Last Friday (26/05), Centre for Southeast Asian Studies (CESASS) UGM organised Country In Focus, a discussion agenda to get to know Southeast Asian countries from the natives. In this session, Thoon Nadi Lynn, an international communication student from Myanmar, introduced the beauty of Myanmar’s culture and history. Prof. Dr Rini Rachmawati, S.Si., M.T. as the Head of CESASS was also present to give a speech on 2nd floor of CESASS building.
Geographically, Myanmar is located in the west of Southeast Asia. Most of its citizens are Buddhist so there are many Pagodas and Viharas. In his presentation, Thoon also introduced popular tourist attractions in Myanmar, such as the heart-shaped lake Rih Lake, the highest mountain in Southeast Asia Hkakabo Razi, the beautiful white sandy beach Ngapali Beach, and the historic palace Mandalay Palace.
In addition, Myanmar has a variety of culinary specialties. One of the unique ones is Shwe Yin Aye, a sweet dish containing sticky rice, young coconut, pearls, and plain bread similar to Indonesian Es Teler. There are also Taiwanese heavy meals made from rice noodles such as Mont-Hnin-Ga, Nan Gyi Thoke, and Shan Noodle. If travelling to Myanmar, Thoon also recommended Lapet Thok (fermented tea leaf salad) and Bein-Mont (Myanmar pancakes).
Thoon then explained traditional dress, national language, and etiquette. She also invited the audience to learn simple greetings and counting in Myanmar. Thoon closed the session by watching a short film and traditional dance video.
From Thoon’s presentation, we can see that Myanmar is a country rich in nature and culture with 111 local languages and 135 ethnic groups. By holding this discussion, it is hoped that students can get to know Myanmar more deeply.
It’s related to SDGs 4 (Quality Education).
