Wrapping up thoughts on Malaysia...and READY FOR CAMBODIA!

3.23.08
The rest of Malaysia was just as good as it started. On the fourth day, we went to Little India, and then the State museum. Next, I stopped at a fruit juice vendor on the street and got the most delicious banana milo milkshake (chocolate banana), and they gave it to me in a bag! It was so cool!!! After that we hired a taxi driver to drive around Jessie, Meghan, another girl Haley (who was friends with Meghan and had missed her SAS trip that morning, so she came with us) and me for the rest of the afternoon. He took us to the Butterfly Farm and the Spice Garden. We grabbed dinner and headed back to the Night Market. I did some serious shopping. I was looking at some of the Craft Batik artwork (silk paintings) and found a stand where the sellers were hearing impaired. The girl who showed me the artwork was probably around my age, and her name was Jenny. She pulled out some beautiful ones, but I was still on the line about purchasing any until she pointed out that it was her artwork. The way her face lit up when I told her how beautiful they were was priceless. It was hands-down my favorite memory that I will take away with me from Malaysia. She was so genuinely proud but still shy; I can’t really even describe it. The last two days I’ve tried to figure out what was so touching about it, and I think I’ve got it. [ps. I’m just warning you that I am about to get temporarily sappy…] Everyone always talks about what this trip means to them: how it is going to be life-changing and eye-opening, how they want to change the world and do the peace corp bla bla bla. When I first decided to come on this trip, I thought I came to see the world—everything in it: poverty, beauty, people & cultures but what I’m finding out is that I’m doing this trip to become a better person in the world. Well, at least that’s what I’m striving for. I’m trying to be more open, honest, and understanding other peoples’ cultures and religions, even if I can’t fully comprehend or appreciate them, and I want to do my best to make the world a better place for my family, friends, and [almost] everyone I meet [I will admit there are some exceptions…who, for politeness, will remained unnamed]. Now I’m not saying that I’m going to eradicate poverty or adopt a baby from every country in the world like Angelina Jolie and have a baby UN in my house; it’s not nearly that monumental or cataclysmic. I want to do it one small step at a time. I’m seeing that it’s as simple as exchanging smiles with a kid in India or telling someone how beautiful their artwork is, which is exactly what my encounter with Jenny in Malaysia helped me realize. Ok—sappy confession is now ever. Basically, it ended up being a long, but wonderful week in Malaysia. The last day I enjoyed free wifi at the Starbucks in the local mall, had another good lunch and delicious pastry for dessert. After that I was pretty ready to get back to the ship, and now I’m pretty ready to go to Vietnam and Cambodia!
oh and ps. i got my nose pierced! I originally planned to do it in Japan, but I saw a stall in the nice, safe mall and just did it. Since my third day on the ship I knew I would do it (in addition to thinking about it for a few years now…) sooo I figured that now’s the time. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it very clean and take good care of it. Sorry daddy! Hey, I could have gotten a tattoo… : )