Being part of the school twinning programme with Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam Secondary School (SMSMJA) was amazing and had a huge impact on me. It has opened my eyes to the many different cultures, traditions of Brunei citizens. SMSMJA’s learning environment for their students was quite an eye-opener for me as although there are quite a few differences, their education system has some similarities to our education system at the same time.
From my experience, SMSMJA students usually take down notes in their notebooks for their lessons instead of using textbooks although they have them. They also conduct their assembly out in the open square and have all the classes stand outside surrounding the square to listen to the assembly. Hospitable and warm in their treatment towards us, they also took us on a spin around Brunei, showing us countless amazing sights. One such place is Kampong Ayer, one of the many water kampongs in Brunei where we visited the Penghulu house. The Penghulu house is filled with pictures of many important people who have also visited the Penghulu house while in Brunei. There they also showed us how to make ambuyat (the national dish of Brunei).
SMSMJA also took us to visit the Royal Regalia Museum which was huge, elegant, grand and contains immense information on the history of Brunei. There, we were sent on a small quest with our buddies to learn about Brunei’s past which included the great sultans of the past and how their government worked in the past.
Back in SMSMJA , we were given a school tour around the whole school. SMSMJA is huge and even has a huge block for Science. During the tour, we learned many things about SMSMJA such as their schedules, how their classes worked and some of their rules and regulations. We also learned about some of Brunei’s traditional games such as Congkak and Pasang.
One of the most significant events during this trip to me was the Tree Planting event that took place in SMSMJA. It was important to me as the Brazilian Longan tree was planted with the effort between students of both schools, be it the knowledge or physical labour in planting one and it also signified the cooperation of both our schools In the school twinning event.
At the end of the trip, I was extremely sad as over the few days, we had bonded with our buddies in Brunei and would be leaving soon. However, this experience has left a good impact on me. It opened and exposed my eyes to culture, tradition and environment so different from Singapore and Edgefield. This experience will remain unforgettable in my heart and also proves that friendship can go beyond borders.
Bee XiuFen, 2 Einstein, 2018
