Parit Penghulu Homestay Programme

When the programme was first promoted to the students, a colleague of mine overheard someone remark; "Home stay?? Lebih baik aku stay at home" (!)

But passing up the opportunity was his/her lost as the programme turned out to be immensely enjoyable. Twenty-eight Form 3 students of SMK Taman Melawati took part in the 2D1N programme held at the Parit Penghulu Homestay (also known as Kem Modal Insan) from 2 Nov to 3 Nov 2011.

Homestay usually denotes staying at the home of a foster family, but our group opted to stay in dormitories so that we can easily assemble for the planned activities.

In chronological order, we visited a Gula Melaka factory, painted Batik, played traditional games, roamed the paddy fields, rode a pick-up truck, went on the Melaka River Cruise, participated in Explorace, and stopped by the Hang Tuah Well.

All the activities were enjoyable but my favourites had to be roaming the paddy fields and cruising down the Melaka River. I never knew that gazing at the lush fields can be so therapeutic...

The students enjoyed themselves too. I overheard one of them say; "Rugi (insert name here) tak pergi". Her friends nodded in agreement. They all seemed reluctant to leave the place.

We felt deeply indebted to our host, Pak Man and his family. They were the embodiment of warm hospitality. We were comfortable and felt welcomed throughout our stay there.

For someone who was born and bred in KL, the village-life stint was utterly refreshing and memorable :)

Pictures from the programme can be viewed here and here.