It is hard to believe that in just three days, we will embark for a month filled with new friends, experiences, and learning opportunities.
I am incredibly excited to take part in my first international experience, and when thinking about what I would like to learn about this country before arriving, a couple key focus points came to mind.
During my time in high school, I was involved in a variety of clubs and intra/extra-curricular activities. Three in particular have helped me to develop into the individual I am today. One of which I can talk about for days, the National FFA Organization and its dedication to premier leadership, personal growth, and career success. However, I find myself not giving enough praise to these other two activities, football and the music department. Each of which have helped me to step out of my comfort zones, expand my horizons, and make some lifelong friends. After thinking about how much of an impact sports and music have had on my life, I began to wonder what athletics, music and entertainment look like in Malaysia.
To my surprise, many sports that we participate in here in the United States are also commonly played in Malaysia. These sports include the following: soccer (or football), badminton, baseball, bowling, field hockey, tennis, squash, golf, horse riding, sailing, martial arts, and even skateboarding! While we may not see individuals running down a sideline to score a touchdown, the country takes great pride in its own football team, despite currently being ranked 171 in the world by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).
The Malaysian National Football Team
Football is by far the most popular sporting event in the country, but Malaysia is also home to some pretty interesting sports of their own. Some of my personal favorites are sepak manggis, sepak takraw and top spinning.
Sepak Manggis is basically an extreme version of beating a piñata, except with the target being ten meters in the air. Participants will form a circle and attempt to kick a ball so it strikes a floral carrier being hung from a pole. The winner is whomever strikes the carrier first and then wins all the contents inside.
Sepak Takraw has also caught the interest of Mr. Carson Letot, and has fascinated me as well. It is scored like badminton but is played like volleyball, just without the use of arms or hands.
Then there is top spinning, which is an intense competition to see who has mastered the art of spinning a top for the longest amount of time, however, these tops are much bigger than the ones we have at home (see the bottom picture below).
Not only do these sports entertain the public, but as does music! Attached below is a link to the 30 current most downloaded songs in Malaysia, which we may hear as we traverse the country.
This download list contains many songs from Malaysian artists, but also artists such as Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello. This goes to show how music can truly transcend oceans, especially in an era that includes ITunes, Spotify and Pandora.
Finally, the country of Malaysia is filled with many different traditional dances, but what could be more entertaining than a dragon dance?
Incredibly excited to experience all that Malaysia has to offer, but so happy to see how sports, music and even dance can bring smiles to faces all across the globe. Cannot wait!
-Thomas