"Drink more water, get more sleep."

This is the advice I routinely get from the locals here when I mention any non-specific malady with which I might currently be afflicted. Exhaustion, backache, funny taste in my mouth, headache, bleeding from my ears, whatever. Okay, the last one was a bit made-up, but it still amuses me. This is actually good advice on the whole, however: drink more water, get more sleep. But it's funny when it comes from people who call every sniff, sneeze, and cough "flu." Not the flu, mind you. Just flu. "I got a little bit flu today." I love it. At first, I tried to tell one of my friends that "flu" was, in fact, a very specific viral infection, influenza, that kills gobs of people every year. That didn't really work so well, so I just resigned myself to letting it go.

The word for this funky interpretation of the English language is, appropriately enough, "Manglish." It's just a blend of the words Malay and English, but it turned out to be the very prescient term manglish, which is an accurate descriptor as I've ever heard.

The word "science" is mangled into "sains" (pronounced "signs"). Two of my Malaysian-taught Korean students argued ferociously with me that the word "tuition" was absolutely pronounced "TOO-shun." The third syllable was apparently optional. Most of these things, I just happily ignore. I can't get the whole of Malaysia (and indeed much of Asia) to start calling bathrooms "bathrooms" instead of "toilets." (I do try to occasionally explain to people that the "toilet," per se, is the actual vessel into which you... er... eliminate... not the entire room.) But they all say, "I was in the toilet," to which I sometimes think to myself, "Really? Were you swimming laps in it?" But I just don't bother. The toilet thing bugs me a bit simply because it's so crude-sounding to American ears. "I'm going to the toilet." It's just not something you'd hear in polite company at all in the States, but here, it's not considered even remotely crass or impolite.

On the other side of the coin, I do constantly try to remind myself of cultural sensitivities here, not least among them using only my right hand to pass things to people. Usually this is automatic, since I'm right-handed, but sometimes it's a bit more natural to use my left hand. For example, if I extricate my wallet from my pants with my right hand and open it, I pull the money out with my left hand. Normally, it would be very fluid and natural to just hand it to the cashier with the same left hand. However, in Asian cultures, it's considered quite inconsiderate to use your left hand for this, so I actually make a point to swap the cash to my right hand before handing it over.

One other thing that's much more esoteric is the whole notion of "personal space." It's quite different in Asian cultures than in American society. Moving within a crowd is very different in the States than it is here. There's probably some sort of complex mathematical equation or chaos theory algorithm that can predict how the components (individuals) will react to one another and move within the system (the crowd). The equation would almost certainly vary from culture to culture, because when I'm in a crowd in America... say, leaving a Rockies game, or being in a crowded mall at Christmastime, I feel very much like a fish who belongs in the school. I can intuitively sense how people around me will move and shift and make my own "course corrections" without any conscious thought. Here, though, I just feel like a big awkward mackerel, trying to swim in formation with a school of herring. Sometimes it feels like people intentionally walk into my path, but that's not the case, I suspect... it's just that the crowds here interact internally very differently, but on a purely innate, subconscious level. It's just the weirdest damn thing, and probably doesn't translate very well to prose, so I'll leave it at that.

The final thought here is my attempt to post a very short video on here... because of the unique shape of the Petronas Towers, the reality of their immense height is rather betrayed in still photos and, indeed, even in real life, seeing them from afar. Standing at the base of Tower 2, however, and slowly panning the camera upwards (can you pan up? or it just a left/right thing? hmmm...) does a better job of conveying the sheer vertical rise of the buildings. I shot this last week after an early-evening rainstorm.

Over and out!

Jakarta Memories

So about three weeks ago, I took a bit of time off and flew down to Jakarta, Indonesia for a short respite from the stresses of working and adapting to life in KL. I got to see my good friend, Dendy, and meet some new people as well. It was a cheap, short flight -- about $60 round-trip, and just under two hours' flying time. This first picture is the view from Dendy's 21st-floor apartment on an uncommonly clear haze-free day in Jakarta. His building, like some in the States, skips the 13th floor. In KL, it's more typical for the 4th floor to be skipped (one of my friend's building goes 3-3A-5...) because in Chinese culture, 4 is the number of death... bad luck, indeed.

Besides the wonderful people and fantastic foods of Indonesia, probably the best thing about visiting that country is that it's so incredibly inexpensive by U.S. standards. A couple of my most enduring memories from my five days there this time were both made even better by their low cost. On the night I arrived, Dendy picked me up at the airport and we stopped by his apartment building and picked up his roommate, Arya, then headed to this fantastic wine bar in a fancy hotel. There were dozens of bins of wine, each marked with its price. and you simply wander through the "aisles" of bins and chose your wine. So we picked out a bottle (for a mere 220,000 rupiahs, about US$22), then found our seats by the window on these huge, plush sofas and the sommelier came over a short time later with our selection, a Spanish shiraz-tempranillo blend, and three red wine glasses.

We talked and enjoyed our wine, and before long, three other people came over and joined us. One was this beautiful girl named Kyla, a mixed-race American who had been living in Jakarta for five years, but was leaving on Saturday to return to the States, so she was living it up in her last few days in Indonesia. Needless to say, she was happily buzzed and proceeded to drape herself all over me for awhile, then left to go dance (on a nearby table), then came back and cozied up with Arya. Her friends were sitting with us by then, having their own bottle of wine, and we just had a good time socializing. After polishing off the first bottle, Dendy and I went wine shopping again and selected a late-harvest sauvignon blanc, since he had never tried a late-harvest wine before. It was only about Rp. 200,000, a steal for that type of wine. It was served to us with new, appropriate stemware, and we stayed there just soaking up the elegant atmosphere and enjoying ourselves until about 1 a.m.

The second really memorable thing was a couple of days later. Dendy and I went to a really posh sushi restaurant at the Crowne Plaza hotel. A word about this -- in the U.S., Crowne Plaza isn't a super-premium brand. It's basically a really nice Holiday Inn (they're in fact owned by the same company). They're quite nice, but no Waldorf Astoria or Four Seasons. In Asia, however, Crowne Plazas are extremely upscale. All the ones I've seen (Singapore, Jakarta, KL) are high four-star or five-star properties. So eating at a sushi restaurant in such a nice place was a treat. It was an all-you-can-eat lunch for some ridiculous price... I can't remember, but it was about $9.00 I believe. It wasn't a buffet, we actually ordered from menus, but they kept bringing us food as long as we kept ordering things. We stayed there for a good two hours and ate all kinds of great sushi and drank glass after glass of iced green tea.

Apart from that, it was a lot of shopping and eating. Dendy owns his own business, so as such, he has a personal driver (labor is very cheap in Indonesia), so that he can use that time conducting business -- making phone calls, sending e-mails from his mobile phone, etc. -- rather than sitting in Jakarta's horrific traffic jams. For us, it was nice, because his driver would pick us up and drop us off at the various malls and restaurants, then Dendy would call him when we were ready for him to fetch us. Most of the larger malls in Jakarta have little waiting areas for drivers to park and wait. It was definitely nice being chauffeured around like that! Here's another peek at some of the food I ate... I can't remember what some of it's called, but it's mostly fried foods, veggies and spices. The soup was similar to the bakso I eat on the beach in Bali (meatballs, fried tofu, wontons, and greens in a spicy, flavorful broth).

This final food picture is a dish called es kacang. "Kacang" (KA-chong) is one of those marvelous Indonesian words that means different things in different contexts. Usually, it means "peanut," but there are no peanuts whatsoever in es kacang. In this dish, it's referring to the beans you see -- we'd probably call them red beans or kidney beans. They're in a soupy mix of water, coconut milk, chips of ice, and various jellies (the green and red stuff). Sounds gross, doesn't it? But it's surprisingly tasty and very refreshing!

One of the curious things about Indonesian life in the large cities is all the activity that takes place at traffic lights. Most of the larger intersections are canvassed by myriad vendors, selling the day's newspapers, snacks, cold drinks, etc., just wandering amidst the sea of vehicles. It's also common to see very young children walking around in the traffic, hoping to get loose pocket change from motorists.

So that's a quick snapshot of my little excursion to Jakarta. It's not the vacation destination of choice for most people, nor is it my favorite place, but it's genuine Indonesia, for sure. My next visit to Indonesia will likely be next month, when I scoot down to Bali for a few days. It will be nice not having to sit on an airplane for 25 hours to get there!

Perdana View

I haven't taken any proper photos of my condo since I got settled in... and at this point, I think I'll wait until after the housekeepers come before doing so. However, I did snap a few pictures when I first moved in, so these can give you an idea of the place in general. It's a fairly low-density 17-story development called Perdana View. There are two parts to it -- two blocks (buildings) are condos; that's where I live. The other two blocks are rather different -- they're called serviced apartments. From what I can gather, in these units most of the utilities are included in the rent, and typically, there are a number of shops and services within the development. I'm not really sure what the distinction is, though. There are numerous shops on the ground floor of my building as well (a florist, two cleaners, a café and bar, a convenience store, a salon, a boutique, some offices, etc.). Apparently, in the pecking order of KL's multifamily dwellings, flats are at the bottom of the heap, followed by apartments, and then topped off by condos and serviced apartments. We have a really nice pool here (about 65 x 20 ft., good for doing laps). I've already managed to use it a couple of times. It's odd to think that there's no "season" for swimming here. It's the same weather and temperature year-round!

My unit is rather small, but it's quite nice, and the area is fantastic. The shot below is one I took from the parking garage, looking south out over my small town of Damansara Perdana. I live about 900 meters from where I work, about a ten-minute walk, and almost anything I could need or want is within about 3-5 km from here...fantastic restaurants at every price point, some of the best shopping in the whole valley, grocery stores, movie theaters, service garages, gas stations, you name it. After a month here, I'm just starting to appreciate what a terrific area to live this is. The individual condo I rent has three bedrooms (small) and two nice bathrooms, a good-sized kitchen, and is very nicely finished out. When you buy a place in KL, you essentially get four bare walls and a floor... no kidding. How you trim it out is entirely up to you. You pay for individual electrical outlets, there are typically few or no light fixtures, and nothing... NOTHING in the way of furnishings. No built-in fixtures like closets or vanities, no kitchen cabinets, nothing. I looked at a couple of new units that had the walls, a toilet and showerhead in the bathroom (water heaters are extra), a cheap tiled floor, and a fluorescent light tube in each bedroom. And that's how an apartment or condo starts in KL. So in a single building, the inside of the individual condos will vary wildly from unit to unit.

The floor of my condo is done in these really nice 100-cm-square field stones, which are much better than ceramic tiles, both aesthetically and functionally. (I've been told they don't absorb and retain the day's heat as much as tiles do.) There are four A/C units (the dual-split types mentioned in an earlier blog entry) -- one in the living room and one in each bedroom. There is abundant cabinet space in the kitchen, and the cabinets are a rich-looking dark wood. There's a double-bowl sink (not common) and a smooth cooktop (two burners). In the so-called "wet kitchen" off to the side of the main kitchen, there's a gas cooktop, another sink, and more counter space and cabinets. There's also the space where my washer is and the floor drain under it is presumably what makes this part the "wet" kitchen. The bedrooms are fitted with spacious floor-to-ceiling wardrobes and storage cabinets. Speaking of which, this unit has 9-foot ceilings with crown molding throughout, which is a really nice touch.

I really don't have much of a view, although it's not terrible... I'm only on the third floor (level 2, but the first level is "ground" in KL buildings) and my windows face the massive Armanee Terrace condo across the street. It's the swankiest development in Damansara Perdana (there are only a handful of developments... five or six) and looms over everything else. The units are preposterously large, all two-story condos, 4+1 bedfrooms, and about 2,300 to 2,500 sq. ft. This is a relatively expensive area anyway, and the units at Armanee are the priciest around... about four times what I'm paying for my unit. So that building dominates my view, particularly from the master bedroom... mocking me, as if to say, "Look where you don't live! Ha ha ha."

One last thing... It's striking to me to realize how wild the area is. It's plain to see that, but for the hand of man, this would all be nothing but tropical jungle, pretty much like the rest of Malaysia. This is a shot from the end of my hallway, looking west. On any patch of land where there's not a road or a building, you see hills and heavy jungle vegetation. All around my building there are banana trees, palms, and plants and trees of all sorts. I see geckos, the occasional monkey, and hear the strangest sounds from some of the local birds. It's a treat being able to walk to work, and I have a reserved spot in the parking garage for my car when I drive. It's a really nice condo, so I feel pretty lucky to have found such a convenient place and have such a good landlord, too.

More later!

History is Made

I actually felt a bit cheated that I wasn't in the United States on the day we elected our first-ever minority candidate to the office of President. It was a historic day in my country, and I rather wish I had been there to soak it all in, although it's been fascinating to experience it from foreign soil. Barack Obama, born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, won in a near-landslide. Congratulations, Mr. Obama. And kudos to his challenger, John McCain, for his delivery of such a sincere, classy, and impressive concession speech. Even from overseas, I hope this signals a real change for America, both domestically and abroad.

LOOK!!

That's actual running water in my guest bathroom!

As of coming home at 2 a.m. from being out on the town on Saturday night, I now have the Malaysian version of "broadband Internet" service (installed yesterday afternoon) AND running water in my condo (it returned at some point tonight while I was out)! I could cry with joy. No more cold-water bucket "showers

As it turned out, we were indeed completely without any running water in the condo units for four days, as advertised. We had to go to the fireman's closets (on each floor) and get water from the pipe used to supply the firehoses, fill buckets, and make do with that. It was, shall we just say, not pleasant... but at least better than having zero water whatsoever, I suppose.

Expect a lengthy entry soon!

Just a brief catch-up

It's not that nothing has happened for the last three or four weeks... quite the contrary, really. But I moved into my new condo on October 5th, and, three weeks on, STILL don't have Internet access there. However, I'm assured (ha!) that it will be up and running by Wednesday, which is, by some evil coincidence, the same day that the condo management company are doing rectification work on the main water tank in my building, so there will be no water supply for FOUR DAYS!! I have to clarify with management if there will be literally no water flowing whatsoever, or if we'll just have a limited amount for that time period. (Most buildings in KL have a huge water tank as a backup.)

I went to Jakarta last week for five days, too, and I'll write about that and post some pictures soon. It was a good little escape! Next on my list is a short jaunt up to the Malaysian island of Penang, about midway up the peninsula, just off the west coast.

I also got perilously misdirected last Friday night in what proved to be my worst navigational blunder ever. I emerged from the SMART tunnel (a two-level storm water/traffic tunnel that's an engineering marvel... read about it here), trying to make my way to Taman Bukit Desa to pick up some friends for a night out in the city, and at one of the 50,000 forks in the road, went straight when apparently I should have gone left. I wound up on a highway with no turns, no exits, no chance for U-turns, no services, nothing... for over ten miles. Meanwhile, of course, my gas tank was nearly empty, and about five miles along this epic voyage, the low fuel light came on and stayed on. Panic didn't really set in until I crested a big hill and saw the highway laid out before me, stretching on for miles and miles with nothing in sight. I was on the E20 highway to Putrajaya and it was over ten miles before I was able to make a U-turn. Naturally, the exit was about 100 yards past a toll booth, so I got to pay a double set of tolls (one in each direction) for the privilege of doing a U-turn on a road I didn't want to be on in the first place, and then I got to drive, sans A/C, all the way back to relative civilization, then drive around, lost as an Easter egg, desperately searching for a gas station.

Speaking of which, gas has dropped in price here, although not as precipitously as it has in the States (from what I've been reading). It's RM2.20 per liter here, which is the equivalent of about US$2.30 per gallon. So it's cheaper than gas in the States, but not fantastically cheaper.

The new condo is quite nice, and I'll post some photos once I get proper Internet access. The unit is rather small, but it's very nicely appointed, three bedrooms, two baths, nice kitchen (hooray!), and a nice Samsung flat-panel LCD TV in the living room. I also purchased an LG LCD panel for the master bedroom. It's only 32", but it's plenty big enough for that room, and it's dual voltage and only 26 lbs., so when I return to the States, I can presumably bring it with me.

Today is Monday, October 27, and it's Deepavali, the Hindu festival of lights. It's celebrated by the Indian community in KL, but it's a public holiday for all, and everyone loves a day off, so it's appreciated by everybody here. The day celebrates the triumph of good over evil within the human spirit. Listening to one of the English FM stations here today, the DJs were exhorting their non-Hindu listeners to "get their enlightenment freak on." I nearly wrecked my car into a pole laughing so hard at that one. "Get your enlightenment freak on!" Yeah!

More later, with pictures!!

The Wedding

Chinese weddings, I'm told, can be incredibly elaborate affairs, so I was very excited and honored to be invited to a blended Chinese/Irish wedding within just a few days of arriving in KL. The people who run the school where I teach, Ronan and Kiera, have legally been married for about four years now, and together for almost ten, but in the eyes of the bride's family, were not really married, because they hadn't yet held the traditional Chinese wedding. Over 300 guests were invited, and the groom's family flew in from Ireland and Scotland for the occasion. It was, quite literally, an all-day (and night) affair. (Click on the pictures to see a larger version.)

The bride and groom first have a ring ceremony in which they exchange rings in the presence of friends and family. This is followed by the traditional Chinese tea ceremony in which the Creator of the Universe is paid respect by serving tea. The elders of both the bride's and groom's families are served tea to gain their approval and acceptance. Then the "yum sing" ceremony takes place, a Cantonese phrase that means "bottoms up!" The event has to be as noisy and raucous as possible to ensure a long life of happiness. A lot of alcohol can be consumed here because every guest tries to have a drink with the new couple... after the first few toasts, the groom has to appoint a number of "brothers" to drink with the guests on his behalf. From my program: "This ceremony suits both the Westerners and the Chinese, as the Westerners can't live without the alcohol, and the Chinese will have an excuse to get drunk, too!"

Guests mingle for awhile, in anticipation of the traditional Chinese wedding dinner. As I was wandering around, completely overdressed, I might add (everyone else was in trousers and shirt sleeves; I had on long sleeves and a tie), I was spotted by some of the other (very few) Caucasians in the crowd and asked if I wanted to go up to the bar and have some drinks. It was the groom's Gaelic football team, a number of Irish guys who live here in KL now. Some wives and girlfriends joined in, too... some Dutch, some Malaysian, even a Canadian... and we had a few pitchers of beers before heading down to the dinner.

Nearly thirty tables were set out in the ballroom, plus the head table for the bride and groom and their immediate family. I was lucky enough to be at a table quite close to the head table, so I was able to better see all the goings-on, but by the third course of the eleven-course (!!) meal, no one cared! We were all laughing and drinking and eating and socializing... the dinner went on for hours. Toasts were made, the bride and groom paid a visit to each table, shared a dance, and cut the cake. It was a wonderful blend of Chinese and Western marriage traditions (complete with speeches in English and Cantonese) and it sure seemed that everyone had a great time. The free flow of beer, wine, and Irish whiskey may have contributed some, but I can't say for sure. :)

I've included some pictures from the evening, but not many. I hope Ronan and Wai Fun don't mind their likenesses appearing on my blog. Wai Fun is the bride's Chinese name; she has taken "Kiera" as her Western name, so that's what she goes by at school.

One menu item, the shark fin soup, caused a bit of a stir at my table, simply because I was with other Westerners. In Chinese culture, shark fin soup is a delicacy, a rare and expensive dish usually only served at important events. To Westerners, however, it represents a cruel practice: cutting the fins off live sharks, then throwing them back into the ocean, where, unable to swim, they die. So there was a bit of discussion about the ethical implications of tasting the soup, but as one woman from Scotland put it, not trying the soup wouldn't bring the shark back to life, nor would it make a statement or put a dent in the practice of shark finning. So I tried it. It had chunks of crab meat as well, so to be honest, it was like eating a thickened version of egg drop soup with crab meat. To avoid any possible religious complications, no beef or pork was on the menu... only chicken and seafood, which seems to largely be accepted by all religions. It was a wonderful, HUGE dinner and we ate and drank long into the night.

I'm told that after about the tenth or eleventh Chinese wedding you've been to, they start to get a bit mundane... so I've got a ways to go yet!