Tuesday, August 4, 2009
music in malaysia
POP! (goes the bubble)1960s
Largely influenced by The Beatles. Many kugirans were formed. Ku=kumpulan (group), gi=gitar (guitar), ran=rancak (fast tempo).
1980s
Influenced by Michael Jackson. Breakdance culture was famous here. Youths used to carry hi-five sets around and play loud pop, dance music and dance their breakdance in public.
Famous people
Jamal Abdillah
Nice voice. Liked to sing songs about his pride. Was notorious for being a drugger. Went into the drug rehab centre in and out about 4 times. But he could perform so well that he made people cry. Check this song out: Kekasih Awal dan Akhir (My lover at the beginning to the end)
Siti Nurhaliza
Siti Nurhaliza
Super, super famous! Our teacher's love. She burst into the entertainment scene at the young age of 15 and made it big at 16. Has a fantastic voice and exquisite beauty. Check this song out: Bukan Cinta Biasa (A Love like no other)
POP CULTURE / HIP-HOP
Too Phat
Source: http://www.mp3lyrics.org/t/too-phat/too-phat_1.Jpg
42UC, NICO and KRU was popular then. Hip-hoppers dressed in the traditional baggy pants and sideways trucker cap. The hip-hop scene in America influenced the hip-hop scene in Malaysia. Hip-hop was popular in Malaysia because the hip-hoppers in Malaysia wanted to look similar to the Afro-Americans (economic conditions, social conditions). The Malaysians listened to the hip-hop songs probably because they wanted to feel the kindred spirit in the community. Check this song out: Anak Ayam performed by Too Phat. (In this case phat means a deliciously good tune.)
ROCK!
Famous rock band 20 years ago: Wings. Famous rock bands now: Butterfingers, Estranged, Pop Shuvit, Bunkface. Malaysian youths were generally into punk and emo rock music, and even the names of the bands reflected the emoness of the music. Mat Rock (Mat=colloquial term for Malay men) was noticeable in the Malaysians. They would keep long, curly hair and black T-shirts of their favourite shirts, and Hara and Lee Cooper faded and torn jeans and Doc Martins boots or high cut Converse shoes. They would also keep a comb in their back pocket. If the comb was pointed, that meant that guy was a gangster. Peninsula Plaza was a hot place of Mat Rockies because it was the only place that sold Hara jeans. Check out this song: Sejati peformed by Wings. Almost every Malaysian that lived in the 80's know this song!
SUBCULTURE
The Underground / Black Metal stream: Heavy metal music + obscene, rude lyrics. Started from Norway and became popular in Malaysia. The youngsters in Malaysia wanted to find a niche for themselves in the music scene in Malaysia. They were rebellious and anti-establishment. These people were called skinheads because they shaved their heads bald in an act of rebellion. Songs are not really recommended for listening because 1. they are really loud metal music and 2. I can't hear what they're singing.
TV REALITY /TALENT SHOWS
Malaysian Idol: Winner Jaclyn Victor. She is Indian. When she and another Malay were the finalists, there was debate over whether Malaysians would vote along racial lines, but Jaclyn won 70% of the votes. :D
Akademi Fantasia: Many Sabahans turn up for the auditions for this competition and Sabahans almost always come up top 2. This was probably because the living conditions for Sabahans were not very good and many Sabahans viewed this competition as a ticket to get away from the poor living conditions.
Conclusion
Music in Malaysia is highly influential and influenced by other countries and cultures. It is a popular topic for daily conversation and news/gossip about music generate more interest in the community than say, sports or politics. Music is also a vital part in other cultural activities.
Posted by Mel at 12:27 AM
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Malaysian Famous People: Datuk Michelle Yeoh
Birth
· Born Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng to a prominent ethnic Chinese (Han) family in Ipoh, Malaysia on August 6, 1962.
· Parents are Dato’ Yeoh Kian Teik and Janet Yeoh
Early Life and Career
· Enrolled in London Royal Academy of Dance, majoring in Ballet.
· However, a spinal injury smashed her lifelong dream of becoming a prima ballerina, and she had to switch her focus away from dance to choreography and other arts.
· Her career started in Hong Kong with a few commercials alongside big-shots Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat, before being offered a film contract.
Beauty Queen
· In 1983, at the age of 21, Michelle won the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant and consequently represented Malaysia at the Miss World pageant in London.
· She was chosen as one of People magazine’s 50 most beautiful people in the world in 1997.
Famed Actress
· Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: dyk that Michelle Yeoh doesn’t speak Mandarin, so she had to learn the lines for the movie phonetically?
· James Bond: Tomorrow never dies
· The Touch
· Memoirs of a Geisha
· The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
· Born Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng to a prominent ethnic Chinese (Han) family in Ipoh, Malaysia on August 6, 1962.
· Parents are Dato’ Yeoh Kian Teik and Janet Yeoh
Early Life and Career
· Enrolled in London Royal Academy of Dance, majoring in Ballet.
· However, a spinal injury smashed her lifelong dream of becoming a prima ballerina, and she had to switch her focus away from dance to choreography and other arts.
· Her career started in Hong Kong with a few commercials alongside big-shots Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat, before being offered a film contract.
Beauty Queen
· In 1983, at the age of 21, Michelle won the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant and consequently represented Malaysia at the Miss World pageant in London.
· She was chosen as one of People magazine’s 50 most beautiful people in the world in 1997.
Famed Actress
· Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: dyk that Michelle Yeoh doesn’t speak Mandarin, so she had to learn the lines for the movie phonetically?
· James Bond: Tomorrow never dies
· The Touch
· Memoirs of a Geisha
· The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Posted by Mel at 10:18 PM
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
TANAHAIR
Tanahair: tanah (soil) + air (water). Means motherland or native land.Rice requires soil and water to grow. Rice sustains life of an individual in a typical Southeast Asian community. So the land that sustains life is the land that the individual belongs to. For river and coastal communities, the river or the sea would be the source of life. River provides mode of transportation; sea provides food.
Due to the connection and the very close relationship between the individual and surroundings, the notion to “tanahair” is very central to the life and culture of the Malay community. Land is a very important issue to SEA. In rural communities, their understanding of what is wealth is basically how much land a person has. [more land>> more rice>> more food + money!! :D]
· Tanah tumpah darah: “soil where blood is/was shed”. Means motherland.
· Tanah pusaka: “hereditary soil”. Means land inherited by generations after generations.
· Tanah hidup: “living soil”. Means the productive usage of land for growing crops.
· Tanah mati: “dead soil”. A piece of soil that is not arable.
We will be learning more about "tanahair" in class soon, so i'll keep posting!
Posted by Mel at 2:31 AM
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Rice Dishes in The Philippines
Rice is grown in every Southeast Asian country except Singapore. It is a staple food in this region. Thus, almost every Southeast Asian country has a special rice dish which reflects their unique culture.
The Philippines have several unique staple rice dishes:
Arroz caldo or goto —A thin rice porridge cooked with chicken, ginger, onions and garnished with spring onions and calamansi.
Arroz Valenciana—A dish similar to paella but is instead cooked with chicken, beef, ham, sausages, and bell peppers and is cooked creamy. YUM.
The Philippines have several unique staple rice dishes:
Arroz caldo or goto —A thin rice porridge cooked with chicken, ginger, onions and garnished with spring onions and calamansi.
Arroz Valenciana—A dish similar to paella but is instead cooked with chicken, beef, ham, sausages, and bell peppers and is cooked creamy. YUM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Large_bibinka.jpg
Bibingka—A rice cake that is traditionally served with grated coconut. Rice flour is used. This popular dessert is baked is a specially-made clay oven, with a layer of hot coals over it. It is baked in 16 layers.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2229/2219219125_690daecf10.jpg?v=0
Biko—A sweet rice dish made of sticky rice cooked in coconut milk and sugar and topped with thick caramelized coconut syrup and latik.
Pares—A rice dish topped with beef braised with soy sauce seasoned and garnished with spring onions.
http://media.photobucket.com/image/puso%20food/ripdiet/cebu-puso1.jpg
http://blogs.eveningsun.com/troublebrewing/puto.jpg
Puto—A pudding made from stone-ground soaked rice, sugar, coconut milk and then steamed. Various toppings such as cheese, salted eggs or minced meat may be added.
Suman—Sticky rice cooked with coconut milk and sugar and wrapped in banana or coconut leaves.
WOW. Rice never looked this tasty, right? Really makes me want to head over to The Philippines now and try every one of these yummy dishes. I appreciate our simple staple food: rice, more now!
Posted by Mel at 1:03 AM
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Fantastic Philippines Facts
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines#GeographyGeography
The Philippines comprises of an archipelago of 7107 islands in the Western Pacific Ocean, with a total land area of approximately 300,000 km2 (116,000 squaremiles). It is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The busy port of Manila, on Luzon, is the capital of Philippines and the second largest city after Quezon City.
The Philippines borders the Philippine Sea on the east, the South China Sea on the west, and the Celebes Sea on the south.
Most of the mountainous islands were covered in tropical rainforest, and are volcanic in origin. The highest mountain is Mount Apo located in Mindanao measuring at 2,954m above sea level. There are many active volcanoes such as Mayon volcano, Mount Pinatubo, and Taal Volcano. The Philippines is also located within the typhoon belt of the Western Pacific, and approximately 19 typhoons strike per year.
Located on the northwestern fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippine Islands have experienced frequent seismic, and volcanic activities. Around 20 earthquakes are registered daily in the Philippines, though most are too weak to be felt. Also, the famous Mariana Trench, the deepest undersea trench in the world, is located on the Philippines plate, between Japan and Philippines.
Because most of the islands are volcanic in nature, the land is very fertile and is mineral-rich. The Philippines is able to harvest much geothermal energy. Endemic species include the tamaraw of Mindoro, and the tarsier of Bohol. The Philippines have a lack of predators, with the exception of snakes, such as pythons, and cobras, and birds of prey, such as the national bird, known as the Philippine eagle. Other native animals include the palm civet cat, the Mouse deer, the Visayan warty pig, and several species of bats. There are some 530 species of birds in the rainforests.Rainforests contain at least 8,500 species of flora, including several types of orchids, and rafflesa. The narra is considered as the most important type of hardwood. The Philippines' major crops include rice, corn, sugarcane, coconut, abaca, and tobacco. Rice is the most important source of food along with corn. The coconut, nango, watermelon, and other native fruits are an important source of Philippine income.
The Philippines’ territorial waters measure as much as 1.67 million km2. Of the 2,400 fish species found in the Philippines, 65 have good commercial value. Other marine products include corals, pearls, crabs, and seaweeds.
Brief Filipino culture
The Philippines was colonized by the Spanish, and thus is greatly influenced by Spanish/Mexican culture. Hispanic cultures are also present in their folk music, folk dance, language, food, art and religion.
The Philippines is a largely Roman Catholic society, 90% Christian, 5% Muslim, 5% practice other religions or have none at all.
Filipinos have unique folk dances like tinikling where assistants take two long bamboo sticks rapidly and in rhythm, clap sticks for dancers to artistically and daringly try to avoid getting their feet caught between them. Also in the southern part of the Philippines, there is another dance called singkil using long bamboo poles found in tinikling; however, it is primarily a dance showing off lavish Muslim
royalty. In this dance, there are four bamboo sticks arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing sticks.
Dancers can be found trying to avoid all 4 bamboo sticks all together in the middle. They can also try to dance an entire rotation around the middle avoiding all sticks. Usually these stick dances performed in teamwork fashion and not solo. The Singkil dance is identifiable with the use of umbrellas and silk clothing.
Some musical instruments found in Filipino culture: kulintang: a racked gong chime instrument played in the Southern Philippines. Some popular lyrical songs are: Harana and Kundiman: a lyrical song style made popular in the Philippine Islands, dating back to the Spanish period. Composed in the Mexican-Spanish tradition, the lyrics usually depict a romantic theme.
People and Places of Interest
The Philippines was colonized by the Spanish, and thus is greatly influenced by Spanish/Mexican culture. Hispanic cultures are also present in their folk music, folk dance, language, food, art and religion.
The Philippines is a largely Roman Catholic society, 90% Christian, 5% Muslim, 5% practice other religions or have none at all.
Filipinos have unique folk dances like tinikling where assistants take two long bamboo sticks rapidly and in rhythm, clap sticks for dancers to artistically and daringly try to avoid getting their feet caught between them. Also in the southern part of the Philippines, there is another dance called singkil using long bamboo poles found in tinikling; however, it is primarily a dance showing off lavish Muslim
royalty. In this dance, there are four bamboo sticks arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing sticks.
Dancers can be found trying to avoid all 4 bamboo sticks all together in the middle. They can also try to dance an entire rotation around the middle avoiding all sticks. Usually these stick dances performed in teamwork fashion and not solo. The Singkil dance is identifiable with the use of umbrellas and silk clothing.
Some musical instruments found in Filipino culture: kulintang: a racked gong chime instrument played in the Southern Philippines. Some popular lyrical songs are: Harana and Kundiman: a lyrical song style made popular in the Philippine Islands, dating back to the Spanish period. Composed in the Mexican-Spanish tradition, the lyrics usually depict a romantic theme.
People and Places of Interest
People
About 30,000 years ago, the Negritos, who became the ancestors of the Aeta, Agta, Ayta, Ati, Dumagat and other tribes of the Philippines forms about .003% of the total Philippine population.About 2000 to 6000 years ago, the Austronesian ethnic group originated from the Yunnan Plateau in Taiwan and settled in what is now the Philippines by sailing, using boats or by traveling in land bridges. Their descendance would migrated to the Malay Archipelago, the Pacific Islands, and Madagascar.The indigenous people of the Philippines were also in contact with other Asian people. Various ethnic groups established several communities formed by the assimilation of various indigenous Philippine kingdoms.The current Filipino PeopleThe Filipino is basically of Malay stock with a sprinkling of Chinese, American, Spanish, and Arab blood. The Philippines has a population of 76.5 million as of May 2000, and it is hard to distinguish accurately the lines between stocks. From a long history of Western colonial rule, interspersed with the visits of merchants and traders, evolved a people of a unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture.The Filipino character is actually a little bit of all the cultures put together. The bayanihan or spirit of kinship and camaraderie that Filipinos are famous for is said to be taken from Malay forefathers. The close family relations are said to have been inherited from the Chinese. The piousness comes from the Spaniards who introduced Christianity in the 16th century. Hospitality is a common denominator in the Filipino character and this is what distinguishes the Filipino. Filipinos are probably one of the few, if not the only, English-proficient Oriental people today. Pilipino is the official national language, with English considered as the country's unofficial one.
About 30,000 years ago, the Negritos, who became the ancestors of the Aeta, Agta, Ayta, Ati, Dumagat and other tribes of the Philippines forms about .003% of the total Philippine population.About 2000 to 6000 years ago, the Austronesian ethnic group originated from the Yunnan Plateau in Taiwan and settled in what is now the Philippines by sailing, using boats or by traveling in land bridges. Their descendance would migrated to the Malay Archipelago, the Pacific Islands, and Madagascar.The indigenous people of the Philippines were also in contact with other Asian people. Various ethnic groups established several communities formed by the assimilation of various indigenous Philippine kingdoms.The current Filipino PeopleThe Filipino is basically of Malay stock with a sprinkling of Chinese, American, Spanish, and Arab blood. The Philippines has a population of 76.5 million as of May 2000, and it is hard to distinguish accurately the lines between stocks. From a long history of Western colonial rule, interspersed with the visits of merchants and traders, evolved a people of a unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture.The Filipino character is actually a little bit of all the cultures put together. The bayanihan or spirit of kinship and camaraderie that Filipinos are famous for is said to be taken from Malay forefathers. The close family relations are said to have been inherited from the Chinese. The piousness comes from the Spaniards who introduced Christianity in the 16th century. Hospitality is a common denominator in the Filipino character and this is what distinguishes the Filipino. Filipinos are probably one of the few, if not the only, English-proficient Oriental people today. Pilipino is the official national language, with English considered as the country's unofficial one.
Language
According to Ethnologue, there are about 180 languages spoken in the Philippine Islands.Filipino and English are the official languages. Other major languages of the Philippines include Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Kapampangan, Bikol, Pangasinan, Tausug, Maguindanao, Maranao, Kinaray-a, Chavacano and Spanish.
Places of interest
Mt Pinatubo is part of a chain of volcanoes which lie along the western edge of the island of Luzon. They are subduction volcanoes, formed by the Philippine Plate sliding under the Eurasian Plate along the Manila Trench to the west. Mount Pinatubo lies on a destructive plate boundary.The volcano is located 89 km (55 miles) northwest of Manila, 14 km (9 miles) west of the former Clark Air Base, and 37 km (23 mi) north of the former U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay. Clark Air Base's residential areas and petroleum storage facilities were in much closer proximity to the volcano than the airfield complex and neighboring Angeles City.Several important river systems have their sources on Pinatubo, with the major rivers being the Bucao, Santo Tomas, Maloma, Tanguay and Kileng rivers. Before the eruption, these river systems were important ecosystems, but the eruption filled many valleys with deep pyroclastic deposits. Since 1991, the rivers have been clogged with sediment, and the valleys have seen frequent lahars (volcanic mudflow). Studies show that the river systems will take many years yet to recover from the 1991 eruption.About 500,000 people continue to live within 40 km of the mountain, with population centres including the 150,000 in Angeles City, and 20,000 at Clark Freeport Zone.
The province of Palawan is an island in the South China Sea. Palawan has natural gas fields on the northeastern part of the island but the beautiful beaches around the island are still maintained.
According to Ethnologue, there are about 180 languages spoken in the Philippine Islands.Filipino and English are the official languages. Other major languages of the Philippines include Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Kapampangan, Bikol, Pangasinan, Tausug, Maguindanao, Maranao, Kinaray-a, Chavacano and Spanish.
Places of interest
Mt Pinatubo is part of a chain of volcanoes which lie along the western edge of the island of Luzon. They are subduction volcanoes, formed by the Philippine Plate sliding under the Eurasian Plate along the Manila Trench to the west. Mount Pinatubo lies on a destructive plate boundary.The volcano is located 89 km (55 miles) northwest of Manila, 14 km (9 miles) west of the former Clark Air Base, and 37 km (23 mi) north of the former U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay. Clark Air Base's residential areas and petroleum storage facilities were in much closer proximity to the volcano than the airfield complex and neighboring Angeles City.Several important river systems have their sources on Pinatubo, with the major rivers being the Bucao, Santo Tomas, Maloma, Tanguay and Kileng rivers. Before the eruption, these river systems were important ecosystems, but the eruption filled many valleys with deep pyroclastic deposits. Since 1991, the rivers have been clogged with sediment, and the valleys have seen frequent lahars (volcanic mudflow). Studies show that the river systems will take many years yet to recover from the 1991 eruption.About 500,000 people continue to live within 40 km of the mountain, with population centres including the 150,000 in Angeles City, and 20,000 at Clark Freeport Zone.
The province of Palawan is an island in the South China Sea. Palawan has natural gas fields on the northeastern part of the island but the beautiful beaches around the island are still maintained. Posted by Mel at 12:23 AM
Monday, April 13, 2009
EHHH!! TAG LEHHS!!!
the title says it all.Posted by Mel at 4:05 PM
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Trip to Kukup
I’m really sorry! I haven’t posted for so long! Sorry!! :CIn the early morning of Tuesday, 10 March 2009, 6.45am, a group of black-clad RGS students gathered in the RGS foyer, chattering excitedly and comparing their passport photos. The air was dewy and cool. That image is forever imprinted in my memory…
Okay, enough with the crappy attempt at the mysterious story. I’ll jump right into it. We took a Luxury® bus to the causeway, and we cleared immigrations rather smoothly (with the exception of Moira who got detained because she didn’t have a green card—she is Malaysian). We entered Malaysia (Yay! My first time overseas this year) then traveled through Johor Bahru to Kukup.
While our bus was traveling, our tour guide introduced herself as Ms. Aishah. (correct me if I’m wrong) She briefly introduced Malaysia’s history, the Japanese invasion, their agriculture and main revenue-generating industries and so on. Malaysia’s national language is Malay, and every single Malaysian has to pass the Malay language test to be a MALAYSIAN, otherwise they would only be a permanent resident. Amazing!
Melaya was part of the Malay archipelago, the most famous state being Melaka. (Yes Xiao Niang Re and history freaks! :P) The Japanese invaded Singapore by land, down Malaysia, as they knew that the Brits had prepared cannons to protect the seas. They brought their own bikes to travel. (Smart neh?) Malaysia’s agriculture consisted mainly of tropical fruits like banana and cocoa, and in the early days, rubber. The main revenue-generating business is petroleum, and fourth was palm oil. We actually saw some of these palm trees as we drove!
Kukup used to be a quaint little fishing village floating in the great blue sea :P. It was created by a Singaporean Arab businessman (can’t remember his name) and he created his own currency to pay his workers. (How cheapo. Wait. I didn’t say that. -.-”) Now, it is still a floating fishing village, but there are cars, bikes, motorbikes, trucks on a concrete paved road. There are telephone wires, electricity and fresh water supply to every house. There are mostly Chinese people there, and some Malays. We saw a Taoist temple on the island, and Ms. Aishah told us that the people were mainly Taoist, but there was also a Buddhist temple. We saw no evidence of a mosque.
We took a boat ride down to the mangrove island (the biggest in the world!). The mangroves there were aplenty and there were many species of animals and mangroves in that habitat. We first climbed the suspension bridge (I wasn’t scared. Honest.) then took a really long walk through the mangrove island via the boardwalk. We saw spiders, mudskippers, many mangrove crabs, and crabholes. However, I was disappointed that the observation tower at the end of the boardwalk was closed, so we had to turn around and walk back. However, it was necessary to rebuild it, as the wood does not last very long in salt water, and safety is priority.
Oh we also visited a floating fish farm. It was made entirely out of wood. Ms. Aishah told me it was really expensive to open a fish farm: 100k ringget. An interesting fact: The fish farmers have to sell their fish when they are 600g-1500g, because only then people will buy the fish, as the fish meat is tender and sweet. A fish farmer showed us a huge puffer fish, archer fish, a tiny seahorse, and a crab. We also petted the fish farmer’s black guard dog. (Actually a lot of us were more interested in the dog than the fish.)
Then we had lunch. One thing I was really disgusted with was the hygiene level in the restaurant. HOUSE FLIES WERE EVERYWHERE! We tried our best to get them off our food and cutlery, but gave up after a while as they were SO persistent. I suppose the local people are used to the houseflies, or they have some really cool housefly repellent device. Anyways I didn’t get a stomachache when I went back. Either I was really lucky or the Kukup houseflies were “cleaner” than the Singapore houseflies. We were served keropok, rice, tea, egg, vegetables, prawn, fishballs, fish and chicken. The fishballs and fish were fine, but I was sorely disappointed by the prawns. I had thought Kukup was a fishing village, so the seafood would be fresh. However, the prawns were stale and hard, and not worth eating at all.
After lunch, we headed off to do an interview with the local people and fill in our worksheet. After a talk with a friendly shopkeeper, we discovered that they had internet, TV, and handphones. Their technology was rather advanced. We enjoyed an ice-cream, then headed back to the bus.
By then, everyone was tired and fell asleep in the bus. Our last stopover in Malaysia was the CocoaRich™ Factory. There were interesting concoctions of chocolates, like the specialty Tomato Chocolate, Mango Chocolate (it was really good) and Lemon Chocolate (they said it was good but I didn’t get to try T.T). I hadn’t brought any ringget, so I wasn’t able to purchase anything, and anyways the products were extremely expensive.
We were lucky that there was no traffic jam in the causeway nor was it raining, so we were able to enjoy the activities fully. I enjoyed this excursion a lot, and think that it was more like a bonding and making-us-independent-in-a-foreign-country experience. I was glad that I had taken Malay, as a lot of the signs were in Malay, so I was able to understand the signs and translate to my friends (and show off! XP). If I understand correctly, are we going to Malaysia again at the end of the year for a week? Great! I can’t wait! Oh yeah and the RSPians will also be involved in the Asia Youth Games Twinning Program. That’s so cool! We’d be able to host and interact with our Malaysian counterparts. <3