Contributed by: Mdm Zhang Yu Ye, 80 Mdm Zhang Yu Ye is an 80 year old woman who was not born a Singaporean, but instead a Malaysian and spent her childhood in Malaysia. When she was 18, she got married and subsequently had 8 children. At the age of 25, she moved to Singapore and rented a quarter in a big house in Tiong Bahru. The rent was seventy to eighty dollars a month, which was considered pricey at that time. However, after one year, she and her family moved out and bought a HDB flat unit as they wanted their own space. Life in Singapore for Mdm Zhang was simple. She was a housewife and stayed at home to do housework and manage her children. She clearly remembers that when the television was invented and out in the market, her family was the only one in the neighbourhood who owned a television set. Her neighbours would gather outside their house and watch television through their window. The programmes were all in black and white and mostly about news in Singapore. Occasionally, if they were lucky, there would be some Hong Kong serial dramas for them to watch. Mdm Zhang also remembers that they used to play hopscotch, catching and five stones. In the past, she says that five stones were played using real stones, quite unlike the cloth ones we have now. Also, the cinemas in the past did not have marked seats. After purchasing a ticket, one could simply sit on any seat as there was no fixed seating. Hence, she recalls that she used cloths to block out seats for her friends. She also remembers that Singapore was not as clean as it is today and that there were plenty of attap houses when she first came. As of now, Mdm Zhang has 8 children and 12 grandchildren. Interview done by Victoria Lim and Tan Qi Ting from Nanyang Girls' High School on 29 May 2013. (This memory is collected in collaboration with Nanyang Girls' High School and Kaki Bukit Community Centre for the "Hands: Gift of a Generation" campaign.)