ATU 12 in Memory

If you ask me about what is ATU a.k.a ADFP (American Top Universities @ American Degree Foundation Program) about a year and a half ago, I wouldnt' be able even to give a hint of it. None that I know that it is a preparatory program specially designed for students going overseas (or more specifically, to The United States of America). Nor do I have any idea studying overseas is all about; until one day, everything has changed - I signed myself for ATU (twelfth batch) program and the story unveils...
Being an alien in a foreign land (well, Peninsular Malaysia was quite alien to me by then), I stepped my foot to INTEC Section 17, UiTM Shah Alam. OMG, where the hell in the world is that place? All I knew was everything new. There, I saw people like me hustling and bustling around busy completing their chores of registration and getting familiar of the condition itself. That time, I still remember that I left a very important document back home in Kuching! My father was mad at me then! Huhuhu...
Then I stepped in Cemara Block 1 room 511 of where I lived for the first semester. Cold and dingy the room was. When I first stepped in, I was downtrodden by the 'aura' of the room itself, how dirty! Cobwebs everywhere on the ceiling, 3-inches age-accumulated coal black dusts on the malfunctioning ceiling fan with a dead bee on it, not to mention the sticky and slimy sensation of the foot as I walked in the room! *sigh*
Soon I met my first roomate, Kai Yuen, ahaks! He looked as innocent and heartbroken as me as he entered the room. That time, he was with his parents and sister, Kai Li (of which I thought to be his younger secondary school sister, which is false). Then we greeted each other and made a pact to spring clean the room. Hehe, thanks for Kai Yuen's mom and Kai Li, they were really good cleaners!
Then came Yazid, or Hotai Melaka, and Usamah. My heart was then further levitated when I knew that they are from Qisas, ahaks! (A place for reference in religious issues!) And after the mild greetings and further spring cleaning, the life of the first semester begins...

During the first semester...

I was in ATU 12A California, where I really learned a lot not of our similarities in getting A's, rather our differences and unique personalities. There, I met people with differing, and even opposite, view of life than I. Below are some of them:

Joe the philosopher: Huhuhu, I always pondered (and wondered) what is inside his mind. He writes unconventional English with outlandish ideas. Yet his ideas are intruiging to my mind! A SAT genius... I really admire him for that.
Chear the computer expert: This is the other kind of a talented person. I am grateful to be able to meet this genius in computer. His genius is well reflected in OC presentation class when he presented a virtual robot to the class that made us and Datin Minda agape!
Fizah and Fareza: Huhu... I often confused the person and the name. They has opened my eyes to the world of feminine. Well, I never quite understand why girls love pink until I met these two lovely and lady-like girls.
Khirul the Class Rep: The one who sits next to me in the class. An outspoken and well-groomed person he is. He helped me a lot in SAT maths (thanks Khirul!). We often played poke and choke when we are sleepy (right, Khirul? hehehehe...).
And others... lecturers and Californians... all are very intelligent people.

To be continued...

My First Step into The Land of Opportunities; The USA! (Part 2)

Then the fun begins, here in LA, California. After the troubles of being detented and clearing all custom requirements, Andrie, Ezra, Teda and I made our way out of the arrival gate. At first, I expected that there was somebody there to greet us, but no, there was nobody! (not a Malaysian at least) Noticing that we were late, we quickly searched for the rest of the team and finally found them in front of a big billboard marked 'Malaysian' at LAX airport. Then, we met En. Wan (a JPA rep), Puan Hamidah and Kak Ani (they r MSD rep). After that, we were transported to Hacienda hotel, which is about 10 minutes away from the airport.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we quickly settled in for 20 bucks per nite for each person. (Such a big amount for a student if converted into Malaysian Ringgit!). We rented three rooms, (one room for guys and the other two for girls, four person each room). After settling in, we had our meal. Gosh, the meal was expensive and very spicy! (Can u imagine, it's 10 bucks just for that meal u know! I have the pics of the meal and i'll let u guys see 'em in my friendster pics). But one thing, the meal was huge. It took me two eating sessions to finish the meal and yea, that was the first time for me eating real peach fruit, huhu.

After having meals, the contingent, save shamini and few others made our way to the LA downtown. Huhu, we intended to have a look around Manhattan mall at first, but it was already closed by the time. (It closed at 6:00pm, how early was that!) So, we just strolled into Ralphs supermarket and get some things to munch. I bought some medications, got sore throat by the time and Ziha was out with a chocolate juice (?) and Mar with huge M&M chocolate. I remember one thing when Qilah and I wanted to pay for our goods; we did know how to count the shillings! (Pennies, quarters and stuff...) And we did not know that we have to collect the change for shillings ourselves. So, we buat muke sposen in front of the counter and finally the cashier, noticing that we were dumbed, came in our way to assist us. What an experience! (Others beware, you may well get into the same situation!)

At the evening and night, we spent our time just walking around the downton LA. It's sejuk giler... Resty and I were already shivering amidst the chilly winds of California, but we wondered why the locals over there were still okay in their baby-T dress? Huhu... Regardless, we walked and walked around until for about a mile radius from our hotel (no kidding!). While walking, we encountered many things, velvety gardens, well groomed carpety lawns, and even fixed vacuum cleaner on the asphalt! What more is that the people... The American was undeniably friendly, they greeted us with a hi or a smile while we we crossing the streets. They were also kind to pedestrians; the cars actually stopped when we tried to cross the avenues to give way to us!
Then we went to sleep at about 10pm LA time and so the day goes...

8/10/06 - LA time

10:30am - We were ready for our flight to Dallas, Texas. This day was indeed challenging. In the morning, we heard about a foiled plan of some terrorists trying to blow up American airplanes in CNN. Thanks to them, we were prevented from bringing any kind of fluids into our carry-on luggages. What we did was we hoarded our fluid-based toiletries and things for a cargo luggage into Ezra's bag. (Thank God Ezra's bag was big enough to fit them all, huhu!) In the airport, we were worried that we would be missing the flight since we were already late. At the time, it was already 11:30am and the scheduled flight was 11:55am and we are still haven't done with our boarding pass and security checks. (The queue was long due to strict security check). Furthermore, Resty, Teda, Shamini and Shin Hwei got problems with their ticket as the their seats for the flight were not conformed yet until at the time of departure. Later, the issues were resolved save Teda; Teda's seat was absolutely unconformed for her flight from Dallas to Champaign. I'll tell more about it later...

Then we moved in for a security check. We have to open our shoes, our jacket and remove our things and laptops for inspection. Poor Shamini and Shin Hwei, they have to go through a special screening security check ( a much stricter procedure) for reasons unknown. Shin Hwei said she had a full body check with her items sterilized, huhu!

After all things were done, we made our way into the departure hall at about 12:00pm. Thank God, the flight was delayed to 12:22pm and we were able to board the airplane by then. Before we boarded the plane, we bid farewell to Kak Ani who has been assisting us throughout our journey in LA and there we go for a 4 hours ride in an American Airline Boeing.

In the airplane, Los Angeles - Dallas.
Travel time: 4 hours 20 minutes

At first, I expected something better from American airlines but duh, MAS was better! They just simply serve drinks (soft drinks, juice, milks, coffee, and plain waters) instead of full meals like MAS. I was really hungry by then and thanks to Victor who gave me some biscuits and chocolates to fill my stomach along the way. In the flight, Victor and I had some conversation regarding religion and beliefs. Other than that, I was sleeping and gazing throughout the window: wondering the wonderful Lake Tanesse and rocky passes and creeks as we flew over the continent of America.

At about 6:00pm, we arrived at Dallas airport, Texas.

In Dallas airport...

It was blazing hot in Dallas! I guess the temperature at the time was 48 - 50 centigrades (no wonder people died out of heat strokes every year in The US). I could feel the heat once I exited the plane and to the arrival hall. Thank God, the arrival hall was air-conditioned so I did not feel the blazing heat that long. After the flight, we have to take the train (as in KLIA) from the arrival terminal to the other terminal for the next flight. During the 1 hour 30 minutes lapse, we had our 'dinner' and yup, I had a garden salad as a meal for my dinner, huhu! (Aiseyh, sekarang baru aku tahu betapa nikmatnya berada di Malaysia, boleh makan ayam dan daging, huhuhuhuhu.....)

Regarding Teda's ticket issue...

It was not until the final minutes of the flight when Teda's ticket issues were resolved. Thank God again, for His mercy, Teda was able to get her way in with the airline ticket usher's assistance. They way she got in was quite funny though... There was one passenger who haven't arrive for the flight after his name was being called for a few times. Then after the last call, the ticket usher told Teda, "go quickly into the plane before the man arrives!" Huhuhuhuhu, such a blessings for us innocent Malaysian youngsters! If not, somebody have to stay with Teda up until the next day for a flight to Champaign.

In the airplane, Dallas - Champaign
Travel Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

This time, we boarded a small Brazillian EBM airplane (The plane was slightly larger than Fokker with aft torque engines as that of Boeing engines). Not much to say, except I met a new freshman graduate guy from Vietnam, his name is Varig, also on his way to UIUC like me to study! Yay, finally i've made a new friend!

In Champaign airport...
Time: About 9:30pm

As soon as the plane touched down, I was really thankful to God for the safe and sound journey. Finally, here I am, in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In the airport, we were greeted by the seniors and MSD representatives and we had a free dinner sponsored by them. Huhu, then we checked in into ISR temporary residence hall for five days and here i am in the room up until now!

As far as to say, indeed the journey from KLIA to Illinois was indeed memorable and enlightening. All the security checks, arrest at the airports, polite and friendly Americans has indeed reflected the impressions of where I'm going to grow up as a person for the next four years. I pray may this journey will be beneficial to me to be a better Muslim, a better Malaysian, a better son, a better student and a better human being, in this transient course of life seeking the way to truth. And I hope to my ATU friends who are going go fly out there, all the best and may you learn something from this essay I have written. And for the rest, thanks for reading this essay and may you gain something as well!

Thank you :D

My First Step into The Land of Opportunities; The USA! (Part 1)

Well, well, well... Here am I finally in The USA. I've never expected going here b4. Here, I will try to elaborate on my experience for the first few days here in America as well as the journey before arriving to this Land of Opportunities.

1st ATU 12 Contingent to fly (Aug 9, 2006):

People going to UIUC (JPA): Ezra, Victor, Resty, Ziha, Teda, Qila, Mar, Shin Hwei, Andrie and I.
Person going to Cornell: Chear

August 9th, 2006 -

The moment of truth has manifest itself; time to fly! I arrived with my parents and zuhai a.k.a. pit, my youngest brother, to KLIA at about 4:00am fetched by Usu Wan and Usu Susi. I thought somebody were there already but it was not until 6:40am Aqilah arrived. So, I was the first to arrive in KLIA. Bored while waiting, I slept and ate, huhu.
It was about 7:40am when the check-in counter is open for luggage check-in. By then, all of us, the JPA Ilinis, have arrived. Plus, there were lots of people over there - our parents, JPA officers, and INTEC friends. The early morning was busy with hustles and bustles of settling the check-in issues involved; doing away with passports, boarding pass, insurance, and... ahaks, the YELLOW RIBBON!
8:30am = The moment of truth. After the do'a recitation, I heard Cik Intan, the JPA officer says, "Ok, boleh check-in sekarang", then I realized that I have to go... leaving away those who accompanied me thus far in Malaysia. Huhu, I cannot help but cry while hugging my parents and brother... At the time, I know that they have done so much for me. I projected that they spent thousands (more than five thousands) just for my preparations of going to fly to The US along... To INTEC frens @ paparrazzi... well, ur mission has accomplished nak tengok orang banjir! :p (X pe... nnti korang pon nescaya akan banjir gak, hahaha!) Then we queued to stamp our passport through the electronic gate system (woo... Malaysia pun dah canggih ooo...) which is quick and convenient. Later, Ziha's uncle (Ziha's uncle works at KLIA) ushered us to the train connecting us from KLIA's main terminal to the terminal for international departure. Huhuhu, once I arrived there, I don't feel like in Malaysia anymore; there's a whole lot of bunch of foreigners there. So, we made our way through there (it's plain sailing thanks to Ziha's uncle assistance) and for about 20 minutes or so, we boarded the MH 0094, Boeing 747-400 airplane.
In the plane... huhuhu, it took us for about twenty minutes for the plane to actually take off. I was darn sleepy at the time (the night before I was unable to sleep well, dunno why... anxious, perhaps... huhu) and... finally after waiting, the gigantic plane made a smooth run down the runway and there it flew!
As soon as the plane is airbone, when the last tire of the plane finally loses its grip of the ground, I feel somewhat touched in my heart; part excited, part anxious... Excited because I'm going overseas man! and to The United States some more! :D But still, anxiety is there since I have a little idea of what to expect, what more to know and of course the responsibility as a Muslim, a Malaysian, an eldest of the siblings, a son, and of course, a JPA scholar. So, as I glide into the snowy white cloud, I keep thinking of that... What will I be in the future? How can I manage my own life?
And yes... little did i realize, up until this moment that many people has done so much for me, especially my parents. I don't know why this sentimental feeling suddenly arouse amidst the supposed to be an enthralling event, but you know... as if there will come a stage of life when you feel that you must make a move... a move to the front... and leaving away the people you love, for the greater cause.
And so the plane flew from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei without much event except for the occasional air pockets due to bad weather while we're on our way. The flight took about 4 hours and 30 minutes. The time zone is still the same, so, we arrived at about 3 o'clock at CKS International Airport, Taipei.
We stopped at Taipei for about one and a half hours. Not much to say at Taipei, though. The airport is quite old (KLIA's better!) but it's big... Huhu, one thing that I remember was Teda's shoe strap was lost (literally, lost). That time, we were about to check in for re-departure to Los Angeles (LA). Teda did not pass the first security check so she has to go for the secondary screening. The guard asked her to open her shoes and she did so for her shoes to be screened. Poor Teda when her one of her shoe strap was lost inside the screener! So, what she did was... she replaced her shoe straps with yellow ribbons given by Ezra! (Huhu, comel and clever)
At about 4:30 pm... here we go again... this time... a long flight to Los Angeles boarding the same plane.

Now that we have boarded the plane. The jouney is long, and yes, tiring. I'm tired of sitting and waiting long inside the plane. What I did was sitting, with occasional reading, sleeping, eating, and going to the toilet all along the way. One thing interesting in the plane was it has an interactive tv in front of the seat where one can play video games, browse through for travel exchange, watch movies etc2. But I had little interest on those things though so I prefer to keep my eyes shut or reading. Other than that, nothing much except for wondering, monologuing and thinking about the steward, stewardess, and people who were sitting next to me (On my left was a young lady from India, and on my right was a lady from Taiwan. Both were quiet to me, though),
Oh, one thing worth mentioning here. For future ATU Contingents to The US, please note the following:
1. While on board from any flight heading to The US' international airports (as in Taipei to Los Angeles, LAX), you are required to declare your properties to The Custom. You will be given two forms which you must fill in before arrival in The US. So, to those who carry lots of money, better know how much you bring along with you along with other special things such as food, plants, etc. You need to declare them in the form.
2. Don't bring ANY liquid items in your carry-on luggage. These include toothpaste, gel, cream, lotion, even plain water! This is a new regulation imposed by The US authority.

Ok, let's continue.

After for about 11 long hours of flight, we finally touched down at the Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles. I can't believe it! I'm in The States! When we arrive, there was a mild sandstorm, but not much of a problem to us since we're in the big plane. So, after disembarking the plane and waiting for Shamini to fill in her Custom form, we finally walked out of the gate and feel the first American air... Subhanallah, the air was cool and soothing! The sun was present but still, it was balmy. I expect the temperature that time would be around the early twenties; it's like you are in an air-conditioned room. The difference is that, the air is natural! Then we took a bus that transported us to the main terminal. Ahaks, in the main terminal, things were exciting. Wanna know? Read on...
At the main terminal, as usual, we need to queue to stamp our passport so that we could enter the country. The thing is, after I queed for a while, and when it's time my passport to be stamped, I was should i say... arrested!? Huhu, suddenly the front officer who guarded the gate seized my passports and my other documents and gave them to the other woman guard who later lead me to the smaller space in the airport. By the time, I have lost contact with my friends. There, i waited for about thirty minutes. While waiting, I was required to fill in a form asking my personal information such as my parents name and address back in home country, and why i'm here in The States. That time, then I realized that I have to go for the secondary level security check: failing this may cast me into the custody or deportation from the States! Huhuhuhu...
Also with me were some PRC(People's Republic of China)-Chinese girls were also detented, like me. They were also unclear for what reason that they were detented. Others were Mexicans, Hispanics, Arabs(?), and even MAS stewards! Huhuhu, then after twenty minutes of waiting, my name was called by the officer and she leads me into her office...
That time... ok... I expect interrogation and interrogation it was. Huhu, but things were quite otherwise from what I expect, though. Instead a serious a spade is a spade question, the my conversation with the officer was jovial and easy. She asked some 'bonus' question like 'who's your parent's name?' and 'is this the right spelling?' and 'how do you find Ilinois?' to me... Then, she seemed busy keying in my information in her computer. During the interrogation, we saw a Hispanic man with his two very young daughters crying. The daughters cried because they were missing their mommy because she is being interrogated too, I guess. And guess what? The officers there were trying to 'pujuk' his daughters not to cry! And even the officer who interrogated me said, "my goodness!" for the cry of the little kids. Huhu, how convivial! After for about half an hour, a MAS lady came in and asked whether I'm a Malaysian student who is missing from my group and I said yes... That time, I knew that my friends did not know where I am, what am I doing... and neither do I regarding them...
Well, after an hour or so, it finally ends. What is more interesting is that the lady officer apologized for my time 'wasted' for the session and wish me all the best for my study! She even lead me out of the office... Now i'm feeling like an important person, huhuhu.... So, my passport, my I-20 and my I-94 was given back to me with the stamp "LAX, 8/9/2006, admitted" and how relieved i were!
So, I walked outside and I saw Andrie, Ezra and Teda were waiting for me. The rest had gone outside...

Huhu, sleepy oledy... esok je la sambung tulis lg...
To be continued...

To America!

I wish to inform those who know me that I will be going to the United States to further my studies as follow:

Date of departure: August 9th, 2006 (Wednesday)
Time: 9:40am
Flight from KLIA, Kuala Lumpur to LAX, Los Angeles.

I will be leaving Kuching for Kuala Lumpur at August 4th, Friday.

Also, I wish to extend my apologies to all for all my mistakes that I have done, either intentionally or unintentionally.

And I wish to thank you all for all the contributions, knowledge and experience that we have shared together.

Kepada geng2 ex-TUNAZ 2004,
Razi, ejul, awang, boss, muni, dan geng2 mciium... All da best in study. Mun ktkorg dah nak nikah lak boh lupak ngan aku.. antar kad.... hehehehe...

Mardi, Nurul and Rabiatul... Thanks a lot tiga sekawan. Dah jiwang ktkorg kinek tok oo... You girls have indeed given me the colors and spice of life.

Sapwan, salmi, n lyn... all da best in your studies! Sap, tahan sikit gik avalanche kat AUSMAT ya... lyn pun sama juak... ku tauk IB is not an easy course. Salmi... mun dh pande klaka jepon klak ko jd translator aku dlm movie kartun jepon, keyh! hehehehe...

N kpd lain2 yang sik disebut namanya d ctok, all the best in your endeavors! Kelak kita polah reunion TUNAZ, keyh!

To intec frenz...

ATU 12 mates...

especially my roomates... nizam n farid yg poyo n jiwang n mat bunge.... thanks for everything... sorry for all my mistakes 2u all... bilik 303 dlm kenangan

ATU 12 Hi-comms... nice working with u guys...

ATU 12 A (1st sem): it has been great knowing lots of incredible u guys n girls. Keep in touch!

ATU 12 F (2nd sem): heheehe... unforgettable living theather of life remains here... my apologies for my shortcomings both personally and as a class rep. Kpd kump 'gerak khas' - (org2 yg terase tu paham2 je la...) it has been great knowing u guy and girls... jgn diteruskan aktiviti seumpama itu! :P

ATU 12 C (3rd sem): aisey... kawen3x n psych... heheehe... worth utilizing d knowledge for our living! Though the time is short, it has been memorable knowing u people; completing the final sphere of ATU semester.

Silat Cekak Coaches and Members:

Abang Hardi, Abang Putra, Abang Yusry and jurulatih2 lain yg dikasihi,

Terima kasih di atas tunjuk ajar di dalam silat cekak selama ini. Kpd Abang Hardi, TAHNIAH kerana dah jadi BAPAK!!! Huhuhuhuhu....

Afiq, Fakarul n Nabil... Hehehe... teruskan pjuangan sbg senior dlm silat!!! korg ler harapan silat nak survive utk bln2 mendtg...

Wani, intan, shafini, syieq... korang pon same gak... rajin2 turun lthn tau! :p

Athiyah, Anis, Pao, Mas n other russian juniors... Korang pun dh nk fly kan? So, blajarlah silat btol2 sempena korg msh ade kat intec tu. Pao n anis, thanks for the adorable present that u giv me! :)

TAKE CARE U ALL! UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN SO OTHER DAY, INSYA ALLAH! ALL THE BEST IN LIFE!

WASSALAM

:)

Memoirs of old, when will it ever be reflected?

Perhaps a sullen memento, perhaps a first sight of love, perhaps a glisten of succor that simmers deep insight one’s own introspection of self. Like a mirage, the memoirs of old glimmer and shimmer amidst the light of contemporary vestibule of thought; tinkering and manifesting themselves, grasping and diluting even the most stable of feelings and sobriety.

As we ponder and yonder the clock, as it tickles, by seconds and by minutes, to the smiley faces of it of the 10:10 ante-meridian and post-meridian, suddenly we feel lost in this blankness of space and the farness of history with the present of reality embellished with the promising (or dreadful) future untold, the memoirs of old lingers, like a scarecrow hushing away mynahs in the paddy field. When mynahs of the present begin to seize the paddy of perceptions and the stalks of them begin to ramify the succulent seeds that would be the rice we reap, the scarecrow looms there, fretting with an eerie semblance of a wretch; as if the soil has been fumigated with torrents of toxicants – the scarecrow nor the mynahs knew the scarecrow is but an effigy; a false perception of terror, an indubitable hoax. Still, the mynahs are scared of the scarecrow, alas, to the scarecrow’s ignorance.

Relentlessly, the shadow of the past attempt to behoove the light of the future, often with ambivalent avail –neither the prevalence of porosity presuppose the preamble of our penurious precept, rather a rustic ruckus of rambunctious rulings of rosy receptors read.

Still, memoirs of old are not all sour. Like orange, they become sweet when they ripe, when sonority of evenness prevail, when intellect guides the heart, when the equanimity engulfs the enraged, then will only memoirs of old be reflected.