My New Home

Well, many things have changed since my last entry. We finished up with orientation and then had our official “handing-over ceremony” on Monday, where we were formally presented to each of our schools. The four of us staying in K.T. (Len, Mike, Gwynne, and me) stayed in the Hotel Seri Malaysia for one more night, but all the other ETAs (minus still-sick Anita) left straight from the ceremony for their new homes. We quickly hugged each other and said hurried good-byes, and before we knew it everyone was gone. That last night in the Seri Malaysia was strange and lonely, and we were glad to leave the next day.

On Tuesday Gwynne, Mike, Len, and I moved into our apartments. It was so nice to have a place to finally unpack! We’ve been living out of a suitcase for almost a month and that gets old fast. Gwynne and I share an apartment on the third floor, #706, and Mike and Len live in #707, right next door. The apartments are virtually identical, each with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. Our mentors and foster families cleaned everything before we arrived and had our place well stocked with dishes, furniture, sheets (Gwynne’s sheets and comforter have a hilarious suitcase-carrying, potbellied mouse on them, by the way), a washing machine, and a TV (which currently turns itself off after about 30 seconds, but we’re working on that). We don’t have air conditioning or hot water, but we have fans in every room and, really, the cold showers feel pretty great in this weather. We’re in a convenient location because we live right near Mydin and Giant, stores that are kind of the equivalent of Wal-Mart and Target here. That has been a huge help as we’ve been getting the apartment set up over the past couple of days. We have already made about six trips there (some because we needed things, and some just because we were bored). Also, there’s a really good (and cheap) food court in Mydin with lots of different food selections AND free wireless Internet, which is wonderful because we don’t have Internet in our apartments yet.

So far the main downside to our apartment is its proximity to the loud intercom speakers that blast the Islamic call to prayer in Arabic five times a day. It’s not too bad most of the time, and kind of a cool cultural thing, but at 5:30 in the morning it’s nothing short of miserable. Luckily for me, my bedroom window faces away from the intercom, but Gwynne gets the full-on experience and she hates it (understandably). We’re hoping that we get used to it, like some people who live near train tracks are eventually able to sleep through trains whizzing by in the night.

Other fun facts about my new home:

1. There’s a flock of sheep that wander around between our apartment complex and Mydin, grazing on grass and other plants along the way and crossing the street like they own the place even when there’s heavy traffic.  I love these new neighbors.

2. A group of Malay kids (mostly boys) play outside in the parking lot in front of our building every evening, and we’ve been hanging out with them. They are all sweet, energetic, and interested kids, but one of them in particular is my favorite. He’s an adorable, probably around four-year-old boy, and we are new friends. We can’t really communicate with each other language-wise, but I don’t think he’s quite figured that out because he is constantly talking to me in Malay and I just nod and smile at him and periodically repeat one of the ten or so Malay words/phrases I know. Last night when I came outside he ran up to me yelling, “Sister!” in Malay. He is precious!

3. So far there are no bugs really except for the scary flying beetle-like creature that landed on Gwynne’s bed the first night. We are trying to make sure we keep food well packaged and covered so we don’t get any insect invasions. (Mom, I’ve already put out those roach traps and ant traps you sent with me. Thank you so much for thinking of that!)

Yesterday, Gwynne and I went to a nearby university to meet with a professor and visit a river turtle hatchery. Gwynne is interested in incorporating sea turtle conservation into her teaching and extracurricular activities, so she has been in touch with this professor for a while and will be working with her to get more information about activities related to turtle conservation. Anyway, I was so glad I got to tag along and see the hatchery and learn a little bit about efforts being made to save Malaysian turtles, which are very much endangered. 

Not only was it informative meeting with this professor and her graduate assistant, but it was also so much fun! We were with them from 8:30 a.m. until around one, but the time seemed to fly by. They got me in touch with a local dive master that takes people scuba diving on an island ten minutes from K.T. by speedboat, which is so helpful. They even said they might be able to get me connected to a local newspaper, so that I could do some writing while I’m here. I would love that!

In other news, today was my first day of school! 

My mentor and foster sister picked me up at around ten this morning to show me around the school and let me meet some teachers. I won’t officially meet the students until Sunday (their Monday), since that’s the day they have their school-wide weekly assembly. My school is rather large and has 78 teachers, so it’s a little overwhelming because there are so many people to meet. (The school is an all girls’ school, and of the 78 teachers only ten or so are male, so the guys are hugely outnumbered.) Everyone I met was so kind, though, and made me feel very welcome. 

I was so excited to finally be there! I have known that this day would come since last March, and so to actually be at my school is really wonderful. Anis, my mentor, is amazing and I can tell I’ll enjoy working with her. I was given a desk, right next to hers, in a large, air-conditioned room with wireless Internet. That will be so helpful for planning lessons. 

I worked with Anis to create my teaching schedule, and to my surprise she asked me if I wanted a day off and said that the two previous ETAs had been able to arrange their schedules to their preference. That sounded great to me, so I have every Sunday off – a three-day weekend every week! That will give me much more time to travel on weekends, which I’m very thankful for. That was an unexpected treat. The rest of my schedule is tentative for now, but so far I just have one class at the beginning of school (7:40 a.m.) and the other days I start later. Also, I’ll have Form 1, Form 2, and Form 4 students, which means I’ll be working with 13-, 14-, and 16-year-olds, and I’m glad to have that age diversity. I’ll have about 17 classes each week and will work with about five different English teachers. I think they want me to make my lesson plans relevant to what the teacher is working on in class, which definitely makes sense. The Malaysian education system is heavily exam-based, and so teachers are pressured to complete each class’ syllabus so they will be prepared for the tests.

Walking around the school today, I saw so many students and they would just stare at me and giggle and wave. The school is three stories high and at one point I was walking outside and looked up to see dozens of faces staring down at me from every floor. I cannot wait to start teaching and interacting with the girls.

P.S. This is a monitor lizard that we saw hanging out in a sewer in front of our hotel as we were moving out. Look at how long his tongue is! We were very glad that there was a sturdy metal grate as well as a good seven feet between the lizard and us. This doesn’t really relate to anything else, but I definitely thought it was worth including.

Mat Sallehs

Our orientation is almost over!

It's weird because soon our group will be split up as we spread out to our different schools.  It will be so strange, because we've really gotten used to being together and have enjoyed spending time together here in K.T.  Also, it's been nice to be able to ease into Malay culture with fellow "mat sallehs," (the Malay phrase for all white people).  

We have helped each other with baju karon selection, for example. Baju karons are a type of clothing worn by almost all Malay women here. They are basically like two dresses on top of each other, and are loose and comfortable.  The top is like a long shirt, reaching to about the knees, and then underneath you wear a floor-length skirt of the same pattern and color.  Essentially, the end result is a person draped from head to foot in lots of silky fabric.  

Anyway, these bajus are great to have for Malay events and for teaching, too, and so a few of the girls and I went on a hunt for them the other day.  It seems like these clothes would be easy to track down, since about 90% of the Terengganu female population lives in them, but it's difficult because most stores just sell the silky fabric and then you have to go to a tailor and get the baju made.  This process is both time consuming and expensive, and plus we definitely don't trust our Malay language skills enough yet to embark on that endeavor. Thankfully, we finally found a store that sells ready-made baju karons, and were each able to find one.  We actually ended up getting the simplest pattern they had, all in different colors.  Like I said, we're easing into this thing.

Yesterday we had a great time hanging out with Tun, the government official who's in charge of the ETA program.  He took our group on a boat ride down the Terengganu River, where we got to sit on the roof of the boat and see the city from a new perspective.

After the boat ride we took a bus ride to a beautiful beach about 45 minutes outside of the city.  The beach is called Pantai Sutera (which means "Silk Beach") since the sand is so soft, and we decided it was appropriately named.  We were all wearing our sarongs -- even the guys -- and had fun taking pictures by the water and collecting shells.  The shells were vibrantly colored and a bit different from any I've seen on a beach.  

(Please note Michael in the background of our girls' picture.  He was offended because we told him it was a girls' only photo, and so he made sure to be in it anyway.)

Some food-related discoveries/incidents:

1. McDonald's vanilla ice cream tastes exactly the same in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, as it does in the U.S.  Also, a vanilla cone costs about the equivalent of 30 U.S. cents.  I was so excited to find out this information!  However, while I'm sure I will enjoy many vanilla cones here during my months in K.T., I think I'll steer clear from some other McDonald's dessert choices, such as the Red Bean McFlurry.  Red beans in ice cream?  Who decided that would be a good idea?

2. Last night during our beach outing, we ate dinner at a beautiful resort cafe.  The highlight: a pasta bar!  We could choose a type of pasta noodles and then a type of sauce, and then the pasta and sauce were mixed together and heated in a saucepan with garlic and oregano.  It was absolutely delicious; we haven't had food choices like that the whole time we've been here, so just the fact that we had variety was heaven.

3. Within Islam there are dietary guidelines called "halal" (the word "halal" in Arabic means "permissable").  It's forbidden for them to consume pork, alcohol, or derivatives (such as gelatin), but there is also a specific "halal" way for animals to be slaughtered.  First, the animal has to be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter.  Then, the slaughterer -- who must be a Muslim -- uses a razor sharp knife to quickly sever the jugular vein, supposedly inflicting the least amount of pain on the animal. After this, all the blood is completely drained from the animal's body.  Other rules related to halal slaughter: halal slaughter must not be done if pigs are around (since pork is so forbidden), one animal must not see another being slaughtered, and the knife should be four times the size of the animal's neck.  Here, many foods are marked as "halal" in small print on the package, similar to how many kosher foods are marked in the U.S.

Heating Things Up

I thought I'd use this entry to walk through the steps it takes to get a hot shower here at Hotel Seri Malaysia in Kuala Terengganu.  

I'd like to go ahead and say that I'm not complaining about this situation at all, rather that I thought it was interesting enough to record and share due to its complexity.  Enjoy.

Step One: Turn on the red light.  If this light isn't on, the water definitely won't be hot.

Step Two: Flip the TV/Boiler switch.  This switch is conveniently located on the bedside table -- quite far from the shower/bathroom area -- by the way.

Step Three: Push in the little tab underneath the water heater in the shower.  It reads, "PUSH TO RESET ELCB," which probably translates to something like, "PUSH ME IN UNLESS YOU WANT TO FREEZE IN HERE."  

Step Four: Time to turn on the water.  Make sure, though, that you don't turn it on too much.  If too much water is coming out, the heater doesn't have time to warm the water as well and so you'll still be stuck with a cool shower.  Just above a trickle seems to work the best.  

P.S. I just found out that my apartment here in Kuala Terengganu -- where I will live for months and months -- will not have hot water.  I will dearly miss this lovely shower here at Hotel Seri Malaysia...

VVIP Treatment

So apparently here in Terengganu, the ETAs are really important people.  They keep calling us "VVIPs," which is pretty awesome.  It's weird, though, to be watched everywhere you go.  A couple of days ago, we went to the Terengganu State Museum to watch the 2008 calendar-revealing ceremony (I think).  Whatever it was, it was really cool because we got to see traditional Malay dancing, complete with beautiful costumes.  The whole time, though, our group was being photographed, and it was strange to try to look really interested and not do anything dumb like scratch my nose or something.  

Today we were on display again when we went to a kind of fair where schools from all over the state of Terengganu came together to create different displays and exhibitions.  It was a little bit like a science fair, but there were also people writing Arabic calligraphy, universities 

promoting their programs, and children's choirs performing.  

Our group just kind of wandered around for a few hours, and we met tons of students and teachers who wanted to talk to us.  Everyone was so sweet, and it made me excited to get my school placement and start building relationships with students and teachers.  (By the way, the Malay word for "teacher" is "guru," so we get to be English gurus here. Probably the only chance I'll get to be a guru, so I'll try to enjoy it.) Before we left the fair we met the chief minister of Terengganu.  He's the man who started the ETA program in the state, and he and his wife seemed excited about our stay in Malaysia.

Other things worth mentioning:

1. The Floating Mosque

The Floating Mosque is one of the main tourist attractions here in K.T. It's a beautiful white mosque that's built out onto a lake so it looks like it's floating on the water (hence the name).  To go into the mosque, women have to have their hair covered, and so most of us weren't able to go in.  We did get to walk around the lake, though, and take pictures of the outside of the building.

2. Malaysian Cell Phone Etiquette 

Here in Malaysia, people never seem to silence their cell phones, and so when a phone goes off during a class or a meeting it's not a big deal.  In fact, it's perfectly polite to answer your phone -- even if you are the teacher or speaker -- and have a short conversation.  It's hilarious every time it happens because in America that would be so rude.

3. A New City

Kuala Terengganu, until January 1 of this year, was not officially a city, it was a municipality.  In order to become a city, a municipality has to make a certain amount of money and keep that amount stable, so it can be a risky decision.  Kuala Terengganu has been dubbed the "Heritage Waterfront City," and they are extremely proud of their new status. They're hoping that tourism will increase in the area to boost the economic activity in K.T.

4. Weekends

Weekends here are Friday and Saturday, instead of Saturday and Sunday.  It's kind of strange and will take some getting used to.  Friday is the day of prayer, so it's kind of the equivalent of Sunday back home since many things tend to be closed that day.  Yesterday, though, we did find a few things open.  First we went to a Chinese department store (appropriately named "The Store") where you can buy everything from shampoo to socks to greeting cards.  Since the store is Chinese, they are all decorated for the upcoming Chinese New Year (in early February). Later on, a few of us went to a wonderful market by the water.  It was huge and full of people, and there were tons of different foods, clothes for sale, and there was even a snake handler!

5. Malay Greetings

When Malay men greet Malay women, they don't shake hands unless the woman offers her hand first.  In fact, most of the time men pass women over completely.  One of our Malay language teachers last week was a man, and before the lesson he went around and shook all the guys' hands while pretty much ignoring the girls.  It was a strange feeling, but then at the fair today I noticed that when Malay women greeted our group they shook the girls' hands but excluded the guys, so it's just a cultural thing that I'll have to get used to.  One thing I love about Malay greetings, though, is that after shaking hands, people will place their hand to their heart.  It is such a warm and genuine way of saying hello, and I really love that they do that.

Nama Saya Anna

"Selamat pagi!  Nama saya Anna.  Saya dari Atlanta, Georgia."

Today was our first lesson in Bahasa Malayu, and we learned basic stuff like numbers, how to say where we're from, and pronunciation.  I'm excited to be learning the language and know that it will really help me get around town and will especially come in handy once we get our foster families, mentors, and school placements.

For the past couple of days, we have been spending even more time in orientation sessions.  We're in the hotel pretty much all day until 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and by then I'm always anxious to get outside and walk around.  

While exploring yesterday, I bought my first "Muslim-appropriate" shirt.  I'm glad to finally have something that I can wear at school here, especially since I waited until I got here to buy pretty much all of my work clothes.  Apparently we will get clothing as gifts from fellow teachers and mentors, too, and I definitely hope that will be true for me. It's a little overwhelming to find clothes here, mainly because I have to completely change the way I think about clothing and fashion.

  

Last night we ate dinner at Pizza Hut, and it was glorious.  I've enjoyed all the Malaysian food -- the curries and rice are always delicious -- but I miss variety in my diet.  It was wonderful to have a fresh salad and some veggie pizza.

Then we walked around town at night and heard the Muslim call to prayer as we walked by a beautiful mosque.  

We ran into an interesting Malay guy in the market on the way home, too.  Ellie did most of the talking, and she was wonderful.  Here was the conversation:

Random Guy: "American?"

Ellie: "Yes."

R.G.: "I don't like Bush."

Ellie: "Yeah, we don't really either."

R.G.: "I like Osama bin Laden."

Ellie: "Oh.  Well, he's not president."

R.G.: "Also I like Nicholas Cage.  He makes my face smile."

Acclimating To A New Culture

I'm having to learn lots of new things here, including a new way to point.  Instead of pointing at something with an index finger, Malaysians point by holding their right hand in a fist with the thumb on top (like you're about to give a thumbs-up sign) and using the tip of the thumb to point at the person or thing.  The only exception is when pointing to Allah (God), and for that they use the index finger.

Here's a sad discovery: dogs are considered dirty here, and so I'm not going to be able to bring pictures of my dog Cocoa to show to my class.  However, pigs have it good in Terengganu since the Muslim religion forbids the consumption of pork.

Another interesting cultural thing is that during presentations, it seems that it's common to show funny (and completely irrelevant) pictures or short video clips to break up the lecture.  I don't know if this practice really is prevalent, but the last two presenters that we've had have both done this.  The first guy showed us a series of funny, inspirational quotes and photos to conclude his talk.  Then, today, the speaker showed two videos, one of two middle-aged American women getting into a fight with their cars in a Wal-Mart parking lot, and the second of painful looking bowling bloopers.  They were completely unrelated to his topics (Islam and Malaysian politics) and nobody could really figure our their purpose.  We all kept laughing at the situation, but I think the speaker thought we were laughing at the clips so he appreciated it.

Other recent events worth mentioning:

Yesterday Ezra, Sarah, Mike, Jackie, Ellie, and I were wandering around town and we came to a boat that was taking people somewhere, but we couldn't tell where the boat was going.  We asked the guy at the ticket booth where the boat would take us, but he kept saying, "One ringet, one ringet," so we weren't able to get much information.  We decided to get on anyway, and it turned out to be a water taxi across the river to a more suburban area of town.  The driver was this old Malay guy with no teeth, but he was awesome and was steering the boat with his foot while using his hands to guide the boat as well.  We were very impressed.

 

It was a funny situation because the six of us were so excited to be on the boat and kept taking pictures and laughing, and the other people on the boat were looking at us like we were crazy because they obviously ride on this boat all the time and it's no big deal to them at all.  When we reached the other side, we explored the area and found a group of boys -- they were probably about 7 or 8 years old -- riding their bikes. They started showing off and doing wheelies for us and kept following us, smiling big and eager to pose for pictures.

We're also still working on the language thing.  Yesterday Ellie was trying to find the women's restroom in a restaurant.  She knows a little Malay, but got nervous and so instead of asking, "Where is the women's bathroom?" she asked, "Where are the men?"  Way to support the Terengganu opinion that American women have no morals, Ells.  :)

As a side note, we are really lucky to have Internet access here in the hotel.  In fact, they installed wireless Internet especially for our group's stay, and I'm so thankful.  I have loved getting to talk on Skype with George, Susan, my parents, Taylor, and Lori.  I also loved your phone call today, Mom and Dad!  Let's plan another one soon.  If anyone wants to give me a call, to reach my cell phone (they call them 'hand phones' here) you dial: 011 (to leave the U.S.) 6 (the Malaysian country code) and 0133012473.  I would love to hear from you!  The best time to call is morning or evening (Malaysia is 13 hours ahead of Eastern time in the U.S.).

Moving On To K.T.

After a quick 50-minute flight yesterday afternoon (following a fee for overweight baggage at the airport...I brought way too much stuff), our group arrived in Kuala Terengganu.  After picking up our luggage, we were greeted by Len and a few people involved with the education system here who gave us each a lace rose as they met us.  I was touched again with people's efforts to welcome us here.  

We're staying in a hotel right by Chinatown and on the Terengganu River, so we are in a great location.  Our view of the river from the hotel is gorgeous, especially at sunset, and we ate out on the porch last night. Until January 27th, we'll be staying here as we are training to teach, learning Malay, and getting used to Terengganu.  

We're still not sure of our placements, but there will probably be four or five of us teaching here in K.T. I'm so glad to have Len with us since he already knows the ropes. Poor thing, we are overwhelming us with questions, but I guess that's what he's here for.  

At dinner I got my first lesson in eating with my hands.  It's a technique that will take some getting used to, but at the same time the four-year-old within me is really excited about eating this way.  (Dad, you might have trouble with it since there is a risk of getting sticky.)  

Later on last night Len took us into Chinatown, and we got delicious fruit smoothies and talked for a while.  My smoothie was watermelon and tasted so delicious -- exactly like melted watermelon in a glass. The best part was it only cost 2.50 Ringet, which is about 75 cents in USD.

This morning, after taking a cold shower because I couldn't figure out how to make the water heater work (oops), we headed out to explore Chinatown and take a look at some clothes we can teach in.  It was fun exploring the area, and we ended up in a two-story market selling everything from clothing to fruit.  It was nice because the vendors weren't pushy trying to get us to buy anything, and that made me feel more comfortable just observing all the stands and shops.

Then it was on to the Mayang Village, which Len described as similar to but nicer than Wal-Mart.  We ate lunch there and then shopped around for a bit.  It's always interesting to look around grocery stores in other countries.  This store was huge and really well-stocked with many choices, some familiar and many very foreign.  Poor Gwynne accidentally bought lotion that is supposed to make your skin whiter, which seems to be a big seller here judging by the large assortment of lotion choices.

The best part of the day, by far, was our visit to the beach, which is about two miles from the hotel (Len drove us).  Except for a few kids flying kites, the beach was ours and it was gloriously beautiful.  We collected shells, waded in the water (which was perfect: not too hot and not too cold), and played in the sand.  Minus a little sunburn, it was a wonderful afternoon and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. 

 

This town is (of course) much smaller than K.L., but I'm so glad we're here since it's much more similar to where we'll be living for the next few months of our lives.  Just being here will help prepare us, I'm sure.