3/1/11
I am slipping on this blog. It just seems that everytime I have some free time something else demands my attention. Malaysia Boleh, is certainly becoming the slogan of the trip so far. There has been many cases where I have been involved in something and I would think this is not happening or I don't believe this is about to happen. I mean only here can I be called and compared to Usain Bolt, President Obama, and Will Smith. My school bus driver wants me to race him....with his bus and me running. He is convinced that I could win. Malaysia Boleh. Most people that I have met here have asked me if President Obama and I are distant cousins or is that a family member of some sort. OR.........if I could talk to Obama about letting that person get a green card. Finally Will Smith, if I had a dime for everytime someone mistakenly called me Will Smith or said I look like him, I would fly Will out here and show them that there is a difference between him and I. All of these experiences are funny and a learning. Funny because me being compared to these people because of the way I look to me is like comparing spades with hearts. It's also a learning experience; it's interesting to see what people are exposed to and to whom and what they relate to what they are exposed to. I'm sure a lot of it can be attributed to the lack of non-malays that are in KT and that they see. Another reason is because of the way the media portrays people or what is consisdered "right and wrong". Point in case, I was talking to a lady the other day and we were talking about science. Well I wanted to talk in Bahasa Melayu and she wanted to speak in English. She stated that she didn't want me to speak Bahasa to her because she wouldn't be able to learn English from me. I stated that's how I feel also with Bahasa. She then told me that they have a saying in Terengganu that went roughly like "if you speak English your eyes will turn blue." Interesting.....I wonder if that was true. At any rate, I asked her would that be a good thing or a bad thing? She stated that "it would be a great thing if she had blue eyes and that women especially would love blue eyes."
"So why are blue eyes considered great or why are they sought after?" I figured it was some logical explanation to her statement so "curiousity" and I wanted to know.
"Having blue eyes means that you are special and that's perfect....well...it's hard to explain and it's a women thing so you wouldn't understand" she responded or didn't respond. Now I've been here for 2 months and that was the first time that I had heard anything like that. I asked her why not green, or brown(the color of her and I eyes), gray, or black. It's very interesting to hear someone say that they think having blue eyes makes your more special than not having a blue colored eyes. I got the sense that she was influenced in thinking that having blue eyes makes your special or more appealing. Now here she is with a child, late twenties, and successful and she thinks that the only thing missing from her life is blue eyes. Perspective is appreciated through understanding. Maybe if she understood that how she is now, the way that she was created, her genes that were passed down from generation to generation, is a unique only to her maybe...just maybe her perception would change....maybe.
I am slipping on this blog. It just seems that everytime I have some free time something else demands my attention. Malaysia Boleh, is certainly becoming the slogan of the trip so far. There has been many cases where I have been involved in something and I would think this is not happening or I don't believe this is about to happen. I mean only here can I be called and compared to Usain Bolt, President Obama, and Will Smith. My school bus driver wants me to race him....with his bus and me running. He is convinced that I could win. Malaysia Boleh. Most people that I have met here have asked me if President Obama and I are distant cousins or is that a family member of some sort. OR.........if I could talk to Obama about letting that person get a green card. Finally Will Smith, if I had a dime for everytime someone mistakenly called me Will Smith or said I look like him, I would fly Will out here and show them that there is a difference between him and I. All of these experiences are funny and a learning. Funny because me being compared to these people because of the way I look to me is like comparing spades with hearts. It's also a learning experience; it's interesting to see what people are exposed to and to whom and what they relate to what they are exposed to. I'm sure a lot of it can be attributed to the lack of non-malays that are in KT and that they see. Another reason is because of the way the media portrays people or what is consisdered "right and wrong". Point in case, I was talking to a lady the other day and we were talking about science. Well I wanted to talk in Bahasa Melayu and she wanted to speak in English. She stated that she didn't want me to speak Bahasa to her because she wouldn't be able to learn English from me. I stated that's how I feel also with Bahasa. She then told me that they have a saying in Terengganu that went roughly like "if you speak English your eyes will turn blue." Interesting.....I wonder if that was true. At any rate, I asked her would that be a good thing or a bad thing? She stated that "it would be a great thing if she had blue eyes and that women especially would love blue eyes."
"So why are blue eyes considered great or why are they sought after?" I figured it was some logical explanation to her statement so "curiousity" and I wanted to know.
"Having blue eyes means that you are special and that's perfect....well...it's hard to explain and it's a women thing so you wouldn't understand" she responded or didn't respond. Now I've been here for 2 months and that was the first time that I had heard anything like that. I asked her why not green, or brown(the color of her and I eyes), gray, or black. It's very interesting to hear someone say that they think having blue eyes makes your more special than not having a blue colored eyes. I got the sense that she was influenced in thinking that having blue eyes makes your special or more appealing. Now here she is with a child, late twenties, and successful and she thinks that the only thing missing from her life is blue eyes. Perspective is appreciated through understanding. Maybe if she understood that how she is now, the way that she was created, her genes that were passed down from generation to generation, is a unique only to her maybe...just maybe her perception would change....maybe.
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