UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY – Staci Tan

I normally updates my blog once a week on a Saturday but for a very special reason, I am updating it this time on a Tuesday, or more importantly, on August 31, 2010. The date probably appears insignificant to most fellow Peacocks in the US but in Malaysia, this is one date all Malaysians must know and are probably familiar with since we were small. It is Malaysia’s Independence Day.

Malaysia gained independence from the British on August 31, 1957 after hundreds of years of colonization, mainly by the British but most brutally by the Japanese and the Communist. Although Malaysia was not formed in 1957 (Malaysia was formed on September 16, 1963 with the merger of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak; Singapore left the federation in 1965. September 16 is now celebrated as a federal holiday, known as Malaysia Day), the date is the most significant date in the country to celebrate the hard-earned independence.

Independence Day celebration in my high school was massive but not in the college. Back in high school, Independence Day celebration was a month-long event. There were all sorts of contests in school; portrait sketching, choir, poem recital, class decoration, quiz, and many more. Every year, there would be one special day where we celebrate with speeches, performances, games and activities. It could be draggy at times but when I compare those celebrations with the mild ones we have in college now, I miss the moments in school, especially in my Senior Year when all Seniors dressed up in traditional costumes to school for Independence Day. We would sing aloud so many patriotic songs at the assembly area while waving the Jalur Gemilang, the Malaysian flag.

At national level, there is always a national parade, known as the Merdeka Parade (merdeka means independence in Malay). In the yesteryears, the parade used to be very massive. I remember staying close to the television on the morning of Independence Day to watch the colourful and interesting parade. But of course, one of the reasons I glued myself to the television was because my sisters were on television; the school band was always selected to participate in the huge parade – how envious. I don’t know if it was because my sisters were no longer participating in the parade, or I was no longer fascinated by the impressive procession, I stopped catching the parade on television as I grew up. But the parade did get smaller in the recent years though. The government started restricting the duration of the parade because of the fasting month that coincides with the celebration.

Besides the national parade, the Independence Day is celebrated with countdown concerts, parties, Merdeka sales, etc. One celebration that I would like to highlight here is the one by Astro. Astro is the most successful pay-tv in Malaysia. (I think it is the only one in the local market also because nobody dares to challenge its success.) This year, the broadcasting giant “celebrates Malaysia’s 53rd independence with the launch of ‘NEGARAKU, THE BEST OF 1MALAYSIA STORIES ON AIR’ (negaraku means my country in Malay), a stunning showcase of more than 150 titles and one new dedicated channel MySTORY, which goes live on 15 August till 16 September, 2010″ (Astro, 2010). As a Communication student, I admire their dedication in providing and highlighting quality local productions; I think their effort is a practical way to payback to the country in conjunction with Independence Day.

I am attaching some photographs I kept from my high school Independence Day celebrations. But before that, Happy Independence Day, Malaysia!

A photo of the school band and the advisors after Merdeka parade in 2007. I was in red barret because I was the Drum Majorette for the parade.

In 2008, my school requested the school band to perform in cultural attire. It was inconvenient during the marches but it was a memorable experience. I was in the background playing an alto saxophone.

In the Malaysian spirit, my Chinese friends wearing baju kurung, Punjabi suit and cheongsam for the celebration.

Smiling for the camera with one of my Malay band members after Independence Day celebration in college. I wore a Punjabi suit I borrowed from an Indian friend.

The Fall semester has started after a 3-week Summer break. Everybody returned to college with stories to share; of their part-time jobs, conquest of Malaysia’s tallest mountain, amazing trips within  the country or around the globe, and so on (before the college “shared” with us our results for Summer semester). But no matter how some of us hope to extend the holiday, we came back for yet another exciting semester. Some of the highlighted happenings in the semester will be Glitz & Glamour Ball 2010 (a ball organized by Fayette House and The Communication Club), Sports Day (a college event organized by Fayette House), Fayette House Election, Halloween celebration, American Degree Program (ADP) Week (a come-back from 2007’s successful ADP activity week), Graduation Day and many more!

Leaving college matters aside, I would like to share about a culture of Malaysia that I was recently participating in; it is related to the fasting of the Muslims in the on-going Ramadan month before Hari Raya sets in. No I did not join the Muslims to fast from dawn to dusk but I did join them when they buka puasa (break fast in Malay). I don’t know how the Ramadan is in other country but in Malaysia, because the Muslims constitute the majority of the population with Islam as the official religion, the significance of the Muslim’s fast is very apparent.

In the spirit of 1Malaysia, all races rush to Pasar Ramadan (Ramadan food bazaars), that lasts for the entire fasting month, to treat ourselves to the delicacies of the Malays. I have not visited one this year but I believe my mom will skip cooking one of our dinners these days to buy dinner from the Pasar Ramadan before these bazaars are no longer available after Hari Raya. But although I have not visited the bazaars, I have been enjoying some promotions launched in conjunction with the Ramadan! One of the most popular buka puasa promotions would be no other than McDonald’s. From 6pm to 9pm daily in the fasting month, McDonald’s offers the same great food with greater value; lower prices!

I guess consumers are not the only ones who are enjoying the promotional food during buka puasa; food outlets are also utilizing this period to earn extra by introducing buka puasa buffets! I went to Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Resort for a buka puasa buffet just now and was startled by the amount of people who were there to break fast (or to have dinner like yours truly)! I did not know how much the resort was charging per pax but I bet it wasn’t cheap, judging from the variety and amount of food they prepared but the place was still crowded with hundreds of starving diners (Muslims and non-Muslims). Look how happy everyone is during Ramadan.

Below are some photos of Malay cuisine taken from the buffet that I had. I didn’t take many photos and the photos taken didn’t represent the buffet well because there weren’t just Malay food there; there were many varieties of Chinese, Indian, and Western food. Malaysians just enjoy everybody’s food, you see.

As most of the 700 to 800 students of American Degree Program (ADP) here in Subang Jaya were enjoying their leisure time or working to earn some pocket money, a team of 27 students were dedicating their semester break to this year’s student-initiated college prom, Glitz & Glamour Ball 2010. The prom will be held on Oct 1, 2010 at Tropicana Golf & Country Resort, by the theme Viva Las Vegas. The prom is a collaborative effort of Fayette House and Communication Club. Although it is a prom for the entire college, be proud to learn that the masterminds behind this highlight of the year are ADP students – proud Peacocks of Upper Iowa University.

As I am leading the team (of only two members including me actually) for Events & Performances, I was busy meeting up with talented performers who expressed their interest to perform for the prom. And yes, we’ve found great talents, and many of them were from ADP. Their talents ranged from singing with angelic voices to dancing like machines, to playing in bands like superstars. I personally am excited to sit down with the rest of the committee to finalize the list of performers because I know it will be an exciting discussion. The competition is tough with many who came for audition but few performance slots for each genre to offer. But do not worry, we’ll arrange the best mix-up of performers to deliver a night to remember this Oct 1.

The official poster of this year's prom organized by ADP students with the support of the college.

It is the end of Summer break and everyone in ADP will be back in college on Monday. There are lots of things awaiting in ADP. Nevertheless, it will be another tiresome but fun-filled semester. Welcome back to fellow Peacocks and to those who are joining the happening family on Monday, welcome!

Not forgetting, a big part of Malaysia is fasting to countdown for Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Happy fasting to the Muslims!

After rushing through the short semester, I can finally slow down my pace and enjoy every minute I have in this three-week-long semester break. Instead of going through every day competing against time to complete tasks after tasks, I am now free to just sit back and relax. And I am excited to say that this holiday will be – and have actually been – different mainly because I have a driving license and a car to drive around with! I feel so independent that I am able to drive out to look for meals when there’s no food at home, to help my mom fetch my brother around town at times, and go shopping when I want to!

Actually I’m not a shopaholic and in fact, I am a horrible shopper. I always end up doing window shopping when my intention is to do some real shopping. I am pretty sure that’s one solid reason my family members never like shopping with me since they have to walk for hours and go home empty-handed. Now that I have the freedom to drive around town with my little car all on my own and with Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival going on now (from July 24 to Sept 16, 2010), I will try to empty my shopping list. It’s always more enjoyable to shop when there’s a sale and I can tell that Malaysia is nice place for some shopping spree. After all, sale is a periodic event here. We have major sales in mid-year and year-end as part of Malaysian government’s effort to boost tourism. Other than that, we have sales before every major festivals, like Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali, Christmas and Independence Day! A lot of times, these sales overlap because they are so close to one another. With that, there’s no doubt that sale is quite a normal occurrence in Malaysia but we still get hyped up when there’s a sale.

Source: http://www.tourism.gov.my/

Anyway, of course shopping was not all I did during my first week of holidays. As a matter of fact, it represented only a tiny fraction of my week spent. And now that one week has passed, I am looking forward to next week. It might be an eventful week.

My apologies for the missing post last week. The past week was finals week for Summer semester here in Malaysia so I was either busy preparing for finals or completing remaining assignments before finals came – and passed.

I guess the biggest highlight for the week before finals (the week I didn’t update the blog) was Public Speaking class’s drama presentation. I was taking the course and so I was part of the two teams that presented our dramas. There were two teams, namely The Monkeys and The Mafias, with around 24 members each; I was in The Monkeys. Our assignment was to recite a 30-min play on five moral values that each team has decided on at the beginning of the semester. Since the announcement of the assignment, both teams have been preparing for the play from scratch and successfully presented the product of our effort on July 22, 2010 (Thursday). I shared the same belief with the lecturer that everyone in the class benefited a lot from the drama. None of us displayed any sign of stage fright and we were really comfortable breaking through barriers to be someone we never would be off the stage. Anyway, the assignment contributes 20% of our final grade for the course and the lecturer gave both teams full marks for “a lot of hardwork and impressive performance despite the short semester.” It was a happy ending for everyone.

Me and Foon Yoong with some props for our drama presentation. (Mamak refers to Indian Muslim in Malaysia but in this context, it refers to food outlet serving Mamak food.)

Sandra Lee and me feeling relieved and delighted after drama presentation.

Kayley Choo displaying her name tag after drama presentation.

Foon Yoong and Leonora Lim fooling around with the wheelchair borrowed from the Nursing Department of college for the drama.

Group photo of all Public Speaking students and lecturer after drama presentation. (Photo credit to Simran.)

On the weekend before final exam week, I was invited back to my high school for its annual prefects’ gathering. The event was held yearly to bring together all prefects from schools within – and sometimes nearby – the district. It was also a time for ex-prefects, like yours truly, to reunite with the current prefects and disciplinary teachers who we once worked very closely with. Other than that, the event functioned as a platform for junior prefects to be exposed to event management before they take over the place of the senior prefects as the heads of the school next year. I insisted on attending the event because it would be my last year attending the event since the ex-prefects invitation is only applicable for ex-prefects of the recent two years. But nevertheless, it was an event worth attending; the event helped to reminisce the best – and worst – memories in school, especially those gathered in the prefectorial board.

Jia Nee, myself, Samantha Tew and Kah Fong after our high school prefects' gathering in the school hall.

When I look back at the final exam week, I felt that the week has passed in a glimpse of an eye. I only had two papers to sit for in this short semester; Introduction to News Reporting on Tuesday and Interpersonal Communication on Wednesday. Only God knows how I did in the two papers. The only thought in my mind after finals was to enjoy! And for the upcoming three weeks, my agenda would be mainly filled with leisure time since it’s semester break. Yay!

The semester has been rather quiet…until this week! Suddenly, everything was taking place at once. The American Degree Program (ADP) counter was always crowded with students as it was Pre-Registration Week for Fall 2010. Then, there was Fayette House fundraiser from Tuesday to Thursday, Chemistry and Investment showcases on Wednesday, Biology showcase on Thursday, and SEGi Revo Party on Friday. Not forgetting, I had to sit for a quiz for Interpersonal Communication class on Monday, deliver an informative speech for Public Speaking class on Tuesday and do a group presentation for Introduction to News Reporting class on Wednesday. Other than that, I attended several meetings due to my obligation to Fayette House and went for a few practices for my upcoming drama for Public Speaking coursework. It was a packed, packed week for everyone in ADP.

Mr. Chong, the lecturer for Chemistry and Biology, giving briefing to students during showcase.

Information on Lung Cancer displayed in Biology showcase.

The group members of "DNA Profiling in Solving Crimes" in Biology showcase.

Displays on one of the booths in Biology showcase.

Group members of "Evolution of Plants & Animals" in their adorable attires.

Display items of a booth on global warming.

Mr. Chong video recording presentation by students in Biology showcase.

Displays at "Breastfeeding" booth in Biology showcase.

Joel Vijay, an ADP student, enjoying fruits sold by Fayette House during showcase.

Group members of "Forex Game" in Investment showcase.

Students doing presentation of their project to Ms. Sham.

Learn investment through Monopoly!!

Student organizers of Investment showcase.

Next week will be another busy week for most students in ADP as all remaining assignments are due by the end of next week. The week that follows will be final exam week already so let’s anticipate for semester break after all the craziness!

And let’s end this post with a photograph of my two closest high school friends and me, taken during our little gathering in the past week.

Photo credit to Teo Chin Chi =)

Since the establishment of Fayette House as the student union of Upper Iowa University in the Malaysia campus, Fayette House has been celebrating US Independence Day yearly and there was no exception this year. Fayette House continued to play its role to bridge the American and Malaysian culture by organizing a barbecue-party on July 5, 2010 for the students in the Subang Jaya campus in conjunction with 4th of July.

Poster for US Independence Day Party.

On Monday, American patriotic songs, alongside with several folk songs, were aired at the territory of American Degree Program Department – the 10th floor of college. Then in late evening, Fayette House officers and student helpers started setting up the venue for the party at the entrance of the college. A small stage was put up complete with PA system that started blazing songs to bring up the party mood. There were American flags and posters of notable Americans around the stage and seats were arranged facing the stage. Tables for food and beverages were placed near the seats. A group of people were starting the fire for barbecue at one corner while another bunch of people were making a ring for games.

Mr. Francis, the advisor of Fayette House (front), at the barbecue pit.

Jojo Tan and Alice Tan patiently grilling their food for the night.

The highlight of the event was of course the fun of barbecuing over the barbecue pit but the side events were equally enjoyable. Two performances were arranged for the night but at the end of the night, there were well more than just two groups to perform for the crowd because so many people went up the stage to spontaneously give smashing performances; they sang, danced, told jokes, etc.

Performance by Beat Groovers Inc., the newly formed dance crew in college.

Rachel Voon singing "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus.

Quiin Yi performing with Ian Tan spontaneously.

Shaun Alan Goonting sharing some jokes with the audience.

Other activities that night included two contests – corn eating and chicken chase – and dodge ball. Corn eating was hilarious as contestants competed to finish two corns the fastest. Their jaws were aching as they tirelessly ate the corn but there was no time to slow down as the competition was fierce. Lettecia Ho the champion beat Kazeem the runner-up by just a few grains of corn!

Contestants, including Ms. Helena the ADP Head of Department (center), competing in Corn Eating contest.

Corn Eating contest.

Shiang Leit and Lettecia Ho (front) with another corn after winning the corn eating contest.

The second contest of the night, the Chicken Chase contest was even more hilarious than predicted when the chicken just didn’t want to move an inch; contestants were supposed to chase it! Even when the concept of the contest was changed to making the chicken chase the contestants instead of contestants chasing chicken, the chicken still stubbornly stood at the middle of the ring.

Chicken Chase contestants "persuading" the chicken to move.

It was a long night as some people grabbed the microphone and sang karaoke till a different group finished barbecuing the abundant of food prepared. It was midnight when the party came to an ultimate end. Many would have wished that they could go on the whole night but there were classes on the following day so we had no choice but to chase everyone home at midnight. It was no doubt a memorable night – and a crazy one for some.

Students mingling around at the party.

Students dressed up to the color of American flag for the party.

It was midterm week so there were no classes conducted throughout the week; though there was one replacement class for Interpersonal Communication on Wednesday. By right, I had to be in college on Tuesday afternoon only for my one and only midterm paper – Introduction to News Reporting but I still went to college from Monday to Thursday.

On Monday, I was in college to put up some American flags at American Degree Program (ADP) lounge area, in conjunction with the US Independence Party that Fayette House is organizing on this coming Monday night. I took my exam on Tuesday and went for a replacement class on Wednesday. After my class, I stayed back for a drama practice for Public Speaking class; one of our assignments was to act out a drama and so I was in college for my group’s drama practice. Then on Thursday, I went to college again just to attend yet another drama practice.

The week has been quite fun for me because although I had to sit for a midterm paper, I had ample amount of time to do some catching up with my high school friends since there were no classes. I almost went to a theme park with my friends until I realize concentrating on my midterm exam preparation was more important; almost went ice skating until a huge group of about sixty to one hundred primary (elementary) school kids entered the ring; practiced driving everywhere; went for a rather fruitful shopping alone; watched a movie; attended a high school reunion; went swimming; played badminton with high school friends and took valuable time off the busy college life. I feel kind of reluctant to resume classes on Monday because Monday is the beginning many busy moments to come.

Before ending the post for this week, let me share some photographs of my graphical notes that I prepared during my revision for Introduction to News Reporting. They helped me remember some important checklists.

Diagram for "Criteria for Newsworthiness".

Diagram for "Other Factors Affecting News Treatment".

Diagram for "Pitching News Stories to Editors".

It’s July 4 tomorrow! Happy Independence Day, America!

American Degree Program (ADP) Clubs Recruitment Week was an event initiated and organized by Communication Club last semester. The name of the event describes the function of it; for clubs run by ADP students to recruit members. Last semester, the event was carried out for one full week but due to time constraint in the short semester, the event went on for two days only this time. On Wednesday and Thursday from 9am to 3pm, ADP clubs like Communication Club, Christian Fellowship, Dance Club, AVES Cheer Squad and a few other clubs set up booths for the clubs. Besides recruiting students to join the clubs, some of the clubs were seen promoting events, and selling club t-shirts and merchandises. Based on my observation, the club that received the best response was Dance Club. The club was a new club formed just a few months back but has expanded in capacity in a rapid pace since establishment. Looks like a lot of students enjoy dancing and I see nothing bad with that. =)

The past week has been filled with lecturers throwing assignment deadlines and quiz dates to all classes. Results for Spring semester were also released, giving more tension to the students in the past week. But thankfully, my week was concluded with fun moments at Freshie Party organized Fayette House to welcome ADP (American Degree Program) students from March, April and May intakes! It is sort of like a tradition for Fayette House to throw a party every semester to welcome the freshmen and the party for Summer semester was conducted yesterday!

The party started at 11.30am, to accommodate students who had classes in the morning and ended with lunch at 1pm, to allow Muslim attendees to go for Friday prayers. The event did not just lure ADP freshmen but also caught the interest of freshmen from other faculties too. And even though it was a short game-based party, everyone in the party enjoyed making new friends and strengthening existing bonds.

One of the games of the day: The "Blanket" Game

Concluding game of the day: The "United" Game

When the challenge to unite and work together gets bigger...

Fun moments during punishment for losers.

One of the group punishments moment.

All attendees listening to the concluding speech.

Watching a video prepared by Fayette House.