Graduation Week - part 2

Top picture: ChewJia Li, Me and Vyshane. Middle: Me and class ARed watching the slide show I made for them. Bottom: Russell (wearing my sunglasses) and Ikhwan goofing off in my office

Thursday, Nov. 19, was a day of celebration. It was the end of the year class parties and it was full of food, sweets and games. I mainly spent the day in class ARed (6 year olds). As I have mentioned before this is the class I got closest with since I was teaching them twice as much as any other class. I also floated around briefly to the other classes and spent some time in classABlue (6 year olds) since they would not be back next year.

For the class parties, I believe most of the children brought some kind of food or treat to share with the class. Li Mei (teacher for ARed) had a list of games on the board that the kids would play through out the morning. One of the games was similar to the game I know as Hot Potato. The kids put their chairs in a big circle and pass around about 6 water bottles. Music is playing as you pass the water bottles and when the music stops then you must go in the middle of the circle. After about three times of this happening, all the children in the middle have to sing a song or recite a rhyme that the teacher tells them to do. I did get stuck in the middle of the circle once. I was a bit worried because I don't know any of the songs or rhymes that they say. But when it was time for us to "preform" Li Mei asked us to sing Pharaoh, Pharaoh, a church song which I had taught the kids a couple months ago. The kids, of course, thought it was great that I was in the middle.

On Wednesday night I was trying hard to think of something I could do for the children. I thought about buying them all small treats and would have loved to buy them all graduation presents, but obviously it's not really in my budget to get gifts for 60 kids. As I was uploading the massive amount of pictures I had taken that day, I got the idea to put together a slide showof pictures for the kids. I have taken many pictures at school just over the past three months, and I know the kids love seeing pictures of themselves (when I take pictures of them, they often ask to see the result after I take it). So I made a slide show especially for ARed of all the good pictures I had taken of them up through graduation day. Unfortunately, I didn't have many pictures of the other 6 year old class, class ABlue, but I did show them a slide show of all the pictures I took on graduation day.

So after we spent an hour playing games, I sat the kids down and showed them the slide show I had made. No surprise, the kids really enjoyed it! While they were watching the pictures, Li Mei and I prepared breakfast for them. While the kids were eating I took some time to visit the other classrooms and see what different foods had been brought in. They were fairly similar and involved lots of candy and sugar but there was one classroom that topped them all. In ClassCRed, Teacher Ivy had a small stove top set up and was making french toast for her kids (See pictures at end of post)! I was pretty amazed by this since I've never seen a teacher cook for her kids like this. The kids were sitting in front of the table very quiet just watching and eating their french toast. It was pretty adorable. I will write more about Teacher Ivy at another time but from what I have observed so far she is one of the most talented teachers at our school.

By the end of the day it was pretty evident that the kids were all hyped up on sugar. There was difficulty keeping structure to the games. The children were having more fun just jumping and dancing around. Luckily, this day was all about the children enjoying themselves so the teachers didn't mind and just let the kids have their fun. The day was very enjoyable for me but definitely took the energy out of me. I'm pretty sure I went home and napped that afternoon! That day as the kids were leaving school I tried to make a point to say "bye" to each 6 year old. I was told that many kids did not come to school on Friday, so to prepare for this to be my last time seeing them. I made a huge point not to let my mind wander to the fact that none of these wonderful children would be at the kindergarten next year. Instead I put all my focus on the present and the fact that I was able to spend some very fun, quality time with them that day. I feel so blessed that I was able to spend so much time with them (over the past 3 months) to the point where I really got to know their different personalities. I often forget that I can only hold a simple conversation with a handful of them. It truly is amazing what can be learned just through observation and how much can be communicated through actions and quite simply through eye contact...instead of words.

On Friday, I was quite pleased with the number of 6 year olds that came to school. Li Mei was not able to come to school that day so I was technically in charge of class ARed that day. I say technically because they spend half of the morning with class ABlue watching a Disney movie. About a month ago I had promised the teachers I would bake them a chocolate cake at some point before the year ended. I had not yet had free time to make one so we decided I should do it on Friday. The teachers wanted me to show the kids how to make the cake, but I didn't think this was such a good idea since they wouldn't be able to eat any of it... so I made it in the kitchen. It was so nice to get the chance to bake. I don't have an oven at my apartment, so this was the first time I was able to bake since being here. The only hitch was that I didn't realize our school kitchen does have any measuring cups or spoons. I was a little nervous about how the cake would turn out since I just estimated on everything but I was lucky and the cake was quite delicious (if I do say so myself)! After I put the cake in the oven, I helped serve the children breakfast. Then, as requested by many of the children, we spent the rest of the morning playing Heads Up, 7 Up... a favorite game of mine, which I had taught them a few weeks earlier. It was a very good day and a perfect ending to a wonderful week.

Through out the week I tried my best to talk to the children about the fact that they were graduating and going to primary school next year. I knew it would help me to hear that they were excited to move on to the next school. From the little that we were able to communicate it seemed that yes, the children were very excited to go to primary school. I also made a point through out the week to tell the children how great I thought they were. Again with the language barrier this wasn't quite as easy as it would be at home but I still think they understood me. On Friday evening I received a text message from Li Mei asking how the morning went. She went on to tell me that she thought I was a wonderful teacher and that she could really tell how much I loved the kids and how much they enjoyed me. I wish I had saved the text or at least wrote it down, but unfortunately it got deleted when my inbox was full. Regardless, it was one of the best compliments I have received since being here and it meant a lot coming from Li Mei. She can not speak English well at all and until two weeks ago, she was one of the teachers who I talked to the least. So this observation came more from her seeing what I was doing and not necessarily understanding everything I was saying.

Last week was a kind of tough transition. Myself, Kelsey and Erika taught English to the teachers of three of the kindergarten schools in the area (including my school). The teachers loved having us there to help improve their English and it was fun spending more time with the teachers at my school, but it certainly wasn't the same as teaching children. Several times through out the week when I was feeling a little sad, I looked through my pictures of the kids from the past few months. Although, it still makes me sad to look at the pictures and realize I probably will never see some of these kids again, the happiness that comes from looking at a picture and remembering the child, their story and their demeanor... remembering that moment in which the picture was taken... greatly over takes the sadness and always brings a smile to my face.

When I started working at Kindergarten Petagas in September I realized that the end of the school year was in a few short months. I (ignorantly) thought I would be better off if I tried not to get close to any of the 6 year olds since they would be graduating. Of course, that proved impossible, but I am so glad that was the case. I can not imagine not getting to know these children. Although I wish I had more time to spend with them, I feel quite lucky that I was able to spend the past three months with them; to get to know them and to learn from them. I feelprivileged to have been given the opportunity to mold their brains, and I am only hopeful that they did learn something a little something from me, too.

Top picture: Teacher Ivy making french toast in her classroom for her kids. Middle: Teacher Ivy's class watching her cook and enjoying their french toast. Bottom: Class ARed taking a goofy picture.

Graduation Week - part 1

First off I would like to apologize for the delay in this post. I had every intention of posting at the end of last week but it turned out I need a little more time to digest everything before I could write about it.

Last week concluded the school year here in Malaysia. As I suspected, the week went by much too quickly, but I did make a point to absorb every last minute of it. With the graduation program on Wednesday, our entire school spent both Monday and Tuesday mornings in the small auditorium rehearsing for Wednesday’s program (see bottom picture at the beginning of post). We all enjoyed having the opportunity to see each class’s dance which everyone had worked hard to prepare over the past month (Class A Red's dance in the top picture). After being gone in Brunei for a week, I especially liked having all the kids in one room as it made it easier for me to see them all and spend time with all of them.

On both Monday and Tuesday evenings, the teachers all came back to school to work on the backdrop for the stage. As you can see in the picture, it had the school’s name in Malay and Chinese and then we decorated it with balloons and graduation caps. This was one of the many highlights of the week for me. It was nice to get to spend more quality time with the teachers and especially outside of the regular school routine.

When Teacher Hiew and I arrived on Monday evening I was pleasantly surprised to see Leon sitting in the back of the auditorium. I had completely forgotten that he would be there. During the weeks he stays with his aunt who is one of our teachers, so naturally if she had to be there, he would be there as well.

Before walking in I slowly peeked my head around the doorway and whispered his name. It took a few times of me whispering for him to look up and see me and when he did he came racing toward me and jumped into my arms. That small moment flew to the top of my best experiences here thus far. The look on his face when he saw me and the excitement he had as he ran towards me still makes me a little teary eyed. I didn’t do too much to contribute to the actual backdrop on Monday night because I was happily keeping Leon entertained. I don’t think I have ever met such an attention-deprived child. We were at school from 8pm – 11:30 pm and he never slowed down… and typically this is when children his age should be getting tired and going to bed. One of the “activities” we did consisted of Leon jumping off the top step of the risers on the stage (there were only three steps and this was not high) and into my arms. I think he would have been very content doing this the whole night if it were not for my arms getting tired. He also really enjoyed rolling a roll of masking tape back and forth. I was amazed at how easy it was to keep him entertained. Why do we think we have to buy children all sorts of toys when they can be entertained with something as simple as a roll of tape? When I did decide to take breaks (from playing) and help the teachers, Leon would sit down nicely next to me and try his best to help too. I think it is safe to say that this night goes down as one of my favorite evenings here in Sabah. I was happy to be around my teachers and was able to give Leon the attention that he desperately needed.

4 of the boys in my ABC dance goofing off

Christo and Daryl (A Red 6yr. class) dressed for their dance

When Wednesday arrived I was a bit tired from late nights and early mornings of preparation and wasn't completely mentally prepared. However, I was excited to see everything come together. Since my third day of being here I had known that November 18^th was graduation, but it always seemed a long way off. Now all of a sudden it was here. It had completely snuck up on me. Teacher Hiew and I arrived at school around 7 a.m. The students were to be to school by 8 a.m. as normal and then the program started at 9 a.m. Up until the start of the program I kept busy making sure all of my boys got their "costumes" on and that you could see the letter or number on their shirt clearly. Once the program started I sat by the 6 year olds and attempted to keep them quiet as an introduction was given and the chairman of the school board gave a speech (which lasted a good 10 minutes or so as he said it in both Mandarin and Malay). My 6 year old boys were 3rd in the line up to preform. Not only did they look adorable in their costumes (which consisted of a white t-shirt that had either A,B,C or 1,2,3 on the front and blue shorts) but they did the best I'd ever seen them do. I was so proud of them and I could tell they had fun doing it. The whole graduation program consisted of the following: A welcome from one of the board members, a speech by the board chairman, a speech by three of the 6 year olds (one child gave the speech in Mandarin, one in Malay and one in English), a dance by each class (some of the classes did one dance all together and other classes split in half and did two dances), awards for the top three students in each class, recognition of each 6 year old... and the program closed with a song by the graduating 6 year olds.

Although it was sad for me to know that I wouldn't be teaching the 6 year olds next year, it was fun to see how excited they were about graduating. I especially enjoyed seeing all of the children with their parents. Several of the parents made a point to introduce themselves to me and gave me the ultimate compliment, saying their child often mentioned me at home and enjoyed having me as a teacher.

The graduation program was a success. I was pleased with how my 6 year old boys had done and felt blessed to be part of such a wonderful school and community. I enjoyed the day and didn't let myself get a little sad until it was all over. Not only did the 6 year olds graduate but it was my last day seeing Leon. Although I am sad, it is for purely for the selfish reason that I will not have him as a student anymore. Leon is going back to live with his family (he has two younger brothers) and next year he will go to a kindergarten that is closer to his house. He is so excited about this, as like any kid, he loves being with his parents and his brothers. Teacher Hiew has told me that he has very loving parents so I am hopeful he will now get more of the attention he deserves.

Believe it or not, I still have more to share about the week... however I am going to pause here and post Part 2 of this blog in a few days.

The 2009 graduating 6 year old class

Refreshing Week Behind - Bittersweet Week Ahead

This past week myself and the 4 other Malaysia YAGM spent the week in Brunei. It was our first retreat of the year and we will have two more through out the year (every 3 months). Going into the week, although I was excited for the opportunity to travel and visit another country, I was honestly a bit sad about the time away from KK and specifically the Kindergarten. Upon arriving in Brunei I realized it was nice to have some time to relax and reflect on the past three months. The week was much needed. It was a very good opportunity for us YAGM to get to know each other better and it was especially good for all of us to get to know Laura (our country coordinator) better and vice-versa. We had bible studies every day and spent time discussing our time here thus far; what was going well and what could be improved. Then we spent the rest of our days touring the capital city, Bandar Seri Begawan where we were staying. Click here to see a picture of the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque we visited. This picture doesn't do it justice... it was stunning.

Thursday was the highlight of the retreat for me. Myself, Erika, Ellen and Kelsey took a day trip to Ulu Temburong National Park. The park covers about 10 % of Brunei. It was just so nice to get away from any type of city and spend some time in nature... the jungle! To get to the national park itself we had to take an hour long boat ride, a 20 minute car ride, and then another 20 minute boat ride, through the jungle. It was absolutely beautiful and quite impossible for me to describe. When we arrived at the national park we climbed up over 1000 steps and then climbed up even further into the canopy walk way. This walk way was on three different levels. When you got to the first level you were near the top of the trees. You walked a bit on the walk way and then went up again, this time you were at the top of the trees. Again walked on the walk way and then up to the top level which was above the trees. On the top level as I turned around I was completely surrounded by the jungle. For miles and miles it was all I could see. Again, the image is indescribable. We were on no time constraint so I took a little bit of time just to take it all in; breathe in the smell, listen to all the different sounds, and look into the jungle.

After descending from the canopy walkway and then the 1000 steps we took another short boat ride into the jungle and then walked a short distance to a small waterfall. Right before coming to the waterfall we came to across many, many butterflies. They were not like any butterflies I had every seen and were bright purple in color. They were flying all around us as we walked through. Quite magical, really. We were prepared with our swimsuits and were able to swim in the waterfall. After leaving we then spent at least an hour tubing down the main river back to our home base where we had lunch. The tubing was lots of fun and relaxing. We had good conversation and enjoy the beauty of the jungle that surrounded us. There was a good current that carried us down stream and we even came upon some baby rapids, which was fun.

The week left me refreshed and happy to return home to KK. It was a week of many stories, many laughs and smiles and even a few tears. It was a week of many prayers and great sharing as we all journey through this year together, depending on God but at many points still unsure of our direction. It was a wonderful week.

Now, this week will be different... both happy and sad. I can't wait to go back to work tomorrow and to see the children. However, the sad part is, this is our last week of school. Our graduation program is on Wednesday and the last day of the school year is Friday. The graduation program will be lots of fun. Each class has prepared two dances (one of which I have prepared with the 6 year old boys) and will preform them for the school and the parents that are able to attend. Thursday and Friday are fun celebration days but Teacher Hiew has said that not all of the kids come to school. So potentially Wednesday could be my last day seeing some of the 6 year olds. I still have yet to come to terms with this and am staying very much in the present, trying not to dwell on that too much. At the same time, these past couple weeks I have spent every free minute in the 6 year old classes playing games with them and doing activities. Last week (Monday, before I left for Brunei) I taught my ARed (6 year old class) how to play Heads Up - 7 Up, one of my favorite games from when I was that age. It was a bit difficult to explain at first but once they got the hang of it they really enjoyed it.

I will be sure to post a blog at the end of the week to tell you all about how the week went, especially the graduation program.

Here is a bible passage we discussed this week that I found quite meaningful.

"As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

-Colossians 3:12-14

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Happy Halloween!

Christo with his haunted house picture

Darryl and Vyshanne with their pictures

Ikwan with his ghost picture

Although I've had a wonderful week and have nothing to complain about, it was a little sad to hear about everyone back home preparing for Halloween. So yesterday at the last minute I came up with the idea to teach the children at Kindergarten Petagas about Halloween. Although some children are familiar with some aspects of Halloween, most are not.

There most certainly is no such thing as trick-or-treating here. I got it cleared by the principal and Teacher Hiew was nice enough to take me to one of the bigger super markets where I could find cheaper bulk like candy.... this way I could get enough to give one to everyone. I found coloring sheets online and also remembe

red the Halloween poem 5 Little Pumpkins.

Picture of me passing out treats

The children absolutely loved it! I will be honest, with the younger classes I'm not quite sure how much they understood... but they are always happy to get treats! I told them just about the basics such as how children dress up in costumes and go trick or treating. We talked about different costumes and how a big aspect of Halloween is spooky and scary. I told them about jack-o-lanterns and taught them 5 Little Pumpkins with the actions. They especially liked the coloring pages (as you can see in the picture) and spent quite a bit of time on them. When I gave them the treat I taught them how to say "trick or treat" and of course taught them to say "Happy Halloween!" It was a fun day; enjoyable for me, the teachers and the children.

Worksheet Station -- Ikwan has a question!

Game Station --- playing a matching game I made

Reading Station

Aside from our Halloween day, another highlight of my week was working with class A Red (my 6 year old class that I teach 5 times a week). The school is now done with testing (which went pretty well) and we have moved on preparing for our graduation program. Each class does 2 different dances. Although it is getting to be crunch time to learn the dances, it is a fun and more relaxed atmosphere. There is very little academic teaching happening and as I

walk past the classrooms, if the class is not practicing a dance they're usually just happily playing with toys. I am now only teaching class A Red twice a week because I have

a book to finish teaching them. This week I decided I was going to try and do stations with them. This is a teaching concept used for younger grades in the States but they have never heard of it here. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well it worked and will definitely be using it a lot next year. I did three different stations: Worksheet station, Game station and Reading station. At

the reading station they practice reading to each other and while they're doing this I call them up individually to read with me. The children spend 15 minutes at a station and then rotate to the next. The key part of stations is that it keeps all of the children busy and gives me time to work individually with them. Picture of me reading with Alfiee.

I continue to be rewarded for the effort I am putting into my job and am always reminded of how much I am enjoying myself. I adore the kids and am so pleased that I have the opportunity to help teach them. The teachers are supportive and very helpful. They are constantly encouraging me to be creative and break away from their "boring" lesson plans. They want to learn from me. The children and teachers are my family here and I could not be luckier.

Happy Halloween!

Class A Red - 6 yrs.

Adjust + Embrace = Home

Today I received mail at my school for the first time. I don't even know the address of my school and it was a surprise to me that anyone else knew.... but it made sense when I saw the letter was from the ELCA. Enclosed was a copy of Global Gleanings: global mission news & notes, a monthly newsletter. It was a nice surprise and quite an enlightening read while I had my morning tea/breakfast. I would like to share an excerpt from the feature article, Letting Go, written by Kevin Jacobson.

"If someone tosses a hot piece of coal into your hands, what do you do? You don't ask, "How do I let go of this hot piece of coal?" You don't even take the time to ask, "How do I let go?" You just let go. You just let go. Often in this world of being a missionary I find myself needing to 'just let go' - let go of my old habits, culture, traditions, inhibitions, and, yes, even some beliefs."

I definitely can identify with this quote. It is an amazing experience being immersed in a new culture. It may sound kind of nerve racking or scary (and it may have its moments) but the truth is, like the quote says, you don't have time to think... you just do. You have to drop most things you know... likely things you took for granted, and accept and embrace the new.

I enjoyed reading the article to Teacher Hiew as she drove me home from school today. It was interesting for me to hear her response. She certainly agreed with it and stressed that although it is important to be open minded and allow the new in, she can imagine it must be a difficult adjustment being so far from home. I replied, "Yes that is true. It is difficult at times, but realize, as I let go I am not losing anything. Instead I am gaining this experience and embracing it to the fullest... and beginning to call it home." Over the past few days it has really hit me how much I am beginning to feel at home now. Although, I have only been here for two months and certainly have many more adjustments ahead of me, I am realizing the many hot stones I've let go without taking much notice. This is apparent to me as I reflect on my first few weeks here and even my first month and can sense the change in adjustment. This is something I struggle to put into words but is something I can feel inside.

While preparing to leave this past summer I shared my favorite prayer with many of you. I say it often and as always it brings great peace to me. I am honestly a bit surprised to report that it has gained even more meaning through out these past couple months... reminding me that our spiritual growth is never ending, even in a favorite prayer. As always I have put great trust in the prayer but I feel more than ever my prayer has been answer. Below is the prayer and I have highlighted in bold the three lines I have felt a stronger connection with recently.

May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle in your bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and everyone of us. Amen.

Moment of the Day

Today Teacher Hiew was not able to be at school. She usually gives me a ride home, so today one of the other teachers did instead. This teacher (I am blanking on her name... horrible I know) is the mother of my favorite student, Vincent, who is in one of my five year old classes.

Vincent is my favorite student because he is very well behaved and eager to learn... always. This is pretty impressive considering I always teach his class at the end of the school day. So by that time the attention span of most of the children is pretty low. However, I can always count on Vincent to set a good example. He is always sitting quietly and is very attentive. Although

he may not be the smartest kid in the class he catches on pretty quickly and works hard to learn. His English is pretty limited (as is his mom's) but we make do and do a pretty good job of understanding each other, even if it requires gestures and pointing sometimes. Since his mom is a teacher at the school he always stays late after school and if I'm not too busy grading assignments or preparing for the next day, I will play games

or read stories to him and the other children still waiting to be picked up. During my first week at the school I taught him and a few other children a high five game: Up high, to the side, down low....(pull your hand) too slow!! Vincent has worked very hard to learn how to do this... of course it was easy for him to pick up the hand movements but it took some practice for him to learn the right words to say.

Today he gave me another reason as to why he's my favorite student... I was walking out to his mom's car to go home and he put his backpack in the back seat and then hurried to open the front door of the car for me. A five year old opened a car door for me!! I definitely haven't ever had that happen before and was pretty impressed. His mom was getting into the car at the time so as far as I know she did not tell him to do this. Even though it is only 2 pm here, this most certainly made my day. How could it not?!

The pictures were taken a few weeks ago on Children's Day. All of the children decorated their own mask to wear for fun!

hot, Hot, HOT

The weather in Malaysia is tropical, which, as I'm sure you all know, means hot weather all the time. Not only is the weather hot, but it is also very humid. I would say an average day here is comparable to one of the hottest days of a Midwest summer in August. I am absolutely loving it and am wondering if I will ever start to get bored of it as the year continues. However, it is kind of funny because I don't think it has really hit me that it's October and I think it's because of the weather. I'm just not used to this much heat in October.... I feel like it's still August.

At first I will admit it was an adjustment. I was continuously covered in a light layer of sweat. But as time has passed I think a combination of two things have occurred: 1. the weather has gotten slightly cooler 2. I have adjusted to the heat and humidity.

The rainy season begins in November and I am interested to see how much it really rains. I have been surprised by the lack of rain thus far. It maaaaybe rains about once a week. In the past couple weeks we have had two rainy days. They were pretty comparable to a rainy day in the summer back in the States and I really enjoyed it. It was quite cool, upper 70's and everyone at school was wearing comfy sweatshirts. One boy in my 6 year old class came to school wearing a full blown winter jacket and didn't take it off for most of the morning! I will admit that I too was wearing a light long sleeved sweater/jacket and was very comfortable.

In the evening it cools off a little. Right now it's almost 9 pm and on my computer it says it's 81 outside.... but to me it feels like its in the mid 70s. I usually go for a run early evening just before it gets dark because that's the coolest time to do it, aside from the morning and I don't have time then. The evening would also be a great time to sit outside and read or journal but I don't do that too often because the mosquitoes are pretty bad (and quite annoying).

We do have air conditioning in our apartment but we are not suppose to use it. The first couple weeks I had my moments where I wanted to use it... but now that I'm fully adjusted I have no need. If I'm really hot I just put the fan on me. Some businesses/restaurants and shops have air conditioning and some don't. Just about everyone seems to have air conditioning in their house but it is not always used... just depends on the family. The air conditioning in houses is not central air... they have individual ones per room.

Even though this is not related to weather at all I am going to end this blog post with a few snip-its of a Franciscan blessing a fellow YAGM shared with me recently:

And may God bless you with

enough foolishness to believe

that you can make a difference

in this world and in your community,

so that you will courageously try

what you don't think you can do,

but, in Jesus Christ you'll have

the strength necessary to do.

May God bless you that you remember

we are all called

to continue God's redemptive work

of love and healing

in God's place, in and through God's name,

in God's Spirit, continually creating

and breathing new life and grace

into everything and everyone we touch.

First Busy Week

Happy Friday! This week has flown by for me. It was my first week that felt more normal and busy. I had something other than school every afternoon/evening except for Thursday. I am slowly feeling like I am building friendships and feeling more comfortable around the people here.

On Monday evening we were invited to a farewell dinner for Evelyn's friend who is studying at Cambridge in London. Evelyn is a new friend of ours and she attends the same church as us. Last Friday we went to a cell group gathering (kind of similar to bible study) for the first time and this is where we met her and many others close in age to us. I will share more about the cell group in a future post. Dinner on Monday night was lots of fun. I enjoyed talking with everyone, especially Evelyn's friend (I am completely blanking on his name). We had fun comparing the States, England and Malaysia.

Tuesday was probably the highlight of my week. I went to school like normal in the morning. At school, Tuesday's and Wednesday's are my busy days. I only have a half hour break and am teaching the rest of the time. Starting this week Tuesday's are my extra busy day. After school I will go straight to Care Haven to teach English to the orphans there. Myself, Lauren and Kelsey decided to do this a couple weeks ago but just started this week. Since our afternoon's are free, Lauren asked Pastor Laura if there was something else we could do and she quickly found a couple options for us. I do not have too much of an issue filling my afternoons because since I am teaching English at my school and have assignments to grade and lesson plans to work on. However, Lauren and Kelsey are more available because they currently are simply assisting teachers at their schools. So between the three of us, Kelsey and Lauren are going for two days a week and I am only going on Tuesday.

The orphanage is only a year old and only has four children that need help with their English. Vivian is 16, Edward, 13, Idrus, 12, Nelwe, 14 and they are a complete delight to teach. They really want to learn and try very hard. It's obviously much easier teaching 4 students vs. 30, like I do in my kindergarten. They also really enjoyed helping me with Malay. They were kind of shy at first but by the end of the lesson (each day one of us will work with them for 2 hours) they were having a blast learning new english words and then teaching them to me in Malay. Good learning for both of us! I will be sure to post a future blog with more details on my time at Care Haven.

On Wednesday, I was invited by Deborah to attend a Mooncake Festival gathering of two cell groups combining to celebrate. It was pot luck style, aka lots of good food! Again, really nice to

just have a chance to meet more people and to talk and get to know them better. Deborah is another member of our church who I have gone to Sunday brunch with a couple times. She is someone who I consider a friend here. It's very nice to finally feel like I have some friends here, outside the other YAGM of course. It's a slow but steady process. Saturday is the official Mooncake Festival but this was an early celebration. After eating and conversation, several of us walked around the block with the children. It is a tradition for the children to walk around the neighborhood with lanterns. I asked a couple of the adults if she they the meaning behind this and they said the older generation might know, but that it has been lost through out the years and they didn't know. It was a very fun night!

Today was Children's Day at my school. This happens once a year and it is a day to reward the children. There were no classes and we all got together in the bigger assembly type room and played games, sang songs and read a story. The children also received goody bags full of treats. I spent most of the day observing and taking lots of pictures. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera back at my apartment, so I will post pictures with my next post. I also had a chance to talk with my principal for a little bit. She asked if I had any ideas for changing the English program for next year. I have a few small changes I'd like to make but mainly I told her I would be happy to start an afternoon program for the children whose parents are busy. Many of the students get picked up late, which is extra work for the teachers. They don't like to stay too late with the children, but also don't want to 'scold' the parents. Although, like I said, it's easy for me to fill my afternoons, I am to here to help as much as possible. I like being around the kids and if they are in struggling homes where the parents don't have time for them (which sometimes is the case) I would love to spend more time with them, and especially help them one-on-one with their English. The principal really liked the idea and said she would discuss it with the board. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the progress.

"Success in life is most easily measured by the number of days you are truly happy" -- A quote 'facebooked' to me by my lovely mother. Yes, my mom has Facebook!

I hope this finds you all truly happy.

Relaxation and Rejuvenation in the Mountains of Sabah

                                         

                                         

I am gradually becoming accustom to my different pace of life here. I am enjoying the growing familiarity of Kota Kinabalu as it begins to feel more and more like a home. Although I do like the familiarity, I also like the fact that there is always something new to learn and experience just about every day. I am pretty certain this will continue for the entire year. (Photos: mountains surrounding the retreat center, Mount Kinabalu)

So I was pleased with the level of unpredictability that accompanied our journey to the retreat at the base of Mount Kinabalu. I had no idea what to expect which brought mixed feelings of excitement and a little bit of good anxiety. Would it be anything like what I considered a retreat to be? My experiences so far have taught me that it could be either extreme; either very similar to a church retreat back at home or so different that the same word should not even be used to describe it. Lauren (one of my roommates) and I were given a ride by a couple alsoattending the retreat. It was my first time meeting them and as with everyone I've interacted with here, they were so pleased to spend time with us and were very gracious. After about five minutes in the car, Shelley asked if she could pray for our journey to the retreat. I felt very comforted listening to her prayer. My mom always prays at the beginning and end of any trip we take. They pray aloud quite often here, especially before meals. This is something that certainly pushes my comfort zone, in a good way, and I hope to grow more comfortable with it through out the year. 

Although, there were differences between the retreat and a retreat we would have, the differences were pretty slight. Overall it was a very enjoyable weekend. For starters, it was 

absolutely beautiful. I know, I keep saying everything is beautiful, but I really feel that every new place I go is more beautiful than the last! We were up in the mountains and had a gorgeous view of the summit of Mount Kinabalu. On Sunday (my birthday) we had the whole afternoon free. For an hour or so it was raining, so we got a ride to Kinabalu National Park. Even in the rain, it was nice to see and I look forward to going back and exploring. When we climb Mount Kinabalu next year this is where we begin the climb. There are also many other trails available for your hiking pleasure. By the time we got back to where the retreat was the rain had let up. We were able to spend a couple hours hiking. This was definitely the highlight for me. It was so nice to be out in nature. Very peaceful and relaxing. It was also nice to spend some time reflecting on the month with the other YAGM (the five others doing this same program in Malaysia). (Photo: Kelsey, Ellen, Jacob, Erika, and me during our hike) 

The retreat itself consisted of four, two hour sessions with their guest speaker, a pastor

 from Australia. This retreat was family orientated so there were about eight young children under the age of six. We (the YAGM) were in charge of keeping them entertained during the sessions. We switched off going to sessions and watching the children, so we each were able to go to two of the four sessions. This was a very good happy medium because I enjoyed both playing with the kids and going to the sessions. (Photo: Me and Rachel, 3, one of the little girls I played with during the sessions. Although she looks shy in this picture she was extremely energetic and kept me on my toes). 

Leaving the retreat, even with my exhaustion (the beds were very hard and I didn't sleep too well) I felt quite renewed. It was a very good experience to get out of the city for a few days, to spend some time in nature, and get a chance to develop relationships with those at the retreat. It really had a camp feeling to it and we very quickly developed the camp family feeling. I particularly liked the length of the retreat. Until this point we have not had the chance to really be around the same people (church people that is) for three consecutive days and this made the development of relationships stronger. Now we have more of a church family as well as our work families. 

On our last morning there we were broken into five teams and did a scavenger hunt! It was actually pretty difficult, but lots of fun to work in a team. After finishing the scavenger hunt we had to finish a puzzle in order to win. I really enjoyed it and want to share it with you. If you are experiencing any boredom or need to procrastinate this should help!

Can you find the names of 25 books of the Bible in this paragraph? This is a most remarkable puzzle. Someone found it in the seat pocket on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping himself occupied for hours. One man from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Roy Clark studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Victs mentioned it in her column once. One woman judges the job to be so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help calm her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot... that's a fact. Some people will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. The truth is, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have. Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation may help, books like! Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. And punctuation or spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete. Remember, there are 25 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph.

Simple Living

                 

                                   

On Wednesday we went to Madam Ha and George's durian farm and it was even more beautiful than KK. Of course, farm here is not in any way close to what a farm in the Midwest is like. It's practically the jungle. Very lush and green with trees bearing fruit all over the place. Raising durian is actually quite a lot of work. Once the durian get to a medium size (right about now in the season) they have to tie the durian to the tree branches so that they do not fall too early (see picture). This requires someone to climb up in the tree. We were able to see this and it is so much work that it must be a never ending job.

I did try durian again and am pleased to say that it's beginning to grow on me! I could finish a whole part of one (which really isn’t too big) and it really didn't taste that bad. I think after about two more tries I'll actually really like it. I tried to savor the taste and try to come up with something that it tastes like but am still at a loss for words. Although, I did realize that it does have a weird sweet taste to it. The texture, kind of like soft stringy chicken breast, is also something that I think makes it unappealing at first. Just a fruit that takes some getting used to... it's definitely an acquired taste and I'm on my way to acquiring it!

 Another part that I liked about the durian farm was seeing the workers and their lives there. VERY simple and living in huts. They were all smiles and happy to have visitors. From my brief observation they seemed quite happy with their simple life there. I walked away from the farm thinking, although I doubt I'll ever live so remotely in the country like that, or quite that simple, I really hope I am always able to be thankful for the gifts I have, small or large.  I hope I am always able to be happy and content with my life... never wanting more.

One of the biggest adjustments for me here has been getting used to not being in such regular contact with my friends back home, struggling to keep up to date with all of them, and manage my time to stay in touch. I thought about how the workers on the durian farm probably didn't have very many friends aside from the family they were living with. If they did have friends I'm sure they had no way of staying in touch with them. Although I love my friends dearly and hope they are all part of my life for a long time, I am beginning to realize the reality of living your own life and letting go a little. There is something to be said about being in the moment, in your own life; to really getting to know yourself and being content with that.

In about an hour I will be leaving for a weekend church retreat at the base of Mount Kinabalu. I am really looking forward to seeing the mountain up close and to hopefully developing more friendships with the people at the retreat. I will return on Monday afternoon.

I will leave you with another meaningful passage from “Beyond the White Noise”  which corresponds to my previous post and can be applied to the idea of living simply as the workers on the durian farm do.

“Sometimes I felt like a gecko in Laog. I had tremendous energy and desire to move, and I did. I was busy, but it all seemed meaningless. During one of these frustrating periods I remember reading Masao Takenaka’s God is Rice. He helped me better understand the limits of modern “Western” culture.

We live an increasingly hectic life and we are busy with much busyness. The character for “busy” in Chinese writing, which Koreans and Japanese also use, literally means “to destroy one’s heart.” If we are too busy we forget what is most important. It is interesting that the same components of the character for busy are used to indicate forgetfulness. Both mean the destruction of one’s heart. “

The Importance of Relationships

I recently started reading the book, "Beyond the White Noise" by Tom Montgomery-Fate. The book was given to all six of us journeying to Malaysia by the ELCA. The author writes about his experience as a missionary in the Philippines, where Christianity is not the main religion, similar to Malaysia. So far I am really enjoying the book and would like to share an excerpt with you.

"Do not depend on the hope of results... the big results are not in your hands or mine... they suddenly happen and we can share in them; but there is no point in building our lives on this personal satisfaction, which may be denied us and which after all is not that important... In the end it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything." quoted in the book by Thomas Merton. The author continues, "Merton suggests a different focus: that our task as missionaries (and as human beings), is not to impose, but to share- both the risks and joys of the host culture- to realize that "human relationships save everything."

I found this passage to be a very important reminder as to what my time here is all about.  As somebody quite focused on results, this brought the issue to the front of my mind and made me realize it is something I need to work on through out the year: less on the outcome and results and more on the people and relationships. Although, I do hope to see results, and I feel I can't help that as I am teaching the children and am responsible for their progress learning, the more important part is the relationships I form. Being here in Sabah to teach kindergartners English is just a stepping stone to building these relationships; to learning about the culture through the people I meet and simply listening and letting them teach me.

Only about two and a half weeks have passed since I've arrived and I've already begun to build these relationships, and I have done my best to listen and absorb the information that has been shared with me. I've been overcome with gratitude for the warm welcome we've received and the amount of hard work and planning that has gone into our life here in Malaysia. Everyone has been going out of their way to make sure we are comfortable, happy and understanding the new culture we're surrounded by. 

During our first week here, we went to a pot luck dinner hosted by Pastor Laura (country coordinator). Everyone who was part of the planning to bring us here attended the dinner, such as our bosses, BCCM (Basel Christian Church of Malaysia) pastors and more. It was a wonderful experience getting the chance to sit down and talk with everyone who had put so much work into our life here and had heard so much about us. After dinner they had a brief meeting to discuss the next few weeks for us. This was one of the most defining moments I've had thus far in my time here in Malaysia. It was so moving to sit and observe as they discussed each of us and showed all of the work they had put in and were going to continue to put in through out the year. I suddenly felt as though I was more of a burden than a help. There is no way I would be here right now, in a place that's beginning to feel like a home, with out these people and their daily efforts to assist us. It was a pure example of the people here teaching me and again reminding me of the purpose that they are here to serve me just as much as I am here to serve them. I could simply feel how passionate they are about this program, how committed to it they are and how much they want it to work. 

I am gradually beginning to build my family here and am very pleased with the relationships I've begun thus far. I look forward to seeing where the year leads my relationships and to watch as my family here grows.

***The picture is of me with Madam Ha (pronounced Madam Ho) and George. They are the owners of the apartment building we live in and they live two floors above us. They have quickly become our host family and are like parents to us. They always seem to have us in mind, stopping by with treats or taking us to run errands and buy local fruit. They often take us out for dinner to introduce us to new foods. Madam Ha will be teaching us Chinese through out the year. On Wednesday (no school, public holiday), I believe we are going out to the country to see George's durian (smelly fruit) farm. Much more to come on them later. 

3 Important Things to Know About the Malaysian Food Experience

Aside from the tropical climate and surroundings (lots of coconut trees!) the first main difference I noticed after arriving in KK (Kota Kinabalu) was the food (I refer to it as the food experience because the food is so different it is an experience in itself). We went out for lunch after being picked up at the airport. As we sat down I realized there was no knife, fork or spoon. Just chopsticks. (I am slowly becoming good at using chopsticks to eat. Luckily they do use forks quite often too. However, I like the challenge and try to use chopsticks whenever possible). By recommendation we all ordered a local version of cold green tea. It was very good but I was pretty dehydrated so I requested a glass of water. I was asked (by Pastor Laura, our country coordinator) if I would like the water cold. I responded, "Yes" thinking that was a pretty odd question. I was then informed that if you order water at a restaurant and do not specify that you want it cold that you will be served hot water. I have been reminded of this several times through out my time here when I ordered water, while breaking a sweat from eating soup and drinking coffee in high humidity only to receive hot water like we would drink with tea. So lesson #1: always order cold water.

After taking about five days to adjust, I now think the food here is amazing and I can already tell it is something I will miss when returning to the States. I am trying so many new foods… I always try everything (no matter how strange it looks) and if I don’t like something (which has only happened a few times) I try my hardest to take a few bites to make sure it really is not appealing to me. They have such a wide variety of food (Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, western and more) and it is so fresh, not processed like many of the food is in the States. Very broadly I would say I currently enjoy the noodles, rice and fresh fruit the most. I also surprised myself by liking the Indian food we had last week. They also really like spicy food here and food is typically not that sweet, which I like a lot. They always have some kind of chili/hot sauce or peppers on the side of every meal to add as needed… kind of like we use salt and pepper. I do think it’s pretty humorous how much soup they eat. Many of the restaurants are not air-conditioned. It’s so hot here that at most any time through out the day you can break a sweat just simply sitting. So do Malaysians try to make the heat more bearable by drinking cold water and eating cooler foods? Oh no, they regularly drink hot water, hot tea, and hot coffee and eat soup with many meals.

The local fresh fruit is also fairly different from the states and is delicious. Similar fruits that we buy fresh and really enjoy are pineapple and banana. I also really like the dragon fruit, star fruit, mango and I have a papaya in my kitchen that I have yet to eat. I have had several other local fruits that are not like anything I’ve seen before but I can’t remember all of the names. However, I have finally learned the name of my favorite fruit so far: talap! It is pictured above. Trust me, I know it does not look appetizing and I was very skeptical the first time I had it. It is actually quite sweet and delicious. It is only grown and found in Sabah (the state of Malaysia I am living in). Lesson #2: Don’t judge food by its cover! Try everything… you may be pleasantly surprised. And then again you may not…..I have also tried the fruit called durian. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian The fruit is known for it’s horrible smell. It is so pungent that the fruit is not allowed to be sold in the city. In order to by durian you have to drive out of the city and there are stands along the road selling it. Honestly, I cannot put into words what it tasted like… it is incomparable with any other taste. However, I can tell you that I did not like it at all and was only able to stomach one bit. The texture is best comparable to chicken. Of course, Malaysians love it and they have many different foods flavored durian… even ice cream. I have been told that if you try it twice you will then like it. So I may try it a second time… we’ll see.

Not only is the food very different but the eating style and rules are quite different too..  Lesson #3: You must eat all that you are served. Otherwise it is perceived that you don’t like the food and that you’re being wasteful. This was extremely difficult at first but after about a week and a half I am pleased to share I became a pro at cleaning my plate.  I had a few experiences where I was questioned about not liking the food because I simply could not stuff another bite in my mouth. Further clarifying the rule: You must finish all the food on your plate if you are eating at home or are a guest at someone’s house. When at all possible serve yourself so you can take small portions if necessary. However, when at a restaurant you do not have to finish your whole portion, but if at all possible it is strongly advised to finish everything. It can still be viewed as wasteful by not eating all your food. 

We also learned very quickly that Malaysia’s eat sizable portions and they eat them quite often. They have breakfast, then tea (with a “snack”…. comparable size to what I would have for lunch in the states), lunch, another tea/snack in the afternoon, then dinner… and if they’re up late they’ll have another “snack” around 10 p.m.  Although I know that we snack in the States the difference is: I feel they eat more and there snacks are more routine and scheduled and most everyone has them at the same time.

This morning I feel I passed my final test and have officially adjusted to the food here in KK. Mr. Lo Vun Ken took me out to breakfast on the way to school. The specialty of the restaurant was their fish ball porridge. ---Honestly the two foods that I’ve struggled with finishing and disliked the most have been fish and porridge...but I’d never had them together. Their porridge is not sweet at all, instead I have had chicken porridge that tastes heavily of chicken broth and has bits of chicken mixed in. I didn’t like it. Some fish I’ve had to eat has been all right; however probably my least favorite food I’ve had here was some kind of fish. I debated ordering noodles instead for breakfast. However I decided that I would give it a try. What was the worst that could happen? Surprisingly enough, it was quite good! The fish balls looked similar to our meatballs but they’re white. I’m not sure how to describe the taste but it was certainly edible. I’m not sure it is something I would order on my own but I was pleased I didn’t have any issues eating it.

Last example of the different foods… Tonight I tried a special local “drink”. I have no idea why it’s called it a drink because it was soup. It was sweet potato and yam mixed in coconut juice. There were small cubes of yam and sweet potato in the coconut juice and it was slightly blended.  I don’t know who would ever think to mix those three foods together but it actually isn’t too bad. It has a very unique taste and was very filling.

The most important lesson that I've learned is lesson #2 about waste. Be thankful for the food you have to eat (even if it isn't fish ball porridge) and do your very best to only take the amount of food you can eat and finish it all. 

Genesis 1: 29-30

 

 

Finally... the first of many to come

Greetings from the beautiful city of Kota Kinabalu! I am pleased to report I have arrived safely and am adjusting quite well. I have now been here for almost two weeks and it is gradually beginning to feel like home. Thank you again for all of your support and prayers. I apologize for my lack of correspondence, as I have been without Internet since I arrived. So much has happened in the past 14 days that I feel I could right a short book. I don't quite know where to begin...

After 44 hours of traveling, 22 of those hours in the air, I arrived on Friday, August 28th in the sunny, hot and humid city of Kota Kinabalu. Although I was fairly worn out from traveling I was very happy to finally reach our destination. We immediately began our activities for the week of orientation but were given quite a bit of down time the first few days to rest. I was pleasantly surprised that the jet lag was not too bad for me. After about a day or so I felt pretty adjusted to the time difference, which is 13 hours ahead of Central Standard Time.

This week I began my job placement at Kindergarten Petagus. It was a great feeling to wake up on Monday morning and know I had to get ready for work… and then to walk out the door towards my job for the next year. Not having a regular job this summer was difficult for me and it was especially hard not working with/seeing children regularly. I had been ready for this day for quite awhile.

Kindergarten Petagus is about a 15-minute drive (sometimes a bit more depending on traffic) from my apartment. Every morning I am picked up by Mr. Lo Vun Ken, a board member of the kindergarten and he transports me to the kindergarten. One of the teachers gives me a ride home after school. I am picked up at 7 a.m. and school starts at 8 a.m. School ends at 11:30 a.m. and I am home by around 12:30 p.m. I have the afternoon free to work on lesson plans, work out, read, journal and do just about anything that my heart desires. It is a very relaxed schedule and so far I am enjoying it quite well.

Although on Monday I was happy to be at the kindergarten it was not too eventful. I spent most of the morning meeting with the principal and going over the different classes and different materials that need to be taught. I spent a brief period of time at the end of the morning peeking into each classroom. I did get to see and English class being taught to the 4 year olds, which was very helpful. This is one of the smaller kindergartens in Kota Kinabalu, which I am thankful for. This way I am able to make more of a connection with the children and hopefully will know most of them. There are approx. 130 children and they are split into 6 different classes. In Malaysia, kindergarten is age 4, 5 and 6. So at Kindergarten Petagus there are two classes for each age.

Tuesday was my first day teaching! I was surprised at my lack of nerves but it made sense as I had prepared well and am comfortable teaching young children. The biggest problem I could foresee was the language barrier. Malay is the first language of most children at this kindergarten. At school they learn Malay, Chinese and English. However, it does not seem to be a problem. As long as I talk slowly they understand pretty well. The 6 year olds understand just about everything I say and with the 4 year olds I have to concentrate on using very simple English. But so far so good. This is quite a blessing as know very little Malay right now (but I am learning). On Tuesday I taught 4 classes back to back (with a half hour tea break in the middle). I taught Phonics lesson and then English lesson to the same 6 yr. old class. I then taught the same English lesson to the other 6 yr. old class and my last class for the day was an English lesson for the 5 yr. old class. I was a little tired by the end of the morning but very pleased with the way the lessons had gone.

Today, Wednesday went even better. My first class of the day was the same as Tuesday (6 year olds). On Tuesday I taught this class to say “Good Morning”. Today, when I walked into the class and started getting my stuff ready for the lesson almost every student came up to me individually and said “Good Morning!”  That made my day right there! J  The rest of my classes went well.

It seems that my 5 year old classes are going to be the most difficult to teach. The 5’s are in a weird medium between just the beginning stage of learning (4’s) and the stage of understand the overall concept (6’s). The 5-year-old classes are also always my last class of the day and by that time their attention span is pretty short.

I feel I have been placed in a wonderful job where I am really needed and where I will excel. So far I look forward to work every morning and enjoy challenging myself by adding some uniqueness to the lesson plans and not teaching straight from the book. At this point it has been a wonderful week and I look forward to getting settled into the school and really impacting the children.

 Through out the next week I will make several posts on different topics and try to catch you all up on the past two weeks of my life in Malaysia.

 This is the day that the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  –Psalm 118:24