The Girl in the Red Scarf

Hello, Assalamu Alaikum!

You know how its said that, there are some people in our lives that make us laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger and live a little better? Well, I’d like to introduce to you one such person in my life, one of those best  friends you don’t need to talk to everyday but can always count on them, no matter what.

Three years ago, I met ‘the girl with the red scarf’. Her scarf was the first thing that caught my attention, and I named her that in my head (till I knew her name, of course!) A smart and  hyperactive girl who seemed to be pissed off at something, but always laughing!

Meet Suaad. Suaad Dirie from Somalia!

Born and brought up in Kenya, Suaad is a Somali living in Malaysia. She’s currently an undergrad at the Economics faculty, IIUM. Since day one of our friendship till date, it has been not just fun but a an awesome learning experience.

Stay tuned for more, as we discuss our cultures and how looking past cultural differences made us the friends we are today!

A New Friend ???

YOU BETCHAAA!!! Greetings~

Someone will join me & Iman in this informative, intercultural exchange journeyy.. Yeayy~~ InsyaAllah, she will join us after the mid-semester break as she is busy with all kind of things. MAIGOOSSHHH SOOO EXCITEDDD!!!! *can't emphasize more in the caps lock and extreme addition of alphabets*

*hint* Non-Malaysian, Non-Indian, Non-Arabic (as all the criteria are occupied by either me or Iman) ... #Varieties

* s p o i l e r *

  

Sketching Personalities on Paper

Greetings~

Hi there! Here we go again, another interesting activity in class: Draw yourselves, from memory alone and in 5 minutes! With as much details as we could incorporate into our masterpiece. It sounded fun so we just as we were asked to!

The session was funny, with everyone figuring out what they looked like, "which part of the face that I have moles on", "how crooked my smile is.. towards the left or right?", "whether my eyes are squinting or not..", "how big my nose is??", etc.
 We recommend you to try it too! Trust us, you'll realise that there are plenty of things you didn't know about your own face!

At the end of the drawing session, we were questioned on what aspect of our face did we first draw.
Honestly, that question seemed irrelevant. Why bother about what we drew first, the final image is what counts, isn't it!

But apparently, psychology says that it somehow reflects our inner desire! AHAHHH...can u believe it!

Wanna know what we got?

THIS IS ME, HASNY!!! ...Did I drew myself correctly??? Yea, I know I need to draw my nose bigger though. Sobss.

I drew my spectacles first. My justification is that, it is easier to measure & determine the size of my face if I drew the spectacles first (ration of the distance of both eyes and such). Plus, I adore my own eyes if I were to compare with other parts of my face #narcissism

HOWEVER! Dr. Fiza said that.. Those who drew accessories first (such as spectacles & jewelries) -> deep inside, they are craving for LIMELIGHTS!!! *GASPS*

*self-reflection* Reallyyyy?? *judging myself*

And, this is me, Iman! Not that I ran out of time to draw the organs on my face, I'm just a really pathetic artist, and a lazy one at that too!

I drew the outline of my face first, as that's what determines the positioning of the rest of my facial features.

Dr. Fiza told us that those who prefer to draw outline first are usually guarded, always goes by the book and confident!
Won't deny, it's pretty much accurate!

(P.S. Forgive the unwanted doodling- my pencil can't stand still!)

SO YEAH...

I got 'attention-seeker' kind of personality and Iman got confident. *a little bit of jealousy there* huhuhuuu

Whatever it is, I still love you, buddy!!!!!!

Who Am I?

Greetings~

First of all, me & Iman would like to apologize for being M.I.A. most of the time!!!!!

Too occupied with activities inside and outside UIA, visa issues etc etc. Too many posts saved as drafts!

hhaaiiisshhhh we need to double check all the posts... *jotting down in virtual diary*

ANYWAY,

Just like in every other class with Dr. Fiza (that's our cool lecturer!), we were assigned interesting task- write a poem. Poem on 'Who Am I?'  Sounds simple, isn't it? Curious, aye? Hahaa.. But you see, we are both creative people in our own ways, but creativity doesn't flow out freely from a tap in our brains. It's frozen and dormant, stubbornly hiding behind a writer's block. Soo...we are sharing with you something we had written eons ago. (Okay, not that long, but pretty long back!)

And since this piece of "art" of ours is ancient, written at a time when we were young and naive, pretty and nimble, we promise to post something more recent, later. Something that reveals the girls (or ladies :p) we've grown into now. Until then, #WeRemainMysterious  #BeingMysterious (#EnoughWithTheHashtags)

 #mysterious .

So, bear with our random 'creativity' (spoiler alert, mine could be depressing & Iman's could be... a little abstract)

Iman's : A Little Child

There hums a little child,
a song lost in her dreams.
There hums the little child,
a tune drowned in her wake
There she sleeps, deep down
Lost in my past.
But, I listen closely, and
there hums a little girl in me,
I let her sleep.
While I grew up.

Hasny's 

I am a human. I am alive. And I am a daughter.
I am a teen. A complicated one. And I am a lover.
Yes. A lover. 'Love'.
Inside, it feels like a flock of flying pure, white dove.
Of course it is the work of the Dopamine & Oxytocin
And enjoying the lovely, sweet feeling is not a sin.
I have a wonderful partner, a charming good-looking sweetheart, and makes my insides fly.
Though sometimes we face conflicts and dramas, well mainly because I'm a lady and he is a guy.
I am grateful. I am pleased. And I am sure about it till we die.
Though now..
I am a human. I am alive. And I am a daughter.
I am a teen. A complicated one. And I am a heartbreaker.
Yes. A heartbreaker. 'Heartbreak'.
Inside, it feels like a losing team that go on gambling with its life at stake.
Of course it is the work of depression-talking.
And it is never wrong wanting to save the relationship, still loving.
He is still a wonderful partner, still a charming good-looking sweetheart, and still makes my insides fly.
Now we are facing conflicts and dramas, but is it mainly because I'm a lady and he is a guy?
I am confused. I am discontented. And..am I sure about it till we die? 

What Say Us: Cross cultural communication by Pellegrino Riccardi in TEDx

Greetings!

Pellegrino Riccardi

This is the Video from Youtube

Culture, in our opinion, can’t be defined by a strict definition. It rather encompasses many features of our day to day existence and practice in our respective societies as ourselves, as permitted by our respective identities in any given situation. It’s an umbrella under which our individual preferences are collectively organised into a proper system or a code of conduct.

Today, we’re growing, (I’d say, we’ve grown already!) into what is now known as a global village. Our cultures are no longer divided by boundaries or by any strict dividing lines for that matter. 

"Where do our individual cultures stand in this melting cauldron of globalization?"

For that question to be answered, we have to understand how exactly is our culture perceived, not by others, but ourselves. According to Pellegrino Riccardi, it’s wiser to question on how we ourselves perceive our own culture initially , rather than attempting to understand a foreign culture. It’s indeed a fact that we tend to see in ourselves what we expect to, not what we may or actually seem to others. Our perception of ourselves is the door that opens up the vista to the wide world. In our shrinking world today, we often find ourselves in situations where lack of proper understanding of any new or unfamiliar practice often leads to petty misunderstandings.

          Although we’re on our way to globalizing culture, it’s almost impossible to completely shun our indigenous customs, beliefs, faith, habits etc. While sticking to our own culture, it’s important that we familiarize ourselves with whatever is new. And of course, its practically impossible to learn every single culture of every existing nation or tribe. It’s therefore easier to understand each culture’s underlying values.Values that shaped the culture into what it is today.

           A deeper insight into any culture will eventually reveal the intricate designs that shaped any society’s culture. This is true for any given culture, be it the Nordic culture of the West, or the Aboriginal culture of the Australian continent. A simple ingredient in this potion of understanding our fellow human beings around the world is, curiosity.

 Curiosity,

we believe, may be one the reasons our species has reached this far, than any other. We’re blessed with this ability to question our surroundings, question our own selves, question what is right and what is wrong. In our era where cultures are colliding across borders, curiosity saves the day by preventing assumed notions and hence misperception of one another.

The Road That Shall Be Taken, India to Malaysia

Assalamualaikum dunya~

It was just another hectic Tuesday at IIUM.  The weather was surprisingly pleasant, considering the dry spell we’re in! One of the classes we look forward to this semester is our Intercultural Communications class, (doesn’t imply we don’t look forward to any other class :p) on Tuesdays & Thursdays. It’s one of those classes where it isn’t always only about theories and theorists, or language and linguists or worse, numbers and more numbers (oh, and by the way, we’re language+communication students- a perfect mix, isn’t it!)Thanks to our lecturer, we rarely fall asleep in class. We play games, discuss on various cultural issues, debate and argue on many others, share our ideas and experiences. In other words, we learn from each other, from each one of us. So yeah, on one such day, we were assigned to a task- get to know a friend whose culture is different from yours, and record the experience! 

So here we are, Iman and Hasny, presenting to you our little journey of getting to know each other better. Wonder what awaits us, wonder whose paths we’re going to cross. Wonder!

And...we  admit, we’re tad bit awkward at self introduction. So please bear with us!

Iman  is an Indian, brought up in Saudi Arabia, while Hasny’s a Malaysian from Johor. Fun fact: We're full-time students at Hogwarts. We'll spare you the explanation of how we attend IIUM and Hogwarts- Muggles dont usually understand the physics of Magic, you see. Hasny's a Slytherin, while Iman's a Gryffindor. No gasps, we're really good friends. Really. Good. Friends.

Hasny

Iman

"The world's too beautiful to just let only the eyes capture its beauty. Finding the perfect words to fit into the massive jigsaw puzzle of our world to fully express its beauty,  is what I love doing the most. A simple heart, with a curious mind, I entertain all mischief my words may manage on paper!"

So, there you go! More about us and the blog will be updated soon. See ya~
Also, do check out our classmates' blog as well. Just click on their name!

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