Love-hate relationship

Well, I have officially been in Malaysia for a month now!   It’s weird…the time has gone by really fast, but I feel like I have been here for 3 months already.  The “honeymoon” stage is gone, and the last two weeks had it’s up and downs, but I’m still so happy to be here. 

   

        

My decided (finally) classes are Animal Physiology, Animal Morphology and Histology, Batik, Metal Craft, Rafting, and Rock Climbing.  One thing I have learned… Americans are such under achievers compared to Malays.  But it’s ok, we’re learning! 

When I’m not in class, I like to do many activities including throwing the frisbee in our “backyard”, swim with the swim class, practice soccer with the UPSI soccer team (all men), and celebrate birthdays!! The cake the Korean’s got for Opa for his birthday was the BEST cake I have ever had.  I ate it with chopsticks…or attempted to at least.

  

I also got a new roomie!!  His name is Lasak.  Thanks to our Aceh friends, we named him that as it means playful and outgoing.  However, he is the clingiest cat I have ever met…I wonder what that word is in Aceh.  I also let him sleep with me one night.  Bad decision…I am a little allergic and my eyes were SO swollen when I woke up.  A few people were lucky enough to see that. HAH. 

One Friday night, we went to a traditional Malay dance performance.  It was at a dance school in KL, and it was so cool.  The outfits were beautiful, the Malay girls were beautiful, and it was just all around beautiful.  Did I tell you it was beautiful? ;)

                                   

The other weekend, we went to the Batu Caves.  This was one of the first attractions I learned about in Malaysia.  After the thousand something stairs, there was a Hindu temple at the top in the actual cave.  Meredith and I got “blessed”.   There were also monkeys EVERYWHERE.  One stole Erin’s mango, and we were warned many times that they would snatch our cameras and throw them.  Don’t worry Daddy, I would have fought that monkey with my life if he took my camera.   I also got to feed one!  I considered trading the mama monkey some food for her baby…

                   

I found my sister...(on the left below) 

                                     

On the other side of the Batu Caves were climbing spots.  I climbed on a REAL rock wall!  It was probably one of the most strenuous things I have ever done, and my heart was pounding a hundred beats a minute.  I’m excited to go back and go even higher. Heeeheee!

Last weekend, we went to SINGAPORE!  Overall, I would say we developed a love-hate relationship with the country.  I took a trip on a real train for the first time!  It was such a pretty and scenic ride on the way there. 

Once we arrived in Singapore, it was time for border crossing.  This was when I was thankful to be an American, as we didn’t need a visa to cross.  However, our friend Nazy, from Kazakhstan, had to be sent back home.  Then we went to a hostel for the night!  For those of you who don’t know much about those, it’s kinda like staying at a summer camp.  You are all in the same room, sleep on bunk beds, have other travelers in the room, get cereal/toast for breakfast, and use hall bathrooms.  Now, I know some of you just thought to yourself, “Eww.”  But it really is a cool experience.  You meet so many new people, hear cool stories, sleep cleanly, have hot water, a bed, wifi, and food!  What else do you need?! 

The next day, we toured Little India of Singapore.  There were such cool artsy things, flowers, buildings, food…

Then we headed to a Singapore island called Pulau Ubin.  Now, this was an interesting rest of the weekend.  First off, we were told multiple times that the island was haunted and to watch out for scorpions and copperheads.  Poor Erin got stung by this lil’ fella...

Except for the burning sensation and numbness of her entire arm, she was fine the next morning.   Hank, however, was not fine the next morning as her fanny pack with her passport, camera, and money had been lost/stolen.  After a visit to the scary police station (look closer at the sign), she ended up having to stay an extra night in Singapore. 

We didn’t let that ruin the rest of our time in Singpore though.  We went on a beautiful bike ride around the island, looked for seashells on the seashore, Susie (sorry, had to add that name), saw some beautiful flowers, and ate Chili crab!

 

I got my dog fix too. ;)

Then it was time to head home.  A miserable trip home that was.  First, we had to catch the ferry, then two buses, the metro, and then the train.  We thought it would be great idea to take the train through the night and just sleep on it to save some time and money (college student problems AGAIN).  However, it’s pretty impossible to sleep on a fully lit, bumpy, freezer-like train while sitting straight up.  That was a long 10 hours to say the least.  Even though we left with 9 people and came back with 6, (Carson stayed with Hank so she wasn’t by herself and Nazy was sent home early), we all are back safe and sound now, and I can add Singapore to my list of countries visited!