Kasut

Today our office was cleaned by three lady surface technicians (the politically correct term for cleaner, or so they say). As one of them came to my cubicle to sweep before mopping the floor, I noticed that she was wearing a new pair of shoes. She wore a pair of Crocs, the denim loafer ones.

-Waa auntie pakai kasut baru ya hari ni.
-Ya la saya baaaaanyak suka ini kasut. Baaaanyak sedap.
-Tapi ini kasut lelaki la auntie.
-Wooo. Betul ka adik? Saya tada tau. Ini anak juga kasi.
-Oh bagus la. Bukan auntie beli?
-Mana saya ada duit? Yillek. Tapi anak juga ada beli. Saya banyak senang hati.

Awwww. That really warmed my heart. I learned two things from her today. The first thing is that a parent will always appreciate gifts from their children if it comes from the heart. The second is that no matter how old you are, just talk to someone much older and chances are that person will call you "adik".

Heheh. Sori. Itu joke mesti mau juga. Tada kalu hati susah. Tada suka. Yillek.

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Reading Ambassadors

Yesterday I spent some time reading and doing written exercises with my niece. She enjoys doing Maths (or "Atematik" as she says it) more than reading, which she sees as a chore, maybe because she still hasn't gotten the hang of it. It is quite a challenge to think up of activities to encourage her to read and write in Bahasa. But more importantly, to make her enjoy learning. If she starts getting bored of learning from standard 1, we're basically doomed.

One thing that she enjoys very much is reading together with another adult. She'd take one of my books or mags and choose her own book and then ask/instruct us to sit together side by side and read. When it comes to kids I guess everything is by example. And we need to show them that we also do the things that we want them to do.

Which brings me to the topic of today's blog entry. About the country's newly appointed reading ambassadors. I fail to see the impact of promoting the development or increasing awareness or improving literacy (especially among children) when the higher authorities put pretty faces as reading ambassadors. It takes so much more than fame and popularity to promote reading. We need ambassadors who are known to be voracious readers. Or those who are actively involved in promoting literacy in this country. Giving them the title of reading ambassadors implies that the country acknowledges their ability to relate to children, besides communicating well and regularly with the young people. We are not the only country with reading ambassadors. In the US there is a National Ambassador for Young People's Litterature. Britain has a Children's Laureate. Both posts acknowledge the importance of encouraging children to read. And require respected authors or illustrators.

Going a bit off tangent, I would like to talk about the gym I frequent. Who do they choose to grace the billboards and posters and be their spokesperson? Amber Chia. Dos she have a toned and healthy body from regular work-outs at the gym? No. She is stick thin and you are so afraid her thigh bone will snap when she does squats with weights. Even with 2.5kg plates on each side of the barbell you still fear for her safety. Then why choose her? Because she's a highly sought after model and thus recognized by almost everyone. Just put a pretty face, even if in her posters she does bicep curls wrongly and that her poses seem almost perverted. Nobody in their right mind will do their bicep curl repetitions with a sensuous pout while training in the gym. Nobody. They should add another rule to the gym etiquette: "Dilarang melakukan aksi tonggek berlebihan atau bibir muncung yang ketara sewaktu berlatih di gim".

But back to the topic. Do you guys see my point? Michelle Yeoh and Dr Sheikh Muzaffar are not selling cars or jeans or deodorants. They are reading ambassadors. We need people who are able to make a difference when they fill in this post. I want my niece to be have a joyful experience in reading, simply because she has better access to books and the teacher reads to them on a daily basis in class. I want my niece to explore the creative and imaginative side of her mind when they have activities in school that cultivate self expression through reading. I want her to realize that reading is not only something that you do to pass exams. It is a door that opens you up to a world of endless possibilities.

Can the two reading ambassadors do this for her?

Nama

If you use the PLUS highway you will see a giant billboard across the highway near Serdang. At present there is an advertisement for water filters, air filters and bidets by Coway. You really can't miss it. It's so huge you can probably see it from the moon (okay tasteless joke, so cliche and predictable).Today I saw the ad for the first time. And it made me smile because the brand name sounds uncannily like another range of products that sell everything under the sun.

I find this rather amusing because if you notice here in Malaysia every foreign brand has a little sister or brother that bears almost the same name but not quite. Adidas has Asadi or Adibas; Nina Ricci has a little brother called Nino Ricci. If you have time, try and go shopping for discounted clothes at a popular outlet store here in KL. You'll find not only Diesel jeans, but Gas or Petrol.

And I won't be surprised if one day there will be another shop near Santai Suri that is called Santau Suri. That would be a voodoo shop. Or Santai Sari. Selling Indian textile maybe?

Agus

We have a lot of pets in the house. Initially we started with two cats. Then my niece was born seven years ago. As she grew up, she started to take a liking to Momoi and Tina. But the way she expressed her fondness for them was a little different. My cats didn't like it one bit when she sat on them. But as the years passed, she began to love animals. And seeing the cats every day gave her the idea that she ought to have a pet of her own as well.

And so she told her Atok. Who then bought her a pet water turtle. At first she took an interest in Agus (that's the name we gave him but frankly it's hard to tell a turtle's gender just from visual inspection) but it lasted a few days. So for a year now my mom has been Agus' official caretaker, washing him and changing the water. My dad has taken on the role of the turtle feeder. Me, I'm stuck in the purchasing department. Buying the turtle pellets, the big turtle tub and a few white pebbles to decorate his home. When he was welcomed into the household he was the size of a 50 sen coin. Now he's as big as a dinner plate and weighs as much as my cat. Kalau dikosongkan cengkerangnya mungkin sudah boleh bikin topi combat.

Then on today's episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman on channel 707 (Travel & Living), he travelled to the Australian Outback to sample some of the local culinary specialties. And in the Outback, you eat what you have living around you in order to survive. And that meant putting a whole wallaby and a water turtle to roast on an open fire. The TV host was treated to wallaby tail and turtle intestines and meat. He said that the flesh tasted like veal.

While watching the programme I looked at Agus floating around in his tub. As ugly as I think he is, I don't think I'll ever have the heart to have him for dinner. Even in a life or death situation. I think I'd go look for green ants first. They're supposed to be a better source of protein. And crunchy to boot. With a hint of citrusy flavor.

Oh and we also have three ikan puyu. But they just do their own thing in their plastic fish aquarium on the washing machine in the kitchen. And enjoy the absolute jacuzzi experience when the washing machine starts to vibrate during spinning mode.

Sebut betul betul dik

Dulu semasa saya baru memasuki tingkatan satu di sebuah sekolah berasrama penuh di Kg Kongo, kami para "freshie" (panggilan dulu) atau "budak poyo" (panggilan sekarang) memang cukup takut jikalau terpaksa lalu di hadapan atau berhadapan dengan abang-abang tingkatan 5. Bukannya apa, rasa gentar bila disoal-siasat tu agak menebal.

Ucapan kepada abang senior bila berjumpa mereka:
-Assalamualaikum bang.

Jawapan yang selalu diberikan mereka kepada kami adik toye:
-Apa kumbang kumbang?

Apakah kesimpulan yang dapat dibuat dari perbincangan separa akademik tetapi tiada unsur ilmiah ini? Sebutan yang betul itu perlu supaya sebarang kekeliruan dapat diatasi. Sekarang setelah berbelas tahun menjadi guru bahasa asing saya amat peka dengan sebutan, intonasi dan gaya bahasa yang dipertuturkan seseorang.

Baru-baru ini semasa di dalam kelas kami telah mempelajari tentang perkataan-perkataan yang berkenaan dengan kenderaan. Di kelas kami membaca sebuah dialog yang menceritakan tentang seorang lelaki yang bekerja di sebuah agensi pelancongan yang menyarankan agar pasangan yang mahu melawat Ile de la Réunion menaiki helikopter untuk melawat kawasan gunung-ganang di tengah-tengah pulau tersebut.

Setelah mendengar rakaman dialog itu di radio, saya menyuruh setiap seorang pelajar membaca sebaris dua ayat.

Bila tiba giliran seorang pelajar ini (yang saya akan rahsiakan identiti sebenarnya) ayat yang harus dibacanya berbunyi seperti berikut:

Oui, vous visitez le centre de l'île en hélicoptère.
(Yes, you will visit the center of the island by helicopter.)

Si pelajar merenung ke arah saya.
-Madamng nok sayo baco ko nih?
(Madame nak saya baca ke ni?)
-Yes please.
-Owhhh...guano nyebuknya nih...gajoh pung mapuh...
(Hai. Bagaimana hendak saya sebutkan yang ini. Susah betul.)
-Why don't you just try?
-Nok cubo tapi perkatae tu dok leh tubik. Malu nok nyebuk Madamng.

(Saya nak cuba tetapi perkataan itu tidak dapat saya keluarkan. Malu saya hendak menyebutnya Madame.)
-(kehairanan) Eh? Which word is that?
-Tu hok helikote helikote tuh.

Kalar dok sebuk lagu tu, meme le gajoh pung mapuh!

Jualan gerai

This morning we opened up a little food stall at the work place to sell some food. Almost all the French lecturers at MFI prepared something to sell. Just for fun. And to help liven things up a bit. We started at 9am and before noon, most of the food prepared were snapped up by the students. I must say that they are such darlings. They always come out and support us. Merci beaucoup!

One thing that I realized was that only after 3 hours of standing at the food stall to serve the students pinggang sudah mula rasa sakit. Itu baru 3 jam dan baru satu hari berdiri lama setempat. Can you just imagine those people whose work requires them to be on their feet all day long? The cashiers, the sales assistants, the nurses, the security personnel...the list goes on and on. I feel for you guys! And for me, time to get back to yoga for some core muscle strength.

Sekarang kaki sudah lenguh. Tapak kaki berdenyut-denyut meminta untuk dimanjakan. Time for some massage. Hmm...nak pergi Santai Suri lah. Ngeh ngeh ngeh.