The document describes the author's experience attending a Melanau family dinner in their hometown of Kuching, Sarawak. The author had formed schemas based on their upbringing that the food would be normal dishes like curry or soy sauce vegetables. However, upon arriving at the dinner the author was shocked to see unfamiliar dishes including a gooey food eaten with chopsticks, and live worms called 'ulat sago' still moving in a basket. The author's schema of what to expect was violated by the traditional Melanau cuisine, which they had not experienced growing up elsewhere. The author learned their schema needed updating based on direct experience with their cultural cuisine.

1. Date: 1 march 2014
Time: 11.30 p.m.
Concept: schema
I went back to Kuching Sarawak, my beautiful hometown that I missed the
most. My family was having this Melanau night. Melanau is an ethnic group in
Sarawak. As for my family we were Melanau Mukah ,Sarawak. I never had any of
Melanau food because I was brought up in Kuching and we just usually eat the
common food like curry or vegetable cooked with soy sauce etc.
Mom and dad invited the whole family to eat at our house and they also
prepared some of this Melanau dishes that I never even seen or eaten before. I
arrived Kuching and yeah I helped them to prepare the plates and cups and clean
our living room and so on. Of course I wont be helping them with the food as I
don’t know anything about the food. I went out and pick up my cousins from
their place and I asked them about the dishes that they’re going to serve. They
just said oh its just something normal I think you would love it. I was a bit
relieved.
Later on, I got ready and yeah do this usual girly things put on nice clothes and
a bit of make up to look a little bit pretty. I was so overjoyed. I was really
expecting the dinner.
At around 8 pm, my mom called me to go to the living room as the event was
about to start. I expect it would be just some normal dishes and yeah maybe
some food that are unique that I never taste before. As I stood in the living room I
walked around and I was like okay this is normal rice and so on. Suddenly there
is this gooey thing which you eat it with melanau type of sambal. I was so
shocked. It looks so weird something I have never seen before and they eat it
with this weird looking chopstick. Its not a chopstick its like long sticks and the
top part its attached. It gets weirder at this one section I saw a basket full of this
fatty worm look like. Well, they call it ‘ ulat sago’ . the weird thing is it is still
alive. It was moving. I screamed out loud. My mom rushed to me and ask me
what happened I told her everything. I was really shocked. I saw my grandma

2. eating it alive and some of them cook it right on spot. I was really shocked. The
cuisine was not I expected. I was being too SCHEMA I expect something usual.
Schemas are formed on the basis of experience. Its okay at least now I know
about our traditional dish.