It was a very good year...-QM

 

 I recently celebrated a birthday, my 30th, in fact. The day before, March 8th, I got a package in the mail, a really heavy package with one corner rather beaten up. I could see some birthday wrapping paper poking through, but I waited a day. Inside was a lovely assortment of 3 shirts, orange tic-tacs, jelly bellys :), and a pile of cards. I took my time reading them, just like I'm taking my time with those jelly bellys (May I recommend the fruit salad recipe!). Everytime I sat down to read them, I got up with tears in my eyes; what a perfect gift to hear from my dear friends across the ocean! Thank you. You are loved.

Just what I wanted! I'm now a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen--you can pray I dont chop a finger, because I go pretty fast with that knife! Of course I curl the tips of my fingers in, like the kitchen staff taught me in China.

A week ago we explored another corner of Kuching, a small jogging park only 10 minutes or so from our house. A family of about 15 monkeys roams free there, right in the middle of the city, and we never knew about it before!

Looking for monkeys---and yes, my heart just aches with happiness when I look at this picture! I'm so blessed.

Visit to Indonesia - E.

Our camera was out of commission for several weeks, but it returned from the service center just in time for a little bit of travelling last week.  A friend of ours was making a visit to the Indonesian town of Entikong, about two hours' drive from here, and invited us to go along.

I need to get back into the habit of bringing our camera places -- and actually taking pictures!  I admit I've been out of practice with the camera gone.  Once we got home I found myself a little disappointed with the small number of pictures we had taken, because it was such a unique and memorable experience.

Well, here are a few shots that we did get of our trip:

This is the inside of a church.  We actually stayed overnight here.

All four of us slept under this mosquito net, making for quite the cozy night.

From the back door.  I believe that's a fish pond down there.

Taking a picture of our friend taking a picutre of a gorgous mountain.

Things of interest which you do not get to see, because I didn't take pictures, are the roads, the shops, the excellent food, and some bird's nest flavored beverage in a can.  Too bad!  Maybe next time.

Kids Learning the Local Language -- E.

Before we moved to Malaysia, our American friends often told us that our children would pick up the language quickly, naturally, and much more successfully than we their parents would.

That has turned out to be partly true.

Dorie and James actually know very little Malay.  Almost zero.  Queena and I have been diligently learning Malay for six months and, however else you may measure our progress, it's only accurate to say we're far ahead of our children.

However . . . James and Dorie have been learning something altogether different.  It's called Malaysian English, and while not a completely different language from our American English, it's distinct enough that I can't speak it well.  I can mimic a bit.  But my children are -- quickly, naturally, and successfully -- internalizing this speech variety.

I'm very proud of my children.  Unfortunately for them, though, Malaysian English has certain characteristics that by coincidence resemble what in America would be called 'whining baby-talk'.  (The grammar and the sound system work together to . . . well, I can't explain it well here, but if you want to hear a bit for yourself, check out this explanation by a Toastmaster in Malaysia.)  Poor Dorie!  We had been getting rather angry with her 'baby-talk' way of saying things.  It took a few months before we realized her English wasn't degenerating, and she wasn't regressing to some infantile self; she was simply adapting to a legitimate and quite expressive speech variety. 

Still, my blood pressure continues to spike whenever I hear Dorie say something like "I wan driiiink! This one!"  Old habits die hard.

Local Monuments and Architecture

Chinese gate at Friendship Park

Admiral Zheng He

The cat and panda bench

James' monumental dinner

The Pebble Paths -- E.

Two of our local parks here have little pebble walkways.  They are there, we are told, in order for people to walk back and forth across them barefoot (unlike the person in this picture).

Here is an excellent example of some contrasting worldviews we find in Malaysia.  East and West don't always view things the same way when it comes to health and the body.  From an Eastern (and specifically Chinese, I think) perspective, walking barefoot on the pebble path increases blood circulation and breaks up toxins in one's soles, consequently improving the vitality of other body systems and boosting one's overall health.

From my own Western perspective, walking barefoot on the pebble causes pain.

What my cultural perspective doesn't account for, though, is why I find these paths so compelling.  Every once in a while I do take off my shoes and stroll along over the pebbles, even though it hurts like mad.  I wish I understood that myself.