This past weekend was really eventful....
I went to a club with Philipp and some of his friends and we had a great time. Well, until the end, when Philipp wandered off. But that's a a whole different story....I was so exhausted on Saturday because I got very little sleep. I also wasn't feeling that great. But Saturday night I got invited by my landlady to go to this "full moon celebration." It is a tradition in Malayisa that when a baby turns one month old, they have a celebration for it. The family having the party were Christian and from Sabah (A part of Malaysia that is located closer to Indonesia). They were all really nice and made really good food. I sang some Christian hymns with them in bahaha malayu (Malaysian language)....I do not consider myself a Christian, but it was still nice to be able to attend. I had dinner on Sunday night with some friends and then I got back pretty late and didn't get much sleep, so I was pretty tired on Monday.
I started work at the refuge yesterday, but they didn't need too much help since there aren't many children there right now. I may go work at the Child Care center, just to see what it is like. I have been thinking about doing a bit of traveling. If I am able to, I want to go to Malacca, Penang, Hat yai, and maybe somewhere on the east coast of Malaysia as well as Sabah or Sarawak if possible...but we'll see how that works out. There's also a lot of things to explore that are not too far from KL.

Awareness Campaigns, CEDAW, Indian Weddings, and so much more....

Sorry I have taken so long! I have actually been keeping fairly busy. I finish work in 1 hour and there is not much to do right now...so I decided to do this instead...
Anyway...before I forget-when I was in Phattalung (Kiat's hometown) I saw a bull fight! Well, actually they are not bulls..but they are similar...I forgot the name for them actually. It was fun...but also really sad to watch because both of the bulls got injured. But it is a popular event and all of the men from the village go there to watch and bet on what bull will win. If this one guy's bull wins, then he would get 10,000 baht (approximately $200). I didn't take any pictures...but it was interesting. I just didn't want to forget about that event...because it was pretty important. Oh-and I forgot to say that I practiced driving a motorbike (and it was on a road where there really are no cars...so no need to worry! It was actually pretty easy-though I wouldn't want to drive in Phuket or in a any big cities like Bangkok...)
Ok-so Kuala Lumpur. Well...I have done a lot so far, so I will try not to make this too long. I really like where I live. It is pretty convenient. I can take the bus to the LRT (light rail transit) and I can take a taxi pretty much anywhere for an okay price (as long as they use the meter). On Friday night me and Philip, the other intern from Germany who mostly works at the Childcare Center for WAO, spent the night at my co-worker, Joanna's, house. Her area is very famous for the Satay so we ate a lot of Satay that night...it was really good, but Philip and I both felt like we could explode since we ate so much...haha....
The next day we went to one of the domestic airports to a charity concert where we set up a booth to raise awareness on domestic abuse and WAO. It was pretty successful and the concerts were pretty good (all local bands and singers). There was also a magician there. He was REALLY good and could bend silverware, make dolls stand up on their own...and all this other crazy stuff. I wish I could do that....it would make good money on the side...haha. On Sunday I saw a movie with Philip and wandered around the mid-valley mall. I also did tons of laundry and caught up on some much needed sleep.
Today was...somewhat productive haha. We had a small staff meeting and Ivy (the executive director) wants me to not only write a shadow report for CEDAW (Convention on the elimination of Discrimination of all Women) but also write the newsletter. It will be a lot of work-but I think I can do it...I also met my supervisor, Annie, today. She is very nice. Overall-the staff is very friendly. OH-and this Indian woman who used to volunteer here invited me to an Indian wedding along with the other staff. I don't even know here and she invited me! I am excited...and they want to dress me up in a sari....haha...the wedding is next month and should be tons of fun!
Well-I better go. It is raining really hard (again) and of course I forgot my umbrella again...oops. Haha. When it isnt raining so hard, I just walk in the rain and the people here look at me like I am crazy. But I AM an oregonian...haha. Anyway, more later!

Arrived in KL!

View outside my condo of KL and pic of my room

So I have finally arrived in Kuala Lumpur (KL) (well I actually did yesterday). To make a long story somewhat short...the flight went faster than I thought it would (about an hour-ish) and then I took an aerobus from the airport-which cost about 2 or 3 us dollars to get to the city center. From there I took a taxi to my condo, Pantai Hillpark, and the taxi driver ripped me off. But I had a big suitcase and at that point I just wanted to get to my destination already. Overall, I didn't really have any hassles getting to the condo.

My landlord, Christin, is nice. She's in her 40's I think ethnic Chinese(like quite a few people here are). She's VERY clean...but I guess that's better than not being clean. I have quite a nice view of the city skyline as you can see (I will get a night picture later, as that is pretty fantastic as well). My room is a decent size with a closet, desk, bed, etc. The window doesn't look out onto anything pretty-just the other side of the building-but it's a good room. There is a pool, which is really nice and a little shop that sells snacks and basic cooking ingredients (they even have potatoes and prego tomato sauce)! Christin took me to get a new sim card and some stuff that I needed. We ate some Chinese food at this shop-ate something called "stinky egg". The guy recommended to me...it smells like the geysers at yellowstone...and tastes like it too. Not trying that again. Maybe my method of trying everything isn't so great after all...haha! I also had some noodles which were good. But so far I haven't had anything "amazing"...but I am sure that will happen sometime soon.

This morning at 5 am I was woken up my the muslim morning prayer. They have five prayers everyday...it's pretty intense. Today I went the Mid-Valley Mega Mall. It's Mega alright. Biggest mall I have EVER seen in my life-I got lost in there actually. I took the bus there which was really pretty simple. But while I was waiting for the bus, an Iranian man sat next to me (a lot of Iranians live here) and started talking to me. I tried to ignore him but he was incredibly persistent and would NOT stop talking. He asked me where I lived-I lied. He asked me if I wanted to be "friends." I told him I had a boyfriend and he said "oh-I just want to be friends! I want someone to practice my English with!" But honestly, I didn't believe him. He seemed very friendly and he was helpful (he told me which bus to take and everything) but he just was a bit annoying. He also was going to mid-valley and he asked me if I wanted to get lunch. I said I was meeting a friend (lie again). Nevertheless, he payed for my bus ticket twice (which I insisted on paying-but he wouldn't let me and would pay the driver before I could get to him). Anyway, thankfully once we were at the mall already, I insisted I had to go and we went our separate ways. It's not that I wouldn't mind being friends with someone...but I don't think that going out to lunch with an Iranian man really entails "just friends" and plus he was quite a bit older than me (a PHD student). Anyway, that was a wierd experience-but I'm kind of used to it, so it's not too big of a deal.

Anyway...at the mall they were having this final day sale and so there was a lot of people there. I got some clothes and a new bag since mine still had puke on it from my bus trip...haha. I ate at this little cafe and had some english food (actually good) and iced coffee. It's really shopping paradise there...but I should probably avoid going there often so I can save money-haha! Afterwards I didn't feel like taking the bus, so I took a taxi for 8 ringgit back to the condo. I think tomorrow after work (if I have time...) I might go to carrefour to get some groceries.

So....tomorrow I start work! I am pretty excited about it. This intern from Germany is meeting me and showing me how to get there. I guess there is also another intern from the states coming here next month.

All in all...my first impression of KL and Malaysia? Well, it's more different from Thailand than I imagined it to be. It's much more multi-racial (with Indians, chinese, Malays, Middle Easterns, etc). There are not many caucasians actually. I'd say there are more in Thailand...Also, the food is...more different. I have to try and eat more different things though. I feel like the people here also don't smile as much as Thai people...not that they are less friendly, but I feel they are more conservative. They all do speak English (for the most part) but sometimes it's hard to understand them because they have a strong accent.

Anyway, I will write more later!

Pictures from Thailand (some are from New Year's Eve)

Sorry these pictures are scrambled around...I'm not good at this..obviously..haha! Plus I am in a hurry and don't want to lost my internet connection!

Leaving for KL tomorrow...

Happy New Year! I had a great time celebrating on the beach (SO many people there...I mean it was packed, esp. with the tourists). I took quite a few pictures and video so hopefully I can post those soon. There was a great fireworks display and the Thai band Big Head played. There were also other various Thai singers who sang English songs as well. Drank a lot of Chang (beer) but stopped when I realized that you had to pay for the bathrooms and I didn't bring enough money with me....All in all, it was a good night!
Tomorrow I am leaving in the morning for KL...I am excited to go, but I found out that I will actually be arrived in the DOMESTIC airport, not the INTL one...since I am going on Air Asia..which means I will have to sit in a shuttle bus for one hour and a half and then take a cab to the apartment...fun. If I had gone to the intl. airport, I could have taken the express train from the airport...oh well. That's life I guess. Plans change and unexpecting things happen. But I will be fine...I might get really frusterated because I don't really like not knowing where anything is...but I'll deal with it. Lifeskill I still need to learn I guess...
Okay...after than rant....haha...the next time I will post another entry will be in MALAYSIA! I am excited to see KL and see what the differences between Malaysia and Thailand are. It's sad leaving here (yet again...) but I will be back. More later!