Traditional Food

 

My favourite traditional food is nasi lemak. I usually eat nasi lemak almost everyday. There are a lot of stalls or restaurant that sell nasi lemak in my place and it is easier to get it.

There are a lot of condiments that you can choose which are fried anchovies, crispy fried chicken, fried egg (or sunny-side-up), shrimp, cuttlefish and also clams. My favourite is ikan tongkol because I grew up in Dungun, Terengganu and they usually serve nasi lemak ikan tongkol (we call it ikan aya).

You can't call nasi lemak without its sambal. Some people prepare nasi lemak with sambal bilis, boiled egg (cut in half or a quarter, depends on the makcik who prepares it), slices of cucumbers and fried beans. The most delicious is when it's served in banana leaves where you can smell nice aroma of nasi lemak.

For me, traditional recipes should be passed on to the next generation especially Malay kuehs because not all people in this generation can cook all these things. I admit that I am not a good cook but I really want to learn to cook traditional food from my mother since she's an excellent cook. We need to preserve our traditional food if we don't do it, who will?

Foreign Language

 

I love learning new languages. Japanese is the one that I really want to learn and master because I love watching anime and J-Drama so I could understand what they are saying without looking at the subtitles. Plus, I wish I can go to Japan one day so I need to master speaking Japanese first before going there.

I plan to learn Japanese through YouTube and TikTok because it is much easier than reading the books. Besides, there are a lot of Japanese teachers do their online teaching through these two platforms.

There are some challenges in learning new language. One of them is the pronunciation. Some languages need to be learned in face-to-face classes because we can practice the pronunciation with the teachers. For example, Mandarin. For me, Mandarin is quite challenging because of the pronunciation.

Another challenges is how we are going to practice in real life situation. Native speakers tend to talk fast and we need time to process what are they saying and it is hard for us to reply them back. Furthermore, there are dialects that the native speakers use and this is very hard of us to understand.

In my opinion, teenagers should be multilingual because it is good for their additional knowledge and learning foreign language is fun. Being a multilingual shows that you are genius and have good brain because not all people can be multilingual. 

Social Media Influencer

 

My favourite social media influencer is Azfar Heri. I knew about him when I was scrolling on Twitter where I caught a short video of him doing the 'wiping out' that was going viral at that time. So, since then, I followed him on the Instagram and YouTube.

I like the way he nags about his days in his IG Story and the way he talks is funny. He is very spontaneous and the most important is he cares about his family especially his handicapped brother, Afif. Even though some people said that he is very annoying but I like his style. I don't really care about the way he coloured his hair or whatever he bought (most are expensive stuff). I never been influenced on certain things that he did (shopping or going to any events).

You see, kids nowadays idolize influencers. Some give good influences for example, Khairul Aming; some give bad influences (I am not going to mention names!) They are easily influenced by the current trends such as fashion, the way they talk (slangs or whatsoever), hair style and money spending. Some want to have what these influencers have even though that thing is pricey, as long as they want to be in trends.

Parents should tell and advice their children not too obsessed with the influencers because not all of them are good people. Besides, not or influencers have tons of money in their pocket!

Staying Safe Online

 

Most people nowadays use Internet 90% in their life. Well, some depend on the Internet 24/7 because of work or just play games.

Internet can be good and can be harmful too. I love scrolling on my favourite social media but I always be aware not to give any information especially the details. Back then, I heard a lot of news about people scamming others; some did something bad to others like stalking and robbing their bank account. So, I always be aware and tell myself never reveal anything about me. I even put other name so that people don't know who I am in the real world (except for Instagram where most of my family, relatives, friends and my students know me there). I even put account into a private account.

We should stay safe online because anything can happen these days. With the advance technology, not all people use it in good ways. Plus, people are getting rude especially teenagers where they become keyboard warriors to give bad and rude comments to others. This is one of the causes of cyberbullying.

So, all of us need to be careful when you log in to any social media account and always remember, never reveal yourself to strangers!

Traditional Costume

 

I am not really fond in Baju Kurung when I was a teenager because I prefer wearing casual especially with pants, not kain.

I usually wear Baju Kurung during Hari Raya only, back then. But when I become older and have my own job, I have to wear Baju Kurung. But I am so fond with the Royal costume where it is only be worn on very special occasion.

Nowadays, many people in Malaysia spread awareness about our traditional costumes. There's Keretapi Sarong where people wear sarong-theme costumes. I never join Keretapi Sarong but I think it can be practised in school. I believe that school students love this kind of thing.

Some teenagers dislike wearing traditional costumes because they think that it can only be worn during special occasion such as Hari Raya celebration and wedding ceremonies. They think that traditional costumes are not trendy for they prefer to be in trend. Some of them are influenced by what they've seen in social media.

So, I think it is crucial to spread awareness of out own traditional costumes because that is part of our culture and heritage. 

Online Friend

 

I have a lot of friends, whether in reality or on the Internet. I have met a lot of people online, especially in X. My good online friend is Amal. I met her when she commented and reviewed Hilal Asyraf's book, Nirnama. I was attracted to the way she reviewed and I expressed my opinion in her timeline. After that, we become good friend. She also introduced me to BBB (Borak Borak Buku) and I met a lot of authors!

However, we need to be careful to trust online friend. Make sure you don't be too friendly except you know them in reality. Some online friends have bad intentions when they want to seek their victims.

To be safe online, first and foremost is not to give any details information to anyone. This can prevent anyone to stalk you or harm you online or in the outside world. Secondly, do not share your pictures. Make them private so that no one can exploit your pictures in porno websites.

Having a lot of friends are great but when it comes to online friends, make sure you know how to stay safe.

My Favourite Day

 

Friday is my favourite day.

Because it's weekend!

Usually, I will do house chores after breakfast and after that, I will do things that I love doing such as reading novels, colouring therapy and crocheting, of course. 

At night, my son and I will watch movie from YouTube or binge our favourite cartoons.

Some people hate a certain day because they need to do a lot of work and some of them have to work in the weekends. I hate working in the weekends. Weekends means free time, not working time!

But people need to stay motivated throughout the week. They can go out with families, shopping and go to the park, relaxing. Or you can do something that you like indoors if you don't like to go outside.

When it's raining, I like to listen to music while crocheting or colouring. Sometimes my son and I play Scrabble or Game of Life to spend our we-time!