Fast Talker and the Novelty of Being Caucasian

I was going to write this post about the "sounds of Malaysia" but when I tried to upload some of the videos that I've been taking on my camera, they just stalled out.  So maybe in the future I can share with you the sounds that emanate from the mosques during the call for prayers, the street drumming during the Merdeka and Hari Raya celebrations, and the cheers of school spirit that took place during the university orientation I have been engaged in all week.

Part of the condition of being awarded a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship is that you must be a full time student while you are in your host country.  This is not a problem for most people, because they are either undergraduate students using the credits they earn during their year abroad towards their degree, or graduate students pursuing a 1 year masters degree, or a year toward their masters degree.  Its different for me because I finished my thesis and graduate before I came here, and I am not planning on pursuing a Ph.D. at this point, so the classes I take are mostly just for "fun".  I'm hoping to register for classes such as Bahasa Malaysia (the official language of Malaysia), Regional Geography of Southeast Asia, and other sorts of courses.  I've been using the scientific side of my brain for so long, that now its time to exercise the other half of my brain.   

I had to apply to the University of Malaya as an international student, as opposed to a foreign exchange student, because I am not "exchanging" from a university in the US.  Therefore, during this weeks orientation I have been in a group with international students who will be here for 3-4 years earning their degree.  In this group, I am the only American and only Caucasian.  There are lots of students from Iran; I gather this is because Malaysia is a "bridge country" that is easier to come to and get a visa to stay for a while (many years) while trying to immigrate to another country such as Australia or the United States.  Other international students are from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, China, Indonesia, etc. We were mixed in with the foreign exchange students (students who are only here for 1 or 2 semesters) at some point, and out of all of them, there are only a few other westerners from Germany.  Being not only white, but from America and from Alaska on top of that definitely makes me stand out, and I have already gained the nickname of "Alaska".  This also leads to lots of strange compliments such as random strangers telling me how pretty my hair is or how good my English pronunciation is.  Everyone wants to talk to me, and all have been very nice and helpful. 



First year Malaysian students at the opening ceremonies for the 2011/2012 academic year at the University of Malaya.  They were all wearing matching shirts depending on which residential college (dorm) they were living in and  had tremendous amounts of school spirit, even though they had only officially be students for a few days.


I have had to learn to slow my speech down for people to be able to understand me.  Most people I have met are fluent or close to fluent in English, but with my "accent" and the speed at which I talk, they sometimes have difficulty understanding me.  Same goes the other way, at times they are speaking fluent English to me but I can hardly understand a word they are saying because of the accent, but we seem to reach a middle ground eventually so it a good exercise in listening and communicating.  Everyday is a fun adventure interacting with so many new and different people!

I didn't have any other photos relevant to the topic of this post, so I just decided to put up this pretty photo of the fountain near my apartment.  It is lit up beautifully at night with fairy lights and it changes color every few minutes.  You will probably see many different photos of this fountain through out my time here, but I'll try and refrain : )

Soaking up cool temperatures and some culture

A few sub-topics here, I've been keeping busy so I'll try and share bits and pieces of what I've seen and done lately.

GENTING HIGHLANDS
The day after returning to KL from island heaven, my roommate invited me to go to the Genting Highlands with her.  This destination is a little bit hard to describe, so I'll try not to sound too much like the Malaysian version of the chamber of commerce.  It is an "integrated resort" located a little over an hour from KL.  I mostly agreed to check it out because its at a higher elevation than the city, located at about 1860m (~6100ft) so the temperatures were guaranteed to be cooler.  We bought bus tickets ahead of time because with the holiday it would definitely be crowded.  Unfortunately, we missed our bus...twice (on the way there and the way back).  We thought we were going to be stranded on the mountain at the end of the night because all the buses were full, but thankfully we were saved by a very helpful transportation manager.  We waited in a long line to catch the gondola (once the world's fastest and SE Asia's longest mono cable car system) to the "integrated resort" perched atop the mountain.  Its attractions include 6 hotels, indoor and outdoor theme park, lots of dining and shopping, night life, casino/gambling, etc.  I was more interested in the gardens, Chinese temple, enjoying the view, and relaxing in the cooler climate.  It was super crowded because of the holiday, so in all a little overwhelming, but at least I can say I've been there!

Heading up the cable car.

View from the cable car.

View of the outdoor theme park.

GOLDEN TRIANGLE CITY WALK
Friday I ended up with a free day, so I took the opportunity to explore Kuala Lumpur a little more.  When I walked out of my apartment, was in Little India.  Then I hopped the LRT (light rail) one stop and was in Chinatown.  A few more stops down the line I was back in Malaysia in the Golden Triangle- the commercial hub of the city where the Petronas Towers are located.  From there I explored my way to Menara KL (or KL Tower) which is a huge (421m/1381ft) telecommunications tower building that looks similar to the Space Needle.  From the top I was able to get a better grasp on my quickly evolving understanding of the city's geography.  The tower is surrounded by the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve; reserved in 1906 it is the country's oldest protected piece of jungle, and a rare slice of nature in a city of skyscrapers.  I took the free guided nature tour and learned all about bananas, monkeys, snakes, soft and hardwood trees, and that the cicadas in the jungle there make noise if it is not going to rain.   

Menara KL.

A view of the tower from the forest reserve below.

A small part of the jungle preserved in th city.



General view in the direction of my neighborhood.  They sky was pretty hazy in the afternoon, maybe I'll try and go up in the morning sometime.

 From there I wandered through an area of the city known as Bukit Bintang which is full of shopping, restaurants, and tons of hawker stalls.  I had just eaten and wasn't daring enough to dive into the street food yet, but it was fun to explore and see what unrecognizable creations they had to offer.  I also stumbled on to a fantastic little yoga studio on a quiet street with a great organic/artistic restaurant next door, so I look forward to practicing there! 

Street stand with Durian fruit, a favorite in Malaysia, most people either love it or hate it.  I tried  a small bit of it and definitely thought it was OK, I'll have to try more in the future.

Just when I thought I was anonymous in a big city, I was aimlessly wandering down the street and got a tap on the shoulder.  Turning around I was surprised to see a familiar faces.  It was a family that had been staying at the same beach resort on the Perhentian Islands.  I hadn't talked to them much, and assumed that they were on holiday from Europe, but it turns out that they live just outside of KL and are from Spain.  Just random to be walking down a very crowded street in a city that I barely know and get recognized by someone that I barely know.  Indeed a small world.

MALAY WEDDING
I was invited by a Rotarian to attend a Malay wedding on Saturday.  I felt a little strange because I had no idea who was even getting married, but they insisted that I go and I was glad to witness this part of the culture.  It turns out, the eldest daughter of one of the Rotarians was getting married.  I was unclear on a lot of what was happening, if it was more traditional or modern, and if it was just a wedding, or a wedding combined with a Hari Raya (Muslim New Year) open house.  No one had clear answers to my questions, so sorry for the lack of insight, but I'll attempt to share what I partook in.

I was invited to partake in the Bersanding which is literally "sitting together of the bride and bridegroom on the bridal couch."  This took place inside the home of the parents of the bride, so only the close family was invited in to attend (there were probably about 200 people in the park outside across the street enjoying a feast and beautiful setting).  I guess I'm special because I was invited in as well.  The guests all sat on the floor and the bride and groom proceeded in to be seated on a couch in beautifully decorated stage setting.  Individually the parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles where invited to the 'stage' to sprinkle yellow rice and scented water on the palms of the wedding couple as a sign of blessing.  I was surprised to be invited up to participate!  Each guest is given an egg flower, a decorated egg with fabric flower, as a sign fertility.

Back outside in the park, the newly married couple joined the festivities and there were Malaysian dance performances and a group of orphan children that played violin music and sang.  This reception setting was similar to an American wedding with white tents, cake, and a mixing of friends and family.  It reminded me of Alaska in the sense that the attire of the guests spanned the range from jeans to beautiful gowns and traditional Malay outfits.



They newly weds.  I believe he was originally from Somolia and she is Malaysian.



Malaysian dancers.

Traditional Malay dancing.

I don't know how they were able to sustain dancing in all those clothes, it was so very very hot outside, even in shade I could barely tolerate it. The heat sucked all of the energy out of my and immediately upon my return to the apartment, I had to sleep it off.

 

Baby Sea Turtles!

Well, I did my part to save the world last night by helping to release baby sea turtles into the ocean.  Unfortunately, their chance of survival is very low (1 in 1,000), thankfully places like the Bubbles Dive Resort are aiding in turtle conservation.  The following turtle information may not be news to some of you, but I have learned a lot about sea turtles in the last 2 days so I’ll share with you here.  There are 5 species of sea turtles in the world (green, leatherback, olive ripley, loggerhead, hawksbill).  The leatherback turtle is the largest of the species and can grow up to the size of a small car.  Malaysia used to be a prime spot for leatherback turtle nesting, but in the past several decades human and other impacts have made the leatherback only a legend here.   

Fortunately, green turtles still nest on the Perhentian Islands and there are some very ecofriendly resorts aiding in conservation efforts.  At the small resort we are staying at, they basically watch for nesting turtles, and as soon as they lay their eggs, someone will dig them up and incubate them in a sandy environment away from the beach.  This seems counter-intuitive, but egg survival is very low due to many factors including human poaching (they like to eat turtle eggs still in some areas), animal predation (lizards, small rodents, etc.), infestation of the nests by ants, and fungus.  Each nest can contain up to 60 eggs and they incubate for 50-60 days before hatching.  Once the babies emerge, they are taken down to the beach under the cloak of darkness and released near the top of the beach and watched to make sure they make their way to the water.  The trek from the beach to the water is important because when the crawl across the sand it leaves and imprint on their soft underside and this will somehow tell them where to come back and mate/nest when they are adults, similar to salmon returning to the stream where they hatched.  The babies have enough energy to swim for 72 hours straight upon which, if they survive that long, they find some sort of undersea baby sea animal oasis of sea grass and live in and around there for 5-6 years while they learn to feed and become big turtles.  They don’t start to reproduce until they are 17-18 years old, and then only every other year.  If you know any turtle experts, or if you want to volunteer and fall in love with baby sea turtles, come this way!  To view more adorable baby sea turtle photos and learn more visit https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bubbles-Dive-Resort/289556186343.

Baby green sea turtles.

I am on holiday on the island of Perhentian Besar for 5 days.  Not to brag, but it’s pretty much tropical paradise.  I hopped on a trip with my new friend Q’Juan and her brother and cousin.  They were coming here to get dive certified and I decided it would just be nice to lie on the beach, relax, snorkel, and sunbathe to get rid of my glowing white Alaska skin that makes me stand out even more that other Caucasians in Malaysia.  We drove all night from Kuala Lumpur (about 9 hours because of traffic due to the holidays) to the northeast coast of Malaysia, and then took a water taxi to this secluded beach resort.  The “resort” is small (less than 20 rooms), friendly (lots of families), and not connected to any other beaches.  Besides thoroughly enjoying some recreational reading, and napping in the hammocks, I also got daring today and decided to go on a small hike through the jungle.  I was drenched within minutes due to the humidity of the jungle, but the view of the clear blue water from above was worth it.  I didn’t get attacked by any monkeys but I was afraid to stand still for too long with the multitude of ants seemingly everywhere, it sounded like thousands of tiny bubbles popping when I stopped to listen to them crawling around on the jungle floor.  I also enjoyed a ½ day snorkel trip to 3 different locations seeing every colorful fish you can imagine, a sea turtle, and blue spotted sting ray. 



Q'Juan and I after enjoying a dip in the warm warm waters.



View from my hammock.

Jungle trekking.

Glad I didn't grab on to this one on my way down.

View from the top.

Holidays and Little India

There are Malaysian flags EVERYWHERE in celebration of Merdeka (Malaysian Independence Day).

Street around the corner from my apartment, I live in the "Little India" part of the city.

They redeveloped this area last year, making the streets one-way and adding decoration to the area with these arches and street designs.

Large fountain near my apartment, it has about 20 elephant figures.  Worshiped by Hindu sects, Lord Ganesh is the "remover of obstacles" and it identified by his elephant head. 

Tuesday through Friday of next week are recognized as public holidays in Malaysia.  Two holidays happen to fall back to back this year, Hari Raya, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan, and Merdeka, which is Malaysia's equivalent to 4th of July, celebrating 54 years of independence this year.  During Hari Raya, most Muslim people journey to visit their extended families outside the city so Kuala Lumpur will become very quiet.  It is said that you will be able to dance in the streets because there will be no traffic.  I will be taking advantage of the extended holiday by taking a trip to the Perhentian Islands off the northeast coast of Malaysia up near Thailand to relax with the turtles in tropical paradise before my university classes start the following week.

Since these holidays are happening at the same time, I've heard that the celebrations for Medeka will be scaled down some and the main events (parades, etc.) will take place on September 16th, which is known as Malaysia Day.  This day commemorates the establishment of the Malaysian federation in 1963.

The bottom 3 photos are from my neighborhood.  I live in an area known as the Brickfields, which is the "new" little India area of Kuala Lumpur.  This area was redeveloped in 2010 and was dedicated in a ceremony by the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and India.  It is a convenient area to reside because it is within walking distance of KL Central which is the main public transit hub for the city.  I can easily hop the light rail to the university from here or head to most other parts of the city. 

Only day 4?

Its hard to believe that I've only been here for four whole days.  We have definitely kept busy!  Sunday consisted of exploring the city with our roommate Menal who has been living here for 3 years, from Saudi Arabia, attending university working on her Master's degree in Family Economics.  I'm not really sure what that study is yet, but I'm sure I'll find out more details in due time.  When I refer to "we/us/our" it mostly means myself and the other Ambassadorial Scholar, Tomoko.  You can probably guess that she's from Japan.  Most of our time has been spent together so far. 

Sunday we started to learn how to use the public transit which consists of buses, light rail, monorail, and commuter trains.  They are not interconnected all that well, but I think it won't take too long to get the hang of it.  We went to some of the main centers of town including Kuala Lumpur City Center (KLCC), where the Petronas Towers are located, and KL's Time Square and other major shopping/entertainment areas.  The streets in KL are definitely not on a grid system, so it will take a while to figure out walking between different areas, mostly navigating by landmarks.  I can find my apartment by public transit, but not very well by car which was evidenced when a kind person who has never been to our apartment offered to drop us off last night and we got lost on one way streets!  We have had the pleasure of being taken around to appointments in the city by private driver's who work for some of the Rotarians who are hosting us.

Yesterday (Monday) was very busy with Rotary activities.  We went to a Rotary Club meeting for lunch at a fancy hotel called Shangri-La, and then to another dinner meeting with the club that is hosting me (Rotary Club of Titiwangsa) for dinner which lasted until 11pm.  Everyone is very very happy to meet us and so kind offering to have us to their homes and excited to share Malaysian food and culture with us. 

10+ floos of escalators in a shopping center.

The Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998-2004, they are still the tallest twin towers.  Petronas is a Malaysian oil and gas company.

Roomies and I enjoying some air conditioning.

View from the 18th Floor

View from one of our balconies.

Main living area.

My roomate from Saudi Arabia has 2 cats, this one's name is Katkot which means baby of the chicken.

This one is Dabdob, meaning baby of the bear.

View looking down from second balcony.

View from second balcony.  I like the "little" purple building in the middle.

I spent my first full day in Malaysia at a mega mall.  There are lots of those around here aparently.  One of our Rotary hosts who is also our landlord took us out to buy all of the random essential things we might need.  It was really crowded because it is a holiday time here and all the stores are having sales.  The week after next everyone has Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off because it is the end of Ramadan and Malaysia's country day, like our 4th of July.  I have been invited on a trip out to some tropical islands!

6,636 miles from Anchorage

Through great pressure from my family and friends, and a reasonable obligation to document my adventures for those who have supported me, I officially enter my first blog post!  I'll be sharing my experiences with you while I'm living 6,636 miles away from my most recent home (Anchorage, Alaska), in my new home for a year...Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Talk about a change in climate!

No promises about how much I'll update, I'll try and hold myself to it (you should pressure me if I start to fail).  Through time I'll fill you in on why I'm here and what I'm doing!  Signing off from my new home on the 18th floor of a 20 storey apartment complex.

Dunia Kecil=small world in the Malay language.