I was born in the year of the horse, the wooden horse. I am suppose to be strong and energetic and fond of adventure and travel. Horses are the nomads of the Chinese zodiac.

Heidi, was born in the Year of the Water Tiger. Water Tigers communicate very well with others and through their vast range of capabilities and convincing nature will usually achieve what they want in life. The Tiger is a natural born leader and can rise to the top of their workplace. The understanding Water Tiger has a firm interest in helping others and subsequently may take to a humanitarian career. In this sense, the Water Tiger does well in teaching or counseling.

Tigers and Horses are very compatible and make good partners!!!

Rather uncanny, if you believe in astrology.

What I do know is how amazing my wife is. Even with a most demanding job, she put together a birthday I will always remember. This wooden horse turned 60…ouch!!! And for this sixth decade celebration, Heidi treated me to a most wonderful weekend in Malaka. If you have been reading this blog, you’ll remember the trip I took with the fifth graders to Melaka…fun that may have been, this trip was soooooo much better. We stayed at the Casa Del Rio…a wonderful resort right on the river and next to the old town. This is a place to go if you want to be pampered (which we do) and have time to yourself. When you drive up, your bags are whisked away to your room, car parked for you, you are seated on cushioned chairs and served iced lemon-ginger ice cream. The room was spacious with a balcony overlooking the Melaka River. Turn down each night brought a special dessert and one night a room filled with roses and rose petals. We had a candlelit dinner served on our balcony…Australian Angus ribeye steak, roasted vegetables, Caesar salad, and passionfruit parfait for dessert…and a bottle of Merlot. At breakfast, seated outside, we were serenaded by the entire kitchen staff and served a dessert of chocolate swirled cheesecake. Our couples massage was “professionally” completed…no Bangkok suggestions here!!! The pool is on the rooftop and is one of those infinity style pools where you look out toward the Straits of Malacca. Happy hour mojitos were delicious. They even washed our car for us for our return trip home to KL

We toured the town, enjoyed the night market on Jonker Street, ate a Geographers Cafe and enjoyed its funky, laidback atmosphere, and took the boat up and down the Malacca River. And, I got a Malacca Hard Rock Cafe pin !!!

When we returned to KL, I spent the day getting ready for my trip to the Boston Career Fair. Heidi suggested we go out to eat…both of us too tired to want to cook. So off we went to La Mexicana. On the way I told Heidi how much I appreciated what she did for my “big birthday” and thanked her for not putting together a big gathering. We then walked into La Mexicana and there were all our co-workers there to celebrate my birthday….I surely spoke too soon !!!

A day to remember. A day to thank my lucky stars for the amazing woman I am lucky enough to call my wife. Turning 60 was actually hard for me. I know I am on the downward slope of life, my body tells me that regularly. I have hair growing where I don’t want them, pains in every joint, and my arms are too short to read the newspaper. On the drive back from Melaka, Heidi and I talked about our lives…about our family, how blessed we are with five amazing children and seven, yes SEVEN grandchildren, each one unique and oh so beautiful. We talked of our friends, new and old, each one a treasure. We talked about our chosen careers, of how we do make a difference in this world, we “affect eternity”. And we talked how much more we still have to do, how much more we still have to give. I’m ready to march on, ready for new challenges, treasuring every moment I have with family and friends and hopefully making a difference in the lives of others.

Bangkok is big. New York big. Bigger.
You could live here for years and not see all of it. My goal is to try and see a bit more of the city each time I come. This time here for two recruiting fairs.

Finally visited the Bangkok Hard Rock Cafe…I always need a pin. I did a little trading with the waitresses and in addition to my Bangkok guitar pin, I snagged ones from Venice, Stockholm, and Moscow. SCORE !!!!

From the HRC we wandered over to Soi 11. Parked up and down this street were volkswagon vans all converted into bars…some quite elaborate. Sometime after the sun sets, the vans begin to arrive on the street. They park next to the curb and set up. Everything is jammed into these van….Chairs, tables, table cloths, music boxes, lights…crammed to the gills they are. Once the chairs and tables are set up on the sidewalk, transformer-like the vans become bars….the tops lift up, the walls flip down to make counters, the bottles of alcohol are proudly displayed, music cranked up, lights turned on…they are ready for business. You pull up a chair, order a drink . . . no need to worry about a dress code or cover charge. Fun atmosphere to just sit, sip, chat, and people watch.
Nice thing about these bars…if it starts to get rowdy, they just pack up and move somewhere else.

Whenever we hire someone at the recruiting fairs, we always try to take them to dinner. We hired a lovely couple, middle school PE and Humanities, and went to The Blue Elephant Restaurant and Cooking School. This restaurant is in a century old building and you feel like you have traveled back in time . . .back to the colonial period. The restaurant specializes in authentic Thai cuisine. In order to sample as much as possible we ordered the Royal Thai Symphony Menu and the Royal Thai Banquet Menu . . . this gave us samplings of most of the main courses….Phad Thai with crab, Crab Curry with Betel Leaves, Pomelo Salad, Tom Yan Koong (A spicy and sour soup with tiger prawns and eryngii mushrooms), Tamarind Duck, Panaeng Nua (a rich red curry), on and on and on until our stomachs were about to burst. And then came desert. I was working my way through the samplers and saved the cheesecake for last. For those of you who know me as Cheesecake Bob, you know I had to make a comparison to my own creations. So, there it was, the very best for last, the cheesecake, perfectly cooked, an off-white, creamy texture sitting on top of that wonderful graham cracker crust. All were watching as my trembling hands guided this wonder of desserts toward my now salivating mouth. I bit down and began chewing. I expected mango flavor, perhaps lychee or vanilla. You can imagine the look on my face when I discovered it was Durian Cheesecake. I had to swallow, all were looking, or should I say laughing. Note to all: placing Durian into other food forms does not change the taste.

When the recruiting was done for the day and our plan for the next day solidified, dinner and touring complete, we went for massages to tend to our weary muscles. There is a plethora of massage places to choose from. Walk along any street and they will be there. Many are reputable. Cost usually about $20.00 USD for an hour and a half massage (Thai, oil, aromatic) At one place my masseuse asked where my wife was. I told her at home in Kuala Lumpur. She then asked if I also had a Thai wife in Bangkok. Thought that was kinda funny. At another place, one we had been told was very reputable, part-way through the massage I was asked if I wanted a certain part of my anatomy massaged, I think you can guess the part I’m talking about. I politely declined. I’m glad she asked and didn’t just assume . . .wonder what “Reputable” meant to our recommender??? Hmmm. I am not including any pictures of the massages . . . camera left in the locker.

Recruiting
The majority of our hiring is done at the large recruiting fairs held around the globe. Our school attends the SEARCH fairs in Melbourne, Australia, in Bangkok, Thailand, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and San Francisco. We also attend the ISS Fairs in Bangkok and in Boston (San Francisco in odd years) We have been talking about attending the London Fairs and a large one in Iowa. . . we’ll make that decision later this year. While we are doing an increased amount of Skype interviewing, there is nothing like a face to face meeting.

These fairs are pressure cookers . . . for the candidates and recruiters both. The candidates are all without jobs. In the International World contracts are signed by December. If you are leaving then no contract is offered. So the candidates coming to the fair are counting on getting offers, hopefully to favorable locations. I think them very brave. The recruiters are all vying for the same top candidates, in essence competing against each other all during the day. Then at night over a beer we compare wins and losses.

After the registration day comes the large sign-up day. The ballroom of the hotel is set up by country with the schools from that country set up behind tables. Large signs noting the name of the school and the listing of openings are placed on the walls behind the tables. At the designated hour the doors are opened and in they come. At Bangkok it was over 500 teachers all rushing to the school of their choice trying to snag an interview appointment. Ahead of time, the recruiters sent invitations to their top choices requesting them to come to the table to sign up for an interview time. This process takes 1 to 2 hours. The rest of the day and the next two are filled with interviews, second interviews, and hopefully offers. Some candidates get multiple offers. They are usually given 24 hours to decide.

It is truly a dance. . . the recruiters and candidates moving across the dance floor. . . sometimes you don’t know who’s leading. In the end, you win some, you lose some. You lick your wounds and move onto the next fair. We hired one in Melbourne and 6 in Bangkok. Hoping to complete the rest in Boston. We take the hired candidates to dinner, get to know them better, answer questions, and toast to our success.

Stressful, tiring, sometimes frustrating, rewarding!!!!

Next year in Bangkok I hope to get to some of the markets, perhaps try a scorpion and grasshopper, tour the Grand Palace, and perhaps have some shirts or a suit made.

Til then I’ll leave you with a description of Bangkok . . . from the Musical CHESS, Murray Head and the song, One Night in Bangkok

One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free
You’ll find a God in every golden cloister
A little flesh, a little history
I can feel an angel slidin’ up to me

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can’t be too careful with your company
I can feel the Devil walking next to me

BALI…..I will take a stab at describing Bali but I’m afraid my words will be woefully inadequate…it’s more of a feeling you have. There is a calmness here, a sense of peace. Perhaps it’s the warmth of the people, their ever-present smiles, the friendly welcomes, the genuine happiness. The blue skies, gentle breeze, floral-essence in the air all add to it, the ancient temples, the daily offerings to the Gods,….I’m not sure what it is, you just feel your cares float away. Bali is famous for its inner and outer beauty, and its gracious hospitality. This beautiful island features majestic volcanoes and terraced rice fields that gently spill into an azure sea. And Bali’s rich cultural heritage and deep reverence for life is legendary.

I went to Bali for a quick-break from prepping for the upcoming recruiting fairs. I decided to focus on Ubud (the “u” is pronounced like the “o” in WHO…oo-bood) Wanted to stay away from the beach scene…you see, this is summer for Australia and they descend in droves upon Bali to take in the rather hedonistic beach scene, the night clubs, the bars…wall to wall Aussie’s (and they know how to party!!!) Ubud is the art and cultural center of Bali…located near the center of the island. I can’t say the crowds didn’t make it to Ubud, but it was manageable. I stayed at a little boutique hotel called Kananga..about a 40 minute walk away from downtown Ubud and built right on top of a rice field…a working rice field. Peaceful, quiet, serene…perfect.

Ubud, the town, is rather interesting….narrow streets, shop upon shop….art galleries selling paintings, carvings, weavings, clothing stops filled with outfits made from bright Balinese fabric, jewelry shops…silver and gold, money changers, trinket shops, day spas, hotels, and cafes…even a Starbucks!!!!! You will be asked many times is you want a taxi ride. I’d politely say, “No thanks” and that would be that. The streets are crowded with cars, vans, and of course, scooters. Like in Kuala Lumpur, there is honking…but here it is a quick beep saying, “Watch out…here I come” rather than an prolonged, angry honk saying, “Get the hell out of my way”. (there is a difference!!!) I took advantage of a couple of day spas…massages (1 1/2 hour Balinese massage) cost me 150,000 rupiah ($12.00) and worth every penny!!!! Everywhere in the town are small temples, very old, beautifully carved stone, ornate doors. Each morning small offerings of flowers and sometimes candy, are laid out…prays offered, incense lit. I asked my taxi driver what he prays for…he said he asks that his family is well, that his driving is safe, and that he finds nice customers who will continue to call him so he can provide for his family. Because of the holiday season, there were daily parades…little villages around Ubud would march through the city….garish floats carried by the men, drums beat, cymbals crashed, gongs hit, and women dressed in their finest Balinese wear. Monkey Forest is at the bottom of Monkey Forest Road. I think you all know my feelings regarding monkeys…but the monkeys here were almost, well, almost cute. I did see one with a nice pair of sunglasses, but for the most part the monkeys here in Bali were well behaved!

The rice fields and rice terraces of Bali are amazing. Rice is a staple here on the island and everywhere you will see rice growing. Shops line the roads but right behind are acres and acres of rice. I watched the men work the fields…back breaking work, everything done by hand. They stand in the paddies with bare feet up to their knees in mud (every kid’s dream) …they level the mud to create a flat surface. They plant by hand, all in nice neat rows, carefully spaced. They weed daily…they scoop off the weeds growing on the surface and push them down to the bottom to die and decay. They thin and re-position the growing plants, fertilize and spray for bugs. All under the hot sun, all bending over, all day long, every day, no breaks…I hear the younger generation is not a keen to take on the fields. The Terraces are even tougher to care for. They have been here for hundreds of years….carved from the mountain sides, carefully terraced and engineered to allow water to flow from one terrace to the next. It was an amazing feeling to wander along the terraces, to walk where generations of Balinese farmers dedicated their lives to maintain these fields. Breathtaking beauty.

I will return to Bali, next time with Heidi, and will take in the beaches, see the volcanoes, dive in the waters…but not at Christmas !!! Perhaps our visitors would like to take a small excursion to Bali???? Yes???? Only a little over two hour flight away, 8 degrees south of the equator, surrounded by the warm Indian Ocean….nice little get-away? Think about it, let us know.

There is a tiny little mosquito here called the Aedes Mosquito…just a little pip-squeak, with little white spots, but they can carry the tropical disease dengue fever. Most people here go their entire lives and never contract dengue, but if you are unlucky, like three of our faculty were this fall, it is not a fun time.

Aedes Mosquito

When you are infected with dengue, the first symptom is usually a horrendous headache right behind the eyes and an accompanying high fever…commonly around 103-104. Next comes the muscle and skeletal aches….dengue is also known as The Breakbone Fever…it hurts that bad. And you’re not done yet…get ready for a measles-like rash over most of your body and a lowering of your platelets in your blood. This goes on for about a week. Your platelet level must be carefully watched…often the level gets so low that fluid leaking occurs. When these symptoms come on, it is best to check into the nearest hospital. There is no commercially available vaccine for dengue. The good thing about dengue….my teachers say it is a great way to lose weight!!!! Gotta be a silver lining to everything.

At school we do a daily check of our grounds to make sure we have no standing water where mosquitos can breed. We keep fish in all our ponds to eat any larvae, and we fog the area on a regular basis. This keeps the mosquitos at bay. I seriously doubt our faculty contracted dengue at school, but rather in some area they visited. Our kids are outside a lot more than the teachers and no instances. Now that I have scared you, no one will want to visit us. Really…there is not a high chance of getting dengue here…so please do not cancel your flights!!!!

The semester came to an end. Where does the time go???? At our end of semester assembly, we said goodbye to all the kids leaving. We have about 35 leaving and will have 50+ arrive new in January. It is always a bit sad to say goodbye…lots of tears shed on this day. I chose not to read the Polar Express this year and instead did a great book, BEAR STAYS UP. The Red Hats introduce me, the lights are turned down, the pictures were projected onto our big screen, two red hats helped me…one held the torch (flashlight), the other turned the pages. It is sooo much fun. We also did a great rendition of The Night Before Christmas – Melawati Style, written by one of our fifth grade teachers…the teachers came up on stage and we acted out the parts…kids were just howling, it was so funny. The assembly ended with a surprise…seems my assistant principal has a wicked sense of humor…she put together one of those Jib Jab cards…The Macareindeer. That one put a smile on everyone’s face. A nice way to end the semester.

As soon as the kids were gone, the faculty make a bee-line to the airport…..Where are you going you ask???…..in reply you hear….Bali, Nepal, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, diving off Ambon Island, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Africa….some will say they are going home, many off to the states..including my wife!!! Heidi jetted off Saturday morning…she is so excited to see everyone and to hug the kids, grandkids, and family and to see our friends. I miss her dearly…our first Christmas ever apart, but so glad she got to come home.

Right after Christmas I do plan on taking three days to go to Bali so see the rice terraces and the art in Ubud. I’ll take pictures and post. The rest of the time I will be getting ready for the Bangkok Fair…our first BIG recruiting fair.

Hiring in an International School is a HUGE undertaking. It begins in October when we have “early tell” Teachers let us know if they are returning or not. Once we know this we make internal moves and then post positions. In December, everyone must sign contracts or let us know if they won’t be returning. Now we have all our positions. During October, November and December we are busy going through hundreds of applications. Last year we had over 1500 apply…this year will be no different. We try quickly to fill our “hard-to-fill” positions…counselor, psych, strings, etc.
I have already hired 5 people for next year and have 7 to go. In January, the fairs begin. We send a team to Melbourne, Australia for a SEARCH ASSOCIATES fair Jan. 3. At the same time, I will be going to Bangkok for the Search and the ISS (International School Services) Fairs. I hope to hire most of the rest of our spots here. At the end of January, we send another team to Boston, again for the Search and ISS fairs. I do hope to complete the hiring here…if not then it is on to San Francisco. I am very lucky to be at a school like ISKL. It is one of those schools most sought out. At the fairs, we have standing room only at our presentation. Most of our offers are accepted…we usually get the cream of the crop. But it is exhausting. All our hiring for next year is completed by the end of February. Quite a process.

Happy Holidays to Everyone. Merry Christmas.

bob-

Our first visitors from the states!!!! So nice to see people we know and to hear about home, trade travel stories and show-off Kuala Lumpur.

Justin and Holly Pickens took a little side excursion from their trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, and made their way to Kuala Lumpur. They got to sample some of the cuisine of Kuala Lumpur….Indian Food, Hawker stand food, steak at Suzy’s corner, our favorite breakfast cafe, and of course Starbucks (which by the way, never opens before 8:00am – go figure). We took them to the Petronas Twin Towers, walked through a few massive malls and looked at the over-the-top Christmas decorations, ate at Jalan Alor (Stingray and Chicken Fish), bought purses and electronics in ChinaTown, scoured Central Market, and played a few card games Justin even found the local fire station and had a tour….I think he would like to work here just to wear their regulation camo-pants
Justin and Holly are great travelers…they had no problem getting around the city with or without us. They haggled with the best of them, braved crossing the streets, took on the rain and didn’t give in to taxi drivers trying to over charge.

What a great young couple, they certainly brightened our lives while they were here. They leave early on Monday morning back to Saigon and then home. Bon Voyage!!!!

Here are a few pics of our time with them.

One of the refreshing things about working in an international school is being able to determine what you feel is best for children. We do not have to worry about “no child left behind” or whether we made AYP or how many students were at level 3 on the WELPA test. As a faculty, we get to look at research and best practice and determine the course of our school.

At ISKL, we believe there is a need to educate the whole child, and part of that is offering a well-rounded program that includes the arts.

We offer dancing, music, instrument playing, visual arts, and drama. We believe that involvement in the arts improves a child’s confidence, concentration, perseverance, focus and motivation. We also believe there are gains associated with the involvement in the arts that extend throughout the curriculum….in math, reading, writing, critical thinking, teamwork, and verbal skills. Kids just enjoy the arts and look forward to coming to school each day.

I took some pictures of the artwork displayed around the school. When we talk about teaching ART at ISKL, we don’t mean crafts. Our teachers TEACH perspective, shading, negative space, patterns, texture, etc. We have pottery, ceramics, batik work, silk-screening, etc. It is amazing the work our little ones create.

More Christmas decorations and music.
I’ve mentioned before how much Malaysia loves holidays. Christmas has been no exception. At school, each grade level has an artificial Christmas tree that they decorate. The fifth grade “red hats” added a Holiday Wish on the back of their decorations. In the studio, we are getting ready for our Christmas music department extravaganza. They hung all these Santa Hats with fishing line….it gives the impression of Harry Potter’s Hogwart’s School….neat effect. Each grade level is responsible for a program during the year. They are focused on units of study. The music department may assist but are not responsible for the grade level programs. They get the Christmas program where our choir and band perform. Again, it is the philosophy that music is important for each of our students. Every fifth grader plays a band instrument. Rather amazing to hear a band of 110 kids. Each lunch recess there are “master” classes for all the instruments. Kids willingly give up their time to play. All students have music twice a week. After school there is choir, gamelan music, guitar, and band.

We took Allie to Central Market. Heidi had to show her this “awesome” store that sells “really cute” skirts. Allie bought three. I was creeped out by the mannequins. After hours of shopping I did convince them to try the fish spa. It was so funny to watch their reaction as schools of doctor fish nibbled at their feet. It took Heidi some time to get used to it and entertained the crowd of onlookers with her giggles and laughter. We quickly found out who had the driest skin…..within minutes the fish left Allie and me and zoomed over to Heidi…a total migration.

Fruit of the Week

RED BANANA
Now this is how bananas SHOULD taste. Red Bananas are shorter but more plump than the bananas you get in the stores in the USA. The flesh is more of a creamy white, almost a pinkish hew. And so flavorful. I don’t know if I will ever be able to enjoy the bananas at home…I’ve been spoiled.
The ones pictured below were grown in the backyard of our swimming pool assistant. He said when fully ripe they get almost magenta in color.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I just returned from a trip to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, specifically the pediatric cancer ward. Children from all over Malaysia, all stricken with cancer, come here for treatment, surgeries, chemo, radiation, etc. This is a State-Run hospital, subsidized by the government and is located in a large sprawling facility. It looks like it may have been built during the time the British were here but it keeps being added on to and it must cover ten city blocks. While the facility was showing it’s age, everything was clean and orderly on the inside. This is one of the few hospitals that allow the parents to stay with their kids. The families are charged three ringit a day (that is one dollar) for all the care provided, the chemotherapy, the radiation, the medicine. The surgeries are a bit more, but overall it is affordable for most people.

ISKL (The International School of Kuala Lumpur) is a pretty special place. Our mission: The International School of Kuala Lumpur provides and exceptional education that challenges each student to develop the attitude, skill, knowledge and understanding to become highly successful, spirited, socially-responsible global citizens. The words in our mission are extremely important to us as they drive all we do. When determining what it takes to become “socially-responsible global citizens” we think of service learning, of giving to others. At our elementary school, here is a sampling of service learning.

1. Cancer Ward – Once per month, about 20 fifth grades (the Red Hats) and parents hop on a bus and drive to the Cancer Ward. The kids bring games, coloring books, paper, pens, i-pads, etc. Their goal is to brighten the lives of the little children in the hospital. The patients (most aged 3 to 7) didn’t want much to do with the tall adults, but once the kids introduced themselves and started talking and playing, all barriers broke down and the smiles came out. Official language didn’t matter…there was that universal “kid language” flowing. i-Pod apps were a favorite, but so were the puppet shows, singing, card and board games, and coloring. Our kids were creative in what they brought. They also brought items to leave with the patients…books, colored pencils, games, etc. It was truly priceless to see our kids give so selflessly. Lives were touched, connections made, hearts filled.

2. KIVA – Once per month we have a “Free Dress-up” Day. Instead of wearing the school uniform, the kids can wear their regular street clothes. But to do so, they have to pay 5 ringit (about $1.50). The money is collected and divided equally between all the classrooms. Each classroom then visits the KIVA website and determines where to invest their money. On the KIVA website, the children determine who will be the recipient of their loan. They select the country and the individual. Once selected, they can view the progress of the donation. Many selected the Philippines this month to give to people who may have been affected by the massive storm. To date, we have given thousands of dollars to the organizations.

3. Bake Sale for Philippines – Our Red Hats cooked and baked and brought so many items to sell at lunchtime that we earned over $3000.00 to go directly to the storm relief. We also collected 20 large boxes (3 foot square) of supplies, food, water, etc. for the Philippine relief fund.

4. Change for Good – During one week, kids brought in change from countries they have visited. They collected over $4000.00 just in change…all of which goes to UNISEF.

5. Orphanage – We have adopted the kids at a local orphanage. Besides providing Christmas gifts and school supplies, we purchase each child a uniform for their local school and make sure they have a lovely Christmas. Our Red Hats (all our fifth graders are Red Hats. They are the leaders in our school…they do the daily announcements, provide new students with a tour of our school, run all the assemblies, and act as models for our younger students) organize a huge play day for the orphans. They come to the school and play soccer, swim in the pool, play games, dance, etc. At this time we present them with their gifts and have a huge feast.

6. Trash Free Fridays – On Friday, there is NO trash at our school. Lunches come in reusable containers, no zip-lock bags, plastic-wrap, etc. Paper napkins, juice boxes, food that come in wrappers, etc. are not sold or brought to school. Besides food scraps (which are composted), there is practically zero trash. While only officially on Friday, the trash-free mentality is contagious and many kids (and teachers) continue all week long.

7. Terry Fox Fun Run – All our kids (even the three year olds in Prep Reception) take part in the annual Terry Fox Run. Money is earned by purchasing t-shirts and through donations during the event. The kids run for 20 minutes. We add up the total miles just to let the kids know how far we all went. The kids are always moved by the video and knowing where the money goes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09mypXm_ZRM
Just from the t-shirt sales and donations, we earned almost $10,000.00. A check was drawn-up and donated directly to the Cancer Research Society of Malaysia.

Service learning is alive and well at ISKL.

Last night we went to ISKL JAZZ Night at Canada Place in Downtown Kuala Lumpur. Jazz Night is a fund-raiser for our High School Music department to fund their trip to Vienna, Austria later this year. It was also another opportunity to get dressed up, and have a social evening. (and NO HAGGIS OR DURIAN) This was a special night for Will as the jazz band is under his direction. As usual, the event was emceed by the kids, the kids did all the serving of the food, the bussing of the tables, and of course, provided the music. We have a truly gifted bunch of students…couldn’t believe they were High School age. Here are some pics of the night.

Heidi went out to the mall and brought back some Christmas decorations. When we shipped our stuff over from the states, we didn’t have room for Christmas decorations…so we are starting from scratch. Here is a pic of our Charlie Brown Christmas tree…next year we hope to do better!!!!

Odds and ends:

Heidi and I were invited to the St. Andrew’s Ball…our first “high society” invite. Now a ball is not something a woman can prepare for last minute….NO, it takes planning and preparation. There is the dress to buy, and not just any dress…NO, it has to be a gown! Allie accompanied Heidi to the Pavilion Mall with the goal of finding said gown. Found a gorgeous blue one at the first shop they entered. Of course, no gown is complete without a purse… they came up with a nice little black clutch with a little bling. Allie was disappointed that Heidi didn’t select the bag with silver spikes, a skeleton head and a built-in glove for your hand that looked a bit like brass knuckles!!! (Wish we had a picture of that one) Shoes…nothing in Heidi’s size but luckily she had a pair with some small heels that would work. Then there were the nails, and the hair, and…..well, you get the picture. For me, I pulled out my wedding/funeral suit and was ready to go.

The ball was held in one of the big ballrooms in the DoubleTree Hotel…pretty fancy spot. Well over 300 attendees…we mingled about the foyer sipping on wine, munching of crackers, chit-chatting, until the pipers marched through the crowd and led us into the ballroom. Our table, lucky number 7, came with accessories…4 bottles of wine, a bottle of whiskey, and two bottles of champagne. The first course, Tartar of Tomato and Avocado served with a salad of baby lettuce, mint scented young peas and apple and celeriac slaw. Translation: a small bit of guacamole dip with tomatoes on top with some other vegies scattered around the plate for looks. (It was very tasty…just not much of it!!!) Next came the HAGGIS. But before the haggis could be served, there had to be the Haggis Ceremony. The piper led in several women carrying bottles of whiskey to the front of the dance floor. There on a table was HAGGIS. You may ask, what is Haggis?
Direct from Wikipedia: Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach and simmered for approximately three hours.

So, there on the table was a large stomach filled with Haggis. The Chieftain of the St. Andrew’s Society addressed the Haggis with a Robert Burns poem, ODE TO HAGGIS. It is quite a lengthy poem of which he had memorized….when he came to this verse:

His knife see Rustic-labour dight,
An’ cut you up wi’ ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reeking, rich!

He took out his knife, with at least an 8 inch blade, and sliced the haggis several times, allowing the simmering innards to escape from the stomach lining. Very appetizing, wouldn’t you say? After the poem, we stood and made a toast to the Haggis. The pipers then led the ladies with the whiskey out of the room. Almost magically, waiters appeared carrying platters of Haggis, along with Neeps and Tatties (mashed potatoes and turnips). Heidi passed. Rami passed. I had to try it…at least a “no thank you helping”. My neighbor at the table, a lovely elderly woman (she and her husband own a huge tea plantation) gave me directions. She said, “I can’t stand the bloody stuff unless I cover it up with whiskey. The more whiskey you add, the better it tastes.” I added whiskey. Let me tell you, there was not enough whiskey at the table to make it taste good…but I mixed it with the Tatties and was able to get it all down. Haggis has been added to my “tried it/don’t like it” list alongside durian and lutefisk.

The main coarse was Pan-roasted chicken breast stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese accompanied with potato gratin, market vegetables and sauce Diane….well done, delicious. Dessert brought us warm tropical almond crumble with peppered frozen yoghurt ice cream and berries stew, followed by coffee, petit fours and Scottish Tablet. After several more toasts, it was time for dancing.

First a group of children from the finest school in all of Kuala Lumpur, The International School of Kuala Lumpur, entertained the crowd….we were quite proud of our kids!!! They left the stage and the “Fantastic Rusty Nail Celidh Band” took their place on drums, fiddle, accordion and guitar, the Scottish music began and the dancers took the floor.

Heidi and I had planned on just watching the festivities. Unlike many of the others who either grew up with Scottish jigs or who recently took lessons, we knew none of the steps. But the Scots are a friendly bunch so Scotsman in kilt grabbed Heidi and a lovely lass grabbed me, and onto the dance floor we were led. The first dance you start side by side and the woman does these spins, you come back together, the woman does more spins, and so on. Well, before the dancing began, the women all changed into their dancing shoes…flat little things, no heel at all. The Scotsman who grabbed Heidi, just assumed that Heidi had on her dancing shoes. He was expertly guiding Heidi into one of the many spins when her heel caught on the carpet and CRASH….down they went onto a table number 9, knocked over the champagne and ice bucket, broke dishes, etc. I looked over to see my lovely wife on the floor in some pain. She badly sprained several fingers on her right hand. Quite traumatic. Her partner also hurt his hand, cut it on one of the glasses….but the ball must go on. We helped everyone to our table, the waiters cleaned everything up in wink of an eye, the band continued playing and the dance went on.

Heidi recovered nicely and wished it had been recorded….might have gone viral. So we left the ball behind, took a taxi home and iced her hand till she fell asleep. Thus completed our first ball. Quite memorable. Our only regret…we didn’t get to take the whiskey home!!!!

When we eventually come home, we will miss many things here in Malaysia….$4.00 first run movies at the theatre, the friendliness of the people, the warmth, the beaches….but one thing we will not miss is the driving (and monkeys). We’ve mentioned driving before on our blog but after our drive to work today we couldn’t resist sharing what we see on a typical morning drive to school. Heidi kept the tally on her phone….here goes:

1. One motorcycle going the wrong way on a one way street. Just drove right by us without blinking an eye.
2. Two garbage trucks stopped in the left hand lane, not on the shoulder, but in the lane. This on the freeway. Didn’t look like they were even collecting trash.
3. Three cars running red lights at the first intersection we came to….not talking about just when the light turns from yellow to red, we’re talking about cars stopped at red and dashing across when they think they can.
4. One very large bus tailgating a small economy car, less than two feet away, doing 90 kilometers per hour. Car wouldn’t pull over, bus wouldn’t back off….not sure who won…they were going a lot faster than us.
5. One school bus, with children inside, driving down the freeway with NO lights. This is at 6:30 am, completely dark outside.
6. One motorcycle running red light and then hopping onto the sidewalk to continue journey.

To top it off, a commercial came on the radio. A cute little jingle: Red. Red means STOP. Red. Red means STOP. When you come to a red light you gotta stop. Red. Red means STOP!

You know it’s bad when there are commercials asking you to obey the rules. I’m hearing that KL driving is quite pedestrian compared to other Asian cities like Dehli or Saigon(Ho Chi Minh
City). Should we ever visit, we will opt to walk.

Fruit of the Week
Sapodilla
This fruit is rather dull and unattractive on the outside, but looks can be deceiving. You peel away the outside with a sharp knife and you reveal a soft, succulent flesh with a honey, brown-sugar flavor. You see this fruit often carved into decorative shapes at buffets. Heidi and I still prefer a nice bunch of Wenatchee cherries or blueberries right off the bush.

Sapodilla

We just scooped the flesh out with a spoon.

“Travel is very subjective. What one person loves, another loathes. I would say a private paradise in the Caribbean. If you want culture and class, I would say Tuscany. If you want exotic, I would say Bangkok, Thailand.”
-Robin Leach….Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Bangkok….whoa, what a city!!! It’s HUGE…spread out over miles and miles (that should be kilometers and kilometers). It’s CROWDED….over 11.5 million people in Bangkok proper, huge traffic jams, apartments on top of apartments. It’s BUSY…seems to move in a frenetic, excited pace all the time. Doesn’t slow down, day and night, crowded sidewalks, elbow to elbow, traffic snarls, tuk-tuks puttering about, long tail boats scooting across the river. It’s EXOTIC and ENCHANTING…from the red light districts to the Buddhist temples. Floating markets, silk sarongs, silver works, foot-massages to mouth-watering aromas of coconut pancakes being cooked in an oil- filled wok. The sights, smells, and sounds of Bangkok are like no others we have experienced.

Stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok. Not exactly roughing it…a five star hotel right on the Chao Phraya River…has won numerous awards…Travel and Leisure Magazine: Best Hotel in Thailand and Top Ten Spas in Asia…. Conde Nast Traveler: Gold List Property…and many more..all well deserved. Our conference was here and our school contingency all booked rooms. About 1300 attendees at this EARCOS Leadership Conference. EARCOS stands for East Asia Regional Council of Schools. They put on a yearly leadership conference in the fall and a teachers’ conference in the spring…they happen to both be in Bangkok this year…next year in Kota Kinabalu. They also sponsor numerous workshops and trainings throughout the region. The conferences are every bit as good as anything you find back in the states….many of the same speakers plus the benefit of tapping into leading educators from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, UK, etc. Rick Wormeli was one of the key note speakers this year. If you haven’t seen his “Sound of Music” bit, check it out on YouTube….he is very entertaining, motivational…not a lot of meat to his talks but you leave smiling.

First night we arrive we took a long walk…no destination in mind, just meandered about soaking up the flavor of the city. Shop after shop we passed selling jewelry, eating utensils, gems, tailored suits, etc….all in tiny little shops. Heidi found a nice pair of silver earrings costing 950 baht. We settled on 600 baht…about USD $20.00. The local school let out while we were walking…quickly surrounded by throngs of kids all dressed in their school uniforms hurrying to get home…some chatting away, others plugged into their phones…hopping on busses, tuk-tuks, water taxis…looking very happy the school day was done…just like home! For dinner we found this hole-in-the-wall restaurant….would have walked right by but noticed a few tables on the sidewalk with customers chowing down. Snagged the last table and proceeded to enjoy the best Thai food we have ever experienced….had phad Thai with chicken, green curry, red curry, stir fried vegetables, a very spicy-hot rice dish, and for dessert, fresh sliced mango and sweet sticky rice. All this washed down with ice-cold Singha beer. Last stop before bed, a foot massage….one heavenly hour for 300 baht…about $10.00. This ranked right up there on our list of the finer things in life. Soft music playing, you settle into soft cushioned recliner chair once your feet have been washed, scrubbed and dried. And then these most experienced (and strong) hands start to massage your feet and legs up to your knees. It is VERY hard not to drift off to sleep. At the very end you’re given a shoulder, neck and head massage…just that final gesture to ensure you will return. (Which we did!!!!). We slept like babies that night…despite the fact our King Size bed was Asian hard. They seem to enjoy the extra, extra firm mattresses here…forget about pillow-top. I’m guessing they don’t have a problem with kids jumping on their beds.

Ate at Cabbages and Condoms Thursday night….our Head of School treated all of us…it’s one of her favorite spots here in the city. When we first heard about this restaurant, we thought we heard wrong…cabbages and condoms? For dinner? For real!!!!
It turned out to be a truly unique dining experience, and the food is “guaranteed not to cause pregnancy”. In addition to creating fine food, the establishment was opened in an effort to raise awareness and combat Thailand’s prevalence of HIV. You dine under light fixtures made from colorful condoms. There are mannequins adorned with condom attire. Everything is condom themed and instead of free toothpicks as you leave, grab a condom or two of your choice. They even have these large wooden plywood condoms with a hole cut out for your head…..okay, this is not sounding right….see the pictures instead of me proceeding with this description!!! A portion of all proceeds go to the Population and Development Association… an organization which addresses primary health care, family planning, and HIV/AIDS prevention, education and care. Overall the food was just okay, perhaps it was the fact we didn’t order, instead just ate what came to the table….wouldn’t have been our choice. Had more fun in the taxi driving home counting the red lights our driver went through…NASCAR should look this guy up!!

The next day the sessions ended early so Heidi and I rented a long tail boat for an hour. These boats are amazing…long and thin powered by a massive engine that turns the propeller at the end of a 20 foot shaft. They literally scoot across the river and throw up a nice little rooster-tail. So fun to see life on the river…little boys jumping into the brown, muddy water to cool off, men an women fishing along the banks, a monk meditating on a sea wall, and temples every quarter mile or so including one with a massive reclining Buddha statue. The river can be as crowded as the streets of Bangkok. Tugs dragging five or six massive barges, dinner boats , long-tail boats, water taxis, recreation boats…all competing for space and somehow avoiding crashing into each other.

Before we left on Sunday, we decided to walk in the opposite direction from the other day…the shops were all closed down but in their place was stand after stand selling fruit, savories, spices, fish cooking over hot coals, on and on. We found one stand frying up bananas…sweet and warm served on a wooden skewer for $.03 oh my goodness, when I retire I’m opening a fried banana stand…I’ll be quite content eating my profits.

Similar to our trip to Singapore, we only got a snippet of this city. Didn’t have time to tour the grand palace or the floating markets We never made it to a Thai boxing match, the red light district, missed the girlie-boys and ping-pong shows (don’t ask me to describe the ping-pong shows…you’ll have to look that one up yourself!!!). We need to come back when we don’t have a conference. Like most large cities, it is rather noisy, polluted, crowded….but you get a sense of the country, the friendliness of the people…we will return for a little more time in Bangkok but we long to get into the countryside and enjoy the beaches.

In the five days we were in Bangkok, not a drop of rain fell. Returned to KL and was greeted by the weekly 100 year deluge….torrents of rain, thunder, lightening….someplace here there must be an ark!!!!

A quick note about Malaysia Air….on the two hour flight to Bangkok (and also on the return) we were given a FREE meal, free drinks (soft drinks, juice, wine, or beer), blankets, and movies….remember when we used to get this service on the US carriers?

A little video on Bangkok.