Pindah Rumah

This is the first time I've ever had to go on a real house hunting in my homeland.

The last time I did that was when I was searching for a place to stay during my practical training, but that didn't count. That was only a room hunting and my standards, well let's just say that I don't have any standards because I was desperate and up for anything which in the end saw me being confined in a store room without proper window in a rat-infested home for the whole 4-month course of my Praxisphase. Luckily I survived that. So as a few of my friends who, despite knowing all the risk involved, decided to spend several nights there.

In my own experience back in Germany, the process of finding a house to rent is in itself cumbersome, but apart from the tiring formalities of the process everyone has to go through, I have never encountered any problem arising from the fact that I am a foreign student. I've went to view 4 houses during the course of my stay in Germany, moved into 2 of them, and in short, no landlord has ever given me shit for carrying all of these labels; Asian, hijab-donning Muslim, and student.

That in a place where racism was taken to the very extreme not so long ago.

Not so much can be said about our own country though. Our prosperous country Malaysia which lauded itself in being a harmonious multiracial community.

For the last 3 weeks, I've called close to, perhaps more than 50 agents to ask for available unit for rent and the among first questions any agent would as are 1) Local or foreigner?, 2) Malay or Chinese or lain-lain?, 3) Student or working?

If you're a foreigner from Asian countries and black from any country, then chances of being considered as tenant is close to zero. An agent told me she once arranged for a viewing appointment for a European and when he turned up being black, she had to turn him instantly down. No further background check-up would be necessary, no chance will be given, you're just out if you're black. Being a student decrease your merit by 70% to stay in a well-kept, mostly inhabited by working professionals condos. Some landlords prefer only Chinese and some prefer only Malays.

I can't imagine those scenarios in Germany. People can report you on basis of being discriminative.

Having been a foreigner 'lain-lain' student before, it kinda struck a chord in me. Remember the time when a minority group of Muslim extremist went on a rampant flying planes into major buildings and bomb-exploding themselves off in public places and the world gave the rest of us shit just because we share a common religion name? Remember how that feels? Yes sure a lot of blacks here in Malaysia have been creating troubles using their students visa but meddling with money laundering and drug trafficking instead but what about the rest of them honestly looking for a better education? It's not wrong to be cautious but I don't think it's right to deny anybody their rights to be treated equally just because of their skin color.

Malays and Chinese in principle won't share a house if possible. I understand that that is to avoid problems that might arise when sharing a common kitchen and living room. But how hard can it be if people are willing to try and respect each other's needs? Going out of the way to just avoid each other do not count for points in effort department.

Yes we are a multiracial country, but we forgot an important and telling word in that slogan. We are actually a racist multiracial country. And nobody really knows how to mend that so we might as well just embrace it and continue with our lives.

On another note, we have just 2 days to pack our whole life and move. That's another proof that my family is weird. And I say that with much love. We love each other as much as we annoy each other, we enjoy each other's company as much as we can't stand each other, but still we decided to live in very close proximity to each other for another couple of years. Weirdos that we are. It's going to be hard but oh well. My prince charming has learned to know them and so far he hasn't run yet and that's good. In fact he's been getting along with them pretty well despite everything. He's pretty tough so he's definitely a keeper.

Ok now back to packing.

The Incas vs. The Malays

Cuba sebut 'Machu Picchu', emphasize dekat setiap 'ch' tu. Cuba sebut dia berulang-ulang kali, sebut kuat-kuat tau, bukan dalam hati ja.

Haa tak cuba la tu. Degil.

Machu Picchu, the city of the sky, high on the top of Andes. If I somehow won a competition that would allow me to choose one manmade ancient structure I would love to visit, I won't even need to think about it, Machu Picchu wins, hands down. The Pyramids of Giza comes quite close in the second place because I would love to walk along the very narrow path inside the pyramids, even though just the thought of it is enough to make me feel suffocated already. I might not be a chronic claustrophobic but I hate confined space.

Which reminds me of last summer, when I made my mom and two of my little cousins visit a coastal battery built by British in Penang, which is now turned into a memorial. I insisted that we visited during the night, because they have this experience package, in which the real war situation is emulated to give you the feel of what's really going on during wartime. Our tour guide was dressed in complete military uniform, and as we were walking along while he explained the purpose of each building, the sound of shootings and bombs went off all around us. The sound effect was wicked, it felt so real that my little baby cousin cried and insisted on going home. Ah forget it, even I was sweating a bit from the sound alone. So we were led through tunnels and secret passages towards safety using the actual route that was allegedly used back then.

Nak dijadikan cerita, selain kami berempat, ada lagi empat orang lain dalam group malam tu, di mana salah seorang abang tu agak montel la jugak. Abang montel, wherever you are, jangan marah ek. Just telling it as it is. So time nak masuk secret short-cut tunnel tu, kena la pulak abang montel tu masuk tunnel tu dulu sebelum aku. Tunnel ni pulak kena merangkak, pastu panjang la pulak kan. Time merangkak tu tengok depan nampak bontot abang tu ja penuh tunnel, serius rasa tak boleh bernafas, nak patah balik ada orang la pulak kat belakang. Faham tak time tu rasa begitu trapped, rasa oksigen tak cukup, rasa macam tarik nafas tak penuh paru-paru, rasa macam nak pitam. Nasib baik la sebelum sempat nak pengsan, dah sampai hujungnya. Ibu time tu tak masuk tunnel tu, sebab Ariessa takut, so ibu teman Ariessa guna jalan luar. Tapi lepas tu Ariessa dah cool down sikit, ibu pon join balik panjat tangga antik, masuk tunnel semua. You're one cool mom! All in all, it was a really cool experience. Berbaloi jugak la untuk RM25 seorang. Cuma yang tak best tu, ada part-part yang depa cuba nak mistikkan, macam pedang samurai Jepun yang kononnya berhantu (macam tipu ja sebab dia gantung tinggi gila, tak bagi orang tengok betul-betul lettew), ular-ular berbisa penunggu bangunan yang kononnya tak pernah keluar cari makanan pon tapi hidup ja (tapi cuak gila bila lalu sebelah bilik tu tengok macam-macam ular kat dalam bilik yang tak berjaring tu bebas berkeliaran, lagi takut dari hantu tau). Melayu oh Melayu. Tak perlu pon puaka-puaka untuk mengsensasikan keadaan, the facts and the buildings pon dah impressive enough.

Where was I again? Oh sebenarnya cerita tadi tu nak buktikan the point pasal jalan dalam piramid. Masuk tunnel tu pon dah macam nak pitam, inikan pulak nak jalan dalam Pyramid, lagila lama, tapi teringin jugak. Tak pitam kot. Rasa ja macam nak pitam, tapi suck it in and carry on ja la. Macam roller-coaster la, sebenarnya diri sendiri penakut gila, tapi bila dah duduk strapped in the seat, baca doa banyak-banyak pastu jerit ja la bila roller-coaster tu start jalan.

Berbalik kepada Machu Picchu. Itu termasuk dalam must-visit list. InshaAllah suatu hari nanti. Rasanya semua documentary yang ada pasal Machu Picchu yang available kat internet dah ditengok. Pastu bila tengok mesti bertambah excited nak pi. Awat orang Inca time tu bijak sangat ntah?

Teringat pernah bincang hal ni dengan Encik Fudye, dulu masa kegemilangan kerajaan Sultan Melaka, masa Selat Melaka jadi perantaraan pedangang Timur dan Barat, kenapa takdak tinggalan bangunan sehebat kaum Inca kat Tanah Melayu? Ini semua buat dari kayu, bila perang kena bakar habis hilang. Bila aku cek balik fakta, Machu Picchu dibina pada tahun 1438, kemuncak pemerintahan kerajaan Melaka adalah pada masa Sultan Mansur Shah, iaitu bermula dari tahun 1459. Kira dekat-dekat la tu. Maknanya teknologi dan kemahiran untuk bina bangunan macam tu dah ada la. Ah, kalau nak ikut teknologi, Colosseum dibina lagi awal. Pyramids of Giza lagi la awal.

Kenapa orang Melayu dulu tak boleh bina? Lembah Bujang dah ada, lagi lama. Kiranya teknologi dan kemahiran tu dah sampai kat semenanjung. Takdak bahan mentah? Tipu la. Tenaga kerja tak cukup? Hang Tuah sanggup terjun lubang tahi nak retrieve kuda Sultan, menunjukkan betapa rakyat zaman tu patuh taat pada Sultan. Takkan tak boleh kerah tenaga rakyat untuk bina bandar dari batu? Manusia mati meninggalkan nama, tapi selain nama, kalau tinggal benda yang lagi konkrit kan lagi legend tu.

Lepas fikir punya fikir, Encik Fudye punya jawapan ialah, sebab Melayu mudah selesa. Istana kayu orait apa. Cantik gak. Tahan beratus-ratus tahun. Nak susah-susah guna batu untuk tahan ribu-ribu tahun buat apa? Kalau pergi museum kat Melaka sekarang, kebanyakannya replika ja tinggal.

Tadi tengok documentary pasal Machu Picchu lagi dengan Tasha. Lagi sekali bincang pasal topik ni. Kita kat Malaysia ada A Famosa dengan Kellie's Castle. Tapi dua-dua tu dibina oleh orang luar. Ada la pulak kan bahan mentah dengan tenaga buruh nak buat bangunan macam tu.

Kat Machu Picchu, teres yang dia buat dari batu kat lereng bukit tu, teknik tu masih digunakan sekarang untuk kurangkan efek tanah runtuh. Berkesannya teknik kaum Inca tu, sampai sekarang top soil dia masih intact. Lepas tu, kat dalam bandar tu, memang complete ada sistem pengairan semua, kira setiap rumah ada bekalan air untuk minum, mandi, cuci baju semua. Kita dulu ada sungai, so buat apa nak susah-susah buat sistem pengairan kan?

Fuh. Semangat kau ek Jera. Cakap orang Melayu dulu-dulu cepat contented la, pemalas la, tak berwawasan la, tak berpandangan jauh la. Cer cita sikit, apa perubahan besar kau dah buat untuk negara dan dunia hari ni?

Erk. Kthnxbye.

Update : Encik Fudye said he didn't remember ever saying that -.-'' so we went through thisconversation. Again. He came up with a kinder more plausible answer me think. Katanya orang Melayu seni dia halus, so lagi senang untuk diinterpret kan ke dalam seni ukiran kayu. Kemahiran tu dah lama ada dalam masyarakat Melayu so maybe over the generations their focus on perfecting the skills in carpentry kinda overshadow the need for the expertise in masonry. Sounds logical. Too bad wood is not fire-resistant or else we would have been able to appreciate the remnants of our once legendary kesultanan Melaka's civilization.

The Other Half

Had a lot of heart-to-heart talk with my little brother lately. But none compared to the conversation we had yesterday. With his hair styling course coming to an end in another month, and his involvement in DJ-ing seems to be on to something, he was about to reach the end of one stage of his life, approaching the beginning of another; the timing which also coincides with mine.

He said everything is in place. During his last couple of visits to KL, he had made contact with an established DJ in KL who agreed to take him under his wings. All he had to do once he finishes his course is to move to KL and start his internship at a hair salon which would allow him to train his DJ-ing at the same time. But still, the thought of taking that big leap is scary, he told me.

And that is exactly how I've been feeling lately. What happens next? I know what I want to do with my life. I have this plan I've drawn in my head of how I should go about to do what I want to do. I've been thinking about it for quite some time now, filling in the gaps in the plan from time to time. I think given more preparation and 200% perspiration, my plan could actually work. But why does that sinking feeling keep coming back?

It's the fear of the unknown that keeps knocking at the back of your head, that tiny voice that is supposed to tell you 'everything's gonna be okay' but feeds you with doubts instead.

How are we ever to know that things will work out? We don't. We just have to strap the boots and take that first step, tackling each obstacle along the way as we go on and keep going on.

I shared this with him, my fears and my thoughts on it. I think it's the first time that he ever truly listens to my attempt at being the big-sister-with-the-wise-advice. Finally. I scored!

I pray that he would always turn to me in the future whenever he needs a little piece of advise, encouragement or just a pair of keen ears.

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On his involvement in DJ-ing. I admit that at first, I didn't like the idea. I don't like the lifestyle that's associated with it. Yes, I'm the prude, so-not-cool sister. Very kekampungan.

When my mom told me she was actually considering to buy him a mixer and the equipments, I was totally against it and I made it very clear. Which had resulted in quite a tiff between me and my little brother that I could feel we were starting to grow apart.

I realized than that to let the differences between my brother and I to pull apart our very small close-knit family to grow apart like that is just not worth it. I rather support his interest and have him close to me; so that I can keep a hawk-precise close eye on him. He told me to trust his judgement but a big sister will always be a big sister.

When I come back, you're moving in with me, brother.

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Dearest Umi,

I might not be able to say that I miss your cooking like most of my friends do.

But that can be easily compensated by a string of other food-related things.

I miss our breakfast outing. It doesn't matter where we go, it's always a choice between nasi lemak ayam or roti kahwin (roti telur + roti kosong) in the end. Milo ais pekat is a MUST. I miss our stroll around pasar pagi thereafter. We almost always find something to buy. Surat khabar, fresh veggies for maktok and other occasional odd things like sepit rambut, teh herba, keronsang, etc. Lagi best kalau ada orang jual ubat bawak ular tedung selar saiz anaconda.

I miss our late night teh tarik outing. Of course it wouldn't just stop at just teh tarik. There's got to be food. Double plate kat Burger Gemilang memang terbaik. Roti tisu best jugak. Kuetiau kungfu panas-panas tengah malam memang terbaik. Kadang-kadang nasi goreng dengan telur mata. And yet I keep on biatchin' about how I put on a lot of weight during the semester break. Sigh. We have the most memorable heart-to-heart talk during these outings. Looking back, I don't mind the extra pounds so much now. I would have traded the less-kilos with our outings in a heartbeat. But now that I'm getting older and my skin might not be so elastic anymore to accommodate the expansion-compression cycle, maybe for our late-night outings next year, I'll just stick with teh o kurang gula. No food. Boo hoo.

Our bazar Ramadhan outing has got to be the best one. Running errands just in time to get to Cik Siti before her home-made nasi dagang + nasi kerabu sold out. Sometimes we made it in time. Other times we lost the battle. I tried to vary my choice of food by alternating it with nasi beriyani or nasi campur every other day but in the end I just succumbed. Cik Siti's nasi dagang wins hands down. People just go crrrazy over her nasi dagang + kerabu. Sometimes we have to stand there for a good 15 minutes before we even got noticed. Pakcik makcik kat sebelah ada yang give up and blah camtu ja. Nasi dagang for me and kerabu for you and maktok. One of the earthly pleasures. Oh and how can I forget. Jus jambu dengan asam. Perghhh. Ok I'm drooling right now.

Susah tak nak buat nasi dagang? *hmmmmm*

Of course, our late night outings didn't stop during this month. We raided downtown and bazar raya. Though I stop being fun after 12.00 a.m., you were just relentless that I normally gave in. I'm just not a late-night kinda person, mom, don't take it personally. *I am not a too-early-in-the-morning kinda person either so what does that make me? A late-morning-till-early evening kinda person?*

By now you would've guessed. I miss my mom!

Take care, I LOVE you, you know that.

p.s : I promise, this post is NOT, in any way, a dishonest attempt for future personal gains, now that I know you read my blog. I just really miss you, Umi ;)