Reunion With My Teacher And Classmates

Facebook is a great tool for social networking and I’ve enjoyed catching up with old friends. Many people who have had near-death experiences say that they saw their lives flash right before their eyes. Well, this is a bit like how I’ve felt when it comes to my Facebook encounters.

Thanks to this site, I’ve reconnected with people whom I haven’t spoken with in decades. I am suddenly being reminded of little details from my past that I’ve forgotten about. Some friends from St Augustine Primary School posted photos from our primary school years. Seeing those pictures from that time period was like travelling back in time. Memories of Father Warganer, Father Smith, Father Ngu, Mr Loi, Wan Shan, Mr Hsieh start flashing in my mind.

Then there are schoolmates and teachers from my secondary school days at Kai Chung Middle School (it was known by that name at that time) and from my Form Six days at Kolej Tun Datuk Tuanku Haji Bujang. It has truly been a blessing to be able to re-establish contacts with them after all these years. We’ve reminisced about former teachers and classmates as nostalgia took hold of us.

Facebook has made it possible for me to catch up with old friends and get in touch with classmates. Filling in the blanks on my memories is nice, but with Facebook, I’m getting said blanks filled and then some.

Having these virtual “reunions” online has been a lot of fun, but it cannot beat an actual face-to-face reunion.

Yesterday in Sibu, I had a reunion with my Form One form teacher Constance Yii and two classmates Grace Ling Poh Choo and Ling Siew Hung, all of whom I have not seen since 1974.

Two days ago, I was informed about the passing away of my boss’ father-in-law and many from our office decided to go to Sibu for the funeral scheduled for yesterday. I decided to contact Poh Choo to arrange for a reunion. When Poh Choo answered her hand phone, I purposely spoke to her in Foochow. She asked me to identify myself so I just told her that I am her ex-classmate calling from Miri. She paused for a while before remarking that I could not possibly be Chin Yong. When I answered affirmatively, she said it is unbelievable as she remembered me as a shy tongue-tied boy, haha! After calling Poh Choo, I called Ms Yii and she so kindly agreed to meet us.

Poh Choo was also at funeral service at the hospital in Sibu as she has business dealings with my boss’ companies in Sibu. She approached me at the hospital and introduced herself. It is really nice to meet her again after a lapse of about 37 years!

It was later that morning when I was talking to Poh Choo on the phone that we suddenly remembered about Ling Siew Hung. Poh Choo later called Siew Hung and invited her to our little reunion at the coffeehouse of RH Hotel.

So at 2.30 pm yesterday, we had our reunion. It was a fun reunion as we spent time reminiscing about our Kai Chung days. We talked about Chen Lin Mei, Tang Chiok King, Madam Lai, Mrs Abraham Thomas, Amoeba Wong,  Mr Ning, Ms Chieng, as well as fellow schoolmates.

Me with Ms Yii, Poh Choo and Siew Hung

Too quickly, our reunion came to an end as Poh Choo and Siew Hung needed to attend to matters at hand. Thanks to Poh Choo for picking up the tab for ur drinks. Ms Yii kindly sent me back to Kingwood Hotel to meet up with my fellow colleagues for our flight back to Miri.

I really look forward to the Bintangkian Lau Peng Yu scheduled for July 7 this year. With former schoolmates flying in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, it will truly be a reunion to remember!