My Rickshaw

Earlier this week we met the tourist-friendly Malaysian city of Malacca where, to our delight, tourists ride about in three-wheeled, flower-adorned pedicabs (rickshaws). In class we pretend to be hard working rickshaw drivers as we sing “My Rickshaw,” pedaling from sunrise to sundown: “Abang beca, abang beca di tengah jalan, I drive my rickshaw in the town, Abang beca, abang beca di tengah jalan, I pedal hard to keep those wheels going ’round . . . .” In this video I’m sitting on a chair to teach the song, but the real fun takes place in the classroom. There we get down on the ground and pedal pedal pedal, climbing all the way up an imaginary hill — which, even in our imagination, is hard work! — then letting gravity grab us as we race toward town.

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