Thursday, September 14, 2006

random thoughts on a typical day

it seems like too long since i've written because i don't want to repeat what the rest of the family blogs about, so here are some random thoughts of life here in malaysia for the moment. i promise pictures soon. the following is a note i sent to my dear and immensly talented friend, reneé mass. i got a little carried away and figured everyone should be caught up. (the large text should be easy for you to read, mom!) =]
i've just dropped girlies off to school, like i do every morning. usually they get out near the crosswalk to avoid having to cross opposing traffic (RIGHT turn! still not fully used to that!) and then i go on to the train station to drop greg off. lately he has had to take a train OUT of the city and get on one that has room; his record is 5 trains passing without room and the latest development was the addition of white-gloved people pushers to help pack everyone in as the doors close, keeping the compression until the next stop. yikes! i don't know if we've told you about the whole asian-body-odor thing, but deodorant is optional and these people are clothed from head to foot (muslim modesty) including their heads, and they walk everywhere. let your imagination run wild!

alfredo and i usually go from there to a very pretty road in our neighborhood that makes a 1.8 mile loop around the local golf club ('kelab' in bahasa, pronounced like 'clob' in english) and part way up a mountain. at the top there are beautiful trees shading the path and a barrel of monkeys that people bring offerings of fruit and food to regularly. this is highly discouraged for several reasons, the main being that if they become too tame they don't search for their own food but instead terrorize people in their homes. (you can actually insure your property against monkey damage.) there is a trickle of water from the top of the mountain and a nice bend in the road that makes it a favorite for the locals and taxi drivers to rest and wash their cars(?!). it is picturesque but covered with rubbish- fruit peels, plastic bags, and fast food containers from well-meaning but misguided folks. every time we go there a very nice man says hi to alfredo; yesterday he was inside the kelab and cheerfully greeted alfredo across the parking lot. this is unusual for locals; they are at best shy and at worst openly hostile toward caucasians.
greg has experienced blatant discrimination several times, most recently when he entered a long-awaited cab the driver refused to take him anywhere. he had to get out and wait for another. brooke and i experienced a little more blatant offense when a cab driver agressively cut me off on the way home then pulled up to my side of the car and was repeatedly making the 'bang-bang-you're-dead' motion with his hand while shouting what must have been explitives in his native bahasa melayu. he followed me for about 50m; a little scary with my princess in the backseat. i don't think she saw me flip him off, but i am ashamed nonetheless. (gimmie a break; we all have our fits of passion- i'm sure he didn't even know what that means!)

for the most part people are at least cordial and the more adventurous types are downright friendly. like the wedding reception we attended on sunday evening. janaki, our housekeeper, invited us and had been eyeing the saris we had around the house (to decorate, of course!) for several weeks. when we asked her if we should wear them to the reception, she was delighted- she measured us, brought the saris to the
'tie-ler' (tailor) and had the tops made in traditional indian fashion. she then recruited her sister-in-law to tie us up in them properly and we were a sensation at the event. even the photographer wanted to take pictures with ash and brooke; i'm sure he included me out of respect. =] later janaki told me that several of her relatives asked her if we had lived in india because we knew the 'nice way to wear the sari'. how cool is that?

all in all, i am learning a lot about being gracious under pressure and being a guest in a foreign country. in a small way i feel that my actions promote the goodwill of americans in general and i need to lead the way in my small circle of influence. some westerners have an understandably jaded attitude toward ethnic malaysians, and i can't blame them. but for me, i am just asking for grace to be an example not only of a gracious guest who happens to be american, but an example of christ's love in everyday life. i've got some ground to cover, as the aforementioned event illustrates, but grace is for all of us, right?
be grateful and grace-filled, friends~
love chryl

chryl left the ground at 08:57 6 comments