Bubur Lambuk: More than Porridge

 

On the 30th of July, I went to the TTDI mosque with Bae and Jin.

I have already visited a number of mosques in Malaysia, this time I went there to get bubur lambuk. Bubur lambuk is a traditional rice porridge dish given out for free during the month of Ramadan.

It is cooked for several hours with chicken and a variety of vegetables. Bubur lambuk is very nutritious since it includes many herbs and spices that are good for the body.

The Volunteers scooping out the bubur lambuk into plastic bags

After a tiresome cooking session for three hours, the packaging process begins.
Volunteers in the mosque form a work line to scoop the porridge and pack them in plastics. The bubur lambuk is then distributed to the public after the afternoon prayer by the volunteers.

People are willing to queue up for hours in order to take home some of this traditional dish. The man who voluntarily took us to the mosque was Uncle Wan, who is a Muslim himself. He was foreign minister diplomat in Malaysia. It was by luck that I ran into him because he’s knowledgeable not only local but also foreign affairs.

Most of them were retirees who volunteer to do community service during their free time. I introduced myself to them: ‘I’m an eHomemakers Intern from Korea. Our organization help single mother through various ways.’

The Muslim volunteers also helped single mothers. They held a charity bazaar for single mother some time in early July, selling donated, unclaimed airport baggage. Before I met these people, I thought Muslim were very narrow-minded and aggressive people.

This was reasoned through rumours and news about religious strife and inequality for women. However, the Muslims whom I met were very humorous and open-minded. Even though they were dissimilar from my religion, I was impressed by their charity. Although I didn’t see how they made bubur lambuk, I really enjoyed talking with them.

Malaysia is a multicultural country which consisted of various race and religion. When I first arrived in this country, I was very confused about this multicultural society.

How can they live together in harmony when there are so many differences, so many traditions and so many cultures? Therefore, during my stay in Malaysia, I shall devote some time and effort to understand as many as possible.

Different race: Mutual respect

Different religion: Tolerate

Different culture: Understand

Blogged by Lisa Seungyeon Kim

말레이시아는 정말 다양한 인종, 다양한 종교가 있는 나라이다. 다양함이란 의미속에는 특별히 우대받는 사람도 있고, 소외 받는 사람도 있음을 의미한다. 높은위치에 있건 낮은위치에 있건, 내가 만나온 사람들은 환경에 불평하기보다는 각자 자신이 맡은 자리에서 열심히 노력하며 살고 있었다. 말레이시아에 거주한지 40여일이 지났다. 그동안 내가 가지고 있었던 편견에 대해 조금씩 깰 수 있는 계기가 되었길 바라고, 나 또한 이곳에서 좀 더 성장했을거라 믿고 싶다.

The Amazing Durian Buffet!

After dinner at a Malaccan restaurant, we encountered durian stalls on the way home.

It is the first time I’ve seen a durian buffet… We still cannot forget the first smell of durian. However, we have had some training on the smell of durian for several times during our series of durian torture. We were feeling good as we had a wonderful dinner so we built up our courage.

“BE BRAVE!” I told myself as we headed to the durian stalls.

Picture 1 and 2: Durians… Many types of DURIANS!

We stared at the mountain of durians…. We picked one. The ‘waiter’ cut it open and we ATE it.

This is the second most unique thing I’ve seen in Malaysia, second to the pineapple tree in the Police Station we walk through every day.

Durian waiters picking a durian for us

The crowd at the roadside buffet

Here is the King of Fruits

Many people there were enjoying the durians slowly as it was an eat all you can buffet.

This street was blanketed in the pungent durian scent. In spite of tropical country, Malaysian love durian which is a fruit that generates heat. Ms Chong told us that to counter the ‘heaty’ effect of the durian, they eat mangosteens which have a ‘cooling’ effect.

This explanation was very strange to me!

BTW, if you ever want to eat durian:

1.     You have to be BRAVE enough to approach the stalls.

2.     You have to endure its pungent smell.

3.     You have to be able to swallow a bite!

PS: It’s not as easy as it sounds…  

However, if you’re game for it, you can head out to SS2 or Petaling Jaya. Bring Ms Chong along as there are many types of durians. (Not all are ‘sweet’)

You could also search a stall up at: http://www.durianss2.com/flash/main.htm

Small note: Durian season is around now. There are tons of durian types as quoted by the waiter: ‘’ We have D2, D101, D24, D88, Jiu Ji, Raja Kunyit, Tawa, Thraka, Udang Merah and Mas Pahang. Come join the durian fest and eat all you can!’’

Blogged by Bae SeonJin.

PT Foundation Charity Night

Past Tuesday, we went to the Laugh Yourself Red which was held by PT foundation for volunteer support. Lucy, one of the staffs of ehomemakers drove us to Taman Bahagia station. From there, we took LRT to Central Market. On the LRT, we saw severe traffic jam in KL. We walked through the Central Market. We saw many people on the street were drawing portraits.

We had dinner in KFC. That was the first time I had chicken rice at KFC because in Korea, there are only chicken and hamburger. Bae only had coleslaw and a chicken burito while Choi only had potato wedges with CHEESE. We had a quick lunch because we needed to be back fast.

After having dinner, we started to serve food at the food bar. There was lamb curry, fried chicken, vadai and curry puff and packets of rice. It was tough speaking english to the local people without help.

Two comedians made jokes about K-pop. They said k-pop is not real music. Although I couldn’t agree with them, I could know K-pop has been spread all over the world including Malaysia.
After the show finished, we returned back home in a taxi. The night out was exhausting and it was a very good experience.

Blogged by Sohee Lee

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This was taken from The Star on Thursday, 12^th July.

Night of laughs raises RM15,000 to aid fight against HIV

By: Terence Toh
KUALA LUMPUR: From quiet chuckles to loud guffaws, two young men had the crowd in stitches laughing for more as they took the stage with their humorous take on a serious topic HIV/AIDS.

Comedians Douglas Lim and Kuah Jenhan joined the battle against the disease by helping to raise RM15,000 in a night of laughs to help children, women and men affected by HIV/AIDS here on Tuesday.

The event, Laugh Yourself Red, was held at the DoPPel Kafe at Central Market Annexe and organised by PT Foundation (previously known as Pink Triangle), a community-based organisation providing information, education and care services relating to HIV/AIDS and sexuality.

The show, emceed by former Miss Malaysia Elaine Daly, had the two funnymen giving humorous anecdotes about the misconceptions people have about HIV/AIDS and delighting the audience with their witty wisecracks and humorous observations of Malaysian life.

“Malaysians are the only people who can plan their dinner when having their supper,” Kuah joked. “We are also the only people who can direct people from one location to another using eateries! I can tell you how to get from Sri Petaling to the centre of town just by using eateries!” he said.

“In most English-speaking countries, we can either beat someone up, or knock someone down. Only in Malaysia, however, can we whack someone upside down'!” Lim said, illustrating the unique way Malaysians speak.

The night ended with a song he wrote to tease fans of Korean popular music, titled I Hate K-Pop.

PT Foundation communications executive Laika Jumabhoy said they chose comedy to spread the message about HIV/AIDS because “there is power in laughter.”

“Douglas and Jenhan are young Malaysians with a powerful voice in the community.

“They dare to make a difference with the PT Foundation, which is why we decided to work with them.”

Laika said young Malaysians, aged 13 to 29 formed 35.9% of all new AIDS infections in the country due to lack of awareness and their tendency to engage in high-risk behaviours.

My First Pot Luck Party

Last Sunday, We had a pot luck party. Pot luck party is a simple party where everyone brings some food and have fun. Since pot luck party is not a common in Korea, it was my first experience.

Also, we made some brownies with assistance from Rhonwyn as I’ve never made brownies before. It was great, new experience.

By preparing food and sharing it, people become closer. Also, pressure on the host in preparations for meals can be reduced.

When I go back to Korea, I want to try hosting a pot luck party with my friends.

Blogged by Sohee Lee

A Visit to Montfort Boys Town

After an eventful first day in office, we were tasked to do some field work on our second day in internship. Today I shall be accompanied by Lisa, another South Korean intern for the task that lies ahead.

Our destination was Montfort Boys Town (MBT). We were tasked to key in their contact list into their database and assist them in using our DWMA program. I was worried as it is my first field task.

MBT was established in 1959 by four pioneering brothers. MBT was purposed to be a house for underprivileged boys such as orphan and the poor. Also, Montfort Boys Town provides education in vocational skills such as baking, cooking, sewing, engineering and IT training in hopes that one day these boys will be financially independent.

In the present, Montfort Boys Town is home to approximately 200 boys and 40 girls. In my country, there is no such system like this; therefore, going to MBT was a really good experience for me.

Since MBT was so far from eHomemakers, CEO of MBT, Mr. Chin Kin Onn came here to pick us up at 10a.m. He has a good smile, and also is really humorous. We got into a car and headed for MBT.

It is the first time I’ve commuted in a local’s vehicle (excluding Taxi). Another thing that caught my eye was the fact that in Malaysia, the driver’s seat is on right side, whereas in South Korea it is on the left side. For the 5 days I’ve been here, I realized that the world was bigger and more diversified than I imagined.

I was very surprised when we arrived at MBT. In my mind’s eye, I pictured MBT to be a large building. However, it lived up to its namesake; MBT really looked like a miniature ‘Town’.

First, we went to his office to perform data entry into DWMA. As soon as we began, our first challenge surfaced. Unlike South Korea names, local people’s names can be very complicated to an extent that we could not divide their names into the first name and last name categories.

Fortunately, the locals were very helpful and taught us how to differentiate the first name from the last name. In my opinion, I think Malaysians are very helpful people.

Once we finished the data entry, it was lunch time.

A local staff at MBT named Jeki gave us our lunch. We haven’t settled down with the local food yet so we curiously opened our lunchboxes. Today’s lunch was ‘Chicken rice’.  It tasted better than we thought and gobbled up the food in no time.

After we finish eating, we were given time to explore their facility. I noticed there were a lot of Catholic-themed statues and pictures. In the ‘town’, there were several buildings that were allocated as classrooms for the students.

Similar to faculties in university, the buildings were purposed for different skill training.

There were many types of equipment in the buildings that were relevant for their skill training. For example, in the hospitality building there were real beds, tables and even a drinks bar. I was amazed to see the students learning various techniques to serve a table. In South Korea, we mostly ‘study’ by memorizing!

In fact, there is no such center such as this in South Korea. In my opinion, the people of South Korea should adopt and establish this system as it will benefit our unprivileged teenagers.

In conclusion, it was a very good first experience for me to see the diversity of culture and working ethics of the local people.

Blogged by Hae-Wook Choi