I know it has been a really long time since I've written a blog, but up until now I didn't feel like I was doing much worth writing about. That was pretty selfish, considering I'm in another country and I should let all my loved ones know what I'm up to, even if it seems insignificant to me.

Mostly, I've been going to school everyday during the week. Still getting up at 6am, starting school at 7:30am and reaching home around 2pm. My host sister, Abishah, has been in Kuala Lumpur (K.L.) studying, so I don't see her that much anymore. My other sister, Abihail, has been at home since she got back from the U.S. but occasionally she goes to K.L. with Abishah to visit, since I know it is not all that exciting to sit at the house most days. My host parents are doing well. A few weeks in September were filled with local church conferences where the whole family would go; sometimes to really check up on the churches, but mostly to be with each other.

School isn't so bad because there is hardly any homework, and I have so much fun just being with my friends. I never thought about how close I would get to my classmates, but I know that there are a lot of girls who I will miss very much when I go home. I'm also invited to spend a few days at some of my friends' houses, and that always turns out to be so much fun.

September was fasting month for Muslims, so it's a big deal in Malaysia considering Malaysia is an Islamic country. In U.S. no one would know the difference between September (Ramadan) and any other month, but here, it's obvious. For one thing, at school, none of the Malays go to recess to eat-usually they stay in the classroom. There is also a special market open during the evenings from about 4pm to 6:30. It closes before 7pm because the Malays are the ones running it and they have to be home in time to "buka puasa" (break fast) at 7:10pm. During Ramadan, Muslims only fast from sunup to sundown. The market is known as "Pasar Ramadan", and I was fortunate to go one day with one of my friends (funny enough, she is Chinese). It's not so much different from a night market (pasar malam), except that all that is being sold is food, nothing else, and according to my friend, Terry, the food is extra delicious.

During the last few days of Ramadan and the first few days of October, I stayed with a Malay family in Tanjung Malim to experience Ramadan in a Muslim home. Every night we ate at 7:10 while listening to the "calling to pray" in Arabic which was playing on the TV, and every morning the family woke up at about 5 to eat, before sunrise. I ate like normal everyday, and yes, it was a bit strange being the only one to eat breakfast and lunch. During the first few days, we mostly just hung out at the house, but we did go to a park one night and one day we went shopping for raya clothes (they buy special clothes for Hari Raya which is the first day of October- end of fasting), but the main event started from October first.

October first is known as "Hari Raya" in Malay, which basically means "Celebration Day". On September 31, we left to visit my host mom's parents' home which was about a 2 hours drive. All of her siblings and their children came also. The dinner was big. We had Bihun (type of thin noodle) soup, chicken, beef, rendang (type of spicy sauce), lemang (rice made in bamboo stick with a type of leaf around it cooked by a fire with coconut), fish, and of course rice. The next morning was a lot like Christmas, but only in the sense of family time and happiness. Everyone dressed up in their raya clothes and each person forgave one another: They do that sitting on the floor, and they lean in close to each other, recite a prayer in Arabic then finish with "minta maaf" (forgive me). After the adults do it, the children simply go to each other and the adults and say "minta maaf" and salam the person. When the child does that, the adult gives him or her a small envelope with money inside as a gift. I followed my host siblings to salam the adults and sometimes I also got money. :)

We spent one night there, then the next night we drove to my host father's parents' house. He has 13 siblings so it was also a full house there. Overall, the experience was good and I'm really glad I was able to go.

From October 9th to October 19th, I was on my short term exchange (STE). I went with three other students to Kota Bharu simply to experience another part of Malaysia and to take a break from school. There were two Japanese, and one German girl. I and the German girl stayed with a Chinese family and the Japanese boy and girl stayed with a different Chinese family. We had many programs planned, but we decided not to do everything because we wanted to spend more time with our host families, so we were able to go shopping or swimming and even once we got to do karaoke! That was a lot of fun. Our host father is a member at the country club so we were able to do it there for free! Free is good. :)

The other programs included sight seeing at local island villages which were very secluded and village-like. We also watched locals make traditional food; we went to a fish factory where they dry certain types of fish for different Malay food; we made kites while being instructed by a local Malay man who makes and sells kites just like his father and grandfather and so on... We also did batik printing which is basically just drawing and painting on a special cloth with special pen and ink (I posted pictures in the photos area of my blog).

One thing we did that was quite different from everything else was when we visited a school for disabled children-mainly children with Down Syndrome. It was interesting to see how the school helps these kids to learn and behave so they can grow up to be more independent. We went to another school which consisted of fewer children who are deaf. I found out that the sign language they use is very similar, with only minor differences, to American sign language, so I was able to communicate a little bit with them. Being there also made me think about my sister in the States who has been deat for about 3 years.

I really enjoy being able to be a part of these activities and learn more about Malaysian culture, but the down side is that I know I will have to leave the people I meet after such short time of being with them and getting to know them.

The next festival which I will be celebrating with my Hindu friends is Deepavali. All I know about it as of now is that it's a Hindu festival and they eat a lot of good food. :) I am really excited!

    When I'm walking down the streets of KL fresh off the bus from Ipoh, I can tell that the locals around me are thinking that I'm just another tourist who doesn't really know what she's doing or where she's going, when in actuality, I do; I love that. I just love being able to walk around with confidence that I know what's going on and I have a specific purpose for where I'm headed: at the specific time and for life in general.
    That's what it's been like many times this past month. I traveled quite a few times to Kuala Lumpur (K.L.): once to visit Abishah, my host sister, since she just moved to K.L. for college. I also came two weeks ago to go to a Bible conference about Elijah, the prophet. The speaker was Bill Crowder and the event was held by RBC ministries. I stayed with my friend, Suyin, who is also an AFS volunteer, and she also went to the conference. It lasted two nights and the message was really great, but the other thing that I really enjoyed about it was that Bill Crowder is from the States, so I felt more at home because he would use metaphors and say things that only people who live in the U.S. would understand, and the way he preached was just so much more familiar to me. God really blessed that weekend and I was glad that I was able to bring my Malaysian friend to an American-style Bible conference.
    This past weekend, instead of coming to K.L., I traveled to Taiping on Friday. Taiping is a town about two hours away from Ipoh, and I and two other AFS students went there for a work camp with the Service Civil International, which is a group that is part of the rotary club. They have work camps in which people from different parts of the world are able to come to Malaysia and be a part of a community service work camp. At this work camp, there was one guy from Greece, one guy from Germany, and the three of us AFS students-two from Japan and one from U.S. (me!). The rest of the volunteers were Malaysian.
    The work camp lasts for two weeks, but we only did two days because we had to come to K.L. on Sunday for an AFS program. Anyways, on the two days, we painted some fences and a big golf ball at a park to make it look nicer for the upcoming fishing competition being held there. We also painted a different fence which enclosed a World War Two memorial. It was good for me because it made me think about all the countries affected by the World Wars, even though they aren't talked about much in my history books.
    After all, the work, on both Friday and Saturday night, we got to do some fun activities: We went to a spring the swim on Friday evening, and it was so nice because it was the first time since I've been here that I got to swim in fresh water. On Saturday night, we went to a night safari and stayed from 10pm-12am. It was pretty cool, but basically it was just like going to a zoo at nighttime.
    On Sunday, I and the other two students left Taiping on a bus headed for K.L. AFS set up a program in which all of the AFS students in the January batch get to learn a few cultural dances and practice them for two weeks so we can perform them at an AFS gala dinner in August. While we are here, we are staying with different host families, traveling each day by feet and train to and from the practice, which lasts from 10am-4pm. By being here, we are also able to experience yet another different part of Malaysia, and the most Americanized part at that.
    I love hanging out with these students because I get a chance to learn from them about their own country and share with them about mine. Plus, they are truly a great group of kids to be around.
    There are people who say that different languages are communication barriers, and I have truly been exposed to that fact, but I've also realized the beauty of other languages. I have come to really appreciate listening to people speaking freely and easily in their mother tongue. It's a new beauty that I am so happy to have witnessed.

    For the past two weeks, I've been taking my mid-year school exams. Out of the four exams given in the year, the mid-year and end-of-year exams are the most important. When asked the question, "Are the exams here harder or easier than the ones in the States?", I wasn't quite sure what to say, but now that I've thought about it, I have reached a general conclusion: The exams here are written like the exams/tests given in the States, but the difference is that the exams here only seem harder because the students have a harder time remembering what they've been taught. The reason they can't remember is because the teachers here don't give out enough homework/projects/tests during the year. The lessons aren't drilled into their brain because they're not forced to  really work with them and use them. That is another reason why most students have "tuisyens"(private teachers). The tuisyen teachers teach the same subjects as school teachers, but it's mainly the fact that going to tuisyens gives the students more learning/working time to really take it into their brains. I can even quote one of my schoolmates: "We can't remember what we've been taught in school and that's why we have tuisyens." Realizing this, I'm not surprised to see all the students running around like chickens with their heads cut off stressing at the time of exams.
    The next two weeks will be school holidays (no school). I have a lot of plans during this holiday and after the holidays there will be a lot of changes here at my house. First of all, next Sunday, Elizabeth will be returning to Myanmar. It's been a real joy having her here with us, and although I'll be sad to see her go, I am glad to know that she is going back to continue in the ministry for Jesus Christ. The cyclone that occurred in Myanmar about three weeks ago has caused a lot of damage, and usually when natural disasters happen like this, many people start searching for answers and something/someone to believe in. Praise the Lord that people are there working to preach the Gospel and share Jesus' love.
    This upcoming Monday, I will be traveling by bus to Kuala Lumpur to meet with the U.S. Embassy. The following week, I will be visiting with a few of my friends at their houses to simply hang out. I'm excited to hang out with them, and  I'm excited about the fact that I'll be able to see how other families here live (everyone is different, right?).
    The second week of June, I'll be visiting Langkawi Island as part of an AFS camp called "Mid-Year Camp." It's really hard for me to believe that I've already been here five months by that time. My time here is flying by because of all the programs I do with AFS, and going to school and doing family activities... I have to remember to soak and savor everything!
    In the middle of June, Abishah (my sister-"Akka") will be moving to K.L. to continue her studies at a college there. In the first week of July, my other host sister, Abihail, will be returning from the States, but she'll only be here until October when she will then be moving in with Akka to study in K.L.
    Although change is different and sometimes hard to get used to, I am excited to see what God has planned.