Merisik and Bertunang

    I find the process of getting married in the Malay culture very different then what I am used to and very interesting. My host sister is getting married soon and this weekend was her engagement.  Merisik, the asking session, is when a relative of the boy will go and inspect and seek approval of the girl. They will present the girl with a ring which is a gesture for seeking approval. By accepting the ring, one accepts the proposal. Returning the ring means the girl refuses.
    The engagement is called the bertunang which can be done separately from the merisik, but for sake of time can be done together. The merisik is the asking part. After the bride's family has agreed, a date will be set up for the engagement and dowry's will be discussed. The bertunang is the actual engagement where the ring will be given and gifts exchanged. Now a days it is common for these two to be done together, which is exactly what our family's decided to do.
    This weekend we had both the merisik and the bertunang together. What happened was that the groom brought a group of women in his family to give our family gifts. They were gifts such as sweets, fruits, perfume, and even a baju kurung. Then the future bride had a group of girls from her famlily give the future groom's family gifts, but the girls side gave two more gifts then what the boys side gave. Usually the number of gifts is an odd number.

     Then the girl came out and sat in the center of everyone's attention. Then the boys family stated their intentions and our side accepted. Then the mother of the future groom put the rings on the girls finger. It was two rings. One was the merisik or asking ring. The other was the engagement ring which is more expensive then the asking ring. My sister was very lucky, she received two beautiful rings in one night.

   After the engagement or bertunang is the solemnization or the akad nikah which is when they will officially be husband and wife. The akad nikah is the most important. It is where the man has to give his words to the witness and a ring to complete the akad nikah. This can be done either in a mosque or at home. This is the only Islamic required ritual. It will be done by qualified and registered kadhi who will declare the couple husband and wife. Then will be the reception. This can be done days or weeks apart or on the same day. It is optional, but it is tradition for the family to invite friends and families and even neighbors to share their joy that the couple is now legally married. The reception can have up to thousands of guest. It all depends on their budget though.

Gifts from the girls side

Gifts from the boys side

Chocolates

Victoria Secret 

Baju Kurung

The cute couple :)

The theme was grey and white 

All my host siblings

The beautiful bride to be (My lovely host sister)

Hari Raya Haji

     Haria Raya Haji is the celebration where Muslims sacrifice an animal, usually a goat or a cow commemorating Abraham's sacrifice. When Abraham was tested by God to give up his only son he listened to God and was about to sacrifice his only beloved son. God saw that Abraham's devotion to Him was so great and this pleased Him so He called out to Abraham to spare his son, Ishmael and instead Abraham sacrificed a ram.
    This is a public holiday here in Malaysia and in many parts of the world as well. There is no school and many people have a day off or even a week. Muslims will wake up very early to offer their prayers and then dress up in their best clothes. This is a very big celebration and families will get together and usually there are fireworks at the end of the day as well.
    Thankfully I was spared and didn't have to see any animals sacrificed because my family went to the beach in Mersing for this day. On our way to the beach however, I did see a group of people crowded around on the side of the street with what appeared to be a cow tied up ready to be sacrificed. I'm glad that instead of watching an animal get slaughtered right before my eyes, I was able to see the beautiful sun rise at the beach, join in family activities, and even ride a banana boat for the first time in my life.

Perfect spot to relax 

Bibik (left) our maid 

My host sister wawa with baby

Sunrise 

Where we stayed for three days and two nights

Weekend Fun!

It's been a while since I have updated my blog so here is what I did these past couple of weekends.
I attended my first Malay wedding. It was very beautiful and very big. It was in a huge place with tons of table for guests. It's very different from any wedding that I have ever been to. Here are some pictures. 

The bride and groom are treated like royalty

So pretty :)

Dim Sum with the family before the wedding

This weekend my family went to KL to prepare for my host sister's own wedding that is coming up very soon. We stayed the night and while we were there I saw many things that made me fall in love with the city even more. 

Such a beautiful flower, but the thorns look scary

Kampung Style Restaurant 

Yummy dessert! :)

Cruising the streets of KL at night

My little sister enjoying the scenery

Each unit in this building has it's own swimming pool! So awesome

I love the architecture in KL!

Bagpipe Player at the Curve :)

An Article about my Sister and Me :)

My school district in Houston wrote and article about me and my sister on their website. I was so excited to find it so I'm posting it here. Enjoy.

HAIS twin seniors take on first solo adventures abroad

2013 JULY 10

by HISD Communications

In this week’s I am HISD, which features district students, graduates, employees, and other members of Team HISD, identical twin sisters Jacqueline and Stephanie Delcid talk about why they chose to attend the Houston Academy for International Studies (HAIS), what compelled them to spend their last year of high school abroad, and how they will handle their first real separation since birth.

Let’s start with HAIS. What made you decide to go there? What attracted you?

Stephanie (left) and Jacqueline Delcid

Stephanie: My sister received a letter from the school, so we went over there. My mom was the one who was really interested in it, but it seemed so small. Everyone seemed like a family. It was just a really nice environment.

Jacqueline: They offered free college classes, which intrigued me, and the possibility of graduating with an associate’s degree. I just wanted to be ahead. Also, it’s international studies, and students have so many opportunities to travel abroad. Like, some of my classmates went to Egypt! And I thought, “Okay, I want to do that, too.” I just liked everything about it. It’s really small, and everybody knows your name—even the principal. I really fell in love with the school.

So, only Jackie got a letter from HAIS inviting her to come check it out? How strange…

Jacqueline: Yeah. It was weird. They only sent the one letter, but while I was there, I picked up an application for my sister and one for my cousin, too. 

Wait, your cousin is a student there, too? Will she be going abroad as well?

Jacqueline: Yes, she’s a student there, but she went abroad last year to Germany and France. It was a different kind of trip that students have to pay for themselves.

Jacqueline, you’ll be leaving for Malaysia on Monday, and Stephanie, you’ll be traveling to Brazil at the end of the month through BP’s Global Citizens of Tomorrow scholarships. Both of you will be gone for a full year. How do you plan to keep in touch? Do either of you speak the languages primarily used in those areas?

Stephanie: No. I don’t know any Portuguese, but our host families speak English, and I’m going to complete a Rosetta Stone course online. Our parents bought us laptops, and we’ve already checked with our host families and confirmed that they have WiFi, so we’ll be Skype-ing each other a lot. They told us to try not to contact our families more than about once a month, but we’re probably going to break that rule.

How did you get involved with the Global Citizens of Tomorrow? Did you have any say in where you would be sent? Could you have travelled together if you wished to?

Stephanie: No, during our interview, they made it clear that even if we were going to be in the same country, we wouldn’t even be close to one another. But we applied to the same places. Her number one choice was my number one, too. I was kind of shocked we’d be going to different countries. But it will be a new experience.

We heard about it through our business English teacher. She gave us a grade to apply to scholarships to study abroad and we just got kept going and going until we had the interview. Then we were all excited about it, because the year before, we had tried to go to China for two weeks, and we made the interview but didn’t get picked. We saw this as another opportunity to go there, but we couldn’t because we didn’t meet the age requirement. Brazil, India, and Malaysia were our only choices.

Your principal said you’ve never spent even a single day apart since birth. Is that true? How do you handle slumber parties and stuff? And how do you feel about being separated for the first time?

Stephanie: Our parents are really strict, so they don’t let us go to any sleepovers at anyone else’s house. We fight a lot and we argue, but at the end of the day, we might be silent for an hour…

Jacqueline: Or like five minutes.

Stephanie: …and then after that, it’s like it never happened.

Jacqueline: I feel kind of nervous. I’m always looking to my sister when anything happens. We decide practically everything together, even down to what to eat for lunch, so making my own decisions will be different. We’ll Skype and email whenever we can, but there’s going to be a big time difference, so email will probably work best.

Spending your senior year abroad is a pretty brave thing to do.  Will you be able to walk the stage with your friends when you graduate?

Stephanie: No. Since we’re seniors, they’ll transfer our credits back to HAIS and we’ll graduate from there, but I was excited because I was going to graduate in the top quarter of my class. Last time I checked, I was eighth, but now I won’t even be ranked.

Jacqueline: I feel excited because not many people can say, “I spent my senior year in another country.” But then missing prom and not being able to walk the stage… I’m going to miss that, but it’ll all be worth it in the end. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we can’t miss out on that.

http://blogs.houstonisd.org/communitynews/?p=2813

Camping at Tanah Aina

From being crowded in a bus with tons of people hectic to get somewhere, to traveling to the middle of the jungle to camp beside the river and become one with nature. It was a dramatic change, but it's what Malaysia is all about. They have amazing architecture that looks out of this world with high end hotels and restaurants and shopping centers where one can get the latest fashions, yet they have still managed to conserve their beautiful rain forests.
Although it was a bit too luxurious to be called real camping, it was still quite the experience.

They were waiting for us with drink and wet towels :)

Excited to live in the jungle 

Durian! :)

Our front yard :)

Inside the tent, complete with a bed each and a fan 

This was the bigger tent for four people

Getting ready to jump at the Leap of Faith! In the end I got too scared and didn't do it

The morning walk was lovely 

Durian Tree

Biggest Durian I've ever seen 

 TV, table, two comfy couches and books and magazines to keep entertained 

Vacation With The Family: First Stop Kuala Lumpur!

So this weekend was a three day weekend due to Malaysia day on Monday September 16. My host family planned a trip to go camping. It's a little difficult having a trip like this and having the whole family together since two of there children are in boarding school (this is very common in Malaysia), and one in University.
On Friday we left early to meet up there only son, Aiman, in Kuala Lumpur. He goes to school in Perak which is an 8 hour drive from Johor Bahru. It's only a 4 hour drive to KL so it was much easier to meet him up there. Also my host sister studies in the University in Kuala Lumpur so it was two birds in one stone. Unfortunately one of my host sisters couldn't make it because she had a school activity she could not get out of.
We went to go pick up Aiman at the bus station and then we went to a mall in KLCC. That night we ate at T.G.I. Friday's. I loved it because although it wasn't exactly like home it's way closer then a lot of the things I've eaten so far. It was a great experience although it was super busy in K.L. There was a lot of people everywhere, and when we took the public transportation, there was barely enough room to stand.

Inside the Mall

Leaving KL