variousness of everything

Recently my colleague commented that i always write on family matters.What do you expect..regardless of the ups and downs,family always stays close to my heart.So this time i d like to write on something different...

Lao Tze once said "a journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step".Yes ..my single step began somewhere in Sept 2 nd 1981, where i first left my sleepy little hometown for the States to pursue the American dreams .From that moment i ve never stopped travelling.I come , l learn and i see the variousness of everything, from language to culture, from practices to taboos .Some i took n practised but some i ignored.In Malaysia itself,small though it may be, we can see the variousness in everyday casual language.All Malaysians speak Malay, but dont be too confident to understand all that being said.Certain states use different term for the same refered thing. In Johor, the most southeren tip, we use 'LARI' for run,but if you follow the North south highway n end up in Kedah or Perlis , they use 'LIGAN' while the east coast adopts the word 'HUNGGA'.See..you might get a bit confuse if u first arrive in the place, though it is in Malaysia.We are rich in words and expressions...

Another word is "cemar" meaning pollute.We use it everywhere in Msia,but in diffrent context.In Johor cemar is related to pollution but in kelantan cemar is anything that's dirty..You can say "tangan cemar" when your hands are dirty which of course totally awkward to the Johoreans.However, my kids have gotten use to this language.One day while we were in a market in Johor, I bought some vegetables from a chinese .The uncle held the vege and put in a plastic bag,so my kid spontaneously commented"tak cemar ke ma?" or isnt it dirty?He is so used to buy things from the Malays (cause there re seldom chinese sellers in kelantan market)that he thinks buying from a non malay is not right or rather is not clean.A Johorean who has been Kelantanised!

What about the word sumpit.When I heard my friend using it, i thought what an ancient language.The last time i heard somebody using it was from my late grandmother .It belongs to the old school.Here they use it everyday.But watch out if you are in Sarawak..sumpit can totally mean a different thing..

The word "you"is another example.In modern English it is YOU, and if you are a shakespearen fanatic you may use thou or thee but it s a bit strange to use this day.But in Malay, there are awak for the prim and proper, kau for the street language.And there are more..the Kelantanese is more comfortable to use mu while the northern prefered hampa or hang.What a choice you have!

So for me and kids, we have a storewide full of terms to choose from.Sometimes we use our Johorean language and when we are with friends we switch to Kelantanese coloqials but when the father is around all the northern terms come in.So, our language is like rojak now and I m afraid for as which identity we should take at the end of the day...

We are moving, adapting and changing as days pass.However , one thing i know that remains the same is my nostalgic hometown.Everytime I go back,passing that little countrytown, the same old delapidated pre- war two- storey shop houses are still there as if faithfully waiting for us and the same hailam coffeeshop at the end of the row which has seen its better days is still operating, slow it may be. But surprise...surprise...surprise.. at the end of the shophouses, on a wide plot of land stood majestically an intricately designed wood carving house..the house of our Johor Chief Minister..well he is from the same hometown , from the same school and from the same neighbourhood as I...and i hope he could bring some changes to my kampung one day for d betterments of the village folks

Ramadhan comes..ramadhan goes..

Today is 26 Sept 2008,it means 26 ramadhan1429 hijrah..only 5 days away to hari raya.My two kids at MRSM and SM Sains are already back, breaking fast at dinner table is merrier n cheerful than usual.They brought in lots of stories from the hostels. My son as the vice president of student bodies said he had to organise this leadership course in an oil palm estate.While walking at 1 am,they met with a herd of cows which went wild upon meeting those 200 students!My daughter complaint she and her dorm mates had to run 10 rounds on the field at 2 am for communicating with d outsiders from the dorm to outer fence...well, i dont blame d teacher for taking such assertive action,they deserve it..for breaking the rules.i guess its not easy to look after these sometime rebelious teenagers.As parents when the kids enrol in boarding school,it means they can wash their hands clean.The school n d teacher will teach n mould them into becoming better citizens. But to teachers, its not n easy task.Well done good teachers out there.What u ve done is a noble job!

Preparation 4 raya?Well ,all new dresses are ready.Kuih??i ve bought at least 10 types.Yeah i bought.i dont know i ve never have this interest in baking cookies..all the aftermath of baking, the greasy messy pans doesnt lure me at all.But..at one time I was quite ok with cooking.I remember those days when i was in State, i could bake the most irrisistable dark deep chocolate cake, cinnamon apple pie..n even Navaho pizza which i learnt during my stay in Red Indian reservation in Nevada.Now i dont know..all d skills and interest just dissapear..just as snowflakes drop n melt on early winter days.

Raya this year?We havent discussed yet as where to raya,either Kedah or Johor..But strangely, this year i feel like i want to spend this raya in Kelantan since we are not going to b here that long..sh..my kids will be jumping n shouting if they know this.To them raya means balik Johor, my hometown..after all we ve been away through out the year.Well kids, just keep ur fingers cross ok..

well, until the next ramadhan, bye

how time flies

Finally, year in..year out..how fast time flies.i still remember those days n nights where my hands were never dried tending to little pieces of me and my hubby.24 hours were just not enough 4 me.time was fully used.ocupied..juggling from career to housework to nurturing those babbies.i seldom have time for myself.those letters from friends have to wait,e-mail..no time what more the spa..

And now suddenly I found myself with so much extra time.i would b sitting in front of tv watching one indon movie after another .i just dont know how to occupy my time.Then i found myself blogging which of course i learnt from my kids.Yeah..i m proud of them.infact i learnt alot about this net things from them.

My kids? well two of them are at boarding schools.My eldest is the vice president of his college, my second ,she excels in these computer gadgets,one in std 6 and one in std 5.they are always engrossed in their busy school world , seldom interrupt my peace of mind.

I used to envy my friends before.They are now prof, assist prof, deans of schools etc.Look at me , i m just a plain high school teacher, i dont have titles but my kids have made me the proudest mother in the world so far.

Now i have time to indulge in hobbies,leisure reading n travelling which i have put off all this while.Suddenly 24 hours are too long a time for me...

i ll start blogging from now...