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?