The Little Things

I don't feel so far that it has been hard to transition here. Sometimes it is the little things though that are harder to get used to being different. Like the time on digital clocks is 24 hours. I am still trying to figure out how to tell time past 12:00. Plus it is weird that when it is 12 a.m. the clock shows 0 for the hour. So like 12:25 a.m. is 0:25. It is crazy. They use the metric system. So far distances, temperature, and cooking it is hard sometimes to calculate and convert. Food has been easy. I like to try new things and so far have liked everything. I have not been here long enough to miss anything yet, but I know at the same time I will come to really love some things here that I will miss when I go back. Plus, they have my two can't live without essentials, chocolate and popcorn. Showers- I still haven't gotten used to cold showers. I don't know that I will ever grow to like them. I may eventually get the thing that can be hooked up so I can heat my water at least to lukewarm (I don't think they do hot). I am getting more used to the wet bathroom and having to wipe the toilet seat off before I use it after I shower. I still don't like have the wet floor yet, especially when I have my dress pants on. It is hard to keep the bottoms dry and at school clean since mud gets tracked in and then with the wet floor it gets worse. I haven't really missed my jewelry yet, because as the day goes on I get sticky and then the watch, rings, and necklaces sometimes bug me. I don't miss blow drying my hair. Make up use is about the same some days I wear it; some days I don't. It is really hard to not have a car that I can just hop in and go wherever I need to go. I feel like I am young again when I used to have to wait for my parents to come get me and take me places. Only now I think it might be a little worse since I have driven for years and know what it is like to have that freedom and not rely on others. I am grateful to know though that it won't last forever. I still am capable of driving and someday when I return to the US I will drive again. I can't imagine what it was like for my paternal grandmother because she never drove. Although, when I was growing up after my grandpa had died there was a bus system in her town that we used to take to the mall or to get her hair done. We were walking distance from the grocery store. Then when I got old enough I used to take her around. It is kind of hard for me to explore my new town though since it is so large and things are spread out and I have not car, and there is no bus other than the school buses. I am appreciating riding the bus now with the students to get to school because I get to see so more of the town than I would otherwise. I don't know how I will travel to other places to visit on breaks. I don't know if they have buses that go from towns or to other countries or if I will fly. I know here they fly from the Capital Kuala Lumpur and back. It is like 40 minutes with 20 of those actually spent in the air. It is crazy, but so easy for them to do. Much easier than driving since there is so much traffic. Although, there is only like one flight a day. I miss having a kitchen I can cook in. I have a fridge I can put things in, and I am going to get a microwave, if they ever get in the one I want. But even simple dishes I think of making usually require the stove. They don't have things here like instant rice, so I don't know if I can do it just in the microwave or if it will turn out bad. I don't know how I will cook things like noodles either. I think I might get very tired of salads by the time I leave unless I can learn other easy only microwave recipes here. I missed having the Internet and being able to connect with family and friends, but I have that again and so that is better. I miss having friends to do things with like over for dinner or out for dinner or movies. I will get to know people here more as time goes on, but I don't really know if I will have friends like I did back home. I can't really cook a meal and have people over or even have people over to watch a movie. It is very noisy here. I am close to a main road. There are lots of dogs in this neighborhood because Chinese like dogs and Malays like cats. I am close to the Mosque so I can hear the men praying. Also, I think people go out several times a night to check to make sure their cars are locked because I hear the clickers all the time. They also race cars here on the main road at like 3:30 in the morning. They don't have windows like we do. They are more like levelor blinds and are not well insulated. They don't even really shut all the way. So I miss the quite and a good nights sleep. I do have a teddy bear I sleep with, so I don't really miss sleeping with my kittens. I don't know that I would say I am homesick, but I do miss sometimes how things are back in the US like trying to tell time. Even though I am missing some of the conveniences of home tonight I am still very glad to be here and all the wonderful, eye opening things I am learning.