Raya

It all started because Casey wanted some traditional clothes for Hari Raya. I thought this was a great idea and was all set to head to one of the many ultra-modern mega malls that dominate KL to look for a medium priced tailor. Casey, who actually experiences a severe physical allergy when she enters a mall, informed me that a mall tailor was quite possible the worst idea ever. She refused to buy traditional clothing from a large scale retailer and was determined to scour the city looking for the "right" place. I, of course, informed her that she was crazy. This is Kuala Lumpur, not a small, rural village. Small scale traditional shops have given way to the Gap. I told Casey that if she wanted traditional gear made in a traditional way she would have to travel to the countryside. She responded to my "you're Crazy" with an equally mature "so is your face". I figured we'd still end up at an official tailor's shop, maybe not one in a mega-mall but at least one of the small, side of the road kedai (actually translates into small, side of the road shop). Casey, however, did indeed manage to find the "right" shop - only a 10 minute walk away. The "shop" is actually a woman's home and she does some occasional sewing on the side. Casey, the anthropologist, was able to sniff out a house in the middle of a huge city that does not have running water. Only Casey! Well, we received our traditional clothes and they weren't made in a department store. Casey has actually become quite good friends with the woman and two of her daughters.This is the master seamstress cooking up some delicious eats


Casey and friends

Casey not only found the one house in the middle of the city without running water (ironically, though there is no water, there is a computer, a necessity for the 3 boys who seem to never tire of computer games) but she now has an adopted family. Casey stops by during the day, attended a family birthday feast, went on a trip back to the kampung (village) with the mother and 2 daughters, and has been giving swimming lessons to the daughters. I'll let Casey explain those events. The mother, Hamidon, has taken a particular interest in me. She gives me all kinds of traditional medicines to eat and drink and endless advice on how to get better, she dropped by last night (10PM by the way) with her little boy and among other things has made me promise to go for a bike ride with her. I tried to explain that I am not quite ready to ride a bike yet but she is hearing none of it. In less than a week I should have some bike misfortunes to detail.

We have been able to put the clothes we had made to good use. We were lucky to be able to attend a few traditional Hari Raya celebrations. These celebrations consist of sitting around and gorging on delicious foods. Fortunately the traditional outfits have pajama-like qualities and you are able to really pound down food without the typical, pants to tight feeling that we all experience on Thanksgiving.


On a completely unrelated note I read something interesting in the paper the other day. It is very common for households to employ a pembantu rumah (maid/househelper). These maids are exclusively foreigners, usually Indonesian or Filipino. The government regulates these workers as part of the foreign workers program. This means they regulate how many workers and from what countries they will grant visas to. The government has ties with foreign companies that supply maids. As of today there are no Chinese maids because the Malaysian government will not allow Chinese women who plan on working as maids to enter the country. Some Chinese companies that sponsor maids have been trying to change this policy. The local Chinese Malay population, however, is adamantly opposed to allowing Chinese maids because, I quote "these little Chinese dragons are stealing our husbands". The proposed new policy would allow Chinese maids but with one condition - they must be over 35 years old. How ridiculous is that? Apparently the Indonesian, Filipino, Thai, and Vietnamese maids are not nearly as enticing as those "little Chinese dragons".