Tag: Music

Ag Day Prep… And Then Some! Day 8

mlk491Culture

When this adventure began, we knew that we were coming for a focused professional development purpose.  We knew that we would be engage in teaching opportunities (or episodes) two to three times while in-country.  Our second teaching episode would have a different context of a large group; similar to what we might know as an “Ag Day”.  

Our first teaching episode was in a traditional classroom context and on the topic of Aquaponics!  Did I know anything about aquaponics?  No, I certainly did not.  Don’t worry, all I made it though that lesson just fine thanks to our UTM students help.   Though this entire adventure the UTM students have helped us in more ways than we can really even mention.  They help us with social activities, planning our lessons, teaching our lessons, and even the most simple tasks like communicating.  I just want to take a second and say, THANK YOU UTM STUDENTS!!!!!

As we began preparation for our second teaching episode “Ag Day”, critical information was dropped on us.  Once again, we were teaching aquaponics.  This time we were teaching as a group and we were teaching more students.  The school would also have flexibility on the standards that we had to meet.  Each of us split into our groups and we concord planning each of our group lessons. 

A great part of planning? They also got us pizza for lunch!  Fun fact:  There is tuna on pizza in Malaysia.

As the afternoon came, we had a few hours of unscheduled free time.  Some of us decided to go to a local mall, some went to downtown Johor Bahru, and others stayed back at the hotel to catch up on some sleep and get some other work done.  I ventured to the mall.  This excursion was a lot of wondering around just checking stuff out and comparing this mall to an American mall.  There are some similarities and also some differences, just like you would find in any other mall. 

One major difference that is noticed everywhere is the toilet situation.  Pretty much every stall that you will enter has a bidet in it.  Some stalls do not even offer any sort of toilet paper.  You have to provide your own or just go without.  Finally, the main focus, the toilet.  Sometimes they aren’t even there!  Talk about a surprise when you enter that stall.  I refer to these as squatty potty.

Our final activity for the day was a musical instrument lesson.  We learned what each instrument was, its tone, and the purpose that it served.  We practiced and tried out some instruments.  Finally, it was our turn to play.  I wouldn’t say that we did too shabby for a crash course.  I will just say that Clover is now an expert.  Also, thank you Ali for taking the time and having the patience to teach me.  

 

Here is to more adventures and another day in Malaysia!

 

 

 

Mikaella Koster (@MikaellaKoster) is a pre-service agricultural education student at
Iowa State University.

Transcending Borders: Sports, Music and Entertainment in Malaysia

tsg5162PreTrip Observations

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.

Top 30 Singles Chart Malaysia

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