melissa [ng]. mel. melmel.
16 sept 1995.
rosyth. rgs.
113'o8!
raffles ringers <3
ssac apjoc'08!
rgsrsp.

I have a dream today.
--martin luther king, I Have A Dream.

cherie.
chun hui.
chuning.
desiree.
joan.
ling ying.
melissa foo.
melissa tham.
min yan.
regina.
rei.
samantha.
sophia.
vivian.
winnie.

October 2008

November 2008

April 2009

May 2009

TAGBOARD

 

CREDITS

layout design, coding,  photo-editing,

by ice angel

Brushes- 1| 2
actual image- 1

Here's information about a country little heard about: Timor-Leste!

INTRODUCTION:

Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, is part of the Malay Archipelago. The word "timor" actually means "east" in Malay. They officially became independent from Indonesia on 20 May 2002. This is their flag:
GEOGRAPHY:

• Area: 15, 007 sq. km
• Approx. 640km northwest of Darwin, Australia
• Capital: Dili
• Climate: Tropical, with rainy and dry seasons.
• Mountainous terrain
• Natural resources: gold, petroleum, natural gas etc.
  
  

PEOPLE:

Timor-Leste has a population of 1, 131, 612, and their people are called Timorese. Their official languages are Portuguese and Tetum, though they speak English and Bahasa Indonesia as well. Other languages spoken include Mambae and Kemak. Their main ethnic groups are Austronesian and Papuan, with a small group of Chinese.

CULTURE:

Their culture is largely influenced by others, such as the Portuguese and the Malays. As for religion, the majority of the Timorese are Roman Catholic, with Muslims and Protestants being the minority. However, in spite of this, most citizens still retain some animistic beliefs and practices, which they view as more cultural than religious.

Timorese music has elements of both Portuguese and Indonesian music, such as gamelan. Their folk music is accompanied by drums and performed with folk dances such as the likurai dance, done by the women. Other instruments used in Timorese music include guitar and other kinds of string instruments. One famous Timorese musician is Teo Batiste Ximenes.

This is a Youtube link to Timorese music and dances. Enjoy!
Go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORQtG-qeFVI

HISTORY:

The first colonial masters were the Portuguese. Though Timor-Leste came into the hands of Japan during World War II, the Portuguese resumed colonial authority after the war. However, the Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste began, and remained until 2002, when Timor-Leste declared independence from Indonesia.

[Due to colonization, many aspects of Timor-Leste came from the Portuguese, and some from the Indonesians. For example, many Timorese are Roman Catholic because that was the religion of Portugal, and Portuguese is an official language of Timor-Leste.]

SOURCES:

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35878.htm
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tt.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_East_Timor

Thanks goes to Cherie and Ling Ying, groupmates :D
Hope you know much more about Timor-Leste now! :)

 -when are you coming back? ;