"It depends on your placement"

In August 2014, I decided I wanted to apply for a Fulbright Grant to be an English Teaching Assistant. 
In September 2014, I decided I wasn't cut out for the program, and closed the application and thought that other endeavors might better suit me. 
On January 4th, 2016, a plane touched down in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...and I was on it! 

It's been a whirlwind of an experience so far, but I've been in Malaysia for one week now, and I couldn't be happier. 

A Quick Timeline

On January 2nd, I was dropped off at the airport by my loving and supporting family (at a rockin' 3:30am) and got on a plane alone. 
Between crossing the International Date Line and spending all of eternity on an airplane, January 3rd just didn't exist. 
And at 12:30am on January 4th, myself and 13 other members of the total 100 from the 2016 Cohort were greeted by staff members from MACEE! (Malaysian American Commission on Educational Exchange) WE MADE IT!

A Day in the life

Here's a quick rundown of the average weekday for an ETA going through orientation:

Wake up > Chicken&Rice > Bahasa Malayu (language) Class > Chicken&Rice > Sweat a bunch > Info session on Malaysia > Sweat a bunch > Info session on driving > Info session on culture > Chicken&Rice > Sweat a bunch > 5 ringgit Mojitos > Sleep

If ever there's a question during the day, the answer is inevitably that "It depends on your placement!" 

But in all seriousness, I feel very lucky to be a part of a program that is run by an efficient staff that truly cares about each person's future experience. We're only halfway through orientation, and I feel like my theoretical cultural toolbox is already jam-packed with instruments I'll take with me through this journey. Not to mention, it really does depend on your placement! Malaysia is an amazing country with a lot of different cultures inhabiting the same space. It seems to create a unique dynamic. I'm anxious to delve more into that.

Speaking of Malaysia's diversity, I'll try to showcase a small sampling of the beauty that comes along with such a diverse people. Here's how I spent my weekend off:

National Mosque (Masjid Negara)

This place was so beautiful, I went twice. Absolutely gorgeous, and I learned quite a bit about Islam.

I also spent several hours in the Islamic Arts Museum which was really awesome (no pictures though)

Batu Caves

Oh yea. Climbed those steps in the primetime of afternoon heat. Totally worth it though, because the caves were amazing and I was able to learn a bit about Hinduism along the way.

Thean Hou Temple

An absolutely beautiful Buddhist Temple on top of a (very steep) hill overlooking KL. 

By the way, it's the year of the monkey, so shout out to all those born in 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016. 

We all have homes!

Even though so much of the Malaysian experience "depends on the placement" between Wednesday and Thursday, we all learned where our new homes will be! I'm off toward the Indonesian border on the island of Borneo to a town called Bau, Sarawak. Wikipedia can only tell a guy so much, so I'm thrilled to get to the house and meet my community and students at the end of next week!

This little red peg is my home for the next 10 months:

Beautiful people in a beautiful place

Although I'm really excited to get to my placement and begin my life as an ETA for the 2016 academic year, the most difficult part of going to our state placements will be leaving the beautiful and passionate people I've met during this past week. It takes a special type of person to commit to a program such as this, and I've enjoyed getting to know and being stimulated by so many interesting and accomplished individuals. I'm sure a similar sentiment can be shared among all groups of foreigners placed in an unfamiliar culture, but our cohort has grown closer with each passing day. I'm looking forward to our final week of constantly being together, and am anticipating FREQUENT visits to each other's homes around the country :) 

Oh, how time flies

Hard to believe that it's been a year and a half since I first opened and read the Fulbright application. (Makes me think these next 10 months will float on by) Now, after just one week, I'm eternally grateful for the pressure put on me by faculty, family, and friends to submit that application. 

And now, drum roll please, here's a cheesy video trailer using excerpts from my first week as a preview for the year to come!