Was it the complexion? The linen suit? Or some hitherto unnoticed resemblance to Vladimir Putin? Whatever the reason, I was mistaken for a Russian three times this morning. The fact that I can say “Hello” in Russian didn’t help – because my new found friends then expected me to continue in the language …
My first full day in Petaling Jaya – a day of tasting new food, meeting new people and, of course, engaging young Malaysians in our creative approaches to maths. The morning got off to a great start – as they really enjoyed picking from the collection of Liverpool postcards that I’d brought for them (if you’re ever after these, the Tourist Information Centre in L1 has loads!).
I think it’s fair to say that, at first, quite a few found our open ways of working challenging – but it was fantastic to see them growing in confidence as the morning wore on. And a reminder, of course, that children are children the world over. Mind you, it was a little disconcerting to travel half way round the globe to find that Manchester United fans literally get everywhere (although one of the mums was an LFC supporter, so that made everything all right).
The (thankfully air conditioned) room was soon buzzing as the youngsters, ranging in age from six to sixteen, worked in teams to unravel the case of The Attempted Murder of Michaela Maths. The four teachers on hand got stuck in too (Cordelia and Casandra being joined by colleagues Julie and Grace), lending support to the children when they needed it but staying out of the fray when they didn’t. An eight hour day of maths might not sound appealing to everyone, but these young people devoured it all – mixing additive and multiplicative reasoning with the properties of 2D and 3D shapes and tackling problems that weren’t just two-stage in nature, but three, four, five or more.
Excitement mounted as the list of suspects was whittled down until just three remained: The Rival, The Golddigging Boyfriend and The Gambling Commentator. The final clue was hidden deep inside our ever-popular “Sausages” game – and, as usual, while the children found it quite quickly, the adults were completely baffled.
It’s been an amazing first day – in all the emails we’ve exchanged over the last months, Cordelia and Cassandra have stressed how hospitable the Malaysian people are. And they’ve been right to do so – everyone’s been incredibly warm and welcoming from the very moment of my arrival in the country. And, in just a few minutes, my hosts will be returning to the hotel to take me out for dinner. Which brings me back to the food. I’d never even heard of lotus buns before, let alone tried them. I actually thought they were a variety of marshamallow on first sight (and therefore unsuitable for a vegetarian) – but I was quickly reassured. And they are, without a doubt, to die for …