Primary Prime Times - Sister Eulalia

At the beginning of each year in primary school my parents would be busy buying our school books. I would be busy asking them to buy diaries or note books. I was always ambitious and wanted to start my diary each year beginning with my new year resolution. But somehow I usually did not get beyond the first week and after a few years I just end up with setting new year resolutions only. 'Hot hot chicken shit only' they said. (Now resolutions also do not have...hmmm).

I wished I filled the diaries more diligently as they could have been a great source of information for this particular posting. But it was not meant to be so now I have to shake the old coconut to jolt my memories of all those years in Catholic English Primary School. This explains why so little will be written despite spending six great years there.

Maybe I will ask for some help from the Chin cousins, Cyril Moh and Kho Khoon How (who is now in Shanghai perfecting his kungfu moves). Or maybe I check with Annie Wong, who according to Robert Chin is now in Sibu. Wonder if she still have her pony tail.....I am amazed Robert Chin still keep track of her.....wink wink.

Even on my first week in school I already gravitated towards the playground where the senior boys, like my brother Piruz, were playing; either on the concrete basketball court in the center or on the surrounding grass area. Boys were running about everywhere playing 'bapau' on the grass and others playing rounders and basketball on the basket ball court. I was fascinated by the sight of so much shouting, running, throwing and dodging the tennis balls. Different groups playing simultaneously and I wandered right in their midst. Very nice!

Then suddenly..WHACK!!..I saw stars! Someone had thrown a wet tennis ball at full force right smack into my eye. I was momentarily stunned and everything around me froze for a second. Then as quickly as it happened everything continued where it all stop. A big boy picked the ball that had fallen near my feet and aimed at a running boy a few meters ahead of him. This time he missed and the ruckus continued and no one paid any attention to me.

I carried a red eye for a few hours after that but I felt good. I felt initiated and had unintentionally earned my first of many stripes on the playground of Catholic English Primary School. From then on I spent most of my recess times playing rounders on the basketball court.

Rounders is like baseball, played by two teams of about 5 or so players. We used half of the basketball court with the 4 corners serving as the bases. A tennis ball or a soft rubber ball (like the stress balls we have these days) were used for the game. The two team captains would 'kompeng' to decide which team will serve first. (Kompeng is the rock, scissor or paper challenge thingy).

Serving in the game of rounders is somewhat similar to serving in tennis, but instead of using the tennis racket we would use our bare fist to bat the ball. The terror players like Lawrence and yours trully would use our clasped fists while the not so terror players (I won't mention names here) will use their open palms to hit the ball.

The objective was to hit the ball as far as you can from the baseline, then start running towards the bases. You may stop at any of the bases or run all the way to the home base if you can. The opposing team's objective is to prevent you from reaching the bases by hitting you with the ball as you are running. If they hit you with the ball before you reach the base then you are out. And if they caught the ball that you served before it touched the ground then your whole team is out and they get to serve instead. Your opponent will try to whack you as hard as they can. On a bad day at rounders your school uniform would have several ball marks on it. On a good day you there will be no marks but you just go home 'bau boyak' (smell like crocodile).

To primary school boys like us, rounders was a game of skills, agility and wile. The great rounders players of Catholic English Primary School are highly respected. If only we had a hall of fame then. Batting without giving your opponent to catch the ball was an acquired skill. Running and dodging the ball and taking the risks with a cunning run required highly athletic abilities and the cunning players were the more successful ones. The Chin cousins were among the better and regular players. Robert Chin and Cyril Moh especially. And I am sure James Kuo, whom I was just reminded was also in Catholic English Primary School, also palyed with us. 

But as all great athletics and sportsmen would agree, you cannot escape from injury no matter how good you are. Rounders was played on the basketball court and its surface was rough cement!! Sliding on that surface was no way nearly as pleasant as Wayne Rooney sliding on the grass of a football field. We had plenty of scraped knees, elbows and palms. Our knee caps have plenty of stamps on them till today. I guess that explains why my knees are so weak these days.

Whenever we scraped our knees, elbows, etc we would go to the clerk and principal's office for treatment as that was where the first aid kit was kept. I remember sitting on the treatment chair or accompanying my friends for treatment. First she would pour a disinfecting solution in a kidney shaped metal bowl and with the use of a tweezer dipped a cotton ball in it before washing the exposed flesh on our knees. This part your knees would shake and your hands would be gripping hard on anything and your eyes wet with tears. Then she would put the yellow iodine solution and slapped a plaster over your knees. You will be out of action for at least a week.

But despite this, visiting the principal's office for treatment was not too bad either. The 'she' I mentioned above was usually our school principle. We had the gentlest and most caring principal in Sister Eulalia. She looked so angelic in her nun's robe and headgear and behind her glasses. I thought she was so 'cantik' and would have willingly put forward both my little palms to be canned by her with the old wooden yellow 12 inch ruler they used those days. But she never did.

Sister Eulalia must have had her hands full those years with so many active and naughty boys in school. We were always playing games such as 'bapau', marbles, rubber band, plastic chains, etc. However I cannot recall any of us fighting despite fierce competition on the playgrounds and in class.

I remember Lawrence Chin was always top in class and it was very rare indeed if he did not get the number one position. I think Cyril was the next smartest boy in class. By the way I think maybe perhaps Lawrence did not cry on the first day in school...hehehe. But he was always the best dressed, well starched and ironed uniform, tucked in nicely, hair well trimmed, side parting with just the right dose of Code 10. I remember his school shorts had sort of metal buckles on the side where he can adjust the fitting. Stylo milo! 

In class we were always trying to please the teachers, rubbing the blackboard, cleaning the dusters on the wall outside the classroom, sending the books to the teachers' room etc. Teasing the girls in class or teasing some poor boy with the girls was also good fun.

Almost every term my class teacher would remarked in my report card that I was playful, day dreamed a lot and should pay more attention in class. The teachers did not understand me; I was cheerful not playful; imaginative and visualizing my dreams not day dreaming. Hehehe...bet my kids will use that line with me now.