I know so little about the world that I live in...

   KakNgah here.

  







   It's been a while since any of us updated this blog. So I am here to dust away the cobwebs, mop the floor and do some spring cleaning. I guess we're all just a little too occupied in our duties in the outside world. What can we do? We live there.

   It has rained non-stop for two days, and this morning just as my partner and I drove out of our taman, a teacher from our school called and told us that us that the road to our school was flooded. So was the one that leads to Alor Gajah town. I called my housemates who take the same road that we do, and they suggested taking a longer route, but since our fuel was running low, the only thing we could do was to turn back.

   And it hit us that we did not have our house keys with us. The rain was still coming down. We called the Head and our supervising teacher, informing them of our situation and asking them what to do. They advised us to turn back and go home... which we could not do without our keys. So, what we did was drive  to SK Hutan Percha, about 20 minutes from where we were, just to get the keys. Lovely, lovely. In the end, we went back home and slept the morning off. Exhausted? You tell me, haha.

   I never thought that Melaka gets flooded too. Thought it only happens in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah. It just goes to show that there is so much that I don't know about the part of the world that I live in, let alone the part that I don't live in. In fact, who really knows about the world they live in? The ultimate answer: Allah. He alone knows. And He alone knows everything about everything. Subhanallah!

Busy Days Before & Ahead!

   KakNgah here.

   These days have been full! I've hardly had time to sit down much, and even if I do my whole body aches (probably because of the hockey we played on Wednesday... played? Yeah right.)

   I'll be brief because I haven't much time- I'm waiting for my friend to come over and help me move my stuff to the place I'll be staying at during practicum. Yup, you read right. Practicum starts next week! Actually I'm not even sure the word 'practicum' exists in the English language (I don't think it does because the word always gets underlined with red squiggles), so maybe I'll use 'teaching practice' instead.

   Yes, teaching practice starts next week! On Monday! That's two days away!!!!

   I'm so nervous I can't sleep, eat or drink. Yeah right. But I am truly nervous, and excited too. This is the phase where I'll really know if teaching is for me, and whether I am for it. These two weeks have been full of last-minute crammed briefings and final words from our lecturers. I wish I had had more time to see everyone and say goodbye, but I didn't.

   Allah knows best. Maybe I'll meet them again. Insya-Allah.

   Anyway, a short comment left in our chatbox gave me an idea to do something that would be useful for us (that would mean the Al-Abidaat) especially KakYong and KakNgah. Hopefully I'll have time to write about it as soon as possible, but I'm a bit apprehensive because my housemate said that our new house doesn't really have good broadband connection. I haven't tried, but I do hope that I won't have a porblem because it would mean harder access to the internet and to my blogs!

   That's it for now. 'Til next time!

After 12 days of Absence...

   KakNgah here.

   It's only been twelve days since I left home to be here, but it feels like two months. How time flies! And yet it crawls. One has to wait and wait... and when something happens, it happens and is gone in a flash.

   I have so much to write about. And so little time to do it. No. I won't lie. I do have time. But what time I do have, I just like to rest. Just rest and relax before the big challenge starts next week. I'm nervous. I really am.

   Thankfully, KakYong has promised to write regularly. Good for you! And KakCik also asked for the email to this blog. I guess she wants to start writing. Good for you too. 

   And good for me. Honestly, I don't know how I am going to keep with writing here and at my teaching blog. I hope to be able to at least post one entry here per week. Otherwise, I will probably be killing myself at updating the other blog. Oh, I am positive that there'll be lots and lots to write about. Just not as positive that I'll have time and that my experiences will be positive ones however positive I am about them. Oh dear.

   So tonight... I'll only write something short. Or perhaps a short version of something that is long.

   The truth hurts. Especially when it is about something that makes you uncomfortable. But the truth is, the truth is just the truth. And one must always accept what is true. Even if it means you will feel terrible for days about it.

Would you lie just because the truth hurts?

   But in the end, however much it hurts, if you choose to do something about the truth, if you choose to act upon it (and you must remember that there are many ways of acting upon something- even deciding to keep quiet about something can be an act of accepting the truth), the truth will help you. It will HELP you. Trust in Allah and know that He knows that you have decided to accept the truth. In the end, all will be well.

   All is well, insya-Allah. Amin.

Kak Yong writes: 1st class:Research Methodology

It was the first class yesterday, for Research Methodology, which is compulsory to all postgraduate students. A weekend class is for the full research students, both Masters and PhD. I was a bit apprehensive at first, it had been quite some time since I attended any class, and most of the students were PhD students, way older with lots of experience in their field, whereas I am diving into unknown regions, and not a clue to what I’m supposed to do first. Doing a first degree in one field and jumping right into something totally different is something requires a lot of thought, which I didn’t do much of. The thinking I mean. I just thought, “Why not?” and went for it. We’ll see in another two years or so…sigh…

Anyway, we’ll be attending class every two weeks, and there’s two sessions each time. Yesterday was Introduction to Research Methodology and Research Proposal, both delivered by Prof Ahmad Hidayat Buang, the Academy’s director. He used English most of the time, since there were foreigners, but sometimes he lapsed into BM or Arabic, and when it was Arabic I would be .lost. Seriously, what was I expecting? It is Islamic studies after all. What to do… At times like this, I wished that I’ve tried better with Arabic in school. And after four or five years not using it much, I guess it is to be expected that it had declined. As with anything, if unused for a period of time, it will slowly feel apart. Like a car abandoned somewhere. Come back after four years, it would have fallen apart. Such is the law of the universe.

The discussion yesterday revolved around the topic of Research Methodology which includes:

1. The purpose of Writing a Thesis
2. What is Academic Writing?
3. What is Research Methodology?

The second session was dedicated to Research Proposal. Actually, all of us would have hand in the research proposal when we applied for MA or PhD, but for me it was a really simple one and just for the purpose of applying. I will need to prepare a proper one which will be presented in the Postgraduate seminar at the department soon. A research proposal should have the following items:

1. Introduction, which includes Statement of Problem, Rationale and Background
2. Hypothesis- expected outcome of the study
3. Definition of terms-to clarify the topic
4. Significance of study
5. Literature Review- the most important, relevant and recent reading materials
6. Methodology of Research
7. Budget & Time Schedule
8. Reference/Appendices

It’s time to start reading. Lots and lots of reading.