Travel Brunei Darussalam Poem - Bandar Seri Begawan by John Tiong Chunghoo I. Working Vocabulary jungle produce Any harvest found in the forest gleaming bright and shiny, shining, glowing flora and fauna plants and animals subjects topics, themes sampan flat-bottomed wooden boat stilt stand, support poignant emotional, touching rucksack backpack baju melayu traditional Malay outfit for men egret heron with long plumage cutlery tableware harem group of women associated with a man II. After Reading Understanding: 1. Why do you think the concert of Michael Jackson is mentioned in the poem? Michael Jackson was mentioned in the poem to tell us that even the late Michael Jackson admires the beauty of Brunei and the Sultan sees Michael Jackson as a friend who can bring fun to people that could bring when they go home. 2. What is the focus of the second stanza? Why do you think it is added in this piece? In second stanza, the poem focuses on the Brunei’s river and how beautiful it is that reflects the beauty of the Sultan’s palace. It is added in the piece because its one of the attractions in Brunei that tourist needs to see that it even reflects to the beauty of Sultan’s palace. 3. How come there are filling stations in the river? Filling stations can be seen even in the river because people there use motor boats to go up and down in the waterway and the oil stations fill their oil tanks. It’s the people’s transportation there. 4. What is poignant about the new generation? The poignant about the new generation was how the school boys and girls rushing to get down of boats just to get home. This shows how beautiful that generation is, being able to see the world and experience a worldly thing. 5. Newlyweds speed away in their boats, what does this mean? What is the implication? Newlywed’s speeds away in their boats mean to their nest means they are heading to their place and opening a new phase in their life as married couples. This implies that from teenage to married life, the river in Brunei became a big part of every citizen living there. 6. Do you believe the cutlery are gold? Based from the kind of country Brunei is, I can say yes because Brunei is a wealthy country and the culture, they have is different from the Philippines. There is a village in Brunei that has age-old crafts that flourished Brunei Empire through those crafts. Imagery: 1. What items are described in the poem? The items described in the poem are the boats, the school girl’s skirts and blouses, the boys’ shirts and pants, the Sultan’s Palace, egrets and monkeys. 2. How is each described? Boats was described as motored boats, the long white blouse and ocean blue skirt, bleary eyed boys in white shirts and dark green long pants, the gleaming Sultan's Palace, orange and black beak species, and long flabby nose, humanlike faces. 3. Are the descriptions effective? Yes, because it helped me to have a concrete imagery of the items that gives emphasis to the poem, making it more realistic ever though I’m just reading it. 4. What is the purpose of their description? The purpose of their descriptions was to help the readers to create an image in their minds and visualize the things mentioned in the poem to enhance our creative thinking while reading poems like this. Culture: 1. What does all the description tell about the country? From the descriptions on the poem, we can say that the country, Brunei Darussalam, is beautiful and rich country. The nature to the culture they have, Brunei Darussalam is indeed a place we need to see and include to our travel list. 2. How the persona in the poem value the country? The persona in the poem values the country through showing us the fascinating nature and culture in Brunei Darussalam and telling us the poignant experiences that built the beauty of that country. We all have different way of showing how we value our country and the author of this poem expresses the worth of their country by creating a magnificent poem and how he’s mesmerized by the beauty of his own country.
