By God, We All Learn...

"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn; my God, do you learn!"
(Clive Staples Lewis)

Indeed, we learn from our experiences. No matter how tough, no matter how brutal.For if we brood over spilled milk for too long, we'll never pick ourselves up again.

It was a nerve-wracking experience hosting Piala Khatulistiwa, the dikir barat competition organised by the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Malay Cultural Club.

Despite this being my 3rd hosting stint with Hazzie, it was the first time we were doing it in Malay. (Well, she has her Ria 89.7 and TGIF experience to help her)

It was my first time hosting a real event in Malay.

It was my first time hosting a competition.

It was a full-house attendance, surpassing everyone's expectations.
Thankfully, Amin was a great help, telling us what kind of crowds dikir barat competition usually attract. I've only hosted events which have been very formal and again, they've all been in English, so, my spontaneity in Malay was and still is a serious lack thereof.
And it certainly did not help that I was feeling stressed for most parts of the first half of the event.
Hosting the event has made it very clear to me that I should really stick to hosting in particularly, English.

Oh, somehow, I'm not surprised if my performance, were to draw flak and criticism.

Hosts are like sacrificial lambs, in a way, always the first ones to draw crossfire.

And it's different being on stage and being in the audience. What goes around comes around huh?

Nonetheless, I thank the Malay Cultural Club for the opportunity for every endeavour we embark upon is truly a learning experience.

Save for minor faults, the event was smooth running and the response at the end, I believe, was unanimous. A success.

So, syabas I say to the organising committee and everyone who helped out with the event.

And as for me, I'll try to redeem myself with my next hosting stint in two weeks time.