Kiyomi to the Rescue

Kiyomi flew in to Kuala Terengganu last Wednesday, and with her came the light in the darkness that Ez and I had been experiencing all week. Having a guest in our little home comforted us and gave us something to think about other than the trials and tribulations of Malaysian bureaucracy. There's something about opening your home to someone and showing them your life that makes you appreciate it even more. Maybe because I could step out of myself for a moment and see my life through someone else's eyes. As I saw how Kiyomi appreciated the beauty of our village, the incredibly cute students, and the kindness of the teachers at my school, I realized that in many ways, I really do have it good here. (Kiyomi also liked the food, which I am so happy about, but unforunately it didn't have the same effect on me as her appreciation for the other aspects of our lives here).

To show her a little bit of the country, we took her on Friday to Pulau Kapas, a small island about 10 minutes off the shore of Marang, a city about 1 hour from our house. We joined up with Joe and Zoe and the 5 of us experienced the peacefulness of a non-tourist beach (for once). We'd never been there before, so it was a good way to expand our travels a bit as well.

At the beach...I love my silly hat.

On Saturday, the 5 of us joined Gwynne, Mike and Anna at Sekayu Falls for their English camp. We didn't help them too much, but we did enjoy seeing them, relaxing by the falls, and stealing their delicious food.

After swimming in the river at Sekayu

And then, Kiyomi really rescued me. On Sunday morning (the first day of the work week in Terengganu), I arrived at school to find out that my schedule had changed. None of my classes were the same, and my schedule was not even ready yet, so all week I was either not going to have class, or not be told I had class until the last minute. This pretty much rendered my lesson plans obsolete, and made me really worried that I wouldn't be teaching the same students. Fortunately it turned out that my classes would be the same, just at different times. But, I was still upset by the lack of communication and disregard for my work and position. Luckily Kiyomi (and of course Ezra, my ongoing hero and savior) was there to help turn my anger into understanding, by reassuring me that whatever happened would be ok and, most importantly, by listening to my gripes and being on my side.

Entertaining the kids during my cooking class

And then, Kiyomi rescued me again. On Monday morning, the bulletin board that I had just last week spent 3 hours revamping because I was told it was not colorful enough, was torn down and covered with red felt. All the construction paper I had meticulously cut into shapes and penned in my best handwriting were nowhere to be found. I refrained from screaming and pulling out my hair, and calmly went up to every person I could think of asking why my board had been destroyed, and where were all the pieces. Of course nobody knew, and nobody seemed to mind that I was upset. Finally, somebody hinted that the principal ordered it to be done. So, I decided that I would tell her that it hurt me when I saw her, and maybe she would understand and at the very least assure me it wouldn't happen again. At the end of the day, she found me. She took responsibility, and her apology went something like this: "Yes, I had it taken down because we're having visitors next week and it needed to look more presentable." I asked her why she just didn't have me take it down so at least I could salvage some of my work. She replied, "The workers must have been too rough taking it down."

Feeling upset and defeated, I returned to my desk to find a bag of construction paper and 2 usable remnants of the probably over 30 pieces I had put on the board. Luckily, Kiyomi was there to comfort me and help me redo the board. She helped me put it back together way better than I could have ever done alone, and way faster. 

THANK YOU, KIYO!!!

Tidbits

Faulty Internet
Classes were canceled today because of a marching contest, which means I get to spend all day walking around campus looking for a strong internet signal with which to write this blog! It's only 11:17 and I've already found one (for now), so I'm calling this day a success already. I will probably have to move again soon when this signal leaves me. I wonder what they think of their little ETA Ms. Sarah as she wanders the school, laptop in hand, sitting and typing for a few moments and then getting up again.

Cooking Class

I just realized that this is week 13 for me here at Matang. It's weird, it seems to have gone by quickly, but when I think of my first day it seems ages ago. That's how time is I guess, especially when you're doing crazy things overseas. The past week I have been super busy though, and time really has flown by. Last Tuesday I had my first cooking class with the Form 1 students. We made pasta, which turned out pretty okay even though I could not get the students to stop deep frying the onions and garlic. I just could not get the concept of sautéing across, so the sauce they made was a little more greasy than I usually like it. The kids loved it though, so that is what matters. I even found some parmesan cheese in the supermarket in KT, so that was a huge hit. They put more cheese on their pasta than sauce, which I guess I can understand. Next week I'll teach the Form 2 students to bake chocolate chip cookies.

My Principal Loves Me Now

School has just been chalk full of me teaching, conducting contests and English games, and typing up reports detailing everything I've done to give to my principal at the end of the week. She hasn't observed any of my activities any more of course, but just having the list in front of her makes her like me more. So yay!

All About You Poster

Something kind of fun: On English Day (wednesday) last week, I put up my weekly "All About You Poster" like I normally do, but this time got some GREAT responses. The question of the week was "What are you most afraid of?" Here are the top 2 responses:

"I afraid of Cikgu (teacher) Pha because he hits me."

"I'm afraid of Allah... and people fat."

So that was kind of fun. Under normal circumstances I'd probably do something about the first response, like call Child Protective Services, but since hitting is perfectly legal and an encouraged form of punishment here, there's not much I can do except avert my eyes and throw the teachers a dirty look when it happens. Not much I can do about the 2nd response either. They are taught from an early age to fear God and anyone with a baju kurung size of large or above.

Denied Entry

We went to KL again last weekend for attempt #2 at getting our Chinese visas. The plan was to go to Macau and Hong Kong May 16th with Fay and Peter, and then travel into China (Guilin) with them from May 20-30 before heading off to Thailand just the two of us for a week. Attempt #1 at getting the visa 2 weeks ago failed because it was a surprise Chinese holiday that nobody knew about except for the consulate, which was closed. So Attempt #2 seemed much more likely since the consulate was open and the line for visas fairly short. We got up to the window, but as soon as the woman behind the counter saw that we were planning on entering China overland and had no proof of hotel reservations, she denied us visas right away. Apparently, starting last week, because of the fear of foreigners entering China to protest the Tibet situation, all Americans wishing to enter China must arrive by air only, and must present their roundtrip tickets and hotel reservation at the consulate in order to get visas. Considering that flying into China would cost us $500 each instead of taking the ferry from Hong Kong ($10-$20 each) we decided to leave our dreams of China for another time. Instead, we'll head to Thailand early and then venture into Cambodia. I can't say I'm too disappointed.

Criminal Taxi Drivers

It might sound like I'm about to say that KL taxi drivers are criminals, and while that is absolutely the truth and the worst part of this whole country, what I really mean is that Ez and I had the most interesting cab ride on the way to the bus station in KL. It was raining and we were soaked, so we hailed a cab, got in and right away asked the cab driver to turn on the meter and take us to Station Putra.

"No meter, it's raining."

"Please turn on the meter sir."

"You want meter, find another taxi. It's raining."

"Fine. How much?"

"10 Ringgit."

"What? It's only 5 Ringgit, we've done this many times sir, we're not tourists, we live here."

"10 Ringgit or nothing, it's raining."

"Fine."

And then he just starts in on a monologue about how he could have been anything he wanted to be when he grew up, but he is a taxi driver.

"So what happened?"

"Well, I got perfect scores on my exams, and was an excellent student. But, I have a criminal record."

Ez and I exchange looks and tense up a little. "What did you do?"

"One night in 1979, I got in a drunken fight with a friend and the friend said he wanted to hurt me. So I went home and stole my father's gun and took it back to my friend. I fired two shots, one to the sky and one to the ground just to scare him. The police came and arrested me, and I got 4 years in prison. It could have been 7. It will never go off my record and I will never get a good job. Just 5 minutes in 1979 ruined my entire life."

We ended up having a good chat with the guy, and definitely sympathized with him. Funny how the actual criminal turned out to be one of the more likable taxi drivers.

As I say to most things around here... strange.

Love,

Sarah

The English Journal Project

I'm not one to make fun of my students, but this lovely Form 2 boy had Ezra and I in tears, and I don't think I could forgive myself if I didn't share his words with you.

Last week I started a project with all of my classes called the English Journal Project. After giving out a small journal to each of my 200 students and explaining that the only rule was to write in English, "Ms. Sarah's Mailbox" underneath my desk filled up mighty quickly. At first I was kicking myself for creating hours of extra work, but after I received a letter from, well, let's call him "Hafiz," I knew I had done the right thing:

"Dear Ms. Sarah I want go to the America I want look to parents and house Ms. Sarah. In Malaysia to cold and in America to the hot. Ms. Sarah why your old? And favourite food, drink Ms. Sarah? I want question to Ms. Sarah. Teacher I look your sweet and clearning. I want your speaking question. Forgive me Ms. Sarah! Exchellenge to Ms. Sarah. Name I: Hafiz."

Pure Happiness.

I Just Might Miss You After All

Things are starting to look up over here after my run-in with the school administration last week. I won't say it's perfect, but of course that was never a possibility, right? Luckily, my meetings with the principal last week and this week have seemed to smooth things over. An unfortunate series of miscommunications (or acts of sabotage, depending on how cynical you want to be) led my principal to think I had not been doing my job, and me to think that my school did not appreciate me. The truth is that I have been doing my job, and beyond it some weeks, and my principal was unaware (she is never at school). So, of course I felt unappreciated, because at that point, I was. I voiced my feelings to the JPN (State Ed. Ministry- my "boss") and it got back to my school, blown way out of proportion of course, and made my principal and Kak Zam think I was lonely and depressed, and that I hated Matang. Couldn't be further from the truth of course, as I am really happy here most of the time.

Anyways, they approached me this week apologizing for not having appreciated me before, now that they know how much work I have done. I in turn assured them that the JPN was incorrect in saying that I was unhappy and that they had no need to worry. I promised to continue my activities and they promised not to give me a hard time anymore, and maybe even a pat on the back every once in awhile. I'll take it.

After smoothing things over, this week turned out to be really fun. It started over the weekend when Ez, Mike and I got hungry and decided to go out to eat...in Kuala Lumpur. 7 hours later we arrived at our hotel, the Pondok Lodge. We were really thankful that the hotel allowed us to check-in in the morning, since Ez and I got in around 4:30am and Mike got in an hour after that. So we slept awhile, then headed out to find some food. All I really remember about that glorious weekend was seeing 2 movies in one day and eating Mexican food. And we went to the zoo. Heaven.

(WARNING: DO NOT STAY AT PONDOK LODGE- We later found out that this hotel was a terrible place to stay despite the early check-in. The music playing in the bar below it literally shakes the beds until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays, so sleeping doesn't really happen there. Also, upon returning home I found  some lovely patches of bedbug bites on my back and my legs. Mike found the buggers themselves on his towel, and Ez had a stowaway in his backpack).

So even though the school week started with those slightly tense but fortunate meetings, it ended up being one of the best weeks I've had here so far. It was like all of a sudden something clicked between the kids and me, like we saw each other as real people for the first time and could relax and be ourselves. I've had so much fun chatting it up with the girls, and even teasing the boys about their "girlfriends" which makes them laugh and blush uncontrollably. I am also falling more in love with my Form 6 class- they are 19 years old and I can relate to them so much better, especially now that we are all getting more comfortable with each other. Basically, I have a better handle on Terengganu now, so I'm not so scared to do or say something wrong anymore. I can be myself now (relatively). What a relief. 

Also, last night was the first of 6 or so Movie Nights I am hosting at the hostel where we live. I got the money from my school to buy 15 bags of popcorn (not nearly enough for the 250 kids who showed up) and luckily was able to schedule the event on the same night they were installing a state of the art audiovisual system in the cafeteria. Ez has gone on a movie-buying rampage since we've been here (how could he not? $1-$3 for a DVD) so I chose "Ratatouille" from our expanding collection of Pixar movies and played it for the kids. A huge success! They were cracking up at every scene, and gasping like nobody's business during the 2 brief Rated G kissing scenes. It was enough to make Ez bury his head in his hands in embarrassment. There was one part where I cringed a bit having forgotten it was in the movie; it was when they mention both dogs and pigs in the same sentence while getting drunk on red wine... most certainly NOT halal. It was okay though- I was told that as long as there was no nudity or implicit/explicit sex scenes, it would be appropriate. I warned Kak Zam that there would be lots of wine, and she said it was okay as long as I didn't discuss it with them afterward. Oh the joys of cultural repression!

The week ended with a bang! when I was approached by a strange man on campus who literally said, "Hi, my name is Latif, are black people bad?" After stuttering in surprise for a second or two, I said, "Hi, I'm Sarah, can you explain your question please?"

"Yes, I watch many American movies, and in them, the black people are always very bad man. Is it true?"

I spent the next 45 minutes explaining to this man that first of all, he should NEVER believe anything he sees in American movies, and second of all and MORE IMPORTANTLY, "black people" is not a category of people that can be described by the word "bad" or any other adjective for that matter. We talked about how people all over the world can be good and bad, regardless of their religion, nationality, or color of their skin, and that this diversity of experiences can most certainly be applied to African Americans. He looked perplexed as I spoke, and kept referring to things he'd seen in movies as if they were segments on the nightly news. I was trying not to let my anger at the American media show in my face because I was afraid he would misinterpret it, but it was definitely there. I was relieved though when at the end of our conversation, he said, "Well, Sarah, thank you for teaching me this. Welcome to Malaysia." I still have no idea who this man was or why he was at my school, but I am happy I could share my perspectives with him. Oh the joys of cultural exchange.

Lastly, I decided to go to UC Davis. I start August 18th. My first final is August 22. No joke. Malaysia, I just might miss you after all.

An Aside: Law Schools!

Well, I have officially heard back from all of the law schools I applied to, and overall, the news is very positive! I got into 5 out of 7 that I applied to, and have narrowed it down to UC Davis and UC Hastings (just waiting to hear about financial aid). I realize this may come as a surprise to many people, as I kind of kept it to myself before I left for Fulbright, but I will be attending law school starting this Fall. I am not saying I will for sure become an attorney and that my career path is set for life, but let's just say that for the next three years I plan to study immigration law and, no matter what I do after I graduate, it will have to do with immigrant rights.

Anyways, the real reason I am posting this is because I found out this week that the 7th and final school to contact me about my application, UT Austin, put me on the waitlist. I had no intention of going there after getting into schools in California, and in fact was pretty honored to have been waitlisted, but I wanted to share with you Ezra's reaction to this admission decision. I forwarded him the email notification offering me a place on the waitlist, and this was the letter he crafted and suggested I return to them:

Dear Ms. Ingam,

Thank you for your interest in the Sarah Jebrock Law Student. Unfortunately I cannot offer you my attendance right now. Every year I get many different acceptances and waitlists, and regretfully, I have a limited number of capacity for law schools.

I would however like to offer you a place on my waitlist. Should a spot open up through advances in cloning or the discovery of a long lost twin, then your university could be offered the attendance of myself or someone that looks exactly like me.

If you place your name on the waitlist, we will advise you of your status as soon as possible. Please do not call regarding the status of your application, as we simply can't handle the volume of calls from all schools on the waitlist. If the Sarah Jebrock Attendance Committee decides to attend from the waitlist, all waitlist candidates will again be reviewed for attendance.

The Sarah Jebrock Attendance Committee continuously reviews our attendance and enrollment status, and may offer attendance to schools on the waitlist during June, July, and August.

Thank you for your continued interest in the Sarah Jebrock Law Student.

Respectfully,

Sarah Jebrock
Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid
The Sarah Jebrock Law Student

Needless to say, I didn't send it, though Ez is probably correct that I will always wonder what would have happened if I did...