One Month as Expats

A good friend of ours, KC Quah, grew up here in Penang, and, lucky for us, he was here for a week's visit. His mother invited us to dinner at her home, and we devoured all kinds of scrumptious vittles. See pix below. The last two pictures are old photos of KC's parents and his grandmother. KC and his family get high marks for being such welcoming hosts.

This week, we've been on Penang soil a month. All in all, the start to our expat adventure has been solid and sassy. Yes, there've been a few "moments" but nothing terribly stressful and difficult, for which we're thankful. And that makes me think of our friend Pranav and his wife Bina back in Arizona. Before we left, they gave us a small statue of a Hindu deity - the figure of a man's body with an elephant's head. I'd seen the deity before, but was unsure exactly who he was, so I emailed Pranav for some info. Here's what Pranav said:

"It is the statue of Lord Ganesh! He is the God that Hindus worship before the beginning of any auspicious task.

The mythology behind Lord Ganesh is quite fascinating! Ganesh was the son of Lord Shiva (one of the three highest Gods in Hindu trinity). Right after Ganesh was born, Lord Shiva went to deep forest to do penance and meditation. By the time he returned, Ganesh was a young teenage boy! As it happened that day, Lord Shiva’s wife (Ganesh’s mother) was going for shower inside the hut, so she asked young Ganesh to stand watch outside the door while she took bath. Coincidentally, right then, Lord Shiva returned home and tried to enter his modest house. Young Ganesh, not knowing this ‘stranger,’ stopped him and warned him not to enter the house or endanger his life! Lord Shiva, extremely angry at the insult took his sword out and beheaded the irreverent young boy who was trying to prevent him from entering his own house. His wife came out just then and realized the devastating tragedy that had just taken place. She grieved heavily and begged Lord Shiva to return her son back to her. Lord Shiva, having realized his own mistake, was also overcome with grief and shock.

But, what can be done now? Well, to bring back his son, another sacrifice had to be made. He agreed to use his powers and said, “whoever walks in first through the gates of the city next morning, I will put his head back on the boy’s body and bring him back to life!” Well, the next day, lo and behold, the first one to walk through the city gates happened to be an elephant! Lord Shiva put his head back on his son’s body. His wife, however, was still in complete shock and couldn’t reconcile with her ‘elephant boy’ as she worried who would ever even look at her son?! Lord Shiva then consoled her by offering this blessing, “not only your son will be worshipped by everybody…in fact, he would be the first deity everyone would worship before they begin any auspicious task!” The rest is…as they say…history! The “elephant God” as some call Lord Ganesh is the first God Hindus invoke before a new beginning!"

Our deity sits on the dresser in our bedroom, watching over us as we sleep. We have indeed had a good start here. Ton and I are lucky with our friends. Here's to all of you.

Now, on to the food...

The dish to the right is Chicken Curry Kapitan made by KC's mother. It was spicy in a nice way, not a burn your tongue off way. In addition to chicken, it included potato and lemongrass. The dish to the left is a mixture of carrots and a starchy vegetable called cico.

We also had sweet and sour pork and a funky fish dish (the blog header photo) which had been marinated in turmeric (a spice).

The fifth dish (pic below) was a mixture of peas, pickled radish, and a chinese sausage called lup cheong. We had slices of orange as a perfect dessert.

To Market We Go!

The picture above is cilantro and other goodies from a vegetable stall in the Pilau Tikus wet market. I've been to the market twice this week - the first time with Santha, our amah (maid/cook), to get cleaning supplies and veggies/fruit, and the second with our friend KC Quah and his mother and sister. These pix are from the first outing. Pictures of the Quah expedition to come in a few days.

The wet market is packed tight with stalls selling fresh produce, meat, flowers, spices and other goods. You must go as early in the morning as possible. A fun way to do your shopping! The white liquid in the bag below is coconut milk which Santha used to make sauteed okra and a vegetarian curry stew. The leaves in the last picture are curry leaves. They have a wonderful smell. The bucket contains spices. I bought and tried a persimmon fruit (looks like an orange tomato) for the first time. Thumbs up. I'll buy it again.

Citizen of the World - Activate!

Citizen of the world program fully engaged: Boxes unpacked. Additional dishes purchased. Chinese lessons begun. Oven/dryer/washing machine/dishwasher shorted out and now repaired. Groceries purchased. Home cooked meals – done. Meals out – check. Plum-lemon duck devoured. Expat coffee and dinner attended. Tennis lessons implemented. Dry cleaner located. Adjustment fatigue acknowledged and overcome. Movie viewed (Ironman – loved it!) First hike completed. Resort weekend accomplished. To-die-for beaded skirt and tunic purchased.

Rookie Moves: 1) Playing tennis at noon. 2) Playing tennis at noon on a full stomach. 3) Playing tennis at noon on a full stomach without sunblock. 4) Hiking in Penang National Forest without insect repellant and, wait for it… no sunblock.

Random Moment: I could NOT get that song Gold Digger by Kanye West/Jamie Foxx out of my head as I shopped at the humongo TESCO grocery store. Interesting factoid: many grocery stores are within malls here.

How I know I’m not in Kansas Anymore: When we departed for our resort weekend, I forgot to empty the trash. When I came home, there were maggots and flies all over it. Doh! Note to self: empty trash (which is stored in a non-air-conditioned nook) every day.

What I Miss (it’s the little things that get ya)
- The Whole Foods Salad Bar
- A kitchen with windows
- A washer/dryer of the size/power we have at home
- Crosswalks (and drivers that stop for pedestrians)

What I’m Digging
- The Malay phonetic take on various English words – teksi = taxi, restoran = restaurant, klinik = clinic

- How friendly people are

- The color of the strait between Penang and the mainland – never a classic ocean blue. At different times of day and depending on the weather, it looks minty green or a lemongrass color or lime green or at times like the color of the Volvo station wagon my family had when I was growing up – the aptly named seafoam green

- Indian mango (Ton digs what we think is called the Regan fruit, but I can’t find it on the Internet so we probably got that wrong)

- The occasional gray day. Bouts of rain. The rumbling of thunder as I lie in bed.

- The Indian food I had for lunch the other day, in particular the chenna butra – described on the menu as “big fluffy bread” served with a chickpea stew. It arrived – a round pita type bread puffed up like a huge soufflé. We also liked the chapathy – a flat soft whole wheat bread served with a mild curry sauce and a chickpea/potato mash. We had these, three other dishes, a bottle of water, and a mango lassi (a mango yogurt shake) – all for $12.

- The architectural mix in this city – a British Victorian influence combined with structures linked to almost every religion under the sun – mosques, a plethora of Protestant churches, a variety of Buddhist temples and monasteries – Chinese, Burmese, Thai – as well as Hindu temples. I’ve seen Christian, Islamic and Chinese graveyards as well.

Ambivalent About
The humidity – the curl in my hair is great (frizz totally under control – it’s all about the products), but you also get home at the end of the day with what feels like a layer of grime. Even if the scale hasn’t moved, your body just feels heavier and puffier on the super-humid/hot days.

Quote of the Week: Ton and I are driving and chatting. Then he abruptly says, “Okay I have to stop talking and concentrate because I’m in, like, a foreign land.”

Challenge question: When I pass by bus stops, I see a sign saying “Stick No Bills” posted above the bench. What does that mean?
(The first person to answer correctly gets a present from Penang! Anyone with the last name Quah may not answer. Anyone who cheats by consulting a Quah will be dealt with.)

Various and Sundry Pix

Hi folks, I'll post some comments tomorrow. For now, here are snapshots of our visit to the Penang National Forest last weekend as well as an expat dinner we attended. Peace out!

1 Week Down, 103 To Go!

[the header picture is a view from one of our balconies]

What I’m Digging: The diversity of the people here. As Ton and I walked down our street, Gurney Drive, which fronts the strait between Penang Island and the mainland, I saw all these people in one short stroll – two Buddhist monks on a bench looking at the sea, teenage couples sitting on the rocks doing the same, a young family with a toddler, a middle-aged woman walking her dog (a shih-tzu I believe), a homeless man, two elderly women – deep wrinkles in their faces – taking a rest, again viewing the sea. You see everything from Muslim women with head scarves to teenage girls in tiny tank tops and high heels. You see Malays, Chinese, Indians and Westerners.

Key Learning: The lane stripes on the roads are just guidelines, not remotely rules – cars drift amidst them as it suits the drivers; sometimes they drive happily along half in one, half in the other. Ton is rocking our Toyota Camry though. We drove a half hour to the beach resort area this afternoon. It was gorgeous (MASSIVE palm trees), and the roads were relatively tame. He managed it all with flair. Side note: The motorbike drivers here are seriously gutsy.
Not My Sharpest Moment: I get on the treadmill, program in my normal speed, and wonder “Why is this going so slowly? Darn thing must be broken.” Then it hits me, the speed is in kilometers here.
How I know I’m not in Kansas Anymore: The level of sweat soaking through my clothes as I work out. I also have something I've not had in ages - a zit.
Quote of the Week: Out doing errands, I notice a button has popped open on my blouse and I say, “Oh no, I’m a hussy.” Ton replies, “Thank god. I’ve been waiting for this day.”

Parting Thought: So much for the pipe dream of “Wouldn’t it be great if I lost weight while I was here?” Ha! With the many delights available in Penang, including bakeries full of items such as “a harmony of chocolate and vanilla cream brimming with pastry,” I’m tempted left and right. Friday night, we attended a rug auction (where the wine was flowing plentifully) with some new friends, Mauricio and Anita, where we unexpectedly bought three oriental rugs. Post-auction, we landed at a party spot called SOHO with a posse of expats and locals. As I made my way onto the club’s smoky dance floor clutching a local beer (called Tiger), I thought, so much for my healthy kick. We didn't get home until 2AM or so, after we’d gone with the crew for oxtail soup and a chicken scallion omelette. Then we get a call Saturday night from one of the couples we'd met asking if we want to go out AGAIN. Needless to say, we’ve met fabulous people already, which makes adjusting to Penang all the more easy . Bring on more outings with this new pack of fun people.