1/14-1/17

Good afternoon,

  I hope this message reaches all of you in the best of health. I'm going to clump these days together. Saturday was a "free-day". That morning we had a short meeting on the upcoming week and after that we didn't do anything except relax. So you know what that meant....another day at the beach and exploring! Today was one of those days where you just make picnic lunches to a park and just relax. Well I did except for the lunch and park. lol 

On Sunday, one of our advisors from the State Dept of Education here in Terengganu took all of us to go to apply for an account at the local bank. It took a while for 17 ETAs to go through the process of receiving the card, setting up the account and paperwork. While waiting we were told that we had a couple of hours to wait so we could go to the nearby store and shop. I really wasn't trying to shop so instead myself and two others who were living in KT decided to go to the apts which we thought we would be living in. We saw three different apt complexes and soon decided in unison that it was the one that we saw with the new paint job and nicer looking parking area. lol When I got back to the hotel, I went on a run up the beach coastline(beautiful). Along the run I noticed a big assortment of different colored and sized kites. Malaysia and Terengganu specifically are known for their kite making skills. At the end of the run, it was such a nice day I decided to walk back along the beach(mainly because I was tired) and talk to some of he locals. A older guy came up and asked me where I was from and why I was in M'asia. I told him that I was selected to teach Emglish to secondary students at a local school. He smiled and said thank you. This is great; however, I realize that this is not the consensus here in Terengganu. I was told that we could face opposition from some who wanted a different educational system in place. Success is not without struggle!(reasonably speaking of course)

Monday Monday Monday...what a looooooooong day. We had presenters the whooooooooole day! It was very "informal" as they kept stating and that they wanted the discussions to be more interactive than anything. It worked out well. Later, I went out to the beach to play ball(soccer) and ultimate frisbee with the fellas. I forgot how tiresome it is to run in that sand. I don't think Dr. Scholls could've helped my feet after that. I rested up enough to walk to Chinatown here that night and took some beautiful pictures of the bridge and other side of the bank. Wonderful night!!