Middle of Shaaban

It's nisfu shaaban. It used to be a big event when I was little. My mother used to make us go to the surau before mahrib, making sure we wore our baju kurung. It wasn't something I looked forward to (for various reasons) and it came without warning. My mother would suddenly announce that we had to go maybe around 5 p.m. We had no escape.

The surau was just a couple of minutes away, so we had to walk. It was very safe then -- walking in and out of relatives' backyards and compounds. The only thing you had to look out for were the chicken droppings. The old surau would be well lit and swarming with people. Everybody would bring some kind of dish or another for the jamuan afterwards.

The thing I didn't like was the congested saf. Sometimes you could hardly move! You also had to literally sit on each other's right leg during tahiyat. It wasn't comfortable. If you were late, you would have to make your own saf outside the surau. That could be messy on a rainy night. Now, the surau is no longer and we would congregate to any of the mosques nearby. It is definitely more comfortable.

However, in this new place that I'm staying, the atmosphere is totally different. I almost miss the little old surau in 'Tapioca Hill'. The surau committee here has sort of lost its zest for community spirit. For I feel that that is what the celebration of nisfu shaaban is about: that's when you meet with the furthest neighbour, or a new family in the neighbourhood. It is when you could meet prospective sons/ daughters-in-law, or even life partners. It is a chance to give and take the tight saf, and to learn jamaah praying for many children. It livens up the neighbourhood.

So last night it was a tete-a-tete with AHS and our duet at yasin.

Seminars

I spent the last couple of days attending a seminar on foreign languages. It was interesting, meeting educators of various languages, almost all of them teaching in Malaysia. I admire Malaysians able to speak other languages besides Bahasa Malaysia and English. I envy them a little too. I wish I was exposed to and made to learn another language when I was in school. After school, I dabbled a little at Japanese and loved everything about Japanese culture. I made the efffort to attend tea ceremonies and Japanese calligraphy when such events were available in town. I was also interested in Shinto and the Zen way. I still harbour hopes of having a house zen-like; almost spartan; zuhud?! After Japanese, it was Mandarin; and then Arabic for about three years, then back to Mandarin. I could understand Cantonese when I had many Chinese friends. But all I am stuck with is a jigsaw of words and phrases.

Some findings from the seminar: a lot more Chinese students take up another language at university level compared to Malay students. I cannot understand why Malay students don't want to grab this opportunity and learn a new language. What I feel is that the Malays are not forward thinking enough. This is the niche that they will definitely have, not just when they start working. They are not ones who would 'sahut laungan kerajaan'. Having a population of multilinguals is one of the objectives in RMK9 . But when they are left behind, they'll blame the government.

I know it is not as simplistic, but in my opinion, that is more or less the case.

Around the world

I was reading a book (by Kirn and Hartman) and came across these laws that are enforced in various countries. Quite interesting:

a) In Kaunas, Lithuania, one can ride up the elevator but one must always walk down. Only three exceptions are allowed every day. (Not a totally bad regulation, I think).

b) In Warsaw, Poland, it is against the law to do sit-ups or push-ups in a bus inside the city. (Hmm... no chance of doing such things in KL: the buses are always packed).

c) In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it is illegal for a person to spit on other people on the street. (Ok, fair enough).

d) In Bangor, Maine, you cannot put money into another car's parking metre -- even to help another driver. If you do, you will have to pay a fine.(!!!)

e) In Oslo, Norway, if you break a traffic law, you must pay a fine to the police officer there and then. You will also be given a receipt. (I'd like to see our police emulate this.)

Have a good weekend everybody.

Children

Most of the time I love children. I have more than 30 (too lazy to count and put the exact figure) nephews and nieces. I've seen it all, so to speak. I love them all. We haven't had any experience with those in the terrible teens and I hope they will not be victims of their raging hormones. I hope they love me too for I can be cranky when I choose to.

I especially love them from when they are about 3 months old (I cannot connect with days-old babies: they don't communicate) till the time they start schooling, when I feel I love them a little less. Then they somehow use a 'different' language. I in fact pity them, the poor things: having to wake up so early, riding on the bus to school, doing tons of homework ...

Last weekend I had AHS' grandchildren over. They are so much fun and terribly smart. But they tire us so much. As soon as they open their eyes around 7 a.m, they are a whirl of unbridled energy. One would be feeding the cats, one would be trying to wash the cars and one would be asking me questions like, "you go work?", "why you go work?" "you tay home?" There was just no need to clear up any mess, as the house would a shipwreck again in no time.

So we took them to feed the fish at KDE. That was a battle: we had to restrain them from pouring fish food into the pond at one go. Then we went upstairs and K went "evybaaaaaady! Where evybaaady!" at the top of her voice. When she saw people at the swimmig pool, she headed that way and the other two followed suit. They wouldn't budge from the pool area so we had to literally drag them. This was expectedly followed by resistance. They were quite confident, wagging their little forefingers at us saying "No" in the most authoritative way. One would think they were in charge. It really was hilarious. We finally managed to bundle them off into the car. There were tears, but not for long, thankfully.

Wonder why I'm not a mother. Perhaps I'd be too good with all the training I'm constantly getting.