Keep Your Head Above Water

Despite severe flooding, this temple and the many others continued to host celebrations for Chinese New Year. (This temple is usually over dry land, but this is why it's on stilts.)

You might need a boat

Seriously, there's a lot of water. 

Since I arrived on my first day, my fellow teachers at SMK Bau have been telling me about the annual flooding of the school. "It's rainy season. I hope you have an umbrella and are prepared to swim to the class!"

I thought they were joking. 
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A truck stranded in the flood near SMK Bau

Where the road goes underwater. Also the entry point for boats taking supplies to the kids that are living in the school hostel. If you look REALLY closely, you'll see our school nestled in the back. The school sits lower than where I was standing, so the first floor is underwater.

There's a fence and a volleyball net under there somewhere.

The water was deep enough to use a boat with an engine for emergency workers to get back and forth to the school.

Despite the incredible and often devastating amount of water, the community was amazingly positive and supportive of one another. This year, the flooding happened during the Chinese New Year celebration, so the school was already not having any classes for one week. Luckily, the flood subsided before classes resumed, and life was able to carry on as normal. 

Swim A Little Harder

"I need to learn Bahasa Malaysia, and I need to learn it fast!" I told my form 6 students during class this past week. 

Form 6 is the highest level of pre-university classes in the Malaysian Public School System. They're usually 18 or 19 years old. We were having discussion on the importance of traveling, learning languages, and cultural sensitivity when I confessed my ignorance of learning the national language, Bahasa Malaysia (BM), and how I totally was taking advantage of the fact that almost everyone I meet can speak enough English for me to get by. But I also confessed that not knowing BM has often left me confused, feeling stupid, and learning cultural differences more slowly that I would have liked. Our teaching staff is always willing to help me, and it's wonderful. But I try to avoid being a nuisance by asking questions like "Is there an assembly today?" "What is the exam schedule?" and "What are my students trying to tell me?" on a daily basis. The answers to these questions are written and available all around me! Time to crack down on learning BM so I can be responsible for myself, am I right?

Amidst personal confusion of school scheduling and navigating teacher relationships, I keep forgetting that I'm living in a country I've never been in before and working a job that I've never held before. Cultural adjustment takes time and so does learning the ropes of a new workplace. This includes life's simplest things like getting a hair cut, going to the grocery store, or knowing when the staff meeting is. (By the way, got my hair cut by one of my form 5 students. And I look FRESHHHHH. Like a famous Malaysian soccer star. I should learn soccer so I can live up to my image.)

My point in the above being twofold: One, that it's important to be putting forth a strong effort in adapting to the culture of which one is immersed; And two, that the best effort isn't always going to mean immediate success. It's okay to make mistakes! Learning takes time, and we're all only human. As long as I'm making my best effort, what more can I expect from myself?

The Year of the Red Fire Monkey

It's the year of the Red Fire Monkey. And apparently that's me! Chinese immigrants and Malaysians with Chinese heritage exist in large numbers in Malaysia, particularly here in Sarawak. They're proud of their heritage, and boy do they know how to have a festival! Chinese New Year is 15 days long. The beginning is celebrated with the tradition of "Open Houses" where people float between homes of friends and families and basically party hop. Many young Chinese people, especially those who aren't married, receive "ang pao" which is a Red Envelope filled with money and a little good luck ;) I got one with chocolate in it. That was nice. And on the 15th day, the celebrations are closed with Fireworks and parades in a festival known as Chap Goh Mei. Though Chap Goh Mei seems to have foundations in a sort of "Chinese Valentines Day" where those who are single are hoping for love, I mostly experienced good food, fancy lights, and beautiful dragons. 

The Tide Will Recede 

No matter how much it floods, or how hard you have to swim, the tide will eventually recede and the flood will be released. 

When that happens, it's time to take in some of the beautiful sites offered by Sarawak and the island of Borneo. 

Bako National Park

Bako National Park beach at low tide

Fellow ETA Izzy

"Watch-out! For falling coconuts."

You don't see tide pools in Ohio

The Rafflesia flower blooms for one week out of the year, and is the species that produces the worlds largest flower!

Bako National Park

Don't slip. It's wet.