Xin chào, Namaste

I’ve been on the road since March 10^th.  First, I headed to Vietnam for 12 days to meet up with great Alaska friends and explore the country north to south.  After a one day turn around in Kuala Lumpur, I grabbed my trekking gear and headed to Nepal for 26 days of adventure and a well deserved dose of mountains.  Here are a few teaser photos, hopefully I will keep good on my promise to blog in depth about my experiences and all I’ve learned in the past six weeks!

Water puppets in Vietnam.

The crew (Tomoko, myself, Tim and Kristin-from Alaska) at Halong Bay, Vietnam.  It reminded me of Never Never Land :)

Spectacular caves in Phong Nha National Park, Vietnam.

Incense sticks in Hue, Vietnam. 

Visiting tombs in Hue, Vietnam.

View from Swayambuhnath (monkey temple), Kathmandu, Nepal.

Bodhnath stupa Kathmandu, Nepal.

Myself with Malaysian trekkers summiting Mt. Kala Patthar (18,129 ft.) in the Himalaya!

Mountains, mountains everywhere!

Sunrise over Mt. Everest.

Obligatory Half Way Post

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” ~Rosalia de Castro

I took this path...and it lead to a beautiful waterfall! Hiking here, there's no bears to fear, only the leeches, ahhh.

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, back when I officially passed by the half way mark of my tenure in Malaysia back on February 16^th. Now that I’m officially closer to the end than to the beginning, people are starting to ask what’s next for me. Well, if you have any good ideas, let me know, or else I’ll just enjoy living by the quotation above J

Here’s a short run down of what I miss (and don’t miss), and some randoms of what I’ve learned.

What I miss (besides friends and family of course!):

Driving: the freedom of getting in your car and running to the grocery store when you really have a craving for cheese. Or the chance to hop behind the wheel for a Sunday drive out to the coast or to a trail head to go trekking.

Snow: or at least change in temperature every once and a while

Mexican food: probably one of the few ethnic foods that you can’t find well represented in the big, global fusion city of KL

Affordable dairy products: cheese, yogurt, etc. just seem expensive here, at least to a vegetarian who loves cheese

Sliced olives: olives are one of my favorite foods that I like to throw in many dishes, but I have yet to find anything but whole olives at the grocery store here, slicing them is a chore that makes me appreciate the convenience of buying them pre-sliced!

Good beer: especially Alaska's micro brews, and I was very sad to miss my favorite pumpkin beer around the birthday season. The beer market here is dominated by Chang, Tiger, Carlsberg, etc.

Voicemail: people just don’t really use it here. I’m part of the crowd, I haven’t even set it up on my cell phone. Many businesses don’t even have it, the line just keeps ringing and ringing and ringing forever so you don’t know if you have even called the correct number!

Vitamix: my super-duper blender that brought me joy every day with beautiful smoothies and basil lemonade. I’m glad it’s in good hands as cousin Molly is taking care of it for me J

What I don't miss:

Driving: as you can see this appears on both lists. This is because I don’t miss driving in the snow, and in reality, driving here is a pain because of traffic jams and the lack of places to actually park your car when you get somewhere.

Incessant political news: I’m not too sad to be out of America during an election year. I can keep track of what’s going on if I want, but I enjoy not being bombarded by every little stupid piece of political news from every form of media.

Cost of living: besides cheese, the cost of living is much cheaper in Malaysia than Alaska!

Super giant huge consumer items: most things here are much more reasonably sized than in the US, for example- toothpaste, shampoo, cars, etc.

Graduate school: ‘nuf said

There are many more things to add to the “don’t miss” list, but I spent so much time on the “miss” list that I lost steam.

Things I've learned:

-Always carry your own toilet paper

-Although at sometimes it might not seem like it, if you listen carefully, we are all speaking the same language, accents and all.

-Don't get too excited about "western" food, the concept of lemonade, cheese cake, or nachos in a foreign country might be far different form than what you are expecting. Better to stick with roti canai, noodles, and the thousand varieties of faux meat products that vegetarians can enjoy on the Chinese menu.

Living in a foreign land has helped me learn more about my own country and state. People ask me questions that I don't know the answers to and I always remember to look them up later. Questions including details of the economy of Alaska, U.S. politics, national environmental issues, etc. Someone even asked me if they have strip clubs in Alaska, they thought that since it was so cold that people wouldn’t want to take their clothes off! Didn’t have to look up and answer to that one, haha.

I don't know when it happened, but I started feeling comfortable here. Sometimes I find myself the one giving out navigational directions, informing other travelers of interesting places to explore, or telling Malaysians about wonderful destinations in their country that I have visited that they have never been to. It works in both ways, many Malaysians tell me they have visited New York City and the Grand Canyon, neither of which I have visited!

The Lonely Planet book club. Its fun beg, borrow, steal, swap these goods with other travelers!

Even though I’m keeping very busy, to me this has felt like a nice long break from the goal driven (graduate school) life that engulfed my existence for so long. There is no hard fast definition for the Ambassadorial Scholar or set of highly strict tasks that we must complete that dictate our days. It is nice to be given the freedom to define your own role as “ambassador” and the flexibility to both enjoy and improve the world while learning how to be informed and productive global citizens.

Some "official" ambassadorial duty.

This opportunity has given me a new sense of space and time where I have enjoyed tasting the fullness of life, stretching my mind and perspective in new and extraordinary ways. It is through these opportunities that we are able to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. The joy of living in a foreign country is the luxury of leaving all of my beliefs and certainties at home and allowing myself to see everything I thought I knew in a new and different light. I hope I have done at least a half way decent job of sharing what I am learning with others through this blog, even if I tend to ramble sometimes J!

A new perspective on fashion.

A new perspective of the Petronas Towers...from the top!

A visit to the National Museum. Ambassadors in the making :)

When it Rains, it Pours

For my whole life I have always lived in locales that have four seasons.  In Alaska, winter seems to be longer than the other seasons, but each season is distinct in its own way.  Living in an equatorial climate is pretty much as opposite as a girl can get from the temperatures and seasons of Alaska.  In Kuala Lumpur, they say there are two seasons (wet and dry), but it seems like it’s been pretty consistent to me since I arrived.  Thunder showers usually arrive in the afternoon, but once in a while you’ll wake up to the sounds of pouring rain in the morning.  The rains never seem to last more than an hour or so, and they roll in and out very quickly.  And when it rains here, it really rains!  Being used to the cold light drizzle of Alaska, it’s fascinating to me to look out the window and literally see sheets of rain coming from the sky, not to mention the sounds of soul rattling booming-crashing thunder like I’ve never heard before. 

When I first arrived, these quick storms were accompanied by majestic displays of lightening that I wish I could capture on camera.  Always having lived in places where lightening was feared for its potential to start wildfires, here I am able to enjoy the light show that is painted across the sky with the cityscape in the foreground.

View from the 23rd floor before a storm.

View from the 23rd floor during a storm.  The view is obscured purely by the volume of water falling from the sky, no fog.

The thought of river front property has always been intriguing to me, as I have focused a bulk of my young existence on studying rivers, and here in Kuala Lumpur, I finally have just that.  Although it’s not the type of river front property I have always imagined, it’s fun for a hydrology geek like me to observe the changes in the urban river out my window with the coming and going of the intense rains. 

My urban river to the right.  You can tell that its been raining when there is a steady stream of trash, or rubbish as they would say here, floating down stream.

Rotary Inner Wheel, Meeting a Princess, and Cake

In being part of an international organization made up of 1.2 million members and 34,000 community-based service clubs, it sometimes feels like the more you learn about Rotary, the more there is to know.  There are so many facets and programs within Rotary that I am always discovering new and exciting aspects of the organization and the good work they, or should I say “we”, are doing.

Today I had the pleasure of being invited to speak at a Rotary Inner Wheel Club.  Before 1989, membership in Rotary was not open to women, so they formed an alternative and met in Inner Wheel Clubs.  Membership is open to wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters of Rotary and Rotaract members.  Even though women are now allowed to join Rotary, Inner Wheel Clubs are still very active and some women are members of both a Rotary Club and an Inner Wheel Club. 

This afternoon I presented to the Inner Wheel Club of Kuala Lumpur.  It was an honor to stand in front of a group of such strong and active women.  I have only interacted with a few Inner Wheel women before, but they tend to be a very fun bunch.  After the meeting, this group in particular, was practicing some dance moves for a performance they are going to give at the Inner Wheel District Conference in late March J

In attendance at the meeting was one of the clubs honorary members, Tengku Puteri Puan Sri Datin Seri Norzehan, also known as the Princess of Selangor.  She is sister to the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafud-din Idris Shah.  It was an privilege to meet her and hear about all her charity work, including that with the Make-A-Wish Foundation in which she recently gave a seven year old little girl a very wonderful gift, she made her “princess for a day”.  The girl was even able to visit the palace and have lunch and a tea party.   

The Princess and I

On another note, I thought I’d share Malaysian Rotarians love for….cake.  Yup, that’s right, not only have I definitely not lost weight since coming to Malaysia because of the traditional food delights of the country, but in addition it seems that at every single Rotary meeting I attend, there always seems to be a cake at the end.  This is mostly because Rotary Clubs are very good at recognizing and celebrating the birthdays and anniversaries of their members’.  In between those celebrations (usually the first meeting of the month), there are other anniversaries to celebrate such as the date the club was chartered, and significant Rotary Foundation dates.  So all this adds up to lots and lots of cakes and calories.  Believe me, they never let you escape without at least one piece of cake in your tummy.  Oh well, hopefully those calories will evaporate into the Himalayas on my upcoming trek to the Mt. Everest Base Camp!

It was particularly refreshing to visit the Inner Wheel Club after presenting to a group of all males the night before at a joint meeting of RC Subang and RC USJ.  Can you pick me out?  Look for the earrings, haha.  With short hair and a blazer I blend in!

Rotarians and their cake!

Inner Wheel ladies and their cake!

A cake that we ended up with after a Rotary meeting.  It took us a while to finish it :)

Rotary World Understanding Month

On February 23^rd Rotary celebrated its 107^th anniversary.  As a global non-profit organization, The Rotary Foundation has designated themes or celebrations for each month.  This month is World Understanding month.  November is Foundation month, March is Literacy month, etc.

As a Rotary International Scholar, I have been invited recently to many Rotary Club gatherings for international celebrations.  On Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the Rotary Club of Gombak’s International Night.  We were treated to a presentation by the High Commissioner of Kenya and also in attendance were the Ambassadors of Namibia, Russia, and many other countries around the globe.   With all attendees, there were 14 countries represented in all.  It was great fun to be in such a diverse room and learn from people all over the world. 

The dress code was "ethnic" so I pulled the kebaya out.

The next day I attended the Rotary Club of Kelana Jaya’s “Out of Africa” themed international night.  I took place at a rare African restaurant at a sports club.  The food was very ethnic and we were treated to a key note address by the Commissioner of South Africa who was very jolly and even sang for us at the end of the evening.

The past few weeks and coming weeks are also filled with many Rotary Club presentations for me.  I’ve been happy to share my passion for Alaska, Rotary in Alaska, and my role as an Ambassadorial Scholar with the Rotary Clubs of Pudu, Kelana Jaya, and shared some info with the Rotary Club of Kajang at their international night at one of the member’s homes.  As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favourite parts of this experience is being invited to people’s homes to see how local people really live.  In the coming week I will be visiting my wonderful host club while in Malaysia (RC Titiwangsa), as it’s been a while since I’ve actually been able to attend one of their official meetings.  Additionally, I will make an appearance at a “visitor night” for RC Danau Desa.  I look forward to presenting more about Alaska and my “culture” to a joint meeting of RC Subang and RC USJ and then heading back to Seremban to visit another favourite club there (RC Senawang) with my roommate and Ambassadorial Scholar Tomoko.  Lastly, right before I leave for Vietnam, I will present to a joint meeting of RC Danau Desa and RC Bernam Valley in Rawang. 

I have some creative ideas for what I am going to do with all these flags once I get back.

Maybe this post is more of a reminder to myself than it is of importance to those who are reading J  But it at least gives you a glimpse into some of the activities and responsibilities of being part of this program and trying to perform the true duties of an ambassador.  And not to forget that I also get to attend classes, meet many new people outside of Rotary, and engage in volunteer projects.

I’m really looking forward to the Rotary International Convention in Bangkok in May as a chance to meet many of the other Ambassadorial Scholars in the region and to share/compare our experiences.  I don’t think I’ve described it here, but this year there are roughly 400 Ambassadorial Scholars scattered around the globe.  In SE Asia we have 6 or so in Singapore, 2 in Malaysia, at least 3 in Thailand, 1 in Hong Kong, 1 in India, etc. etc. and those are just the ones I know about!  Someone started a Facebook page for SE Asia Ambassadorial Scholars so its fun to know who is out there.   

Olympic Qualifier Football (soccer) Game

Having a sports journalist as a roomie provides the benefit that I am always alerted if there is an interesting game worth attending.  Although I am not an avid sports fan by any means, I do enjoy watching live events every so often, even if I don’t have a personal connection with any of the teams playing.  With the 2012 Olympics in London creeping closer, we were treated to the opportunity to watch an Olympic Qualifier football game between Malaysia and Japan at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.  This stadium was built to host the 1998 Commonwealth Games along with nearby facilities for aquatics, tennis/badminton, cycling, etc.   The National Stadium can seat 87,411 which makes it the 25^th largest stadium in the world and the 9^th largest football stadium in the world.

I attended the event with my (other) Japanese roommate and her Iraqi boyfriend.  We decided to sit on the Japanese “side” to at least save our hearing.  Although there were not that many Japanese fans, she did say it was the most Japanese people she had ever seen in one place at one time while in Malaysia.  From my understanding, the Japanese population in Malaysia is only about 10,000-15,000.  It is great to have to opportunity to learn not only about the many main ethnic populations of Malaysia (Malay, Chinese, Indian), but also about the Japanese culture from my housemates.

Overall, the scene was much less crazy than I expected.  We took the lightrail to reach the stadium since we were afraid of getting stuck in a traffic jam and when we arrived we were greeted with many options to buy jerseys, noise makers, etc. to support Malaysia.  But since we were actually “cheering” for Japan, I waited until the end of the game to buy a token jersey J  Now I can at least wear it to the gym.  The stadium seemed less than ½ full, but when it seats 87,000 people, even less than half of that is a lot.   

The game was entertaining to watch, even though the end score was 4-0 with Japan for the win.  It was expected as the Japanese team is much stronger, but it was fun to see the Malaysian patriotism.   

Another Example of a Small World

In 2010 I was awarded I fellowship from the Hydro Research Foundation to support my thesis research, along with eight other recipients.  With this grant we were also invited to attend a hydropower industry conference that is held every year.  It was great to meet the other students, learn about their respective research, and gain insight into the industry.  In 2011, the foundation awarded another round of fellowships and we again all met at the conference this summer including the new recipients.  The foundation provides brief biographies of each of the participants and their research.  On my flight to Sacramento on the way to the conference this past July, I was surprised to read that one of the new awardees had grown up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and was now studying in New York!  I was very excited to meet her at the conference and of course ask millions of questions, as it was only two weeks before my departure date to Asia.  It also turned out that her parents were visiting California with her as part of a longer visit to the US as they still live in Kuala Lumpur.

Fast forward six months and half way around the world...she and I and our families were able to have a nice meet up in Kuala Lumpur just a few days after my parents arrived.  She happened to be visiting for Chinese New Year and amongst all the craziness of the holiday we were able to cross paths and enjoy a very delicious Indian vegetarian meal while catching up and learning more about Malaysia.  Small world indeed!