my first month in malaysia!
What a crazy month it has been! I have so much to share with you all! Sorry for the very late update, but here it goes…
1) Orientation
I should preface by saying that I am safe and sound in Malaysia! Our orientation happened in Kuala Lumpur, the national capital city of Malaysia, for two weeks. Despite my hesitations, the flight here was surprisingly easy; 25-ish hours went by so quickly!
The members of my Fulbright Malaysia cohort, my new family for the ensuing months, have been so great. It’s really special to know that I’m going through all of these changes with 99 other people who really get it. For that, I’m so thankful. It’s made everything significantly less daunting!
My time here has been full of adjustments: adjusting to the new (extremely hot-all-the-time) climate, adjusting to the novel mounds of (delicious) food around me, adjusting to the new language, adjusting to the time difference, and adjusting to what my life is going to look like for the next 10 months.
Don’t worry, I’ve done other things besides just adjusting. I’ve had dinner at the U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia’s residence, visited the Batu Caves, saw a water-light show at the KLCC Towers, eaten with only my right hand in Little India, visited the National Museum of Islamic Art and the National Mosque, experienced KL nightlife at Trec, and the list goes on.
After orientation in KL, I went to Ipoh, Perak for a second week-long orientation. Here, we met our school mentors for the year (LOVE my mentor!) and made solid plans for the programming that I will be conducting at my school.
So, by this point, you may be asking: Karis, what exactly is your year going to look like? Well, read on for some concrete answers!
2) My Placement in Malaysia
For the next nine months, I will be living and working in the state of Kedah. More specifically, I’ll be residing in Alor Setar, the capital city of Kedah. Yay! Kedah seems awesome and here are just a few reasons why I’m so excited: it’s known as the “rice bowl of Malaysia” (because it produces 50% of the rice in this country), it’s super close to Thailand (about 1 hour via train from the capital city), and it is home to the island of Langkawi (a travel destination with beautiful beaches).
I’ll be teaching at a secondary school called SMK Dato’ Wan Mohd Saman (Samanan for short). My school has been wonderful and welcoming. Teachers are accommodating, students are enthusiastic, and everyone has been supportive of my goals! I’m so excited to be here and cannot wait to see what the future entails!
3) Chinese New Year Break!
Last week was Chinese New Year and we had a whole week off of work, so some other ETAs and I took the opportunity to visit Langkawi and George Town, Penang. Langkawi was insanely gorgeous. We just went for the day and lazed about on the beach, soaking up the sun and immersing ourselves in the water—a much-needed break after the crazy newness of week 1. Later in the week, we visited George Town, where the Chinese New Year celebrations were in full force. We visited an absolutely stunning Buddhist temple, Kek Lok Si, that is decked out in multi-colored lights for the occasion. We ate the best dim sum and samosas of my life and went to Batu Ferringhi for another day spent at the beach. Malaysia is so gorgeous, diverse, and full of good energy.
That’s all for now, folks! Will talk to you all soon and feel free to message me on FB Messenger for my Malaysian WhatsApp number or just to chat :) Also, pictures are below!
xx
karis
Batu Caves in KL!
Scenes from behind a temple in Ipoh, Perak.
With my mentor, Fuziah in Ipoh!
Talking with my students on Sports Day!
Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang for Chinese New Year!