flipping love this place!!!
These last three days have been phenomenal. I am totally relaxed, like the weight of the last few months has been totally lifted; I'm laughing at absolutely everything and the people I am here with from England as well as the people I am meeting here are amazing, making this experience complete. The British group are all so laid back that its 24/7 banter and lighthearted abuse all round. The people here are so diverse and all come together and live in harmony while retaining their unique culture, personalities and traditions.
I have experienced so much wonderful local food and am trying new spices, clothes, languages and even transport forms! The iced coffee here is strong and rich and will be brought back to England in bulk! On Sunday, I counted that I did 10 new things which were 1.) Went to Robocon (an interuniversity Robotwars which is a massive deal here!) 2.) Used a squat as a loo! 3.)Used a monorail and drove over the top of Kuala Lumpur 4.) Got a fish foot spa (you put your feet in a tank of fish and they come and eat the dead skin off your feet and it leaves your feet totally smooth, sooo tickly and weird though!) 5.) tried a Malaysian coffee (amazing!) 6.) saw the Petronas Towers (we stayed until dark and they put the lights on and it was stunningly beautiful, definitely a highlight so far!) 7.) Drank lychee juice 8.) experienced a Secret recipe and a jack fruit 9.) Had a kickapoo joy juice!
After eating some amazing pancakes which were made from a stretchy dough and grilled on a hot plate for breakfast (it cost RM1 which is about 25p!), about 25 of us went to a robocon competition which was between robots built in all the main Malaysian universities, we then headed for Kuala Lumpur, which is a crazy journey involving a bus and a long train journey, its fairly similar to the UK except one carriage is only for women. We added the australians to our group who are brilliant and spent the day mocking each others accents. We headed into Central Market which is a massive indoor market with every time of cultural produce represented. On the ground floor was a massive fish tank where I spend 10 mins have fish eat my feet which was one of the strangest things I have ever experienced!! Most of us tried it and it was brilliant watching even the boys scream like girls! We then headed through to Chinatown which is soo crowded and sold food from stalls all over, lots of 'designer' products and clothes. Lanterns and lights were everywhere and it was quite beautiful.
We later headed onto the Petronas Towers which we had to lie on the ground to take a full photo of as it was so tall, it is surrounded by statues and fountains and is pretty spectacular, we shopped for a while but with stores like Gucci, Prada and Dolce and Gabbana, we moved on to dinner fairly quickly!
Once it was dark, we saw the towers lit up and it was truly breathtaking! Finally we headed home and watched the football in our local bar...enough said about that! :(
Yesterday was our welcome and briefing, we were given a rice breakfast in our building and taken to the programme briefing where they explained the plan for the next 4 weeks. It sounds amazing and we are all so excited! We are going to a tropical island and well as walking the world's longest canopy bridge through the national park! We have an amazing lecturer called Dr. K who is a little crazy but so enthusiastic that we can't help but catch his excitement.
We were then given the most amazing lunch in the VIP lounge which was wonderful and was a great way for us to get to know the Malaysian students.
In the afternoon, we travelled to get our student cards for our stay here before a dinner which had meat in every dish so I had to have salad and they found out and are now preparing me special meals which makes me feel a little guilty!
In the evening we took a long walk to see the monkeys which lives in campus and ended up getting lost but was a VERY funny trip as it was still hot and very hilly and more like a work out! I have acclimatised though to the weather and wore black trousers to class today with no problems!
Today, lectures started, they are two hours each (2 a day) but quite varied and interesting so I didn't off too many times! We were shown a lot of pictures of the indigenous communities which was exciting but has taken away a lot of the suspense about what to expect! This afternoon we had a tropical storm and it poured down while remaining quite warm! We have been given homework already and have to prepare an imaginary aboriginal community for presentation tomorrow. Me, Maddy, Vicky and Soniyah have prepared a powerpoint on the 'Tetley Tribe' which is a tea drinking tribe fighting against the local Nescafe tribe. The Australians with us are mocking us for the amount of tea we drink so we thought we'd poke fun at our stereotype!
Ok, thats me all caught up! I'm off to dinner and then we're heading to a night market; apparently all the exciting market trading goes on at night! See you soon!
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Saturday 26 June 2010
In Malaysia!!
I'm here!! We have all arrived safely at UKM after a VERY long flight, exhausted and very sweaty but delighted to be here! After leaving 45 mins late, the flight left and we settled in for the 13 hour flight. Air Asia is fairly budget so no in flight entertainment unless you pay so it was books, magazines and sparkling conversation all the way. Sleep eluded me but this meant I was awake to see the sun come up over the clouds turning the horizon and the whole sky orange; an absolutely magical sight. Getting off the plane, we were hit by a blast of hot air and made our way through passport control, baggage reclaim etc and were met by a man and a big bus from the university. The drive to the university was uneventful, the landscape fairly similar to England except the palm trees!!
The university where we are staying is very different to any accommodation in the UK, there are no showers and the rooms are stiflingly hot, we have wireless however which is great! Water from the taps is not clean to drink so we have to pay for drinking water which is about 3p a bottle! The customs are strictly observed and we have been instructed to take off our shoes before we enter any room and not go into the boys rooms and visa versa (There are signs by the entrance to the hostels saying 'no girls/boys beyond this point'!). On my programme there are 4 girls and 1 boy and no communal area so we are spending a lot of time in each others rooms but this means James is in his room alone a lot which is not great for him!
There are two cafes on campus otherwise you have to get a taxi into town, all shops are open until 10pm so there is talk of heading to a mall later! We have made friends with the Malaysians in the room next door so we are heading for dinner with them in an hour.
The program doesn't start until Monday so I think we will spend tomorrow exploring Kuala Lumpur but for today it is a relaxing evening acclimatising to the heat and catching up on sleep!!
The university where we are staying is very different to any accommodation in the UK, there are no showers and the rooms are stiflingly hot, we have wireless however which is great! Water from the taps is not clean to drink so we have to pay for drinking water which is about 3p a bottle! The customs are strictly observed and we have been instructed to take off our shoes before we enter any room and not go into the boys rooms and visa versa (There are signs by the entrance to the hostels saying 'no girls/boys beyond this point'!). On my programme there are 4 girls and 1 boy and no communal area so we are spending a lot of time in each others rooms but this means James is in his room alone a lot which is not great for him!
There are two cafes on campus otherwise you have to get a taxi into town, all shops are open until 10pm so there is talk of heading to a mall later! We have made friends with the Malaysians in the room next door so we are heading for dinner with them in an hour.
The program doesn't start until Monday so I think we will spend tomorrow exploring Kuala Lumpur but for today it is a relaxing evening acclimatising to the heat and catching up on sleep!!
Wednesday 23 June 2010
All the goodbyes...
This has been a busy week of goodbyes and leaving. I have had so much fun seeing friends (esp. EOYS) and family but also I also had the hassle and stress of packing up my house to move out, packing for South Africa, packing for storage for a year and packing for Malaysia! It's been quite a mission! it's been lovely having Mimi staying to help pack up the house, went rowing on the Wey and saw a preview of the new Karate Kid with Terry; both of which were hilarious, lunch out by the lake with Katy and a long walk to a coffee shop which turned out to be closed with Emily; a few film nights and a LOT of cleaning in the house and hours of sorting out final bills etc!
I was also working full time in Channies and did a couple of venue assistant shifts to prepare for the End Of Year Shows which were amazing! Friday was hectic with the football and then Jaguar Skills in Rubix (phenomenal DJ) and then the lake party which went on until 7.30am and then straight to work to open up Chancellors for the day. Was great fun and totally worth the exhaustion later that day. I couldn't have asked for a better job than working in Channies and Rubix and will really miss the staff who have become close friends through many adventures and nights out.
On Tuesday, my family came and picked up my stuff which filled the people carrier and the huge roofbox and then we headed into London to watch Surrey play Hampshire at the Oval. I supported Surrey as it is my adoptive home and we won which was awesome and as an extra boost to the day I passed Lambit Opik in the street on the way home! Today I am back on the Isle of Wight sorting out malaria tablets, flight tickets and money exchanges amongst other things on a giant to-do list which doesn't seem to be diminishing! I just need to get all this boring necessary stuff done and then I fly out!! This amazing tennis match between Mahut and Isner which has just hit 58-58 in the 5th set!
I have been sorting out final details for my time in SA and came across intern testimonies from the CTRC where I will be working and one had made contacts within the UN during her time with the CTRC and had been offered a full time job with the UN once she finished. It's got me dreaming!!
Packing up my life in Guildford was sad, saying goodbye to everyone for the year that I'm away was worse but the worst was saying goodbye to people at uni who graduate this year or next who I may not see again ever. If you are in the latter category, thank you for being part of my life and making my time here what it is, God bless with all future endeavours!!
This time in 2 days I will be on a flight to Malaysia!!
I was also working full time in Channies and did a couple of venue assistant shifts to prepare for the End Of Year Shows which were amazing! Friday was hectic with the football and then Jaguar Skills in Rubix (phenomenal DJ) and then the lake party which went on until 7.30am and then straight to work to open up Chancellors for the day. Was great fun and totally worth the exhaustion later that day. I couldn't have asked for a better job than working in Channies and Rubix and will really miss the staff who have become close friends through many adventures and nights out.
On Tuesday, my family came and picked up my stuff which filled the people carrier and the huge roofbox and then we headed into London to watch Surrey play Hampshire at the Oval. I supported Surrey as it is my adoptive home and we won which was awesome and as an extra boost to the day I passed Lambit Opik in the street on the way home! Today I am back on the Isle of Wight sorting out malaria tablets, flight tickets and money exchanges amongst other things on a giant to-do list which doesn't seem to be diminishing! I just need to get all this boring necessary stuff done and then I fly out!! This amazing tennis match between Mahut and Isner which has just hit 58-58 in the 5th set!
I have been sorting out final details for my time in SA and came across intern testimonies from the CTRC where I will be working and one had made contacts within the UN during her time with the CTRC and had been offered a full time job with the UN once she finished. It's got me dreaming!!
Packing up my life in Guildford was sad, saying goodbye to everyone for the year that I'm away was worse but the worst was saying goodbye to people at uni who graduate this year or next who I may not see again ever. If you are in the latter category, thank you for being part of my life and making my time here what it is, God bless with all future endeavours!!
This time in 2 days I will be on a flight to Malaysia!!
Monday 14 June 2010
Me before I go!
In 11 days I will be on a plane to Malaysia.
Its crazy exciting but also scary, saddening and emotional. My life in Guildford is brilliant. I have a great university and university life and friends, a fun job (most of the time); an amazing church family and a city that is modern, picturesque and lively. As I pack up my life here I realise how happy I am and how much I will miss my home here. Church yesterday and the Glee finale tonight showed me how precious and deep my friendships are and how connected I am to this place.
So anyway, this last week I am trying to see everyone I love and say goodbye, train for the Mount Kinabalu climb in Malaysia, tie up all loose ends with the house, placement enrolment etc and enjoy England, Guildford and the little things here that I will miss when I go away.
On June 25th, I start my research placement in Malaysia which sees me spent two weeks at the university of Kebangsaan learning about the local cultures, history, tradition and politics and then its onto field trips to study and learn about the aboriginal community, the Orang Asli. Field trips include climbing the 4000 foot Mount Kinabalu, a sunset cruise along a crocodile river and going into Borneo. At the end I have to give a presentation to the university!
I will fly back to England for a couple of days after Malaysia then fly out to Cape Town to start my job in the CTRC for the rest of the year! So that's it. It's going to be a phenomenal year and I am so excited to see what God has in store, nothing is totally clear which means I often feel like I'm about to jump out of a plane and I wonder if the parachute will open but that makes it all the more exhilarating!
Will give you more info, stories and photos etc as I go along! Last few days and I am making the most of it!
Its crazy exciting but also scary, saddening and emotional. My life in Guildford is brilliant. I have a great university and university life and friends, a fun job (most of the time); an amazing church family and a city that is modern, picturesque and lively. As I pack up my life here I realise how happy I am and how much I will miss my home here. Church yesterday and the Glee finale tonight showed me how precious and deep my friendships are and how connected I am to this place.
So anyway, this last week I am trying to see everyone I love and say goodbye, train for the Mount Kinabalu climb in Malaysia, tie up all loose ends with the house, placement enrolment etc and enjoy England, Guildford and the little things here that I will miss when I go away.
On June 25th, I start my research placement in Malaysia which sees me spent two weeks at the university of Kebangsaan learning about the local cultures, history, tradition and politics and then its onto field trips to study and learn about the aboriginal community, the Orang Asli. Field trips include climbing the 4000 foot Mount Kinabalu, a sunset cruise along a crocodile river and going into Borneo. At the end I have to give a presentation to the university!
I will fly back to England for a couple of days after Malaysia then fly out to Cape Town to start my job in the CTRC for the rest of the year! So that's it. It's going to be a phenomenal year and I am so excited to see what God has in store, nothing is totally clear which means I often feel like I'm about to jump out of a plane and I wonder if the parachute will open but that makes it all the more exhilarating!
Will give you more info, stories and photos etc as I go along! Last few days and I am making the most of it!
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