves the range of motion of muscles and joints, aerobic exercises such as jogging, cycling and walking which increases cardiovascular endurance and lastly anaerobic exercises like weight lifting and sprinting which increases short-term muscle strength. So, why is exercise so important? The benefits of exercise is tremendous! Exercise is very important in mantaining physical fitness and contributes to maintaining a healthy weight, building and mantaining bone density, muscle strength, joint mobility, promoting psychological well-being and strengthens the immune system. Exercise is also known to prevent serious and life-threatening chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, insomnia, heart disease and depression. Both aerobic and anaerobic has been known to increase the mechanical efficiency of the heart via organ hypertrophy. In other words, exercise increases the efficiency of the blood circulation so that oxygen can be delivered efficiently to all the organs and cells in the body. Therefore, someone who exercises regularly at least up to 20 minutes three times a week will not tire easily. Moreover, exercise also increases one's threshold for pain. It also has been shown that exercise can improve cognitive functioning via the improvement of the hippocampus-dependent spatial learning. Studies has proved that those who exercise regularly will be less prone to mental diseases such as dementia when they reach old age. As the saying goes, a healthy mind comes from a healthy body!

To stay healthy is to have a healthy lifestyle. Apart from exercise and a nutritious diet, we must also avoid unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs. For example, scientific studies have shown that smoking causes lung cancer, throat and mouth cancer, heart disease, emphysema, impotence, reduced memory and etc. In the United States, some 500,000 deaths per year are attributed to smoking and a recent study estimated that as much as 1/3 of China's male population will suffer shortened life spans due to smoking. Meanwhile, drug addicts are prone to diseases such as Aquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome(AIDS) and hepatitis B.

Besides that, stress management is also important to mantain a healthy mind. According to Richard Lazarus, stress can be divided into eustress and distress. Where stress enhances function such as strength training, it may be considered eustress. Persistent stress that is not resolved distress may lead to anxiety or depression. Stress can be divided into three stages which are alarm, resistance and exhaustion. The first stage, alarm, is when the body identifies the stress and respond to it by producing adrenaline to fight the stress. If the stressor continue to persist, the body will try the resist the stress and attempt some means to coping with stress. At stage three, all the resources are depleted and the body is finally exhausted and unable to cope with the stress. If stage three is extended, then it would lead to long term damage such as peptic ulcer, insomnia and etc. Therefore, it is important that a person should try to manage stress at stage one before it becomes chronic. For example, stress can be reduced by doing something you like, exercising, listening to music or just sharing your problems with a counsellor or a close friend.

In short, a healthy body and mind can be achieved by living a healthy lifestyle; eating healthy, exercising regularly, managing stress, avoiding drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. Health is very important because if a person is healthy, he or she can do anything. As wise people say, "If you lose money, you lose nothing. If you lose health, you lose everything."

Courses I Took For PPOU

Hi! I am going to tell you briefly about the courses I am taking at PPOU. This might be useful for those who in the future will be given the opportunity to take up this program.
The preparatory program will take 12 months of intensive learning period that is divided into 2 and a half semester. The total credit hours for the foundation course components will be 41 credit hours.
For the first semester, I am taking 7 courses which are Chemistry I, Chemistry Laboratory I, Introductory Calculus and Analytic Geometry(Maths), Physics I, Physics Laboratory I, Foundation English I and Academic Study Skills.
As for the second semester, I will take 6 courses which are Chemistry II, Calculus and Analytic Geometry(Maths), Physics II, Physics Laboratory II, Computing Skills and English For Academic Purposes.
The third and final semester or also known as the special semester, I will take only two courses which are Physics III and Calculus and Analytic Geometry III.
I just finished my first week so there is not much I can say about the courses I am taking but base on the total credit hours, the mostg important subject should be Calculus and Analytic Geometry followed by Physics, English(IELTS) and Chemistry. English is very important because I have to get at least band 6 for writing, speaking, listening and reading to fly overseas.
My physics professor is Dr. Yusri, a funny and interesting teacher who always tries to relate what he teaches with the world around us. He lectures well and usually give examples of questions and teach us how to crack the problem and is more than willing to correct our answers instantly when we make a mistake on the whiteboard. Dr. S (his nickname) is my Chemistry and Chemistry Lab professor who teaches us...Chemistry, of course! His notes are very neat and complete. He likes to share tips on how to study chemistry...practice,practice and more practice! My Maths lecturer, Dr. Ahmad Kamal is a gentleman. He teaches using a projector and explains clearly. His homework is a lot but gives us time to complete it...one day to one weekend. My physics lab professor is Mr Liaw Hock Sang, who is quite young. He is ever willing to help us in our experiments as long as we do not change our answer results!
I have not attended Puan Fatimah's class yet but I can see that she is a passionate teacher and friendly. Her English proficiency is awesome, if I must put it the American way...haha... She is caring teacher. Finally, Ms Eliza....you must be reading this right? Haha... Ms Eliza is my IELTS teacher and her English proficiency is totaly way past my level...haha...I have a lot to learn from her and Puan Fatimah. I will end here. So, bye bye!

My First Experience Studying At UNITEN

Ohayo!

Hello, everyone! (especially to Ms Eliza who will definitely read my post every week until the end of my programme at UNITEN, any mistakes so far Ms Eliza?) Ms Eliza is my IELTS teacher so she will be checking my English and grammar.(ha...ha...) She is really very friendly. Before I write about my topic today, I guess I should try to introduce myself.

My name is Joseph Lau Chih Hin. I am 18 years old and I am currently taking the Preparatory Program for Overseas Universities(PPOU) at Tenaga National University(UNITEN in short) under the scholarship from the Ministry of Education(MOE). Am I using to many brackets Ms Eliza? So, I am going to be a teacher! Hurray! Under the scholarship, I am to be a physics teacher and after one year and a half at UNITEN I will be flying, hopefully, unless I fail my exams and IELTS to Australia or New Zealand! I am aiming for the Melbourne University because my girlfriends(plural) are there...ha...ha... No, just friends actually. Therefore, I pledge to work hard and pass my PPOU with flying colours with the help from my lecturers, parents and my friends around me.
I will write more about that later and concentrate on my topic before Ms Eliza scold me for going out of topic. :) I arrived at UNITEN on Monday, the 16th of July, 2007. (Remember to write in past tense!) The registration was quite packed like in a sardine can and there were many students reporting for the UNITEN's second intake. I was the the second batch under the PPOU programme. Everything when fine until suddenly my father called and told that the taxi carrying my stuff had vanished! I cannot describe what my mother and I felt when we heard that! We franctically called the taxi for the next few minutes but there was no answer! The next half an hour was the most agonising moment of my life! I had brought so many things from Bintulu, Sarawak and the next second it was gone. My father resorted to call the police. Luckily, Mr. Charles and Puan Fatimah was there to console my mother and I. Mr. Charles called the taxi driver and he answered! He agreed to bring our things back. Praise the Lord! Only afterwards we realised that he parked his taxi somewhere else without informing us and my dad could not find him. Luckily again, my father had not called the police and everything was better after that. What a shocking experience to arrive at UNITEN!
The next day, the lectures started already because we were late two weeks behind the first batch. It was difficult for me to adjust to my new surroundings. The lecturers were good but I could not exactly pay attention in class because I had many other things to ponder like what is a student ID and how to do my student ID, how to catch the bus, where on earth is the foodcourt and what to eat, how to fax and send letters to Bintulu, where to do register for my cocuriculum activity(is there a debate club, Ms Eliza?), how to do my medical checkup etc. Life was hard but God was kind to me and I manage to cope with the different environment around me. Praise the Lord! I miss the bus 5 times already this week...ha...ha... I hope that next week will be much better. (Catching the bus and not breaking the record!)
UNITEN is very big and the buildings are big as well. What I like to compliment about UNITEN is that the hostels are very good and the university is very clean! I like my room very much. I just hope that UNITEN tries to improve its bus service so that students like me and my housemates, who do not own a car or motorcycle can travel within the campus easily because not every site is a stone throw away. Thank you very much. Speaking(or writing) about housemates, I have two housemates who are Izzat and Uzair. They are easy to get along with and are good friends.
My lectures for my first week was just average as I am still trying to fit in. I flunked my first physics experiment about momentum in Mr Liaw Hock Sangs's class about momentum. According to the Law of Conservation of Momentum, momentum is suppose to be conserved but my experiment broke that law...haha...My difference for the iniatial momentum and the final momentum was over 100%. That means momentum will go haywire after collision! OOPS! My physic test was not so good either. Haha..More like scramble eggs if you know what I mean. Very messy! I got piles of homework to be done and feeling a bit homesick. I called back home more than 3 times everyday! It looks like my phone bills is going to rocket up. I love the sound of rain and thunder because it makes me feel like to hearing home. The sound of rain and thunder here is just like home. :) I would not want it rain so often or then, I will not have any dry clothes to wear.
I love weekends when there are no lectures. Then, I can just relax and do some reading or surfing the net and keeping contact with old friends. That ends my first week at UNITEN. Hopefully next week will be better. Sorry, if my English is not so good because I know I still have to improve on my vocabulary and many other things but that is why I am here blogging and in UNITEN's PPOU. Thank you to all my lecturers and the government for giving me this opportunity. I pledge to do my best and reach for the stars!