Nyonya Cuisine

After hearing lots of Nyonya dishes being prepared in "Little Nyonya", we finally get to try nyonya dishes, thanks to Mr & Mrs Ooi!

Apetizer

Telur Belanda

Ikan (I can't remember)

Acar

Ayam Ponteh

Kari Kapitan

Sambal Lemak (My Favourite dish!!!)

Yummy Yummy Yummy!

Little Nyonya

I've been watching a TV series 'Little Nyonya' which is onNTV7 6pm Mon to Friday since i came back for hols. It's not new, released 2 years ago if not mistaken. Because of this movie, we were so attracted to the Peranakan culture that we chose to visit the Peranakan Museum in Penang, above all places of interest there.


30 percent of the series "Little Nyonya" was shot here. It's the Chen family residence in the series. This mansion was built at the end of the 19th century by one of local history's famous personalities, the 'Hai Kee Chan' and had once served as the residence and office of Kapitan Cina Chunf Keng Kwee. He and his wives' portraits are still hanging on the wall of the mansion which was sold by his 3rd generation to the present owner who turned it into a museum.

The mansion has two sections: the front area for the masters and the back part is for the servants. the servants are not allowed to enter the front section. now i wonder how do the servants clean the front area?

The 'tok panjang' where the whole family gather to eat.


The second floor

"cho cho"'(moyang)'s room.

i was so excited when i saw it. i was like yes it's her room. exactly like in the movies!

the newlywed's bed.

According to the belief, during the first night during the wedding, a cockeral and a hen will be put under the bed. whichever that comes out from under the bed first sort of predicts the gender of the baby to be born.

Lover's chair.

Maybe last time cannot sit too near, so they sit on the lover's chair and look into each others eyes and maybe kiss each other?

The entrance

Baba Nyonya subscribed to Chinese beliefs: Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism, celebrated Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival, while adopting the customs of the land they settled in The Peranakan retained most of their ethnic and religious origins (such as ancestor worship), but assimilated the language and culture of the Malays. The Nyonya's clothing was identical to that of the native Malay's: baju panjang (long dress), batik sarung (batik wrap-around skirt) and kerongsang (brooch).

I think that the movie series has done a great job in introducing the Baba Nyonya culture to the world. This visit to the Pinang Peranakan Mansion is a good one, maybe I can visit the one at Melaka one day!

AHHH . . . CHOO!

If you just sneezed, something was probably irritating or tickling the inside of your nose. Sneezing, also called sternutation, is your body's way of removing an irritation from your nose.

When the inside of your nose gets a tickle, a message is sent to a special part of your brain called the sneeze center. The sneeze center then sends a message to all the muscles that have to work together to create the amazingly complicated process that we call the sneeze.

Some of the muscles involved are the abdominal (belly) muscles, the chest muscles, the diaphragm (the large muscle beneath your lungs that makes you breathe), the muscles that control your vocal cords, and muscles in the back of your throat. Don't forget the eyelid muscles! Did you know that you always close your eyes when you sneeze?

It is the job of the sneeze center to make all these muscles work together, in just the right order, to send that irritation flying out of your nose. And fly it does — sneezing can send tiny particles speeding out of your nose at up to 100 miles per hour!

Most anything that can irritate the inside of your nose can start a sneeze. Some common things include dust, cold air, or pepper. When you catch a cold in your nose, a virus has made a temporary home there and is causing lots of swelling and irritation. Some people have allergies, and they sneeze when they are exposed to certain things, such as animal dander (which comes from the skin of many common pets) or pollen (which comes from some plants).

Do you know anyone who sneezes when they step outside into the sunshine? About 1 out of every 3 people sneezes when exposed to bright light. They are called photic sneezers (photic means light). If you are a photic sneezer, you got it from one of your parents because it is an inherited trait. You could say that it runs in your family. Most people have some sensitivity to light that can trigger a sneeze.

Have you ever had the feeling that you are about to sneeze, but it just gets stuck? Next time that happens, try looking toward a bright light briefly (but don't look right into the sun) — see if that doesn't unstick a stuck sneeze!

http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/sneeze.html

26th-28th June 2009

Rumah Ensudin 26-28th June 2009

Unknown Fear

Tomorrow I will be going to Rumah Ensudin, a longhouse in Seratok to help out for 3 days 2 nights. Suddenly I have this fear in my heart, but i dunno wad do I fear.

Seronok

Barbeque!

Sisters accomapny cousin shop for hoodie jacket become try caps.lol.

so cute!!! I syok sendiri.

Smiles after having sarsi cincau and abc.haha.

17 June 2009

18 more days and I will be leaving Kuching..

Pn Ju's work all not done yet. I am still reading Great Expectations (still on the first novel) till Pg 93 only, the books seems never ending!

Good luck to myself!

Meow

Why do we go "Meow Meow" when we call cats? Weird right? Why they don't seem to know that we're calling them too.

This is Brownie a.k.a Ali Jantan after my dad realised he's a boy.

Kites

A line of kites. cool?

only then i know how they put it up...

Photo updates

My 3 weeks in Cameron =)

11th May 2008

My home for 3 weeks :)

First outing to BOH Tea Plantation after a 6km walk

Yummy Chicken Rice =P
Like this one although it is taken too near. lol.

Adorable fat kitten!

2nd outing to Tanah Rata! Hitch hike...

Greedy :P

Barbeque!

Pirates 11!

The car i made. It can move! (after u tie a blown ballooon and put it in the handle on top of the car =P)

Produce of Cameron Highlands - Corn, Strawberry...

Cameron Camp is Coming... (Alliteration.lol)

I'll be leaving to Kl for Cameron Camp which will be from 11th May till 30th May 2009.

For those who are bored at home and still believe in slow snail mail, feel free to write to me. (Ya, boredness at home, hoping to have something to look forward too at camp.lol)

Neriton,
Lutheran Lakeview Chalets,
31 1/2 miles,
39200 Ringlet, Cameron Highlands.

Chocolate cake = Failure

Dengan semangat berkobar-kobar, I bought all the ingredients for the cake. The steps in the recipe seems easy to follow, just have to melt the butter and the chocolate and later stir in all the other ingredients. The mixture smells good and looks good. I thought it would be a successful one at last!

I set the temparature at 170'C (that's accordin to the recipe). Bake for 1.5 hours. okie dokie, set timer and off i went to switch on the computer. After half an hour i went down to check on the cake. Smoke was coming out of the oven and there it was, a black, burnt cake. I scraped the top burnt part and discovered that the bottom was still wet, okie, maybe stil have chance. I reduced the temperature and put in the remaining cake. When i took it out after (i forgot how long), it was as hard as stone.

A great baking experience, adding on the my failure in baking in the past.

All I want is a homebaked edible chocolate cake.


Maybe it is time to stop trying?

My experience blogging

Blogging is a beneficial assignment which should be continued. EDU 3217 introduced me to blogging, an activity which most people are doing now. If it was not for EDU 3217, I would still be lagging behind as I never thought that blogging would be of such fun. Now I understand why people like to blog! Dr Edwin does not want us to be dinosaurs in schools when students are all technology savvy.


Blogging for EDU3217 has taught me how to be reflective in writing. My first few posts were merely retelling what I have learnt in class and talking about Teiresias. After seven posting, I found out that 3 of my blogs are not reflective. The class was advised to visit some of our classmates’ blog to see how they blog. Indeed, their blog entries are great! They wrote about what they really think, not just retelling. Later, I had some idea about being reflective.


I have enjoyed beautifying my blog, making it look pink and uploading some relevant pictures to make my posting more attractive. If not, it will be too wordy. Of course, it is not all about making it look good. The content has to be there too. Blogging requires me to rethink about what I have heard in class and what I have read. Previously, I would read or listen and that’s it. No more thinking after that. But blogging has changed the way i think for the better. Now, whenever I blog, I would think critically about what I have learnt.

Thanks to Dr Edwin, who put this as a course assignemnt! =)

Simulated Teaching

Before the start of simulated teaching presentation, Mr Harold, our tutor has been encouraging us to come up with something creative. Creative. It was a good advice afterall. If not, most of us would be doing the same thing for pre reading and while reading activities. Creativity is good for us, as it squeezes our thought to produce different ideas. It also prevents our classmates from falling asleep due to repetitive pre and while reading exercises. Students will definitely gain from interesting activities as they have more interest towards the lesson and are more receptive towards the tasks.

It is unfortunate that time constraint cut short many people's presentation. Some might feel disappointed for not being able to fully show their capabilities. Some might see if as a relief. We had to rush as there were many students who have no presented. Maybe in future, simulated teaching has to be started earlier because it definetely takes a lot of time for so many students to present.

Some activities that were carried out by my friends were really interesting and involves students' active participation. Group works, matching answers, drawing, putting on masks of the characters when reading the dialogues were among some of the activities that would attract students attention. Literature class will not be boring anymore! My classmate, Rohaizad has shown obvious enthusiasm to teach the class. Such spirit would amazes me. It makes that teacher different from a monotonous teacher.

Simulated teaching allows me to practice standing in front of the class to teach. There are not many chances except for simulated teaching/ microteaching. Practice makes perfect. I appreciate the peer evaluation forms form that I have received from my friends because their sincere and honest comments help me see the weaknesses that I may not have realised. Among them are voice projection and I should be more firm in class. Thank you for all your comments, my friends! I will work on them =)

Presenting Pre reading and While reading activities

This semester's simulated teaching is a little different from last semester's. This semester, some of my classmates including some input on what they will teach. For example, they would explain what characters are before they start with pre reading. This time round, the time also seem to be very limited for us to present our simulated teaching.

I choose to do on 'Characters and character traits' for the play The Ring Doesn't Fit by Tan Kee Aun. Needless to say, character is an element that was choosen by many of my classmates to teach. I hope my activity has been a little different compared to the rest but the pre reading is still the same - identification of characters.

I started with identification of characters and underlining the adjectives that describes the characters. I confirmed the answers given by students from the activity.

My while reading is a continuation from my pre reading task. After that,the identification of characters and words that describes them, I pointed out the events in the extract that can also show the characters' traits. For example, Adelyn's demanding nature can be seen when she wants the durian badly and was furious with Paul for not collecting them. I guided the students using the events in the extract to point out the characters' traits. Among the responses are responsible, loyal and loving. After the discussion, students are require to fill in the mind map the characters' personality traits. Students wil be able to answer based on the words that were discussed during the pre reading stage.

I will be receiving the evaluation forms from my peers in 2 hours time. I am excited to see how did I perform. Suggestions for improvement is most welcomed. I am aware that my voice projection may not be firm and clear enough.

The experience of performing simulated teaching is undeniably beneficial for me as a future teacher. It exposes me to the scenario in a teaching classroom and the preparation needed for a class. My students now are my friends, it would definately be different in the real classroom. More practices to teach before I graduated is needed to prepare myself. Simulated teaching helps me increase my confidence to stand in front of a class to teach. The nervousness is still there but it is better now. I should work on eye contact, as I focus more to the evaluator, not the students, to see if I have done anything wrong. My students would want to feel appreciated that their teacher pays attention to each and everyone of them.

May this experience be a lesson for me.

First experience meeting a Malaysian playwright – Kee Thuan Chye

As a stranger walked into the lecture hall, my mind was telling me, “This guy looks familiar!” I could not recall where I’ve seen him but Samantha told me he was on the series Kopitiam. I also found out towards the end of the session that he acted as Tan Cheng Lock in Hati Malaya. Cool. A journalist, an actor, a playwright and a writer. Wow. That’s 4 in 1!


I felt privileged to meet our very own Malaysian writer, Kee Thuan Chye. He was very frank in telling us about himself. This session has been beneficial especially in my understanding of the play The Swordfish, Then the Concubine. I see a manipulation of two historical events in highlighting the issues that we are facing in this modern era. Kee Thuan Chye also informed us that he has revised his manuscript again! Some parts in the version I have read has been changed and new issues have been added. He will only stop revising when he is satisfied with his writing. But when will that be? This shows the perfectionism in writers who intend to write their best.


Kee Thuan Chye also brought up issues that are worth thinking about. The truth that we read in newspapers, are they the real truth? We should never read from one source only. Reading about an issue from several perspectives gives better insight towards the issue discussed and we can judge better and decide which stand we want to take.


Politics is complicated. It is filled with power crazy people who have their own agenda and will not hesitate to bring others down to reach their goal. Are the charges that Anwar is accused of true? Or is it just a way to smear his good name, to take away the trust that people have for Anwar? How much of what is written in the newspaper can we trust?


History. After the session, I am confused. Can history the Malaysian history we read be trusted? History is written by people. Kee Thuan Chye thinks that the movie Hati Malaya is UMNO’s propaganda. How about our history? Can it be manipulated to influence us to think in the way that is intended?


Before the session ended, Kee Thuan Chye read an essay from his book March 8 TheDay Malaysian Woke Up. It is written by a student in Monash University. I admire him for having such far insight, such a dream for Malaysia. He looked beyond his race and hoped for a united Malaysia. Can every Malaysian be like him? Perhaps the politicians should stop politicizing racial issues and focus on more important issue for a progressive Malaysia.


When I opened the book March 8 TheDay Malaysian Woke Up, I realized that Kee Thuan Chye’s children’s names are very special. Soraya Sunitra Kee Xiang Yin and Jebat Arjuna Kee Jia Ling. I think that KeeThuan Chye has a strong reason for naming his children in such. It shows his belief in Bangsa Malaysia. A hope for a better future, a better Malaysia.

King Lear - A Father's Love

In the play King Lear, we read about a king, who broke the covenant given by God to be king as he divded his kingdom to be ruled by his daughters.

In my opinion, why should Lear test his daughter's love for him. Even if he hears their professed love, won't he doubt them? How true can words be? As I have a friend who always reminds me, "Words are only words. You can say anything in this world, but can you prove it?" Lear, a king, can also fall from his elevated place before of false flattery. His two elder daughter Genoril and Regan professed great love for their father but had evil intention.

Cordelia, on the other hand had little words to offer. Sometimes, one may say little but mean a lot more than one who has a lot to say. It is the action, thoughts and concern that matter, not words because it is easy to say but not easy to accomplish. Furthermore, promises are easy to be broken. I find her foolish in a way because since her sisters has given so much flattering words, her few words would be an insult to her father. Maybe she can say more to avoid disappointing her father.

In Lear, I could see how much a father loves his daughters. He is willing to let them rule his kingdom and he surrenders all he has to live with them and to depend on them. His actions remind me how loving and how sacrificial a father can be. It makes me think of my father, although he does not say much, but I know that he loves me. (ok, a little out of topic here) However, his love was betrayed as his daughters mistreated him. Why must Regan and Genoril have evil intentions? Why can't they be grateful for what their father has given them and live with what they have? I felt that that two daughters should be thankful and treat their father well, not deny him of a place to stay or to reduce his knights. He has his own pride too.

This play makes me think a lot about human nature, the greediness of human beings and how unkind they can be even to their own kin. Edmund, although a bastard, is still his father's son. He betrayed Gloucester, his father to earn recognition from Cronwall, and to take over his title. Gloucester has treated him well although not every aspect but still he does not deserve such a treatment as Gloucester eyes are blinded as a punishment. Edmund, Regan and Genoril all show ingratitude, greediness in man and the desire for more power. We can aim for more but there should be a limit to it also.

In short, King Lear may not be an epic drama but it has made me think a lot.

Set Induction

Weddings. A once in a life time moment. A long anticipated moment.



Which comes with commitment, responsibility, love and trust.

That was the main message that I wanted to convey through my set induction. I showed students a series of photos related to weddings. This is to activate their schemata on weddings that they might have seen or attended. Later I asked questions on how much are they willing to give to their partner and what do they expect from them.

My set induction may be something not done by my teachers in school but I am disappointed with my set induction as I could not think of any other better ideas to present my set induction. It was hte usual powerpoint with pictures and questioning.
Mr Harold gave a different and interesting example of set induction after the whole class finished the set induction. It was the teacher coming in and talking to himself to portray the idea of imaginery friend. Never have i thought of that.

Besides, I was also nervous during the presentation and that affected my voice projection. I did not discuss students' responses either. Therefore I felt that I have done badly for my set induction.

If I were to deliver the lesson again, I must do it differently. I know that the questions that I have asked are from Dr Edwin, now i feel embarassed to have used it. I would probably focused on characters instead. I would show pictures of a few characters and ask students to name their character traits. It is hope that this idea would be more different.

I'll have to start preparing for my pre and while reading activities. =)