As members of the American Association of Malaysia we receive a monthly magazine that notifies us of outlings, classes, social groups, etc. So, early in the year when I saw that there was a beginning Bahasa language class being offered each Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. (2 hours) at the AAM Headquarters building (pictured below), I signed-on. The class runs for 15 weeks and we just finished week #8.
Pictured to the left is our teacher, Puan (Mrs.) Mas Ayu Zahrah, a charming young Malaysian woman who is excellent at teaching conversational Bahasa. (Bahasa is also the language spoken in Indonesia, but it's "Bahasa Indonesia" -- most of the same words but a more formal approach to the language.) The class has 11 students, 9 women and one other guy besides myself. Often a number of us will go out to lunch after class. This past Tuesday there were just four of us at a table at the California Pizza Kitchen at KLCC (I took the pix).
When you come to visit us, you will need to know some of the language, so here's what to work on:
Thank you - Terima kasih (the "e" in Terima is slurred; the "i" in kasih is a long "a"
Good Morning - Selamat pagi
Good night - Selamat malam
I want rice. - Saya nak nasi.
I want rice with chicken. - Saya nak nasi ayam.
I am retired. - Saya sudah pencen.
Where is the rest room? - Tandas di mana?
I have a computer. - Saya ada komputer.
Don't forget to practice! - rw
4 comments:
Saya nak pencen
It is a sad day when baba yangu vastly surpasses his firstborn's Bahasa skills.
Natasha: I understand that you want a pension. We can't really deal with that here, so please apply with the Social Security Administration. Thank you, however, for your inquiry. - rw
Did I not say that I want to retire? Pencen is "retire", according to you. I don't care about my pension, i just want to retire and live off my brother. and eat chickens. I expect you to be fluent in Bahasa when I arrive.
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