Harry Potter English Camp at SMK Pelagat: Here We Go Again

We prepare ourselves for this day long or three day long phenomenon as part of our ETA experience called an “English camp”. If we are planning it, by the end we are pulling our hair out making sure all goes right. If we are a guest ETA, as I was for this one, we usually show up in our Fulbright t-shirt we were given during orientation for free. I on the other hand took on a new and different role for this one. Our two friends teaching as ETAS in Besut, Terangganu, Malaysia were planning a Harry Potter-themed English camp. I was supposed to take a personality test and be placed in one of their camp-created “houses” but I forgot. Also, I am a unique individual so they gave me my own character to create for the day. A peavishly-annoying character who would cause chaos and reward English-usage but scold the use of their native tongue in BM with house minus points in the form of a frizzled professor by the name of Professor Magical Crazy pants; a character they would never forget.

MORE COMING SOON..!

Arts Therapy Camp at SMK Panji

On July 28th when I had 4, almost 5 English camps in one week, I got to take a day working with students with special needs in Malaysia at a friend’s school where she is placed, SMK Panji, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. I did not know what to expect working with ELL students who also had disabilities but it was such a relaxing, refreshing day for me. The students were so excited and we got to just play motor skill activities all day. My job was to lead a play doh making session with my good friend and ETA Miss Becca which got the students working on the skills we hoped to improve and interacting with us in a playful way. There was not a lot of pressure working with them nor expectations. The goal was to have fun and get them moving! We used whatever body language, BM or English we could but the activity was simple and self-explanatory enough. The kids really enjoyed themselves and so did we!

MORE COMING SOON!

Feels Like Home: Balik Kampung Selemat Hari Raya

Balik kampung….balik kampung… Plays in several songs on the radio as the end of Ramdhan comes to a close and the annually anticipated Hari Raya (meaning Great Day, the Malaysian holiday equivalent to the Muslim Eid in other Muslim-practicing countries and cultures) approaches… This was my experience celebrating Hari Raya here in Malaysia for the first time.

I had waited all year, leading up to this big day, for this holiday to finally roll around. It was more spectacular than I even imagined. Travelling around during the full holiday experience, going house to house, meeting all of the extended family, trying all of the traditional and popular or “glamour” foods for Hari Raya all made it so special. I was starting to really miss home and my family so this was a nice taste of family life and seeing how Malaysian families interact. One of my favorite moments, was when we all dressed in our Baju Raya (matching color clothes as you can see in the pictures) for a photo shoot and celebrated the youngest sibling’s birthday. He was born on the eve of Hari Raya Aidilfitri (full name of this holiday since there are two Hari Rayas in Malaysia- fun fact I found out, the second is in September) so his middle name is named after the holiday. The night before we also lit up some fireworks we had purchased at the Ramadhan bazaar the night before to kick off his celebrations. It was so nice to see how the family celebrated him, laughed with him, siblings made jokes to tease him, and I myself started reminiscing in the silly moments I was missing with my siblings. I sat slightly off from a distance and could not help but smile. I just wanted to watch them laugh and interact with each other all day. Of course, then I was served ice cream cake from Baskin Robins and got distracted by the sweet chilly tastes in my mouth. But it was a favorite moment of the experience.

I was approached a couple weeks before Hari Raya by an English teacher I share an office with, who asked me to come with her back to her kampung (village). I had met a couple of her siblings before in Putrajaya (same awesome family who toured me around there) and she thought it would be nice for me to meet the whole family, especially since I would be alone without family for this momentous holiday in Malaysia. Besides.. the city in my state called Kota Bharu would be impossible to get around since nearly all of Kelantan is roaming around house to house- with over 90% of a Muslim Malay population in my state celebrating the upcoming holiday. I was so honored and flattered by the invitation, I did not think twice before agreeing to come along with her. I did not know how to fully prepare myself for this trip but was so excited to be tagging along!

Leaving for Melaka was an experience in itself as we drove over night from Kelantan (luckily against the traffic). So many people who grew up in my state where I am placed in Kelantan often grow up to work in the West coast in peninsular Malaysia (on the opposite coast) yet they always “balik kampung” (go back to their home town) for the holidays so there is a huge jam (traffic). We stopped around 2:00am or so at my teacher’s husband’s sister’s house in Negeri Sembilan (another state where I had not visited yet) to give gifts and wish her well on her upcoming trip to America. Another “Sweet memory” as is common to say in Malaysia here. We got to discuss all of my favorite things in Washington, D.C. and New York City where she would be travelling. Then made it around 4:00 am to her family’s house to sleep for almost an hour and wake up to break the fast. Luckily with Ramadhan still finishing once we got up to eat before the sun came up and we had to stop around 5:30 am before we fasted until about 7:30 depending on the movement of the sun for that day, the family would go for prayer and I could fall back asleep as well as take frequent naps during the day when we were not cooking or going around town. Most of the sight-seeing happened after Ramadhan ended though, since we only had a couple days left and wanted to save our energy for the fasting.

From helping prepare the chickens for slaughter, cooking ketupat (a traditional style of rice in coconut leaves wrapped a special way, steamed for hours, and eaten with various savory meat dishes), sharing a room with her younger sister, sharing moments and memories with all six of the siblings, meeting the extended family at buffets for breaking the fast or celebrating Hari Raya, serving the extended family when we hosted, roaming around Melaka at night taking selfies, and MORE- it was one of the “sweetest” (literally and figuratively) parts of my year here. Just what I needed to break up a difficult month of fasting and hitting the half way point in my grant. I really wanted to feel as much as part of the family for that week as they would allow me- give me chores and work to do I pleaded! They did! It was great. I was so happy to have a family to be a part of when I was missing mine so much, even if just for a week. It brought my English teacher and I closer as well which was another bonus on top of all of the wonderful things that resulted from this week in Melaka with this family. I took a night bus home and got sick on the way back, nearly got stranded at 3am 4-5 hours from my Asrama (hostel) where I live in my state of Kelantan on the way home… but all apart of the adventure and worth the extended 12 hours overnight bus home!

I was stuffed SO full with each house visit and so tired after the trip but I would do it all over again. I loved everything about Hari Raya. I saw how special the holiday is, seeing the tight-knit community of family, Muslim culture, more exchange of ideas, religion, and culture as well as so many family photo ops. Another great week in Malaysia! I am so blessed to be in the placement I have, meet this generous teacher and her family, as well as have all of these amazing life experiences that help me grow in my faith, experiences, ideologies, and passions in this world. These are the moments that help me shape my adult life into the further adventures that lay ahead. Melaka for Hari Raya this day. Who can guess for tomorrow?!

 

Malaysia boleh on my Malay way. What a year so far!

Navigating through Ramadhan: Fasting and Culture 101

    RAMADHAN

So, with permission from my community, I decided to take it upon myself to attempt fasting for the entirety of the month of Ramadhan. My entire school community would be partaking as part of the Malay Muslim tradition here in Malaysia. Christians have their own times of fasting which I have always been curious about, and I thought this would be a good self-reflective as well as educational experience for me. It was a long month, arguably the longest-seeming month of the year but I made it!

Starting from the very first day I was very conscious of my choice not to eat. It is one thing to get caught up in things throughout the day, remain busy and forget to eat. However, making the choice not to eat, in this instance, from my experience was a lot harder to not focus on or pass the time without craving food. Food was on my mind all day especially at first. I had to wake up much earlier, I was trying to keep energy up while I was teaching, I was not sure I would make it through the whole month, even struggling through the first week. In the end, with a few flexible days to break the fast while I traveled or waking up slightly late and eating a bit later for a couple of days, I was able to partake the full month. With the late days, I gave myself a bit of a break since this was my first try.

I also still drank some water to keep myself from getting dehydrated in the heat which I share with me school. This was a point of contention however with my school community because to them, this is not a true fast. However, I tried to remind them, this was my way and my first time. Additionally I had no religious or cultural requirement to withhold from drinking some water. I was also worried about my health. And finally, there is a spectrum of fasting as I tried to explain with other religious communities of people. In some countries and communities of religions, fasting is just with holding from a certain food or pleasure for the time of fasting such as is typical for those who practice Catholicism during Lent. Others just do a solids fast such as Christians sometimes or other communities of Muslims. Then like Malaysian Muslims typically practice, there are people who withhold from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset. Then there are even spectrums of requirements or decisions for fasting based on the time of the sunrise or the religious practice, etc. Then there are certain Muslim cultures and communities in other countries which do not even keep in the saliva in their mouths. Although, being in such a close-knit society without much travel outside of our kampung (village) or Malaysia, my fasting was very different from what they knew so it was difficult to navigate through conversations with some, but it created a great opportunity for cultural exchange.

I promised to commit to trying to participate in the whole month and journal all the while. This was a great exercise since I was not writing in my journal much this year before Ramadhan, which I regret. Since Ramadhan I have tried to journal once or twice a week to record my more intimate reflections and moments here aside from my blog narrative. It has been fun reading through this month after-the-fact and seeing how my reflection changed, noting which days were clearly harder than others, and what days were really positive in terms of self and religious reflection as I had hoped. The first two days I had energy and thoughts to fill two pages but most days after that were limited to just one. “And so I pray to be reminded of the reasons that I am choosing to do this, be true to myself, not to confuse those around me, also find a balance of remaining productive, find ways to relate to my school community, and have a lot of reflection time with God. And so the journey begins as it also continues…” Were my final words in my first entry. Compared to Day 5 “Couldn’t sleep for over two hours due to itchiness. I believe from bugs and being hot… We’ll see how my energy lasts tomorrow.” Clearly frustrated but trying to be hopeful for the next day. Honestly, journaling kept my mind balanced and focused on trying to think of the positive while processing this journey through Ramadhan and winding down at the end of the day.

My month became more and more tolerable as well as rewarding as I got used to the schedule and cadence of fasting. In the midst of all of this there was mid-year, breaking the fast with students, celebrating July 4th in Malaysia away from home for the first time (one of the big holidays for my family), typical monthly school activities minus my after-school activities plus lethargic students who were not motivated even for my most exciting lessons (most days), saw time flying by and two brothers finishing important years of school as I missed these important moments back home among others and remained abroad, listening to my sister and dogs grow up back home, get a new teaching timetable to adjust to (schedule), experience Hari Raya, and many other events in between. It was a whirlwind of a month that felt long during the hours passing by between sunrise and sunset as I waited for the time to break the fast yet included some of the most rich cultural experiences I’ve participated in during this year teaching abroad in Malaysia. I was invited to several student and teacher’s houses, including an English teacher whom I have grown close with over the year that you can read about in my Hari Raya blog post, and got to experience nearly the full Malaysian experience during this significant religious and culture time here in a Muslim Malay community. In my last journal entry I was more than thrilled to have pushed through and it made Hari Raya that much more special to experience as a reward! “Selemat Hari Raya! Yay, I did it! Finished, now to a day I have been excited about since hearing about it in January!…Then the grand tour began as we went to five…houses… I even tried to pace myself at most houses not knowing what foods were left in store at the next house…great to see all of the families…” I really enjoyed getting the homegrown experience with my teacher. I hope to reflect upon this time which was a different type of challenge than I have tried. Whether emotional or academically or otherwise before, this new physical challenge was a great feat! I was proud and blessed to have been awarded the strength to make it through. First time, a success! There were many tough days but the reward was greater than the defeat!

Fasting during Ramadhan… tomorrow lies ahead another mystery in Malaysia. On my Malay way…

Caving with Students and Malaysian College Town: This is Perak

Left for a weekend trip to the Western regions of Malaysia knowing we might experience a different side of life than the East coast but not expecting what we found…

MORE COMING SOON

Philippino Excurtions: The Charm of Cebu and the Islands

 

When you are living abroad, having friends abroad in the same hemisphere, even in the same time zone makes you feel closer to home. My friend staying in the Philippines joked we were about to be “next door neighbors” before I left for Malaysia this year. Depending on your perspective, and proximity to home, she was right and half way through the year I finally got to visit her. After sharing my world with a friend, she got to share her world with me. What a beautiful, colorful, welcoming, warming, inviting, and friendly world to see.

    

I arrived with no plans and no idea what to expect. I usually try to be an informed traveller wherever I go but I knew I had a better-informed expert on the ground so I could just wait until I got there for a majority of the research. Being my type-A self I did do a bit of research but it was nice to go without having much homework to do for this trip. I had just come off of a long trip entertaining my friend from home in Cambodia and Malaysia for two weeks so this was very refreshing. I landed in the airport, realizing if I could not connect to WiFi that I could not contact my friend, luckily I snagged some from the airport and it all worked out. We embraced when she arrive and jumped in the taxi to begin our journey in Cebu.

 

First we went back to Rachel’s house where she has been living in the homestay for the year. The family was lovely and so hospitable to let me stay and feel welcomed there. Got to meet some special people in her life which was nice. We called it a night and were happy to just have girl time to catch up after not seeing each other for a year and not knowing much about our new foreign lives. We also last-minute decided to wake up for a 5am free dive the next morning to check out some cool fish and coral on the coast since I was certified. We only had one mask and a pair of goggles to share and got some pretty bad jellyfish stings. It all ended okay though since we followed the pain up with giant pancakes. And we did see some cool fish and coral to be fair before having to evacuate the water from stings including a school of sardines, swordfish, some other schools, and a beautiful sunrise.

After a recovery nap we took my first hubble-hubble type of bus/taxi transport to the mountains for an exploring adventure. We started with one intention in mind to ride some water slides on the mountains but since the water had been drained we took a new route to a new part of the mountain to see views and stop for some good food. We also saw a random Portuguese mansion on one of the mountains in the style of a Spanish Roman temple in homage to a man’s recently deceased wife. Rushed back to the house to change for evening yoga before salsa night with friends. Met some amazing people, had fun dancing salsa after a long hiatus, and had chips with guacamole which just made the whole night nearly perfect. Finishing the night with some of the most amazing sushi as a midnight snack before bed though really put the icing on the cake for me that night. So many good things I had been deprived of all year that I had missed so much. Besides, after that we planned a two-day trip to visit another island. A total YOLO move…

 

Woke up to catch a 9:30am ferry to reach Bohol by the early morning and arrive at our mountain view stay by the afternoon. We jumped on another hubble-hubble ride with our new friend Clifford for our quick touristy view of the island. We went from the Laboc floating river tour with amazing food and live music to seeing the famous local Tarsier (smallest primate in the world, aka my spirit animal), then to the Chocolate Hills (a geographical phenomenon that happened on top of a coral reef after much land erosion, creating miles and miles of almost 3,000 identical small hills, which turn brown during the dry season, hence the name), and finally riding off into the sunset to catch a private evening tour of firefly watching. You hop into a small boat and ride for almost two hours through the river surrounded by forest to catch glimpses of hundreds of fireflies dancing together in shapes, motions, and let your mind wander into the darkness listening to the peaceful sound of them in rhythm buzzing together all around you. One of the most amazing sights I have ever seen.

  

The next morning we spent half a day on another tour dolphin watching (following behind in a boat watching around 100 dolphins in their natural habitat feeding on their breakfast and jumping through the water), then went to a private island for lunch and a quick swim where we also did a short free snorkel to check out the preserved coral garden with stunning shapes and colors right off of the coast. They even had a vegetarian option for lunch which was a great surprise. We bought some trinkets to support the locals on the island since they live off of eco-tourism and people visiting their isolated, small island then got back to change for dinner before an evening party at a friend’s house.

  

During my last morning we stopped at two breakfast places for more of the Cebu wealth and variety of food. The second place was by far the most impressive out of all the places I ate, primarily because it exceeded my chocolate desires far more than I could have ever imagined possible before… TCC in Cebu, a privately owned chocolate shop serving all foods and drinks based in Philippines cocoa infused in various ways to make pizzas, sandwiches, cookies, coffees, and other tasty, sometimes sweet delights. We feasted on a whole meal of chocolate items and listened to my friend tell the incredible story of the owner who grew up helping cultivate cocoa which became an important source of inspiration and revenue for her family growing up. The owner then tried the sweetened version in chocolate and fell in love with the taste, inspiring her to move her and her family out of that small mountain village to one day open her own shop starting from the ground up. And she did. My friend went with her and her family to visit her home village after many years, the children not even remembering that place and seeing it in a way for them to process where they came from for the first time. It was an incredible life story to hear and the chocolate matched the passion the woman and her hard-working family seemed to pour into their work.

 

It was a bittersweet, mainly bitter goodbye not knowing when I would next see my friend. It was such a re-freshing time to be with someone from home and share another experience in Southeast Asia from a new context with her. I also almost tried to leave the country without my passport and had to have her rush it back to the airport, so, I fit in one more hug. This trip changed a lot of my perspective about this year and what could lie ahead for me. My experience in Malaysia has been unique, life-changing, and a wonderful growing experience for sure. There are however, many things from home and my usual life back in America that I have missed. Some of which, I got a taste of this past week in the Philippines.

The Philippines today, back to Malaysia tomorrow. Salamat (greeting and goodbye in the Philippines) and Selemat Malam (goodnight in Malay).

Sharing My World in Malaysia: “These are a few of my favorite things!”

After being in Malaysia for about five months, some of the luster is lost. That is, until someone visits you for you to share the experience with and be reminded of the large and small reasons why this world is so special. You not only share your favorite places and times but also exchange the cultural experience with someone foreign to being here to remember the little things.

We started in KL which sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be close enough to such a diverse metropolitan developing city. It has an array of glamorous shopping malls, tall buildings, cultural village areas (Little India, Chinatown, etc) with great food options, beautiful, rich, short days in trips close enough to travel to by taxi or bus, and accessible to fly to many surrounding countries and international abroad elsewhere. We ate in Chinatown and attempted to see the famous light show at the Petronas Towers downtown but missed the window of taking the metro and our 6am flight was approaching sooner than we expected. So we crashed and left for Cambodia the next morning. A separate blog post discusses that trip.

Once we returned from Cambodia, we explored my town and village area. I took her through the Kota Bharu capital city of my state, ate at a local favorite, then came back to my asrama (hostel) to recover and crash for the night before our trip the next day. It had already been a long trip and adventure but we were going to my favorite local islands the next morning. My friend Tina was a trooper to fight through jet lag and everything else to continue enjoying our trip together.

We got up a bit late to catch the afternoon ferry which leaves from the Besut, Terengganu jeti in the neighboring state south of Kelantan where I live. Once we arrived we had to take another small boat to the bigger island. This was my first time doing this since the other times I had visited Pulau Perhenthian islands before I stayed on the smaller island (kecil). We got to Pulau Besar (Big Island) to check into our hotel and still sneak in our free breakfast. My friend got to appreciate the crystal clear, bright hues of blue in the water along with the white sandy beaches. She agreed it was some of the most beautiful waters and beaches she had seen. Hence why it became my getaway and nearly a second home for me this year.

Once we settled, unpacked, and were ready for our next leg of the adventure, we came up with a game plan for the day. The plan was for us to meet up with some of my students who were camping on the other side of the island and potentially barbeque with them. However, the only way back was by a water taxi which could be slightly Mahal-lah (expensive) at night, jungle trek back in the dark (which was unsafe and not really a possibility), or crash with them in a tent and not stay the night in the hostel we paid for already. I pitched the idea to my friend with our options. I was leaning towards staying in the tent with them that night but would be game for whatever she wanted to do. She agreed spending more time with my students and staying the night on their side of the island was best- this is why we are best friends and she is awesome!!

We trek over for about an hour to the other side, walk along the beach, and stumble upon some of my students returning from a snorkeling trip which they were excited to brag about. They were so happy to see me since it had been a long time since I last saw them and they were even more excited to meet my BFF from America. Of course, she soaked up all their excitement and love. We basked in the laughter, jokes, barbeque, pictures, and otherwise that night and the next day. Even months later, several students bring up how special it was to meet her, how they miss her, and what a “sweet” memory that was. Those of them that were on that camping trip.

Once we said goodbyes, took for photos with students and teachers, we trekked back to our side of the island for another breakfast and to venture to the smaller island (my favorite place). In some ways, sharing these things was difficult since it was so special and dear to me. However, there could not be much more of a better person (besides maybe my family) to share this world with than my best friend of over a decade! She was a great sport to learn a lot from me about Kelantan, Malaysia, and my surroundings otherwise. She was up for the adventures I took us on, and she reminded me of just how special living this year in Malaysia has been. When times were low or feeling slow, when I was missing home, this trip helped me re-gain momentum and refresh my motivation for continuing to work hard and soak up all of moments and every day of this experience.

The day on the small island was so fun. We got to be our goofy selves and enjoy the beautiful happenings of the island. We took kayaks out our last morning to enjoy our last view of the island, including probably my last for the year. We took the jetty back, grabbed my car, relaxed for the night, and planned our next day. Once again, my friend being awesome, despite her tiredness and jet lag still lingering, we went hiking at my favorite spot 2 hours away the next morning, spending most of the day there. We packed a picnic to enjoy at the top of the waterfall (not that we hiked all the way up but this place claims to be the highest waterfall in SE Asia). We climbed my normal trek to the second tier, ate our lunch, and trekked back down to then make our way back. We did not stop there. I promised to give her the full experience as much as possible. So of course, I had to put her in traditional dress… We put on some of my Baju Kurung and went out to a local restaurant to enjoy some local cuisine.

Our flights to KL the next day were luckily in the afternoon so we could finish laundry, we spent our last day cleaning my house (thank you Tina that was a great present for me and help!) Then we ate one more meal at a local kedai (small restaurant shop) for some real local Kelantanese favorites of mine. Char Kuey Teow (fried thai-style noodles with some of meat, few vegetables in a savory brown sauce) with some fruit juice kosong (without milk or sugar which is the norm to put in fruit juices, at least in my state of Kelantan, Malaysia). We managed to fit a lot in and it was so fun to share many of my favorite things about my world here in Malaysia. It was nice to see a best friend and familiar face from home. I was refreshed to go into the second half of the year, reminded of my blessings, and ready for more “sweet memories” here in Malaysia before returning home.

Sharing today, making new memories tomorrow. Malaysia 2015. On my Malay way…       

Putrajaya the Government District: The “In-circle” Malaysian Hospitality

So I have met some incredible and hospitible people here in Malaysia this year which has helped a lot during the various cultural adjustment periods.Someone explained during our orientation that the culture shock of this year would most likely come in waves. First you’ll be on a high of excitement, then that will wear off and you will question why you are here, then you will hit a low of homesickness and various other negative emotional states, then you’ll head back up the roller coaster hill after the intense stomach drop of the emotional low (which various for people for various reasons), then things will stabilize and start to look encouraging, possibly even exciting again. I hit the all-time-low point, as I believe right before finishing up things before my june holiday two-week break which was somewhat timely but difficult to navigate. Needless-to-say, I got a vacation right when I needed it but still got to see my co-teachers, other teachers, and some students half way through the break.

Another unique experience I had over the holiday was being treated to a day of touring around Putrajaya, the government disctrict outside of KL in Malaysia. I had a day layover between destinations with nothing to do and an English teacher who I am growing closer to suggested she come by to pick me up, we stay at her father’s house, and she takes me around to see the sights of Putrajaya. Such a kind offer, which shows I am in the cultural “in-circle” with her, being someone she considers to be of importance, having a relationship with, and therefore giving me the true, overwhelmingly kind Malaysian hospitality.

They drove up from Melaka over night to show me around the government capital for the day where their father had a house. He works for the Ministry of Education for the PPD. He was kind to lend his house and children to me for the day 🙂 First they picked me up around 8am to get breakfast and take me to the house for a quick nap and to freshen up. Then we toured around the main touristy sights for the day. We went to the government mosque, saw the building where the Prime Minister works, a view of the city from the water, and the metal mosque which looked like a space ship to me! Super cool sites and relatively close since Putrajaya the city is not too too big.

Then we broke for lunch at the mall, NY Steakhouse. We joked that since they were hosting me in Putrajaya, Malaysia, we should then go to NYC, USA for me to host them. Nice lunch with the Manhattan skyline painted on the wall. I forgot I was in Malaysia for a bit. Then we did a little jalan jalan (walking around), went bowling, and saw San Andreas the new movie about Earthquakes in California. It had been a long time since I had seen a movie so it was thoroughly enjoyable.

After a long afternoon, which was lovely but tiring! We ended the night at a seafood buffet! Oh my Malaysia it was delicious! Tom yam, fried vegetables, several types of chicken, and delicious fruit juice! It was a great full day to break up my June break. New BFFS, my teacher’s two youngest siblings, we kind of bonded…. 🙂

Putrajaya today, tomorrow Philippines!

Mid-Year in Melaka: Reuniting all once again

This past week, all of the Malaysia Fulbright ETAs in our cohort gathered to reunite in Melaka, Malaysia. This is the first time we all came back together as one group since we left orientation. This was both a great and overwhelming opportunity for us since we could all catch up, collaborate, problem-solve, support one another, and continue where we left off. Not only that but now we were in a new place, exploring this new place (for most of us) while all deepening or creating new friendships. We had less than four days along with full days of meeting to accomplish all of this. Some of the ETAs living nearby or that I spent time with leading up to the mid-year set of meetings, discussed how we had mixed feelings anticipating this reunion. However, in the end, our expectations were exceeded, and from who I talked to, all seemed to have positive responses to mid-year.

           

We flew in Wednesday June 24th in the midst of Ramadhan mind you, but that stopped no one from anything (except from enjoying ALL of the free hotel food for those of us fasting). We were all very excited to greet each other with hugs and laughter. The big moment came where we all at once, over 100 people, tried to greet everyone right after getting off our flights or in from our various journeys, which was over-stimulating. I decided to quickly check in and have down time to take a quick breather before our first meeting. Once things began, the momentum kept flowing. People had positive, energetic vibes. The topics discussed in the various meetings, workshops, and presentations carried mixed subjects, sets of emotions, reactions, and items for our “Fulbright toolbox”. In previous meetings there were certain times that did not seem as applicable or on the opposite side of the spectrum felt more intense and stressful yet in this week’s case, most everything seemed useful and helpful to discuss.

Now that we are half way through our year, we can bring in more context to both discuss and process this compiled incoming information. This I believe, helped us find both our differences and commonalities to help make sessions appropriate for as many of us as possible. Coming back from this week, we can hope to feel refreshed and ready to get things going for the second half of the year. Both providing a nice change of pace from our regular work week and a way to remind ourselves of our support system. From a pure social perspective we could talk with people we did not get to talk with as much or even at all during our original orientation in KL which was nice to meet more of our talented, smart, amazing cohort. This became more motivation and inspiration, at least for me, reminding me of the privilege of being here in a different way, yet again.

Seeing the city was nice to see a different area of Malaysia, a part of the country where no one in our cohort is placed. Very few had visited this place previously and it gave us another historical context to this diverse, complex, unique country known as Malaysia. There were historical brick walls, preserved colonial ships, as well as old relics in museums, alongside upscale shopping malls, designer stores, hotels, diverse restaurants, and more with the Melaka River running through it. At the end of our meetings we managed to tour a bit of the city, celebrate five birthdays among the cohort or so, listen to Christmas music in a hotel cafe we rented out for an evening, witness several “hidden talents” as some of these pictures suggest in a cohort talent show, and make more “sweet memories” as commonly said in Malaysia, with one another. Another adventure checked off the list for this year. Melaka today, back to Kelantan kampung (village) life tomorrow. Malaysia boleh!

The Cambodian Experience: Cultural Understanding “What is Khmer?”

As a special visitor from the US comes to meet me for my holiday vacation, I start to minimally look up “What is Cambodia?” I had friends recently travel there giving me tips and stories of their experiences trying to understand it as well as me coming in with my preconceived ideas from other people telling me their opinions or stories but I wanted to get a better since before deciding to travel there myself. Of course I was planning this trip and research geared more towards “Tourist attractions” but I wanted to fit in homegrown experiences and opportunities to connect with the people and culture if possible within a week’s time. The research was not even a hinted taste compared to the experience my best friend and I had while visiting.

MORE COMING SOON!