Deevali and beyond

We (Malaysia) celebrate Deevali on Monday. Fireworks started on Sunday at roughly 11:30 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. It sounded like a war zone. I learned that fireworks are illegal. I would have never guessed it given the frequency of outbursts around Deevali and Hari Raya.

The real treat on Monday was spending time with Mohan, his wife, and friend. I first met Mohan in Johore Baru, visited him in his office in Petaling Jaya (outside KL), and then celebrated part of Deevali in his in-law's home in Penang. I wonder where we will catch up with each other next. The afternoon passed away quickly as we shared personal experiences (my first meeting Doug in Bali always seems like a story worth telling) and impressions of Malaysian universities and politics. In the middle of the conversation we feasted (this is Malaysia) - a great grease less Tosai and chicken and mutton curries.

Later in the week various campus units celebrated the end of Hari Raya (at least as I understood it). I accompanied a friend a buffet lunch at the bursar's office - soup, satay, rendang, and dessert. Then I went into our office to check my mail and there was another spread. I was chided for turning down a second lunch with comments like "two minutes between meals is long enough in Malaysia."

The rest of the week has been spent (1) working on details on my research. i am making progress but my mind is far ahead of what I am producing, (2( grading papers - they aren't so bad - but no matter what the papers are I find it hard to get motivated and (3) watching CNN's campaign coverage. I wonder how much better off I am with CNN in the room. The worst part is getting up at 6:00 a.m. to watch "The Situation Room." I wish I had the capacity to strangle Wolf Blitzer every time he says "The best political team on television." They aren't

In a few minutes I head out for school-wide retreat on how USM is going to meet the challenge of being an "Apex" university. For now you can ponder what it means to be an "Apex" university

Same everywhere?

Yesterday as I passed by McDonald's I noticed a colleague inside. So I popped in to say hello. He declared that McDonald's is "international food."

When we were in Penang 2 decades ago I would have been grateful for a McDonald's. We had arrived from Sumatra where we watched we ate very carefully. And at that time Sumatra offered very little variety in its food. choices. Now McDonald's are all over. Similarly, when I go to KL I stay at Shah Village Hotel. No need to give directions. It is sufficient to say that it is "next to the A&W. The A&W was the first drive in restaurant in Malaysia.

Sunday morning we started the day looking for an Indian breakfast - not a good idea at the start of Deevali. Later we head to the mall where I bought a RM99 umbrella. (A friend at USM kept saying that she had never seen such an expensive umbrella. But since my RM12 umbrella lasted two rain storms before it started deteriorating it seemed like a bargain to me.) No rain yet to test it out.

Mall was similar to any upscale mall in the world, which is clearly evidenced by the photo of the entry to Cold Storage - only the name of the store is different from place to place. For lunch we ate Purple Cane Tea Restaurant. All the food choices were included tea as an ingredient. The vegetable arrangement documents that we were at a Japanese restaurant. The tofu were really good in a sweet and sour type sauce.

Lessons Learned (about food) in KL

When we first visited Mooi Lian and Clarence in 2002 I learned that a good host not only seeks out good places to eat but also steers you to the dishes that the restaurant is noted for. The lesson was learned again. On Saturday a.m. we headed out for a local noodle shop - which had signs (in English) reminding diners that it was the authentic X shop. Anyway as usual I am short on the details. The noodles were good and the spicing terrific.

So on to the two lessons. Lesson 1 - you will only get the best meals if you can chat up the owner in his/her native tongue. Each time we ate Mooi Lian, Clarence, and Amanda would engage in a long discussion with the owner. Sometimes, but not always, a menu was consulted. According to Mooi Lian the discussion focuses on what is good and how it should be prepared. On Friday I heard the word "crunchy" a lot. It was in reference to frog, which appeared among our entrees. I can attest that the frog was indeed crunchy. Other than being crunchy in my opinion there wasn't much to recommend it. So no more frog in my life.

Lesson 2 - seafood meals with at least 6 diners. On Saturday night we went to a seafood place with Mooi Lian's parents, Amanda and Aaron (Mooi Lian's and Clarence's son and daughter), Amy (Mooi Lian's sister), and of course Mooi Lian and Clarence. This allowed us to enjoy steamed fish, clams, butter prawns (which I highly recommend), ribs, and soft shell crabs. We also had a vegetable, but my memory has chosen to remember the proteins. While Friday's frog was crunchy and eliminated from future dietary choices I have become a fan of soft shell crabs, which also qualify as crunchy. Unfortunately these were over-salted, which was a surprise and a disappointment.

Research progress in KL

Given my previous misadventures in KL I prepared for all possible errors or so I thought.. I had a prepared folder for each interview complete with name, address, and when available, a map. My first interview was at the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC)– I had a map and understood that I was about 200 meters from Sentral Station. Actually I was 200 meters from Sentul. They are far apart! By the time I had figured out that I was totally lost I called MAC, but getting directions while standing next to a busy highway in the rain far from where you are supposed to be isn't the best way to get help. Fortunately, I found a cab quickly. Even with the map the driver had bit of a challenge. It was the first of several taxi rides where the driver was as happy as I was to reach my destination.


This trip was quite productive, MAC is well on the way toward ratcheting up its collaborative relations. The Nature Society has a well developed collaboration (MENGO – Malaysian Environmental NGO), and I interviewed 3 of the 5 active (and more or less founding) members of the Joint Action Group on Gender Equality. The latter collaboration stands out both because it is the oldest collaboration (started in 1985) and it was initiated (and continues) without international or national funding.


Since the March elections the nonprofit environment has shifted radically. Several of NGO's “friends” ran for office and won. In addition to losing valuable leaders the organizations have been debating their relationship to government. Instead of just monitoring government the organizations are getting an opportunity to advance their agenda in Parliament. One outcome of the election was the defeat of the Minister of Women’s Affairs. An interesting twist was the creation of a Secretariat specifically for Muslim women.
My last interview was at Sisters of Islam. They suggested that when I come back in July (a trip to tie up my research seems necessary) I should make a presentation. It seems like a good idea. – I hope that airfares and the like don't make the trip infeasible.


Friday afternoon I headed out to rendezvous with Mooi Lian and her family. I took the LRT - it was packed the entire way. But better than a taxi since traffic jams seemed to be everywhere. We had the usual challenge of connecting. I told Mooi Lian I was on the first floor. But her first floor and mine were different floors. Once everyone was back at the house we headed for nearby restaurant (to avoid the traffic jams - a short downpour can lead to traffic chaos in KL). The fish (photo sent from Clarence's blackberry was the star of the meal).

Last class

On Monday night I had my last class meeting. We had agreed the week before to go out for pizza. The decision had been preceded by a eat in (have pizzas delivered) or eat out debate. The decision was to eat out.

Class started at 6:30 - I mostly reviewed material. We took a break around 8, so people could pray and then at 8:15 car pools formed. (The Pizza Hut is close to the place where I usually eat, but driving was the right decision. Not only does the campus get really dark, but it is rainy season and it was raining.)

It took the staff a good 10 minutes to set up tables for 16 and I was lost when I looked at the menu. First I was puzzled/distracted by the "set meals" (a variation of fixed price) and non-pizza options. Ordering basic pizzas with selected toppings did not seem to be an option. There were 4 types of "supreme pizzas" with (what I considered) mildly uninviting toppings. I appointed Mahis to order - we got set meals (bread sticks, pizzas, mushroom soup, and soft drinks). The pizzas were deep dish - the area around USM could use New York slices.

My pictures were surprisingly bad and some how the women got blocked by some one else's head. In the group photo Mahis is on the right. He was the youngest class member. Next to him is Hesdey who works in Motor Vehicles. He played the role of telling me how Malaysian bureaucracy worked. He also drove me home from class throughout the semester - a short trip and a much appreciated favor. Next to him was Rattu and then Khariel who works in a bank. He wrote the most poetic papers, full of metaphors and stories. He also gave the class a stash of red envelops (with the bank's logo) for their Hari Raya gifts. I also snapped a picture of Yong who has the heart of a politician. I was able to fill in some of the missing faces from the pizza party with this picture from the August graduation. Herrly sitting at the table on the left gave me a 1" by 24" belt (?) from Sabah. He spent the meal looking for a potential spouse for Rebecca (standing behind me). Behind Herrly is Zalifa, her policy issue was extending maternity leave. I can't remember the figures but it was a pretty generous plan. Next to her is Azida in the pink head scarf; she frequently spoke out on the failure of government to implement policies. Sitting next to Herrly is Nurel. She has a "UK" in her e-mail address and she speaks relatively good English. So I asked if she had been to the UK - turns out she hasn't ever been outside Malaysia. Her policy issue was the traffic on the Penang Bridge. I didn't get a picture of Zorheh from Iran - the true star of the class. I also missed Lim who gave a stunning wrap up of a class discussion on policy instruments. Each of them contributed to my knowledge of the Malaysian culture. Perhaps the greatest pleasure was to hear them interact and develop their own memories of each other.

A break from writing my exam

Earlier this week I received an invitation from a group that I had interviewed to attend a commemoration of the 19th anniversary of Operation Lalang, when 106 activities were put in preventive detention. (Amnesty International has information on what acts can land a person in preventive detention.) ISA stands for Internal Security Act; currently there are 66 persons being held. I have avoided the weekly candlelight vigils, where I am told that I could meet people who might be interested in my project. I figure that it is not helpful for foreigners to protest a government's policies; furthermore, it would seem to violate my role as a Fulbright, i.e., not to criticize the government.

When I arrived there were some police standing around - but they must have quickly gotten bored. While I was there it was a small group reading posters and looking at publications. I was invited to stay and listen to the music, but one look at the instruments behind the speaker you can figure out why I didn't stay.

Instead of subjecting myself to the music I had an ais kacang. It is one of my favorite local treats - filled with good stuff. In the 1980s shortly after we arrived in Singapore I got ais kacang for myself and possibly Brendan and Colin. It doesn't matter who got what Brendan was appalled at the idea of corn and kidney beans in a dessert.

Where I will be next week

Today I managed to organize all the interviews I had planned for this trip to KL. So for you who are interested in the NGOs I will be visiting here are the basic details. On Tuesday I take a bus to KL, hop on the commuter train to Central Station (one stop) and take a short walk to the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC)


MAC has been very supportive of my research. In fact, today's project was sending out the surveys by mail to the members of the council. The earlier attempt to elicit e-mail responses was a total failure. I plan to pick the research director's brain for ways to increase the response rate (if this effort fails) and to identify other collaborations worth tracking down. I will also ask him and the executive director for their observations about the collaboration and collaborations in general.

Tuesday night there is a reception at the American Embassy in honor of the Fulbright program. I mentioned to a friend that the Chinese gave me dinner and the Americans were only giving us a reception. Her comment? "Remember Lehman Brothers."

Wednesday morning I am going to the Centre for Public Policy Studies . I had planned just to pick their brain about other collaborations. Today I revisited their site; they should add to the Human Rights part of my study. Later I will meet with their previous executive director. I read a 1995 article he wrote on NGOs mentioning the potential for collaboration. The result? He bemoaned the very low response rate to his survey (I think that it was a survey) and not a word about collaboration after the introductory paragraphs. So I want to hear his current thoughts about NGOs and collaborations. In the afternoon I go to the Malaysian Nature Society, which dates back to colonial times. By all accounts they do a lot of collaborating.

Thursday I meet with Suaram a group formed by detainees and their families after the government rounded up 106 detainees in 1987. The website currently offline because of "a security breach" so you will have to rely on wikipedia instead I met with Suaram Penang on Monday. Suaram is one of the groups in the forefront of advocating against ISA (Internal Security Act) Currently one blogger is being detained under ISA and in a similar vein an activist Hindu party has been banned. Malaysiakini.com is a good source but one can't read much without an account.

Thursday night I meet with the All Women Action Society (AWAM)an activist group. It started in the mid 1980's. AWAM is one of 5 groups that makes up JAG (Joint Action Group for Gender Equality) which seems to be the most fully developed collaboration in Malaysia.

Friday the day starts with a meeting with Empower . I was not even aware of this group until one of the AWAM members gave me its contact information. It is in JAG, COMANGO Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the UPR (universal periodic review) Process (COMANGO),and Coalition for Good Governance (with is allied with Coalition to Save Kuala Lumpur). On the surface at least is seems like a diverse set of collaborations. Late that afternoon I meet with Sisters in Islam (SIS) BTW SIS is looked on with suspcion by the Malaysian Islamic Community.

So all in all a lot to learn in 4 days - I hope that I can keep everything straight. There is ample time between most meetings so I will be able to pull together my notes.

Proceeding at a Snail's Pace

I didn't leave my room until after the Presidential Debate. Consequently, most of my planned projects were left undone. I intended to start the day by writing my final exam. It will be on 5 November, Apparently I need to send the exam to a staff member who will put it in the appropriate format, and I should have done it by now. Last night I listed out the topics and how much weight each should get. Today in addition to finish writing questions I wanted to prepare an answer sheet. If I try to answer the questions I feel more confident that I have gotten rid of ambiguous or overly complex questions.


Another planned project was to make major progess on arranging for meetings in KL, but the people I needed speak with were out. I also sent e-mails to other groups that I want to see - I figure that proceeding a call with a message is helpful. Perhaps tomorrow I will have filled in the various blank spaces in my schedule.

Next week there is a conference AIDS being held here next week. I was told that some groups that I have been trying to survey would be there. After three days of trying to get the list from the AIDS research office, I got it - not one of "my" groups was on it. So I spent the end of the afternoon preparing surveys to mail to non-respondents (about 905 of those contacted by e-mail). I got labels for the return envelops and went to the post office for stamps. Tonight I will hand addres envelops. I hope that it encourages responses.

Let me brighten up this message with pictures from this weekend. Wen, from Taiwan, gave me the umbrella. He made two presentations - on Saturday we saw photo graphs of Friday night's dinner. He also had an arrangment of umbrella which starred in his Sunday presentation. He said that there isn't a day that goes by when he doesn't enter pictures on to his computer. His last words to me were "next time get a lighter laptop." So in his honor I have included a picture of stuffed tofu from Sunday's lunch.

The Seminar Drill in Malaysia

On Saturday morning (still in Alor Star) we headed out for the seminars on Chinese culture. All the talks were in Mandarin. Every so often Ong would drift over and give me a partial translation.

Here is what I have observed as the basic seminar drill. A welcoming speech (followed by presenting appropriate tokens of appreciation to the speaker) and then the first of the presentations. Often the seminar begins with a single speaker. The later presentations are mostly three person panels. The presentations are quite long (I didn't time them but the shortest may have been 45 minutes). In most of the seminars I have attended the presenters are given token after the presentations. Here the tokens were given to all presenters before the first presentation. After the panelists finish their presentations there is a Q & A session - usually very few Qs and wordy As. At Sunday's session there were quite a few questions. I was told that one question was how could the information on Hakka culture be turned into a business!

After the first panel there is usually tea. Morning tea is tea/coffee with snacks, such as curry puffs. Lunch occurs around 1:00. Typically rice and about 3 other dishes. Sunday was a full day of eating, both on our way to Ipoh and at the seminar. We started the day in Alor Star with roti telur. Later on the road we had nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk with a sambal and a protein option). When we arrived in Ipoh we had lunch as part of the Hakka gathering. Midway in Hakka seminar we had tea (mee and sandwiches). After the seminar we had dinner with the Ipoh organizing committee!

In the photo (from the Saturday seminar) Ong is delivering my paper on NGOs in the US (or so I was told). I heard him talk about Baba and Nyonya culture (for more information wikipedia is as good a place as any http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan). I know for a fact I have never written the words "Baba and Nyonya" until this very minute! I wrote two short "papers" for the weekend. The one delivered Saturday focused on legal issues. It was the easiest thing for me to pull together with short notice, besides US legal requirements and Malaysian ones that apply to nonprofits are quite different. The Sunday paper which I delivered was on collaboration.

Sunday’s presentations were on Hakka culture. Several people asked me how I got interested in Hakka culture. I tried tactfully to tell them that it was an accident. After a day of Mandarin I gave my presentation in English. Primarily I explained our (Ong’s and mine) study and laid the groundwork to encourage them to respond to the survey, whenever we get around to sending it out. The audience was small but attentive.

Ong gets back to Penang on the 26th about the same time I do. I hope that we get the survey out shortly after his return. I am eager to get some data. Ong had originally thought that we could collect data during the weekend, but he was told that it would not work out logistically. Whoever gave him that advice was right on target – people were focused on catching up with each other not answering a researcher’s survey.

A well-cared for Tourist

Friday morning I went to Alor Star in northern Malaysia. The drive was surprising picturesque. We passed many area with paddy fields, which reminded me of the lushness of Bali. (Sorry no pictures - I'll try to do better next trip.) The city itself was unexpectedly pleasant- broad streets, walkable sidewalks, and clean!. The event that took me to Alor Star was the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Chinese Cultural Association. The day's events were a welcoming speech by a politician, some performances by young people, and two seminars on Chinese literature (everything was in Mandarin). After the seminar we went sight seeing. In Malaysia visiting temples and mosques is equivalent to the visting numerous cathedrals in Europe. Here I am with the core group that I travelled with. Going from left to right: Kwan from Singapore; me; a visiting professor at Columbia’s East Asian Institute; another Chinese scholar; Ong, my co-investigator on the Chinese portion of the study; Wen-Lung from Taiwan, he exuded great joy; Vincci, Ong’s assistant and my roommate; and another Chinese scholar.

Next we drove to Kuala Perlis, in another state west of Alor Star. Our first stop was Vincci’s mom’s bakery. We were greeted with plates of treats. Then we watched steamed buns being transformed into apples. A toothbrush is dipped into the coloring, rubbed along a comb, and color spatters onto the bun.. The indentations on the leaves were made with small knife cuts on each leaf.

Once we finished “dessert” and inspecting the bakery's ingredients and equipment we went to dinner. The restaurant was on a deck overlooking the river. We started with a steamed fish, the restaurant’s signature dish. We had prawns (from Vincci’s father’s boat), two types of clams, baked fish, cuttle fish wrapped in something (perhaps a noodle), soft shelled crabs, sate, mee, and broth. That’s all I remember. I can still recall the various dishes with pleasure. I will have to drag Doug out there when he comes.

When I described my trip and dinner the school’s chief clerk said “You are so damn lucky.” She is absolutely right.

Language, Words, and Meanings

The first article I will write based on my work here should be titled “Same language, same words, different meanings.” I first realized the problem in conversations on NGOs. From the beginning the question “What is a NGO?” came up, and I would rattle off some answer. During an early interview a woman said that she considered NGOs as advocacy organizations. Others seemed to have broader definitions that included social service organizations. Their definitions were also colored by whether or not an organization receives substantial government subsidies.

Next was the question of “what is a collaboration?” which is at the heart of my research. Since arriving I have found that when NGOs refer to collaborations they may be describing organizations agreeing to sign a policy statement.When I visited Penang’s Women’s Centre for Change (WCC) earlier this week I was given 4 interpretations: (1) information and referral relations with police and hospitals; (2) community outreaching, primarily making presentations and conducting workshops; (3) participating in government sponsored roundtables; (4) working with other women’s groups in JAG (Joint Action Group on Violence Against Women). JAG is the most fully developed collaboration that I have run into.

One man I interviewed felt that the limited amount of collaboration among Malaysian NGOs was due to the lack of negotiating skills. So this week I asked my class if they agreed that “Asians don’t negotiate very well.” Several students pointed out that Malaysia was at peace with its neighbors which indicated that Malaysian negotiate effectively. The next day when I asked the director of WCC about negotiations she spoke in a similar vein, i.e., it international relations. At the end of the conversation she also included JAG’s dealings with the government of Malaysia as negotiating. She felt said as JAG members work together they were having conversations not negotiations - although clearly the groups have different points of view and negotiations (in my eyes) are taking place.

So three words with different meanings. Before I sign off I should mention a comment that also came up in class. A woman I had spoken with said that she was worried that Malaysia would go the way of Thailand and Indonesia (attempts at democracy that haven’t been working very well). A student pointed out that the existence of a large middle class in Malaysia would have a calming effect. When I asked the director of WCC about whether young people were choosing to focus on politics rather than NGOs. (The recent Malaysian elections are said to have energized the young.) She felt that the election reflected more the 30 and above middle class that had access to the internet and were otherwise engaged in political conversation. So we can all ponder the contributions of the "middle class," which I guess doesn't represent "Joe Six-Pack." (BTW "Joe Six-Pack" is mentioned frequently on the English morning talk shows. I believe the tone is best described as "mocking.")

I am off to Alor Star and Ipoh in a few hours for my much awaited attendance at a meeting of Chinese town halls and assemblies. I will fill in the details next week.

Hari Raya Continues

My biggest disappointment about being unable to visit Lena and her family during Hari Raya was missing the great food I have heard about. Now that has been remedied. On Tuesday night Lena and I shared her sister's butter cake, which gets rightly deserved rave reviews.

Yesterday I was really surprised by a knock on the door and in entered Aareen with cookies. As she left I remembered my camera. Even though I have it all the time I seem to forgot that it is there. I caught up with Aazeen before she left the building. We took a picture of ourselves and the cookies. Aareen positioned us and the camera and here is the picture. (I first met Aazeem when a colleague suggested that she ask me about US PhD programs. Alas, a nearer program beckons her.)

I also shot a picture of the cookies. You can see the many tasty options I have in the days ahead. For those with eagle eyes you will note the sheet underneath the cookies gives the conventional grading scale used in Malaysia. For example, 80-100 is an A and 79-70 is an A-. No wonder the students were so happy with their homework grades! The grades for assignments 1-4 will stand. I spent yesterday trying to come closer to conventional practice with assignment 5.

Election Day for Me

I got a call today. Someone one checking in on me, since my blog has been quiet. Even in an interesting place with all the benefits of the tropics one can have a boring, albeit busy, life. I now have CNN in my room which normally would bore me to tears, but the campaign is too captivating to ignore.

Yesterday I filled out my ballot. Here are my two witnesses. On the right is Francis Loh, a very productive scholar and human rights activist. As a result of the March elections Penang will restore elected municipal council; in the meantime Francis is one of the persons who has been drafted to be on the council. He reported that it was exhilerating at first, but less so now. On his left in Soon, a newly minted PhD. Soon is my closest working neighbor - he has a motor bike, which amazes me given the frequency of rain, and rents a room near campus. An example of an impoverish lecturer (the beginning place on the academic food chain here) or a totally dedicated (obsessed) scholar. I am pretty sure it is the former. He is a my gateway to human rights activists, a great colleague, and a budding scholar (his areas are Philippines and religion - he is a political scientist)

I rewarded my witnesses with Obama buttons and gave out a few others during the day. I had a long conversation with a button recipient about grades, grading, etc. and the US election. He pointed out that Sarah Palin said that the Vice Presidents she admired the most were those who became president. If McCain gets elected he better hire a food taster!

My final exam is scheduled for 5 November. I should know results by 6 p.m. on the 5th which is 6.a.m. EDT in the East. I can probably read all the on-line stuff while they are taking their exams. Now to get my head around the time difference with Standard Time.

Hari Raya - Day 1

Yesterday was the first day of Hari Raya (day of celebration), the term Malaysians use to refer to the 2 day holiday marking the end of Ramandham. In the morning I went to the reception to snap a photo of the one non-Muslim who works at the Guest House. To mark the occasion she was wearing her "festive clothes." To her left (not in the picture) was another area decorated with lights and cards.

A later in the morning I heard from Rattu - Tuesday's rains had washed out our plans for a boat trip. Lim, a student in my class, offered to take us around Georgetown. Of course, this being Malaysia we started with a meal. The restaurant was crowded and Lim commented that there were a lot of out-of-towners. He could tell by how they were dressed - I took this to mean that KL people are a bit more up-market in their clothing choice. The rest of the day involved a lot of temple hopping (the Asian equivalent of going from cathedral to cathedral in Europe). We went to Taoist, Chinese Buddhist, Burmese Buddhist, Thai Buddhist, and Hindu Temples . Along the way we chatted about everything including burial and wedding rituals. Although Rattu and Lim are both Buddhists the variation traditions are a bit different.

At the first temple Lim said we didn't have to remove our shoes in Chinese temples. Rattu pointed out that keeping shoes on made it harder to the cleaning staff. The picture of Lim and Rattu is in front of the Sleeping Buddha temple, Thai Buddhist temple. This temple and the Hindu temple were the most aggressive in soliciting donations. The Chinese ones did minimal solicitation, but they may be largely supported by family associations. At one temple there were plaques with the donor' names. Most had the name of their university and degree; although the lawyers tended to note their profession. (As I write this I realize that I should have taken a photo.) Lim said that the Chinese Buddhist temples don't use joust sticks, but we visited the temple where he and his wife went to pray after they were married. We were nearly affixiated by the smoke!

A nice way to spend an unfamilar holiday.