Disorder, Paleness, and BUGS

It is currently school vacation due to the end of Ramadan, so I have a lot more time to write.  Especially about the little things, which after all, are the interesting things that make the country unique!  (Quick note: We are currently redoing our house and we are ALMOST done, so when we finish in a couple days I will put up a video tour of my house!)

1. Malaysia's disorder
I have mentioned this before, but I think it is time to talk about it in more detail, I believe there is no pattern or consistency to anything in Malaysia, what-so-ever.  This makes it extremely difficult to adjust to the rules or Malaysians life style.  Here are some examples:
1. School.  Sometime school starts on time, sometime it doesn't.  Sometimes it ends at 12.10, sometimes at 2.40.  The class schedule is constantly changing, and the classes almost never start or end on time, and there are times when the class on the schedule isn't actually the one we are going to attend.
2. House decor.  A house is almost never painted the same color all the way around.  For example, the front of my house is tan and the back is lime green.  This pattern continues on the inside of the house, carpet/tiles will randomly stop in the middle of the room and a completely different carpet/tile will start.  Or there will be a blue wall, and a random red blotch in the middle.  My theory is that when a family has to remodel or fix a part of the house, they don't make an effort to make the new addition the same as the original.  It gives most houses and very interesting look.
3. Telephone numbers.  There does not appear to be a constant number of digits in both cell phone and land line numbers.  Nor are there specific area codes.
4. Plans.  This one is the hardest ad most confusing to me.  If someone tells you they are going to do something, there is about a 15% chance that it is actually what you are going to do.  For example, my mom will tell me on Thursday that we are going to KL on Sunday to eat dinner.  Then on Friday my sister will ask me if I am excited to go to shopping in KL tomorrow.  Then on Saturday morning I will ask when we are leaving and my sister will say 4.  Then at 1.30 my mom comes rushing in telling us that we are leaving in ten minutes.  Then I find out, after we get there, that we are actually going to another city where my mom's family lives to help with a wedding.  And we never end up going anywhere on Sunday.  This is typical in Malaysia, and so I stopped trying to keep up long ago.  It is also extremely common for big plans to be made at the last minute, and we have 20 minutes to prepare for an all day shopping in KL, or an overnight trip.
5. Rules.  This is also a hard one, because following family rules is very important in Malaysia.  My family will say that it is my host sister's turn to do the dishes, but then will approach me a few hours later and ask me why I didn't do the dishes.  Or they will tell me I must wash my laundry every 2 days, but they only wash their clothes once a week.  So I never know what it is that I am supposed to be doing.

The disorder can frustrating at times, but it always keeps things interesting.

2. Paleness....or lack of.
In Malaysia a lot of teenage girls do all that they can to become whiter.  They use all these facial creams and special soaps to make themselves appear more pale.  I even know a couple girls that put baby powder on their face when they leave the house.  And I have to admit it works-they do look whiter.  Well, their faces anyway.  This concept always makes me laugh because I think back to how hard the girls in the US work to become tanner.  From tanning beds to spray on tan to make-up.  It seems to me that no matter where you go, people always think the grass in greener on the other side.  I wish girls would stop using dangerous chemicals and giving themselves cancer in tanning beds and learn to accept what they have and feel beautiful in their own skin. :)

3. BUGS.  I HATE the bugs in Malaysia.
I knew that Malaysia was a tropical country and that there were going to be a lot of big bugs, but I didn't prepare myself for the amount of little bugs.  There are ants, little tiny ants (only about 2mm) everywhere, all the time.  If you leave food on the table, you only have two minutes until it is crawling with bugs.  I walked in my room the other day and there was a trail from one end to the other of hundreds of ants. HUNDREDS.  Even on the wall you can see a trail of ants.  Laying in bed reading you will find them all over the sheets, on your arms, hands, on the book, everywhere.  To top it off, the ants can bite you and leave itchy blotches all over you.  In addition to the ants there are of course big bugs, but they are much less common.  There are (2 inch) cockroaches in the house sometimes, and I am grateful for the cats that like to catch them.  There are also really big flying bugs that come out at night, and when you see them in the street lights you can't tell if they are the birds on insects.  Lastly, there are huge moths that come out at night, at reach from 3 to 6 inches long.  I don't mind these, but I know some people that would hate them. (mom) :)

Fun in KL

As I have said before, my host family is very tightly knit, so when I get to hang out with my friends it is a treat!  Last weekend all of the YES (aka American) exchange students got to hang out KL (Kuala Lumpur) with YES returnees (Malaysians who have stayed in the USA).  It was a lot of fun, we got to hang out for awhile and compare our experiences, go to a traditional Malaysian restaurant, go shopping at KLCC and see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2 in theatres!  It was so much fun to be crazy and loud around my friends, share hugs, and be sarcastic.  The reason this is so refreshing is because in general Malays are very quite, serious, don't hug, and hate sarcasm.  It is very hard for us (well me, at least) to act like this for very long, so when we can be ourselves it is a huge relief.  I am used to a very active and 'loud' life style, so being trapped at home without activity for weeks at a time makes me go insane! 

We got to go shopping at KLCC, which is a real treat.  KLCC is actually located in the Petronas towers (one of the 5 tallest buildings in the world), and has a HUGE shopping mall.  The shopping is unlike anything I have ever experienced before, and I can easily see why people come from all over the world to go shopping here.  Each mall has at least 5 floors, a several book stores, hundreds of  clothing stores, a theatre (or two), a bowling alley, multiple music and gaming stores, cooking stores, dozens of restaurants and sometimes even an ice skating rink.  One could easily spend ALL day in one of the malls and still only cover a few of the floors. 

The Petronas towers with the KLCC mall

KLCC

KLCC



Skating rink in the mall

 Outside of the YES students, I am getting along really well with the other exchange student in out state, Facundino.  He is from Argentina and has been in Malaysia since January.  It is extremely interesting to hear about his experiences so far, and I can practice my Spanish with him.  His host family owns a restaurant, and my parents are good friends with his parents, so we go to his restaurant a couple of times a week.  That way we get good company and delicious food.

Dinner including blue rice and fish chips

Red chili chicken with rice, delicious but SPICY

First Month in a Nutshell

Wow, I can't believe I have already been in Malaysia a month!  I know I haven't been putting pictures in my posts, so I promise a lot this time!

First off from one of my previous posts I wrote about an article on Malaysian driving that didn't go through, so here is that article: http://www.backpackingmalaysia.com/stories/a-guide-for-drivers-in-malaysia
I would like to say that this article is completely accurate, and that driving (along with almost everything else in Malaysia) seems to have no structure whatsoever.  I am not sure why the government even pays for road signs, or bothers to paint lines on the road.  No one seems to feel any obligation to abide by them.

Even after a month, I am still waiting to see what the 'normal' Malaysian life style is like.  Because we have been celebrating Ramadan for the last three weeks, I have been living out of the norm.  Like I said in my last post, the month of Ramadan mostly consists of sleeping and lounging around.  I have fallen into a pattern, just like how I had a pattern in the US, but I know it is going to change once again. 

My current pattern consists of waking up for school, going to school, coming home from school, taking a nap, watching tv, eating dinner, more tv, and then going to sleep.  I may get to go to the grocery store, or something similar, during one of the watching tv sessions however.  While this may sound extremely boring/lazy, I have found that this is normal for Malaysia!  I think that this is because it is too hot to do anything outside (sports, going to the park, etc) unless it is dark outside, and then it is too dangerous to do anything outside, especially if you are a girl.

The school system is drastically different from the US school system.  I have always heard that school was very challenging and serious in Asian countries, but that does not seem to be the case for Malaysians schools.  It is not uncommon for teachers or students to not show up to class, and there may be long periods of up to 40 minutes where the students are just sitting in the class.  Homework is extremely rare, and I find it is even more rare for students to do the homework if they do get any.  Furthermore, the grading system is a lot different from ours, and I think that an 85% is an A, compared to the 93% in US schools.  When students get a test back with a 40% or 50%, they are happy with their score.  I can't even imagine when my mom would do if I came home with a 40% on a test, haha!  Because of the unstructured school system it is common for exchange students (especially those who have already graduated) to not take the school too seriously.  My school, for instance, does not give me any books, assignments, nor expects me to pay attention during lectures (most of them are taught it Malay).  I am currently using the days that I do go to school to re-read the Harry Potter series.  (I highly recommend the books to anyone who has not read them, or read them several years ago, because they are incredible).  I found that a lot of the other change students are having similar-ish school experiences.  Another exchange student in my area tells me he only goes to school once a month! 

Honestly it has been harder for me to adapt here than I originally anticipated.  I think this is due to the fact that Malaysia is opposite from the USA in almost every way possible, and there are a lot of unforeseen obstacles.  Of course, this is what teaches us, but it is also what makes it challenging.  One of these challenges include the racial segregation I have noticed between the different races in Malaysia.  I have noticed that in general, people only hang out with people of their same race (i.e. Indians with Indians, Malays with Malays, and Chinese with Chinese), and I have even heard some racist comments about other racial groups.  This is upsetting for me because one of the reasons I came to Malaysia was for the common union of all the different races.  A second unforeseen challenge was the amount of gossip and lack of personal privacy.  More common than not the first question I get asked is what my religion is, then followed by the amount of money my family makes, their jobs, types of cars, etc.  (I find it best not to answer any of these questions).  Also if I receive a note from a fellow classmate, all of the other girls in my class make sure that they read it before I do, and determine if it is okay for me to read.  The gossip has also caused a great deal of problems for me and my family, usually among adults.  Somehow, before I even arrived, all my teachers and my host mom's co-workers knew about my religious affiliation (or lack there of) and weren't too happy about it.  My host mom's co-workers have been giving her a really hard time for letter a 'free thinker' in her house, and you can tell from the unfriendly facial expressions that they give me that I am not very popular.  I don't let it get to me too much however, because that is the reason that programs like these exist.

I have heard from many people that Malaysia is considered a very hard country to be an exchange student in because of the religion (very conservative) and amount of rules (girls aren't usually allowed to leave the house).  From what I have heard there have already been instances of host family changes and students returning to their home country.  However, I know it is our duty to look at all of these challenges as learning opportunities and remember the cliche, 'its not bad, it's not good, it's just different'.

PICTURES!



The Americans going to Malaysia.


 


The exchange students and staff in my state.



Host Family



Host Grandma cooking delicious coconut rice/bamboo things



Host sister and I on the world's longest rope bridge



Malaysian street/scenery





 Hindu temple in my city.



RAMADAN - Selamat Berpuasa!

First off I would like to appologize for taking so long to write, after all the emails and facebook I always forget that I have to update my blog as well!

Well ever since August 1st we have been celebrating Ramadan here in Malaysia, the month of fasting.  Each year the time of Ramadan changes because it is based on the Islamic Calendar.  The Islamic calendar is different from ours (according to the Islamic calendar it is the 22nd day of Ramadan , in the year 1432) and it is based off of the lunar calendar.  During the month of Ramadan all Muslims must refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours.  The point of Ramadan is to help Muslims learn about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to Allah.  All Muslims are also required to read the entire Quran during the month.  (However from my experience few do).  In general, they must focus on their religion and being a good Muslim instead of their other desires like hunger and thirst.  You frequently hear short commercial clips on the radio reminding Muslims to celebrate Ramadan the 'right way', and not to gossip and do volunteer work or find new ways to connect to God.  However, from my personal experiences that most Muslims simply use Ramadan as an excuse to be lazy, and pig out after the sun goes down.  It is unfortunate that the original meaning of Ramadan has been lost.  Either way, it is a fun month and I have been learning a lot.

In order to eat before the sun rises, we have to wake up at about 5.00 AM and eat and drink we much as we can to try and get us through the day.  This is not as easy as it may sound, where as you are already upset that you have woken up so early (usually only after four or five hours of sleep), eating left overs from last night is the last thing that you want to do.  After we finish eating at 5.30, we usually go back to sleep until 6.30 when we get ready for work or school.  All school activities (like clubs and sports) are cancelled, and adults usually have shortened work days.  After school, I come home and sleep from about 1.00 to 4.00 or 5.00.  At 5.00 we head to bazaar Ramadan, which is a huge number of stalls of food.  They have every type of food you can imagine, and all of it is extremely cheap by US standards.  At each stall you select the food you want and how much, and they load it into a plastic bag.  After we have enough food for about 10 people we head home.  Immediately we put the food on the table as if ready to eat, and then we proceed to wait for another hour and a half.  My family sometimes likes to sit at the table for thirty minutes or so until we are allowed to break fast, but I choose not to join them.  It always amazes me how much my family is able to eat.  We have been to buffets a couple times for buka puasa (breaking fast) and my family will refill their plates 8-10 times, completely cleaning their plates each time.  I usually only eat one or two plates, and my family spends the last hour at the buffet trying to get me to eat more, and are convinced there is something wrong with me.  This is one of the challenges I have been facing with Ramadan, because most people take it to mean that I don't like the food and consider my behavior rude, so I have lost count the number of times I have had to explain to people that I have a 'small stomach', and not that I don't like the food.




Bazaar Ramadan



Breaking Fast - Dinner for two

The food always includes rice, and lots of meat.  All kinda of meat - fish, squid, chicken, lamb, steak, clams, shrimp, etc.  The food is always bright yellow or red, and either extremely spicy or extremely sweet.  For dessert they like to eat sugar cubes coated in dried coconut.  Where they are delicious, they are also extremely overwhelming and can never eat more then one or two.

I personally don't find fasting that difficult, and sometimes I'm not even hungry when we break fast.  I think this is due mostly to the lack of physical activity.  Where as Malaysia is already considering, in my mind, to have a rather 'lazy' life style, it is even more so during Ramadan.  I also think Ramadan it is a great way to loose weight (as long as you don't pig out at night haha), and almost every single exchange student has lost weight since they arrived in Malaysia.

I am looking forward to the end of Ramadan - Hari Raya.  It s a long festival celebrating the end of Ramadan, when family members and friends often go to each others houses and eat.  Eat, eat, eat!  We take a week off from school and work for celebration.  I can't wait and I will update you guys soon on how it goes!

Malaysia vs. USA

I have decided that in this post I am going to talk about the key points in the Malaysians life style, and how they compare to life in the USA, to give you a general feel for how life is here in Malaysia :)  But please keep in mind that I have only been here for two weeks, so some of this information might change as I learn more!

FOOD
Almost all meals in Malaysia include rice.  Rice, rice, rice.  Generally, two or three dishes are served that
include shrimp, chicken, fish, or vegetables.  Then, you take some of the dish and put it on top of the rice, and using your RIGHT (very important) hand you mix the food together and enjoy.  Usually the dishes are extremely flavorful and spicy, so not much is needed to give he rice a lot of flavor.  Generally, all foods are mixed together and are never meant to be separated.  No matter what foods are served, the first step is to mix them all together.  Eating out is extremely cheap compared to the US; a family of four can eat for about $7.  Average restaurants appear to have no menus, so for me it is always a mystery as to what my parents order for me.  Another difference from the US is that there are no recipes whatsoever.  Usually whatever is in the fridge that will make an interesting combo is what is for dinner.  There are no temperature settings on the stoves, no timers, and no measuring devices.  The instructions my mom gave me to cook rice were "fill a cup with rice, and then add a little bit more, fill the water up to about the middle of your finger, and turn it on until it looks like the rice is done."  Regardless, the food turns out delicious, almost always.  The food is of course very spicy, but is not as difficult as a thought it would be.  I have actually found that I can eat more spicy food than my host parents!  I brought them hot tamales because I had heard the food in Malaysia was spicy, and half way through one piece they boy exclaimed "I can't take it!" and had to get up to throw it away.  I thought it was hilarious, and continued to finish the whole box.  My family was amazed.  I have also learned to never ask, or make assumptions, about what something is made out of.  My family was eating a lot of this type of cracker that was light brown, and I assumed it was a dessert, made of cinnamon or something like that.  However, after I took one for myself, my parents told me it was made from grounded up dried fish.  Definitely not at all what I was expecting. 

RELIGION
Religion is a very, very large part of life here in Malaysia.  Regardless of what religion a family is (Islam,
Buddhist, or Hindu) it is very very important.  Because I live with an Muslim family, I am currently learning the most about Islam.  The families pray five times a day during azan (a prayer is read over a loud speaker across the town) and before all meals.  Also, during school prayers are made before and after each period.  All events, outcomes, and tasks are done for or because of Allah.  Also, Ramadan is coming up shortly, and during the month no one will eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum from sun up to sun down.  Also, over the month each Muslim is required to read the entire Quran and ask forgiveness for their sins.  As of right not, I am planning on fasting alone with my family but my only concern is that I will get dehydrated without the water because I am still adjusting to the weather.  We will see how it goes!

DRIVING
There is no rules on the road.  At all.  To get a perfect summary on Malaysian driving please read the following article: http://www.backpackingmalaysia.com/stories/a-guide-for-drivers-in-malaysia

FAMILY
Families are extremely tight knit in Malaysia.  Kids spend almost no time with their friends because the families do  essentially everything together.  In the USA it is normal for the entire family to be in the house and everyone is doing different things, such as TV, video games, reading, or computer.  That is generally not the case in Malaysia, and it is rude to spend a lot of time alone in one's room.  Also, whenever a member of the family has to leave the house such as an appointment, or going to the grocery store, the whole family goes along as well.  They are also extremely close to their extended family and it is common for grandparents to be living in the house as well.  My host father has 9 siblings, so family gatherings are always massive, and a lot of fun.

RULES
Because Malaysia is a conservative countries, the rules are very different from the US.  Especially for teenage girls, like myself.  All girls must be home by six if they go out with their friends, and are not allowed to go out by themselves.  Because I am a foreigner, I must always be accompanied by a family member when I leave the house.  It is not customary for one to spend a lot of time at a friend's home because you are considered rude for using up their electricity or food.  Also, girls are not allowed to spend time alone with men, and are definitely not supposed to have boyfriends.  (However, many teens enjoy breaking this rule).  PDA is illegal, and a couple can get fined for kissing in public.  All children live in the house until their get married.  Generally, teenagers do not get jobs until they are married, and the parents are financially responsible for them until they leave, which is usually around the age of 25.  After a daughter leaves, the husband is now responsible for her finances.  In all homes, the father is the head of the home, all all decisions mus be approved by him.  Respecting the father is extremely important.

HOUSES
Homes are relatively similar to those of the USA, with a few exceptions.  Every house has a gate and a cement wall surrounding it, and you can easily reach over the wall and touch the house next to yours.  Shoes are never worn in the home, ad must be removed before going inside.  Most homes do not have washing machines, clothes dryers or hot water heaters, which is okay because it is so hot all the time.  The main differences are the bathrooms, which are WET all the time.  There is typically not a separate area for showering, so by the end of your shower every inch of the walls and floor are soaking wet. 
I would gladly post pictures of my home but it is currently being remodeled so everything is piled on top of the furniture and in the hallway.  However I am extremely excited for the remodel because I get to design my new room, and will somehow end up with a queen sized bed and the biggest bedroom in the house.  No idea how that managed to work out!

SCHOOL
In Malaysia there are only 11 grades, so most are 17 when they graduate.  In high school the teachers switch
classrooms instead of the students, and you stay with the same class after form (grade) 9.  Each students gets
assigned to the science or art stream.  In the art stream you take classes such as history, civics, and economics.  In the science stream you take physics, biology, chemistry, and mathematics.  The science stream has much harder classes and most homework.  The classes are arranged within the grade alphabetically, and the higher the letter, the harder the work.  Of course my school decided to place me in the A class and science stream because I have already taken all the science classes and assumed I could help the students.  But to my advantage, I am not given any text books, expected to do homework, or take the tests :)  All students are required to wear uniforms, and each uniform is symbolic to how much power one has, or what clubs they are involved in.

LANGUAGES
A lot of languages are spoken daily in Malaysia, and everyone is at least bilingual.  Everyone knows both Malay and English, and the Chinese population speaks Chinese (either Mandarin or Cantonese), and the Indian population speaks Tamil.  The Islamic religious ceremonies are performed in Arabic, and the Hindu religious ceremonies are performed in Sanskrit.

WEATHER
The weather is Malaysia is by far my least favorite part, as that it is hot and humid 89% of the time.  You can
hardly run outside to the trash can without sweating.  The other 11% of the time it is pouring down rain and
thundering and lightning.  However I am not alone, because I have yet to meet a local that does not hate the
weather as well.

The First Week

As of today I arrived in Malaysia a week ago, and so much has happened!  Before we left we had an orientation in DC, to try to get us more prepared by talking about the culture and expectations.  Once we arrived in Malaysia we were picked up in the airport and taken to a hotel along with the other 47 kids from all over the world that were going to be living in Malaysia for the year.  There were kids from Germany, Argentina, Venezuela, Belgium, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, and a couple more.  They took us around KL (Kuala Lumpur) for awhile, and then taught us a song that we would have to perform the next day after we got our host families.  My family is a mom (Diana), a dad (Baharuddin), and a 19 year old sister (Amelia).  They are very kind, and doing their best to make me feel at home :)  After they picked me up we went shopping at the Petronas Towers, and headed home.  I got settled in my room, although it will change quickly because my family is currently remodeling their home.

The first couple days I didn't do much.  I only left the house once or twice, to go to the market and buy my school uniform.  I was still very tired from the long flight, and my stomach was adjusting to the food.  Also, to the heat!  It is exremelyyy hot here!  You can't hardly go outside, or any room inside without AC for that matter, without sweating.  Whenever we open the fridge, the cats try to jump inside!

After a couple days of tiredness and sickness, I had my first day of school.   My school is only a five minute walk from my house, and has grades 5 through 11.  Because their school year runs with the calendar year, I am starting in grade 10 and will begin in grade 11 in 2012.  Only three minutes after I walked onto the school property I was asked to introduce myself in front of the whole student body.  Thankfully, they let me do it in English.  After the assembly, I went to the counseling center where I was given my class schedule and introduced to Alya, my 'tour guide'.  Instantly everyone at the school was very friendly and made me feel welcomed.  Besides from the weather and uncomfortable uniforms, it was a very good first day!
Aside from school, I have visited the neighbors, done some shopping, and a lot of cooking!  Everyone here is very nice in Malaysia!  When we went to lunch, we started talking to a couple for a few minutes, and then they ended up paying for our lunch!  Shortly after we returned home, our neighbors dropped in and gave us two cakes, a chocolate and a rainbow (I will be sure to post pictures later, because they are quite impressive).  The food is all very good, and very spicy!  I am going to be taking a cooking class in my school so I can learn how to cook the traditional Malaysian foods.  I am also considering a baking class, or a martial arts class.  I think I need the exercise, especially with all the food!

This weekend we are going to see the new Harry Potter movie, visit my host grandparents in the village, and attend a wedding in KL.  I can't wait!  Overall everything is a lot of fun, and I am being kept very busy!  I will be sure to write more later!

Ready to Go!

Well, I've pack all my bags and I am ready to get on the plane for LA tomorrow!  The travel plans are to fly down to LA tomorrow at noon, stay there overnight for some orientations, fly to Hong Kong, and end up in Kuala Lumpur.  Once I am in KL, I will have another day or so of orientations, and then my host family will pick me up on the 16th of July.  I am so excited to arrive in Malaysia and meet my family!

Two weeks ago I went to Washington D.C. for the National Pre-Departure Orientation.  This orientation was unique because it incorporated both sides of YES; both the international students that had stayed here for a year (over 600!) and the 50 American students that are going abroad.  It was a very cool to get to meet the hundreds of students from all over the world, and get to here stories about their year here in the USA.  I also got to meet several Malaysians during the orientation, and I learned A LOT about Malaysia!  They were all extremely nice,and so much fun to be around.

During our time in DC we got to participate in lots of activities that promote the YES program.  First we got into group by which state we were from/were hosted in, and met with our senators to talk about our experiences.  Secondly, we went to the Malaysia Embassy to promote student exchange, and have a delicious lunch (that yes, we ate with out bare hands).  Next, we headed over to the State Department to talk to an Ameican Ambassador, and then headed to the American Councils for dinner.

We ended the evening with an extremely large talent show.  Each country group had to preform a song and a dance native to their host country.  The USA group performed 'This Land is Your Land' and square danced.  I loved getting to see all the amazing cultural dances and it made me even more excited for my year abroad.

Overall, the PDO was an absolute blast, and I loved getting to meet so many amazing people from all over the country, and all over the world.  I miss my new friends already!