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Learning Raya words the fun way (Selamat Eid Mubarak Everyone!)

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Today, the 24th of May, is a big day for all Muslims – it’s Hari Raya, the day where the month-long fast is broken!

Selamat Hari Raya to all my Muslim friends, and others who may also be celebrating the Muslim new year. May you be forgiven of your apparent and latent sins (Zahir dan Batin), and be blessed throughout your new year.

Above all, may life be full of happiness for all of you, Muslim or non-Muslim!

After having spent two months working at the Covid 19 frontlines of a hospital, I have met many Malay colleagues who were friendly and very fun to work with. Since I have collected their contacts over time, it has delighted me to see that all of them have been enjoying Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid Mubarak) and the puasa (fasting) month to the fullest, even while working at the Emergency Unit of the hospital, and then at home united with their families, not forgetting to take the necessary preventive actions such as wearing face masks.

To the non-Muslim Malaysians just like myself (or anyone interesting in learning!), it is good and can be fun to learn some of the Malay – specifically Raya – phrases your Muslim friends are using that you may not understand. Not only will it help us understand the Muslims better, it can also be quite interesting to learn! Here are just a couple of terms that I’ve learnt from reading my ex-colleagues Whatsapp statuses:

Terms commonly used during Raya season:

P.s. Admit it. You’re bored by this point, and you’re going to close this tab. Do not fear, for I, Rachel Tan HX, am here to make everything fun for you to read! So read on…. or close the page. 😛

Hari Raya Aidilfitri or Eid Mubarak

Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Eid Mubarak are both used to refer to the same day, which is the Muslim New Year. However, have you ever wondered what “Aidilfitri” meant, or are you simply pronouncing it by muscle memory, like you would say “Abracadabra”, the word used by magicians when performing a magic trick? (In fact, Abracadabra has a meaning, too. I will tell you its awesome meaning soon.)

“Aidifitri” means “To return to the pure, innocent original state that Muslims believe all humans are both with.” Hari Raya Aidilfitri, then, literally means “the day of celebrating the return to the original state”. This original state supposedly refers to being washed of all sin and pollution.

What about “Eid Mubarak”? “Eid” is the Arabic term for feast. “Mubarak” means “blessed”. This “blessed feast” is held on the Eid Mubarak, which when put into context becomes “festival of breaking the fast”.

Therefore, we can say Hari Raya for Muslims is the day where they are cleansed of their sins and where they can break their month-long fast.

Maaf Zahir Dan Batin

Are Zahir and Batin names of historical Islamic followers? That’s what I thought at first, but I was so wrong. Don’t think too much, as we say. It is actually very simple to understand.

“Zahir” refers to “the sins that are obvious”. This refers to crimes committed, including stealing and deception.

“Batin” refers to “the sins that are hidden”. This refers to bad intentions and evil thoughts, even if you do not act on it. If you act on it, it becomes Zahir.

“Maaf Zahir and Batin” is the Muslim way of asking for forgiveness for all committed and hidden sins.

Khutbah and Ameen

Khutbah: sermon, a religious talk that may or may not be in the form of a prayer

Ameen: the Muslim variation of “Amen” for Christianity, which means “may it be so”, uttered after a prayer.

Those are a couple of terms used during the Raya season. Learning a new language can be really fun at times! If you’re thinking of taking up a new language, go for it. It will take time, but if you enjoy the process, it will be worth it, no matter how much effort it takes at first.

And NOW….. What does “Abracadabra” really mean? Is it really just gibberish made up of the first four alphabets – a, b, c, d?

In Hebrew, Abracadabra translates to….

“I will create as I speak.”

Once in forever: I am now officially eighteen!

Rachel Tan HX 8 Comments

“What’s the first thing you want to do on turning eighteen?” asked my mother.

Any other teenager may have said learning to drive, for those who did not start on turning seventeen. Cheekier ones may have joked about going to a pub and taking their first drink.

“Open a fixed deposit account,” I said.

Fairy Lights and Me 2
the 21st of May 2020
Credits: Blog author, Rachel Tan HX

Eighteen years ago today, on the 21st of May 2002, I was born.

Yes, I’m turning eighteen today!

(The nerve! This is my first time putting up a photo in my pyjamas. Hopefully I still look presentable.)

Today is a happy day, even though it’s still CMCO (Conditional Movement Control Order) due to the Covid 19 situation. My mother and I took a quick trip to the mall (masks on, hands off elevator railings, walk ten miles away from everyone, etc) and got us lunch. Then she redeemed two free Tealive drinks, hazelnut milk tea, which she won from joined a mini online contest.

Hazelnut milk tea from Tealive
21 may 2020
Credits: Blog author, Rachel Tan HX

A stall across from Tealive caught my eye, and I bought a little box of cappucino almond biscuits for myself. It had a cyan-coloured ribbon tied around its cover. I was delighted.

“I love almond,” I gushed. “And cappucino. And the colour cyan.” I pointed at the ribbon toed around the biscuit container. “That’s why I’m getting this one.”

It was my first trip out of the house to the mall since MCO for Malaysia begun on the 18th of March, 2020. (However, my contract work as a patient care assistant with the hospital ended only early April. Read all about it here and here!) I eagerly kept my eyes out for the little details that I saw at the mall today, knowing full well that after this short trip on my birthday, the next time I left the house would be who knows when. So it’s like that – temperature taking at many shops, long lines going into departmental stores, recording of names and contact numbers etc. One of the clothing outlets had an especially long line, and I was surprised. Clothes are in demand? At this time?

Long line in front of Jaya Grocer
21 May 2020
Credits: Blog author, Rachel Tan HX

Then I remembered Hari Raya (the Muslim new year) was coming soon for the Malays. Maybe that’s why!

Still, mom said I hadn’t seen the real thing. “Back during the first few weeks of MCO, the mall was half deserted, all the shops were shut… and there was free parking.”

On returning home, my father called: “Follow SOP! Quarantine everything else except lunch. Lather your handphones with hand sanitizer. Bathe and wash your hair.” We do so.

It was only after that that we were allowed to enjoy our lunch – Nandos! We said again how amused we were by the catchy words on the brown paper bag. See, that’s the difference between us and bags. Humans only live once, bags can have many happy returns. Please recycle this one.

In its next life, this bag wants to be a bag.

Funny text on Nando’s paper bag
21 May 2020
Credits: Blog author, Rachel Tan HX

We go back to doing our own things. At tea time, it was time to cut the cake. For our family, birthday cakes are always cut and eaten at tea time (around 4pm). This year, my mom bought me a cake of really unique flavour – a delicious lemon earl grey tea cake, ordered online.

Earl grey tea has a really exotic, out of this world taste. Try as I might, some hours after eating the cake, I could not recall its taste. When I tried to think of coffee, the memory of its taste was vivid, even though I hadn’t had coffee for a month. Maybe that’s the way coffee becomes addictive for some people – it has a way of latching on to your brain cells.

“I like things that are different.” I said to my mom. “It’s a breath of fresh air. And I love the experience.”

My family and I, on my 18th birthday
21 May 2020
Credits: Blog author, Rachel Tan HX

Now, I am writing this blogpost to share all of this with you, enjoying the final hours of my birthday while it lasts. I would like to thank all the beautiful people – my family, my old classmates from high school, and ex-colleagues from my retail job (first day at work: retail job) and hospital job (first day at work: hospital job) – for all the kind wishes for my 18th birthday, and my future.

I am now a legal adult. But with more freedom also comes more responsibility. It will be tough, even alien, at times – but I am prepared to tackle all these challenges bravely as they come my way!

~Blog author, Rachel Tan HX

Officially Eighteen

Just got my university online lecture notes!

Rachel Tan HX 2 Comments

Just checked our university’s e-learning website and some of the notes (all of them are in powerpoint presentation form) are ALREADY UP! I am not sure whether these are our main notes, or just for casual reading, but it is something, for sure.

Update on 28th of January 2021: Those were not our main notes, they were old notes just for our reference.

I have printed some out to start studying already. MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) is one of the most rigorous courses, and to achieve AND maintain a CGPA of 3.5 in foundation leading to the degree course, the minimum requirement to enter our institution’s MBBS degree course, I absolutely have to get going!

I would like to repeat again that although this blog is meant for everyone, its main purpose is to be a guide, or simply a companion, for my peer and future-generation friends who are looking to pursue medicine as a career. Through this blog, I also hope to connect with you and would love to be friends. You can find me at Instagram (@racheltan_hx).

As of now, our e-learning environment has put up lecture notes in the form of presentation slides, along with some videos for certain chapters, and quizzes to test our knowledge. It has a very simple user interface (layout and design). However, I still find exploring the student portal, e-learning platform etc interesting.

I must remind you that I have only just attended my e-orientation, and the commencement date for the foundation programs is later in June; however fret not! I have signed up for some online talks, hosted by my university as a welcoming for new university students. Still, there has been no instructions to read the notes in the student portal, and there have been no lectures at all yet.

I am currently still unsure how we will be informed when there will be a online lecture; but I will cross the bridge when I come to it 😉

For now, I shall check some of the notes out. There is already a lot of content on the e-learning platform. Cell Biology, here I come!

~Rachel Tan, Blog author, 16 May 2020.

I’m turning eighteen, and I’m finally getting my own room!

Rachel Tan HX 2 Comments

Guess what: I’m finally getting my own room. I’m so excited! 😛

Me in my new room
8 May 2020
Credits: Blog author, Rachel Tan HX

My dad is famous for giving us false hope. In 2017, he asked casually if I wanted my own room. “Nah,” I said passively, as I always did to many of his questions, thinking if he really wanted to give me one, he would give me one. Expressing too much enthusiasm to rewards would raise suspicion, so I tend to play it cool. He didn’t give me one that year, and I wasn’t too surprised; my dad was just exploring possibilities.

In 2018 he said, more definitively this time, that I should have my own room. “You need one,” he said, “To study for your major exam, SPM. It will decrease distractions. We may give you one next year.” (My major exam was in 2019.) I did not voice objection. It sounded like it was going to happen!

He never gave me the room in 2019, and I spent an eternity in our studyroom, specifically meant for the son or daughter who was going to take a major exam that year. I was sitting for SPM that year. The door remained closed at all times, and I alternated between doing model exam papers and taking a “quick lie-down nap” on the backless, rock-solid, head-cracking wooden bench that was my seat….

A week ago, my dad brought up the subject of my own room again. This time, he drew up a small map of how he felt the layout should be like.

Then yesterday, on the 8th of May 2020, it really happened!

Dad chose the 8th because “faat” in Cantonese means eight, which sounds exactly like the word “prosperity”.

So with lots of sweat, groans and head scratching in contemplation of where everything should go, the four of us heaved and yanked everything that was not mine out, shoved it haphazardly into the room next to it, and arranged my bed and bedside table into my room.

Me in my new room 2
8 May 2020
Credits: Mother of Blog author

Dad promised to put up a new wooden sliding door for my room, sometime after the COVID situation has improved. This is because we have always been using the existing plastic sliding door from the previous owner of the house. We have already been living in this house for more than ten years!

(Update: It is 28th of January, 2021 one and still no news of the wooden door. Oh well. I’m happy with my old door anyway!)

After that, we laughed when we saw what a disaster the room next door looked like. Time to decide where some of these should go…. in that room. How terribly overcrowded! My new room instead appeared spick and span, for now. University may just bring a tornado through it!

Finally, I have my own personal space. I can’t wait to decorate or personalize it a little bit with pretty things. I may find something next time, when I’m shopping outside. Let’s hope the coronavirus situation improves soon!

Getting A New Computer During The Coronavirus Season!

Rachel Tan HX 2 Comments

Ahh, dad! That might just be too much disinfectant for a computer!

Blog author, Rachel Tan HX, 18
Our new computer being quarantined at a far corner of our house!
Credits: Blog author, Rachel Tan HX
26 April 2020

“List out three things you might want for your reward, for getting 9As in SPM (major exam),” my father announced, “And I’ll either choose from there, or if none are acceptable, I shall get you a physics reference book.”

This came as no surprise to me, as my father had done the same for my younger brother, who had gotten straight As (9As) for his PT3 exam. We both knew our father would never get us reference books for our reward. But we were also well aware that he rarely approved of our requests, even if some of the things we ask for will not cost a cent.

For instance, I can ask for the opportunity to have a part-time job / do volunteer work as my reward, and he may not allow it due to our priorities as a student.

Eventually, my father decided to give me my third choice: a new computer. I had asked for one purely for practicality purposes. “You need one.” He agreed, as we watched my Windows Vista try to load a google page for five minutes now. “I’ll get you one, and you shall use it to start studying for your foundation leading to university.”

So my father went and bought me one online from Dell, as I studied math Chapter 2: Sequences And Series from a form 6 book in the next room, under his strict orders. The only knowledge I had of it was the stomping of his feet as he strode to and fro his and my mother’s room, trying to settle the online payment, and “Rachel! Your computer will arrive in a few days.” while I mmphed and ohhed absentmindedly, as I attempted to expand (5+7x) to the power of 9 using the binomial theorem.

The computer was delivered to our home three days ago on the 23rd of April.

Prior to that, my father had walked out to buy a bottle of disinfectant.

“Now,” dad mused, “where shall I begin?” Once he began, though, he couldn’t stop. Here is a photo of him spraying the CPU:

Credits: Blog author, Rachel Tan HX
23 April 2020

Ahh, dad! That might just be too much disinfectant for a computer!

“Better safe than sorry,” replied my father, in response to our protests. He sprayed the keyboard, then the mouse. “Safe than sorry.” We watched as liquid soap started pooling on the CPU’s surface. He sprayed viciously through the tiny holes where the CPU’s cooling fan and harddrive were supposed to be. Psst. Psst. Psssssssssstttt. Dad stood back.

“I hope there won’t be a short circuit inside.” He admitted.

We lifted the CPU and put it in a far corner of the house.

The next morning, dad said: “I turned the CPU upside down and sprayed the bottom again!” causing me to gasp in worry. “Bad thing is, this disinfectant is not like hand sanitizer, it doesn’t evaporate off. When I lifted it, I saw a puddle of soap underneath.”

I opened my mouth.

“But stay calm. Stay calm,” said dad. “We’ll open everything up and blow it with a hairdryer after five days.”

Utmost suspense. Will the computer kaput or live to see tomorrow?