Rice needs soil and water to grow. Rice is grown on vast spaces if land. Rice sustains life of an individual in a typical SEA community. Hence, the land which sustains the life of the individual is the land that she/he belongs to.

For riverince and coastal communities, the river or the sea would be their source of life. River provides mode of transport. Sea provides food.

Due to the connection and the bond between the individual and the surroundings, the notion of "tanah air" is very central to the life and culture of the Malay community.

Tanah tumpah darah
Literally: "soil where blood is shed"
Meaning: birthplace

Tanah pusaka
Literally: hereditary soil
Meaning: land inherited from past ancestors

Tanah hidup
Lit: living soil
Meaning: land used for growing crops

Tanah mati
Lit: dead soil
meaning: non-arable land

Why rice, not potatoes?
- environment:
climate + soil
- culture:
of SEA people
- trade
- etiquette
- staple food of SEA
-rice cultivation
cultivating process takes a long, hard time.
people will treasure rice
rice is nutritional, healthier

Rice in Southeast Asia
Rice is a staple component of Thai cuisine, as it is of most Asian cuisines. The highly prized, sweet-smelling jasmine rice is indigenous to Thailand. This naturally aromatic long-grained rice grows in abundance in the verdant patchwork of paddy fields that blanket Thailand's central plains. Steamed rice is accompanied by highly aromatic curry, stir-fry and other dishes, incorporating sometimes large quantities of chillies, lime juice and lemon grass. Curries, stir-frys and others may be poured onto the rice creating a single dish called khao rad gang, a popular meal when time is limited. Sticky rice is a unique variety of rice that contains an unusual balance of the starches present in all rice, causing it to cook up to a sticky texture. It is the daily bread of Laos and substitutes ordinary rice in rural Northern and Northeastern Thai cuisine, where Lao cultural influence is strong.

1) Khao Pad
- One of the most common dishes in Thailand, fried rice, Thai style. Usually with chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, crab or coconut or pineapple, or vegetarian
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2049/2184677403_d7c6a3fc4c.jpg?v=0
2) Khao pad naem
- fried rice with fermented sausage (typically from the Northeast)

3) Khao khluk kapi
- rice stir-fried with shrimp paste, served with sweetened pork and vegetables.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eA1mlSf-C-4/SPifyLPYv5I/AAAAAAAAFCM/g9fmgnbZ2CI/s400/1213744578.jpg
4) Khao mun gai
- rice steamed with garlic, with boiled chicken, chicken stock and a dipping sauce
http://www.riverhomestay.com/images/1191825941/Kao-mun-gai.jpg
5) Khao pad gai
- fried rice with chicken
http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/img/recipes/recipe_5405.jpg
6) Kao niao ma muang
- Sticky rice and ripe mango
http://www.thailand-travelonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/sticky-rice-with-mango.jpg

Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Thailand

Religion
According to the last census (2000) 94.7% of the total population are Buddhists of the Theravada tradition. Muslims are the second largest religious group in Thailand at 4.6%[29][30]. Thailand's southernmost provinces - Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and part of Songkhla Chumphon have dominant Muslim populations, consisting of both ethnic Thai and Malay. Most often Muslims live in separate communities from non-Muslims. The southern tip of Thailand is mostly ethnically Malay, and most Malays are Sunni Muslims. Christians, mainly Catholics, represent 0.75% of the population. A tiny but influential community of Sikhs in Thailand and some Hindus also live in the country's cities, and are heavily engaged in retail commerce. There is also a small Jewish community in Thailand, dating back to the 17th century. Since 2001, Muslim activists, generally described by the Thai government as terrorists or separatists, have rallied against the central government because of alleged corruption and ethnic bias on the part of officials.



Culture
The culture of Thailand incorporates a great deal of influence from India, China, Cambodia, and the rest of Southeast Asia. Thailand's main theology Theravada Buddhism is central to modern Thai identity and belief. In practice, Thai Buddhism has evolved over time to include many regional beliefs originating from Hinduism, animism as well as ancestor worship. In areas in the southernmost parts of Thailand, Islam is prevalent. Several different ethnic groups, many of which are marginalized, populate Thailand. Some of these groups overlap into Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia and have maintained a distinctly traditional way of life despite strong Thai cultural influence. Overseas Chinese also form a significant part of Thai society, particularly in and around Bangkok. Their successful integration into Thai society has allowed for this group to hold positions of economic and political power.
Like most Asian cultures, respect towards ancestors is an essential part of Thai spiritual practice. Thais have a strong sense of hospitality and generosity, but also a strong sense of social hierarchy. Seniority is an important concept in Thai culture. Elders have by tradition ruled in family decisions or ceremonies.
Children performing traditional musical instruments
The traditional Thai greeting, the wai, is generally offered first by the younger of the two people meeting, with their hands pressed together, fingertips pointing upwards as the head is bowed to touch their face to the hands, usually coinciding with the spoken word "Sawat-dii khrap" for male speakers, and "Sawat-dii ka" for females. The elder then is to respond afterwards in the same way. Social status and position, such as in government, will also have an influence on who performs the wai first. For example, although one may be considerably older than a provincial governor, when meeting it is usually the visitor who pays respect first. When children leave to go to school, they are taught to wai to their parents to represent their respect for them. They do the same when they come back. The wai is a sign of respect and reverence for another, similar to the namaste greeting of India.





Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is the national sport in Thailand and its native martial art call "Muay." In the past "Muay" was taught to Royal soldiers for combat on battlefield if unarmed. After they retired from the army, these soldiers often became Buddhist monks and stayed at the temples. Most of the Thai people's lives are closely tied to Buddhism and temples; they often send their sons to be educated with the monks. ”Muay” is also one of the subjects taught in the temples. [31]
Theravada Buddhism is highly respected in Thailand.
Muay Thai achieved popularity all over the world in the 1990s. The feature film Fight or Flight, which won "Best Foreign Documentary" at the Long Island Film Festival, documented a westerners journey in the Muay Thai circuit in Thailand Fight or Flight official movie website. Although similar martial arts styles exist in other southeast Asian countries, few enjoy the recognition that Muay Thai has received with its full-contact rules allowing strikes including elbows, throws and knees. This is due to Thailand's economic standing in the world while other nation such as Cambodia, Laos and Burma are listed as the world's Least Developed Countries by the UN.

Association football, however, has possibly overtaken Muay Thai's position as most widely viewed and liked sport in contemporary Thai society and it is not uncommon to see Thais cheering their favourite English Premier League teams on television and walking around in replica kits. Another widely enjoyed pastime, and once a competitive sport, is kite flying.
Taboos in Thailand include touching someone's head or pointing with the feet, as the head is considered the most sacred and the foot the dirtiest part of the body. Stepping over someone, or over food, is considered insulting. However, Thai culture as in many other Asian cultures, is succumbing to the influence of globalization with some of the traditional taboos slowly fading away with time.

Books and other documents are the most revered of secular objects. One should not slide a book across a table or place it on the floor.

Thai seafood curry, an example of Thai cuisine.
Thai cuisine blends five fundamental tastes: sweet, spicy, sour, bitter and salty. Some common ingredients used in Thai cuisine include garlic, chillies, lime juice, lemon grass, and fish sauce. The staple food in Thailand is rice, particularly jasmine variety rice (also known as Hom Mali rice) which is included in almost every meal. Thailand is the world's largest exporter of rice, and Thais domestically consume over 100 kg of milled rice per person per year.[26] Over 5000 varieties of rice from Thailand are preserved in the rice gene bank of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), based in the Philippines. The King of Thailand is the official patron of IRRI.[32]

Thai society has been influenced in recent years by its widely-available multi-language press and media. There are numerous English, Thai and Chinese newspapers in circulation; most Thai popular magazines use English headlines as a chic glamor factor. Most large businesses in Bangkok operate in English as well as other languages. Thailand is the largest newspaper market in South East Asia with an estimated circulation of at least 13 million copies daily in 2003. Even upcountry, out of Bangkok, media flourishes. For example, according to Thailand's Public Relations Department Media Directory 2003-2004, the nineteen provinces of northeast Thailand themselves hosted 116 newspapers in addition to radio, TV and cable.

Info: www.wikipedia.com
Pictures: www.google.com

Although i'm not able to go for the RSP seminar/Peranakan Museum excursion, but i'll still do some research on it.

Here are some events which are near the corner (:

Wong Zhuo Ning

Raffles's Girls' School

Regional Studies Program
[RSP]

Tuesday class

105'08

205'09




Cherie
Desiree
Evangeline
Joan
Melissa Foo
Melissa Ng
Melissa Tham
Rei
Ruoxiii
Vivian
Yasira

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