Merdeka

For the past week I have been in a sort of band camp. My school asked me to go along with them to Kuala Lumpur and be a part of the Medeka day parade. Merdeka is Malaysia's Independence day.Yesterday was Malaysia's 56th Merdeka. I joined the color guards and had the wonderful opportunity to preform right in front of the prime minister and was even on TV. It was an amazing experience and I met so many wonderful people from other schools as well. It was very exhausting though because a lot of the times we would have to be ready by 5 in the morning and practice all day up until around 10 PM. Girls would have blisters, swollen body parts, muscle pain, really bad sunburns, and even a couple of bruises. It was tough, but at the end it was a lot of fun and it was an experience that I will never forget.

The crazy make up we had to wear for the performance

With the liberators :)

Satu Malaysia!

Our instructor

busy practicing

Our room for the week

Raya With Anuar Zain

So for those of you who do not know who Anuar Zain is, he is a Malaysian singer who is very famous here in Malaysia. He is a multi award winning artist and he came to our house a few days ago because he wanted his home renovated by my host dad. My host dad, a successful architect, designed our home and his office which is why Anuar Zain wanted to come and see so that maybe he could incorporate some of the same concepts of our home to his. 

As we showed him around the house, we took him to the home theater where I heard his voice in person. I didn't really know who he was and how talented he really was, but when I heard him sing I knew how he became so famous. He has an amazing voice and is very talented. I feel lucky that I got the chance to meet him in person and spend the whole day with him and my family. 

Universal Studios Singapore

So since Singapore is right next to Johor Bahru, my family will travel to Singapore very often. Yesterday they took me Universal Studios Singapore (USS). It was an amazing experience and I had a lot of fun with all my family. We woke up at around 6 AM and went on a bus to Singapore. The bus was pretty comfortable and it wasn't that long of a drive. I thought I would have trouble going to Singapore since I don't even have my visa yet, but I din't have any trouble at all. I made it just fine. Once we got to USS we took a lot of pictures even before we went inside. We went to all of the 7 themed zones and got on a ride for each, two of which we got wet in. We all had a blast, but in the end we were exhausted. I couldn't wait to go back home and lay down in my bed. 

Inside Madagascar

In line for Madagascar: A Crate Adventure

In front of the Castle of Far Far Away

Me and my sister got to meet Po 

Selamat Hari Raya!

I survived! I did it! I fasted for two weeks and I'm still alive. In the end it was not so bad. I would wake up at 5 in the morning and eat sahur with my family then eat buka puasa with my family eaither at home or we would go out. After two weeks of fasting for me and 29 days for my family, it was time to celebrate Hari Raya!
Hari Raya Aidilfitri more commonly known as Eid al-Fitr is the celebration that takes place after the month of Ramadan. After 29 days of fasting, this celebration is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims all around the world.
On the first day of Raya, all the families wore matching baju rayas and brand new shoes and bags. People have been preparing for this day weeks in advance. Going shopping, baking cookies, and cleaning there houses. Many families will go to their hometown like my family did.

This year our color was purple 

There we had a big feast. Then everyone lined up to ask for forgiveness from there elders, husbands, wives, and siblings for any wrong doing they have done in the past. It was a very emotional moment for my family members. Many people from Malaysia will travel across the country to ask for forgiveness from their family members. Afterwards, envelopes of money called duit raya were given to the children and teenagers. Some families do not give teenagers envelopes though; just the kids receive one.

Host father asking for forgiveness from his father in law

Kuih

Received a lot of duit raya :)

This goes on for 29 days here in Malaysia. Everyday families and friends will visit one another and eat kuih (bite sized snacks) and then give and receive envelopes from family. At night, the kids will go outside and play with firecrackers and fireworks. This is a beautiful celebration because it brings family together and allows people to start fresh for there sins have been forgiven.

Me and my host sister playing with firecrackers

Ramadan

When I was told that I was going to land in Malaysia in the middle of Ramadan I was honestly a bit concerned. I thought to myself, can I really go without eating or even taking a sip of water for nearly 14 hours? Will I be able to make it or will I pass out the first day? To my relief my family was very kind and sensitive to my culture and said that I did not have to do anything that I was not comfortable with. They told me that it was my choice if I wanted to fast or not. When they told me that the youngest of the daughter, Naseha, was fasting, I thought to myself ‘if a nine year old can fast then so can I.’

                The same day of my handing over ceremony my family took me to have buka puasa (break fasting) at a relative’s house. Everyone was so kind and welcoming towards me. They already had some food on the table and family that would come over brought even more. As the time for buka was approaching everyone surrounded the table.  I didn’t know how to eat the food so I decided I would watch what they did and imitate it. They all started with dates since dates where high in fiber and while fasting they would not get fiber. After they put rice on their plates and there choice of meat. I had a little of everything. There was chicken, fish with tamarind sauce, and even KFC. Everything was delicious. After my family had eaten they all went to pray while I waited in the living room. Finally we went home where a welcome sign was hung up in my room.

                The next two weeks I fasted with my family. We would all wake up at 5 AM for sahur, the meal that we ate before sunrise. Usually it consisted of rice, either chicken or fish and afterwards cereal or toast. Then some would go back to sleep. When I went to school for four days I had to stay awake. The next meal we would have was at around 7:20. I admit the first few days were difficult, but after I got into the rhythm of things I got used to it. We would have buka either at home or at a restaurant as a family.

                After two weeks of fasting I feel more humbled. My host father told me that the reason they fast is so that they can experience what the poor who cannot always attain food live through. It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. All Muslim adults have to observe Ramadan except those who are sick, pregnant, traveling, or going through there menses.   

Meal we had for Buka

Handing Over Ceremony

The morning of our handing over ceremony everyone was full of anticipation and excitement. After days of orientation we were finally going to meet our host family and become one of them. Finally we were going to experience Malaysia full on. We had all memorized or at least tried to memorize the song that we had been taught. We all nervously filed in a single line to go on stage where our host family would be eagerly waiting for us in the audience. As I stood on stage I scanned the audience to see if I could spot my host family. I was glad to see that they were on the first row. I sat down and we began to sing our song.

Rasa sayang, hey!,

Rasa sayang sayang hey,

Lihat nona dali jauh,

Rasa sayang sayang hey!

Buah cempedak di luar pagar,
Ambil galah tolong jolokkan,
Saya budak baru belajar,
Kalau salah tolong tunjukkan

Afterwards we were each handed over to our families. My family gave me flowers and a gift. As soon as my little sister Naseha gave me the flowers I wanted to cry right there in front of everyone. It was one of the best moments of this whole experience. After the hour long drive I was finally in Johor Bahru, the city where I will be living in for one year. 

KLCC

Our next stop was KLCC or the Kuala Lumpur City Centre which is a multipurpose development area in KL. It consists of the Petronas Towers, shopping malls, hotels, and office buildings. There is also a park and a mosque in the area that is open to the public. I was so excited to finally see the Twin towers up close. We went through the shopping mall out to the beautiful park where we could get good pictures of the twin towers. 

Shopping mall at KLCC

The Twin Towers!

The mosque at KLCC

Finally after our tour we came back to the hotel and learned song for our handing over ceremony the following day. After that we called it a day. 

Arrival Orientation

After a 13 hour flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong and a 4 hour flight from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur we had finally arrived in Malaysia. I was so excited to be there I wanted to see my host family already, but we had yet another orientation to go through. On our way to the hotel we stopped for our first meal in Malaysia, McDonald's. We traveled all the way to the other side of the world just to have fries and some McNuggets.
At the hotel I got to my room and saw that I had a beautiful view of the city of Kuala Lumpur. I was able to see the Petronas Towers and the Kuala Lumpur Tower. The Petronas Towers are the largest Twin Towers in the world and the Kuala Lumpur Tower is the highest viewpoint available to the public.

In the orientation we learned much of the same things that we learned in Los Angeles and frankly it was getting a little repetitive. There were students from all over the world everyone speaking different languages. The only students I understood were the ones from Spain. Luckily I had a Spanish roommate that I could easily communicate with. Although everyone could speak and understand English, not everyone was fluent and would have some difficulty getting there point across. There was only one from Argentina and one from Costa Rica and being from Central America, I became good friends with these two. 

Jose (Costa Rica), Valentina (Argentina), Me (U.S/ El Salvador)

Gateway Orientation

It has been 16 days since I landed here in Malaysia and so far I am having the time of my life! I remember my last few days in the US and I remember seeing my mother's face filled with tears over not being able to see me for a whole year, but also gleaming with pride at her daughter's accomplishments. After a few delays with my plane I finally landed in Los Angeles where I would have my gateway orientation. There I met students from all over the US who were on the YES Abroad scholarship. I was among the only two who were going to Malaysia on the BP scholarship. At first I was a little scared because the YES students had received much more training then the BP students, but in the end I relaxed because the the orientation went over a lot of the information that was given to the YES students.

On the second day of our orientation, we were taken to Hollywood to get our last experience in the U.S.

The Hollywood subway station is designed as an old movie theater 

The minion bus!

Historic TCL Chinese Theater open since 1922 

Fun fact: In January 1976, following the passage of a state law decriminalizing marijuana, vandals altered the sign to read ” HOLLYWeeD."