Bon Voyage: Hawaii

How do you imagine your dream vacation would be like? 

Image taken from https://imgur.com/gallery/m7mJp

Surely, some would prefer to just go sight-seeing with camera on their neck and take some good shots along the walk. Some also perhaps prefer to go shopping with their friends and do food hunting because who doesn’t like food? Some might just love to sit back and enjoy the environment while having a cup of Americano around Paris.

As for me, beach is my favourite place to enjoy my vacation. My dream vacation would be in Hawaii As cliché as it sounds, Hawaii has this vibe that brings you inner peace and only nature can do that for you.

Why? Well, there are few places of attractions below that I’m going to recommend you to go to.

Waikiki Beach

1) What is beach when you don’t get the chance to surf? Waikiki Beach is here to give you some fun!

Waikiki Beach is surely the first place you have to go when you arrive Hawaii! 

(image taken from https://www.outriggerwaikikihotel.com/)

Image taken from https://giphy.com/gifs/surf-surfing-FlL27X97Xz3Py

Sneak peek on surfing at Waikiki Beach!

(video source from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8U7ba6YRpE)

Imagine this. There are big waves coming at you while you paddle the surfboard then you enjoy the waves and surf like no others! Surfing should be in your bucket list because it is worth to try and the feelings when you feel like you are walking on the wave is unbelievable! You could take surf and stand up paddle lesson in Waikiki Beach and poof! You can surf now (if you are a quick learner then you are good to go!)  

Kuoloa Ranch

2) Grab the chance to be an archaeologist-who-found-the-dinosaurs-bones-without-having-to-dig-the-ground Have you watched Kong: Skull Island and Jurassic Park before? Now is the chance for you to be in the most out-of-the-world movie set, KUOLOA RANCH!

Movie set of the Jurassic Park in Kuoloa Ranch taken from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/124763852157923106/

Kong: Skull Island movie set taken from https://imgur.com/gallery/rfl9n

BTS in Kuoala Ranch enjoying the ATV rides taken from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/799740846304816691/

Besides that, you can enjoy riding ATV rides along the Kuoloa Ranch and enjoy the beautiful sceneries along them! Here is some of the video on ATV rides moment in Kuoloa Ranch!

video taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uXaXdRhvZ4

Big Island Helicopter Tour

Have you ever experienced the helicopter tour? now you can!

Hawaii Island – or the Big Island as locals call it – is arguably the most spectacular of the Hawaiian Islands to view by helicopter.  And the variety of Island of Hawaii helicopter tour options is equally impressive – you can take a short 30 minute flight from Hilo up and over a bubbling, steaming volcano or a two-hour grand aerial tour leaving from Waikoloa that includes canyons, lush rainforests, sacred valleys, black sand beaches, topped off with a flight over an active volcano! And lots of other tour offerings of different flight lengths and departure points, including combinations with submarine trips and, our favorite, you helicopter into a remote rainforest for an unforgettable hike.

Surely, you can never experience this anywhere, Big Island has everything to show you! Picturesque scenes are everywhere too!

Taken from http://www.maunalanipoint.com/blog/things-to-do-in-hawaii-big-island-helicopter-tour/

Imagine seeing the crate created by lava right in front of your eyes! 

Image taken from https://www.safarihelicopters.com/big-island-helicopter-tours/

This is probaby me when I get to see lava for the first time......

To make it more exciting, here is a short video on Big Island Helicopter Tour!

taken from 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwZDb9KxPuU

I really hope that these will help you to plan your vacation very well, it might not be much , but you can still make some research on places of attraction in Hawaii. Surely, there must be more than 3 places that you should go and have fun!

Below are few websites that you search and plan for your trip!

References

https://www.planetware.com/east-coast/hawaii-volcanoes-national-park-us-hi-hiv.htm

https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm

https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/hawaii-ushi.htm

http://www.prideofmaui.com/blog/maui/top-10-places-visit-hawaii.html

http://www.maunalanipoint.com/blog/things-to-do-in-hawaii-big-island-helicopter-tour/

http://www.hawaiihelicoptertours.com/big-island-helicopter-tours/

https://www.safarihelicopters.com/big-island-helicopter-tours/

https://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/21/us/hawaii-weather-big-waves/

History of Internet

The History of the Internet

The Internet is made up of thousands of computer networks that are connected (networked) to each other. These connected computer networks are using the communication method called TCP/IP. This resource has become one of the important needs in our life starting from the usage of Morse Code during the military era in 1836 and had been revolutionized to become the internet that we are using right now. After the large growth of internet, its expansion continues and finally reach Malaysia. The first internet in Malaysia has been established and is known as Rangkaian Komputer Malaysia (RangKom). The internet gives a lot of advantages and its importance are recognized by the whole world.

Farewell?

Q: You have almost completed this semester, so how do you view Critical Literacy now? If you have any comments and suggestion please do so as it helps for the betterment of the course as a whole.

There are few weeks more until I complete this semester and there are still a lot of things for me to learn. Critical Literacy have brought me into a new world where I view things more differently and more insights.

It proved how crucial our knowledge in critical thinking that we have learnt in last semester as we applied in this semester and also in future.

I did have some prejudice towards this course at first, but as I learn this through this semester, it actually helps me a lot. I never read articles in more serious way before, but Critical Literacy changed me. I can now detect the writer’s stance, positioning and the credibility of the author.

To those who are going to take Critical Literacy for the next semester, do not feel afraid. This subject is indeed challenging but you will experience a lot while learning this subject. There are more articles to be explore and knowledge to gain.

Have a little faith in yourselves, you will definitely enjoy this.

Why Do You Refuse?

PUTRAJAYA: Most parents who refuse to vaccinate their children are those who live in the cities and are highly educated, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. S. Subramaniam today.

“The ministry has detected nearly 1600 children who did not get vaccinated last year and this figure is increasing every year”. By Bernama – July 28, 2017 @ 11:37 pm

Why do you think this is happening, what are the arguments for the refusal of vaccination?

I am truly believed that parents who refuse to vaccinate their children do not see the need to do one. They thought that it is unnecessary because there are not many diseases that will affect their children in future when in reality, we can never predict what kind of diseases will appear, even doctors.

This has become a worrisome because people who live in elite area refuse to do one when they are the one who should be aware of the importance of vaccination to their children. They are highly educated people and should have taken this as a serious matter because it involved the future of their children.

We are well aware that there are also some parents who delayed the vaccination process because of their children’s sensitivity. However, they also need to know that their children are readily available and it is okay to suffer now than later.

Education is a key player in equipping parents with the necessary information so that they can make responsible immunization decisions for their children.

No doubt that people who refused to get their children vaccinated are those who are highly educated. However, they do not have the aware to do so since they do not seek for advices from the doctors and pharmacists.

It is never wrong to seek for advices and take a short break from work to bring your children to the hospital for vaccination as it is for their own good.

How do you view obesity?

“It’s clear that the progress we’ve made in fighting obesity is fragile – and that we’re at a critical juncture where continuation of the policies that show promise and increased support and resources could truly help bend the riding tide of obesity rates”, said John Auerbach, president and CEO of the Trust for America’s Health”.

Based on the above statement, how do you view obesity rates in Malaysia?

Based on the “Tackling Obesity in Asean” Report by the Economist Intelligence Unit which covered Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam, our country has the dubious honor of having the highest obesity prevalence in Southeast Asia.  

Are we aware of this?

No.

Malaysians tend to see obesity as cosmetic problems not health problem which lead them to consume a lot of ‘diet pills’ which a lot of them sold in online shop. They view this as their personality problems and not health problem which is where they are wrong.

There are many things that contribute to this problem. Many of us blame the society, culture and even the fast food restaurants. I think it is time to stop pointing fingers at others and start reflecting on ourselves.

Our culture of entertaining guests with food is not wrong. It is our responsibility to give them which kind of food that is good for their health.

The fast food restaurants are not wrong. It is our responsibility to control the amount of food that we should eat whether its carbs, or desserts. They only provide us food that served in a quick way and convenient for their customers.

When we put our minds to something, it is never a problem to make it succeed. The same thing goes to this obesity problem. We have to maintain our healthy lifestyle and change our mind set.

Look around you and yourselves, do you want a change?

If that so, go for it.

Stereotypes?

Stereotyping is exaggerated generalizations associated with a categorizing system they go beyond the facts at hand and make claims that usually have no valid basis. It is also something that most people find difficult to avoid from doing. Do you agree?

I agree. This is because stereotyping happened when one makes an assumption based on the surface. They do not like to investigate and do research to get to know something more insights. In our society, in Malaysia, it is certainly complicated to change this kind of behaviour because we actually grow up with it.

Sometimes, we stereotype without we realised. This proved how deep this problem is in our society that some people do not have the guilt when they make false assumption towards something.

As a Malaysian, I find myself stereotype as well until one day I decided that it is best to remain silent cause I remember that there is one saying, “silence is golden”. I believe that it is unfair to only look at one side and ignore the other side. For instance, some people love to wear cheap and casual clothes for their everyday wear and these stereotypes assume that they are poor and did not have the money to buy more pleasant clothes.

This is stereotypes because we are judging their preferences despite having any ideas on their background. There are rich people who love to buy simple clothes and prefer casual more than anything. Being simple and casual is for everyone and does not portray poverty at all.

Some song writers nowadays made songs to mock the stereotypes in their society 

In conclusion, I believe we should stop this negativity and start to be more open minded. No doubt that it will be hard to sustain but it is better late than never.

Critical Literacy

Critical Literacy is the capability of one person to study texts in active ways which he/she would have better understanding on human relationships. Text is referred as a medium which people will communicate with the society. Songs, conversations, pictures and novels are also considered as texts.

When critical literacy skills are developed, one can interpret messages effectively by applying their skills. Teachers who teach these skills to their students are believed to encourage their students to interrogate societal issues and institutions. For instance, societal issues could be referred to inequality. Inequality is the root of numbers of societal issues especially when it comes to gender, races and disability. Students can relate the things that they have read with their surroundings. Critiques are given to change the norms and they will demonstrate that not all members of society could except the norms.

According to Paolo Freire in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, he stated that critical literacy could be developed in educational context. He proposed that students should be in a system where they are socially aware through critiques of multiple cases of injustice. However, the students need to be given the opportunity to explore and construct knowledge in order to achieve this awareness.

When students become critically literate, they will be able to examine their surroundings, the role they play in a society and how they relate their knowledge with their experiences. They will also obtain biases and hidden agendas in the texts easily. Reading in reflective manners help them to understand texts thoroughly. When they excel in using the tools in critical literacy, they would expose, discuss and try to solve the social injustice happened in their society. This will also help students to find their own voice in their community.

Therefore, it is crucial to read novels, magazine articles, short stories and films through a lens that challenges norms. It is also important for them to be able to interpret message and look to others’ perspective as well. Some of the books that students could read are To Kill A Mockingbird and Wolf Whistle.

In conclusion, critical literacy helps students to understand a topic more in depth. It widens our views on certain topics and enable us to voice out our opinions. It might be complicated at first but it eases people to think effectively.