learning letter/Plan of action

Throughout this course, I have completed many blogs having to do with issues related to borders, culture, family, war, and more. This has had me doing research on these topics and comprehending these issues to put into my own words to understand what I am researching. I enjoyed researching these topics I had to clue or insight about. We read books to go along with these topics after we did research and this reiterated what we researched and opened my eyes to the world. I wasn't closed minded before, I just wasn't aware of all these issues going on in this world we live in. Our presentations were a great way to learn about these issues more in depth and specific topics within these. I now have so much more knowledge and can help open other people’s eyes with this knowledge. I think it is important for educators to take this class and explore these topics to have a better understanding of culture and what their future students may have possibly gone through before they came to the United States, or are currently involved in as far as culture goes.

The ideas of war and peace, culture, family, and geography and borders have so much information to be knowledgeable about. This class has opened my eyes to these topics that I had no knowledge on beforehand. I knew a little about family and culture from a previous class I took where we touched on it, but this class went very in depth with this and taught me a lot. I liked how we held discussions about each of these issues for students to share their views on these and we were able to talk through these tough topics and gain knowledge from our peers. Human trafficking is something that goes on in the city I live in and gets pushed aside. Crossing the border is something that goes on all the time and all that America does is talk about how this affects our country and doesn't bother to think about it from the other point of view and look at why these people are trying to come here, to live a better life. Within war, these soldiers want peace. “War is not soldiers fighting against soldiers; it is people fighting against people.” This happens to often and we don’t hear about how this affects other countries or how these U.S. soldiers are helping build schools and hospitals for these kids.

I thought I benefited most from reading these books and being able to converse about it with peers afterwards. This clears up any confusion, helps us talk through difficult topics, and gets others points of view. The guest speakers were phenomenal. It was amazing having someone who has experienced these issues first hand come in and share their life stories and how this impacted them. Throughout this course I came to realize that I can be a way better citizen in this world than I am. I go about my daily life and focus on that only and make sure I am doing what I am supposed to be doing and what society pushes me towards. I never stopped to think about kids in other countries or even people in my own who need a helping hand. I have volunteered at the homeless shelter on Thanksgiving and done other small contributions, but nothing steady to make a difference. I want to be a better citizen to this world and this course has definitely opened my eyes to all the different things I can do to do so. I can make this world better one kind act at a time. It is time to think about others and what I can do to help.

For my plan of action, I am committing to volunteering at the community center for helping victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence is something that occurs every day and to countless people. By volunteering, I can make a difference in their lives whether it is just having someone to talk to, helping run errands, or coming up with what to do next in their lives. When I move back to Tri- Cities, I will continue to do this at their domestic violence center. I will go to the provided workshops and participate in the fundraisers for this cause. 

Graffiti Wall

War and Peace

 “Be the peace and love you want to see in the world.” This is the most powerful quote I came across while researching war and peace. War and peace is never an easy topic to talk about. Peace is truly powerful as an individual. As I sit here and think about my views on war and peace, I feel as though I don’t have much of a say in anything as a whole. I do know that I can make the world a better place by my attitude and how I treat people. “Be selective in your battles, sometimes peace is better than being right.” I don’t have to be right all the time; I can be humble and peaceful. When our guest speaker Sean talked to us about his time in the military as a soldier, it made me start to think deeper into peace and war and what I really believe in and hold value to. The part that really hit home to me was when he talked about building schools for kids in Afghanistan and other countries. Out of the kindness of his heart, he went out of his way to do something nice for children that we are fighting war against their country. “They don’t want the war anymore than we do”, Sean stated. This explains why I included a picture of a soldier carrying an innocent kid away to safety. Even though these soldiers are there to fight war, they still promote peace with innocent children and have huge hearts. Sean also talked about how important education is and this has been embedded into my head all of my life. I completely agree with the quote by Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Last but not least, I included an American flag. I love my country and am extremely blessed with how easy I have it to live here compared to the other countries I have read about in A long Way Gone and Sold. After reading these books I feel like I have taken so much for granite. I didn't realize how spoiled I am to live in America and am blessed beyond words. 

A Long Way Gone

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah was definitely an eye opener. At the very beginning of the book it talks about how people assume war is too far away to be realistic. People make it seem like it is happening in a different land; even I find myself doing the same thing. What shocked me the most when reading this book was reminding myself that this isn’t even that long ago, it was happening when I was alive. Children walked 16 miles to save money; this is crazy to me. It makes me realize how lucky I am and how easy I have it in life. I complain about walking a couple miles let alone 16. A part in the book that I did research on beforehand was the rebels and their attack in the mining areas. Reading Ishmael Beah’s interpretation of this made it seem that much more real. Schools were closed and people ran around frantically trying to find their loved ones while rebels fired shots in the air and eventually at the people. I wonder why Ishmael and his older brother had such a distant relationship with their dad and why their step mothers always ended up ruining their relationships whenever they tried to get close. I cannot imagine being twelve years old and seeing the things that Ishmael saw, even at any age. He encountered people’s brains on the floor, limbs torn off, bodies in different areas from where they should be, and more. He was so brave throughout everything and I think this is the reason he survived. The hardest thing I had to read was when a woman was carrying her baby on her back, running for their lives when she got shot in the back and it killed the baby and when she stopped to grab the baby, it was dead with its eyes open. I don’t think I would be able to deal with that if I was that mother, I would feel so terrible. Nobody should have to see that or go through that. I felt so heartbroken for Ishmael when all he could think about was if he would ever see his parents again or his baby brother. My parents are my best friends and I don’t know what I would do if I was faced to deal with what he had to go through. This was so hard for me to relate to because I have never had to go through anything remotely close to what Ishmael had to go through. I loved how after everything, the boys were able to still crack jokes and have a sense of humor when their feet were all torn apart. This is what helped them stay sane; at least they had each other at this point. Thank goodness for good people like the man who helped them by catering for them and bringing them food when they were starving and couldn’t walk. I want to make a point to do nice things for people more often like this man did. You never know who it could impact. 

Sierra Leone and the Sierra Leone Civil War

In 1961, Sierra Leone gained its independence from the United Kingdom. In the years following the death of Sierra Leone’s first prime minister, Sir Milton Margai, in 1964, politics in the country was increasingly characterized by corruption, mismanagement, and electoral violence that led to a weak civil society, the collapse of the education system. When Siaka Stevens entered into politics in 1968 Sierra Leone was a constitutional democracy. When he stepped down, seventeen years later, Sierra Leone was a one-party state. In 1985, Stevens stepped down, and handed the nation’s preeminent position to Major General Joseph Momoh, a notoriously inept leader who maintained the status quo. During his seven-year tenure, Momoh welcomed the spread of unchecked corruption and complete economic collapse. With the state unable to pay its civil servants, those desperate enough ransacked and looted government offices and property. By 1991, Sierra Leone was ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world, even though it benefited from ample natural resources including diamonds, gold, bauxite, rutile, iron ore, fish, coffee, and cocoa. The Sierra Leone Civil War began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia, intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. The resulting civil war lasted 11 years, enveloped the country, and left over 50,000 dead. The SLA soldiers and government leaders were cruel and brutal. The tows people were transported to concentration camps. Civilians turned against them and joined a rebel cause. Some soldiers decided they had to chance so they joined this team called the “sobels”. This stood for “soldiers by day, rebels by night”. By 1993 this two forces became indistinguishable and nobody knew who was on whose side or who to trust. The Kamajors came into play and civilians trusted them. There title was to protect civilians and their family and homes. The kamajors went against the government and won so people joined their side and this quickly lead to corruption and murder. Soon the government was unable to pay both its civil servants or SLA. With senior government officials neglectful of the conditions faced by SLA soldiers, front line soldiers became resentful of their poor conditions and began helping themselves to Sierra Leone’s rich natural resources. This included alluvial diamonds as well as looting and ‘sell game’, a tactic in which government forces would withdraw from a town but not before leaving arms and ammunition for the roving rebels in return for cash. The war continued to drag on. On 18 January 2002, President Kabbah declared the eleven-year long Sierra Leone Civil War officially over. Several factors led to the end of the civil war. One is that the government demanded that the government of Liberia expel all RUF members, end their financial support of the RUF, and halt the illicit diamond trade. The Kamajors felt less threatened and quit fighting the SLA’s. Over 1,000 primary schools were destroyed during the war by SLA members. Fun fact: the movie Blood Diamond was based off of this war.

Revolution is Not a Dinner Party

The first thing I noticed is how far apart Ling and her mother are. Her mom seems to resent her own daughter and criticizes everything she does. It is hard for me to connect with this because my mom and I are so close. I am confused as to why Comrade Li is living with them still and if Li’s parents are communists or not. Are they trying to hide that they aren’t to Comrade Li? I can’t tell if they like him or agree with him, but I feel as though the mom secretly hates him. One thing from this book that directly related to the research I did ahead of time was the fact that before the revolution began, the streets were filled with schools, churches, modern hospitals, tall office buildings and more; sounding like what I am used to seeing around where I live. After the revolution started, the walls of the streets were covered with Chairman Mao’s posters and quotes and red flags. When Comrade Li and the other Red Flags took Mrs. Wong and threw her up on stage and made everyone watch as he tortured her, it made me think of how the Germans treated the Jews. I had no idea this happened let alone that it was this intense. I’m confused as to why all the doctors are disappearing. Is that too western for this new revolutionary movement? I don’t understand how Comrade Li could live with that family and they could help him out so much and yet he can still turn around and treat them so poorly. “Dear mother, Dear father, But nobody is as dear as Chairman Mao.” This is crazy to me how much they are into this guy who is terrorizing everyone. I was shocked to see that Niu turned on Ling’s family and turned into a Red Guard. I know he had to do this to stay alive, but really? Break inside their house and arrest the man who comforted him when his own parents got taken away. The mom runs to her room instead of comforting Ling like most other moms would have. I am against stealing but I have to admit I was happy when Ling stole that meat, especially after all the Red Guards ate well and everyone else starved. I also found myself smiling when I read about her sticking up for herself not only at the market but at school when those boys kept picking on her and beating her up. I am just nervous for what is to come of her now. Probably the most interesting thing I read was the crying for Mao. They had to cry for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. If they didn’t cry, they were arrested. I wonder how this worked. Did they set a timer and say you may now cry? How do people cry on demand? I couldn’t be happier when they turned against Comrade Li, it was about time. I just find it shocking how fast everyone can turn against someone whom they have been worshiping for so long. 

Chinese Cultural Revolution

The Chinese Cultural Revolution has had a huge impact on China since this movement started in 1965. This social-political movement was started by Mao Zedong, who was then the chairmen of the communist party of China. The goal was to enforce communism by removing capitalist and traditional cultural movements in the Chinese society. This movement ruined China politically and affected the country economically and socially. Mao insisted that the revisionists be removed through violence and this resulted into the youth forming Red Guard groups. This affected the military, urban workers, and the communist people. This created chaos and uproar and leaded to people being persecuted and publically humiliated, tortured, and harassed. Mao eventually tried to put an end to this in 1969, but it still lingered on. On September 9, 1976, Mao Zedong died. To Mao's supporters, his death symbolized the loss of the revolutionary foundation of Communist China. When his death was announced on the afternoon of September 9, in a press release entitled “A Notice from the Central Committee, the NPC, State Council, and the CMC to the whole Party, the whole Army and to the people of all nationalities throughout the country” the nation descended into grief and mourning, with people weeping in the streets and public institutions closing for over a week. The effects of the Cultural Revolution directly or indirectly touched essentially all of China's population. This Cultural Revolution brought a lot of Red Guard to Beijing with everything paid for by the government. Buildings, artifacts, antiques, books, and paintings were destroyed by these Red Guards and quotes of Mao’s were printed instead. During this time, China’s education system didn’t exist anymore. Educated youths were sent to live and work in agrarian areas in order to understand the role of “manual labor” in Chinese society. So in other words, the educated youth were being punished for having an education and trying to better themselves. 

The People’s Republican of China (PRC) is a sovereign state located in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. The PRC is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the capital city of Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC) a separate entity. China is the world’s second- largest country by land and area. Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China has become one of the world's fastest-growing major economies. As of 2013, it is the world's second-largest economy and is also the world's largest exporter and importer of goods. China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world's largest standing army, with the second-largest defense budget. China suffers from water shortages and overpopulation despite being a leading investor. China has been in many disputes involving land borders and undefined borders with India and Bhutan and is also involved in disputes over islands in the East and South China Seas. It seems like China has a lot of unresolved issues. 

US immigration policy

The U.S. immigration law is extremely complex. The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), the body of law governing current immigration policy, provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants, with certain exceptions for close family members. The president and congress determine a separate number for refugees. The following determine how the U.S. immigration policy is set up; the reunification of families, admitting immigrants with skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy, protecting refugees, and promoting diversity. There is no limit on immediate relatives which include the spouse of the U.S. citizen, unmarried minor children of U.S. citizens, parents of U.S. citizen, you must be 21 to potation as a parent. There are more than 20 types of visas for temporary nonimmigrant workers. These include L visas for intracompany transfers, P visas for athletes, entertainers and skilled performers, R visas for religious workers, A visas for diplomatic employees, O visas for workers of extraordinary ability, and a variety of H visas for both highly-skilled and lesser-skilled employment. Many of the temporary worker categories are for highly skilled workers, and immigrants with a temporary work visa are normally sponsored by a specific employer for a specific job offer. The Diversity Visa lottery was created by the Immigration Act of 1990 as a dedicated channel for immigrants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Each year 55,000 visas are allocated randomly to nationals from countries that have sent less than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous 5 years. Of the 55,000, up to 5,000 are made available for use under the NACARA program. This results in a reduction of the actual annual limit to 50,000. To be eligible for a diversity visa an immigrant must have a high-school education (or its equivalent) or have, within the past five years, a minimum of two years working in a profession requiring at least two years of training or experience. In order to qualify for U.S. citizenship through naturalization, an individual must have had LPR status (a green card) for at least 5 years. Applicants for U.S. citizenship must be at least 18 years old, demonstrate continuous residency, demonstrate “good moral character,” pass English and U.S. history and civics exams, and pay an application fee, among other requirements.

If I am comprehending this correctly, then if you marry a legal citizen of the U.S. then you automatically become a citizen yourself? The visas are based on what you want to do when you come to the United States such as work force or religious reasons. I wonder how hard it is to get a green card and how long those last and if they vary? How to they judge “good moral character” in someone? I have looked at a few of the questions they ask you in the English and U.S. history and civics exams and I didn’t know any of them and I was born in the United States. I am also curious how much the fee is that they have people pay. 

Crossing the Wire

I could never imagine going through what Victor went through ay any age let alone fifteen years old. I personally have never had to experience providing for my family or starving and dying of thirst. This book really gave me a whole new outlook on life and a new perspective. I am thankful to have been born in the United States and not have to go through all the trouble Victor did just to stay alive. One thing that took me by surprise was how strict border patrol is. I had no idea they had helicopters and night vision goggles and were so uptight on people crossing from Mexico into the United States. When Victor fell off the train and had to go to the hospital, I thought for sure he was going to be sent back to Mexico. It was sad that after all that effort, Miguel was captured by border patrol and had to start all over again. When Victor spotted Rico at the soup kitchen, I couldn’t be more excited for him to have his best friend back in his life and help each other through this hard journey. I had a feeling nobody would be at the brother’s house when they arrived; it just seemed too good to be true. Finally finding work and sending home money to his family had to be the best feeling in the world. This is what he had worked so hard for and suffered to do so. I am worried that the money is not going to get to Victor’s mom in Mexico. I don’t know how wiring money works from country to country, but I have a feeling some people who work at the post office where they wire the money might take advantage of it or somewhere along the way it could get lost. At least when Rico returns home he can let Victor’s mom know he is doing well and sending money in her direction. I hope he continues to keep his job and is able to send money to his family. I hope school turns out good for Rico and his family can survive on what they have there.

I have gotten to know people who are from Mexico and currently have family living in Mexico and heard about their journeys. They come here to make a better life for themselves and be a contributing citizen and yet our government treats them terrible. It is so hard to become a citizen here and I don’t even know most of the answers to the questions they ask when taking your citizenship test and I was born and raised here. To hear their stories about how family members have been deported is heart breaking and how they are handcuffed and legs tied together and treated like animals and dumped off in Mexico. They are treated like animals; it is not ok at all. I think it would change a lot of people’s views and perspectives if they read this book.

Sold

The first thing that caught my attention was when Lakshmi started her period for the first time and had to hide out for seven days till she had been purified. She was told never to look a man in the eye and to never be alone with another man besides her family. This is so different then what I am used to. For starters, there is no purifying done after girls start their period and in America we see that as being disrespectful if you do not look someone in the eye, man or women. Girls and boys are friends and so are men and women, they are treated equal. They must wait to eat till after their husbands have eaten and if he burps, that means you have satisfied him. Women have to have sex with them if he wants to and on his terms. That is not the case in a lot of situations in America. Lakshmi thinks she is doing her family good and working as a maid for a rich family, little does she know what is going to happen to her. Her own step father sells her off and doesn’t even seem guilty or feel bad about it. The mother is sad, but still lets it happen. I know that this is their culture but it still made me sick to my stomach to think about. Women are assigned temporary husbands and must obey to them or else they will get beaten to nearly death and their heads shaved so everyone is aware of the crime they have committed. I can’t imagine being assigned a husband and having to obey his orders, I would of tried to run away I think. I was so proud of Lakshmi when she bit the guys lip as hard as she could and ran off. I knew what was happening right when I read about the red cloth being hung from the door frame and the grunts happening in the rooms. Lakshmi takes beatings for days and even starves herself to protest when finally Mumtaz gives in. She has Ama feed Laksmi this drink that made her in a daze and not aware of what was going on entirely and unable to defend herself. I wanted to puke when reading about her first time with Habib. His nasty comments and how vulgar he was. Habib rapes Lakshmi while she is under this spell and sits there and cries. After Lakshmi had been with men she was no longer a virgin and her cost was lower. She now had to share a room with other women while they were victims of sex trafficking as well. The cost of a coco cola was the same price men paid for her. She had to pay Mumtaz back for everything you can think of an until then, she had to have sex with nasty men to earn this money to do so. Lakshmi finds out that this whole time, the money she made that she thought was going to her family, is going straight to Mumtaz and her family isn’t seeing a rupee. A nice American man comes in and shoes Likshma a bright future where she didn’t have to do these things. He comes back for her and turns out he is a policeman and arrests Mumtaz. I couldn’t feel more relieved for Lakshmi I was so happy for her I wanted to cry. I can’t believe she went through so much at the age of 13 and 14. 

human trafficking, Nepal, and India

Nepal is located in South Asia and is bordered by India and China. Nepal used to be known for their exporting of blankets and predominantly practices Hinduism. Nepal's economy continues to grow and agriculture plays a huge role in this, such as growing tea, rice, wheat, corn, sugarcane, milk, and root crops. The primary means of transportation is walking and the average walk to and from work is two hours each way. People hand make things such as satellite dishes and means of communication. The literacy rate has increased quite a bit in the past 15 years and the male literacy rate is higher than the female literacy rate by almost 20%. Education starts at age five and goes through eighth grade. Secondary education for grades 9-12 becomes hard. More than half of the primary students to not enter secondary schools, fewer girls than boys. Nepal has six universities. Public health services in Nepal are provided by the public and private sectors. It is not uncommon to not have a toilet in your household and your primary source of water is tap water. Disease prevalence is higher in Nepal than other Asian areas especially in rural areas. Some of these include; diarrhea, goiter, leprosy, gastrointestinal disorders, and intestinal parasites. There has been a lot of issues with hard drugs in Nepal and they are thinking there may be drug trafficking happening. Human trafficking is a major problem in Nepal. These victims are trafficked into India, the Middle East, and other areas such as Malaysia. They are forced to become prostitutes, domestic servants, beggars, factory workers, mine workers, circus performers, and child soldiers. As many as 10,000 women and girls are trafficked into India every year.

India too is in South Asia and is bordered by China, Nepal, Burma, and the Indian Ocean. The Indian economy is the eleventh largest by economy rates. The service sector makes up the most of the percentage, followed by the industrial sector and agricultural sector. Major agricultural products include; rice, wheat, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes. Major industries include; telecommunications, textiles, chemicals, biotechnology, steel, and mining. India is known for its religious diversity such as Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism, Islam, and Jainism. Family is very important in the Indian culture and often times parents will set up arranged marriages for their children. Child marriages are common, but the divorce rate is really low. There is quite a bit more males than females, but it is getting more even.

Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for sex and forced labor. Women and sometimes even girls, accept this as a better financial opportunity for herself and her family. Poverty and lack of education and economic opportunities may cause a women to get involved in human trafficking. Situations of those who are often victims of this are homeless, runaway teens, refugees, drug addicts, tourists, and drug victims.  Traffickers are known as pimps or madams and often promise their victims education, a better life, marriage, or employment and end up forcing them to become prostitutes and sex slaves.

narratives

Family is easily the most important thing in my life. I am an only child and am extremely close to my parents. They are my best friends and support me through everything I do in life. We spend a lot of time with each other and can always count on one another. I am also very close with my extended family members, but my parents are the two people I am closest to.

Antipasto has been passed down through my family on my mom’s side and is made every year around Christmas time. My grandpa is in charge of making it right now and it will continue to get passed down from generation to generation. Antipasto consists of way to many ingredients to list them all but some are; onions, tomatoes, green olives, garlic, cheese, and anchovies. It is red colored and we dip lays potato chips in it and use it as a dip every year.

I have been dancing as long as I can remember and it takes up a huge portion of my life even today. I was on a competitive dance team throughout middle school and high school and now am on Eastern’s Competition Dance Team. We compete in Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Contemporary and perform at school functions.

My mom’s side of the family is originally from Germany. My grandpa has told me stories growing up about what it was like to grow up in Germany and passed down stories his dad has told him. I like to hear about how he grew up and how different it is from how I grew up. He has passed down traditions he celebrated in Germany and I would like to continue these.

 Birthdays have always been such a big deal growing up. I can remember having a huge birthday party every year with all my friends and family and everyone was in such a great mood, enjoying themselves. We always had a cake and ice cream with as many candles as what age I was turning that year. Everyone sang happy birthday and since my birthday was usually in the summer, we usually had a pool party. 

Kampung boy

When Kampung Boy was born, his grandmother was the midwife and delivered him into this world. I thought it was interesting the father had to give the grandmother $15 for the delivery fee, even though they are family. On the 45 day after being born, it was tradition for the baby to have a shaving done by the grandmother, while neighbors and relatives gave the baby a bath then sang a traditional song. When young, mothers give their children baths in the kitchen and when they get of age, they bath in the river. I have heard of other countries doing this. Even at a young age of four, Kampung Boy was taking care of his baby sister, Maimuah, while his mom was busy. They seemed like they had a lot of responsibilities at such a young age, a four year old would never take care of an infant in America while the parents are away, it is illegal. Dad worked during the day then played with the children when he got home and before dinner, the children would wait patiently while their parents prayed. This reminds me of back in the day when the mothers would stay home and cook, clean, and take care of the children while the fathers are at work. They rode bicycles around, cars were only for people from other kampungs. At age six. learning became the task of the father. He took his son to a Koran reading class where it was a must for children to start learning Tajwid (the art of reading Arabic withe the correct enunciation). This is about the same age we start school here. Dad handed over the teacher glutenous rice and a fee of $1 and told the teacher that he was allowed to punish his child if needed. Tuan Syed was the name of the formal teacher. At the end of each month, Tuan would get paid for his services; either $1, 50 cents. or a plate of rice or sugar. This was shocking to me since we don't have to pay for our education in public schooling. The first time the boy stepped out of the Kampung was to attend a wedding of a relative of theirs, where they traveled in cars for the first time. It is tradition for bridegrooms to arrive late and only the groom was needed to sign the marriage papers. It cost $22.50 cash down to get married and that was handled right in the middle of the ceremony. After the wedding, the groom and his family would go to another house to rest and meet up later at the bride's place for a big feast, and a ceremony where the bride and groom sit on a platform. At 8:00 p.m. the bride and groom were ushered into their bedroom and left alone. It is frowned upon for people to dance unless they are bachelors. Women who danced were from another kampung and were called caberet girls. At the age of nine, children took classes to teach them how to pray and it is tradition to wash your face, hands, and feet before each prayer. At age 10 it was time to be circumcised. Here, if you are circumcised, it is usually done as an infant. I can't imagine being 10 and having that done. There was a family gathering and after the operation, they laid low for a few weeks. The boy went tin fetching, which was illegal if you were an outsider, and his dad was not happy to say the least. If you passed the examination, you could go to a boarding school. This is interesting, only the smart ones went on to school.

Malaysia

Malaysia is in Asia and has thirteen states. Land borders are tied with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunie. The capital is Kuala Lumpur and has a population of just over 28 million people. 50.4% are Malay, 23.7% are Chinese, 11% are Indigenous, 7.1% are Indian and 7.8% are other. The government is a federal constitutional monarchy, the Kind is Abdul Halin, Prime Minister is Najib Tun Razak, and the Deputy Prime Minister is Muhyidden Yassin. Since independence, Malaysia has one of the best economies is Asia and has expanded in tourism, science, commerce, and medical tourism. Interesting fact, they drive on the left side of the road instead of the right like we do here. Malaysia is the 67th largest country by total land area, and is separated into two parts. Malaysia citizenship is not automatically granted to those who are born in Malaysia, but it is granted to a child born of two Malaysian parents born outside of Malaysia. Every citizen is issues a biometric smart chip identity card that is issued to them when they turn 12 and they have to have it with them at all times. The education system consists of non-compulsory kindergarten and six more years of compulsory primary education, next is five years of optimal secondary education. Students sit for the Malaysian Certificate of Education Examination and students who completed the 12 month program in matriculation colleges can enroll in universities. The Malaysian constitution guaruntees freedom of religion, making Islam the state religion. About 61% of the population practices Islam, about 20% Buddhism, 9% Christianity, and 6% Hinduism. The official language of Malaysia is Malaysian, and English is the second language. Malaysia has a very multi-ethnic, multi-culture society. Influences come from Chinese and Indian culture, back from when the foreign trade began. Indonesia and Malaysia have some disputes about Indonesia protecting their national heritage since Malaysia and Indonesia share so many traditions, heritage, and culture. The national drink of the country is Teh Tarik and the national dish is Nasi Lemak. The most observed national holiday is Hari Merdeka which is Independence day on August 31st. Malaysia day on September 16th commemorates federation in 1963. Traditional Malaysian art consists of crafts, art, and weaving, ranging from hand- woven baskets to silverworks. Malaysians are know for their wooden masks, and their arts have really expanded recently. Each ethnic group has a specific performing arts that is unique to them, some overlap though. Malay art shows some North Indian influence, called mak yong, incorporating dance and drama. Different tribes from West and East Malaysia have different dances, depending on what other cultures brought influence to them, such as the Chinese bringing lion dances and dragon dances with them. Like arts, music is influenced by India, China, Indonesia, and Thailand, and consists of percussion instruments, the most important is the gendang (drum). Music is traditionally used for storytelling, celebrations of life, and annual events such as harvest. Oral literature such as folktales is a huge tradition. Each family will have their own unique story, depending on their family experiences. Malay poetry is huge and used in many different forms. The first Malay literature was in Arabic script.