Len in Malaysia: November 2006

I have barely left the east coast of the United States. I was born and raised in coastal New England and attended the same high school as my father (and had some of the same teachers). When I graduated, in the spirit of seeking adventure and finding what else was out in the world, I decided to study at UMBC (www.umbc.edu) and study biochemistry. My father works in a research laboratory and from a very young age let me see the wonders and intricacies of performing experiments so small, only the imagination could really bring to life what was happening. I’m not saying that the science was an illusion, but rather I needed to imagine cells, proteins, drugs, and DNA as if I could hold the molecules in my hand if I was to appreciate the incredible complexities of each experiment. Enamored and fascinated with figuring out how the body functions on a molecular level, I trusted that my experience in college would be the long start of a research career that would hopefully be capped with a Nobel Peace Prize, or, well, at least a stable job.

I left my family, friends, and home to start in Baltimore and in fact did not know a soul in the state when I first arrived.
Four years later, I finished my degree and began to realize that it was time to act like an adult, live as a responsible citizen, pay my taxes, and get a real job. If it is seriously time to start laying down the foundation of who I will become in the next several years, how can I honestly start that process if I have no idea what the rest of the country is really like, let alone the rest of the globe? And how can I decide how to live in the world if I have only seen a tiny portion of it?
In Baltimore, I caught a glimpse of a little more diversity and sought out other cultures and languages with the energy and passion that I had first used to study science. Any chance to mingle with and learn about other cultures was both refreshing and reassuring, as there are times when I grow disgusted with the intense commercial homogenization that seems to characterize American lifestyles, and in that context, studying at the fifth most diverse school in the nation was a blessing. I learned how to say “Hello,” “How are you?” and “Goodbye” in French, Spanish, Polish, Hungarian, Slovakian, Mandarin, Burmese, and Thai, in addition to realizing that the world I have seen so far is a miniscule part of the whole.
I have always dreamed of studying abroad, but have never had the financial means to do so, until now. I luckily graduated with no debt, no obligation, and no reason not to take a risk and head to somewhere dramatically different, somewhere that is the polar opposite of what I already know. I looked at programs that offered jobs in Thailand, China, Japan, and finally Malaysia. I do not fluently, or even functionally, speak the language of any of these countries, but the promise of seeing something on the opposite side of the spectrum was seductively appealing.

My academic advisors thought that I was wasting my time seeking out adventure since I really belonged in graduate school, patiently carving out some ounce of knowledge that may or may not end up with some importance attached to it. There was one, however, whose words motivated me and gave me the courage to strike out on a rather different road. Dr. Michael Summers in an informal interview, told me “when you are faced with two choices, one safe and responsible, the other risky and with great payoffs, always take the second.” I think he was right; if I decided to head right to a job or graduate program, I would always wonder if I made the right decision, as I will most likely never have a chance to do anything like this again in my life. Thanks Dr. Summers.
As it turns out, I leave tomorrow for Kuala Lumpur and could not be more excited. I have a camera, a laptop, and a plane ticket, as well as a job teaching English waiting for me when I get there. I imagine that I am in for an experience unlike anything I could ever comprehend from where I stand, and I hope to share that with you, the reader, in the most vivid way possible. Such a shocking difference in culture, language, lifestyle, and career will certainly be challenging and show me a little bit of who I am, but I have a feeling that whatever I discover will make quite a difference in the path I choose afterwards. Every week, I will sit down and write about my time in Malaysia and post a couple pictures of where I’ve been. Let me know what you think and I’ll do my best to respond as quickly as my surroundings permit. Internet access may be spotty, so I don't know if I'll be able to keep my promise on weekly posts and diligent email responses, but I do promise to make every effort possible.

Thanks for reading!

Some more pictures of where I grew up: