A Wonderful Start to the Week

This week is a holiday break for the school. There isn't any holiday but we can't really call is Spring break because there is no such thing as Spring here! I am looking forward to having the week to relax and catch up on life and lesson plans... but I am already missing the children.

Today, I decided to go downtown KK to a coffee shop and get caught up on emails and work on my newsletter. To get downtown I take the public bus, which is about a 15/20 minute drive depending on traffic. As usual I got on the bus at the stop closest to my house. At the following stop a Muslim women got on the bus, sat next to me and quickly started up a conversation. At first I was caught off guard because her English was so good. Of course, she asked where I was from and what I was doing in Malaysia. She was such a sweet lady; she talked to me for the rest of the ride to KK. She told me about her family and her job as a primary school teacher (children age 10). She told me about her home town, a remote village with no running water and electricity. She told me about the families and children that lived there now and how hard their lives are; that they struggle to get food. I felt pretty touched that she felt so comfortable sharing so much with me and the unexpected conversation on the bus certainly brightened my morning. It reminded me that you never know what your day holds and who you will find a companion in.

Although, I have only had someone talk to me on the bus on one other occasion, this is a perfect example of how friendly the people of KK are. I stick out like sore thumb here and I get starred at quite a bit, but usually if I look at the people starring they will smile back at me. Now and then people will strike up conversations with me and I always enjoy the opportunity to learn more about KK and Malaysia through another persons eyes.

Happy Monday!