Christmas Festivities in Malaysia

In describing the festive ways in which I spent the last few days, you might get a sense of some of the essence of Malaysia. 

On Christmas Eve I went caroling with a group of about 15 youths which consisted of visiting seven houses, singing a few songs, and proceeding to eat at every single one of them.  Never a lack of food (or drink) in Malaysia, even if you are a vegetarian.  This is why I have gained considerable weight since I’ve been here, and am happy to have a gym in our new apartment building that I’ve been using to try and negate the damage!  Dishes ranged from spare ribs, to all kinds of curries and rice, to roasted pumpkin, to pizza. 

On Christmas day, Tomoko and I attended a bi-lingual Chinese-English Christian church service which we were invited to by an Indian family.  Some songs were sung in Chinese, and some were sung in Chinese and English simultaneously!  The service ended with a very endearing boy band-esque performance by the church’s youth group to a musical menagerie which started with LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem, and ended with Joy to the World.

For dinner we were invited to the home of an Indian-Portuguese family in which we feasted on dhal, potato salad, and, what I am pretty much craving all the time, cheese!  One of my favorite parts of my time here is being invited to people’s homes, even if they are complete strangers.  They are always excited to host foreigners and seem to like to share their perceptions of what is wrong and right with Malaysia, so I feel comfortable asking matter of fact questions about topics I am not clear about. 

Today (Boxing Day) we visited a children’s home/shelter with the Rotaract Club of Kuala Lumpur.  It was great to spend four hours with the kids playing organized games, and also just hanging out.  We also gave some educational Christmas gifts to each of the children.  The shelter we were at was for boys and girls 4-10 years old and then teenagers from two other shelters joined in the festivities.  There were about 15 Rotaractors that participated, so it was also a great way to meet new people in my same age group. 

"This Sponge Bob puzzle is....puzzling!"

Rudolph giving out presents.

I hope everyone had a very peaceful holiday!  I definitely am missing the “white” part of Christmas, but the spirit of the holidays is alive in Malaysia.  I noticed today that the shops are already switching from Christmas to Chinese New Year (end of January) goodies. 

 

Hands in the Dirt and Music to my Ears

It’s been another wonderful week of enjoying the city of Kuala Lumpur.  Just because my feet have been in the same city for more than a week, doesn’t mean that it’s been a quiet one.  Contrary to popular belief, I am actually studying here.  I’m enrolled in classes at Universiti of Malaya, and amazingly with all the travel I’ve been doing, I’ve managed to only miss two classes.  Next week is the last week of classes before we have a “study week” with no class, and then final exams the first week of January.  Then I look forward to freedom from January 6^th all the way through February 12^th when the second semester begins.  I’m really looking forward to not having to think about university, because starting January 6^th I have many visitors.  My good friend Janelle from Alaska will be coming to KL for a few days before we head (back) to Bali for 12 days of yoga, beach, and generally enjoying the good life.  Then my folks show up January 25^th and I’m excited to show them around what I’ve been experiencing!  After that I look forward to meeting some friends in Vietnam in the beginning of March, then hopefully Nepal/India in early April, Bangkok in early May… ! 

I find that the best way to meet people in a new city and help make it feel like a smaller place is to get involved in the community.  Of course I’ve been doing a lot of this, since it’s the main basis of the scholarship, so on Friday evening Tomoko and I joined on a Rotaract (similar to Rotary for the 18 to 30 age group) distributing food at a mobile food kitchen in two locations.  It was amazing to see how many people lined up for what was probably their only hot meal of the day.  Meeting the other volunteers (both Rotaract and otherwise) was great and we enjoyed getting to know some of the Rotaractors after the activity over a quick bite including a German girl who is here working for the UN Development Office who we met up with again today for dinner and fresh produce at the night market.

This morning I joined on non-Rotary service project.  Being the environmental scientist that I am, I’ve been looking for eco-activities to get involved with and a tree planting service project provided just that.  Any semi-strenuous activity that takes place outside in this part of the world must be done early in the morning or evening to prevent heat exhaustion.  So at 7am I left the house to meet up and carpool to the tree planting site.  I joined this project through a group called Eco-Warriors Malaysia, a group that mobilizes volunteers for environmental projects like this one.  Our group of 25 volunteers (one of six groups!) planted over 300 fruit trees at a lake site in an area just outside KL called Shah Alam.  It was great fun, but very muddy as it had rained the night before.

Malay children getting ready to perform an adorable skit about taking care of the environment before the tree planting began.

Good to teach them to respect the planet at a young age!

Our group planted 300 trees, but with all groups combined it was 3,000!

Doing my part.

On the more social side of things, Tomoko and I were invited to lunch by an alumni Ambassadorial Scholar who studied in Massachusetts in 1986.  It was great to hear her stories and about her experiences since her tenure over a great Japanese lunch.  She is now the executive director of a regional advocacy organization in the field of HIV and AIDS.  After lunch we enjoyed exploring the painted bears some more…I warned you that you would be seeing more of the Buddy Bears on this blog!  They are just such a wonderful site and it’s so fun to see everyone enjoying them while wandering around. 

Current and alumni Ambassadorial Scholars.



Out of all the creative things they could have painted on the USA bear, this is what they came up with?!?!

Malaysia bear, yay for multiculturalism!

Since we were downtown, Tomoko and took the opportunity to do a little shopping, since it’s one of things KL is best known for after all, and taking in the holiday decorations.  This is when the inevitable happened, not to me but...  In KL, being a city of shopping malls and tall buildings, you are never far from an escalator.  In a jam packed mall on a Saturday afternoon, we were about to step on an escalator when it came to a dead halt.  Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for people to remember that you can actually walk down the escalator stairs, and by the time we got to the bottom, we figured out what the problem was.  A woman’s burka had become entangled, security guards had to come with a knife and cut her free! 

DANGER: Christmas tree.



Quick!  How many Christmas trees can you count in this photo?

Lastly, we did something else that I’ve also been wanting to do since I got here, which was attend a concert of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.  It was a joint performance between the orchestra and youth orchestra with some amazing young soloists.  The show was in the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, which is a beautiful venue in the base of the Petronas towers.  We are looking forward to attending a Christmas concert by a junior string ensemble later this week at the KL Performing Arts Center.  I've been trying to keep my ears open for local musicians, and there are two very talented young Malaysian artists whose music I've been listening to a lot.  One is called simply Yuna, and the other is Zee Avi.  Both are in the pop folk singer songwriter musician genre, look out for these up and coming artists in America, I first heard of Yuna there before I came!   

Around Town

After a full month of travel in November, I was happy to spend a few consecutive days in Kuala Lumpur last week.  It gave me a chance to meet up with friends, take care of some errands, and finish putting my room together.  Since we moved into our new apartment on November 5^th, I had only spent 5 nights total sleeping in my own bed.  No complaints, I love traveling, but I am also paying rent so it’s nice to “use” my apartment once in a whileJ

View of the city night from my bedroom window.  How did I go from Anchorage, Alaska to this?!?!

My apartment complex must have been built by a Chinese company because in Chinese culture, certain numbers are believed by some to be auspicious or inauspicious based on the Chinese word that the number sounds similar to.  Four is considered to be unlucky because it sounds like the Chinese word for "death".  Therefore, there is no 4^th, 14^th, or 24^th floor in my building, instead there is 23 and 23A.  Buildings that have 50 floors also skip 40-49, therefore only actually have 35 floors.  In my old apartment complex, they skipped the 13^th floor.  Apparently, many Chinese designed product lines skip the number “4” and if once you think about it, you can notice this in many places.  One example is my camera, the Canon PowerShot G series, it goes from G3 to G5 with no G4 model.  I have the G12, so I’m assuming they will soon get to G13 and have to skip G14. 
 

No 4's here.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve never lived in a place that doesn’t have four seasons.  Therefore, living so close to the equator is somewhat bizarre for me, especially coming from Alaska where geographic location plays such a huge role in your daily life as the seasons change.  Here the sun rises and sets at the same time every day, it’s pretty much the same temperature every day, etc. etc. 

In Malaysia, where only 9% of the population is Christian, I wasn’t expecting much hoopla surrounding the Christmas season.  But although Malaysia is not a Christian nation it is a consumer nation.  Christmas is a public holiday, but much of the public celebration of the season is commercial in nature and just an excuse to buy stuff, same as anywhere else.  I am surprised at the amount of Christmas decorations, Christmas music playing in the shops, and Christmas trees (all fake of course), although there is hardly anything depicting Santa Clause.  I was in Cambodia for Thanksgiving and some Malaysians in the group were asking the three Americans about our Thanksgiving traditions.  I was telling them how when I am with my family, we usually go out the day after Thanksgiving and hike into the woods to find a Christmas tree to cut down and bring home, and then enjoy a nice picnic of left over Thanksgiving food, even if it is in the snow.  I was surprised when one of the other Americans, who had grown up in southern California, stated that he had never actually heard of anyone going into the forest to cut down their own Christmas tree. 

Its just strange for me to be seeing Christmas everywhere when its 90 degrees out, Christmas means winter to me, and now I am going a year without winter!  I like winter, but I also love having this opportunity.  Many people ask me if I’m going home for Christmas and my response is that I just got here…and it’s a long friggin’ way to travel back, very expensive, plus my folks are coming to visit in January J  Here are some Christmas shots from some of the shopping centers:

Since my arrival in Malaysia, and even prior to, I have wanted to experience or learn how to make/create batik artwork.  Batik is a fabric dyeing technique which originated in Java, Indonesia in which wax is applied to areas to remain uncolored.  I found a craft complex that offered sessions to make your own batik and jumped at the $6.38USD opportunity to try and do something creative.  This whole creativity thing is a stretch for me since I’ve just been studying science for the past seven years, it’s exciting to try and exercise the other side of my brain!  Luckily they had tons of designs to choose from, so I didn’t have to strain my mind too much. 

The process begins by tracing your design on to silk or cotton fabric with a pencil, and then one of the batik artists traces your design with a tool that they dip in hot wax.  You could choose to do this yourself, but they suggest to start with you let them do it because you have to absolutely make sure to connect all the lines by wax, the wax line will keep the color from penetrating.  After that, you just get to paint away.  Not quite paint by numbers, but fairly fun and relaxing because you just fill in the sections.  I chose to use silk so when you touch the brush to the canvass, the color spreads so it took some trial and error to figure out the best technique.



My creation!



As I was walking to the monorail station, I came across this huge display of 140 painted bears that had not been there only days before.  Similar to the painted sheep that are placed around Reno, the life sized bear statues are painted by different artists.  This particular exhibit is called United Buddy Bears (more info) and is to “promote living together in peace and harmony.”  The bears are painted by international artists to promote tolerance and understanding between different nations and cultures and represent the countries recognized by the United Nations.  They are placed hand in hand to symbolize the future vision of a peaceful world.  They will be here through February 15^th, so I’m looking forward to visiting them on many more occasions. 

Rotary District Conference

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 77^th Rotary International District 3300 Conference in Seremban, Malaysia.  I’ve visited Seremban several times before, but this time I was not riding any ostriches (see previous experiences).  The purpose of the District Conference is to:

“to advance the Object of Rotary through fellowship, inspirational addresses, and the discussion of matters of importance to Rotary clubs and Rotary International. The conference showcases Rotary programs and successful district and club activities. For Rotarians, the conference is an inspirational celebration and an opportunity to enjoy fellowship.”

I’d actually been looking forward to the conference because I knew I would get to see many of the wonderful Rotarians that I’ve met along the way during my four months so far.  These four months have definitely gone by quickly; I remember arriving in August and being informed about the conference in December, and thinking how I didn’t have to worry about it because December was so far away.  I’m scheduled to attend the Rotary International Convention which will be held in May in Bangkok.  That seems far off, but I’m sure time will fly by, I hope not any faster than it has been!

The District Conference was very fun and a full learning experience.  I was fortunate to attend the my home district Rotary Conference (link to district 5010) in Homer, Alaska in June right before I came to Malaysia, so it’s great to be able to compare.  Rotary in this part of the world really emphasizes fellowship.  The first night there was a western themed dinner, it was great to see everyone “dressed down” I should say in plaid shirts, jeans, and cowboy hats.  It was the first time I had seen most of the Rotarians in anything other than suits and business clothes.  The organizing clubs did a great job keeping the fun up with activities such as line dancing, a target shooting game with a mini pop gun, horse shoes, and of all things…a mechanical bull.  Now, I’ve somehow managed to avoid ever riding a mechanical bull throughout my life, so who would have thought my first experience would be in Malaysia, at a professional conference, and not in a bar somewhere as that’s the only place you seem to find them in America.  Well, I represented the West well, because I actually won a prize for staying on the bull longest of any female rider, haha!

Tomoko representing Japan on the mean bull.

It was wonderful to see some cowboys and cowgirls that I climbed Mt. Kinabalu with.

Day two was filled with lots of protocol and breakout sessions, but someone suggested Tomoko and I join the “spouses” program.  At these types of conferences, they usually plan some type of light alternative activities for the spouses.  So we hopped on the bus and toured a fruit farm, had a Chinese Halal lunch and made batches of jam out of so local fruits. 

On the second night, there was a formal dinner where everyone dressed up in their best.  It was a great excuse to wear the kebaya that I received as a gift from my host counselor a few months ago.  Tomoko wore her kimono and her host counselor also wore a kimono that Tomoko brought as a gift, so they were a big hit.

Some of my favorite Rotarians from my host club (RC Titiwangsa) and RC Bangsar.

Rotary Club of Titiwangsa group shot.

My first time attempting to wear a kebaya.  Mostly worn by Muslim Malay women with a head scarf.

Tomoko and her host counselor looking beautiful in their kimonos.

I’ll head back to Seremban tomorrow night for a dinner at the District Governor’s house for all TRF (The Rotary Foundation) alumni and current ambassadorial scholars/GSE participants.  It was fun to see the GSE team (see Penang post) again at the conference, and I look forward to hearing more about their experiences now that they are near the end of their time in Malaysia. 

Penang

Some time in between Thailand and Cambodia I squeezed in a quick trip to Penang.  This is an island off the northwest coast of Malaysia, although it is connected to the mainland by a 13.5 km long bridge.  I chose to visit during that time because I knew there would be a Rotary GSE team from Oregon visiting.  GSE stands for Group Study Exchange and it is administered by The Rotary Foundation, the same part of the organization that takes care of the Ambassadorial Scholar program.  GSE is a vocational exchange between two Rotary districts and is for young professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who have been in their career for at least two years.  While in the host country, this case Malaysia, they get a chance to see how their vocations are practiced abroad.  For example, one of the participants was a physician, so she is visiting hospitals and health centers in different places around the country.  Another was a ranger at a national park, so she is visiting parks and nature reserves here.

Hiking with the GSE team through Penang National Park.

The hiked ended at a beach and sea turtle conservation center and we took a boat back.  They are just so dang cute!

There was a special “inter-city” Rotary dinner (where many clubs come together) to greet the GSE team, and they in turn gave a presentation.  All of the GSE participants were from central and southern Oregon including Klamath Falls, Cave Junction, Cottage Grove, Eugene, and Corvallis.  Their presentation describing the culture of Oregon to the Malaysian Rotarians really made me miss living in Oregon.   The time I spent residing in Ashland was quite lovely…but fortunately I am lucky to always get to live in wonderful places : )

Additionally, another Ambassadorial Scholar joined us in Penang.  I have been in touch by e-mail with Andrew, who is from Florida, stationed in Singapore, since before we left America.  He had been looking to do some exploring outside of Singapore and this was the perfect opportunity.  He met us in Penang, and then joined on for the Cambodia trip that I wrote about previously.

 

Andrew and I were hosted but a wonderful Rotary family while in Penang.  My dear Rotary host counsellor in Kuala Lumpur is good friends with this family so it was very nice of them to invite us into their home.  The father was a retired veterinarian and now his grown sons run the clinic and live nearby so I got to spend time with them and the grandkids as well!  They are Sikhs (a culture/religion from northern India) so it was interesting to learn about their religion and way of life.

Penang itself has a lot to experience.  The home we stayed in was quite near a beautiful botanical garden with tons of monkeys!  I visited an elaborate Chinese clan house called Khoo Kongsi; clan houses/assembly halls like this one were the civic and religious backbone for many Chinese people with the same surname in additional to an economic collective.  It was beautiful and ornate, but unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I’ll have to add a stock photo here (the only one in the whole blog so far!). 

Khoo Kongsi Chinese Clanhouse.

The next day, I took a tram car up to the top of Penang Hill where you get majestic views of the island and ocean, and then walked to the Kek Lok Si Temple (Temple of Supreme Bliss), the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia.  It was beautiful with pagodas, a huge bronze statue of Kuan Yin, or goddess of mercy, and thousands of other miniature statues.  I stayed until the evening and was able to enjoy the serenity of the temple while the monks performed their evening chants which filled my heart with peace.

View from Penang Hill.

Hindu temple atop Penang Hill.

This photo is significant because it shows a mosque and Hindu temple within amazingly close proximity to each other, which is not uncommon in Malaysia.

Figures within Kek Lok Si temple.

Goddess of Mercy.

The last day Andrew and I took a driving tour of the island where we visited a fruit farm, and got to try every tropical fruit you can think of, hiked to some waterfalls, enjoyed some local tea, coffee, and chocolate and visited some batik and pewter centers.  

A little note on the history of Penang, it was once called Prince of Wales Island because it was taken into possession by Captain Francis Light on behalf of the East India Company and the acquisitions date fell on the birthdate of the Price of Wales.  I find this interesting because I spent time living on another Price of Wales Island in SE Alaska.  One reason Penang was a popular stop for seafarers and spice traders is because there was a reliable supply of fresh water from a river/waterfalls that still flows through the botanical gardens today.

One of the tops draws is the local food in Penang.  I find this funny, because just about everywhere in Malaysia is highlighted for its food culture as well.  Everyone tells me “Oh, you must go to Melacca/Ipoh/fill in the blank, because the food is soooo good!”  But Penang is especially known for its delicious hawker stall food.  In fact, it was voted by New York Times readers as one of 44 must-see destinations, mostly due to the cuisine.  Our hosts took us out to a quintessential Penang meal of char kway teow (fried noodle dish), and popiah which is a type of spring roll filled with turnips, prawns, egg, peanuts, and greens. 

Sorry that these posts seem to get very long sometimes, but this blog will also act as my travel journal, so I want to be sure and document thoroughly! 

Bali...Round 1

The first of December took me to Bali and my first adventure south of the equator!  It took me a bit to realize that out of my short but adventurous life, I have never stepped into the southern hemisphere until a few days ago, kind of exciting for someone interested in geography like me, but in most other ways completely insignificant.  No ceremonies or toasts for the crossing as I was just speeding along on the 3 hour flight.


It was a quick but enjoyable trip.  Many members of my host Rotary Club in Malaysia (RC Titiwangsa) were attending The Bali Rotary Institute and invited myself and Tomoko (the other Ambassadorial Scholar) to come along.  We spent one day in Kuta, which actually felt more like Australia because there are so many Aussie tourists there, and two days in Nusa Dua at a fancy like resort where the conference was being held, we could afford it because we were sharing the room between four people J  I would have liked to explore more and enjoy the culture, but the time was so short that we just squeezed in some shopping and beach time. 

Not to fret though, because I will be returning to Bali in no time!  A dear friend from Alaska, Janelle, will be heading my way in January and we plan to visit Bali for a yoga retreat and more exploring.  I never thought I would find myself living some place where I could say, “No worries…Bali is so close that I can just come back anytime!”  I also met some great Rotarians at the conference from Ubud, Bali who have invited me to speak at their club when I return.

One really neat activity that we did get to enjoy was a traditional Balinese dance performance called Kecak atop a beautiful cliff temple called Uluwatu.  It’s unique compared to the many other forms of Balinese dance because it is not accompanied by any musical instruments.  Instead, a chorus of about 50 men imitate the sounds of musical instruments and aid in the story telling with different sound effects.  It was truly a beautiful experience to watch this performance at sunset on top of the majestic cliffs overlooking the ocean.