ICELT 2011

Date: 18-20th Sept 2010
Event: ICELT 2011, Damai Laut Resort, Lumut, Perak

I finally have time to post this. ICELT came to a close last 20th Sept 2011. So many things to say and at am at my wit's end where to start! Maybe the venue first- a pretty resort I must admit but we were swarmed by flies!! Room 6 was the worst case and I simply refused to go to the room again even if the queen was presenting :) I was worried  that the flies might end up in the presenter's mouth!!

During our first lunch, one of the workers told us there would be more seats and food under the tent but to our disappointment, the food wasn't topped up after the long queue. Suziana and Fuziana managed to get some fried rice and we shared it.

My blog visitors, Saidatul, Laila and Olivia from Sabah!

Now the papers- there were hundreds of papers to listen to and as usual you have to choose the right ones...probably too many? There was one that ended at 7.45 p.m all because the 10 minute sessions overran. My paper was on the third day- silly me was poor on time management this time and couldn't finish my presentation, what with the impatient people barging in for Alan Maley's slot right after mine. I mean, who am I compared to Alan Maley :) Well, we actually started 5 mins late. To be honest, I was startled by the 'rudeness' of the participants. I've come across conference participants who come in quietly but this was a different thing altogether.  Even with their coupons, they rushed in. A lecturer apologised for barging in and she commented on typical Malaysians rearing their ugly heads.. sigh..Could it be that many were first time participants who were worried they could not secure a seat? I would have been contented to sit on the carpet...Oh well. I just have to manage my time better in the future. I was trying very hard to keep to the theme of the conference which was'teaching as performing arts' and I believe I was one of the earliest to send a proposal. Well, this time around, being early is not a good thing after all because all sorts of papers were accepted and had nothing to do with the theme.

Almost developed a sore throat and a fever (the seven-hour drive this week and the week before took a toll on me- am not young anymore) but thanks to Arian Minhat (ex-student SMSJ)- he came to the rescue with some lozenges and tablets. Met Rohaida, Saidatul and Anizah Masbah (I think) from MRSM. I enjoyed Anizah's session that morning and Muni said she won the coveted award. Congrats! Fuzi, Suzi, Fazleen and I left at 10 a.m. and reached Air Hitam toll safely seven hours later. Two days later, one of the back tyres went flat...it took two days for this to happen :)

Jan Blake, Jazilatur from Indonesia and I

I didn't quite enjoy myself at this conference am afraid- too many flies, too many papers, the mad rush, the long registration queue, insufficient food, no dinner invitation card given during registration but hey, the best part was listening to Jan Blake, story-teller extraordinaire!! She was unmistakably in a class of her own! I also enjoyed listening to Navinder (a friend from JB) and Jenny Ho from Perak. I must also mention Elisabeth from Indonesia, who spoke eloquently on 'Drama Parody'.

Final thoughts- conferences have become so popular among teachers in Malaysia as a means of gathering knowledge and teaching ideas, networking or just making new friends or catching up with old friends. It's a meeting place of sorts- meeting some of my blog visitors, Saidatul, Laila and Olivia from Sabah was one such instance. I salute their willingness to pay out of their own pockets to attend the conference all the way from Sabah! And having Club Sandwiches in the Thai Restaurant with Rohaida was a breather to catch up on lost time :) To Jenny Ho, thanks ever so much for the honey. I love it! Tastes good :)