UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY – Staci Tan

It’s is the end of the year already and it signifies the end of my blogging at UIU too. It has been a pleasure blogging here and I am glad that I took up this offer to blog. It gave me an opportunity to view my college life from various perspectives, to be shared with all Peacocks around the globe. Also, this ten months of blogging has made me feel more connected to UIU. It is really a brilliant idea to spread the stories of UIU through blogging by students, faculty or staff members and alumni.

As much as I enjoyed reading the blogs of others at UIU, I hope you have enjoyed reading my stories on my experience with UIU here in Subang Jaya, Malaysia too. I thank all who come by to my blog and who have supported me along my journey here. Lastly, I appreciate the recommendation of Dr. Frazier and the hard work of Ms. Woodson in managing the blogs.

Till we meet again. Happy 2011! Go Peacocks!

Logging off, Staci Tan =)

No excuse – holiday bug has infected me and surprisingly, I am turning away from my laptop this semester break. But anyway, here’s one final news from Subang before I wrap up the blog: the office term of Fayette House 2010 has ended on December 5, 2010 when the eleven officers, including yours truly, stepped down in the witness of Dr. Alan Walker and other UIU delegates. On the same day, newly elected officers were installed to fill in the vacant office for a new term.

Group photographs with UIU delegates, college representatives and Fayette House officers.

It was an honor that Fayette House has been receiving support and recognition from UIU since the establishment of the student union at the end of 2007. It is this support and recognition that fueled Fayette House to continue serving the students of UIU in the Subang campus. We worked hard to help students and lecturers manage textbooks, organize department activities, provide an American experience for the students and get involved in servicing the students whenever possible.

Following is a slideshow summary of the accomplishment of Fayette House in the past year.

(click on image to be directed to video on YouTube)

That day when I stepped down as the third president of Fayette House, I was feeling very emotional. In fact, in many occasions during the ceremony, I almost broke down but I contained my tears of joy, relief and reluctance – it was a mixed feeling. Fayette House has been an important part of my college life. Before I joined the college, Fayette House played a role in mirroring the student life with UIU at Subang and eventually prompted me to choose the college. When I was a Freshman, Fayette House guided me throughout and needless to say, my appointment as the president of the student union during my Sophomore year strengthen the influence of Fayette House in my experience with UIU. Although I will no longer be attached to Fayette House next year, I believe the union will still remain important to my life in college until graduation.

Nine of eleven outgoing officers. From left (standing): Shaun Alan Goonting, Amir Mohd. Petra, Aaron Daniel, Sean Mervin and CY Bok. From left (sitting): Yion Lek, Chelsie Loh, Staci Tan and Rachel Voon.

Thank you to UIU for the continuous recognition, to the college for providing us with resources, to the faculty for unrelenting help, to the advisors for guidance, to all officers for unconditional commitment, to other student bodies for the support, to the students for participation and appreciation and to every else who have played a role in making Fayette House a success.

Special thanks to Chelsie Loh for attached video and Ivan Kang for attached photographs.

Hey Peacocks! How’s everyone doing? Have not heard from Fayette for some time already but anyway, I’ve started my semester break and it’s looking very good now! Since the last update, many events took place but there are just two that I would like to highlight to everyone at UIU.

One of them is the news that Rev-Up 1Malaysia  (an intercultural event organized by the class of Intercultural Communication Fall 2010 and The Communication Club) won FIRST PRIZE of RM10,000 in cash two weekends ago!!! It was a competition by an isotonic company, Revive, to organize the best branding event for them in colleges. And from more than four hundred entries, the intercultural event by Peacocks of UIU in the Subang campus emerged as the champion. I was present at the ceremony when they announced the result and I just had to say that we were all feeling crazy that evening, especially after the announcement of the result.

Here are some photographs of the finale ceremony.

The ceremony was carried out with graduation ceremony as the theme so here we have Aaron Daniel, Raja Atikah and Ashley Matthew posing with the props provided.

Ivan Kang, Marie Yong, Charlene Goh and Raja Atikah, holding up Rev-up 1Malaysia's banner.

Ivan Kang, Aaron Daniel and Amir Mohd. Petra, competing in one of the games during the event.

The moment of joy and pride: group photo with the RM10,000 mock cheque!

I wanted to update on the intercultural event after it was held but I couldn’t find the time so here are some photographs of Rev-up 1Malaysia for you have some peeks into the winning event. By the way, 1Malaysia is a concept introduced by the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak, to highlight the unity among the various races living in peace and harmony in Malaysia. Thus, this event featured the rich cultures of many races of Malaysians – from Malay, Chinese and Indian (the major three) to the aborigines in Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak).

Opening ceremony by the lion dance troop - a Chinese culture.

Cultural performance of the Iban, by the students of Intercultural Communication Fall 2010.

Esther Leow at her booth, featuring the culture of the aborigines, also called Orang Asli, in Malaysia.

Kolam, a form of sandpainting with painted rice powder, representing the culture of the Indian.

Group photograph of the organizers of Rev-up 1Malaysia.

Special thanks to Ivan Kang and Lucille Joyce for the photographs attached.

p/s This is the third last post of this blog. Look out for the next post in near future – tomorrow maybe. Have a nice day!

Exactly a week ago at this hour, I was with a bunch of friends in college, attending Christmas Bash organized by the Christian Fellowship of the college. Yes, we celebrated Christmas nearly one month in advance because final exam is approaching and everyone will be back in hometown for holiday during Christmas in December.

Although the celebration was done when most of us were not into the festive mood yet, it was a Christmas event very well done simply because the organizer successfully decorated the place to the theme of Christmas and created an atmosphere where one could really mistaken it’s Christmas already. As quoted from one of the band members of C.O.O.L. Youth Band that performed that night, “I feel so Christmas-sy when I stepped into this hall. Wow.”

Opening dance performance by Beat Groovers Inc.

Testimonial by Dr. Lisa Tan, the Principal of SEGi College Subang Jaya.

Mr. Francis, the advisor of Christian Fellowship, telling us the meaning of Christmas.

Emcees of the night hosting a few games with audience.

Rachel Voon and Sandra Lee performing a song for the crowd.

The C.O.O.L. Youth Band from High Praise Church entertaining the crowd with a number of Christmas songs.

Pastor David from Acts Church giving the audience a very meaningful preach on the meaning of Christmas.

The crowd enjoying the line-up of the event.

Some of the organizing committee at the back of the hall, having good time at the event.

Once again, good job to the organizing committee! Thank you for putting together a Christmas celebration in college. I especially enjoyed the caroling done in college on the weeks before the event. Somehow, I believe that the celebration was a joyous escape for most of us from exam stress besides being a good reminder of the meaning of Christmas.

Special thanks to Mr. Francis Ng for the photographs attached.

Just two weeks after throwing a Halloween party in college, Fayette House organized another major college event: Sports Day! For the third consecutive year, Fayette House created a platform for students to play sports, be competitive and have fun outdoor. This year however, it was not just a Sports Day; it was The Revive-volution SCSJ Sports Day because we had a big isotonic drink brand, Revive, sponsoring the event, besides having a few extra sports events to cater to the demand of the participants.

Generally, 10 teams of participants were competing in track events, futsal, captain ball, The Revive Challenge and tug-of-war for six hours under the hot Malaysian weather on November 13, 2010. They ran, kicked, hopped, cheered, got injured, won some and lost some, but at the end of the day, everyone had fun – and sunburn. All in all, it was a successful Sports Day with participations from SEGi College Kuala Lumpur and a few other faculties from SEGi College Subang Jaya – although American Degree Program still dominated the event and won the challenge trophy once again! Peacocks ruled!!!

Participants registering themselves according to teams.

Our AVES cheerleaders, May and Leit, looking very hyped up for the day!

Pete the Peacock rose early to join the Sports Day too!

Reynolds Too of Brown Team tuning in to his fighting mode to win the challenge trophy.

Mabeline Tan of Purple Team and Cheng Jo-Joan of Black Team still looking friendly to one another before the competition begins.

Participants warming up to put on a good fight for their respective team.

The girls of Red Team seemed excited to start the competition!

Joel Vijay showing off his muscles. Hey dude! You better have turned those muscles into points for your team!

Run, people. Run!!! 100m Open Race, one of the many track events.

Mr. Jason quenching his thirst at The Communication Club's beverage stall.

These guys just couldn't resist playing frisbee during the one and only break time we gave, huh?

Evelyn Soh and Aniki Chen enjoying the shade provided by the buntings of our sponsor. Thanks, Revive!

Participants all geared up for Challenge 1 of The Revive Challenge.

Solina seemed very serious about making sure the water in her can doesn't spill. Keep up the good work!

Oops! Cally Chong just wasted her effort of bringing the can of water on her head through obstacles =(

Shamala Nair and Ms. Jaime enjoying the shade while the rest were burning under the hot sun.

Chelsie Loh hosting The Revive Challenge. In background, captain ball was taking place.

Hop, people. Hop!!! Challenge 2 of The Revive Challenge.

Ivan Kang and his partner practicing for three-legged race for Challenge 3 of The Revive Challenge.

Participants grabbing everything permissible to form the longest line in Challenge 4 of The Revive Challenge.

Captain ball - I heard it was very rough and competitive!

Members of Red Team celebrating victory! Yay!!

Futsal - the reason for the presence of so many guys on Sports Day.

The crowd cheering for their favorite team in tug-of-war!

The ultimate tug-of-war winning team: Black Team. Wow~

Looks like Yellow Team thought putting on an expressive faces could help in tug-of-war. Wonder if they were right.

Shaun Alan Goonting (chairperson of the event) looking rejuvenated, thanks to the Revive isotonic drink in his hand!

Staci Tan (that's me!!) holding up the certificates to be given out to participants.

Lettecia Ho, one of our lucky draw winners, with Ms. Jaime (on right).

Talk about competitiveness - three Second Runner-ups of Sports Day 2010: Silver, Yellow and Brown!!!

The First Runner-Up of Sports Day 2010: Blue Team from Nursing Department of SCSJ!!! Good job, aspiring nurses!

The Champion of The Year: Black Team of Mr. Jason and Ms. Padma!!! Go Black!

The AWESOME organizing committee of The Revive-volution SCSJ Sports Day 2010!!!

Special thanks to Mr. Francis for the photographs!

As promised last week, this post will update on Halloween celebration here in the Subang Jaya campus! For your information, Halloween celebration is not very wide-spread in Malaysia although the holiday is rather well-known among its people. Even in urban area like Subang Jaya, it’s not easy to spot massive Halloween celebration. Only in major cities like Kuala Lumpur, you can perhaps spot a few clubs or bars celebrating Halloween in big scale.

In SEGi College Subang Jaya, however, there was a Halloween party that took place on October 29, 2010 due to the influence of American Degree Program and the role of Fayette House in integrating the American culture and Malaysian culture on campus. Unlike last year, Fayette House collaborated with the college’s dance club, called Beat Groovers Inc., to organize a night of thrills and spookiness. We named the event “Thrill-O-Ween” and there was a massive turn-out of 300 party-goers. Some of these party-goers came in full of Halloween spirit, beyond our expectation. Celebrating Halloween is not a norm here, leave alone dressing up for it. But this bunch of happening students used their creativity to spice up a normal attire into excellent Halloween outfits! It was indeed a Halloween night to remember.

Sean Mervin, a Fayette House officer, getting his face painted for the night.

Chee Yong Bok as a Chinese zombie on duty at the haunted maze entrance.

Rachel Voon (back) and Jojo Tan (front) tricking people at Trick or Treat booth.

One of the many Halloween costumes of the night, a boxer ghost, ready to rock the night.

The crowded Theater Hall during Thrill-O-Ween.

Danisa, one of the many talents, performing for the crowd.

Emcee Sean Muru (right) and party-goer interacting on stage.

Then on Sunday, a few Fayette House officers and I went to the Kota Damansara campus to show our support for their Halloween celebration. The celebration there organized by The White House, an affiliation of American Degree Program in their campus. The Halloween event was completely different from the one in Subang Jaya. Instead of having haunted maze, Halloween tradition games, etc. like Subang Jaya’s, The White House celebrated the event with a different twist; they had an auto show as the main attraction, that led to their event being named “Trick-O-Street”.

Anyway, if you remember, I mentioned in last week’s post that Fayette House was having a retreat within the week. Sadly, the retreat was cancelled so we didn’t get to go to the beach. The reason of cancellation was that the weather in Malaysia was crazy in the past week. Other than seasonal flood at certain regions of the country, Malaysia is rather free from natural disasters; there’s no volcano eruption, earthquake, hurricane, etc. However, perhaps due to global climate change, the lovely country was not just hit by flood in the past week, a mini twister was spotted too. Thus, for safety reasons, we postponed the retreat to a date to be observed.

But God is gracious! I missed the chance to have fun with college friends but was granted the opportunity to celebrate Deepavali with my fellow Hindu high school friends! This year, I attended two Deepavali open houses, both at my high school friends’ places. Although both celebrations didn’t have good turn ups because most of our high school friends were overseas pursuing tertiary educations, it was still memorable and precious nights spent with friends whom have shared at least five years of school together. I guess getting to celebrate various festivals yearly is another blessing of living in Malaysia, besides the protection from massive natural disasters!

Gathering of a few good high school friends over good old stories, yummy-licious festive food and lots of laughters during one of the Deepavali open houses.

Special thanks to Ivan Kang for photos attached for Thrill-O-Ween 2010.

Hey Peacocks! How’s everyone doing?! Sorry I was missing for some weeks; college has been hectic! Anyway, here’s some brief updates on the happenings in the past weeks!

Biology Campaign (October 13, 2010)

One of the subjects I need to take for my General Requirements was General Biological Science. I wanted to take the subject during my Freshman year but the lecturer, Mr. Chong Fatt Fei, went to Fayette campus for training for two semesters before I could take the subject. Although there was a replacement lecturer during his absence, I decided to wait for his return. And now that he’s back, I am in his class! The group assignment that he gave us this semester is hectic, I would say. We are required to carry out a four-week campaign and two-day showcase on a topic of our choice, on top of reports and scrapbooks that we need to hand in! All fourteen groups from Biology and around forty-three groups from Chemistry and Computer Applications classes that he lectures have to conduct campaigns in college for a minimum of three hours weekly. Wow. It was really massive but that made our college much livelier – and that’s what American Degree Program in Subang Jaya campus is proud of.

Saberame, Reynolds Too and I campaigning from class to class, on Introduction to Conventional Food.

Grace Law briefing a student on Evolution of Food Production for our topic: Introduction to Conventional Food.

Grace Law, Reynolds Too, Navinder Kaur, Staci Tan (myself) and Saberame with the campaign materials for our group's topic for Week 1: Introduction to Conventional Food.

Nilai UC-MOHE Future Leaders Camp 2010 (October 23 – 25, 2010)

In the midst of college craziness, I was sent to a leadership camp to represent the college. It was a camp organized by one of our local private universities in Malaysia, and was fully supported by the Ministry of Higher Education. The American Degree Program was especially proud that of the two representatives from college, a student of Upper Iowa University was given the opportunity to attend the camp. At the camp, I picked up a lot of quality tips on leadership, established rapport with student leaders from various colleges and universities across the nation, and was exposed to the different student cultures in other institutions. It was indeed an experience of a life-time.

With the top image consultant in Malaysia (lady in white), for workshop on grooming and etiquette.

Group photo with my group members and facilitators during the closing ceremony.

Photo with my certificate of participation at the end of the camp.

Fayette House Election 2010 (October 27, 2010)

Oh My God! This was one of the most exciting and most anticipated events of the year for all Fayette House officers! Haha. We were so glad that we finally found our successors to take over the office for the Term 2011. We were worried at first because we were afraid that we couldn’t find prospective candidates to sit in office next year but looking at the elected officers, we were all relieved and excited to watch the new officers perform. Of course we were sad that we are leaving the Fayette House family and will no longer be able to serve the students but it’s alright – we will reminisce all the wonderful moments we shared in the past one year and wish the newly elected officers all the best for their best one year in college!

The profile of all election candidates displayed for voters.

The ballot box placed at the front of the ballot room for balloting.

Officers on duty counting ballot at the end of balloting session, with the witness of an independent student.

In next week’s post, I will update on Halloween celebrations in the Subang Jaya campus that took place yesterday – and perhaps also a little sneak peak of the celebration in the Kota Damansara campus if I am attending their celebration tomorrow! Not forgetting, Fayette House officers are going for a retreat during the short Deepavali break that we are having on the coming Thursday and Friday. Stay tuned for these happening updates!

Hey, Peacocks! Wassup?! Life has been very hectic for me and the entire organizing committee for prom in the past weeks because of the event-of-the year but we are proud to announce that prom was successfully held! It was the second prom for the college and Fayette House was once again the organizer of the event, alongside with The Communication Club. We named the prom “Glitz & Glamour Ball” and used the theme “Viva Las Vegas!” Now, please allow me to present you our journey to bringing a prom of glitters and glamour for the year 2010.

On July 5, the organizing committee had the Soft Launch to officially present the event plan to the entire college community. The launch was a symbol of approval and support from SEGi College Subang Jaya, allowing us to turn our plan into action in full speed. Then after months of preparation, we had our Hard Launch on Sept. 22. And in the Hard Launch, we excitedly presented the highlights of our Glitz & Glamour Ball 2010. Tickets were also presented to students and staff, and the event went on air on Fly FM when Fly FM Perodua Troopers came to college!

Vegas without casino is not Vegas!

Jojo Tan (Head of IT & Multimedia) and Lucille Dayan (Chairperson) at the Hard Launch venue.

Our emcee for prom, Justin Janath, hosting the Hard Launch in the presence of the college's top management.

Abu, Alice Tan and Ivan Kang with Fly FM Perodua Troopers and their free gifts!

The prom organizing committee and Fly FM Perodua Troopers at the end of Hard Launch.

After the Hard Launch, the organizing committee felt the pressure with the approaching event and high expectation from the college. But a little pressure was good! We were as hyped up as the guests of the prom, and we had intense preparation for one full week before the prom to ensure we deliver the best to the crowd. Every day, we stayed back in college – sometimes past midnight – to finalize the smallest details of the event. We traveled back and forth between college and our prom venue, Tropicana Golf & Country Resort, racing against time to make sure everything is in place. It was a tough week for all twenty-four committee members from Fayette House and The Communication Club as we still had to juggle between prom preparation and studies! Thankfully, our lecturers were very understanding and supportive of our effort.

Finally, the most anticipated day arrived. All of us woke up on the morning of Oct 1, with great excitement – and butterflies in our stomachs of course! I doubt any of us could really sleep well the night before although we were really deprived of rest, but all of us made sure we were at the venue early to help out with the final preparations. It was a nerve-wrecking preparation because we have been waiting for the day to come for months. And standing in the ballroom that morning, we could only anticipate for the final outcome of our hard work when the first person stepped into the resort at 7pm.

Performers and crew members waiting for the event to commence after the final rehearsal.

Ivan Kang (IT & Multimedia) coordinating his work for the big night.

Jojo Tan getting her make-up done by our sponsor, APIIC Academy.

Door gifts all lined up for every guest.

Ambiance at the dinner tables all set for the most anticipated night.

When the clock struck 7, the organizing committee put on our proudest smile and welcomed the guests to a Vegas ballroom, furnished with red carpet entrance, Glam Cam stage, casino tables and cocktail tables at our Pre-event Area. Then we kicked off the prom with a guest performance by Ask Me Again, a rising local celebrity band. Without any further due, our Vice Principal Mr. Alfred Wong and the President of Malaysian Mental Health Association (the charity body our proceeds of this event would go to) presented their speeches. The officiating ceremony was accompanied with a magnificent laser light show, confetti cannons and superb music, followed by a line-up of awesome performances by college talents, whom we have scouted for months. In between the performances, we had so many lucky draws and gimmicks to keep the crowd entertained. Various awards for the best photographs at Glam Cam stage, best dressed among the guests and favorite performer of the night were presented. Not forgetting, we picked our gorgeous pair for the biggest titles of the night: Mr. and Ms. Glitz & Glamour 2010!

Guests having a good time playing cards during pre-event session.

Fun - and safe! - gambling at the casino table.

Nicholas Chow loving our Vegas theme!

Lecturers (Mr. Francis and Ms. Jaime) enjoying themselves at the Glam Cam stage.

The officiating ceremony on stage. From left: Principal Dr. Lisa Tan, President of Malaysian Mental Health Association Datin Ang, Vice Principal Mr. Alfred Wong and emcee Justin Janath.

A great night with fun crowd, marvelous agenda and finger-licking food!

A dynamic dance performance by three-Malaysian-born-Filipino-sibling dance crew, with the name MooVe Crew.

Winners of The Best Photograph award for an epic pose at the Glam Cam stage.

Night's favorite impromptu performance by talented beat boxer and dancer from college: Mu'adz and Dennis Yin.

One of the many lucky draw winners!

Acoustic performance by Black Ribbon, singing to us a collection of the latest pop hits!

Romantic dance with a special one to conclude the night =)

The words and photographs in this one post surely couldn’t summarize the amazing night that we had. We had a lot of agenda to keep the crowd occupied till past midnight. Nevertheless, there are so many more memories of the prom that only those present at the prom could appreciate and treasure. The organizing committee is really proud of the success of this event and on behalf of the entire team, I thank all who have contributed in any way possible to make the event one of the nights of our lives.

Special thanks to Alice Tan and Ivan Kang for the photographs attached in this post!

It’s the end of my holiday already. Holiday again? Yes. Holiday again. In conjunction with Hari Raya celebration, the college had a one-week academic block. So after only three weeks of studies, we were allowed to go for a one-week break break. Actually, we have a lot of holidays in Fall this year. When we started the semester, we had one day off for Nuzul al-Quran. Then in Week 2, we had another day off for Independence Day. After this Hari Raya break, we will anticipate for Deepavali break and Hari Raya Haji in November and Awal Muharam during Final Exam Week.

These weeks, I have been posting mostly on living in Malaysia. In this post, I would like to share a little again on an upcoming celebration. This time, there is no federal holiday, it doesn’t directly involve all Malaysians, and it is not a celebration of the largest racial group in Malaysia. It is Mooncake Festival, a celebration by the second largest racial group in Malaysia: the Chinese. Actually, Mooncake Festival is more commonly known by the Chinese as Mid Autumn Festival (zhong chiu jie) but among the English-speaking community, it is often regarded as Mooncake Festival or even Lantern Festival. This year, the celebration falls on September 22, 2010 (coming Wednesday).

Since Wednesday is a weekday and everyone is either studying or working, my mom and her childhood friends called for a gathering in conjunction with the festival today. We gathered in late evening for a steamboat dinner before proceeding with mahjong sessions for the adults while the youngsters watched television. Actually, we were supposed to play lanterns but it was raining so we stayed indoor instead. We spent the night exchanging stories and strengthening bonds. This is how Mooncake Festival is celebrated normally; we spend time with our loved one.

Last year's Mooncake Festival celebration with my boyfriend's family.

My sister learned how to make "snowskin" mooncake this year we had homemade mooncakes for gifts to family and friends.

This is the conventional mooncake, which we always see in the market. Besides the conventional ones, we have variations like "snowskin" mooncake and jelly mooncake.

Besides the innovation in the mooncake itself, the packaging has transformed over the years too. Unlike the cardboard-made box you see in the photograph above, the mooncakes used to be sold in steel boxes for many years. Now there's even Doraemon house-look-alike box that kids can play with after eating the mooncakes.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Hi, everyone! In this week’s blog, I would like to share about my meaning of Hari Raya Puasa in Malaysia. I learned that this Muslim celebration of the end of Ramadan month has different names around the world. In the United States, it is known as Eid al-Fitr but in Malaysia, we call it Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Aidilfitri or just Hari Raya; Hari Raya means Day of Celebration. We Malaysians celebrate Hari Raya throughout the month of Syawal but only the first two days are observed as federal holidays. This year, the first day of Hari Raya fell on September 10, 2010.

The date of celebration is determined through observation of new moon at the end of Ramadan month. The date varies every year and as the year passes, the celebration keeps coming earlier. There was once Hari Raya was in the first quarter of the year, close to Chinese New Year celebration. With these two major celebrations almost coinciding, that year’s Hari Raya and Chinese New Year was given the label Kongsi Raya (Kongsi from Gong Xi Fa Cai of Chinese New Year and Raya from Hari Raya). Then in a more recent year, Hari Raya was celebrated when Deepavali was around the corner so what did we call the celebrations? Deepa Raya. This kind of naming is unique to Malaysia and I feel proud to be part of this uniqueness.

Every year, there are a few things that keep all Malaysians excited during the festive seasons. One of the anticipations would be nation-wide sales (because we just love to shop!) and as – mentioned in one past blog – festive food (because another hobby of ours is eating!). But what I am going to mention now is the decorations in one of our favorite past-time places, the shopping malls. Every year during major festivals, major shopping malls in the country would be in a rat-race to have the best festive decorations in their malls. It is always interesting and exciting to visit the malls, not just to enjoy the discounts, but also to be critical judges of mall decorations. This year, I visited AEON Bukit Tinggi in Klang, Sunway Pyramid in Petaling Jaya, and Midvalley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur. I didn’t take any photographs during my visit (my bad) but I searched through the internet to attach some photographs taken by some netizens for sharing here.

A traditional Malay house in AEON Bukit Tinggi. In this photo, part of the decoration was covered by an event backdrop. Source: http://steventeng.com/

Garden theme decoration in MidValley Megamall. This photograph was extracted from a news article on mall decorations by The Star Online.

Paddy field in One Utama, Petaling Jaya. I did not visit One Utama but found out that this is one of the most discussed decoration this year. Source: http://rachelteng2.blogspot.com.

Train station, symbolizing balik kampung (back to hometown), in Sunway Pyramid. For a blog post and more photographs on this, go to http://warlordsarmoury.blogspot.com.

Lastly, I would like to highlight one uniques practice of Malays in Malaysia during Hari Raya. Other than the normal practices like going for a morning prayer, celebrating Hari Raya in hometown, visiting the grave of loved ones, giving and asking for forgiveness from elderly and organizing “open houses”, the Malays here adopted a festive practice of the Chinese to give red packets or ang pao. Instead of red packets, the Malays use green packets and call them “duit raya” (duit is money).

Selamat Hari Raya! (“Wishing You a Joyous Hari Raya”)