The Small Things in Life

1/12/11

One thing that I am learning as I get older is that its the small things in life that make it enjoyable. This was not more evident than in today's trip to the Suasana Cultural Centre in Selangor, Malaysia. The owner and founder, Mrs. Datin Azanin Dato' Ahmad, was a beautiful lady who was equally within. The center was located in a little quaint town right next to a river which complemented the backdrop of the mountains. To top it off, she had constructed a beautiful garden that was built to inhance peace and tranquility. It worked very well; it was nice and peaceful! We learned so much from her and it was good to hear a different perspective on life in Kuala Terengganu.

 After lunch we made our way back to KL so that we could start our last Bahasa language class. Our instructor, Mary, had done a wonderful job teaching us some essential words and phrases. I really appreciate her for that. Most of the class had not studied the language prior to these lessons; however, after three short lessons we all felt confident in our ability to hold a somewhat decent conversation with someone. THANK YOU

1/13/11

 Today, our LAST DAY in KL started off with a talk from Dr. Saadiah Mohamad, a professor at the Asian Institiute of Finance. As with the other instructors and lecturer's, she did not dissapoint in her message and how beneficial she was. I found this especially helpful as I will be teaching in a Muslim school in KT. THANK YOU

THANK YOU MACEE, Mr. James Coffman, Meena Ponnusamy, Kriesler and the whole MACEE staff for EVERYTHING!!

The trip to the airport was the last one that we would have with our driver Joe. (long sigh) If there was ever a guy who didn't waste ANY time getting to and from it was him. lol THANK YOU. As we boarded the plane I suddenly felt like I was watching the scene from Eddie Murphy's The Golden Child when he was on the plane with the multicolor seats and everybody busy doing something different. LOL...BUT the worst part is how I think the pilot fell asleep at the wheel while we were in the air. We dipped a couple of times that had the most "stable" of passengers gripping the arm rests'. THANK YOU God we arrived safely. When we arrived and walked to the terminal we were greeted by Elises' school and some of her students! What a wonderful sight to be greeted by these kids and some school officials. We were equally as excited as they were to greet each other. We quickly took pics, answered a couple of questions(politicked lol), and boarded our VVIP(yes VVIP) bus to our hotel. As we rode on the way to our hotel we passed the crystal mosque, markets, and houses. There were free roaming cattle, boys playing soccer, and markets ALL right next to businesses and other places of work or foundations. Upon arriving at the hotel, there was a sign that read "Welcome ETAs to Terengganu". Again, what a wonderful way to be greeted. We soon realized that our hotel was sitting right on the beach so instead of going directly inside to check in, some(including me) tried to make our way around the side and to the beach. Can't put the cart before the horse, right? After checking in our rooms, the KT State Education dept and the KT State officials presented to us a small briefing to inform us of the upcoming weeks' schedule. NOW, as soon as we finished eating this immaculate dinner, we all made our way out the side door to the beach! IT....IS......SOOOOOOOOOOO.....BEA-U-TIFUL!!! THANK YOU GOD!!! (small things) It's things like this that make life soooo wonderful. I'm so blessed to be able to experience this! The group as a whole was happy to finally be on the beach! Some walked down the beach, some watched Billy play soccer with the locals, me....I found a lawn chair that folded all the way down and relaxed! The sky and the ocean were majestic with the orange's mixing with the purple's and yellow's. After almost dozing off in the suttle winds of the beach I decided to make a move towards the pier. Like a poppyseed in the wind I was off aimlessly to spectate from a different location and perspective. The pier was made of concrete with one side descending with rocks that lead to the beach and small inlet. The other another concrete wall and rocks leading to the water. There were fisherman all up and down the pier on both sides. I almost felt out of place as I didnt have a pole or motorbike. What a wonderful day! THANK YOU God for the small things!

1/14/11

 One thing that I am quickly getting used to here in KT are the stares. lol...I kind of feel like a ghost the way people look at us. I embrace it as I realize that they more than likely only see westerners a couple times of year. Breakfast was GREAT; there was a wide variety of food ranging from fruit, cakes, rice, seafood, and eggs! Nou, Andrea, Kelley, Lynn, and myself decided to go looking around. As we walked down the street, we saw that we were the topic of conversation amongst everybody. We even saw a older guy on a bike who dropped his jaw liked he saw a ghost! lol...On the walk we passed the biggest screen this side of the of KL. I can see it now: Super Bowl, NBA Playoffs, Martin, and Skype sessions. AND its right on the beach so I wouldn't have to move from my spot. We also passed the Sultan of Terengganu's house, well more like palace. It was a beautiful structure with many different extensions, a garage that looked like it would lead to the bat cave, and security cameras that would rival security Fort Knox. We were only a short walk away from the Pasar Payang or Central Market. Anything that you wanted to get food or clothing wise was there. So big it housed 4 levels and covered 4 blocks!

 One of our contacts/mentors here in KT is Faziouh, who we were instructed will be very helpful and work with the ETA's staying here in KT. She took the whole group to the Jumaat Pasar or Friday Market. Across from the big screen sat a barage of different food, clothes, electronics, shoes, and health care product stalls. The food.....AMAZING, well besides the eel (kekpok). I had some chicken wings and donuts that were great. I can see now that I'll keep most of those vendors in business myself. lol  I needed to get some more clippers as I still don't know exactly to mine. I used the converter and everything and STILL nothing. That's ok, got one at the store right next to the market for a whoooooooooole lot cheaper than what the guy at the outdoor market was trying to play me for.

 Live everyday with a positive outlook as no day is promised so have fun and be appreciative for what you have!! THANK YOU