On 10 September 2011 ...

My challenges as AYL have definitely increased as we are nearer to the program.

Today was just another gathering. But I was called out of the blue by the program coordinator to have a heart-to-heart dialogue. We sat and talked for two hours. I was nervous, but I guess we have finally reached the same ground in understanding each other better.

A senior who is the buddy to the team also had a heart-to-heart conversation for the whole group. I often called it thrashing session. I'm used to such session as I often have it with colleagues. However, I'm not sure if my team found it useful, but I did. I learnt a lot of new things from my team members. Although we were all holding back from saying the truth, we all needed the stepping stone to break the ice between us. Surprisingly, it's a very much enlightened session that was filled with laughter.

I remember when the youngest member shared that she could not understand another member's sentences. We all could see how frustrated she was. So we asked her to give an example, and we all laughed - hard. The said member was embarrassed. She could not understand was purely due to his slang. He is from the North of Malaysia while she from the capital city. Each state of Malaysia carries a unique slang, so she has clearly not listened to the Northern slang. As I grew up in the north, I have no problems in understanding him.

Spinoff: After this session, the said member tried his best to speak clearly so she could understand. I also saw some members teaching her how to understand his northern slang. Later, he didn't alter his slang anymore when she was finally comfortable with him.

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