Beer at School
Sorry we haven’t written…just been so busy with school…you know how it gets. We just completed our second week. In fact, Friday was payday. And as tradition has it, our school puts on a grand bash called Stalls Night, every year the Friday of the first payday. All staff and faculty are invited to the High School and the most amazing food is available…roasted lamb, chicken and beef satay with lip-smacking peanut sauce, fried chicken, noodle dishes, local Malay treats, fresh vegetables and fruit…all you can eat, and BEER!!! Cold, cold beer….at school!!!! Now that was novel for us!!!

Lamppost Encounter
Ran over a lamp post…that is right, a 40 foot lamp post crashed onto the highway during a massive thunderstorm….came around the corner doing about 60 KPH, cars to the right and left of us, and all of a sudden, with no time to stop, was this lamp post across the entire three lanes, couldn’t go under it, couldn’t go around it…no choice but go over it…Ka-bloomp!!! Cars lined the road with flat tires, missing mufflers and what-not. We seemed to have escaped with nary a scratch…at least until we got to about a kilometer from school and our front driver-side tire went completely flat…pancake flat, running on the rim flat…but school was in sight, it was raining like crazy so we kept driving…limped into the parking lot. Phew!!! We love our little Waja!!!!

Rain
You do not know what rain is until you live in Malaysia. Think of the downpours you had in Wenatchee this summer…now multiply that ten fold and that is what it is like when the heavens open up here. Add an orchestra of thunder, multiple lightning strikes , and water, water EVERYWHERE. Usually the deluge lasts for less than an hour and the sun comes out and dries everything up. Heidi and I love sitting on our deck sipping wine and watching Mother Nature put on her show!!! Amazing…simply amazing.

Celebrations
Last month was Ramadan. Muslims here in Malaysia and around the world, abstain from food, drink and other physical needs during daylight hours. They focus on purifying their souls, their thoughts and actions. The Muslims on staff shared with me that this was a time for them to think about those who do not have much, those who are dis-advantaged, those who go hungry. It helps them to empathize and to be better people and to give more. But each night the roads were packed to the gill with very hungry people rushing to get home to eat at sunset. Traffic jams like you wouldn’t believe. And everywhere were huge Ramadan Buffets. And each night fireworks…not just a one night Fourth of July extravaganza, but every night. Heidi and I would sit on our deck, high above the city and watch the sky alight with color…and booms, crackles, oooohs and aaaahs. Next week we have a Hari Raya celebration at school. It is a cultural dress up day for everyone. Heidi and I have been presented with special outfits to wear…what fun. With so many cultures here, we celebrate many different holidays and learn the meaning of each….Hari Raya, Deepavalli, Chinese New Year, Christmas, Muharran, Wesak Day, Malaysia Day….Holidays are loved here in Malaysia.

Diversity
There is a richness that comes from students working side by side with others who are not of the same mold. In any one class at our school you will find students from Nigeria, India, China, Korea, USA, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Croatia, New Zealand, Columbia, Italy, Saudi, on and on. Kids here truly do seem “color blind” They make friends with people from all over the world. They become global citizens…pretty special. When they move on and read about a disaster such as the tsunami in Japan, they probably knew someone from Japan…they can empathize, they care what happens. When they hear of the terrible plight of the people in Syria, good chance they had a friendship with someone who had lived or was from Syria. They care about what happens in the world, they care about all the people they meet and have grown to love. For most, they are here for a few years and then move on to another country where they will enroll in another International School and meet a whole new group of classmates from around the world. We have a school full of third culture kids (TCKs)…kids who have spent a large part of their life in one or more culture other than their own. Most of the students at school have passports filled with stamps from countries around the world. Ask a TCK where they are from and you may be surprised with the answer…you mean, Where I was born? or Where I have spent most of my life? or Where did we just came from? They get good at dealing with loss….loss of friends, of home, or pets, belongings. They get good at assimilating into new cultures. They know their way around international airports, can tell you what it is like to walk on the Great Wall of China, swim in the Indian Ocean, or walk down a Parisian boulevard. I just finished reading stories to our preschool kids….and as I looked out at my little audience, I marveled at their beautiful faces..faces from all over the world, all sitting together in harmony. And no matter what country they come from…they all know how to hug their principal !!!!

“If life isn’t about human beings and living in harmony, then I don’t know what it is about.” -Orlando Bloom

We are hoping to get about the city some more next week and will try our best to get you more pictures. In three weeks time we have a trip to Singapore planned…definitely will bring my camera.
Hope all at Eastmont are ready for a new year!!! Have a great start…we’ll be thinking of you.

PS…we celebrate many holidays but we do not celebrate Labor Day 🙂

Bob and Heidi