Touch Down!

We’re here! In the thick of setting up house (or condo) amidst jet lag. As the plane descended into Penang, the small furry green island, thick with lush vegetation, began to appear. Once on the ground, I saw what an extensive and established region this was (approx 1 million people live on the island) and how human civilization had carved out a robust existence amidst the rain forest (and had for hundreds of years), but from the air, it seemed the jungle way had the upper hand. The towns from above seemed tenacious outposts even now. I knew I was going to be living in the tropics when I agreed to come here, but it wasn’t until this descent that I really knew (and once I was on the ground, the strength of the sun and humidity really really let me know). I just soaked it in – my eyes riveted by my new home and the verdant, thriving, towering vegetation that blanketed it.

Lots more to come on Penang, but for now, some transit notes:

Barbara Cass
Barbara Cass. Those are the letters you want to see on the name tag of the woman behind the United ticket counter if you happen to be having massive problems with your itinerary/tickets. Barbara Cass.

It had started out so well. We packaged up the house – lowering all the shades, setting the thermostat, turning off the toilet water valves and whatnot. Then we arrived at the airport to find out that Barbara can’t issue me boarding passes. Far too many details to share on what caused this situation and how we resolved it, but Barbara was very patient as I started to act pretty tense and Ton called his company’s travel service, etc. It took forever and, at one point, Barbara tried to look up my reservation again, and it seemed to have been cancelled completely, wiped out. At that point, I told both her and Ton that I was going for a walk. They saw the look on my face and said, “Yes, that sounds like a good idea.”

My neck muscles were twisted in a gargantuan knot. The thought that I wasn’t going to be able to depart overwhelmed me. I rarely reach the stress level where I completely unspool, but I felt dangerously close. I walked outside, inhaled some good ol’ Phoenix smog, and felt like I might cry, which is really really unusual for me. So I sent what I’m sure was a fairly incoherent text message to my friend Rose about wanting to cause the various people responsible for this screw up serious pain. (Note: I didn’t really mean it)

It all worked out though – not easily or simply – but it worked out, due in much part to Ms. Cass’ patience, experience and tenacity. So if there are some positive vibes currently floating around in the universe unassigned Id’ like them directed to her general vicinity please.

Choice Ton Moment
I was pretty tense on the entire flight to LA, just couldn’t unwind. I tried to rally a sense of humor about the ticket debacle, but my brain was fried. All that shook off when, in LA, Ton stepped onto a down escalator that he realized he didn’t want to be on, and he tried to hop up the steps with his brief case and carry-on to make it back to the top. When he failed, he looked at me with this plaintive face, his body slowly getting smaller and smaller as it descended into god knows where. Once we were reunited, the whole episode gave me a solid long laugh, and my tension finally unwound and evaporated into the ether.


Random Highlights of the 17 hour flight from LA to Singapore on Singapore Air

Slept most of it, praise be to the heavens. Played video solitaire and read a fantastic and entertaining book for the rest, Then We Came to The End. Any of you who've worked in corporate America will truly enjoy.

Fortunately the woman sitting behind me got lots of sleep too. So I didn’t have to hear her voice the whole flight. She had the sweetest little old lady voice you’ve ever heard, and until you’re essentially trapped next to such a voice, you don’t realize how quickly it can drive you batty. Particularly when it says, “This plane smells like urine.”

As we descended, I realized any nerves that'd been dogging me had morphed into sheer excitement. I was pumped primarily because I’d gotten lots of sleep. Had it been otherwise, my attitude as we landed would have been more along the lines of “Yeah freakin’ Singapore. Big deal.”
Shortly, I’ll post my first Penang update. Until then – peace out, fools!

Time to Be a Citizen of the World

In early 2008, my husband, Ton, received the opportunity to work and live abroad in Malaysia for two years, and we eagerly decided to go for it. Besides the chance to soak in SouthEast Asia – a region of the world that’s always fascinated me, a number of things motivated me to take on this adventure:

1) Recently, it hit me that I was turning 40 next year. (I think it happened when Ton said, “You know, you’re turning 40 next year”). That only added to the intensity of a question I’ve been pondering lately – I have not one complaint about my life, yet I sometimes wonder in a slightly deflated way, could the significant events – the “big deals” – be over? To which I quickly respond… Hell no! Bring on Malaysia.

2) I feel I can be a better citizen of my own country if I leave it for awhile. Travel revitalizes the soul and humanizes the world – helps us see our fellow mates around the globe as individuals, not aggregated faceless blobs drawn from the media. Only good can come from getting to know my fellow citizens of the world one on one, while representing my own country with dignity and grace.

And finally, I don’t often admit this, but I must be honest and put it out there:

3) I’ve become a bit afraid of the world, and I want to get over it and stay over it. At times, I find myself sucked into an irrational fear that everyone outside my country’s borders wants to spit on me, or even kill me. I’ve traveled internationally many times over the last 8 years, and, across board, that NEVER happens of course. People will make their issues with our government and president clear and known, but they’re open to me and anyone else as an individual. Yet, my fear still lingers, which shames and saddens me. I want to get past it, and there’s no better way to achieve this than kicking up the gears – living abroad in the Far East.

Time to be a true member of the world, not just one country. I crave citizenship that expands beyond national borders. Ton and I are up, up and away!


Input/thoughts/questions? Please post a comment – I’d love this blog to be interactive. I’ll be far away from my posse and my peeps, and I know I’ll be craving connection. Also, if there are things you’d like to know about as I make my way over there – specific topics that interest you – tell me that too.

Malaysia Facts (from US State Dept Website, May 2008)

We've received many questions about Malaysia (along with many reactions to our move, ranging from "That's the coolest thing ever!" to "Why would you ever do that?") If you don't know much about the country, you're not alone. I've had to bone up on the country's basics as I've prepared for our move. Some interesting factoids are below. Malaysia is one interesting and dynamic place.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with an elected federal parliamentary government. The country is comprised of 13 states, 11 on the Malay Peninsula and two, Sabah and Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. There is also a federally administered set of territories: the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, the administrative center of Putrajaya, and the island of Labuan. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country of 27 million people. Malays form the predominant ethnic group. The two other large ethnic groups in Malaysia are Chinese and Indians. Islam is the official religion and is practiced by some 60 percent of the population. Bahasa Malaysia is the official language, although English is widely spoken.

• D-Bos Note: I recently learned Malaysia's poverty level is lower than the US and the country's literacy rate is 88.7%. (defined as “age 15 and over can read and write”)
  

Malaysia is the United States’ 10th-largest trading partner. Two-way bilateral trade totaled $44 billion in 2005 -- 60% more than U.S. trade with India.

The United States is the largest foreign investor in Malaysia, with American companies active in the energy, electronics and manufacturing sectors.

• D-Bos Note: The Malaysia facilities were the first offshore site for my husband's company. Established in 1972, it remains the company’s largest offshore site.

Air quality in Malaysia is acceptable most of the time. However, when burning of vegetation occurs in Malaysia and nearby countries, especially from March through June and during September and October, air quality can range from “unhealthy for sensitive groups” to “unhealthy."

Malaysia hosts the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Counterterrorism (SEARCCT), where over 1,100 officials from around the region have received training. The United States is the largest provider of training courses at SEARCCT.

The United States and Malaysia share a strong military-to-military relationship with numerous exchanges, training, joint exercises and visits.

Malaysia recently cemented its nonproliferation commitment by signing the International Atomic Energy Agency Additional Protocol and has sent observers to Proliferation Security Initiative exercises.