The Truth, The Way and The Life

This article was written in April 2007 and was published in The Sun. It was written in aid of Canossa Convent Malacca Building Fund and I was really glad it had evoked the nostalgic feeling of many ex-students of Canossa. 

@ Photo credit Siew Choo

I remembered vividly how I used to describe to my colleagues and university mates that my secondary school was like a lighthouse by the edge of the sea. The freezing cold morning air and the lapping of the waves were the sounds that greeted me every time I stepped into the school compound. Located on the highest floor of the school building, my classroom overlooked the sprawling houses in Portuguese Settlement and had a really magnificent view of the Straits of Malacca.  

Standing just merely five meters away from the sea, SMK Canossa Convent, metaphorically, has served as guiding light, as a beacon of hope, for the many lost ‘ships’ in their voyage through life be it spiritually, academically or socially. 

@Photo Credit Karen Lee

I had schoolmates who were Portuguese, Chinese educated Chinese, English educated Chinese (they were from Chinese Medium Primary Schools and Primary Convent Schools respectively), Malays, Hindu Indians, Christian Indians, Baba Nyonyas etc. You named it; we were truly a melting pot. And through this melting pot, we learnt the lessons of racial tolerance to the extent that each festive season was the highlight of our otherwise ordinary school life. We would organize cycling expeditions through the kampungs and paddy fields as we visited our schoolmates and enjoyed the delicious delicacies prepared by different races. It was also this ‘muhibbah’ spirit, which spurred us on as we made it a point to have festive concerts in our school hall come every festive season. 

Canossa Convent Class of 1989

@Photo Credit Karen Lee

While we did not have many students with strings of ‘A’s, what we lacked academically, we made it up by excelling in sports and extra-curricular activities. Our school’s volley team was one of the best in Malacca. Coached by the ever popular and charismatic Mr. Lee, though the going was tough, the team players played their guts out at every match and tournament. Not forgetting the huge turnout by the cheerleading students from all age group, we had so much fun supporting our favourite team. 

I remembered we were champions in the Malacca English Drama Competition for three years in a row. All thanks to teachers like Mrs. Joan Marbeck, Mrs. Koh, Mrs. Doris Tan and many others who poured their hearts and souls making diamonds from rough stones like us. Many of us students also sacrificed our time forgoing all other engagements and spending days getting all the lines ready and preparing our props and costumes. I wonder how is the situation like now in my alma mater? 

I was in the science stream and my, my classmates and I were really an outspoken lot. We made our presence felt in school by being vocal about a lot of things. We were quite a notorious lot and no one wanted to be our form teacher, fearing that we were too much to handle probably. Which was all the more why we respected Mrs. Seow because she gave us the benefit of the doubt. She didn’t see us as a bunch of misfits but rather like a bunch of youngsters enjoying the emancipation of women to the maximum. Mrs. Seow, may you rest in peace. 

But to me, the person I revered the most was my former Principal, Sister Esther Thomazios. I was really touched by her undying effort and her utmost commitment in bringing out the best in us. She displayed such uncanny ability in making something out of nothing, making Canossa Convent one of the best-kept and organized schools in Malacca. 

Sister Esther Thomazios, Karen and two other guests at the photo exhibition in the Heritage Room                 

@ Photo Credit Karen Lee

Two years ago, Canossa Convent celebrated its 100 anniversary of the arrival of the Canossian Sisters in Malaysia. We had a huge gathering amongst the ex students of the school. We also invited the Canossian Sisters from all over Malaysia (Kluang, Malacca, Monfort Boys Town etc) and Singapore to grace the event. No words can described the feeling of being able to meet our former teachers again and catching up with old classmates and friends, looking at how some of us prosperous horizontally (pun intended) with growing families and sadly, some who had left us to be with God. 

I was moved to tears when I saw many of the Canossian Sisters I knew like Sister Dorothy, Sister Geraldine and Sister Esther and how they have made a lifetime commitment to the betterment of the unprivileged. 

Committee Members of the Canossian Alumnae Association 2022 

@ Photo Credit Karen Lee

Mdm Chin, Mdm Goh, Sister Geraldine, Sister Theresa and Mdm Indra (Mdm Goh was an ex teacher of Canossa, 

the rest were all ex principals of Canossa)

@ Photo Credit Madam Chin Siok Hoon

Mr. Lee, Sister Geraldine, Sister Stella, Mr. Wong

@Photo Credit Siew Choo

Mrs Devarajan, Miss Juan, Mrs Tan, Puan Fatimah, ex teachers from Sacred Heart

@Photo Credit Siew Choo

Sister Stella, Sister Angeline and Mdm Joan Marbeck at the back. 

@Photo Credit Siew Choo

Canossa Convent is located right in the heart of Portuguese Settlement. Unlike now where many dwellers of the settlement are much more affluent, twenty years ago, the main source of income for most of the Portuguese families came from the sea, as most of them were fishermen. Many families could hardly earn enough to sustain a living. Low literacy rate and high dropout rate were common among their children. Not to mention, there were many social problems in the community like alcohol and drug addiction, gangsterism, marital problem etc. 

The Canossian Sisters from Canossa Convent were there at a time when the community needed them most. They had been like the light at the end of the tunnel, a beacon of hope when all were in despair. Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers alike respected the Canossian Sisters. Masses were conducted weekly at the school hall for the community. Fund raising projects were organized to keep the poor fed and clothed. Extra tuition classes were held for the weaker students. Counseling sessions were conducted to improve relationship and more importantly, all were welcomed with open arms by the Sisters. 

Regardless of race, religion and status, the Canossian Sisters have shown that what God has provided for us, we need to give it back to the community. 

Sacred Heart and Canossa school badges from the past. 

@Photo Credit Amy Lee

Via, Veritas, Vita. The Truth, The Way and The Life. Canossa Convent’s motto. My school’s motto. I finally realized what it meant.

Ice-Breaker : My Box Of Chocolate

My very first Toastmaster Club's Speech. I will never forget this and am so glad i still have this copy even though I crashed my harddisk a few months back...........................

‘Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get’.

Definitely, my mum didn’t know what she was going to get when she had me.
Imagine, nine whole months of an excess baggage limiting her freedom, getting morning sickness and getting an occasional acrobatic kick in her tummy.

I didn't have much recollection of my life during my infant years. I was told, in my later years,my granddad was a wee bit disappointed that his prayers for a grandson went unanswered. That had not made any impact on my parents. To them, their child is a joy and reward of their commitment of love towards each other.

I was’t born with a silver spoon and I was taught that money did not grow on trees. My dad enrolled me in a missionary convent school. It was there where I experienced my first taste of academic education and my appreciation of religion.

I had my fair share of fun and laughter in school. Me being pint-size, together with a few outspoken friends, we would ‘terrorise’(in inverted coma), our classmates with our cheeky antics and mischievous pranks, making sure that school weren’t all books, notes and theories only. In order to keep up with the school syllabus and being a Malaccan, the streak of kiasuiasm’ left me no choice but to go for additional tuition classes in the evenings. Young as I was at that time, I was quite a ‘gung-ho’, spending most of my afternoon in school participating in numerous extra-curricular activities. With such hectic school life, it was no wonder I had learn to appreciate sleep as one of the more precious commodity. So much so I had learnt to cultivate sleeping as an art.

Chapters of my life in college and in University was liken to the movie Braveheart, the final part where Mel Gibson cried,‘FREEDOM’. Being away from home made me understood what ‘dusk to dawn’ meant, I can go out at dusk and come back at dawn, no question asked. Considering the amount of time and money Malaysians spent in mamak stalls, Well at least I did, I often wonder
why no one thought of listing mamak stalls with the KLSE. Many of us would have been filthy rich shareholders by now.

Perth, Western Australia was where I had the chance to breathe foreign air on foreign soil. I was quite a health fanatic at that time. While my course mates attended lectures armed with books, notes, tape recorders etc. and I’ll be armed with a different armour, a tennis racket, tennis balls and sports shoes. Before Perth, I was totally hopeless with cooking but I came back a new person, at least I can hold my fort, cooking a meal for six. I was very eager to start claiming my place in the society. I figured, life should be quite a breeze since I am now able to earn my living. Then reality bites. After so many years of working, I realised I am just a statistic.

I guessed that’s what life is all about. It’s a journey of struggles and challenges added with dashes of emotions, perspiration and more importantly, HOPE. I can’t find more truth in what Forrest Gump had said, 'Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get.' For all the whinings and grumblings I had made about life,
...............................I still love my box of chocolate.