And as it began, so it ends!!!!

Here I am again, at the Hong Kong airport...this time, all alone!!!!  As the trip has gone on I have gradually dropped the traveling gang and now I'm doing the 35 hour trek by my lonesome!  

The last of Phuket was great, as you could only expect in a place like Phuket!!!!  We then flew back to Subang for the final dinner at D'Tandoor, which was amazing and home to pack and watch movies.  Up this morning and I went into school to see what the kids have been up to, out for a quick lunch and then off with Das to KLIA.  I enjoyed my final Malaysia bathroom experience (good riddance!) and off I went.  

Hong Kong is rather boring, and now all of the shops are closing as it is 11pm...and I get to stick around until 2:30am!  Going to go hunt for some candy now that I am no longer in a Muslim country and gelatine is once again an acceptable food product and try to get in one more Starbucks to get me back on Canada time!  If all goes well I'll stay awake through and be jet lag free, however, the carpet in the corner is oh so tempting, as Legs will attest!

Wish me luck - I'll be at Cora's for breakfast Saturday morning if you wanna come!  See you in Canada....Peace, one last time from Southeast Asia!!!!

Thailand and spas and elephants oh my!!!!!

Hello from Phuket! Have I mentionned before that I love the beach!?!?! Cause I love the beach!!! Phuket is pretty sweet, definitely an interesting place!
After another Monday morning cab ride with Das to airasia, Legs and I flew off to Phuket, our one and only venture into Thailand. It's definitely a great place for one last vacation! We are staying in a luxurious hotel complete with shower, sink and a toilet that flushes without pumping!!! There aren't even any lizards in the room....it's a bit much all this cleanliness!!!! And there's is an incredible spa attached, for only 1,000BHT ($30CAN) I had a 3 hour body scrub, Thai oil massage and the best facial of all time! Then more beach, and fabulous food....the best phat thai I've had in my life, for only 50BHT!
And the partying is like nothing I have ever seen!!!!! Banghla Street is insane! All over the road there are folks trying to convince you to see a Go-Go show, with a list of things that girls will stick inside....the big seller is the ping-pong ball, which I understand they then shoot back out....This is also the home of Rock City, a cool rock cover band bar, you haven't lived till you've seen a Thai boy/girl rockin' out! There is also a prominence of lady-men, I got to see some sweet fake boobs on a very hot man at the beach yesterday - the gals are gorgeous!!!!
What else....lots of stuff, selling, massaging, pedicures, beaches, drinking, whatever goes here!!!! So so many large white old guys with lovely Thai lady "friends", which has become an interesting people watching fascination for Legs and I as we sit on the beach, or at lunch, or at dinner, or drinking....
And then this morning, I got to ride an elephant!!!!!!!!!!! So friggin' cool!!!!!! I'm not sure how I feel about the elephant riding and trecking companies, I would much prefer to see wild elephants, but that's not the way in this part of the world. I did buy my elephant a big bunch of bananas and feed her after, so I hope that made up for the ride a bit.
Anyway, this is my last beach day! Tomorrow I fly back to Subang for one last D-Tandoor dinner with the peeps, and then to visit at school Friday before hoping on a plane for my solo journey back to Canada! I'm trying to think of all of the things which I am looking forward to, like clean fresh air, knowing what I'm eating, seeing my family and friends....all will be good! I am very scared of the cold weather - anything cooler than 30 seems insane right now!
So Canada, I'll see you this weekend - I land in Ottawa at 9:10am on Saturday morning and will be going to Cora's for breakie if anyone's interested!
See you on the other side of the world, back in time!!!! Peace!

One more time!

This is it...leaving on the last vacation today!!!! In 2 short hours I'm off to the airport to go on one last trip, for a big ol' party in Phuket!!!! I'm only a little excited!
What's been up since my last post, well, I spent the weekend on the tiniest island, that I would like to rename Fish Island...yeah. After getting back late Thursday night from Langkawi, I met the gals at school and we hopped a cab to KL center to get the bus. They then informed me that the bus line we were using was the most reliable and had the lowest accident record...great! After a 3 hour ride that took 5 hours we made it to Lumut and ran over to the last Ferry of the night to Pangkor. We then took one of the oh so lovely pink cab vans to our new home, the Omback, which we shared with a family of ants and a giant lizard....you wouldn't believe the places we stay in Malaysia!!!! The weekend was good, but the island is only 8 square kms, so as you can imagine, in a day, I was done! We did the beach, scootered the island twice and beached again...I've never in my life seen so much dried fish, or smelled so much dried fish...I'm a little turned off the fish now! We did see some cool stuff while scootering, including a psychadelic temple with mushrooms and donald duck and a purple turtle, and a temple with a kitchy mini great wall of China....fun times! I'll do the pics for the last trips when I get back to the airport to come home I think....no time here!
And now, I'm going to shower in what I have come to appreciate as the best shower in all of Malaysia and then hop on a plane to Phuket...4 more days of vaca fun, and Friday I start the journey back to Canada.
I've come to discover that while I find Malaysia rather heavy and not a great place to backpack, and the what may be the worst bathrooms in the world, I love living in developing areas...my favorite places in the world are those that are somewhat underdeveloped...anyway, that's my realization for today, enough of that!
Off to get clean and fly away again! See everyone soon...Peace!

The only way to do it!!!

I love the scooter! I saw so much of Langkawi that I never would have otherwise, all on my very own scooter....rented, but my own driving!!!! A little scary when the water buffalo charged across the road, but all in all, so cool! We left after the rain yesterday, or so we thought until we got caught in a crazy rainstorm!!!! After getting gas, we went up to the cable cars, which were closed due to clouds. I'm not afraid of heights, but I'm kinda ok with them being closed, cause those suckers were high!!!!! We then went to Seven Wells and hiked up about 800 stairs through the jungle to the top of a very cool waterfall to chill at the Seven Wells, then back down to see the bottom of the waterfall and a few monkeys along the way! After making our way back down the last 300 stairs or so we took off to a masoleum. There is a legend in Langkawi that we were told by our cab driver in KL, and then the bartender here, about a woman who bled white blood a put a curse on the island....so the dealio, this woman was born under all sorts of auspicious signs and was beautiful and people wrote poetry about her and all sorts of stuff. She ended up marrying someone of some importance in Langkawi who went off to battle. In order to take her down, a rumour was started that she was unfaithful, and was to be put to death. She was tied to a tree and despite all of their efforts, the villagers couldn't kill her. In the end, they had to kill her with her own sword and she died tied to a tree. Before she died she put a curse on the island that if she was not guilty, there would be no development on the island for 7 generations. They cut her and she bled white blood, and for 7 generations, no development. They are now at generation 9 and things are starting to pick up tourist wise, and there's a cement plant...believe it!?!?!
That was about the end of that day, we biked back, went to the fancy hotel swim up bar for happy hour and made a few new friends and then out for a very western dinner of pizza and cheeseburger and fries, and to the moldy room for a sleep.
This morning, after waiting out the rain, we biked way up north, cause I'm super fast now, and went to the black sand beach, a crazy cool craft place, hot springs and the sweet beach and then biked right on back here to try to book flights for next week. Only seven more sleeps till the trek home....
Off to the reggae bar on the beach now (notice a trend...) and then back to Subang. Just now decided I would go to Pangkor with some of the gals from school tomorrow, so back home long enough to clean up and off again! Going to bus out there tomorrow afternoon and grab a ferry...and then Monday-Thursday in Phuket I think....but if you look back over the blog you'll notice that the plans never remain the same!!!!!
That's enough internet time for me my friends, I have to go have one more beer on the beach before flying away....to another beach!!!!!!!!! Ciao....Peace!!!!!!!

Rainy Malaysia...

Yup, I'm blogging again....it's raining again! No beach today, which is ok, as I am rather red, but we rented scooters to get the heck out of Cenang, and then it started to pour!!!!! I am pretty awesome with the scooter tho, I must say!!!
What else...well, last night we had the yummiest indian food ever, and then went to have some drinks, but the bars were empty, and the beach bars had closed because of lack of peeps...don't come to Langkawi in off season! We ended up at a quaint little beach bar and then the rain came again! We gathered under the bar roof with strangers and soon enough, new best friends!!!! Legs actually married 3 young men last night, there was a birthday party and a group of random chinese, malay, german and us people! Fun times!
Anyway, that's about all that's happened in the last few hours....so much blogging, so little done! I think the rain is done, so we are off to see the island on a bike! Peace!

A new day, a new beach!

I just can't get enough!!!! Actually, today I reached my fill for the day, which is why I am now in a dark room off the side of the beach talking to you!!!! So what's been happening? Well, I finished up the yoga retreat with 108 wonderful sun salutations, done all whilst baking in the sun, and then spent the day chillin' at the retreat, taking in what was happening all around, soaking up the last of the vibe! Then it was back to Graha and off to the airport...got back to Subang at 2am to sleep, shower and repack and flew off to Langkawi, a chill island in Malaysia. After a quick flight we walked around and bargained ourselves a cute little room for the next three nights and went out to walk the hood in the gloomy Malaysian weather! We found the Babylon bar on the beach and chilled with a cheap drink (the island is duty free!) and some nachos, and then to a cute beach side restaurant for more cheap drinks and a dinner of olives in garlic and bread....so good!
And then woke up this morning to the sun! It was like Christmas morning, back to the beach I went!!!!!!! I got up early and did some yoga on the beach beside the ocean and walked way down the shoreline...then thought I'd jump in and cool off....and a giant wave knocked me flat on my back!!!!!!!!! So I carried myself and my rock/sand filled bathing suit back to the room to clean out the beach, only to find that the shower doesn't so much work!!!! No worries, the tap on the wall works awesomely well to I showered/squatted/bathed....oh, and I forgot to mention TOD, aka, the Toilet of Dreams!!!!!!! This is the lovely blue toilet in our room....you have to turn on the water, wait approximately 2.5 minutes for the tank to fill, but only part way, otherwise the bathroom floods, then you can go, and then you have to reach into the tank and pump the plug vigorously to make it all go down....turn it on and pump it up!!!!!!! Good times!!!!
So now I'm in the darkness of the internet room waiting until 5pm which is when Happy Hour starts at the fancy hotel down the way...they have a swim up bar, which Legs is dying to visit...and although we are not staying there, apparently it will not be a problem for us to just walk in, because, wait for it, we're white....how I missed the racism!!!!!!!!!!
Not sure what comes next, but my time on this side of the world will soon be over....I'm sorta looking forward to the clean air at home, no more brown asian cloud! Send me emails, let me know what's happening in Canada.....off to drink and swim and tan a little more....Peace!

Blissed out in Bali!

Bali Spirit Festival...do it! If you ever get the chance it is amazing! The last two days have been blissed out awesome-ness, despite the not so amazing living accommodations, which comes with many free friends (spiders, cockroaches, lizards....that's all I've seen so far...)
What's life like, well, I'm so chilled out and lovin' life that I don't even care that I sleep with bugs!!!!! Ah, it's not that bad!!!!! We have running water now, so I have managed to bathe, which is fantastic, because in Bali every yoga class is a hot yoga class!!! The rooms are a bit on the nasty side, it looks like it was an incredibly cute place about 50 years ago and that nothing has been done since then....and it's Indonesia, so.....yeah! It wouldn't be so bad if the bugs here were normal size, but they're all on steroids I think!!!! Anyway, it's all good, I will appreciate the sketchy two-starness of Langkawi even more next week!!!!! You get what you pay for rears it's ugly head again!!!! Adrienne - it's like the place in the mountains in Cuba....maybe 1 star better than that, but without Carlos it hardly seems worth it!!!!
Ok, so yoga! Well, I really want to give up everything in life and teach yoga in a random country and live wherever and make peace with the giant bugs!!!! I started Friday morning sans coffee or food, in an Anusara class, which taught me that what I think of as "hard" in yoga, is nothin'! I sweat for hours!!!!! The classes are all 2 hours long, Ansuara was amazing and challenging and I was doing handstands and elbow stands and a million backbends!!!! Then I stayed for an incredibly crazy session in which I did things that I didn't think were possible! I can reach my arms around my body in insane ways....it's a whole new kinda bendy! After that a lunch break and then a session with the most amazing incredible wicked yoga teacher Mark Whitwell...he was trained by Krishnamacharya in India in the 70s and has travelled the world teaching yoga. Blew my mind!!!!! After a shuttle ride back to the dungeon for a shower we had some dinner and went back out with the rest of the gang for the music, which was again, awesome!
Day two was today, and I am so sore....anyone who says yoga is not work is not working hard enough!!!! I am feeling every single part of my body, even the teeniest tiniest muscles! And yet, I decided to start my day with Hot Apple Flow!!!! It was amazingly great with an awesome teacher from the UK, but after that I decided to re-think the rest of my days' plan because I was not feelin' it!!!! I skipped the Prana Flow and went to Gentle Hatha instead, and I think I may have fallen asleep a few times from the chillness of it all! After another amazing lunch (ginormous falafle sandwich!) I went to a Learn to Love your Hips class and fell in love! So blissed out at the end....it was Forrest Yoga - look it up, if you like my yoga classes you will love this!!!! So many abs and hips and so much release and so much happiness at the end! Bliss!!!! Then I stuck around for a Tea and Talk with Mark Whitwell, Eoin Finn (Canadian!) and others about Adapting Yoga to the Modern Era. It was so great to be in a room of yogis, new and old, who share the same thoughts as me....we talked about the Westernization of yoga, how it's different from the real-deal and if that is ok....so cool!!!!
And that was that! I know you want to hear about travel adventures....not to worry, the travelling fun starts again tomorrow! It's a free day at the yoga retreat, so the whole gang is coming for 108 sun salutations, and then I'm going to do a music session, reggae for yoga and a discussion of the effects of music on practice. Perhaps some African drumming to end off the day, then back to the hood for one last amazing Bali dinner before the long ride and long flight back to Malaysia! Monday morning Das is fetching us at 10am to fly to Langkawi, which is only an hour long flight, and then it's back to the beach for this gal! It's also a duty-free island, so there may perhaps be a party or two in my future!!!
More to come soon, and if I'm feelin' ambitious on Monday morning I'll go post some pics at starbucks before my flight, but probably not.....
That's all folks! Off to have a drink while I wait for the peeps to get back from the beach....I would love to go back and chill in my room, but in the quietness I can hear the creepy crawlies!!!!!!!!!
Lovin' Bali....Blissed out....Peace!

I still love it....today has been the most interesting day yet!!!! Woke to our normal morning of pool repair men and white toast with jam and then off to the beach for one last day of soaking in the surf!!!! Then we hopped in a van with our man buddha and came on over to Ubud for some yoga-ing....
Ubud is fabulous, fantastic, beautiful! We are surrounded by rice paddies in an ironic setting which is made up of those crazy balinese things that cater to every white persons non-tourist, but yet tourist, desire. It's odd! The best part is our accommodations....the Graha....sketchy!!!! It's got some jungle-looking old school charm, and the review was certainly right when they said it could use some updating! It's pretty much crap and a bit gross!!!! The funnest part was the shower in which the water only works when you are kneeling and hanging your head against the drain, until the ginourmous spider came crawling out towards Legs....all that to say, Legs and I know one another just a little better tonight and my hair is finally kinda clean!!!!!
And so now we are killin' time, waiting for the rest of the peeps to arrive and avoiding our room, while also seeking a new place for tomorrow!!! Lesson of the day for anyone looking to do this triping thing, if you book online, book only for one night, you can always extend, but you can't take it back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Off to have a large beer and hope that I get so sleepy I don't notice what creepy crawlies join me in the night...then up early to yoga the next three days away! Namaste.....Peace!

When I grow up, I want to be a beach bum!!!!

Hola! Have I mentionned before that I love the beach?!?!?!?!
This is my life....I wake up around 9:30 with the sun shining in my window and the lovely Legs so attractively passed out in the bed next to me, mouth wide open, lookin' hot as always, get up and decide between the black, pink, green or blue bikinis and walk down to the pool for my free white toast and jam, strong black coffee and melon. Then out on the town, looking through incredible shops, bargaining ridiculous amounts...I actually refused to pay $9 for a tiedye t-shirt today, and dealed it down to $7!!!! Then we slather on the sunscreen, cause I have an incredibly sexy red burnt hip right now, and go to the beach where we sit on lovely lounge chairs with umbrellas for $2 each, drink insanely cheap beer, get massages or pedicures and swim in the Indian Ocean! After that rough part of the day, we stagger home, stopping for some giant beer and garlic bread at pub, veg in the aircon, clean ourselves and head out in the evening breeze for dinner! Now tell me this isn't the best life there could be!
One more day of this, and then I'm off to Ubud for a three day yoga retreat! The plans after than have changed, we are going to Langkawi on monday morning for 4 days, then to Batu caves, the jungle and then another beach!
I'm decked out in crazy new jewels and have a tan like I've never had one....nothing to crazy happens here because pretty much everyone is out for a crazy time, surfing, partying, sunning, napping....it's all good!
Now that you're good and jealous, I'm going to head off to eat and drink and buy a hat! Peace!

I LOVE BALI!

Really...I am in the best place EVER! It is amazingly incredible here...everyone always asks my favourite place in all of my travelling, well, this is it! And it's only been a day!!!!! I am on the other side of the equator, and I'm pretty sure that's a first, though who knows really! It's hot, but the nice kinda hot, the kind I love, unlike Malaysia, or Canada for that matter, where it's just gross and sticky and humid and icky, it's just lovely and so so so hot here!!!!!
So the adventure...well, we left Malaysia after Legs finally sorted herself out and managed to get herself unlocked from the condo and got on a rather pleasant and so very cheap flight on AirAsia, landed at 10pm and got the coolest visa ever in my passport (it's awesome!) and then cabbed to the random hotel that we booked online for $20...sketch you might think, but it's kickass! So much so that we're staying 2 more nights! We're in Legian, slash Kuta beach if you are interested in looking it up.
After a most pleasant air conditionned night we woke to our free breakfast of crustless white toast and watermelon and great coffee and then went to the beach, where we paid RP20,000 for 2 beach chairs for the day, which is about $2 Canadian! Legs and I then proceeded to get nice and dark, alternating the hot sun and the Indian Ocean. I once had an ex tell me that he had never seen anyone more ackward in waves, well, I'm awesome now, perhaps even a wave superstar! Not only can I do waves, but I spent a big part of my day body surfing, and think that tomorrow I might try the real deal on a surfboard! Then I got a full body massage on the beach for a whopping $12 and a cool handmade necklace and legs got a pedicure and of course a few cold cheap beer!!!!
All this to say, Bali is the best place on the planet! And for the boy who keeps tellin' me he's coming over to visit and travel with me, get your butt on a plane cause I don't want to go home! Do it....I could make this a lifestyle....really! I think, when I grow up, I want to be a beach bum....this is a life I could get used to.....
And now, well, we showered and aloed and came for beer and nachos.....that's right Angel, nachos! Not only nachos, but guac and salsa too!!!!! It took coming all the way to Bali, but we got our freakin' nachos!!!!!!!!!!!! Up ahead, a night of drinking ginourmous RP20,000 beer, yup, $2! And tomorrow, another day of beach.....cheap stuff.....I love life!!!! Peace....come to Bali!

I'm a teacher!

That's right, I did it!  I actually passed....it just about pushed me over the edge to get there, but I am now officially a teacher!  Now to decide if/what to teach!!!!!

But before the fun of finding a job, it's three weeks of Southeast Asia!  Tonight I leave for Bali, four days of beach and three days of yoga retreat...I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am...especially for the yoga, but for the beach and the sun!  I finally got to visit our pool on the weekend, and I'm starting to get my "look" back - the locals are starting to ask if I'm Spanish!  So no blogging while in Bali, but I'll try to make another starbucks trip before I leave again next Monday!  The tentative plan is Bali this week, east coast islands next week, jungle next weekend, and then some west coast duty free islands for a week before flying back to Canada....I know, it's almost over, I have to come back to Canada!  

Yesterday was perhaps my favourite day so far in Malaysia!  The gal I live with and I took the train into KL and went to Central Market, which was amazing!  It's touristy, but all the touristy stuff you want in SE Asia!  I got some cute cheap dresses and a gorgeous hand beaded top and then we were off to the real Little India...turns out where I went before is the tourist trap that is not Little India...I can still smell the curry on me 24 hours later!!!!  SE Asia is super cheap once you get here, it's just the issue of getting here!  

Anyway, I'm posting pics on facebook as we speak, and then I have to run to get a yoga mat from SubPar...I have a big day of pool and perhaps a pedi before leaving at 4 to catch my flight!  Wish me luck that the hotel is not a dive...we went for the fancy option of $20/night...luxury I tell ya, hot water and everything!  It's a 6 minute walk from the beach and in the middle of the action, so here's hopin'!!!!  If you're looking it up, we're in Kuta mon-thurs and in Ubud thurs-sun for yoga.

I'm off, coffee's gettin' cold and the sun's gettin' hot!  Peace!

It's been a long time....

I get it! Enough with the hate mail!!!!!!! I'm sorry, it's been a while, but I have been legitmately busy with teacher type things!!! It's on the downslope now though....let the fun times begin!
What have I been up to...well, if you've been to facebook you must have seen me in my lovely pink outfit...no? You should check it out, polyester pink, it might be the best look I've ever rocked! The shades pull it all together nicely!!! The explanation behind the fashion is the visiting of a pretty kickass mosque (there are pics of that too, kinda matches the outfit!) Saturday morning a few of the school's bigwigs picked up the STUDS and took us out to Putra Jaya, a town created solely for the government administration of Malaysia. It was incredible! Check out some of the other pics on facebook - lots of amazing Islamic architecture and the coolest mosque. It was a great morning all around from the drive in, the gardens, the touring and the tasty carrot cake for lunch!
From there, went back home to veg at the pool because it is insanely hot here right now! It's always hot, but it hasn't rained since Wednesday and let me tell you, we are feelin' it! It has been in the low 40s temperature wise, humid and wicked sun and smog. The intense heat kills all motivation...I understand now why people here seem so lazy!!!!
Other fun adventures, well on Wednesday night on of the local teachers took us on a Malaysian adventure! We went to a Thai Buddhist Temple, for the real deal Indian food, to her and her parents' house and then to a crazy night market! The best part...none of us brought cameras!!! We kicked ourselves for it all night, especially when we got to watch Sheila try the ABC dessert...let me tell you about ABC, it's a huge dessert in a bowl. From the top, you see a scoop of the sickly sweetest ice cream ever (it's blue and pink) topped with a cherry. This is sitting atop a pile of shaved ice, also pink and blue but less sweet. A little gross in the sweetness, but so far, not so bad....then you get to the part hidden by the bowl, which is full of chunks jello (not jello like you think, it's black, it's so so so bad!) and in the mix, corn and beans!!!! I'll try to take a picture, cause you really can't imagine how strange it is to be trying this with people who think it's wonderful....my response was "is that corn!?!?!??!"
Yeah, it was corn! Seems to be a Malaysian thing, they love corn! At fast food place you can buy a cup of corn (usually with a gross melted butter, salt and mayonnaise dressing). You get dessert, usually has corn in it! Corn everywhere!!!!!!!!
So that's that! You're somewhat caught up now...I have only 5 days of teaching left and am booked for Bali on Monday. One week in Bali, ending with a 3 day yoga retreat should be a nice way to forget about the hell that has been practicum! Then I think we are heading to the jungle for a few days and perhaps to hop a few islands before the big trip back to Canada!
I'm missing my girls and the nights of wine and cheese....looking forward to seeing you all again and telling you the stories live!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy the snow and I will enjoy the stiffling heat! Peace!

Another Sunday Mornin'!

Well, the conference is over and was a huge success! The kids were amazing, they put on a fabulous show and collapsed in elated exhaustion at the end of the day!!! I, however, did not!!! After an attempted beer and nachos trip off we went, back to reggae bar! Turns out I have a regular hangout in KL...who knew that could happen! It was good times and great dancing, and I managed to repeat the wheelin' of the last trip with a much more upstanding young man this time!!!

So it's a beautiful day again and I am once again doing work, preparing for the week (although I just recently got up!) I think my plans will have to change and I'll head to the pool now and work this afternoon in order to accommodate....besides, it rains here every afternoon!!!!

Off to the pool I go to get some colour on my skin and feel the heat! Happy Easter.....Peace!

It's Good Friday...what?

Who knew! There I was, working away into the wee hours of the night, helping my students prepare for their big Saturday conference, when one of the three Christian students I teach mentionned that they had to leave for Good Friday service...who knew this was Easter weekend! One of the advantages is that there is no comercialism surrounding it, which is refreshing amidst the bombardment of consumerism around everything else in this country! All that to say, I wish you all a Happy Easter...enjoy the chocolate for me!!!!
No adventures this weekend, it's conference day today and the kids are riled up and ready! They are the best kids ever...amazing hardly begins to describe them!!!! Should be a great day. Tomorrow will be spent poolside, preping my lessons because on Monday, I finally get to start teaching! Not only that, I get to announce to my class that we are taking a field trip to the elephant sanctuary....which may be more for me than for them!!!!!!!
My interesting, and somewhat gross, Malaysian thing for you today...all of the baked goods here have weiners in them!!!!!!!!!! I know, ew is the only possible response you might have! I stopped by the bakery on my way in this morning, since starbucks doesn't open until 9:30 (ridiculous!) to get a little something...look around, pasteries, stuffed with weiners, and what looks like icing on top is mayo, and sometime ketchup!!!!!! Danishes, instead of fruit, weiners! Yum!
And on that note, I gotta get to work! Happy Easter Weekend...Peace!

Who needs to see the country!?!?!?

I have travelled all this way for the coolest practicum experience ever....everyone was so jealous of what would be my amazing experience, I would get to travel everywhere on the weekends, it was going to be so relaxed and I was going to have it easy in my private school....boy were they wrong! I work longer than I ever have!!!! So much for posh!
Anyway, I'm over the whining, although I know you love to hear about it! The conference I'm planning with the kids is Saturday, which will be such a relief, and then I finally get to start teaching! That's also when the doing stuff plans start, someone taking us for the real deal indian food, chicken-fish night out, and a morning in Putra Jaya. I am really hoping to have more of a life soon so that I can tell you how exciting and wonderful Malaysia is...though I think the first weekend was exciting enough for some!!!
Now for a few more things I've noticed about Malaysia! As I live in the middle of a ginormous city, there are no chickens walking around at random, which you all know is my favorite part of developing countries! I'm sure I'll get my fill once we hit the road!!! There are, however, cats everywhere...stray, but well fed! People don't generally keep pets here, not like we do anyway! I've also noticed that the government policy seems to be to employ as many people as possible...rather than employing a few capable people and paying them well, they have decided to employ as many people as possible and not pay them well! For example, there are 15 maids to clean my classroom at the end of everyday! There is a lot of standing around here!!!! There is also a lot of laziness...let me tell you about the teksis (taxi!). They generally don't want to actually drive you anywhere!!!! They don't like it when you are not going far and won't pick you up, and if you are going far they don't want you either, and if it's raining or heavy traffic, forget it! On Friday night I had to flirt shamelessly in a little dress with a dirty ol' cabby just to get a ride into KL for Hot Pot! And the men here, well, they certainly feel that they are free to express their opinions of you, to you, at any time they like! They also feel that it's ok to take pictures of you sitting on the train, which was awesome!
Is that enough for today? I'm burnt out and it's 7pm, I have been at school for just over 12 hours and am going to do a bit more work before going home....to do more work! The disadvantage to teaching overseas is that you are constantly surrounded by the people with whom you work and so you can never escape! It is, however, the full moon tonight, which I think will involve some beers by the pool! Enjoy your morning of snow and think of me swimming in the moonlight....Peace!

Yea, I know....

I suck, I here ya! I know I promised I would keep this updated regularly and I haven't...but I think my associate teacher is trying to kill me!!! It's not that I don't want to write and tell you about my amazing malaysian adventures, it's that I'm so busy I'm not having many (some...just wait for the KL story day!!!!!) This will all get more exciting April 25th when I leave on the big trip, which is coming together I think...some island hopping up the west coast of Malaysia, up to Phuket, a quick flight to Bangkok, back to the east coast islands and then, well, I guess I fly back to Canada!!!
Anyway, I'm heading to Sunway, once of the many many many ginormous malls in the greater KL region (I'll complain more about that and the insane consumerism here another day!) for dinner with the peeps and a little shopping and to decompress from my new life so I'm off for now, I will write more soon...I think a starbucks afternoon is long overdue!
Check out the KL adventure pics on facebook and I'll write about it...maybe tomorrow....don't hold your breath! Peace!

April Fools

Howdy! Turns out, April Fools is not such a big deal in Malaysia...came and went with nothing to report! I feel as though I must be settling in here because things are not inspiring me to write, nothing seems interesting or abnormal anymore and life is life! I'm settling into a routine of waking up whenever I wake up (as long as I'm at school by 10), which is fantastic, and life is slowing down...I walk slower, I work slower and have much less going on in my life which is oddly quite nice. In Ottawa I felt that I had to move a million miles an hour, the gym, school, life, Murph, but here there is not that option. When I was in Trinidad I came to the conclusion that the reason things moved more slowly, aside from the obvious wanting to enjoy the amazingness of the islands, is that there are no super-ginourmous-everything included-monster convenience stores in which you can go workout with your children in daycare, do all of your shopping for the month, including clothing and leave all within 2 hours and having spoken to no one. You need to go to different places to get different things and people talk to each other. Now Malaysia is not quite as friendly in that sense, and people generally don't talk to each other, but life is slower (and hotter!) and I like the ease.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still working, but I'm having fun and being relaxed! Last night Super Dave took me for a run outside....yea, outside, in 35 degree heat in the sun and humidity! I lasted about 4K and headed back to the aircon gym to bike, but it was so great to be able to run outside around a lake without cars and noise and craziness!
Ok, you're getting bored of my relaxedness I know!!!!
Of my adventures, well, they're on hold aside from the running! The weekend is coming and you should be excited cause I will be adding pictures when I do my starbucks time! I'm also heading into KL to explore this weekend, the towers are on the list and I need to find my way to little India. The peeps are travelling this weekend, so I'm home alone for the first time since I've been in my padlocked condo and as much as I love them, I'm excited to veg!!!!! That's it for plans, though knowing this crowd they'll be some 4 am-ness happening somewhere!
I'm off, back to being Miss Jordan and working with my fantastic amazing incredible kids! Peace!

Tuesday...I only have 15 minutes!

I so intended to write something earlier but instead I did some teacher stuff....s'ppose that's what I'm here for! I have only a short minute to write today as we are going to dinner and a movie tonight (seems so much like home!). I'm somewhat jealous of Angel's blog cause he already has pics up and everything, I know, I promised to get my act together and I will...give me till the weekend!
Good news though, I attempted to get back into shape today! After slacking off since leaving Canada I got up at 6:30am and went to the gym in my condo, ran on the treadmill and did some makeshift Body Pump, and let me tell you, I have never sweat so much in my life and that was with the aircon! Turns out, was not such a good idea as I then had to walk to school...messy! So from now on I'm going to swim in the mornings and run in the evenings, tomorrow night I'm going running with Dave by the lake which I'm sure will result in some good stories for you!
And now for what I learned today...aside from the above and other things that I don't have time to tell you...people in hot countries move at a leisurely pace because it's freakin' hot! If you rush you sweat, if you stress you sweat! So for all of you that knock my slow walking you should know that I'm the energizer bunny around here, and that's about to stop!!!!!!!! From now on, I'm taking the "island time" frame of mind, I am, really, so when I get home don't expect me to do anything that requires fastness of any kind! I'm a new woman!!!! Peace!

Good morning Canada! I know, it's 2am where you are...I feel a tad lonely at this time of day, like everyone I know is asleep! It's the first day of school for real today, I met my first class this morning and have one more this afternoon, that's right, only two classes a day! They're an interesting group....teaching pre-university and in a private school in a foreign country leads to a wide variety of students, and the nicknames are fantastic! Some of the teachers have already nicknamed me bigwheel betty, but I won't get into that!!!!
I realize I haven't told you much about the school. First off, it's huge! This campus (one of several) is located in Subang Jaya, which is also where I live, a suburb of KL. It is a university-college, therefore most of Taylor's is post-high school, business studies, law programs, etc. I work in the ICPU (Canadian Pre-University) but there are also pre-U programs from Cambridge (British system) and Australia. Someday soon I'll get my act together and bring my camera in and actually post some pictures!!! The teachers here teach one course only, 2 or 3 times everyday. There are 6 70minute periods and lunch, but no bells to announce the start or end of class, and really, we start everything 5 minutes late, and finish everything 10 minutes early!!!! Grade 12 is the only grade offered, aside from one grade 11 English class, and everyone is ESL....everyone! Most students are either working in the math/sciences or in the social studies sections with one elective choice.
So every morning I make the trek from my condo in the heat through the 10 minute walk to school, dodgeing the crazy drivers who I think aim for us! I then pop to McDonald's for my 3R coffee, or if I'm feeling rich (or hungry, cause I still refuse to eat McD) I do Starbucks for 14R, which I really have to stop! Then I walk up to the 5th floor, outside, and drag my sweaty butt into my office where I chill in the aircon and work. My first class doesn't start until 10:30, so technically I don't even have to be here until 10! Life is grand! Lunch is at 11:45, then I work until 2:15 when I go to class until 3:30 and then it's home! There are no sports teams here, no gym class, no visual arts, a bit of extra-curricular, but not much to do after school! Generally we leave at 4 and go home....and swim!!! I know, you're jealous!!!!!!!
That's pretty much school!
I'm off to meet my next class....peace!

A Live Post!!!

Yea it is!  I am actually writing directly onto the blog, now that I've finally actually set the thing up!  Really, I should be working on lesson planning and unit projects and all that, but the internet is rare and I seem to find endless ways to waste my time while sitting at starbucks using the Kenny Rogers Roasters free internet!  I'm waiting for the coffee to kick in...last night was my first big night out in Malaysia, I finally kicked enough of the jet lag to make it past 11pm and so off we went to Reggae Bar, yup, a reggae bar, in Chinatown, in Kuala Lumpur....random, I know!  And some of you know how much more random it gets!!!!!!  So partying till 4, finding my way back to my apartment and then getting up at 6:30am to take students to World Water Day has left me with a desperation for coffee - also explains the randomness and perhaps dumbness of the writing of today's blog!

I realize I've told you a lot of what I've done, but not about what's what here!  Aside from the 12 hour time difference and the other side of the world thing, it's hot!  The kind of Canadian summer hot, where it's humid and sweaty and great!!!!  Most afternoons there are massive thunderstorms that would rock your socks off!  I live on the 18th floor of a brand new condo, which has 4 towers and houses most of the teachers...my peeps rock and I have a pool, gym, squash courts, ping pong and everyone nearby!  It's good times, and 10 minutes to walk to school!  School is good, aside from walking to the 5th floor in the sweat every morning, lunch and afternoon!  I start in class tomorrow morning, which should be cool - the kids seem great!

I can't really compare KL to anywhere else I've been...they have a lot of the same weather and plant-type stuff as Trinidad (I'm looking at red bamboo now!) and are trying to be very western and cosmopolitan and tell you that every chance they get, but things are still different!  Everything is english and I have yet to find someone with whom I can't communicate, although I get the feeling I annoy many of the men just with the fact that I'm a girl!  Oh, and for those of you wondering, the sexiness of my elbows has not yet offended anyone, nor has my eating with my left hand!  I have yet to really leave my bubble aside from the partying, so I am really looking forward to seeing KL in the daylight!  Perhaps next weekend!!!!!

Anyway, I've lost my train of thought and really should get some work done - comment back with questions and I'll answer them, perhaps it will keep me on track and this will make more sense!!!!  Pictures will come soon....Peace!

Malaysia...wow!

Friday, March 27th

Goodmorning Malaysia!  I’m really here...it is only 5am (which is 5pm Canada on Thursday if you were looking to catch-up!  So Malaysia thus far...the airport was amazing, we landed in the middle of fields of palm trees, which was quite impressive and then made our way through immigration and were happy to find that all of our baggage made the trip!  We then met up with our Taylor’s representatives and the fourth member our of “fearless international team” to head to the school.  Now at this point, the last time we slept was Monday night at home, and have not showered since Tuesday morning, so we are feeling rather skuzzy as well as starting to hallucinate from lack of sleep, but we were dropped off at the school to wait for the end of the day!  We chilled in the staff room (the red room) until four where I was presented with my giant yellow box of fun - turns out my associate is organized and I have piles to do right away!!!  We met  a few of the teachers, including the fab peeps that are putting me up and Angel’s party hours boys (Legs and the fourth are staying with my teacher who is away).  Finally four o’clock appears and we are shuttled back to our condos which are a ten minute walk from school!  

The condos that Legs, the fourth and I are staying in are ginormous, and apparently just finished last fall.  The gals are in one tower with my teacher and I in another - you need a pass to be able to get up the elevator and there are piles of security (feel better mom?).  On the fifth floor there is a lovely outdoor pool, park, gym and ping pong room and outside restaurants and shopping gallore!  There is a starbucks three minutes away, and another across the road, the oh so dangerous road!  I have already been warned that it is pedestrian beware in Subang Jaya and remember to look left!

After what may have been the best shower I have ever had, my peeps and I picked up the gals for dinner where for 3.50RR I had a yummy plate of noodles and veggies, and 3.50RR is about $1 Canadian!  Thus far the food is great, the water is drinkable, I have not gotten sick and I’m only off about 2 hours in my jet lag-ness...and I think I may go back to sleep for another 2 hours before school!  Turns out that living on the 18th floor as I do means that wireless will not reach me, so this blog will be updated from school or starbucks, so keep on checkin’ me!  I have a local phone now, so as soon as I get a card I will send some of you the phone number so that you can reach me whenever you feel like wasting money on long distance charges!!!!!

Peace out and enjoy the weekend!

Saturday, March 28th

So does not feel like March!!!!  It is hot here, the humid kind of Canadian hot that everyone loathes...maybe it’s just that the memory of Canada is too fresh having only been here a few days, but I love it!  It’s a nice sunny morning, and I have managed to sleep until 10 and am finally feeling more human again, but it’s not the kind of sunny that makes me want to go to the beach because there’s always that humid layer up top.  Legs and I are getting some serious work done today, going to starbucks to internet because I have to have my unit project ready for Monday...yea, the first day of classes!

Overall, things are good!  I have discovered that Malaysia is best for boys, not single white gals, but we all could have guessed that before I left, and so I’m not entirely sure about wanting to come back as I miss being able to go wherever I want whenever I like - this may change as I become more comfortable here, we’ll see, no judgement yet!

That’s all I got for now, I’ll write more once I’m caffeinated!

I realize that this still has not been posted to a real blog, and that you will be reading it all at one time, but I’m keeping track of things as I go....really! 

The pool was great, I have a tiny tan thus far and then we did a little shopping at Carrefour, which is like Asian Walmart, and oh so very cheap.  Tonight is Earth Hour and the peeps are hosting a party at our place, also a chance to get to know all the other teachers so that should be good!  All in all, things are good (I may have mentioned that!)  Legs and I are having a blast, avoiding the club scene and sticking together, but it’s fun in our bubble...not sure that the other two are feeling the same way.  The condo is fab, it’s big and bright and airconditionned...I live on the 18th floor - I will take some pics soon, and I will actually post them, I promise!  Perhaps tomorrow at starbucks....

The BIG Trip!!!!

The Trip - Tuesday to Thursday + time zone changes!

I realize now that I should have started this blog when I was in Canada, back when I was feeling fresh and pumped for the trip!!!  Not that I’m not excited now, but with 4 hours and 13 minutes left of my 16 hour flight to Hong Kong, I’m feeling a little less than fresh! 

The journey so far....well, Legs and I chatted from Ottawa to Toronto where we met our third traveling companion and indulged ourselves with Starbucks...beat the jet lag early we thought, caffeinate and get a jump on that 12 hour time change!  We boarded the biggest plane I have ever been on, and in record time (the polar opposite of Caribbean Airlines!) and raved of the comforts of our home for the next day-ish.  They have given us blankets and socks and toothbrushes and toothpaste, even headphones and wine for free and best of all a menu to order our dinner, which came in courses.  The movie marathon started next, a cheesy one for dinner, Batman Returns which puts me to sleep everytime along with some other random background noise, and then Slumdog Millionaire as I awoke to only 6 hours left of my trip.  Legs and I are testing the jetlag pills...so far so good!

And so I sit on the plane, trapped, but feeling pretty darn ok for 12 hours done, anxiously awaiting breakfast in an hour...frittata, yogurt, banana bread and fruit, good times!  Soon Legs and I will learn our Malay essential phrases over coffee and land in Hong Kong...and then on to Kuala Lumpur, another 4 hours in the air!  I would love to be able to tell you exactly where I am in the world, but the map is in Chinese!  It seems we have just passed Chita and are heading to Ulan Bator...

Off to another movie!

Hong Kong airport at 4am is so not exciting, could be so exciting if all of the shops would open, but no!  So instead we ate ramen noodles while waiting for starbucks and the shops to open!  Off to kill another 3 hours till the flight to KL!

ps. I just paid 37 Hong Kong dollars for a black coffee, which is like $6 Canadian, which was more expensive than Legs’ latte!!!