CESL TODAY

AE2 Projects

Vol. 9, No. 2, February 1996

Malaysia is a country in South East Asia. There are thirteen states in Malaysia. One of the states in Malaysia is Sabah. Sabah occupies the island of Borneo (the third largest island in the world) and is just south of the typhoon line and outside of the Pacific earth-quake region. That is why Sabah is also called the "Land Below The Wind." The capitol of Sabah is Kota Kinabalu, and it has a population around 300,000. The climate of Sabah is tropical and is warm and rainy in the whole year. Sabah is generally mountainous with unique flora and fauna. Sabah has a lot of attractions like jungle tracking, mountaineering, and scuba diving to discover exciting colorful marine life.

Jungle tracking is one part of the adventure in Sabah. Sabah has the world's largest Orangutan Sanctuary. The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilition Center is a place where people can go to see Orangutans. Orangutans are the wild red ape in Borneo. The word Orangutan in Malay means "Jungle Man." The visitor can visit that sanctuary in Sandakan. Sandakan is located on east Sabah and it's possible to travel by bus or mini-bus from Kota Kinabalu. It takes around 8 hours. The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilition Center is about a 45 minute drive from the east coast town of Sandakan.

The visitors, or tourists, also can climb Mount Kinabalu. Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Malaysia and also in South East Asia. Its height is 4,101 meters (13,455 feet) above sea level. It is only about 2 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu. The guides follow the climbers when they begin to climb until they go down. Guides also can carry a climber's backpack, if the climber wants, but it's not required.

For scuba diving, the visitor can travel to the island of Sipadan. The island of Sipadan is located off the town of Semporna on the east of Sabah. This island is very special, because it is the only oceanic island in Malaysia. The visitor also can visit five other islands in Sabah. They are Mamutik, Manukan, Sulug, Sapi, and Gaya. They are only 15 minutes away by boat from Kota Kinabalu. Their water is clear and clean, and they also have beautiful beaches and coral. Conversely, the tourist might be interested in Turtle Island. Turtle Island is about 3 hours away by boat from the town of Sandakan and visitors can see turtles laying their eggs at night.

This is some information about my state, Sabah. Maybe, one day, one of my friends in CESL will visit Sabah and I will be a guide for them. I am proud to be one of the people who grew up in Sabah - The Land Below The Wind.

By Anasari

Sabah is called "Land Below The Wind" in Malaysia. There are many mountains in Sabah. One of them is very famous in South East Asia, and it is located in Kinabalu Park, Kundasang, Sabah. It is called "Mount Kinabalu" and it is the highest mountain in South East Asia. Its height is 13,455 feet, and it takes 3 days to get to the top. At the middle of mount Kinabalu is "Panarlaban." There are many restaurants and also rest houses which climbers can rent to rest in. The climbers should not worry how to get to the top, because there are many guides that can help and carry their stuff. Many tourists who come from foreign countries are interested in climbing Mount Kinabalu every year. This is because of the cold natural climate and beautiful scenery. Nevertheless, the most interesting thing is the largest flower in the world. It is called "Reflesia" and can be found around the mountain. Furthermore, there is much flora and fauna that is interesting.

By Jee Hyu Syien

This is the exceptional banking system in Bangladesh, which was been invented by Dr.Mohammed Yunus for poor people. The transactions system of many banks are traditional, but the rules and regulations of the Grameen bank are very simple and easy. The main object of this bank is to rehabilitate the poor people financially. So those people are encouraged to go to this bank. First, Dr. Yunus applied his plan to fifteen poor people in a village and he was successful. Then he started it on a large scale. Today, many countries would like to follow his system, and some countries have already started the new system.

Usually, poor people live in rural areas, that is why the Grameen bank is set up in that area. It lends a small amount of money to the people. Its loan system is called "supervisory loan system." Under this system, a bank officer makes a group of those people who would like to get a loan. Then he analyses their prospects. He issues a loan to one person from the group. The bank officer, as well as the rest of people in that group, will observe his daily activities. If his activities are good , then the rest of the people in the group can get a loan gradually. The interest rate of this bank is little. So, the people do not have to worry about their loan.

With the aid of this bank, people become self reliant. In early days, distressed people were used to suffering from financial problems so all of their expectations were in vain. They could not do anything. Today their economic condition is higher.

Dr. Yunus has been highly appreciated by the US president and his wife for his creation. He has received many awards from different countries. The US president showed keen interest in this bank and he said that he would like to start this system (Grameen bank planning) in his country. Some countries have already begun this system.

Every theme may have some disadvantage. So, this policy may have drawbacks. But I should say all of its activities are good . Its loan recovery is 98%. So, this system is very effective. I think every conscious country should apply this system, so that the country can be released from proverty.

By Mehedi

October 24, 1995 made history for Sabah especially and generally for my country, Malaysia. On that day, the world's attention focused on Kudat, a small district of Sabah, where the total Solar Eclipse took place. Kudat is a fishing village with fine sandy beaches and clear water which is located in Northern Borneo. The journey to Kudat takes three hours by car from Kota Kinabalu, the present state capital of Sabah.

The Total Solar Eclipse over Kudat was interesting and attracted eclipse watchers and tourists to Kudat, because over Kudat, eclipse watchers were able to see 99% of the eclipse compared with other parts of Sabah and other countries. The show began after 11:00 am local time when the moon moved in on the sun. At 12:45 pm the sun was totally eclipsed and Kudat was dark for a maximum of 2 minutes and 14 seconds. Eclipse watchers in other places of Sabah were only able to see between 79% and 95% of the eclipse.

The most interesting thing to the people who live in Kudat was the number of scientists and tourists from other countries who came. All the accommodations in Kudat and its surrounding areas were fully used up. Some of the visitors had to construct their own camp in open areas in order to see the total solar eclipse over Kudat. This also made Sabah, which is popularly known as " The Land Below The Wind" among Malaysian and tourists from other countries, known to visitors.

By Mr. AG

Everyone had a dream when they were a child. I'm not an exception. When I was a child, I had a dream to go to Disneyland in the USA. The dream came true in this winter break. Over the holiday I went to California with my friend to go sightseeing. When we arrived in L.A., the first thing on the itinerary was Disneyland.

That morning, I woke up so early and happily expected the tour guides to pick us up. I met other friends on the tour bus who were going to Disneyland also. All of us were so excited to discuss which rides we should go on and what kind of special festival things we must see.

After we arrived in Disneyland, I was so surprised at the number of people around Disneyland. Each one would line up for one hour or one-half hour to wait for a ride. It was so tiring to do that, but we must. I spent 12 hours there and only went on 5 different rides.

I didn't care that there were a lot of people there because I was in Disneyland. I was very excited and happy to go on any ride or take pictures with Mickey Mouse, Mini Mouse, or any cartoon character in Disneyland.

I went to the ride called "haunted mansion." I was so scared in there. When we into the house and walked in the hallway, suddenly, one door opened and a man came out who was dressed in a white colored work-suit. At that time, I just had one idea -- "Ghost," then I started to run and scream. Finally, I knew he was really a man. I was so ashamed!

Anyway, it was a good trip when I went to Disneyland. And I have another idea to go to Florida and visit Disney World during the spring break. Do you want to join me?

By Alice Tsai

Japanese ghosts are said to appear under willow trees, beside wells, or graveyards on dreary, drizzly nights (2:00 -2:30 a.m.) in summer. They are nearly always the spirits of people who have died unhappy deaths and bear grudges. The ghost's first words are "Urameshiya" (a curse upon you) followed by a long recital of grievances. They appear to float in the air in the same form as they had before dying, but they don't have feet.

Most Japanese TV stations broadcast special programs with ghost stories, such as Vampire. When we watch or listen to a ghost story, we should turn the light off and light a candle because we easily feel fear in a dark room.

Also, people who are not satisfied with the ghost story should go to the graveyard where a ghost easily appears because they play "Dokyo Dameshi" (test of courage). To play this game, people pick an arbitrary item and a place in the graveyard. Then, they must carry the item through the graves to the appointed place. The game is always played at night. By the way, I haven't seen a ghost. Do you believe in ghosts?

By Hiro

I visited Europe last October, actually it was not my holiday time, I had to wait for my visa to go to the U.S.A. In my country, Indonesia, the U.S. Consulate shut down two times, and it made me very disappointed. I didn't know what I was supposed to do until my sister called me from the Netherlands and invited me to visit her. She has been living in the Netherlands for five years. I thought it was a good opportunity, and for a while I felt happy. It took a long time to go to the Netherlands from Jakarta, almost thirteen hours of flight, and made me very tired.

The Netherlands is a small and beautiful country. Tulips from this country are very famous as well as the Mollen (the traditional machine for irigation). The Netherlands is also a center for the transportation network in Europe. We can go around Europe by Euro-Train. I spent my time going to some wellknown places, for example, Maastricht, the old clasic city and a favourite place for tourists; Valkenburg, a place where we can find many souvenir shops; Eindhoven; Vaals; Amsterdam; and Utrech. Sometimes I went by train, and it was exciting. Now I believe that some parts of the Netherlands are lower than the sea. I just thought, "What will happen if the dam breaks?" I couldn't imagine this happening.

Continental countries have common borders, for example, the Netherlands and Germany border Belgium. It only takes fifteen minutes from my sister's place to reach Belgium. There is a place named "drie landen punt," a monument where three countries, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg, meet.

When I went to Germany, it took only a half an hour. Things in Germany are cheaper than in the Netherlands. So, you can go shopping in this country. And many rich people from around this country are investing or saving their money in some of Germany's banks. This is because Germany has a different tax system.

Besides that, I also visited Paris. I followed a tour and we went by touring car. We visited many important and historical places, for instance, the Charles de Gaulle Museum; Mitterand's Pyramid (the architecture of this museum was taken from Miterrand's idea) the French Armed Forces Museum; and many other places which are interesting for tourists. The most famous place in Paris is the Eifel Tower. We went to the top of the Eifel tower by lift, and we saw all of Paris. It's very beautiful, especially at night because of the lights. Really, it is an amazing place.

Therefore, at the end of 1995 I had visited five countries in Europe that have different languages, currency, and customs. I felt very happy, but after the exciting experience, I had to go back to my country and prepare to study hard at CESL in Carbondale.

By Truly

I am having a hard time telling the people here in America about my country because almost nobody in America knows or hears my country's name. In this article I would like to write a short summary about my country. I will try to cover everything in short paragraphs.

My country's name is Eritrea. Eritrea is one of the newest and most promising nations on the continent of Africa. Eritrea has fought and won one of the longest wars in the world. The Eritrean people have fought for thirty years with the Ethiopians. After a UN sponsored referendum was held from April 23-25 1993; Eritrea declared its independence from Ethiopia on the 27th of April 1993. She now celebrates her national day on the 4th of May.

Eritrea is located in the north east of Africa. It is boardered to the north and the west by Sudan, to the south by Ethiopia, to the south-east by Djibouti, and to the north-east by the Red Sea. Eritrea's total land area is 121,320 sq km. It is slightly larger than either England or Pennsylvania. The coast line in Eritrea by the Red Sea is 1,151 km and with the Dahlack Archipelagos is 2,234 km.

The climate in Eritrea is a hot, dry desert strip along the Red Sea coast, cooler and wetter in the central highlands, semiarid in the western hills and lowlands. The rainfall is heaviest from June-September except on the coastal desert. The natural resources are gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, probably oil, and fish.

The population in Eritrea is 3,467,087. We have nine ethnic divisons in Eritrea and they are Belan, Nara, Afar, Tigre, Tegrnia, Kunama, Hadareb, Saho, and Rashayeda. Therefore we have nine languages and they are: Belin, Baza, Denkel, Tigre, Tegrnia, Kunama, Hadarab, Saho, and Arabic.

Asmara is the capital of Eritrea. Massawa is the second city because it has the main seaport in Eritrea. Asab has the second seaport.

Eritrea is a country with a rich history. It had the Italian colonial period from 1880 to 1941. With the defeat of Italy in 1941, the great power -- in that time-- decided that Great Britain would govern Eritrea as a protectorate. In 1950, the UN passed a resolution that formally federated Eritrea to Ethiopia. In 1952, the UN put Eritrea under Ethiopia. However in 1993, Eritrea became an independent country.

This is my country, Eritrea, the newest country in the world. I hope that you enjoyed reading this article about my country.

By Adam Alamin

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