First Wave

After around thirty hours in the air, I’m finally in Malaysia for the first time in my life. I met twelve strangers from all over the U.S. I assume I will get to know very personally in the next year or so who are also teaching English out here. They all have brilliant research projects to talk about, stories about their travels that make me feel like I’ve been living in a box for the last twenty-two years, and on top of it all, they are good, decent, and fun people. With everything they are and everything they’ve told me, I’m surprised that anyone will talk to me, let alone go out to dinner or grab a beer with me. There isn’t a whiff of arrogance or selfishness in the group, and instead I feel everyone is really eager to learn about our new home and excited for the challenges the will come with living in a completely different society.
We all landed in Kuala Lumpur early on December 1st and immediately fell into friendship. Part of me feels like I’m watching a reality television show that could end at any minute; there’s this eerie feeling like I’m not really on the other side of the world, none of this is real, and any morning I will wake up back home from some extended dream. But it is most definitely real and I am here, so I’m not going to waste anymore time in question. We’ve been all over the city and have seen things so different from what I know that I can’t help but wonder what else I have missed out on elsewhere on the globe. What is most striking about our new city is the collision of tradition and modernity that, from what I have read about, is an issue with the country as a whole. These pictures show the world’s largest set of twin towers, beautiful gardens, hip internet cafés, parks that are home to some of the world’s most endangered species, and ornate eight-story shopping malls within miles of the desperate poor. Malaysians seem to struggle with the exact composition of their collective identity; graceful and seductive models advertise dresses and jewelry while the government legislates against form-fitting female clothing. Since the country is prodominently Muslim and Malaysian history is rife with European colonial dominance of one form or another, it seems as though many look to tradition and religion to instruct society as a whole instead of their past. They seek to live in the world as a modern, savvy, marketable people while at the same time honoring the Islamic traditions that bind together their society in an intimate way that just doesn’t happen in the U.S. It is, like me, foreign.
Anyway, the city is awesome. Crime is pretty low with the exception of a purse snatching or drug charge here and there, and there are so many cheap and delicious places to eat that I think I’m going to sneak back here every weekend just to try something new. I head for the beaches and the smaller city of Kuala Terengganu in a few days, so I’ll be sure to live it up here in the meantime. I’ve also had the honor of spending a day in the U.S. Embassy and meeting the ambassador to Malaysia, Christopher LaFleur, who is extremely interested in our educational efforts and incredibly amiable. There is apparently quite a desire for Malaysians to speak better English and that need has made programs like ours quite important both politically and economically and throughout our time here, we will not only have access to the best the U.S. government has to offer, but also the national and local Malaysian government. We have received quite a few briefings from various Malaysian and American officials, and each one makes me realize how lucky I am to be here right now. We are going to a beautiful and exotic place where we will be, from what I’ve heard, welcomed with open arms into a very close-knit community. To be honest, I haven’t been so excited about starting a new job in all of my life.
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