Thursday, December 31, 2009

An excerpt...

31 December 2009, Thursday


An excerpt of the many poignant e-mails I received from my ex-students after I retired from lecturing.


Dear teacher,

I do not know how to address you because once you were a mother as well as a teacher to us.  You were a good friend too. I wanted to write to you earlier too. I was waiting to chat with you. Ok I suppose we will be fortunate to meet each other again. I am waiting for that day.

By the way now I am adjusting my lifestyle according to this society. Now it is not so easy.  Lots of things have changed. These days I am trying to cope with my job. Teaching. Already I started my work here. These are my news. With the hope of seeing you soon, I’ll stay.

Thanks you for everything you did for us.  Still I can remember every words you uttered with us. Those lovely memories will last forever.


With kind regards
I am gothama

REV. U. GOTHAMA THERO
Ancient Weheragalla Temple,
Mirissa,
Sri Lanka.
T.P. 0094714395774
0094715478892
Fax. 0094412250321
skype:- gothama3


MAY THE BLESSINGS OF TRIPLE GEMS BE WITH YOU!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

My Blue Room

30 December 2009, Wednesday




My room is blue, the linen is blue,
The chairs are blue, and the curtain's blue too.
Some days when I'm feeling blue,
I buried my face under my blue pillows,
In my room which is blue.

Time sure flies...

30 December 2009, Wednesday

Time sure lies and it's just a matter of 36 hours before we welcome the new year. I've been extremely busy the last couple of weeks, traveling and working on a project that I missed posting updates on my blog.

As the project that I'm working on will occupy most of my time for the next 2 months, it'll be a while before I start updating my blog as regularly as before.

Till then....

Monday, December 21, 2009

Today is Ina's 20th Birthday

21 December 2009, Monday

ODE TO THE BIRTHDAY GIRL

 

Little princess,
Do you realize how much you mean to us?
As Babah and Mama nurture you into what you will be.
You came from within, from just beneath our heart.
It's there you'll always remain, though your own life will now start.
You're budding so fast it sends us askew,
With misty eyes we ask, Where's our little princess?
We have taught you well because we care.
The next few years will fly so quickly,
With laughter and joy, mixed with a few tears to cry.
As you begin your growth to womanhood, this fact you must know,
You'll always be our source of pride, no matter where you go.
You must stand up tall and proud, within you feel no dread,
For all your dreams and goals, sit before you very near.
With Allah’s love in your heart and the world at your feet,
You'll always be our little princess, deep within our heart.
For you this birthday poem was written,
To tell you in a cadence of Babah’s and Mama’s heartfelt Love!
As we watch you grow….

Hugs,kisses and prayers, and loadz of love,
Babah and Mama

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

3: An Unchartered Territory - My Sojourn To Myanmar: Day 2

12 November 2009, Thursday (25 Zulkaedah) 

Day 2 Story 1, Yangon, Myanmar
Day 2 started very early for me, as I got up at 4:50 a.m to perform my subuh prayers. I got up even before the alarm went off. In any case, I managed to fall asleep again after that, and woke up again at 7:00 a.m.

For breakfast, I had fruits and durian cake, and several spoonful of serunding which I had brought from home. 

Uni Shopping Mall
Later, Sharon and May War came to take me to Uni Shopping Mall, a newly opened shopping complex (hardly a month old). Nothing much fancies me. I just bought a couple of things plus some drinks from the supermart. 

Mini Myanmar 
Entering the heartland of Burma is like stepping into the past. We proceeded to a place called Mini Myanmar, a most enigmatic and fascinating location. It was astonishing to discover that Myanmar comprises more than 100 races.

Myanmar is a union of 135 ethnic groups with their own languages and dialects. The major races are the Kachin, the Kayah, the Kayin, the Chin, the Mon, the Bamar, the Rakhine, and the Shan. The name Myanmar embraces all the ethnic groups.

I enjoyed being here as I got to sample a cross section of the culture, customs and lifestyle of the major races in Myanmar. Dignified and proud, the Burmese people regard foreign visitors as guests in their country and take pleasure in introducing their customs 

Lungyis (Longhi) and Thanaka
Men wear lungyis, loose-fitting cotton wraps; I had asked Tun Tun (who came with Sharon and family to greet me at the airport) why men in Myamar wear lungyis.  And, tongue-in-cheek, he had replied, "It'e easy and free!!!". Hmmm......



Young women and young boys brush their faces with Thanaka, a powder made from ground tree bark, both for beauty and for protection from the bright sun. Ancient traditions that have disappeared elsewhere survive in the valleys of the Irrawaddy. 


Nasi Briyani
May War brought me to KSS Restaurant for lunch, a halal restaurant that serves Nasi Briyani. Yes!!! Yummy Nasi Briyani can be found in Muslim restaurants in Yangon, Myanamar, although halal food is quite pricey here. Nasi briyani for two cost me RM35 (11,000 kyat). 


"Have Handphone, Cannot Use" 
On day 1, miracles of all miracles, I managed to send an sms to my husband to tell him that I had arrived safely in Myanmar. He was frantically calling me and smsing me to no avail.

The funny thing was, I could send him smses but I couldn't receive any. But my joy was shortlived as soon after that, I wasn't able to get any line or connection.

I managed to send an sms telling my husband the hotel number and that I was going to be traveling and wasn't sure if i could contact him again along the way.

That night he called me at Panorama Hotel and that was the last phone contact I had with my husband. 

Cyber Cafe (CC) 
After coming back from Mini Myanmar, and as I was almost cut off from my family back in Malaysia, I headed to the Cyber Cafe near Panorama Hotel after I had performed my Maghrib prayers (Maghrib/sunset is at 5:30 p.m in Myanmar) to tell my husband of the latest update and what the tentaive plans were for the next couple of days.

The CC was my lifeline in Myanmar. And thank God, the charges were filthy cheap, i.e 400 kyat for an hour (RM1.36). I spent 2 hours at the CC, and came back to the hotel to have dinner which consisted of Maggi Mee again, and some fruits.

I retired to bed early, given that I didn't have sufficient sleep the night before, and in anticipation of the long traveling that I was going to do the next day.