India to Malaysia

Hands Out!

10-21-08

Two days after we returned from India, my Global Social Movements Sociology class did a theatre performance for our midterm. It was called “Hands Out”because she always has us put our hands out and move them in different ways to act things out in class. She has a very kinesthetic style of teaching! We wrote skits, songs and dances based on our experiences in all the countries we’ve been to, combined with what we’ve learned in this class. Much of it was about racial divides, political leaders and social movements that have greatly impacted countries all over the world. I think it was a great success and very impactful for the audience. It was definitely a more fulfilling and moving experience for me as an alternative to a midterm. I love my sociology teacher, she is all about the experiential and hands on learning. I have definitely observed and noticed more in the countries because of what I am learning in her class.

Malaysia

10-22-08
Malaysia has been the only port where we could not pull up to the dock, because they did not have one large enough for our ship! We had to take the tenders aka our life boats from our ship to the shore which was about a 5 minute ride. It was a little more inconvenient because they only left the ship or left the port every hour.
The first day I did an FDP (faculty directed practicum) for one of my classes where we went to several temples and then went up into the hills where the Malay people live to walk around their village. That actually ended up being the village where I went the next day for my home stay. It was pouring rain that day, so we had to stay in the bus and look at things from the window more than I would have liked! I had my umbrella with me, so I was definitely prepared to see the sights in the rain! Once I returned from that trip, me, Andrea, Matt and Lizzy went to see a few of the famous temples such as the Reclining Buddha and Kek Lok Si temple. The Reclining Buddha had an enormous Buddha laying on his side inside the temple. Immediately a man took us around to the back of the temple where they had individual Buddhas who each represented a different Chinese year. For example, I am the year of the rabbit, so the man brought me to my Buddha and had me put my hand on him. I think it was as a sign of respect, but he didn’t speak much English so I’m not quite sure! There were also many pictures and urns of the deceased in the temple. Kek Lok Si temple was enormous and had absolutely beautiful architecture. It was also raining when we went there, so I had my black umbrella with pink frill on the edges the whole time! It was closing shortly after we got there, but we opted to be adventurous and stay until someone told us to leave. So it worked! We even walked into a section of the temple where we had to take off our shoes to walk around. The silence was so peaceful since we were the only ones there. Once we walked into that area of the temple, there was a definite shift in the energy. It was a sacred and holy place where showing respect was a necessity. There were multiple Buddha shrines with flowers and photos and statues. It was such an ornate temple with a lot of beautiful details inside as well.
The next two days I did a home stay! My family did not speak much English, but we just laughed a lot and used non-verbal communication! I had a mother, a 14 year old daughter, a 17 year old daughter and a three year old girl who they babysat every day. The father I only saw for a few minutes in the evening because he worked all day. The other girl that stayed with me from SAS was named Annie. We got along really well which was great because we really only had each other to talk to! The first day we just chatted for hours, because we couldn’t communicate with our family! They actually had us watch a significant amount of TV with them, and the majority were American TV shows! We had tea time in the afternoon, got to see how they made some of their chips and sweets and snacks and walked around their fruit fields. Malaysia is well known for their great and unique fruits! It was very hot, and the house had some open decorative windows without any glass, so I got quite a few mosquito bites! The food was somewhat similar to Indian food, except included more seafood. It worked out perfectly because Annie is a vegetarian and only eats fish, and I am not a fan of seafood! So when they made us huge meals with all types of meat she would eat the fish and I would eat the chicken! The last day Annie and I gave them some gifts such as San Diego postcards, playing cards, an American calendar with photos of the U.S. and some key chains! They seemed to love them and they quickly rushed into their bedrooms to gather some goodie bags for Annie and I. We also exchanged emails and addresses and the aunt who came to visit kept saying come back to visit! She actually spoke a few words of English!
The next day I went snorkeling! It counted as an FDP for my oceanography class and I saw some of the most colorful fish I’ve ever seen snorkeling! That night we went out to a Malaysian club where they had a performance by a group of women and then a group of men. The dancing was somewhat promiscuous and it was interesting to see that when their culture also told everyone to be modest and cover up with clothing. We were warned that it would be similar to the modest dressing traditions in India, however I did not find it to be that intense.
My last day we took a cab and went to the Botanical Gardens and the Spice Gardens and then did some shopping and went to little India. It was interesting because Penang is a combination of Chinese, Indian and Malay people. They were all very divided in their living areas as well. So their was the Little India shopping area as well as a China Town! Malaysia was much more modern than I expected and was a great place to visit! I would definitely go back to the beautiful beaches to vacation!