Proud to Be Malaysian?

I have been attending university in the United States of America since August of 2007 and this is my first time back in Malaysia since I left. I leave again in four days, which explains my frantic attempt to bring as much of Malaysia with me as I possibly can. As I shove packets of Mee Maggie(Asam Laksa Flavour) and Kuih Bahulu into my luggage, my mind starts to wander and I find myself thinking: What are Malaysians most proud of? What do we think makes our country special and different?

It is no secret that we have our fair share of political strife, crime and violence, as well as economic struggles -- just like any other country. However, I am confident that there is a lot that we can be thankful for that sets us apart from the rest of the world.

Since I take my responsibility as a Malaysian very seriously, I feel it is my civic duty to act as an unofficial ambassador of Malaysia. So, I love sharing stories about our cultures and traditions to people from other parts of the world -- although I must admit it is hard to explain things like what durian tastes like and how we manage to speak Manglish so fluently!

Here are the two things I ALWAYS mention when talking about Malaysia:

• Proud to be Malaysian! = Proud to have amazing food!

Any Malaysian who has been away for a great length of time will tell you that they miss the "makan". From the moment I left the airport, I feel like I have been on a 'seefood' diet. Where I eat everything I see! Whether it be Chinese, Malay or Indian, I felt compelled to taste as much as possible.

• Proud to be Malaysian! = Proud to be able to speak Manglish!

As I was busy stuffing my face, I realized that my friends gathered around me were Chinese, Malay and Indian as well, which made our discussions all the more interesting. As is commonly heard, our conversations were along the lines of: Aiyo, I so tired until mau pengsan la!


As I prepare to leave Malaysia again, I run through the images in my mind indexing the interesting anecdotes that I will soon share with my friends at college. I know there are many college students out there who are planning to further their tertiary education in foreign countries as well.
I am curious to know: What would YOU highlight about Malaysia? What stories would you tell?


Leave a comment!


To all Malaysians: Take it from me, the "makan" here is still the best! ;-)

Fight the current OR go with the flow?

"There are more than 100 million blogs in the world, with about 15 million of them active" - Sarah Boxer, The New York Review of Books.

It was probably a little geeky to start of with a quote but I thought it was rather thought provoking. See, this blog of mine has been one of the 85 million that have been inactive (i.e. dead), taking up all that internet space/URLs or whatever it is useless blogs take up!

I've been back in Malaysia for bout 2 weeks now and found out that practically everyone and their mom has a blog now (MY mom hasn't admitted to having one, but you never know)! My sis, bro, cousins, friends blog...blog...blog...

I will admit that there are certain informative blogs out there that have provided me with much solutions to petty day-to-day problems. My question is: Do we really need to be updated everytime one of our friends decides to try a new drink at the local coffeeshop or discovers he/she can roll his/her tongue???

Plus, I might just be paranoid but do you really want complete strangers reading about your personal life - schedules, loved ones, irritable bowel movements?

But then again with social networks like Facebook, Friendster and whatever else is out there, we (meaning teenagers and the computer savvy) willingly broadcast our life whether people give a crap about it or not.

So...
I truly welcome comments on this post. Your opinions will determine whether or not this blog will be "revived" from its long loooong slumber. Do you suggest I be 'alternative' and delete this blog OR go with the blogging trend and entertain you with my life stories?

To all bloggers: Blog safe! Blog interesting!
=)

PS: Here's the link to the article in the NYRoB (where I got the quote)
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21013

University of the Ozarks !

Hey..hvnt blogged in a super loooooooooong time..cos i've been bz. Im in Clarksville, Arkansas, USA now...classes hv started and i've been job hunting..settling down..shopping at Wal-Mart..eating at Arby's and making loads n loads of frens..u can c pix on my Facebook..anyways..here is a few of em...

JP & Zi Jian on the plane

Me & Steffi ( dunno WAT im doin! )

Byknya beg !..Mati lo...HEAVY!..

Guy who searched my bags n stuf wen i set off the metal detector..

3 TIMES in San Francisco airport..sigh..i was body searched too..*blush*

Brittany(me room mate) and I

i got loads more pics comin up..wen i find the time to blog again..not enuf hours in d day la.. !

Party ! !

MENG KO... Thx for The Simpson's (my 2nd round)..Popcorn..and Bowling !!!!

DIONG WEI HOONG ! ! !...Thx for helping me out with my Streamyx problem !!!!

Nthn much happen today..went for movie(The Simpson's..Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da) with Meng ko and Mimi [ wei xin wanted to stay home study..he now PMR trial ah..so harworking my bro.. =) ]..den bowled a game..den came bak d lo..

Hoong help me fix my streamyx prob..tel me reinstall cd..den magically can use d..[so smart la my cuz... ;) ]

Ohhhh..n i add my other cuz..(y my post 2day all bout my cousin bros??) Wei Wei on msn today..(hi!..waves at wei wei..wen he reads this blog)

Er..so far my packing has been coming along..my check in luggage weighs approx. 50~kg!..(eva yap dats like almost double wat u weigh la!!!-PS. thx 4 dropping by my blog..FINALLY!!)

I still hvnt got my carry on luggage yet..sigh..soooo last minute...

Today Im Craving : Some decent sleep tonite..(hvnt been sleeping well for weeks now..quite drained la..)..

Oh yea..i had my 'going-away' party last weekend ( 4th Aug )..

Shout out to the special ppl in my life who came :

Babes : Eva, Charlotte, Andrea, Carol, Jules, MW, Yenn, Weng, Cat ... Suba, Nelly, Sharifah, Lynn, MichL ... Ilya!

Dudes : Resh, Vind, TL, Phua ... Michael, Sri Jone, Chester ... Yue Chuen, Darryl, Matt, Jeremy!

Send me pix from ur cameras or phones!!...

Hope i din leave anyone out!...

OH..n wei hoong of cos..4 being thr both days..(sat & sun)

Countdown Till I Fly For USA :

6 Days!

The Simpson's Movie

Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha-Aha

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da

'Spider pig .. Spider Pig .. Does wtv a Spider Pig does .. Does he swing from a web .. No he doesn't.. he's a pig...look out..here comes the Spider Pig ! ! !'

I HEART The Simpson's Movie...absolutely loooooove it !!

I laughed from beginning to the end..i wont even bother adding spoilers to this post cos EVRYONE should watch it...

Just wanted to recommend it to evryone and anyone..

Its good...reli reli good...just expect to repeat the above phrases many many many times after u leave the cinema...and a long while after that...

Hey eva...: aha-aha-aha-aha-aha!

Today Im Craving : A sound clip of either the Nelson boy in Simpsons' "aha-aha" or Homer singing Spider Pig...

*Check out the Spider Pig Clip in my Media Space*