First couple of days

We were just glad to finally get to the hotel after the long trip.

After the majority of us had greeted each other we walked to the Pavilion. There are 13 of us together now as 4 of the ETAs have not yet arrived yet due to flights. Now this is not anything in the sense of a traditional pavilion but a gigantic mall. When I say mall I mean a colossal foundation with multiple levels (6 to be exact) with a food court that would make any mall I’ve seen whimper in comparison.  It boasts over 40 different eateries including KFC, Wendy’s, Subway and a Pizza Hut! I however ate some Thai food: BBQ chicken with white rice and vegetables, egg, soup, and something to drink all for about 19 ringgit or about $6.

The first night here in KL was one of curiosity and joy as my roommate Anirudh I discussed. Anirudh(pronounced A-knee-Rude), 2010 graduate of Amherst College, native of Singapore and former inhabitant of India, had many valuable tips to share on how to live here in Southeast Asia. We talked for about an hour comparing backgrounds and what we thought was in store for us the next day at the first orientation. Before we knew it, we were both yawning more than sharing stories so we decided to call it a night. Goodnight, or as the locals say, Selamat malam!

12/5

It was an early start this morning as we were to meet downstairs in the hotel at 8 for a meeting.  The lady we had all been in contact with who we confided in her our EVERY concern was to meet us downstairs and from there we would walk over to the MACEE building. Luckily for us, the building was right down the street; otherwise, we would have continued to lose weight due to the extreme heat. On the walk over to the office, I soon found out why there are so many deaths due to traffic accidents. If you’re not trying to stay cool you’re trying to dodge near death brushes with the motorists. There are no speed limits which are enforced which means NASCAR in the streets. When we arrived to the building, the first thing that strikes you is the height of it. You would have to lye on your back and look up to keep from falling. Meena ushered the group into the conference room, the breathtaking view of the city and twin towers were first to catch your eye. We were then introduced to the Director of MACEE, Dr. James Coffman, who with his daughter introduced them to the group and vice versa. Three others joined us as the orientation preceded with our Bahasa Malaysia lessons. Her methods we a little bit unorthodox in her teaching but effective nonetheless. 

                After the orientation that day a couple of the guys in the group and I met up.  Blair, one of three guys on the trip, an international traveler and previous resident of Malaysia the year before, had got some tickets for the KL Dragon basketball game. Not knowing what to expect, I was game! I never saw international basketball played before and figured this would be a great experience just to see something new and have fun. We met up with one of his local friends, Gho (pronounced Go) who also had a ticket. Billy was another guy from our group who went and we all were in for a shock! The gym where the game was being held couldn’t have been more than that the size of a high school gym. As we walked in to the arena, we were shocked at the amount of supporters that the KL team had and that the visiting team, the Singapore Slingers, had brought. The gym was PACKED. I mean it HAD to be about 1000 people in attendance. As the game drew to an end, there was standing room only. The game was so exciting: fans, coaches, players, and media. The game was televised on ESPN Asia and Blair got a call from one of his boy’s saying that he saw us on the tube! To make it better, Blair was selected to go