It amazes me as to how much can happen in just one day. Today we were blessed with an opportunity to tour the city of Johor Bahru and gain some deep cultural knowledge along the way.
To begin our tour, we made a quick stop by the Sultan’s Palace (the Sultan being similar to our Governors back home as they are heads of individual states). During our time there we were able to take pictures with The Royal Crown of Johor and witness a guard check routine.
Up next, we took a moment to visit a local mosque under restorative reconstruction, but became fascinated with an outreach of sand in the direction of nearby Singapore. Earlier in the experience, we visited the southernmost tip of Mainland Asia in Tanjung Pia National Park, from which you can see three countries, Indonesia, Singapore and of course, Malaysia. However, as Malaysia imports sand from Indonesia to cover the Strait of Johor, the new southernmost tip could very well become Singapore. This political battle began with Singapore attempting to claim land in the strait in the early 2000’s, but Malaysia has begun efforts of their own in recent years. Also in this strait is actually a handful of fish farms!
After being awed by political developments and fish, we began a new adventure, towards Harmony Street. There has never been a street more aptly named than Harmony Street. Over the course of the afternoon, we were able to visit the Johor Old Chinese Temple (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism); Arulmigu Raja Mariamman Indian Temple (Hinduism), and Gurdwara Sahib Sikh Temple (Sikhism). [Editor’s note: Be sure to click the hyperlinks to learn more about each religion or religious facility!]. All of which were within a ten-minute walk of one another.
The inclusivity, love, and friendliness shown by this city had all of our participants smiling and contemplating deeper meanings. For instance, we were greeted outside of the Sikh Temple by a gentleman who serves as a youth leader at this specific temple. He then spent the next hour with our group as he explained the history of his religion and brought us inside, even with a couple’s engagement service happening! The entire group welcomed us with open arms as they finished their service and started their meal. A question posed by our group was “if twenty plus strangers walked into a wedding service back home. What would peoples’ reaction be?” Some excellent food for thought.
Speaking of food, we were then able to grab a quick lunch and get fueled up before visiting the Johor Heritage Center. Once there we learned more about their goals of preserving Malaysian traditions and heritage, followed by seeing their weaving exhibition. But finally, the moment we all had been waiting for, time for dance class. In the span of one hour, our group successfully learned a form of Zapin (of which there are 14 types), as we slowly walked and squatted our ways to a successful leg day.
To top off this culturally full day, we were able to shop for some batiks of our own! However as Huzaimi (@zemimazlan), Dr. Foster (@FosterDanielD), and Ali (@AliZaharuddin97) know well, shopping can be exhausting.
Another great day of learning here in Malaysia, with new experiences and plenty of amazing people.
Thomas Gabel (@Gabel_Thomas); Pre-Service Agricultural Education Candidate(#psuaged22);The Pennsylvania State University(@penn_state)(@TeachAgPSU)
