The facilities provided in each apartment are: A large living room with TV and sofa Laundry machine, Kitchen, and Toilet/Bathroom

Transcription

1 Linguistics class and lectures" This lecture was conducted by the three professors of linguistics at UBD. This lecture was not given to UBD students but arranged for the Waseda University students. Two of the professors were from the United Kingdom and one of them was Chinese Bruneian. In this session, the features of Brunei English (in terms of pronunciation) and the bilingual education were mainly dealt with. Both for people who major in linguistics and who do not, the lecture was interesting and easy to understand. However, this lecture seems most meaningful for people majoring in linguistics in that the examples using the knowledge they have learned in class, such as lingua franca and bilingual education, were shown. After the lecture and question period, we were served sweets and tea and had an opportunity to chat with the professors and other people at UBD. Some students asked about linguistics and others talked about Brunei. This session was meaningful in that we were able to learn about Brunei English, English education and policy. Japanese class We played a role of interviewees for students in Brunei asking questions in Japanese. It was a part of their assignment to ask some questions to Japanese people and make a presentation about the interview. There are Japanese classes from level 1 to 6, and we had students from level 3, 5 and 6. One Waseda student per each group of 2 to 5 people was interviewed. Level 3 students asked us some basic questions such as Where are you from? and What are you studying? They had not learned Kanji yet and could not communicate in Japanese well, so we spoke very slowly and chose easy words. Level 5 students were practicing informal conversation. They conducted the interview in frank style such as between friends. Level 6 students asked the reasons and causes, adding to some basic questions. Lectures on Brunei history and culture The lectures on Brunei history and culture showed us that Brunei is a really unique country. It has diverse ethnicities but people identify themselves as Malay or Bruneian. Its culture is a mixture of Islamic culture and East Asian culture. Moreover, the influence of Western culture started coming in because of English. One of the most interesting things we learned was the customs of marriage in Malay culture. Although it is a really complicated procedure, most people follow the rules. The traditional custom has been well preserved compared to Japan and their daily lives are actually based on traditions and religion. In history class, we learned how the sultanate country was established and how its land had been taken by British men. I was surprised that people actually perceive the fact that Britain had power over Brunei for 96 years as a good thing which contributed to development of Brunei as a country. We had a good discussion with the professor and students. Presentation We gave a presentation on Japanese culture as a part of cultural exchange club activities. Students from Japanese club at Universiti Brunei Darussalam introduced the history of Brunei, its geography, food, languages and so on. Students from Waseda University presented the history and current situation of Japanese martial arts and subculture, sightseeing spots, and famous people.

2 Dorm The Core is an on-campus student accommodation. The buildings are located just 5-10 minutes away from the main lecture buildings. There are shuttle busses offered to students who wish to attend classes located further away. The new building consists of two types of rooms: Standard room and Premium room. We were able to stay in the premium suite rooms. We are confident that we couldn t have had a better place to spend our student life in Brunei. The facilities provided in each apartment are: A large living room with TV and sofa Laundry machine, Kitchen, and Toilet/Bathroom Each bedroom is furnished with: Single bed, Wardrobe, Ceiling fan, Air conditioner, and study table and chair. Overall we were satisfied with the environment. Buddies The hospitality that the buddies provided pleasantly surprised all of the Waseda students. "Buddies" refers to the 12 students from the University of Brunei Darussalam who volunteered to take care of us Japanese students for one week. They woke up early to make sure we had breakfast and drove us around despite the fact that it was within walking distance. They also took us to the mall, museums, local restaurants, and the night market. When the Wi-Fi did not connect or we got hurt, they were always there to help. They actively took part in cultural exchanges and taught us many facts of Brunei while also showing much interest in Japan. Despite the short period of one week, we all became close and many of the students cried at the airport. Even now we keep in touch through Facebook and other SNS devices. Thanks to the buddy program, we were able to know more about Brunei and enjoy ourselves. Sightseeing in City In Brunei, we also went sightseeing with student buddies. We saw a beautiful mosque lighted up at night and looked around the Royal Regalia Museum. Another day, we enjoyed shopping in the mall and eating in the night market. There are lots of exotic souvenirs and food. Rain forest We went on a two-day and one-night trip to Ulu Ulu Resort in Temburong District. It is famous for the Rainforest. It took about 2 hours by bus, speed boat, and long boat to get to the resort from BDU. The resort was very clean and comfortable.

3 Dishes served there were in a buffet style. They were delicious because they were seasoned to our taste. On the first day, we did an activity that is called tubing. We sat on tubes and floated down the river. We also went to a Fish Spa Waterfall. At night, we enjoyed a night walk to the waterfall that we went during day time, and saw rare insects and animals. On the next day, we woke up at 4 o clock in the morning to climb the mountain. We saw the sunrise from Canopy, and enjoyed the sound in the forest. After this activity, we took a small rest and then did Kayaking and swimming in the river. We were able to experience so many precious activities, and it was a fulfilling trip. Food <Thai food restaurant> At the second day of our stay in Brunei University, we went to a Thai food restaurant to eat lunch. The Thai food we ate was a little bit similar to other Chinese food we ate at Brunei. All the meat of the Thai food was cooked with chicken. I think not only the Thai food but also all other food I ate in Brunei were made only of chicken or beef. I think that is because Brunei is an Islamic country and Islamic people must not eat pork. The Thai food was not spicy except tom yum goong. In the soup, there were shrimps and green onions. Other food included shrimp too. Thai food did not include other fish. However, the Thai food was made of some vegetables such as onions, green onions and some vegetables I do not know. All the cuisines were cooked, not boiled or others. In the Thai food, there was interesting dessert, that was made from coconut and rice. Rice was mashed and became like mochi which is a Japanese food. And the rice was covered in coconut. <Ulu Ulu resort food> We stayed at the place where no people live now and experienced water activities and climbing. At that place, we ate quite different things. When we ate Brunei food or Chinese food at the campus or the restaurant in the city, the cuisine did not include enough vegetables. However, the cuisine we ate at the Ulu Ulu resort included a lot of vegetables. The Ulu Ulu resort is located so far from the place where people live, so in the resort, staff members grow vegetables and cook for the people who stay in Ulu Ulu resort. Most of the dishes are homemade things in Ulu Ulu resort. For example, in the garden of the resort, we saw eggplants, bitter melons and cucumbers which grow on

4 the resort's land. So, the dishes were made from those vegetables as you can see in the pictures in this report. Moreover, every time when we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, there were fruits as a dessert. The fruits were, for example, watermelons, papayas, oranges and so on. They were also grown in the resort. For beverages, I saw interesting ones. Always we drank water but the water was flavored with cucumbers because cucumbers are put in the water. We did not know why. We should have asked the reason.

5 Masakan Brunei ~Brunei food~ Food in Brunei is strongly influenced by other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Usually, they use fish, rice, starch for making dishes. Beef is expensive in Brunei so it is rarely used, and also since it is an Islamic country, they avoid using pork. Brunei food is generally spicy, so people eat it with rice and noodles. It is hard to find Brunei food but there are fusion food created in Brunei, such as Brunei Chinese food and Brunei Kebab which can be bought in the night market Night market Traditional food Ambuyat As mentioned above, there are only a few kinds of 'Brunei food in Brunei, and Ambuyat is one of them. It is made of the starch extracted from Sago plant, and since the cooking method is a bit difficult (measuring the exact amount of water and maintaining the exact temperature is required), it is no longer sold in the night market but served in the restaurant with the side dishes such as grilled fish, meat and vegetables. The way of eating Ambuyat is really interesting. First you use special chopsticks (Chandas) made of bamboo, to scoop and wind it, then gently dip it into the special sauce called Cacah (made from durians) and swallow it immediately without chewing. Even though durians smell is known to be strong, the sauce is made with chilies and lime so it goes really good with Ambuyat.