Our fifth grade takes an overnight to Malacca (aka. Malaka) each year, a culminating excursion to close out their cultures unit….a trip like this must have the principal in attendance!!!!

Malacca is a city of about 185,000 people about an hour and a half drive south of Kuala Lumpur, situated right on the Straits of Malacca. It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sight since 2008. It is a definitely a city crafted by the fusion of multiple cultures.

Quick history…Malacca was establish around 1262 by Parameswara, a local Shah, and developed it into an international port, known for trading porcelain and silk. The Chinese landed around 1403 and there was relative peace for about a century. Malacca rivaled any port in the world and was a key cog in the spice trade. In 1509 the Portuguese arrived and ruled Malacca for 130 years. In 1641 the Dutch took control until 1795 when the British took over. Melacca was under British control until WWII when the Japanese took control of the Malay Peninsula. This rule lasted three years, returned to British rule in 1945. Finally in 1956, independence was won for Malaysia. Today you can find remnants of all the ruling cultures throughout the city.

The old part of the city is amazing…you feel you go back in time. Narrow, narrow one-way streets. You really feel the Dutch influence…on many of the door steps were tile from Holland. Many of the homes were built when the Chinese controlled the city. Places of worship seem to be on every block. Houses used to be taxed based on street footage, so the buildings are thin, long and tall. In front of Christ Church is the congregation of peddle bikes. Story has it that at one time all the bikes looked alike. The bikers would win over customers by calling out and using their personality. One biker decided to adorn his trike with flowers…gaudy plastic flowers on the handlebars, around the customer seating area, on the spokes. He quickly became the “go-to” cart for tourists coming to town. Didn’t take long for the others to do the same and soon there was a competition to see who could have the most decorated bike. Today these colorful bikes carry tourist all over town. At night they all light up and play music as loud as possible…rock, Abba, Beach Boys…and the people love it.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We visited many places of worship and it was so nice to have students of every religion in our group. At the Mosque, four of our Muslim students showed everyone the rituals of prayer…they stood by a pool of water, washed their eyes to wash away anything bad they saw, washed their ears to wash away anything bad they heard, and so on. At the Hindu Temple, several of our students from India and Pakistan showed their worship practices…the same at the Buddhist Temple and the Christian churches…such an education.

The Malacca River runs right through town. Reminiscent of the San Antonio River Walk, Same as in San Antonio, barges ferry people up and down the River. Shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels crowd together along the banks. The only difference…the Malacca River is home to Monitor Lizards!!! We saw several on our cruise.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Fun trip, our kids were spectacular…so well behaved, polite and inquisitive. They had to find evidence of what happens when cultures meet. This was the perfect place to explore that concept.

I shall return, next time with Heidi…and instead of staying at the very budget Baba House (who went out of their way to accommodate all our kids) we will find a spot with a nice spa for Heidi. Quite the city, Malacca !!!

Heidi and I have this tradition of surprising each other with a trip on our anniversary….this was my year. All Heidi knew was to bring her swimsuit, a carry-on bag, and sunscreen. You see, Friday was suppose to be an in-service day for us, but our presenter was not available so we traded a Saturday a few weeks ago thus creating a three day weekend. Soooo, off we escaped to Perhentian Island (per hen tee an). This island lies about 10 miles offshore north-eastern Malaysia, in the South China Sea. It actually consists of two islands (creatively named Big Island and Small Island). The Perhentians are known for their beauty, solitude, and world-class snorkeling and diving.

To get there we booked tickets to Kota Bharu on Air Asia. Air Asia is the Southwest Airlines of Malaysia….cheap tickets, no frills, many destinations….Australia, the Madives, India, China, Bali, etc. They have their own terminal at KLIA and it is busy, busy, busy. Heidi and I have become quite adept at finding our way around airports but this was a new experience. Never shy to ask for help, we finally figured it out and found our way onto exit row seats 12 D and E (paid 20 ringgit extra for exit row seats…need that leg room), buckled in and waited for take off. As soon as we left the tarmac, smoke started pouring around the overhead compartments. Our fear-o-meters were just about at PANIC when we noticed no one else was concerned, there was no smoke smell, and on closer examination it was more mist than smoke. Seems it is just condensation from the air conditioners due to the humid climate….phew!!!! Darn Airbus…wouldn’t have happened on a Boeing!!!

About an hour later we landed in Kota Bharu, a city of about 30,000, just south of the Thai border on the eastern shore of Malaysia. Next, a 60 minute van ride to the ferry jetty. We drove through very rural Malaysia….cows and goats in front yards, little garden patches, almost every home had a simple wooden stand next to the road selling corn, coconuts, meat, fish, figs, even complete meals. We passed a flatbed being loaded with huge sacks of flour. Men with beautiful dark skin wearing only the traditional sarong were hefting the bags on their shoulders, riveretes of stark-white flour streaking their bodies…wanted to capture the contrast on film but we zipped by too quickly. Heidi spied a woman on a moped….she must have been 80 years old. Little shacks and simple lives.

unexpected stop at a Buddhist Temple….prayer ribbons in the tree

Very tall Buddha

gongs

pat the belly for good luck

amazing sight

Arrived at the ferry jetty to find a regular armada of little boats waiting to take people, supplies, materials, etc. to the outlying islands, a fleet of fishing boats, and a few pleasure craft. We loaded onto one of the larger boats and were on our way to Perhntian Island.

The morning sky was overcast, the South China Sea mirror-flat. Made a quick stop at Big Island… motored up to a dock, tossed over some boxes and luggage and two passengers hopped onto the dock….unfortunately for passenger #2 our boat pulled away a bit and into the brink he went. He was helped up by many waiting hands and then squished, squished, squished down the dock. Once out of earshot our boat crew had a good laugh…I don’t think they cared for the guy…seemed like a demanding, stuffy businessman type.
We cruised through the passage between the two islands… covered with thick, impassable jungle…the coast rocky, granite boulders, but every now and then sandy little beaches appear…fringed with coconut trees and sharing the land with a resort or two. Came around a point and there was our destination….Long Beach and Bubu Resort. Long Beach is the largest beach on Little Island….about a half mile in length, fishing boats anchored just off-shore, four or five “hostel-like” hotels, dive shops, a few restaurants, and Bubu Resort….the only three star resort on the islands.

We tried snorkeling right out front by swimming under the dock and along the rocks beyond….we saw giant clams…some over two feet across, coral of every hue, fish galore, and even a four foot grouper. At one point Heidi and I were completely surrounded by thousands of these 3 to 4 inch silver w/yellow striped fish. They moved like a single being, somehow knowing what the others were thinking, when to turn, when to dart. The school groups this way for protection from predators….all the predator fish see is the large mass….but should a single fish venture out of the group, they are quickly devoured by one of the needle fish waiting in the ranks. The water was crystal clear and about 90 degrees…Heidi said it was like swimming in an aquarium.

On Saturday I took a snorkeling excursion to the nearby Baby Islands…Heidi chose to stay on the beach and work on her tan. Myself, a visiting Frenchman, Nicholas, and our boatman and guide, Hasheem, made up the entire group. The Baby Islands are a group of five tiny un-inhabited, coral fringed islands about a twenty minute boat ride away. At the first stop I learned that Nicholas was not a very good swimmer so I loaned him my fins. We spent about 20 minutes or so exploring the coral forest below….green, purple, brown, yellow….bold and vibrant…sponges, sea fans….there was this one coral that looked like a flat table-top…some 15, 20, even 30 feet in diameter, and they often grew in tiers, 4 or 5 high, one on top of the other about a foot apart. And then there were the spiky antler coral….looking like a deer antler graveyard, tips pointing every which way…and fish…oh, so many and so colorful.

Next we motored to the second baby….merely a bunch of rocks and sand, but right offshore some of the best snorkeling I have ever experienced. Hasheem joined me at this stop, donned his mask, snorkel and fins. He was amazing….down he would dive and point for me to follow….under one of the table coral were two gorgeous silver and blue spotted stingrays…a poke with a broken piece of antler coral and off they flew (crikey… didn’t Steve Irwin meet his demise at the hands of a stingray?) We found rays everywhere. And giant groupers, tiger fish and others I have no name for. Hasheem pointed out a pair of clown fish (you know…Nemo) swimming among a sea anemonie’s tentacles….curious little guys, when I dove down to them they swam over to me…actually tickled their sides. Where the shallows gave way to the deep abyss, we found what Hasheem called Christmas Trees….actually worms that stick out little feathery cone shaped plumes of tentacles..bright yellow, red, blue, and white…when you touch them they pull themselves in and out of sight. Poof!! The highlight was the sighting of a four foot black-tip reef shark (Nicholas may not be a great swimmer but he sure can climb into a boat fast!!! Took us awhile to convince him he wouldn’t get eaten.) The last island brought turtles…one seemed to like me and followed for awhile before turning for the open water.

With a storm bearing down on us, Hasheem guided our boat through the 6 foot swells with the accuracy of a surgeon….we hooted, hollered and laughed our way home, soaking wet from the spray but ever so exhilarated….Hasheem is the finest waterman I have ever met.

Bubu Resort was a nice place…clean and comfortable, the food delicious, the service wonderful. Saturday night we walked hand and hand down the beach, lit by a lightening storm miles out to sea, and we thought what lucky people we are to have found each other. Perhentian Island….a great spot to spend anniversary number eight!!!!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Fire in the Hole
A beautiful day today…blue, blue skies, gentle breeze. We woke up early and drove…yes, you read correctly, DROVE to Bangsar as Heidi had another hair appointment with Kenneth at …Ish. Daniel, our English GPS voice, led us to the perfect parking spot in less than 40 minutes…not much traffic in the early hours on weekends (our strategy in making an early appointment) Once back home we spent the early afternoon by the pool..swimming, sunning and reading…a rare treat but so desperately needed. Just to sit and not think about work for a bit was wonderful. Back up on our deck for junk food fix (Doritos, salsa and ice-cold hard cider) we were gazing over to Will and Allie’s condo. One second all was serene, the next, thick black smoke started billowing from the 11th floor, then flames shooting five feet out the windows. (now relax…there are two large towers and the fire was NOT in Allie and Will’s…..they were actually at …ISH getting their hair done) Heidi and I watched with horror and the fire intensified. With binoculars we could see people streaming out down the stairs and heard sirens in the distance. Now remember, this is Malaysia. Having a siren screaming behind you doesn’t seem to mean much…you’re suppose to move over but you’re also suppose to stop at red lights. About 10 minutes later we see a caravan of fire engines racing down the road (ok, racing is a bit of an exaggeration)…they drove past the entrance road, Oooops, figured out they missed the turn off, went up to the next light and turned around…classic Keystone Cop move!!!
To give credit, once they arrived and climbed the stairs to the unit on fire, they quickly put it out and peace and serenity returned. These building are all built with brick, cement and metal…no sheetrock, no wood-framed walls…so fire doesn’t seem to spread very fast. Heidi and I swallowed our hearts that had caught in our throats..we had visions of the entire condo tower burning to the ground. Very lucky. Going over to Will and Allie’s tonight for pizza and beer…time to toast new haircuts (except for me) and the brave firefighters of Kuala Lumpur.

Sting Ray and Mermaid
There is a tradition at our school where the guys all get together for a wild night on Jalan Alor…it is called STINGRAY!!! Been a tradition for years…beer, food, loud vulgar language and comradeship. No women invited. There must have been close to 45 guys there….the beers start flowing and the food starts rolling in….fried rice, spicy chicken wings, sautéed greens, something called “chicken fish” (not sure what type of fish it was but the texture and taste was EXACTLY like chicken) and finally, stingray!!! Not as good as ChickenFish but smooth white flesh, nice flavor. Whenever anyone arrived late, all 40 plus would sing a rather bawdy song….”(insert name) is a horse’s ass…he looks like a horse’s ass, he smells like a horse’s ass…” and it gets worse from there. Now mind you, this is sung loudly, with gusto.. we were the entertainment for all the tables around us. The night capped with the tradition of kissing the eel. A live eel was brought around to each Newbie (first year employees)…our job was to plant a kiss on the lips (do eels have lips?) of the eel. For any animal lover, no part of the eel was damaged during the initiation…at least until it was killed, cooked up and eaten !!!! Aaaaaargh….aaaargh!

Meanwhile, Heidi went to our favorite Mexican Restaurant, La Mexicana, for Mermaid Night….compared to STINGRAY it was a mild gathering of about 20 female teachers (no guys allowed..a girl’s night out)…but they had a great time chatting, telling tales, drinking margaritas, and just having a great time together…no eels or bawdy songs.

Moon Cakes

The Mid-Autumn Festival brings Mooncakes.
Here is the legend of the Mooncake:
Eons ago, 10 disobedient suns caused drought and death by all gallivanting in the skies when they were supposed to take turns roaming the heavens. Houyi, a talented archer, shot down nine of the scorching orbs.

People celebrated their beloved hero and came to him to learn martial arts. During this time, Houyi met and married Chang’e, a beautiful, virtuous woman.

The story diverges here, but one of the more popular versions says Houyi went to Kunlun Mountain, where the gods lived, and obtained an immortality pill from Xi Wangmu, the Goddess of the West. He gave it to Chang’e for safekeeping.

While Houyi was away, an evil disciple, Peng Meng, tried to steal the pill. Instead of handing the treasure over, Chang’e swallowed it and immediately floated to the moon.

Houyi spent his days and nights lamenting the loss of his wife. He put an incense table in his yard and put out a spread of Chang’e’s favorite foods, which included moon cakes. People followed suit in camaraderie with their hero and to pray that goddess Chang’e bring them happiness and safety.

We received our Mooncakes from an after school Mandarin Club. One afternoon they baked the mooncakes and then decorated them. A real treat !!!!

Mooncake with icing.

Inside with lotus paste.

Fruit of the Week

Buah Salak (aka. Snake Fruit)
Looks like a big fig but with a reddish-brown, reptile-like, scaly skin…that is how it gets the name, Snake Fruit. We peeled off the skin (rather thin and flaky) and inside were three segments, the largest segment contains an inedible seed. The fruit itself has the texture of an apple,sweet but funky. Heidi nor I could eat more than a bite…like Durian, it must be an acquired taste.

Snake Fruit

thin skin, segmented inside.

Apple-like crunch, sweet, funky.

Just a one hour flight and we are in a different world. Singapore is Disneyland-clean, orderly, modern, no spitting, jaywalking or chewing gum. You drive along treelined streets, zip underground on efficient subways, and walk on sidewalks with no open grates or holes. Singapore lies 85 miles north of the equator at the very tip of the Malay peninsula, encompasses 274 square miles, and is home to just over 5 million people. For you trivia buffs, Singapore is the third busiest port in the world (behind Shanghai and Rotterdam), nicknamed The Lion City, gained independence in 1965, has the 14th busiest airport in the world (Chaingi) and has won one gold medal in the Olympics (but I’m not telling you the sport or year it was won….you have to do a little work)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We came to Singapore for an Inquiry Workshop. Most international schools invest heavily in professional development. Teachers are given a PD budget and can select what to take and where. This year we have teachers going to New Dehli for an iPad summit, Singapore for IT and Inquiry workshops, Sydney for brain research, Bangkok for music and leadership, The Hague/The Netherlands for an Inclusion Conference, Shanghai for math…exotic locales, quality training.

Because of our workshop we didn’t have much time to ourselves. (Just gives us a good reason to return.) The night we arrived we took time to wander along Orchard Road in search of a dinner spot. At one time this road was bordered on both sides with fruit orchards..thus the name. Today the trees have been replaced with top-end stores as well as “affordable” venues like the GAP, Forever 21, Old Navy, Victoria Secret, Crate and Barrel, etc. (have yet to see an REI or Cabella). This is an extremely safe city and walking friendly…tons of people milling about (but in an orderly manner of course). We walked past a large square where a Dragon Dancing competition was in progress. Reminded us of any competitive event back home…proud parents watching, cameras in hand, cheering on great moves…but instead of football, baseball, volleyball or basketball, the kids performed synchronized moves to music with swords and spears. We found a quaint little Indian Restaurant and had a delicious meal of butter chicken, chicken tikka, garlic nan, rice, vegies and a glass of cab sav.

The next evening we rode the subway to the waterfront to meet some friends for dinner at Brewerkz…a famous pub. It is located right on the Singapore River. The area reminded me of the Riverwalk in San Antonio. The Singapore River is larger but similar to the barges in SA they have these old boats that ferry tourists up and down the river. All along the sides of the river are eateries, shops, malls, places to sit and just watch people go by. After a couple of imported beers and salty chips (with guacamole and salsa), we trekked across a bridge and found Senor Taco….we just had a hankering for Mexican food. We sat outdoors and savored our burritos, tacos, and flautas and an ice-bucket full of Pacifico beer. Entertainment came from the Persian restaurant next door….one belly dancer after another gyrating between the tables. Interesting to see how many men stopped to gape and how many wives/girlfriends were tugging at their arms to move on!!! (I only took pictures to show all of you!!!)

We know we have to return to Singapore…next time just for fun with no workshop. We never made it to Marina Bay to see the famous MerLion statue/fountain, or over to Sentosa Island, home of Universal Studios, Butterfly Park, a big casino, the Hard Rock Cafe (gotta get my pin). Nor did we go into Raffles Hotel…home of the world famous Singapore Sling. We’ll bring our walking shoes…love the subways but you just don’t see anything. The mixture of architecture is amazing….colonial mansions next to ultra modern high-rises. Special neighborhoods…China Town, India Town, the Black and White Mansions in the Mt. Pleasant area, so many historical temples and churches.
And last but not least….Singapore has a Costco!!!! Perhaps we will need to drive so we can bring back those unnecessary Costco size ketchup containers, toilet paper rolls, and laundry soap!!!!

And last but not least….what you all have been waiting for…

The Fruit of the Week
Langsat – Brown thin-skinned, oval fruit. You peel off the covering and you have this sweet segmented lychee tasting innards. You have to be careful not to eat the seed…not very tasty. We both liked it but not enough to buy again.

Passion Fruit – different from the passion fruit (lilikoi) in Hawaii…at least the outside. In Hawaii the passion fruit is yellow…here it is a mottled green/purple. But when you open them up, the innards taste the same…a combination of sweet and intense sour. The looks can turn some people off as it is reminiscent of frog eggs…but have the courage to eat it and you won’t be sorry. LOVE passion fruit.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Went to the Sunday evening outdoor market at Bangsar Village today. We chose to take the train, carried our ecologically-minded cloth bags, and luckily our umbrellas. As soon as we got off the train at the Bangsar stop, the rain started pouring, with the wind it was coming down almost sideways. We ran into some friends on the train so we just waited out the storm chatting and learning about China, Singapore and Australia.

Bangsar Market is this truly great outdoor market. Fresh fruit and vegetables galore…stand after stand after stand. Being our first time to visit this market, we made a “newbie” mistake and purchased a bunch of veggies at the very first stand we came to…everything looked so good we couldn’t pass it up…fresh corn on the cob, celery, carrots, sweet peppers, hot peppers, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, egg plant, endive, okra, ….all so fresh and all calling out to us. Now ladened down with heavy bags we moved down the row of stalls….the next one had nicer looking carrots, the next bigger eggplant, brighter red peppers…what were we thinking??? We slung our bags over our shoulders and continued on. Took our time selecting fruit, only the very best for us this time…picked up some sweet plums, limes, mangoes, oranges, passion fruit (lilikoi in Hawaii), bananas, and langsat (next week’s Fruit of the Week) But the market is much more than fruits and vegetables….fresh flowers, jewelry, chicken satay roasting over coals, fresh fish, doughnuts cooking in hot oil, crafts….a wonderfully large public market. We loved the atmosphere..everyone carrying shopping bags filled to the brim with food, groups enjoying the just-cooked food, laughter, meeting of friends, families out together…it is similar like Pike Place Market or Pybus but larger. And the prices were amazingly cheap. Next time I think we’ll drive our car so we won’t have to feel like pack-animals hauling our fresh produce home.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

And speaking of cars…we just purchased a nice little MYVI SE for Heidi. It’s used but well taken care of, white, automatic, peppy little engine, black interior. The woman who owned it went home to Iran about 8 months ago and has decided not to return, hence the car was put up for sale. We got a great deal…they are throwing in a new battery, servicing the entire vehicle, and throwing on new tires. We’ll pick it up in about a week after all the paperwork is complete. We’ll send you pics with Heidi at the wheel !!! Look out Kuala Lumpur…now they’ll be two of us on the road !!!!

MYVI (like My Vee)

FRUIT OF THE WEEK
Featured this week are Dragon Fruit and Mango. Dragon Fruit, also known as Pitaya, is somewhat similar to Kiwi…fleshy innards filled with little black seeds and same texture, perhaps softer…and a lot larger. The outside is bright red and inside is an intense, almost burgundy color. (there is also white, yellow and pink DragonFruit). You would expect a fruit of such brilliant color to have taste-bud popping flavor…but it’s rather bland…kind of like a tasteless melon Low in calories you find slices of DragonFruit at most buffets. Sometimes made into wine and juice, (haven’t found that yet) Cost at the store is about $2.00 US for one.

You all know mangoes but mangoes are something to behold here. At all the grocery stores and fruit stands, we get our pick of mangoes. They come from all over…we find mangoes from Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Pakistan, Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam…each one a bit different..different taste, different shape, different colors. I love the rainbow mangoes from Thailand, long and thin almost saccharine in taste, and until today, the Pakistan one my favorite…but today I had the “bestest” mango ever…from Taiwan. Big and fat and oh so tantalizingly sweet. Great chopped up and added to yogurt!!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We leave for Singapore on Friday. Can’t wait.

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

Our quest today was the quaint and eclectic shop of Peter Hoe Beyond. Finding it was part of the challenge. The shop actually does not have a sign…all we knew is it was tucked away in China Town on the second floor of a non-descript building. When we heard this there was no stopping us…we were going to find it.

Still wheeling from the flu, or whatever it is I have, Heidi drove us to the train station. And I must say she did quite well for her first time…much better than my first encounter with the KL traffic. After a quick ride on the LRT, we crossed a couple of streets and there on a corner was a little shop called Peter Hoe Evolution….this is a sister store of Peter Hoe Beyond. So we cheated. We browsed around PH Evolution and before leaving asked directions for PH Beyond. Glad we did. Walked down the street, passed the MayBank, took a right at the light, went to the bookstore, took the next door to the right…across from the Buddhist Temple. Perfect directions but we didn’t believe the door next to the bookstore was correct. There was a guard inside and we asked and sure enough, “just go up the stairs to the second floor. When someone says the second floor here, it is like the third floor back home….the bottom floor is the ground floor, then the first floor, second floor, etc. To make matters even more confusing, the building we live in was built by a Chinese company so the number four is not used as it is considered unlucky (kind of like 13) So we are on floor 13A, not the fourteenth floor. Anyway, back to Peter Hoe. The building is in the old Lee Rubber Building. After climbing the two flights we entered some double doors and we were there…Peter Hoe Beyond. It is sort of a Pier One on steroids…tons of items for the home. Everything is bursting with color…pillows, lamps, linens, knick-knacks, picture frames, fountains, etc., etc. We were only going to look but two picture frames, 8 batik napkins, one table cloth and three candle holders made their way into our basket. Before paying, we visited the little cafe in the far corner. People are seated at these great old tables, some set against silk cushioned benches. We ordered what we believe to be the best quiche we’ve ever eaten along with a fresh salad..just the right amount of vinaigrette….followed up with a slice of white chocolate cheesecake. We added the cost of our meal right onto our purchase and we exited the store a bit heavier but felt like two conquering explorers.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Since we were in Chinatown we decided to explore further and made our way to Petaling Street. This is probably the most visited street in all of Kuala Lumpur…if you want a bargain you come here. Stall after stall crowd both sides of the street…vendors hawking purses, watches, sunglasses, CDs, shirts…as well as flower stands, fruit, vegetables….very easy to overload your senses here. I cannot tell you how many times Heidi was propositioned to purchase a purse….Prada, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Michael Kors…..at least that is what the label said. A little way in I spied a narrow alley and I could see vendors…Heidi wouldn’t go as it smelled a bit, well, more than a bit. It was a wet market…there were fish being cut up, meat being chopped, chicken for sale including all the chicken parts, vegetables, fruit…the alley seemed to go forever but I didn’t want to leave Heidi too long with all the vendors…who knows how many purses she might pick up. Truly an amazing sight.

Now we must confess to you…Heidi did buy a purse. She was in need of a smaller bag and we saw this stand of leather Mont Blanc purses. The vendor said he would give it to us for a steal…only 160 ringgits (about $50.00) We countered with 100. He came down to 140. We stuck at 100. He came down to 120. We held our ground. He then tried to get us with the proof of the lighter….took out his lighter, lit the flame and ran it across the purse to prove there were no plastics, that it was genuine leather….definitely worth 110 ringgits. We weren’t impressed and showed him a small scuff mark on the strap…we lowered our price to 90 ringgit. We were ready to walk away but at the last minute he felt we were good people and he would give it to us for 95 ringgit ($30.00) SOLD!!! Heidi now has a “genuine” Mont Blanc purse that retails for $2260.00 in NYC. Too funny!!!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As far as China Towns go, the KL China Town is not that large…nothing like San Francisco, NYC, Vancouver BC China Towns…but it is so condensed, so much in such a small place…and fun, fun, fun!

Apologies for not posting…been too busy. And lately because I’ve been icky sick. But I can’t sleep tonight as I slept all day so I thought I’d entertain myself with writing and hopefully not bore you with my late-night ramblings.

School is about to get started. Monday is new parent orientation day, class lists are posted, and we put on a big ice cream social for new and returning families. Sounds like a grand day. Tuesday is the first day of class for grades Prep Senior (aka kindergarten) to grade 5. Prep Senior only goes half a day for the first week. Wednesday is the first day for our little ones…Prep Junior (4 year olds) and Prep Reception (3 year olds) Finally this lovely building of ours will become a school.

There is something about that first day. The rooms are all decorated. Kids arrive with a combination of excitement and trepidation…..all decked-out in new outfits, ribbons in hair, super white tennis shoes, supplies bursting the seams of their backpacks. And smiles…those funny kindergarten or first grade grins with teeth missing in front. Seeing old friends for the first time in months. Laughter, squeals of delight. The new kid wondering whether he’ll fit in, hoping she’ll find a friend, praying they can find their room. And all the parents, kids in tow. Shepherding them to their classrooms. Some linger, others dart out for some of that almost forgotten alone time. The teachers welcoming each and every child…a new beginning, a new group of charges….and away we go!!!!

Teachers here do not arrive several weeks ahead of time to prepare their rooms. Instead they are globe-trotting around the four corners of the world. Everyone returns right before the start of school with tales of family, of adventure, of romance. Listening at the first get-together you would think you were at a travel agent reunion…”Sri Lanka is amazing…go there before it gets tainted with tourists”; “spent 16 days trekking up to Everest Basecamp”; “Kangaroo Island is as good as it gets”; “Scotland for a week, Canada to visit family, Bali for myself”…it goes on and on. It is definitely an adventurous group, an independent, confident group. The average stay at our school is longer than most as it is a top-tiered school and much sought after….but many teachers are ready to seek another post after 5 to 8 years, some longer, some shorter. I spoke to someone who let me know this was to be his last year, his sixth year. He’s ready to try somewhere else in the world, somewhere that looks interesting, somewhere where he’ll continue to grow as a professional. He left the USA 15 years ago to try a two year stint in China. That turned into 4 years, then to Morocco, Columbia, Turkey and Malaysia…where to next??? See where the winds blows him.
Many of the staff are here as married couples…sometimes both are teachers, sometimes one is a “trailing spouse”. Quite a few have children. I was surprised at the number who come alone, men and women. Being so far from home, living in a foreign land…the faculty becomes your family. Socializing is big. There are all kinds of outings planned…hikes, frisbee golf, concerts. Meetings at the pub, dinners, nightclubs, shopping. It is a tight-knit group, a family.

Changing the subject…..as the keeper of the blog that is my prerogative…Heidi has been the diligent nurse to me the past few days as I have been flat on my back….but today she escaped and went shopping with Allie to Suria KLCC…one of the big malls near our home. Now we were told again and again that we wouldn’t be able to find clothing our size here…well, that turned out to be a myth. She found “cute outfits” (can you hear Heidi saying that?) at Banana Republic, the Gap and a great store called British India. She returned with the biggest grin!!!! And then I had to make an emergency fund transfer!!!! 🙂

We received our shipment a couple of weeks ago….it arrived early and our maid let them in. When we arrived home all our tubs were distributed in the appropriate room based on our labeling….and our BED arrived…no more sleeping with my feet hanging off the end. We had to laugh when we opened our tubs…inside we would find things like 15 bottles of deodorant, 10 tubes of toothpaste, 9 bottles of saline solution, 16 toothbrushes, bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc…..did we think we were coming to some third world country??? We had a good laugh as we searched for storage for all these “essentials”. If we had it to do over we would have left much at home and brought a few more things like pictures and furniture…live and learn.

Tomorrow we are going to seek out this cool shop, Peter Hoe and Beyond. It’s a one of a kind shop filled with home decorating items from all over the world. It is hidden somewhere in Chinatown and we aim to find it. I’m beginning to feel better, still have intestinal distress (a kinder word for diarrhea) and muscle aches, but I’m cabin feverish and just have to get about.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When thinking of moving to a new country, one of the first things you wonder about is the quality of health care. We certainly did. We were told that Malaysia has excellent care, US and UK trained doctors and first rate facilities. We trusted what we heard but hoped we would never have to personally check it out.

Last week, Allie and Will’s son Grant became very ill….high temperature, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain. After two days of this they went to the doctor. (We happen to have a very nice hospital just across the street…Gleneagles.) The emergency room staff weren’t completely sure what it was that was bothering Grant but gave them some medicine and sent them home…same as they do in the USA. Of course visions of malaria, dengue fever, typhoid all skip into your brain. That night the fever rose to 105. A rush to the hospital and admitted immediately. Blood tests were taken as well as stool samples. For the next few days he seemed to be doing better during the day but at night all the symptoms would return with a vengeance. Poor Grant could not keep anything down, was given an IV to keep him hydrated. It was a stressful time. It turned out to be Salmonella, luckily not the Typhoid type. We think perhaps he got it splashing with the elephants…water got into his mouth and onto his face. After four days in the hospital Grant was able to come home.

Overall the care was very good. The doctor knowledgeable and willing to explain. The nurses extremely friendly but under strict orders to follow the doctor’s orders to a T. The total bill…four days in the hospital, all medication, all supplies, doctor visits, etc. etc. came to $1700.00 US. I think we look at the care here like we would in Wenatchee. Most everything can be taken care of right there at Central Washington Hospital or the Clinic (or whatever they now call them both)…but if you are in doubt you head to Seattle. Same here…Gleneagles can probably take care of most our needs…but if we want more we can head to Singapore or Hong Kong.

One thing we found out right away was the level of support we have here with our staff/faculty. We are all away from home and thus we become a “family”. We look out for each other, care for each other, offer whatever is needed. Grant was deluged with well wishes, with toys, balloons, cards…all from people he hasn’t even met. They sent their well wishes, their thoughts and prayers, their love. It was quite an outpouring.

One homemade book sent to Grant (minus the pictures):
BRAVE GRANT

There once was a boy named Grant who
lived in Washington state in a city called East Wenatchee.
He lived with his mother and his father.
He had many friends.
He went to a fine school and had good teachers.
He had lots of legos.
He was very happy.

But one day, his mother and father said, “What would you
think about moving to Malaysia?”
His mother and father showed him where Malaysia was on a map.
They told him about the big towers in a city called Kuala Lumpur.
They told him about a wonderful school named ISKL.
They told them about flying in an airplane, about elephants,
about the ISKL principal and the principal’s wife.

Grant thought about it
and
thought about it,
and he said,
“Okay”.

Grant
was
BRAVE!!!!

So one day his mother and father packed up all their stuff
(including the legos)
into a big wooden box.
Then they packed up their suitcases full of clothes
and said goodbye to everyone,
and drove to Seattle.
There they loaded onto a plane and flew to
Vancouver,
to Hong Kong
and
to Kuala Lumpur.

Grant
was
BRAVE!!!!!
And he was tired.

Grant lived in a hotel room for 10 days
and explored the city with his mother and father.
Grant learned how to cross really crowded streets.
He learned to ride a monorail.
He went to some Ginormous Malls.
He looked at some REALLY scary homes and condos.

Grant
was
BRAVE!!!!!
And he was glad they found
a really cool place to live with a room for the legos.

One day he went to a busy,
busy street called Jalan Alor.
Everywhere there were people,
and lots and lots of food.
There was even a fruit called durian that smelled really stinky.
Grant smelled the durian.

Grant
was
BRAVE !!!!!
He was also
SMART
because he didn’t eat any durian.

Grant went to visit the elephants.
He got to feed the elephants.
He got touch the elephants.
He got to get in the muddy,
muddy river and wash the elephants.

Grant
was
BRAVE!!!!!
and very, very wet.

After the elephant trip, Grant got sick.
He threw up and worse.
He had a fever.
He went to the Hospital and had to have an IV.
His fever got worse.
He had to eat icky medicine.
It was no fun
but Grant knew he had to be brave in order to get better.

Grant
was
BRAVE!!!!!
And he got better.

Now Grant is ready to start school at ISKL.
He will meet kids from all over the world.
He will also have to meet the ISKL principal
and the principal’s wife.

Do you think Grant is worried???

Of course not!!!!!
Because……

Grant
is
BRAVE!!!!

Yeah Grant!!!!
Brave, brave Grant.

Going Home Happy!!!!

Group Hugs all around!!!!

Another MAJOR concern when moving to another country….will I be able to get my hair colored, cut, highlights added??? (unless of course you are follically challenged) Before we left we made some inquiries….the name Kenneth came up….co-owner of …ISH Salon. Heidi had little trust in someone she didn’t know…it wasn’t the same as going to Kim and Tangles!!! So, she decided to color her hair the night before and just have Kenneth add some highlights…..big mistake. After two attempts Heidi had what could best be described as a dusty, musty, London sky colored hair. We went to …ISH and Heidi confessed her misdeeds to Kenneth, asked for forgiveness and put her hair and faith into his capable hands. He turned out to be part magician, part artist and just sickly talented. Heidi felt like she was a movie star…at times there were two people working on her. Heidi exited…ISH a happy woman with happy hair. She has complete trust in Kenneth will leave the coloring to him. While it didn’t have the same warmth as Tangles…it was the next best thing to being home.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Malaysia Adventure is the title of our blog…aptly named as everything so far has been an adventure….including driving. Driving here is a hoot !!!! First, you drive on the left hand side of the road. Since the steering wheel is also on the other side, it isn’t too hard to adjust as long as you remember the driver should alway be on the inside. It took about a week of driving everyday and constantly focusing on turns, not letting habit take over…. and all of a sudden I felt my brain switch. I still have the hardest time glancing to my left to check the rear-view mirror. The turn signal and wipers are also reversed.

I don’t think learning to drive on the other side would have been as hard if we were in a country such as England…things are orderly, stop lights are obeyed, rules of the road mostly adhered to, etc. The Malaysian people are the sweetest you will find anywhere on the planet but once they get behind the wheel of a car, everything changes. In the USA, when driving on a freeway or highway, you move over a lane when there are cars merging. Not here. When a car signals and needs to move over, you give them room. Not here. In the USA, you usually stay in your lane, you stop at red lights, you expect motorcycles to do the same, you use your turn signal….not here. It truly is an adventure every time you get on the road.

Typical drive to work for Heidi and me: Exit our Condo and turn right, across traffic…wait five minutes or so until there is a small crack in the traffic and you make your way across. If no crack in the traffic, you just inch your way out until they have to stop. You ignore the honking directed at you. Next we drive down our little street for about 2 kilometers til we get to the “slip road” which takes us onto the freeway. We go over 8 speed bumps (big ones). On an average day we will have at least one to three cars or motorcycle driving toward us in our lane. Never have really figured out why they are coming at us and they alway make it back to their side. We turn left onto the slip road and quickly get up to speed for cars are exiting the freeway. The slip road goes under the freeway for about a kilometer but until you memorize which lane to be in when, you might get onto a turn lane onto another street, and then you have to fight, and I mean fight your way back into the correct lane. Sometimes the painted lane-lines just disappear. If you are lucky and get in the correct lane, you enter onto the freeway. Of course, entering the freeway can never be easy. The same time you are entering, there may be a car or two that try to pass you on the left. You get on the freeway, let out a sigh of relief and decide what lane to drive in. The freeway to our school has three lanes. The left lane is the slow lane…seems to be there for expat drivers learning the system, motor scooters, and bicycles (none of which have lights or reflectors and black is the clothing color of choice) and buses stopping to pick up people. The middle lane is where I like to plant myself, if I can get an opening and move into it. I call the right hand lane the BOOH lane (Bat Out Of Hell)…I have yet to see a speed limit sign but if there is one, the drivers here are ignoring it. At anytime you may come across a vehicle broken down…doesn’t matter what lane…there isn’t much of a shoulder. We get finally get off the freeway and have a one kilometer drive to our school…only three speed bumps on this stretch. Turn onto the street in front of the school, make a u-turn and we are there. Driving sights are intersting….on the way home, Heidi and I saw one motorcycle…just a small scooter, going along the freeway at about 45 MPH…seated behind the driver was a Toro Lawn Mower. Nope, it wasn’t tied down…the driver had one hand on it balancing it as he drove…quite a talent!! We also saw a record…four people on one scooter…amazing!!! Whenever we get home we breathe a sigh of relief knowing we didn’t kill anyone, didn’t get in an accident and hopefully didn’t cause any.

Went to dinner this past weekend with Will, Allie, Sarah and Grant and two of the new teachers from our school. We wanted to show them Jalan Alor. Perhaps it was the Tiger Beer, perhaps just plain stupidity…but we all agreed to give durian a try. After we had an amazing feast of garlic prawns, butter prawns, lemon chicken, chicken satay with peanut sauce…and of course the Tiger Beer, we put our hands together and made a vow to seek out the succulent flesh of the Durian fruit. Yes, you remember a previous post where the odor was described. We looked until we found a crowded durian stand…we figured the more diners the better the fruit must be. This stand was packed, whole families there chowing down. Some had mangosteen “chasers”.
We paid 16 ringgit (about $6.00) for a very nice looking Durian. The vendor kindly opened it for us. There were a number of warning signs all which we chose to ignore….plastic gloves on the table to wear so your hands don’t smell afterwards, the actual smell of the open durian, no other expats eating. We chose to ignore all signs warning us to leave. The fruit inside is soft, like pudding. Will and I dug in, grabbed a large piece each and into our mouths it went. Talk about nasty…oh my goodness…it tastes exactly like it smells. Heidi said my eyes started watering and face started to convulse….I had to use every ounce of will-power to keep it down. Truly the worst thing I have ever eaten. Will did better than me, he even took a second bite!!! I have no idea how he did it. I’m not sure if Allie and Sarah tried any, Heidi just licked it (that was enough) You will not see Durian as a “fruit of the week” on this blog !!!! Not sure why it is called the king of fruits.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Will, Allie, Sarah and Grant took a day trip to an elephant sanctuary. Heidi and I were unable to go as we had business to attend to at school…but it sounds like a trip we will have to do later this year. They went with few expectations…thought they would drive up, look at the animals from afar, drive back. Little did they know they would be put to work. Sarah and Will were immediately presented a machete and were asked to chop a bunch of mangos and sugar cane. Then Will was enlisted to affix a prosthetic stump onto one of the elephants…he was RIGHT there helping this elephant…no barrier, nothing. Talk about brave!!! They all got to feed the animals and even bathe them in a nearby river. And of course, they learned so much about how they are trying to save the elephants from extinction. Sarah was in heaven!!!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.