PUNCAK 2015

Pre-departure US-Canada Program...

Basically, this program is organized annually by the Malaysian Islamic Study Group(MISG) for the incoming students to study in the North America. It is actually like a sharing session, not only about Islam in America, but also about how to be a great student there. Usually, it is held for about 2 to 3 days. However, the one I attended was different as it was held specially for my college. And as it was just a small event, it only took 1 day (9 am until 5 pm). There were 14 facilitators, each of them either had graduated from US universities or are still studying there.

The first session was interesting, I think. It was the quiz! From this activity, we could gain more knowledge about the States as well as getting the prizes, which were mostly souvenirs from the overseas. There were questions about places, history, terms and also about general things there. For ecample, I got to know that the term used in the US to bring the food bought home is 'to go'. It is different from Malaysia where people used to say 'take away', which actually means to throw away in America. So, I can avoid some silly mistakes if I go there.

The second session is about maintaining our faith there. So, for us as muslims, there are two types of challenges; from the muslims themselves and from the non-muslims. Generally, people would think that non-muslims are harder to handle. However, in truth, muslims with different opinions are much more difficult, especially the liberalists. They will provide their arguments with some weird quotes to emphasize them. So, if we encounter them, one way to face them when we do not know how to answer is by saying, "I'll go back and make some research. Maybe next week I will answer your question.'' That's a way. Maybe there are more creative ways you can practice, depends.

The third session is the sharing session. We were divided into groups with one facilitator each. I got a group with sis Umaira who went to the US to follow her husband studying there. Although she is not a student there, she always interact with the community in Bloomington, Indiana. Thus, she knows much about the life there.

Lastly, all the facilitators gave their last speech for all of us. One of the advice that sticks in my mind is set your niat(intentions) now! Not only to get 4 flat, but also to give back to the community and to be a better person. A good Muslim has to have the vision to be the best in all aspects. That's why we should have the goals from now.

That's all about PUNCAK. Although it is relatively short, but it is really valuable. Maybe the grand PUNCAK (the longer one) is much better for the students. Thus, it is recommended to go there.

TO THE 'PUNCAK'! :D

Travel: Labuan by Car

… Continued from Brunei vs Labuan...

The next day, we walked to the jetty to pick up our rented car. Along the way, we passed by a farmer's market just behind the museum we went the previous day. Attracted by the unique food that they sold, we bought some of it as a light breakfast. One of them looked like a cone, with banana leaves wrapping around it. When we unwrap it, a whitish food appeared. It tasted like the 'tepung bungkus'. Maybe they have a different style of 'tepung bungkus' from the one in West Malaysia.

After we got into our car, we proceeded with our plan, to 'conquer' Labuan in one day. There are not so many interesting places to be visited in Labuan as it is a small island. However, we managed to choose the places that we think worth it to go.

The Chimney... Not as we thought before. What do you think when you read about it? You will think that it IS a chimney, right? However, according to the researches mentioned in the museum, no one never knew what was the actual function of the tall building. From what we observed, it is generally just a cylindrical-walled building, with some stairs on the inner wall to allow people to get up there. Nothing more. That's why people have doubts on it.

Not far from the Chimney is Labuan Bird Park. As it was a weekday, not many people went there. However, we accidentally met two Australian guys who were actually having a holiday there. Their first intention was to ask about the tunnels present around the area, which we did not really know about it. As soon as we talk to each other, the discussion changed its topic to the Malaysian culture. We talked about 'songkok', the places and many more. Another interesting part there is a noisy bird. It looked like an ostrich, but much smaller and have a crown-like hairs on the top of its head. We first saw that type of birds when we were in the bird cage. However, as we went out of it, we were surprised to see another bird was outside! We thought that it had accidentally got out of it and did not know how to get back. It continued to make some noises, as if it is talking to its friends in the cage. What made the matters worse is it was trying to run after us! We tried to keep away from it, feeling afraid of being hit by its beak. After we told about it to the officer, then we knew what had actually happened. The single bird was known to always fight with each other. And they intentionally left it outside to avoid the fight. So, during meal times, they also gave it the fishes outside the cage. After we heard his explanation, we felt a bit relieved, but still afraid of its beak. Soon after that, we went to the next destination.

The surrender point. There's nothing there except the declaration stone. About a few meters away, there's a garden with another museum in it. Unfortunately, it was closed, again... We had no chance to gain more knowledge about the Surrender Point. Pity us... :(

These are some places that we visited in Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan. Actually, there are more attractions. However, personally, I think Brunei is much more interesting compared to Labuan. But there's no harm to go there. Maybe you can choose to travel just like we did: go to Brunei and Labuan one after another.

TRAVEL: Brunei vs Labuan

Just after we finished traveling in Brunei, my family and I proceeded to Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan, the island with tax-free items.

In the previous post, I mentioned about the tranquility of Brunei and its people. However, Labuan is TOTALLY DIFFERENT! Once we stepped out of the ferry jetty (from Brunei to Labuan, we rode a ferry), the smoke from the vehicles and also cigarettes slowly enters our clean nose. Just imagine, from a very clean country to a noisy and hazy island. Wasn't it terrible? One point I want to stress on. My beloved country, Malaysia should be really clean. We are led by Muslim government. Our official religion is Islam. Our Sultans are also Islam. And what Islam encourages us?

“Cleanliness is a part of imaan.”

So, come on. We should and must keep our lovely environment clean. No matter if you are a Muslim, a Buddhist, or anyone, hygiene has to be our priority. How many people have suffered from diseases just because of the dirty environment? A lot, right? Thus, let's take a big step to the clean world. And also, please quit smoking. It also pollutes the air and harm others. You don't want your beloved ones to die because of your cigarette smoke, do you?

Back to WP Labuan. From the jetty, we decided to just walk to our hotel as it is within walking distance (although it is actually quite far). It took about 30 minutes for us. However, along the way, we stopped by a restaurant for 'brunch' and a tourist center. Our initial intention was actually to pick up some brochures at the tourist center. Unfortunately, it was closed. But fortunately, there is a museum just beside it, and it was opened. It is also free! Thus, feeling that that was the only opportunity for us to visit it, we entered it. Many informations that we got there about Labuan. One of them is about the era when Labuan was conquered by British. There are also some house replicas and models of the cultural clothes that make the museum more interesting to be visited.

After spending a while there, we continued our journey to our main destination, our hotel! It is located in 'Arjuna Kewangan'. I don't really know what does it mean but it is related to trading. After passing through the huge field, police station, a mall, some roundabouts,... finally we arrived there! Alhamdulillah, thanks to Allah. However, it was actually too early for us to check-in, so we had to keep our bags in a store and wait until 2 o'clock. Truly, it's a long time. After discussing, we decided to go to one of the attractions that can be reached by walking.

Arjuna Kewangan is actually a mall, with a hotel in it. After we passed through the mall, we used the Google Maps to find the exact way to go to Underwater Aquarium. Approximately it takes us 20 minutes to walk there, but we enjoyed looking at the green sceneries as we walked far away from the busy city. As soon as we arrived at our destination, we were fascinated to see the beautiful sea creatures there. One of the most exciting part was looking at the enormous fish. It is really really big and long! I think it was the attraction there.

After that, we decided to have a lunch at the food court near the aquarium. We were surprised to know that the price was much higher compared to in Brunei. Even when we convert the currency, it is still more expensive! That's why I like Brunei more than Labuan. :P

Feeling fatigue, we walked back to the hotel. It was already 2.30 and we could sleep in our room...

to be continued...

Do you have what it takes to be a university graduate?

"People with goals succeed because they know where they are going," quoted by Earl Nightingale. Since I was a child, I keep holding on these words. Being exposed to the development of technology during my childhood, I am deeply interested in the Chemical Engineering field. My interest is directly connected with my primary goal: to make my country as a modern country by advancing the technology.

In my high school, Chemistry is one of the best in my academic result. In fact, I was the best student in it. In the laboratory, I always show my interest in doing the experiments such as finding the components of the chemicals and how the rusting occurs. I had also shown my interest in Chemistry by participating in the National Chemistry Quiz in 2014 and was awarded a high distinction. In the quiz, we were asked about the knowledge about Chemistry that we know. My achievements in this subject and the competition proves that I am highly potential in studying Chemical Engineering as they are related.

Besides, I am also interested in engineering, specifically in building new inventions that I took the Invention Subject in my high school. Although there are only 8 of us out of about 400 pupils, I was determined to learn it. In fact, I was the only female in the class. This class is really useful especially for the ones who are interested in majoring in engineering, including me. I had learned to design the products using Computer-Aided Design(CAD), build the prototype in reality and many more. These basic skills really beneficial for the engineering students. Being exposed to them before entering the universities can prepare me to learn more new things in the future.

I believe my passion and the previous knowledge I earned in this field will lead me to earn a degree in Chemical Engineering with flying colors. After that, I will become a successful person who will change my present country to a really advanced one by designing the new technology for the future generations, if Allah wills.

TRAVEL: BRUNEI, A PERFECT GETAWAY

Several months before the travel began, my family and I were searching for a perfect place to spend our holiday together after my SPM. After taking some considerations, we decided to go to Brunei and Labuan as we had never been there before (except for my father who had went there for the work purposes). So we bought AirAsia flight tickets differently (one way, not return); KLIA2-Brunei and Labuan-KLIA2.

Although Brunei was actually a very small country with small population, it is comparatively one of the richest as it has many natural gas and petroleum sources. However, as soon as we stepped into the land, nothing seemed to be so rich! There are not many skyscrapers (KLCC is far much higher than the buildings there) and only medium-sized malls(not like Mid Valley or Sunway Pyramid). But why I love it very much?

First of all, traffic congestion is almost impossible to occur in Brunei. That makes me feel really excited and sedate. No more stressful time to arrive anywhere! Most cars there are driven much slower compared to the ones in Malaysia, and that allows the pedestrians like us to walk around safely. They even stop when we were crossing the roads! Thus, no worries if you are going to walk in Bandar Seri Begawan. Furthermore, the city is quite small actually. That's why we chose to walk instead of renting a car. Almost all attractions are within walking distances in the city. However, from the hotel(Traders Hotel), we had to take a public bus which can easily be taken from the bus stop near the hotel. Yet, we also took a tour provided by the hotel to fill our free time in the second day. Some places like the botanical garden and the royal palace are situated quite far from the hotel and the city. The price is quite reasonable, maybe.

During the tour, the first place we went is the botanical garden. Free entrance! And we could see vibrant flowers and trees there. I was fascinated to see the animals actually; the deers, goats and many more are placed in such spectacular fields. We could walk around and snap some picturesque photos of the plants and also the animals. There is also a shop where we can buy some plants, but we buy nothing there (how can we get the plants into the airplane?). The next pitstop is the royal palace. Nothing can be done there. In fact, the driver just parked in front of the gate to allow us to take one or two pictures before we move on. Then, we went to a place we had never thought we would go. It was a hotel! The first thought in our minds, how can a hotel be the place for the tourists to come? Are we the only ones who would go there for a visit purpose? So, it is actually the most luxurious hotel in Brunei, ranked 7 stars if I'm not mistaken. And no, there are actually other tourists who visited the grand hotel. We were startled to see the tall building with many facilities: swimming pools by the beach, restaurants, cafes, escalators and the huge lifts. However, it is surprising to know that the room price is actually about the same as the hotels in Kuala Lumpur! What a shock! So, most people can actually afford to stay there, not only the millionaires or the ministers. But we actually did not know what to do there, so we just walked around for a while and then headed to the mosque to perform Friday prayer.

Fridays there are totally different from Malaysia. From 12 noon to 2 pm, no shops are allowed to open because Muslims are obliged to be in the mosques for Friday prayer. And some females are also welcomed to join, they still provide a small space for the women to pray. However, there are only a few women compared to the men.

There is another reason why I like Brunei. 'BAUNYA!' We saw the poster for the first time during our first lunch there. It is actually a law which prohibits the smokers to light up their cigarettes in the building and in the compound, up to 5 meters from the building. Thus, we would not exposed to the carcinogenic smoke! Alhamdulillah... I think Malaysian government should enforce this law to reduce the cancer patients. Moreover, cigarettes are totally 'haram' for the Muslims. So, it is a responsibility to prohibit the Muslims from smoking, including using the electronic ones.

I think that's all about Brunei. To sum up, Brunei is a great place for us to relax our minds!

Labuan is totally different from Brunei. InsyaAllah, I will write about it later.

Essay: Should people make more of an effort to keep some things private?

Privacy is a controversial matter. While some people think that it is not crucial to keep secrets, such conditions are really rare. Most of the time, people should make more an effort to keep some things private. Having a privacy salvages people from detrimental dangers and bad consequences as shown by the widely-used social medias and the decryption of Enigma codes by Alan Turing.

The galloping advancement of communication technology requires people to be more scrutinize in sharing information. The contemporary youngsters tend to spread their actions through social medias such as Facebook and Twitter. What makes their actions baneful is that the info  may be known by the reprobates. In February 2014, a young lady in Malaysia was robbed just because she posted a new status in her Facebook "alone in my home". The deleterious action attracted miscreants to grab the perfect opportunity to do crimes. When the lady was alone in the house, it indicates that no one was able to protect her from inevitable danger. Thus, the robbers could easily break into her house and accomplish their intents. This widespread news testified that it is compulsory to keep our conditions private, especially in the social media. Ominous dangers may threat people if they just share their emotions or conditions derelictly.

Like in the social media, privacy is also essential in the wars. During World War II, Alan Turing designed Bombe to decrypt the German's Enigma machine in order to achieve victory for the Allies. Instead of touting their accomplishment in decoding about 39000 messages per month, Alan Turing and his team decided to keep it as a secret. Alan Turing knew the presence of the German spies in their community, so he took a deliberate action to avoid the secret from spreading to the enemies. His effort to keep the success private resulted the Allies to win in the World War II with the help of Bombe. If only the news of their accomplishment was widely spread, the Allies is doubted to achieve its victory. Alan Turing's effort to keep Bombe private prevent the Allies from losing in the war.

In conclusion, the privacy in social media and in the World War II epitomize that it is essential to keep some things as secrets. The effort to have privacy barred the potential bane such as robberies and being attacked by the enemies. Thus, one should struggle to keep things private to keep one's safety.

Book: Earth-Shattering Earthquake by Anita Ganeri

In accordance with the title, this book is generally about the earthquakes; how it occurs and how can we save ourselves when it occurs. Being different from other encyclopedias, these series (Horrible series) of books will explain the information in a fun way. There are illustrations, the languages used are funny and friendly, and they also provide some stories regarding the topic. Generally, Horrible Series is great, and you can actually read some of other books in this series I wrote about in this blog.

Credit: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Earth-Shattering-Earthquakes-Horrible-Geography-Ganeri/dp/0439944570

Back to the book Earth-Shattering Earthquakes, one of the most fascinating facts I learned from it is that San Francisco is actually located on a high-risk place! Imagine what if the earthquake makes the city a disaster? In fact, long ago, in 19^th century if I’m not mistaken, there was an earthquake there. And the city was like an empty field, as if there was no one lived there before. However, I do not know why they still build the city there. It is actually situated on the San Andreas fault. Before I explain it further, do you know what is actually a fault? The earth actually consists of many separate plates, and the point where the plates meet is called a fault.

San Andreas Fault
Credit: http://www.amusingplanet.com/2015/03/the-san-andreas-fault-of-california.html

When the plates moved, either in the same way with different speed or in the different directions, this will cause the earthquakes to occur.

So, how can we survive in the earthquakes? One of the tips given in the book is to avoid going near to tall buildings as they may collapse and hit us directly. We may go to empty plains so that nothing is going to fall on us.

Credit: http://www.emeraldecocity.com/tall%20buildings.html

That’s a bit about the book. I really enjoy reading it as I can learn in a fun way. Of course I recommend this book to be read by people of all ages, adults and children. Don’t worry if you aren’t familiar with the scientific vocabs, they will explain it to you the meaning and also how to pronounce it. Have fun!

Movie: Oz The Great and Powerful

The first time I heard about this movie, I thought that this movie is all about the classical fairy tale entitled 'The Wizard of Oz'. Indeed, my first perception is true. However, the producer had changed major parts of the story, making it more interesting rather than being a cliché one.

Credit: http://www.owlkids.com/movie-news-oz-the-great-and-powerful/

So let me tell you a bit about this story. Oz, the main character of the movie was actually a great liar pretending as a wizard in a circus. After some time, people began to realize his tricks and eventually got angry. Oz managed to run away by riding a hot air balloon. His journey in a hot air balloon became worse as the weather suddenly turn into a storm. Luckily, he survived through it and arrived in the Emerald City, where his true mission began. Soon after he landed, a lady welcomed him. To shorten the story, Oz was actually the wizard who would save the city from the wicked witch. At first, he was startled as he was only a great liar, not a real wizard. But after thinking about the fate of the innocent people, he decided to help and eventually got an idea to defeat the witch. At last, the witch ran away and never come back until the end.

The best part of this story is actually the part when Oz tried to scare the witch. Inspired by Thomas Edison, Oz improvised the invention of projector. At first, Oz flied a hot air balloon so that people would think that he was in it. After the witch fired the balloon, it fell down and resulted into a huge smoke. Most people (except the Oz's close friends) believed that Oz had died. However, suddenly in the smoke, his face appeared. He lied that it was his actual form. He actually used the projector to show his face in the smoke. So nothing can harm him as it is smoke! It is truly a creative idea! Maybe I can apply it whenever I am going to perform something. :P

The 'real' Oz
Credit:http://animatedviews.com/2013/oz-the-great-and-powerful-regular-and-3d-editions/

Apart from being creative, another lesson I learned from this movie is to work in a team. Oz asked the residents of Emerald City to help him especially in building the projector. Although they were actually consisted of ordinary people, they still managed to defy the powerful witch, thanks to their good teamwork.

The faith and bravery of Oz and the residents resulted them to get their true peace. The same goes with us. If we believe in ourselves, nothing is impossible to be accomplished. I remembered the song by Maher Zain – I Believe. This song is very great and inspirational. Some of the lyrics are:

'Cause I believe

In a man who used to be

So full of love and harmony

He fought for peace and liberty

And never would he hurt anything …

Go find the song and you will be inspired! And also don't forget about the movie. It is indeed a great movie.

Essay #7

Is creativity needed more than other in the world?

Life is like a white canvas. One should paint the canvas with various colors to produce a wonderful painting. The colors symbolize creativity. In order to accomplish the goals of life, creativity is an essential recipe, as shown by Steve Jobs and Mehmet II.

As the founder of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs applied his creativity in advancing the technology of smartphone. A few years back, phones were only used to make a call or to text someone, which are the rudimentary things in our life. However, as an innovative person, Steve Jobs came out with an idea of a phone with many features, which we call now as smartphone. His initiative to develop the technology benefited him very much. His first product, iPhone, made a ground-breaking profit when about 1 million units were sold in just a day. And now, Apple Inc, his own company, is one of the most lucrative company in the world. Steve Jobs' creativity resulted his business to achieve the acme. Through the idea of smartphone, Apple Inc is now well-known throughout the world.

Unlike Steve Jobs, Mehmet II applied his creativity in his conquest of Constantinople. Being stymied by the large chain across the Golden Horn, Mehmet II and his troops decided to cross it by their own way. Mehmet II had shown his creativity by giving the idea to bring their ships across the empty land and hills in order to enter the Constantinople River. This idea seemed ridiculous, but they eventually vanquished to arrive at the river at the perfect time. Lastly, Mehmet II and his troops conquered the Constantinople, known before as the country with the strongest defense. Instead of using the traditional method to cross the sea, Mehmet II was creative that him and the troops brought their ships across the land. His creativity resulted him to vanquish his goal to conquer the Constantinople.

To conclude, Mehmet II and Steve Jobs had epitomized that creativity is compulsory to achieve success. The exotic ideas of smartphone and bringing the ships across the land helped them to realize their dreams. Thus, we must think out of the box to succeed.

Book: Stormy Weather by Anita Ganeri

Credit: http://www.amazon.com/Stormy-Weather-Horrible-Geography-Ganeri/dp/0439944538

This is a great book to prevent yourselves from being the victims of the storms or tornados!

Anita Ganeri introduced this topic by explaining how the storms are actually formed. One of the most stunning fact that I had read in this book is about the real shape of the rain drops. All of us thought that a rain drop has a shape of circle with pointed part on the top. However, according to this book, it is actually in the shape of a semicircle!

The real shape of a rain drop

This shocking fact made me realize that anything I know presently might be wrong! One main question I think about; Is history that I learned right? Absolutely I have to investigate about it deeper before I could reach a conclusion. This incident instigates me to think wisely and motivates me to learn more about anything. Maybe I can know much better compared to now.

Another useful information I got from this book is on how to be safe during a storm. All the do's and don'ts are listed in it. If we are trapped in an open place such as field, we have to crouch down to avoid being struck by the lightning. However, it is dangerous to lie down flat on the ground as the wet ground may be a good conductor to our body. Wearing wellington boots are also useful as they are good electrical insulators.

What if we are trapped in the cars or airplanes? Well, we are actually in a perfect condition! Don't worry as the metal body will conduct the lightning around and outside, not inside. Thus, although we will have a bumpy ride if we are in the airplane, we will be less likely being struck by the lightnings.

Have you heard about a person who have survived in a tornado? On May 3 1943, a tornado struck Roy's house in Texas. He and his children were panicked, and they quickly gathered in a bedroom although they were really scared. When they felt the tornado was going to hit them, he closed his eyes tightly. But after a few seconds, he opened his eyes and amazed! The sky above him was really clear, and they were actually inside the eye of the tornado! This actually occured because of the movement of tornado. It actually hops, not slides. Thus, it is not impossible to survive in a tornado. Yet, the chance of survival is really low. Never expose yourselves to them just to be in the eyes; you will kill yourselves!

Generally, this book is a great book for both children and adults. For those who are interested in the field of geography, it is a fun book to learn about the storms. On the other hand, it is also important to know about the ways to prevent ourselves from being the victims of storms and tornados.

Essay #6

Do we only value what we struggle for?

The question as to whether we value only what we struggle for or not is not as easy to answer as it may seem. Some people like Thomas Paine think that valuable life has meaning only in struggle =, which we need to put much effort to achieve something. However, personally, I am sure that there are many other things that are valued not only what we struggle for.

I do not have any doubt that we always value what we had done strenuously. Of course our appreciation towards the actions will be higher when they end with flying colors. In my own experience, I had recently struggled to write an attractive essay for a writing contest held by Mercy Mission. A second after I read about the competition, I was determined to join it although I was not sure that I could win it. Starting from brainstorming the ideas, I really hoped that my essay would be the best among the competitors. Besides asking help from my family members to correct my essay, I had also searched in the Internet everyday to find the most suitable facts to be included in it. Even though I was going to undergo a major examination that year, I still persevered to send it. At last, my efforts were prized. My essay turned out to be the second runner-up and I received an 'MP3' as a reward. Until now, I really value the musical gadget as I will bring it along wherever I go. Thus, it is proven that we value for what we struggle.

On the other hand, gifts especially from the loved ones are really valuable for us. As we look and use them, we will see their faces slowly appear in our minds. The gifts will create a chain of valued reactions. For example, the plushies given by our parents when we are children results in a valued relationships. If they are stolen or destroyed, we will surely get mad. In fact, I also have gifts from my family which I value most. One of them is a blue Tupperware bottle from my older sister and I do not even want anyone to scratch it. This example showed that gifts are also valued although they are not what we struggle for.

Furthermore, surely most of us value knowledge that we get, especially when it changes our life. In the cyber world, we could see that many quotable sayings from famous people and wacky facts that are spread in the social sites. For example, when someone read a quote on how to be a happy person in the Twitter, he or she will 'retweet' it again to let others know. The knowledge gained in the Twitter, Facebook or Whatsapp are mostly coincidence. We only know them when someone share them with us. After that, if we find them useful, we will then forward them to others so that it will be spread out to all other people. Clearly, coincident knowledge will also be valued by us.

The examples above show that the statement we value only what we struggle for is wrong. Gifts by loved ones and knowledge are also valuable as we will appreciate them by keeping them carefully and sharing them with others. Therefore, value all the things that we get as we might not get them later.