Orientation Time

So we've been in Kuala Terengganu (KT), the capital of the Malaysian state of Terengganu, for a couple of days now. I can't say I feel the culture shock the way the MACEE staff in KL warned us about, but there are major differences here, namely that almost everyone is muslim, and the pace of life is slower. There is a Chinatown in KT, right near the hotel in fact, where the culture seems a little more familiar. They placed us in the hotel here for that reason, and because they think that in order to be happy, Americans need beer (the only place to get beer in KT is at Chinese restaurants). While that stereotype bothers me (and is not true for me obviously), it is kind of true for a lot of the group, so its just as well. Regardless, our hotel in KT is very nice, and right on a beautiful river that leads right to the sea. Right now I am sitting on the porch overlooking the river, surrounded by palm trees, fishing boats, and the silhouette of a Mosque in the distance. At night the sunsets here have been incredible. Unfortunately, we can't swim in the river because it is a class 2. I was confused at first when I heard that because the water is almost perfectly still, and too wide to have proper rapids. Then I realized that it meant class 2 pollution, which makes things a little less romantic. Oh well, can't have it all.

Speaking of problems, the only real issue I can foresee with my stay here is the food. While I love the rice and meat curry dishes (kind of a mixture between Indian and Thai food), I am having trouble not becoming seriously ill when I see the majority of Malay food: fish, fish balls, fish crackers, fish cakes, fish sauces, even fish flavored vegetables (sometimes). Ez has been incredibly brave with everything. I think he has yet to eat the whole fish, head and all, right off the bones, but I'm sure he will. I don't think I'll get there. If I do, it won't be happily. I am surviving on rice, tofu, tempe, veggies, lamb and chicken, so no complaints really. Yet.

But on to other things. The last few days have been really laid back. We have started our orientation, which will last until January 27th when we will be posted in our separate towns all over the state. Ez and I have been told *unofficially* that our post will be in a VERY remote village called Matang, about an hour from KT. I think they consider it remote because it is about a 20 min drive from the nearest town, Kuala Berang. We will most likely live in Matang on the school grounds of where I will be teaching, and Ez will have to travel the 20 minutes away to his school. He wants to borrow/buy a moped for the commute, which scares me half to death considering the way people drive around here, but Len (the former ETA who is staying on to help us out this year) taught him how to ride it so he is feeling confident about it I guess. Either way, we are not sure this is where we will be placed, since we were told kind of randomly and then made to think it wasn't set in stone, so who knows. That's kind of the way things are done here.

Orientation so far has consisted of a 2 hour class in the mornings and afternoons, with late afternoons and evenings free to roam. Our classes have been on topics such as Malaysian politics, Islam, the Terengganu State Education System, past ETA experience, etc. It is very informative, but can get a little repetitive. For example, I still don't know what I will be teaching exactly, but I am an expert on the translation of "Hadhari" (it means "civilizational," as in Islam Hadhari, "civilizational Islam") and I know that I am American and that Americans like beer and KFC. Mostly I have learned through observation that I am in a very mellow, nonlinear, group-oriented and indirect culture that in some ways complements my nature, and in other ways challenges me to the core. I like that I am not expected to have all the answers here (because who does?), but then again it is difficult for me not to have a set schedule or clear idea of the future. I wouldn't say that these lessons about the culture and myself are difficult lessons, but they are an interesting study of myself and my own culture nonetheless.

Free time in KT so far has been walking around the city, exploring the sites, and shopping for long-sleeve, high-neck shirts that are conservative enough to teach in, but light enough not suffocate in with the 100% humidity. KT is a very small city. In fact, it just received city status this year (before, it was a town). It is 95% Malay, and 5% Chinese. Chinatown consists of a few Chinese shops and restaurants, and a confucian temple. Beyond Chinatown is a large indoor market with food, electronics, clothes, and batik clothes and headscarves. I have found a couple of shirts that I like, and I will undoubtedly pick up a few more. I eventually want to buy a traditional Malay outfit: a batik style "baju kurung" (long shirt and skirt) and matching "tudung" (headscarf). We are not required to wear that obviously, we only need to make sure that we have sleeves past the elbows and skirts/pants past the knees, and chest fully covered. I think it would be fun to dress in the local style sometimes though, and everyone says that when the ETAs where baju kurung and headscarves, the kids love it. So, that might be fun.

The group dynamic is pretty amazing. Everyone is really fun, interesting, and well-traveled. We all bonded immediately. The other day a few of us were walking towards the beach when we saw a commuter boat taking off from the river bank. We asked the man at the ticket booth where the boat went, and he didn't understand us, so we just hopped on, having no idea where we were going or how long it was going to take. We ended up on the other side of the river about 10 minutes later (who would have thought?) in a purely residential section of KT where we visited a boat graveyard, got scolded for entering a construction site, and were followed by a band of 8 year old boys doing wheelies on bikes and yelling "hello! hello! i love you!" The best part of that day though was when Ellie tried out her Malay on a Malay woman at a café. She went to ask where the women's bathroom was, but confused the word "women" with "men" and left out the word bathroom completely, resulting in a very confident "Excuse me, where are the men?" This was especially funny considering that American women have a reputation for being "loose" here. Luckily the woman understood the confusion and they had a good laugh about it.

Well, I think I'm spent for the day, but there will be more to come!!!