(DAY 1&2) 7&8/04 邓淑燕 Shu Yen

This diary, is not written about today, but it is a reflection on last weekend, 7 and 8 of April 2018, when our class did our social engagement.

At dawn, in the time when I knew today’s activity, I felt unwilling to wake up from my bedding, stretching my body. After finish my morning wash, get ready to go out.

“Are you ready? ” I asked my friends.

“Ya, I am ready, let’s go. ” They replied to me.

“Ok, let’s go. ”

Serdang New Village, or we called it Kampung Baru Serdang/ Seri Kembangan, I heard that before, but rarely came here, maybe just pass by. Our friend in my class found some day where we a little bit free so that we can come here to carry out our compulsory class activity, social engagement. I sigh, now already went into 1/3 of this year, the starting of April arrived.

Actually we planned to reach there by train, but because it was hard to get the timing of train, so we decided to reach our destination by Grab, later we claimed it back.

“di, di, di, di, di, di… …si, si, si, si, si, si,… …” this was the sound that be with us when on the way to Serdang. When we reached, the rain haven’t stop yet. There were twenty something of us, we squeezed in a pavilion over there, “Shu Yu Xuan”. Was this something same as the ancient “Ten Miles Pavilion” which prepared for pedestrian to rest? Really thank those people who build this pavilion.

It was raining cats and dogs, by hearing the sound of rain, I sozzled in this place which full with nature atmosphere. We were doing “Serdang New Village Culture Mapping”, was that the sky felt we were doing something historical, and heart-touched until shedding rain?

Image 1: A leaf and an unknown name flower fall down from tree on the stone bench inside the pavilion, I called it star flower cause it looked like a star.

Image 2: Some of my friend stayed in another pavilion.

When waiting for our lecture to reach, I felt heart- touched with this nature place, so I decided to walk around at that place with one of my friend. I saw there was a river over there, I said to my friend, Yuan Teng: “The river split the two sides”, she replied to me: “The bridge connect the two sides."

                                                   Image 3: The Sungai Kuyuh.

Image 4: The Rainbow Bridge over there.

Image 5: One of my friend Yuan Teng

                                         Image 6 : Two sides of Rainbow Bridge.

            Image 7: Some resident’s plants beside the river (it must be lush plants ! ).

     Image 8 : Unknown name tree with fruits again, captured this to ask other about it.

When still waiting for our lecture, some of us who felt hungry, we went to café around there to fill up our stomach. Some of us who not hungry stay at there, probably they can enjoy watching the rain. It was still raining.

                                        Image 9: We having breakfast at a kopitiam.

When we finished our breakfast, lecture reached and explained to us the activity again and add on the information that told yesterday. The rain was slowing down. We start to arrange the group, who be with who a group, then we started the survey by going to each of the resident. The rain stopped.

After several hours, the first part of our activity had finished. We can gather to have the lunch. When on my way went back to meet with my friends, my group met our lecture, he invited us to have some drink, we felt very thankful to him about the drink as there was sunny day that time.

After finish that, we gather to have lunch in a restaurant. We chat to each other and I asked some of my friend about how they felt about the activity. After hearing from some of them and some of my thought, I concluded that: regarding to our activity, many of villages of didn’t reply on our survey, I thought that the related department (external part) should told villages about our activity, so that they may be prepared and not avoid us. But due to politic issue about the management system of village, it was not convenient with this idea. Another thing was us (internal part). We can improve our way to deal with others, maybe we should be more polite, even communicate with several dialect. I felt person who can communicate by Hakka was an advantage during the activity cause majority of villager are Hakka. This can let them felt appreciated by other and easy to communicate with. Even some of us had done it! It was helpful.

There were several version of asking: “Bu hao yi si, qing wen you ren zai jia ma? ”(in Mandarin); “Pai seh, wu nang de chu bo? ”(in Hokkien); “Ng hou yee see, yao yan hiong ok kay mou? ”(in Cantonese); “Bo ho yee seh, wu nang na siu bo? ”(in Hainanese) and so on. But Hakka I only knew to ask them when filling in the origin part : “Are you a Hakka yin? ” I should learn more Hakka language. Regarding to these idea, the most important thing was the internal part, we can change ourselves better than comment others to do thing.

No a long time, we took some icy dessert around the dessert stall nearby our gathering place. The sky became cloudy during that time.

After we finished the dessert, lecture announced it was the end of today’s activity of today. We started to Grab back to hostel. It started rain cats and dogs again. When we reached here and it rained, we went back hostel also rain, does it meant the sky felt sad that we left the place which stopping us from understood this meaningful activity? (hopefully other day when we come here and the sky will happy with us and not rain, and it was real at the next day! )

While waiting for Grab to come, lecture stayed with us and chat with us. We chat many, some of us shared the experience of been chased by dog but fortunately they were safe; many villagers didn’t respond to us, my group faced a comedy: when we reached a home that we saw children were doing their homework, so we ask about her parent to respond cause children might not know thing that we asked, we asked them to call her parent and she went to the inner part of her house to call while we waited outside. After a while she came back to us and said to us her mum said she was not at home! We were awkward and thank the little girl and continue our journey; some of us been splashed water by a Thai family over there while they celebrated their Songkran Festival (Thai traditional New Year). There were still a lot of experience we went through during the activity. Lecture laught when he heard about we said that the little girl told us her mum said she was not at home!  During the time when we chatting to lecture, I felt that he was just like our father, laught with us, be with us, and all these show his kind to student and gave us inspiration. The rain slow down again.

After a while, Grab came and we went back to hostel. Lecture waited till all of us went back then he rest assured to us and went back to his home. We saw rain with dusk or we called it sunny rain on the way back to hostel.

I went to a comfortable bath and have dinner in my room. A cup of hot oat and some vegetable biscuit was my best beverage after undergoing a weather that suddenly cold and hot. While eating, I conclude the activity we done today in my mind: 90 % of New Villager over reared dog and the housing design over New Village are same at every New Village, it looked like Jinjang, a New Village nearby my house too.

It was a tired day, but didn’t know why, I enjoy it. Maybe not because of other matter but I enriched my life experience again. When I edited with a part of the forms that I collected with my partner, I watched the documentary which recommended by my lecture. Surprisingly, my lecture appeared in the documentary! And I heard the words that he shared with us before the activity about the culture of New Village, one sentence was: “…people during Malayan Communist Party/ Parti Komunis Malaya (PKM) times were tough, if you felt empathy to those PKM, you might arrested by British government; but on the other way, if you cooperate with British government and provided information about PKM, those PKM will treat you as their enemy and disturbing you; there were people who didn’t help any side of it, but still they not live with peace of mind, sometimes dilemma happen…” How tough the life was during that time! I didn’t like war, and I know people involved in war might not like warring also, hopefully the world will free from not peace. Sometimes people at that time just like people say: “people be in the river and lake, cannot self-control”,  sometimes they might change to adapt to society.

History are repeating in sometime. However, no matter what will happen in next second, no matter good or bad, I hope that everybody in this world will always filled by the feeling of peace and wisdom.