Korea + Paradise

Sorry for the lack of recent updates. Things have been busy, which is good, so I’ll try to document some of my latest experiences and adventures.

Two weeks ago we had a week off for a national holiday, so I got to go visit George in Seoul! Even though he had to work a ton (thanks a lot, MES), I had such a fun visit and was able to spend lots of time relaxing. After being in Terengganu for so long, it was pretty easy to keep my happy in Seoul, a land where hot water and movie theaters and four seasons exist. I was just thrilled to be able to go outside with a coat on and not sweat!

Since George and I had already done a lot of the touristy Seoul things during my visit in December, this time things were much more low-key. We did go back to Insadong, which is probably my favorite place in the whole city. We just always seem to have magical experiences there. We had traditional Korean tea again at an amazing teahouse and I also got to try kim chi chiggea (kim chi stew) which was so good. Also, there was a parade of people dressed in traditional Korean outfits to promote the upcoming cherry blossom festival, so that was fun to see.

































Another highlight was spending an afternoon with Jenny (one of the receptionists at MES) and her husband Kyle. They are such sweet people, and the four of us went on a cruise down the Hahn River and then had a delicious meal of shabu-shabu near Olympic Park. Shabu-shabu originated in China, and it’s a meal consisting of very thinly sliced beef and tons of vegetables (mushrooms, onions, leafy greens, etc.). They put a big pot of water on the gas grill in the middle of the table, and once it starts boiling you add the vegetables and meat a little bit at a time. Since the meat is so thin, it cooks within about 30 seconds, and then you take it out and dip it in a tasty red sauce. It was so great that George and I went back for shabu-shabu again before I left!















Our busiest day was the day before I left to come back to Malaysia. In the morning, George’s friend Brad took George and me ice climbing at an indoor climbing gym. It was such a fun experience! It was similar to an indoor rock climbing wall, but with a huge wall of ice. George had been once before with Brad, but this was my first ice climbing adventure. After we put on our huge spiky boots and tons of layers of clothes (since we were essentially spending the morning in a gigantic freezer), we grabbed our rented ice axes and one by one took turns climbing the wall. Brad was by far the best, but George made it to the top of the wall, too! (I did not, but I made it about ¾ of the way.) I was nervous at first, but it turned out to be really fun and not as hard as I’d expected. Brad was a good coach and helped to let me know where to position my feet as I climbed. It turns out that the most painful part of the climb is once you come down from the wall and put your arms down. Because you’ve been holding the axes up for so long, and since it’s so cold, when you come back down and the blood rushes back into your hands it really, really hurts!





































After ice climbing, the three of us headed to the Cheonggyecheon River to check out the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. We had missed the parade, but made it in time to hear some wonderful Irish music played by Korean bands (pretty cool) and meet up with some other MES teachers. We finished our day with a wonderful meal of steak and ale pie and a glass of green beer (to continue the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations) at an Irish pub in Itaewon (an extremely Western part of town). We came home tired but so, so happy!



















Saying goodbye to George was just as hard as ever. It just never gets any easier! We left each other not knowing the next time we’ll be able to get together, and that made things hard.

Last week was a short week at school (thanks to Prophet Muhammed’s birthday on Thursday) and so on Wednesday afternoon Gwynne and I took a bus up to Kuala Besut to begin a weekend trip to the Perhentian Islands. We quickly discovered that we weren’t the only people in Terengganu interested in going to Besut for the weekend. The bus was so crowded that Gwynne and I had to stand up in the aisle for an hour and a half, being jerked around, as the bus made frequent stops to pick up even more passengers along the way. It wasn’t a terrible ride, though, by any means, and we kind of enjoyed our experience on the crowded bus. That being said, we certainly didn’t complain when we finally were able to sit down!



















On Thursday morning, bright and early, Gwynne, Jackie, Ellie, and I took a boat from Besut to the islands and proceeded to have an amazing weekend in paradise. We had been to the Perhentians once before, but this time the weather was better and the island was so much more lively and full. We made some good friends and are even planning to go back again this coming weekend to visit them.















Some of the highlights of the trip were a snorkeling trip on Friday and, for me, a dive on Saturday. Snorkeling was wonderful because we went with a group and were taken to four different locations, seeing different animals at each spot. We swam through beautiful purple and green coral and saw a stingray and countless fish. The best part for me was when our guide quickly stopped the boat and encouraged us to all get out and follow a sea turtle. We scrambled into the water and, sure enough, there was a huge turtle swimming up and down in the water, surfacing for air every now and then. Even though there were about ten people following him, the turtle gave no indication that he noticed us and just went about swimming as usual.

Scuba diving the next day was another wonderful experience. I got my scuba certification last fall in Birmingham, but was nervous to dive “for real” since my open water dives in the States had taken place in a murky, cold rock quarry. I summoned up my courage, though, and signed up for a one-hour fun dive with a friendly and helpful German instructor named Andy. I kept telling Andy how nervous I was, and it soon became very obvious that I was a beginner diver. (The best example of this was when I started to put on my wetsuit backwards. Andy said, in his German accent, “Actually, ze zipper goes in the back, but keep putting it on zat way because it’s funnier.” Oops.) He was so kind and patient, though, and the dive turned out to be incredible. There were five people in our group (all beginners) and the second I got in the water all my fear disappeared. During our dive we swam through beautiful coral, some of which were tall and white and looked a bit like all-white candy canes. It was like being in a world Dr. Suess had created. We were able to swim right up to sea anemones to see the little orange and white clown fish playing, and at one point a school of five foot long, three feet tall hump head parrotfish swam right by us. Now I can’t wait to dive again, and hopefully will be able to this coming weekend.















The best part of our time on the island, though, was the complete sense of freedom and happiness that we all felt there. I came back to KT on Sunday ready for my week, and with new energy and a positive attitude. Sometimes being in KT gets overwhelming, but I’m quickly learning that the secret is to get out and have time to recharge, because then I am so much happier during the week.

Eruptions, Cupid, and the Malaysian Banking System

All is well here in Kuala Terengganu.  I have a strange week because all the girls in my school are taking exams this week and so there are zero classes to teach.  I still have to come in every day, which I was a little upset about at first, but it's good because I'm able to get a lot done while I'm here in the office.

The real purpose of this post, though, is to document three gems of conversations that I had recently with my foster sister, Hayati.

Incident Number One:

I was supposed to meet Hayati for tea at the canteen at 8:30 yesterday morning.  When I got there at 8:30, though, she was nowhere to be found.  No big deal -- I sat with some other teachers -- and one teacher told me that Hayati wasn't at the canteen yet because she had gone to the bank.  A little bit of an odd errand for 8:30 in the morning, but I thought nothing of it.  Then about ten minutes later Hayati showed up.

Hayati: "Sorry I was late.  I was at the bank."

Me: "Yeah, that's what I heard.  I didn't know the bank was open this early."

Hayati: (with a smirk) "Oh!  In Malaysia, when you have to go to the toilet to deficate, we call it 'going to the bank' because you make a deposit!"

So think about THAT next time you're at an ATM...

Incident Number Two:

Fast forward to this morning.  Hayati and I were driving to school, as usual, talking about Korean DVDs (one of her favorite topics), and all of a sudden she said, in an authoritative and very confident, knowing way, "Christians believe that there is just one angel, and he's fat and a child and his name is Cupid."

Silence in the car for a few seconds, as the following thoughts went through my head:  

-First, why are we talking about Cupid at all?  He has nothing at all to do with Korean DVDs.

-Second, where did she get this information?  Did scheming mat sallehs of her past tell her this little tidbit, hoping for just this moment when she would repeat it like she had to me?

-Third, this is hilarious and awesome.

I explained to her that Cupid, actually, was a Roman god of love and that we usually just use him as a symbol on Valentine's Day.  She looked a little disappointed to have her comment disproved, and that was kind of the end.

Incident Number Three:

Today at the canteen, I was sitting with Hayati and three other teachers and we were talking about Islam and America's impression of Muslims. People here are so anxious to let me know that Islam is a peaceful religion, and I completely understand, so this is a common discussion at my school.  Anyway, we were talking away and Hayati decided to contribute.

Hayati: "You are in a peaceful place.  Malaysia is a peaceful country.  This is the only country without any volcanos."

Pause.

Me: "Malaysia is the only country without volcanos in the whole WORLD, Hayati?"

She stops to think about it for a moment.

Hayati: "Yes, I think so."

I'm looking forward to many more wonderful conversations like this in the coming months, and if they don't happen regularly I will be seriously disappointed.

Lately

A short list of things that Malaysia (or at least Terengganu) loves:

Plastic bags. Here they put EVERYTHING in a plastic bag. Your take away drinks at KFC. One pack of gum from the 711. Each individual item you buy at Mydin (slight exaggeration, but it feels like it). A can of Coke that you get at a drug store. To-go noodles at a café (this one is actually a plastic bag within a plastic bag – doubly good for the environment).

Straws. This one makes me so, so happy, as I am a huge fan of straws. Straws abound here (maybe since they’re made of plastic…could there be a correlation here?) and even the tiniest little roadside stands seem to have an abundant supply at all times. Every time you order a drink in a can you get a straw, without even having to ask for it.

Nasi (rice). Malaysians love their nasi!  Almost every day at school, while I am eating at the canteen (cafeteria), a teacher will say one of two things: 1. “You’re not taking enough nasi!” (as I am filling a fourth of my plate with rice, a portion that seems generous to me) or 2. “Did you eat nasi at home, before coming to Malaysia?” (many people here seem to think that the only place you can get rice in the States is at Chinese restaurants). It’s so much fun to eat with the teachers, though, and everyone is so kind to me and is eager to tell me about the various Terengganu foods and how to correctly eat them. Many things here are made with peppers, making them “hot and spicy,” but I love the spicy things. This makes the teachers so happy, when they warn me that a dish is “hot and spicy” and I inform them that I love hot and spicy things. If you make an effort to try the foods here in Terengganu (and the majority of them are delicious, especially the things made with coconut milk) you will most likely be a big hit. Food is a huge deal here.

Eating with spoons. This one is tough for me sometimes since American manners are so engrained in me (thanks for that one, Dad). In Malaysia, the cutlery consists of a fork and a spoon; knives are essentially nonexistent except for food preparation. I tend to eat mainly with my fork, using my spoon to cut things into smaller pieces. Two times this past week, two separate teachers have asked me why I’m not using my spoon more. Each time I told them that it was completely out of habit, because in the U.S. we eat most of the meal with forks. I’m trying to incorporate spoon usage into my mealtime routine, though, because it seems like I’m not doing things quite right yet. Sometimes, too, I just eat with my hands, and that helps to get rid of the problem. The teachers here are so cute and many have told me, “I eat with my hand…original spoon!” Even eating with your hand here is difficult at first, though, because you only eat with the right hand and also because getting the rice and meat into your mouth without getting food all over your face or dropped back onto your plate takes some real skill. You have you push it just the right way, with your thumb. I’m still working on perfecting my technique. 

For some reason, eating in the canteen is when I’m most aware of differences between schools in the U.S. and schools in Malaysia, but also when I'm most aware of the similarities. When I look around and find myself at a table surrounded by talkative Malay teachers, happily passing around a Korean DVD that they are all anxious to watch, I think about how this same scene, more or less, could easily happen in a teacher’s lounge in the States. Then I see the Malay women eating whole fish (which I have grown to like, actually) and rice with their hands, wearing their baju karons and tudongs and I’m reminded of what a different place I’m in. Then we talk about purses and I ask about their children and we’re back again to a place I identify with. It’s a strange feeling, this pendulum swing between feelings like I understand and feeling like an outsider, and I kind of enjoy it.

Here is a photo from right outside my office door, and you can see the canteen in the background.

Seatbelts and helmets. Oops, no, this should be listed under the “Things That Don’t Really Matter Here” category. As cute as it is to see entire families piled onto a single moto (and it really is adorable), toddlers without helmets squeezed into the space between the driver and the handlebars, it makes a part of me cringe every time. Also, no one wears seatbelts in cars, and so it’s very common to see cars absolutely packed with people or with children crawling around in backseats. Interestingly, though, I haven’t seen a single car wreck since I’ve been here, and it makes sense to think that if there were accidents happening frequently more people would be safety-conscious.  

Now on to the update stuff.

I love teaching. It’s a wonderful feeling to go into school every day and see so many girls that are excited to wish me a good morning. I try to sit with a group of girls each morning and just make some small talk before classes start, but sometimes I make it to school too late and they are already in the process of reciting the Quran.  

This is a picture of two blocks (buildings) at my school.  

Most of my classes are with older girls, Forms 4 and 5 (so they are 16- and 17-year-olds), but I have one Form 1 class as well (13-year-olds). I really enjoy the older classes because the girls’ English is more advanced and because they are more mature so we’re able to get more meaningful activities done. The younger girls, though, are so energetic, and they make me happy to be around them. Whenever I am on my way to my Form 1 class, I see little covered heads peek out the door and then, when they spot me coming, I hear chairs squeaking and 

girls whispering loudly, “Miss Anna’s coming, Miss Anna’s coming!” Then when I enter the room, I’m greeted by cheers and laughter. What could make a person feel better than that? The girls are truly wonderful.

Interesting fact: I was planning to do a Valentine's Day activity with the girls last week, but luckily my mentor advised me to skip that plan because many Muslims disapprove of Valentine's Day and its focus on romance.  I changed it to a "Friendship Day" activity, though, so everything worked out well and I made it through another day without an Islamic faux pas.

Lately a big hit with all my classes has been Miss Anna Says (Simon Says). We have been playing at the beginning of class to get them up and moving, and they are really getting the hang of it and love when I make them do silly things, like meowing like a cat or giving each other high fives.

I have enjoyed making lesson plans as well, and it is rewarding to see the girls respond well to things I have prepared. Right now many of my classes are working on a simile poetry project, and they are coming up with some wonderful poems.  It's fun to watch them be creative.

Below are photos of one of my Form 4 classes working on their simile projects, my office (my desk is the one on the far left, and my office is great because it's large and is one of the few rooms in the school with air conditioning), and my foster sister's car, which she takes me to and from school in each day.

George's Visit: Kuala Lumpur

Even though our bus ride from KT to KL was long (10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.), George and I had a good trip and enjoyed watching episodes of The Office on my laptop and listening to music on our iPods. Gwynne was on our bus as well, and Kevin, Len, and Len’s girlfriend Shamsia were already in KL so we were excited to get together with them at some point.

We arrived in KL bleary-eyed and groggy, but were able to get a cab to our hostel and the three of us ate breakfast at a 24-hour café while we planned out our day. Since we were already up, we decided that our first stop should be a visit to the Petronas Towers to wait in line for tickets to visit the sky bridge. The Petronas Towers only give out 1400 tickets a day, and they are usually gone by 11:30 each morning. The good news is the tickets are free. You go, wait in line for a ticket, and then come back later at a designated time to go up to the sky bridge. Our ticket time was for 2 p.m., so we had a few hours to kill before we had to be back.

This picture is of us getting excited for Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, we discovered that all the Chinese New Year festivities started the day AFTER we left KL. We were so sad because we had been looking forward to seeing a lion dance or two!



















We decided to go to the Lake Gardens, an area of the city with a variety of gardens, animals, and a planetarium. Since some things cost money to visit, we checked out the orchid garden (free) and the butterfly garden (which had an admission fee). The orchids were gorgeous, and everything was so lush and green and tropical.















In the butterfly garden, all George and I kept thinking was how much both of our mothers would love the experience. There were thousands of butterflies of many different varieties flying around, landing on flowers, and playing with each other. Everywhere we looked there was a new kind of butterfly.

































Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the towers for our 2:00 sky bridge tour. We were first in line and were given passes, then we watched a seven-minute 3D movie all about the Petronas petroleum company. I was really excited about the 3D aspect, but it turned out to be disappointing because no cool 3D effects happened and the movie was all about endorsing Petronas. I guess it makes sense, since they own the towers and all, and the tickets were free so I can’t complain too much. On the sky bridge, we loved looking at the view of KL from the towers. Each group gets 10 minutes on the sky bridge, so we wandered around for a while, took pictures, found the Batu Caves in the distance, and then it was time to head back down.



















Later that night we met up with Kevin, Len, and Shamsia in Chinatown and spent some time walking through the Petaling Street Market. George bought some fake Ray Bans, and we also got a pirated copy of the movie Stardust which came in handy later on in the trip. We enjoyed hanging out with everyone and spending a relaxing evening together.

On Friday morning, George, Gwynne, Len, Shamsia, and I started our day by visiting Merdeka Square (Independence Square) – the place where Malaysia declared its independence from Britain – and the national court, a beautiful building across from the square.

That afternoon we headed for the Batu Caves (or, as the woman on our bus was calling it, “BATUCAVESBATUCAVESBATUCAVES!!!!”) The caves are 13 kilometers ourside the city and are a series of caves and Hindu temples within the caves. Here’s a little info from Wikipedia about the caves’ religious origin:

"Batu Caves is said to have been discovered by K. Thamboosamy Pillai, an Indian trader, in the 1800s. He was inspired by the 'vel'-shaped entrance of the main cave and was inspired to dedicate a temple to Lord Muruga located within the caves."





















We enjoyed seeing the temples, but actually the most interesting part of the caves was watching the dozens of monkeys in the caves wander around and fight with each other for food.





















On Thursday night, George and I set out on an adventure to find the Firefly Park Resort, a place we had read about and were anxious to see. The trip was a little complicated, because the park is about two hours outside of KL and we were risking a pricey taxi ride home (the bus services stopped at 7:30 p.m., so we wouldn’t be able to take a bus back into town), but we took the risk and never regretted our decision. The bus ride up flew by, and when we reached Kuala Selangor we met up with three Chinese girls from Shanghai and shared a taxi to the firefly park. After waiting for tickets for a while and negotiating prices with our taxi driver for a ride back into KL, our firefly experience began. First of all, the night sky was absolutely incredible because we were so far outside the city. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more stars, except maybe in the Western U.S. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and George and I couldn’t stop looking up. Then, we boarded a boat with about a dozen other people and slipped quietly away from the jetty. The water was smooth and silent, and the engine on our boat was barely a hum. Everyone naturally fell silent, and we began to float along the shore, looking at thousands of tiny twinkling lights in the bushes lining the water. The fireflies looked like blinking white Christmas lights, so much so that George wondered if the whole situation was fake. A firefly flew into our boat at one point, though, and one of our new Chinese friends caught it, so the validity was proven. Riding on that quiet river with George, surrounded by the magical glow of the fireflies and the amazing, starry sky was one of the most special moments of my life. Unfortunately, we don’t have any photos from the event because we weren’t allowed to take pictures, but I don’t think George and I will have any trouble remembering the experience!

We ended up being able to ride back to KL with the three Chinese girls, and were even able to find a cab driver that had a van, so we were able to fit comfortably. George and I had brought my laptop along, so we spent the ride home happily watching Stardust in the back row of the van. As a close to a perfect evening, we walked around near the Petronas towers (possibly the most beautiful buildings in the world at night, we decided) and the busy new Pavilion area of the city with tons of outdoor cafes, coffee shops, and ice cream stands.



























Saturday was our last day in KL, and our last day together. George and I started the day by getting our favorite Malaysian breakfast of roti canai (a delicious bread served with curry) and teh tarik, and then heading to an area of town called Kampung Baru, which is basically a collection of small outdoor cafes, similar to ones you might find in more rural areas of the country but with an urban backdrop. We got some lunch but it was cut short when George found a large, unidentified, black bug thing in his rice. Yuck. We enjoyed our time in Kampung Baru, though, and think we saw a wedding about to start, so that was interesting.

























Next stop was Chow Kit market, and at first the area was so smelly that we just wanted to leave – it was awful! Eventually, though, we made it into the heart of the market and it turned out to be one of our favorite market experiences. We loved wandering around looking at the bajus and strange fruits, and George picked out a sarong that I got him for his birthday.

To finish our wonderful trip, George and I treated ourselves to 45-minute foot massages (absolutely incredible, especially after walking all around the city for a few days) and then to lattes at Starbucks, something I had been really craving in Terengganu.

Then came time for goodbye, which is always the hardest part. I rode the bus with George to the airport, about an hour outside of the city, and we were able to eat dinner together and spend some precious time with each other before he had to head through security to board the plane. I got back into the city with plenty of time to catch my 10:30 night bus, and met up with Gwynne at the station. George was supposed to have an extra day in Singapore, but he was able to bump up his flight to Seoul and get home Sunday morning, which was great. We had a great time together and are looking forward to more dual Malaysian adventures in the future!

George's Visit: Kuala Terengganu

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated my blog. It’s been hard not having Internet access in our apartment yet (we are crossing our fingers that will be fixed soon), and also I’ve been busy spending time with George! We were able to spend six days together, some in KT and some in KL, and it was a magical time. I’m going to write two entries, one about each town, to keep things from getting too long.

George flew into Singapore last Saturday and then, poor thing, had to fly from Singapore to KL, spend the night there (in the freezing cold airport), and then fly from KL to KT on Sunday morning. For future reference, it’s much easier to reach KT from KL than from Singapore. We learned the hard way. Anyway, Len picked up George at the airport and took him to my apartment, so all day at school I was anxious to get home and see George. Finally the day ended and it was so fun to run up the three flights of stairs to my apartment and find sweet George waiting for me inside!

We spent a couple of days in KT, since I had to be at school Sunday through Tuesday. Since it was Chinese New Year, my school had Thursday off and I was able to get Wednesday off as well. While I was at work, George did some exploring around town, and then when I got home we would spend the evenings walking around Chinatown, partaking in KT’s many delicious snack foods, and hanging out at Mydin. One of the highlights of our time in KT was our visit to the beach, where we flew a kite, got root beer floats at A&W, and then joined in on a beach soccer game with a group of Malay teenage guys. Also, George was finally able to get the straight-razor shave that he’s been wanting for months (they don’t do them in the U.S. anymore, we found out), and so he was really excited about that.





























We did have some disappointments, though. Unfortunately, February is one of the worst times to visit the east coast of peninsular Malaysia because monsoon season is still going, and so all the islands are typically closed until after Chinese New Year. Also, George and I had hoped to spend time at Taman Negara, a state park with the world’s oldest rain forest. We discovered that it takes about seven hours to get to the park from KT, though, and since we already had our bus tickets to KL we had to save the rain forest for another time.

Our bus for KL was a night bus, Wednesday night, and so we had all day Wednesday free. We decided to rent a car from the KT airport (a new experience for both of us) and go to Tasik Kenyir, the largest man made lake in Southeast Asia, and explore other areas of Terengganu. It turned out to be the best day! We got an early start and the car rental process went very smoothly. Our car was a Proton, the only type of Malaysian-made car, which we felt was definitely appropriate for our Malaysian adventure. George drove first and, since Malaysia was occupied by Britain, he had to drive on the left side of the road. He did wonderfully, and I was so impressed. We felt so free having a car, and set off to explore.















First stop: breakfast. We passed many little roadside cafes, and finally saw one that looked like a good place for us to stop. We wanted to get an authentic Malay breakfast experience, and we certainly did! The café where we stopped was family-run and the three kids (twin girls and a boy) couldn’t quit looking at us. We got a coconut bun, nasi ayam (chicken and rice) and teh tarik (pulled tea), and all three were delicious. Teh tarik is my favorite Malay drink, and I knew George would love it so I was excited to share it with him.





























After about an hour we arrived at Tasik Kenyir and found a Malay guy to take us on a two-hour boat tour of the lake.















He drove us around to three different stops: an herb garden, a waterfall, and a fish farm, and at each stop we got out and walked around for about 30 minutes. We loved all the stops, and each had unique characteristics. At the herb garden area we drank little cups of tea made from roots, and women drink one type and men drink another. My female tea was good, and very mild, but George’s (he let me taste his) was really, really bitter and hard to get down. Next, at the waterfall, we enjoyed wading in the cool water and hiking along the shore. At the fish farm, our guide gave us a bowl of food and we were able to feed the fish (tilapia and catfish). I have never seen such hungry fish in my life! There were groups of fish in different pools, and when we threw food in they would splash around like crazy trying to beat each other to the pellets.

































Riding on the lake was wonderful, too, and the sky reflected off of the lake in an amazing way. The day was clear and beautiful, and we were surrounded by mountains and rainforest-looking landscape.















After Tasik Kenyir we drove a little further south to check out Sekayu Falls, but since it was pretty similar to the lake we didn’t end up staying too long. We got back in our Proton (I drove this time!) and headed north to Sutra Beach, near Kevin’s school and the beach our group had visited a couple of weeks ago. We enjoyed flying our kite on the beach and looking for shells in the soft sand. Soon, though, it was time to head back into town to return our car and pack for KL, since our bus left that night at 10:30.

































Stay tuned for the Kuala Lumpur chapter of George's Malaysian visit!

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.