Chicken Rice

One thing everyone (well, most people) always gets excited about when traveling is the opportunity to try new food. And here is no exception; there's a vast array of new and exciting dishes for me to try and experiment with at home. On paper a lot of it sounds great. Chicken, rice, and some exotic spices and veggies you may or may not have had. Sounds yum. And it can be. An important piece of the equation a lot of people leave out, however, is food preparation. Like chicken. In the US if you order chicken at a restaurant it's usually a breast or thigh (sometimes a drumstick) that's been trimmed, boned, skinned, etc. Other countries (Malaysia being one of them) don't necessarily do that. You could get the left side of a chicken that's been cut in half. Or maybe the chicken was smashed with a hammer until the pieces were separated. Maybe it was even cut into pieces with no regard to the bones that may or may not encbe included. So far in my two and a half weeks here I have been presented with all these options. And while chicken does taste like chicken, the experience can be a little different when you're picking bones out of what you chew every other bite.

Another two meats are beef and fish. With fish, you're typically going to get a whole fish, with scales, the head, everything still attached. Beef tends to taste like you'd expect beef to taste. But the method in which the cow was raised and slaughtered might be different, as well as any spices used to enhance the taste (chili powder, pepper, and cumin seem to be popular options here). As for pork, well, there's not a lot of that depending on where you go. You can find it, but it's in its own section of the store, right next to where you buy your liquor and cigarettes. Or you can go to Chinatown and there's pork in all kinds of varieties wherever you go. I haven't tried bacon from the pork carts they have, but I am really tempted to.

Of course, there is a downside to trying new food: not all of it will agree with your digestive tract. It can taste delicious going in, but once inside, all bets are off. I had my first experience with that last night continuing into early this afternoon, where the chicken fried rice and lamb I ate for dinner didn't want to digest without a fight. It's basically done for at this point, so all is well. It probably won't be the last time it happens, so rolling with the punches is a necessity.

Overall, however, the food I have had has been pretty good. The stuff with fish heads floating in it that comes from a cafeteria? Not so much. But I think that can be said about any cafeteria food. The best so far has probably been from Chinatown, and I plan on doing that again since everything they cook there smells delicious. I haven't had a huge amount of Malay cuisine outside of work, since that's what is usually for lunch in the aforementioned cafeterias. And there is only so much chicken rice you can have over the course of a week before you want something different. But it's something I plan on getting around to soon, since an entire cuisine cannot be judged on what is mass processed for your consumption. I'll also try and get pictures going soon. It's kind of hard since I don't have wireless in my apartment yet and I'm starting a new workout routine (meaning any free time I have, I'm walking, running, or swimming), so it has kind of fallen through the cracks. It'll happen, though. Eventually...

Boleh

So far the adjustment to Malaysia has been pretty smooth. The company has helped out a great deal in this regard, and especially the people with whom I work. Things like helping me find a place to live, figuring out the train and bus schedules, little nuances with the taxis, putting me up in a nice room, etc. are very much appreciated. They make the experience more like slipping into a warm bath rather than jumping off a cliff and hoping for the best.

Of course, there are those things I still have to adjust to personally that no one can really help with. The first is that I stick out like a sore thumb. It's pretty obvious if you've ever met me that this was going to happen. Big tall white guy in Southeast Asia isn't exactly a common thing. (Side note: Nor is it uncommon. I had a nice conversation this past week with a 6'6" man who looked and sounded like the love child of Dolph Lungren and Arnold Schwarzenegger. We bonded over being tall. It was nice). Fortunately, overall, it hasn't been a huge issue. It's something I notice more than it bothers me. I typically don't even think about it unless it's along the lines of "Wow, that woman is barely taller than my hip." Most likely it's because I've already been taller than most everyone all of my adult (and most of my teenage) life that it doesn't bother me anymore. But at least it's a clear line of sight wherever I look here.

The language things are the fun ones. One of the first things I was told was not to point with my index finger, but I shoud use my thumb instead. I'm not sure why the thumb, and I haven't been able to pinpoint what it means if I do use it. The closest I can think of is a theory a coworker of mine has, that pointing directly at someone can be considered rude or offensive. It was kind of tough for a week making the change, but I got into the habit of keeping a pen in my hand to help with the transition. It kept my hand closed and it's kind of a similar motion, pointing with an object and pointing with your thumb. And at this point, I point like a politician without thinking twice, no thumb needed. Another is the use of "can" (or "boleh", in Malay). When answering in the affirmative, Malays use can or cannot instead of yes or no. Which is still a struggle for me to do. I actually find it easier to say boleh, and that might be the better way to do it, instead of trying to rewire my speech process to use can. Not to mention it will make me sound like a native, since I won't exactly be looking the part anytime soon.

Probably the hardest thing I've had to deal with is understanding the accent. I'm at that point in my life where my hearing is probably starting to decline a little, and mixing that with a new accent and people who don't talk very loud can make understanding a little difficult. It also doesn't help that sometimes people switch from talking English to Malay from one sentence to the next (this is usually in meetings, and I can only assume they're saying great things about us when it happens). Getting used to this will take some time, but I think that's common when learning a new dialect. It just means I have to pay closer attention when people are speaking and not be afraid asking people to repeat what they said. I could also just start pretending I'm deaf. That might be the easier route to go, and I've wanted to learn sign language...

I've finally settled on the apartment and will be moving in there soon. It comes furnished, but there isn't a lot of decoration around the place, so I might have to get creative in that regard (which is something I'm terrible at). There's an Ikea not too far away so I imagine I'll probably go there to stock up on supplies and whatnot. I have a huge amount of wall space to cover, so that will probably be my biggest challenge. Kitchenware shouldn't be too hard, and rugs are pretty easy to come by. Learning how to decorate like a civilized human being, and not a caveman or college student, is all part of the adventure, though. This can only end well, right?

The Next Frontier

It's been about one week since I've moved from Jackson to Kuala Lumpur (here on out referred to as "KL"). Like anything I write, finding the words for the beginning is always the hardest. Or, like that time I moved to Jackson (the last time I updated this thingy), there isn't much to write about and it tails off completely. Oops. Fortunately, I feel this time there will be more interesting things on which to write. I'm on the opposite side of the world, after all. A lot of new and interesting places are a short plane ride away. I'm still young, single, and therefore wreckless with my disposable income. And if I'm not going to make the most of my time here, why did I even come here?

But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's rewind to the beginning. First off, after flying business class on an international flight, I don't know if I can ever go back to coach. I did it twice for China and Australia, but the difference really is night and day. Chairs that recline into beds? Actual space for those beds? Leg room? A four course dinner and breakfast? Hundreds of hours of TV and movies on demand (including unedited Game of Thrones)? Free, quality booze? I was spoiled, I felt like a Disney princess the entire time (Jasmine, for those curious on which princess). After I stepped off the plane in KL, collected my bags, and made my way through customs and immigration, I could only think one thing: I desperately need a shower. Despite the business class luxuries, I was tired, looked bad, smelled worse, and couldn't get excited for anything other than nap time.

After washing the cartoon stench lines off my body is when the reality finally started to sink in. I'm now living in a city with a metro area population of over 7 million people. The tallest twin towers in the world are a short cab ride away. Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and many other places are a short plane ride away. I am much taller, whiter, blonder, and more blue eyed than anyone else within miles. More importantly, I don't know what comes next. For the first time in a while I don't feel stagnate. While I learned a lot living in the South and met some fantastic individuals, I was never going anywhere. I woke up each day knowing what it held. It got to be routine, upon routine, upon routine. While that has its perks for some, for me it felt like a prison. Here, in a port city, a major trading hub, with a rich multicultural history and heritage, I feel overwhelmed by the possibilities available, but it's an opportunity I'm glad to have. I'm still creating a mental to-do list of things while I'm here, but some things so far include:

Riding an elephant
Getting one of those pedicures where the fish nibble on your feet
Visit some awesome beaches (Penang is one, which looks like it might happen next weekend)
Visit Singapore, Bangkok, etc.
Drive on the left side of the road
Go up the Petronas Towers without peeing myself

There's more to write but I'll cut it off here for now. To give a few quick updates, I'm still living in a Hilton until I can get moved in to an apartment, business class helped me avoid major jet lag, Malay food from a cafeteria could be more appetizing, I haven't worked up the cajones to eat a fish head, and it's kind of weird being 12+ hours ahead of everything. Until next time, you stay classy probable-resident-of-North-America.