Cross-Cultural Conversations

Observations by a Malaysian studying in Australia

Made in Sweden

I accompanied my mum to the spanking new Ikea, which, in accordance with the Malaysian obsession at breaking records, is the largest in Asia.

The good looking furniture designs notwithstanding, the thing I really like about Ikea is how they subtly promote everything Swedish in their stores, from the very apparent blue-and-yellow-coloured EVERYTHINGS (the corporate logo, the shopping bag, the sign arrows), the Swedish-named furnitures and of course, Swedish meatballs (and the mini Swedish flag poked on top of the meatballs), without overwhelming us as if we’re trapped in a sort of right-wing display of nationalistic Swedish pride.

At home and deciding where to place what must be our 100th Ikea-bought item, I realised our house could very well be one of the display homes at Ikea’s store.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 17:32 | link | comments (1) |

Nobody Loves Me

It’s been 5 days since I came back home for the term break, and I realise why I moved out of the house in the first place. Our two cats, Bali and Comot, get precedence over me on the sofa chair, they eat salmon as part of their daily diet while I’ll be lucky to have sambal ikan bilis (chilli anchovies), and my mum insists on switching the air conditioning on when we’re out of the house so that those two wouldn’t “get hot” inside.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 04:47 | link | comments (1) |

Size Matters

I was watching a Globe Trekker program on Australia, where the host was visiting the Blue Mountains in Sydney. She was told by the tour guide that the Blue Mountains region is “about the size of Belgium.” I remember one time when I was watching another travel documentary (because I’m such a sucker for documentaries) that there is a cattle farm in Western Australia “bigger than Belgium.” In fact I once read that Maryland was also, surprisingly, around the size of Belgium. Belgium must be a very perfectly-sized country to be so frequently compared to so many other places.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 10:20 | link | comments |

My Love Of Prizes

This morning I participated in a walkathon held in my residential area. I severely underestimated the physical input needed to merely walk fast. It was in fact harder than jogging as you have to control your leg movements; you simply need to go as fast as you can in a jog. It’s a lot like walking uphill and down, it’s actually more strenuous to perform the latter.

I managed to get third position out of 50, which I thought was respectable given that it was my first experience. For that I received a bag. The prize itself was nothing to shout about; it was the prize-giving ceremony itself that got me excited. I’ve always loved prize-giving ceremonies, probably because I rarely get the opportunity to be apart of them.

“I’d like to thank my parents for supporting me, especially my mum; if she hadn’t woken me up three times this morning, I might not have won this, let alone be here at all today.”

posted by: Tembaga2 at 17:42 | link | comments |

The Big Barbie

Two days ago we had House Athletics. My House decided to hold a barbeque, or barbie as it’s called over here, as part of our Community Service Program. Proceeds would go towards buying school equipments for Papua New Guineans. I was one of those in charge with grilling the meats. As I was so preoccupied watching the runners, I forgot to flip the meats over. As a result, the side facing the grill were burnt. Being the entrepeneurial genius that I am, I simply left the other side (the better, non-burnt side) facing upwards when the customers started coming. One customer, a teacher, commented that the meat was “ very nicely cooked”. If only she had seen the meat I’m pretty sure she would’ve said something less kind.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 04:43 | link | comments (2) |

Close Encounter

Last night a friend and I went to my second dream girl's house to return something I borrowed. We were at the fence-gate searching for the doorbell, but there was none. My friend told me that over here, apparently the doorbell is installed outside the house itself, so that a visitor would open the gate, enter the compound and then ring the bell. I found this a bit weird since in Malaysia the doorbell is installed at the gates themselves.

My friend entered the compound while I remained standing outside the gates as I would've felt like a thief entering someone else's compound without them knowing. He found the doorbell, and so I quickly went in. I rang the bell, anxious to see her, and then a dreadful thought came- the person answering could just as well be her grandad or worse, her giant of a father.

"Who is it?" came the sweet and more importantly, female voice behind the door. She opened the door. I smiled. I gave her the thing I borrowed, we talked for a bit, and then we said goodbye.

If I had known her mother would be the one answering the door, I wouldn't have bothered to shave.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 10:55 | link | comments (2) |

A Pain In The Ass

Today I discovered I had a zit on the left side of my ass. It hurts so much I had to lift that side slightly up and sit in a position inclined to the right side, which turned out to be just as painful. The worst part is that since the zit's situated at the bottom-back side of my body, I am unable to reach and pinch it myself. I asked my friend if he'd pop it for me, but unfortunately he refused. So here I am, left to suffer in silence.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 12:41 | link | comments (3) |

Deja Vu

Last April, 10 days before I were to fly off to Kuala Lumpur for the term break, the SARS epidemic exploded across Southeast Asia, started off in Singapore. There was talk that overseas students would have to be quarantined for 10 days upon their return to Australia. I was in a dilemma over whether I should go back to Malaysia, as I wasn't prepared to live in isolation for that long. In the end, I went back anyway, and it was a wise decision as it later turned out that I wasn't required to be quarantined as Malaysia wasn't a SARS-infected country.

Now, 6 months later, and exactly 1 week before I go back to Kuala Lumpur for the spring term break, it was reported yesterday that a Singaporean man was admitted to hospital for displaying SARS-like symptoms.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 09:36 | link | comments (2) |

Dream On

I had a dream of my dream girl last night. She was standing across to me at a fair distance, and we met each other in the eye. I couldn't take my eyes off her beautiful face, and she me. She started walking towards me. I was getting very excited at the prospect of talking to her for the first time. She was in front of me now, and she said, " Can you please stop staring at me?"

posted by: Tembaga2 at 05:14 | link | comments (4) |

Gas Works

I had a gas problem in class today. I desperately needed to fart, so I did. But to make myself conspicuous, whenever I feel like farting I would ever-so-slightly bend my body so that it will pass off silently. After a few seconds, I will pretend to sniff, look around left and right and give dirty looks to give the impression that I'm horribly disgusted with whoever it is that had the audacity to fart in public.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 05:34 | link | comments |

Under The Weather

For the past couple of weeks the flu has been going around in Melbourne and Geelong. More than half of the boarders have been sick. I've been able to escape the flu so far, and have without fail highlighted that great achievement to just about everyone, especially the sick people. Now I'm starting to cough and have a sore throat, which almost always will evolve into a fever. I've been going swimming for the past 2 days in the hope of exercising my way out of sickness. Yesterday however, I read that that was not only ineffective, it might actually bring the opposite outcome. You are most vulnerable to bacterial/ virus attacks right after an exercise, though i forget why. It probably has something to do with free radicals released during strenuous workouts. Right now the only thing I can do is eat lots of bananas. That, I'm pretty sure, can help ward off fever.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 01:50 | link | comments |

Can I Have An M For Multiculturalism, Please?

I was reading the Letters section of the Herald Sun and was attracted by a letter headlined "Don't Try To Change Aussies". It was written by an Indian immigrant who was outraged by the 'insensitiveness' of those Muslims in Australia who choose to retain their traditions and beliefs. "If I wanted to keep my Indian traditions and customs, then I would have gone to India. Likewise, if Muslims wanted to stick to their traditions and way of life, then they should have migrated to a Muslim country". I refuse to believe that you should only live the 'Indian' way of life in India.

It is fine for the writer if he/she wishes to discard his/her heritage, but to be offended by other people's choice to retain theirs is something else. Indians form a significant minority in Malaysia and I'm sure if they hadn't brought in their traditions and way of life with them and integrated it into Malaysian society my country would not be as fascinating as it is today. I cannot imagine a Malaysia without roti canai ( a local variant of chapati) or tandoori chicken, the glowing beauty of Saris or Hindi movies. They form such a vital part in our society.By bringing their culture and traditions, the Indians did not "change" other Malaysians, they simply enriched our lives and made it all the more interesting.

Likewise, I doubt the Australian way of life will change just because Muslims choose to practice their faith. There is a big difference between living your way of life and imposing them on others. I strongly disagree with the latter, but I have no problems with the former.The writer ended the letter with a strongly worded suggestion, that "if politicians in Australia don't come to their senses soon, Australia will become a Muslim country and then God help us all." God help us all? The writer made us sound like a bunch of marauding barbarians out to colonize the entire planet. I was not so much offended as I was saddened by the statement.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 12:09 | link | comments |

Women Are From Cocoa-Country, Men Are From Kindergarten

I had a huge headache after sitting in a packed bus for almost an hour. We just returned from an Economics excursion to the Toyota Plant in Altona. Now that I start to ponder, I'm not entirely sure if the bus trip was to blame or was it the noisy and bustling industrial activity in the factory which triggered it. But with such an excruciating pain in the back of my head I was in no position to do any pondering.

For some reason I didn't feel like eating a Panadol, so I decided to get some chocolates instead, since they're known to reduce headaches and I was feeling pretty hungry. However, after eating a Kit Kat and a cookies-and-cream Milkyway, my headache didn't subside. Chocolates do not cure headaches after all. But I could've sworn reading an article in one of my mum's women's health mags claiming that chocolates could alleviate headaches. Then I realised only those choc-obsessed women could come up with such a claim, and only us men could fall for such things.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 11:26 | link | comments (1) |

Of Rain And Lost Hopes

It rained for the 3rd straight day in Geelong today. I'm beginning to lose any hope of ever seeing the sun shining brightly in the glorious blue sky that I've always associated with Australia. To further dampen my spirit, the newspaper reported that Spring (which begins today in the southern hemisphere) is usually the wettest season in the Melbourne-and-surrounds region.

I realise rain is important especially here in Victoria which have suffered the worst drought in decades, but each time those tiny but torturous raindrops hit the surface of my skin it feels like I've been pierced mercilessly by icy spears of death. Well maybe not death, but it sure feels close to it. I think from now on I might have to start wearing jumpers and long pants.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 13:29 | link | comments (1) |