Tag: Shopping

Day 21: Meandering Around Melaka!

Kaitlin LiszkaCulture

We were given a nice break from our routine this weekend when we traveled to Melaka and were set lose to travel and explore the city to learn what we specifically were interested in. The group collectively went on many different adventures including touring different museums and historical sites, going shopping, eating food, touring the river, exploring the Shore Sky Tower, and even catching a movie at the theater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For my first adventure of the day, I somehow was talked into climbing the Shore Sky Tower. With the observation deck 43 floors up, the Shore Sky Tower is the tallest building in Melaka, at 163 meters or 535 feet. From the top we got a beautiful 360 view of the city, making for some great pictures. I kept my distance from the edge though, and definitely did not participate in the picture on the glass! I wasn’t afraid to check out the cool fish they had for you to feed though!

 

 

After finding some lunch, my group headed to some museums, like the Baba and Nyonya Musuem, where we learned about Chinese wedding ceremonies. Our fascinating fun facts included:

  • Seeing the chair that the bride and groom would sit in to meet each other for the first time at the beginning of their 12 day wedding ceremony.
  • Having a young male with a compatible horoscope to the couple roll around on the marriage bed so that the couple could have many children, and the oldest be a male.
  • That the couple essentially played footsy at their first official meal together, and whoever got their foot on top first was the head of the household.

Then we saw the ruins of St. Paul’s church. Originally built on the hill in 1521, it is the oldest church building in South East Asia. It received the name, St. Paul’s church after the Dutch took over Melaka in 1641, and was used as a church until 1753. In 1824, when the British took over the city, they used the church for ammunition and gunpowder storage, allowing it to further deteriorate to the ruins that it is in today.

What we thought would be the wrap up our evening was a boat tour down the river where we saw a traditional Melaka village, murals, and many beautiful bridges.

It really was getting caricature pictures drawn though and attracting a crowd of people because of the music we played and were singing/ dancing too while we waited for the completed artwork.

 

Though I didn’t ride one, I have to mention, a large part of the culture of the city included bikes with carts to two passengers that were all decked out to a theme with light and music. Some of the popular themes included, Hello Kitty, Frozen, Minions, etc.

 

Ms. Kaitlin Liszka (@KaitlinLiska) is a  pre-service agricultural education candidate (#psuaged20) at The Pennsylvania State University (@TeachAgPSU).

Interview On Location: Touching base with Huzaimi! An Entry from Day 15

Carson T LetotCulture

What better way to learn, than to listen? I decided to take a breather from the hustle and bustle of the last few days to sit down with Huzaimi; a student, a translator, a friend. 

Me: how are you today Huzaimi?

H: Good. Very very good.

Me: nice. Well, we’ve officially arrived in Sabah, a state on the island of Borneo. What’s on your mind?

H: its very nice. Very hot, and i’m angry at the bus and management. But its very nice.

Me: Is this your first time in Sabah?

H: No, second

Me: how long ago was your first time?

H: I don’t know, maybe 10 years ago? I was 11, and i’m 21 now. So yes

Me: It seems like, and this may be a skewed view, but it seems like the rest of the world outside of the US travels abroad. A lot. Is this true for Malaysians?

H: Oh yes. Very much. Malaysians travel a lot.

Me: including you?

H: Yes, I like the travel a lot. I like the adventure.

Me: when your family travels, is it for adventure? Relaxation?

H: no when my family travels, it for relaxation. They like to go to nature, see the people, see the environment. They do not like adventure like me though.

Me: what do you mean when you say “adventure”?

H: paragliding, parasailing, I like things that are adventure. Like courage for them.

Me: oh for sure. Are all of your friends like that?

H: Yes, a lot of my friends like the adventure. They like to go and be courageous. I like it

Me: Do your friends value experiences over material items?

H: Yes, they like to. But not all of them. Most like gadgets and things. Me, I like the adventure and experiences though.

Me: So your friends like tech. Besides the obvious cell phone, what do they buy?

H: I don’t know. They like the Go Pro. It depends on their interests. If they like the pictures to take then they buy Go Pro, camera, but me I like the travel. I also like watches though.

Me: Yea so what’s the big deal with watches in Malaysia? It seems like everyone has a G-Shock!

H: yes, we like the G – Shock

Me: what is it about them?

H: I don’t know. They’re sporty. We like the sporty, the teenage look. We like to wear young things.

Me: I can see that. Alright so to all the readers out there, what else would you like them to know about your generation besides their love of g-shock watches and adventure?

H: we like to do things that are adventure. And everyone should get out and travel. They need to experience things and be out to be courageous. People who do not, are not living. To live you must be brave and try things.

Me: absolutely. Well, Terima Kasih Huzaimi!

H: hahaha soma soma

Mr. Carson Letot (@Letot_Carson) is a secondary agriscience teacher at Montague HS in
Montague, Michigan.

Carson and Huzaimi playing traditional music!

 

Harmony Street, Cultural Experiences and Everything in Between: Day 7 on the streets of Johor Bahru

tsg5162Culture

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.

The Crown of Johor

 

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.

 

 

Sand being moved onto the Strait of Johor

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)