Of all the ways I could choose to fill my spare time, I’ve managed to pick some incredibly tedious, punishing yard projects. It must be from my inherited Polish virtues, a strong back and a weak mind. I intend
Author Archives: bingregory
Hau tu spik Malaysian
Malaysia is constantly grappling with the role of English in the country and in the Malaysian language, Bahasa Malaysia. On the one hand, fluency in English is highly prized. The government’s latest initiative to improve English skills is that Math and Science courses will now be taught in English medium. On the other hand, English […]
KakUda is one month old
KakUda turned one month old today. I’ve finally gotten around to preparing a picture or two of her. The picture is already two weeks old, and at this age their faces change daily. I was gone on a work trip for 5 days, and I swear she was a new person when I came home. […]
The Yard: Hazards of Collecting
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]herever I go, I am always sure to bring my secatuers along. If it was only more portable, I’d probably bring a spade too. You never know when you will come across a plant for the garden. Institutional grounds are the best places to go, since they tend to have cultivated varities, and noone would […]
KakUda
Dear Friends and Relations, may Peace be upon you all, Our baby was born this morning at 7:07 am April 7th Malaysian time. She is a baby girl. Her name means “radiant one”, but in the family she has the title KakUda, meaning “Fourth Daughter” and that’s what I’ll be using on the web for […]
Malay Contributions to English, pt. 5
Though I’ve been here in Kuching over a year now, I’ve barely been outside of the city. Partly because of that, I had the impression that all the “real” nature was to be found far into the uplands. So I was very pleasantly surprised when I visited Semenggoh just a half an hour’s drive from […]
Kubur
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e visited my late father-in-law’s grave on Eid al-Fitr to read Ya Sin and pray on his behalf. This is a common practice on the Eid, maybe because families are gathered together at that time. He was buried only about a kilometer from our village. The cemetery was so humble and unassuming. Graves were marked by […]
Happy New Year x3
It’s been months since I last wrote, but it seems like years. Maybe that’s because we’ve entered 2004 AD, the Chinese Year of the Monkey, and, today, the year 1425 of the islamic calendar, all within two months. The first of Muharram is a public holiday in many states in Malaysia, including Sarawak, so I’m […]