Malaysian Thoughts

So what's it like living in Malaysia? The first metaphor that comes to mind is that living in the jungle (I saw my first monkey in the city today) is like combing your hair the opposite direction you've always combed it. You know the feeling; the follicles in your head tingle and slightly hurts as you push the hair in a direction it neither wants nor cares to go, all the while you have a strange sensation that feels unnatural, but not altogether painful. That's how it feels so far as we've begun to venture out of the walls of our compound. As Rachel mentioned, sitting on the right side of the car and driving is a great example of what I'm trying to convey. It (the driving in the left lane) feels totally incorrect. At the junction points in the road I force myself to turn into what my mind tells me is certain death to learn that, yes, in fact I was doing the right thing darting over into the left hand side turn lane. Another major hair follicle tingling feeling comes when you need (as my love for sweets is more of a need than a want) something sweet. Desperately I want to pick up a half gallon of Rocky Road ice cream, but the sticker shock associated with this caloric treat is enough the make me want to follow Gandhi. I could feed a village for the asking price for my double scoop, Marble slab, whipped cream goodness that I so took for granted in Colorado. One more Malaysian expenrience I've come to enjoy is listending to the locals use English. While most Malays' are fluent in English I would not say their 'fluency' has escaped their multicultural heritage. With Chinese, Cantonese, Hindi and several dialects of Malay being spoke in a relatively small area, the Malaysians' spoken English has absorded its surroundings. As I listened to our real estate agent speak, it was mind numbing. Her use of Chinese grammer, English adverbs and Malay uterances would cause me to go insane should I really try to undestand what she's saying. Anyway, you are getting the picture.
Tomorrow I will venture to my office for the first time. This should be interesting and a place I am trusting God will allow me to be an influence for His purposes. Hopefully Rachel and the children will not have too hard a time playing in the pool and enjoying a little more RNR.