Singapore!!!

Friday finally came at last and we were all really excited to start our adventure.. so excited that even though our bus didn't leave until 9pm we all decided we needed to get off work at 4 on friday! So we all hung out around the apartment, and got some dinner and relaxed before leaving for the bus at 8. We got to the bus station and guess what... malaysia time worked its magic again and our bus wouldn't be leaving KL until 10:15... GREAT...an hour and a half to kill! Luckily for us we were at the mall so we wandered around a bit, and Stef, Thomas and I got some starbucks and then went to meet the bus.

The bus was the nicest most comfortable thing I have ever seen! The chairs were huge, and it was a double decker, and the chairs had massagers in them! We were all so excited to start our adventure. Stef and I had already decided that Saturday at Universal Studios would be one of the top 5 best days of our lives, so we were very excited!! Finally at about 10:30 we were on our way! The bus ride was fairly painless, except that we were all too excited to sleep! So when we got to the border and had to get off the bus for customs it wasn't too big of a deal. It's school holidays here right now, so there is a lot more traffic on the roads, but since we were driving so late at night, we didn't have any problems with traffic or getting through customs.

When we finally got to Singapore and got a cab it was about 4am... the cab took us as far as they could to our hostel, but it was in the middle of chinatown so we had to walk a bit.. THERE WERE SO MANY COCKROACHES on the street! and we were really worried our hostel would be dirty and full of them too. But we were pleasantly surprised when we got into the hostel and it was clean and the people were so friendly. There were 9 of us in a 12 bed dorm, and the other 3 were in a different room. We tried to be as quiet as we could getting our stuff in before going to sleep, but with metal lockers and beds you can only be so quiet... we had a nice little 4 hour nap before we were up and ready to head to universal for the day of amazingness!!

Singapore is so clean and so much more efficient than KL, getting to universal was really easy and fast.. so by 10 we were in the park with our tickets and fast passes in hand and ready for a day of fun! Stef is terrified of roller coasters, so of course the fastest and best roller coaster in the park was where we headed first! And we made her sit in the front row with us! She was terrified, but was so happy to have survived that we decided we should all go on again, and after that she had conquered her fear and was no longer scared! After 4 rides, it started to POUR! Luckily for us, we had just finished a ride that was attached to a gift shop and we bought some awesome universal ponchos and kept working our way around the park with our fast passes (which get you on the rides faster) looking awesome in our ponchos! Lunch time came after we went to Shrek 4D.. which wasn't as good as Honey I Shrunk the Kids.. at least it didn't compare to my amazing childhood memories! For lunch we had some delicious wraps and fries with our fav diet coke (just like italy... diet coke tastes sooooo good here!) After lunch we went to Waterworld which was a show they play every couple hours. It has designated areas for where you'll get soaked, a little wet and not wet at all... Stef, Jill, Breann and I decked out in our awesome ponchos went for the soak zone, and would have been drenched if we weren't protected by our layer of plastic! Everyone went to the show, so after we met up and decided we'd all go around for 2 more hours and then meet for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe! So the girls and I finished the rides we hadn't been on yet, bought some souvenirs and met everyone for a delicious dinner!

After dinner we all headed back to the hostel for showers and a little relaxation before preparing ourselves for our night out in Singapore! After a few drinks and a lot of laughs we left the hostel in search of the street with all the bars. We found it fairly easily, but got VERY VERY distracted by the slingshot ride, and a massive swing... 10 of us bought tickets for both rides for $50, and I think it was the best money I have every spent in my life! Stef was so scared, but I decided she'd already conquered her fear of roller coasters for the day, so why not add soaring through the atmosphere to the list of things we've done! We were all scared, and before we took off Stef and I both recited all the people we loved: "I LOVE MY MOM I LOVE MY DAD I LOVE MY SISTER I LOVE MY FAMILY AND I LOVE YOU STEF" The slingshot was the most exhilarating and amazing thing I have ever done! The swing ride was next and Breann and I were elected to be the captains. This meant that once the light on the ground turned green, we could pull the lever at any time and we would be released to start swinging! So Breann and I decided we were going to wait 4 seconds before pulling the lever, but once we got up there and counted to 4... we couldn't pull the lever up! We spent about 5 seconds before we realized we actually needed to push it down to release ourselves! Stef was so scared and it was hilarious that we were so stupid we couldn't figure out the lever! I don't think I've ever laughed as much, or had as much fun crammed into one day as we did on Saturday! It definitely lived up to our expectations of being one of the top 5 days of our lives!

After a little sleep in (until 9:30) on sunday we were all up and ready to head out on some tourist activities! A few members of our group were a little worse for wear after the night before, and the heat was so hot, but we all managed to get to the Singapore flier (the biggest observation wheel in the world!) in one piece and were all excited to see the views. Supposedly you can see malaysia from the wheel, but it was a little smoggy on sunday so we couldn't see as far as you might be able to normally! After the wheel which took about half an hour to go all the way around we headed the the Marina Bay Sands, a designer mall on the Marina. There was a pretty boardwalk, and the architecture in Singapore is amazing, so we took lots of pictures and wandered around outside before going into the mall to cool down and meet up with everyone! By this time it was about 4:00 and we had to head back to the hostel to get our stuff and get to the bus station to head home and end the most amazing weekend ever. It was so sad that it was our last weekend with everyone here, but it was definitely a great way to go out with a bang! Everyone was exhausted after so little sleep over the weekend and everyone crashed on the bus. When we got back to KL it was about 10:30 and we were all slightly more rested after little naps, but pretty much everyone went straight to bed!

I can't believe 6 weeks here is already almost over. I got friday off from work to spend with everyone and pack my life here up. So I only have 2 more days at work to do nothing and hang out with my coworkers, who are amazing people. I have had the time of my life here, have met amazing friends, and have rediscovered myself and how exciting life can be if you take a few risks! I am SO excited for Bali and Thailand with one of my best friends, and one of my new friends! We are going to have the most amazing time hanging out on beaches, learning to surf, meeting more new people, and hopefully running into our Malaysia friends throughout our travels!

This might be my last blog post before I get to the airport for my way home because I'll be leaving my computer with my big suitcase while we're travelling for the next few weeks! As soon as my computer and I are reunited I will post a blog or 2 recapping bali and thailand for you. And hopefully will see you all VERY soon after I get home on July 7!

Love you all! <3

My Cultural Experience!

               This is the unedited version of the paper we have to hand in to Andrea about our experience here. The purpose is to analyze our personal cultural response or adaptation based on our journal entries (or blog, in my case.. which really doesn't talk much about the culture! haha but oh well) anyways it's posted below for you to read if you want!  It summarizes the things I noticed, appreciated, and disliked (which is very little) from this whole experience so far.

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This Malaysia work-study has been both an eye opening cultural experience, an amazing learning opportunity and an experience I will never forget. Coming here I was expecting major culture shock, wasn’t sure how much English would be spoken (although I was told everyone speaks English here), and knew I’d stand out with my blond hair and fair skin, but didn’t know how much. After settling in, I was surprised at my lack of culture shock, the skill with which the average Malay spoke English, and the astonishing amount of attention I got from locals. I was also surprised by many things I wasn’t expecting or prepared for, like just how much the Malaysian concept of time would bother me, how amazingly nice, and helpful the people are here, and how accepting people seem to be even though I am so different from them. The three concepts of life in Malaysia I’d like to review during this analysis of my experience are the following: the Malaysian concept of time, how far citizens of Malaysia will go to maintain harmony in the workplace, and in everyday life, and the race and religion differences between the Malays and me.

The concept of Malaysian time was very confusing for me at first, and continued to be a concept I struggled with for the duration of the trip. It shocked me that “be at work at 9” meant you can come anytime before lunch and your considered on time. The main issue I had with the concept of time is having a Canadian boss. He seems to run on Malaysia time himself, but expects everyone else to run on “Canadian time”. This double standard was very confusing for me. It both frustrated me and provided me with a very poor idea of how I should be trying to fit into the country. This double standard of time seems to be a common occurrence.  It appears as though someone can be as late as they want to meet you, but the second you are late to meet them, they are frustrated. When we went on our tour of Shah Alam and Putrajaya, we were a few minutes late for the bus, and the bus was already over 45 minutes late, but the second the bus driver got to our apartments and we weren’t ready he was frustrated that WE were late, when he was the one who was actually late in the first place!

If there was one thing I had to pick about coming to Malaysia that I didn’t understand, didn’t enjoy and wish I could change it would be the concept of time! I fully appreciate the Malays living differently, and if Canada had a culture like this I’m sure it would be something I would embrace and enjoy. However, I think it’s the confusion I have with having a Canadian boss with different standards and expectations that has really thrown me and frustrated me. I think if I had worked in an office where the entire culture of the company was Malaysian, this time issue would have been a small blip on my radar rather than something that I noticed and felt the pressures of everyday. This observation of mine, in no way put a negative view on my experience in Malaysia, but is the one frustration I had while living here!

Maintaining harmony in the workplace and in daily life is something that I find to be very interesting and different between Malaysia and Canada. In my workplace especially, there is a large variance of races, religions and expectations. So seeing how the different cultures and religions interact is interesting. The individuals in the office who practice Muslim are much more likely to go to greater extremes to maintain harmony than others. And I’ve noticed are much more affected by situations where harmony is not maintained. For example, one of the employees in my office, a devout Muslim and Malay, was driven to quit his job last week over the sense of disharmony he feels in the office. When his work isn’t accepted, and concerns or criticisms aren’t raised appropriately for his standards, he gets visibly upset and has talked to me about how he feels more than once over the same situation.

The issue of harmony may again be more evident in my workplace because we have the Canadian boss who still very much lives and works in a Canadian way. He doesn’t do anything wrong, that I’ve noticed, it’s just very clear how different our cultures are in regards to keeping harmony. Something that may seem as insignificant to us as telling someone that the layout they’ve created for a building doesn’t work, could shatter the harmony within an office in an instant.

It’s nice to witness, and work in a peaceful environment, and the harmony I feel around me is one of my favourite things about this country, and my experience here. However, I also feel like the individuals here may deal with a lot of pent up frustration and anger by not saying what they want to say, or expressing their true feelings towards a situation. I hadn’t noticed that Malays were doing everything they could to maintain harmony until our talk by Dr. Asma Abdullah, and ever since, I have noticed instances where harmony is being maintained rather than true opinions spoken nearly everyday.

The final thing I’ve noticed that I’ve documented in my journal many times is how welcoming the people are here, despite my being very different from them, in my appearance, by religion, my race and by language. They of course stare, ask to take pictures of me, talk about me in Malay right in front of my face and talk to me just to hear my voice; but they also offer to help me, speak in English to me and welcome me everywhere I go.
To me, this is so refreshing. I know I’m different, and expect to get looked at, just as I would probably take a longer look at someone in Canada who is different. In Canada though, I don’t think all people are as welcoming towards those who are different, or new, as the people in Malaysia seem to be overall. I’m not sure if this is a religious difference, a result of cultural differences like trying to maintain harmony, or if people are more welcoming due to there being 3 prominent races and religions within the country, but it was something I was very pleasantly surprised by, and I hope something I can take back to Canada with me. I am already a very tolerant person, welcoming of everyone no matter their race or ability, but I hope that returning home, I can demonstrate this acceptance more, so other people will catch on, and stop pre-judging an individual before they get the chance to meet and get to know them.

Overall, I have had the time of my life in Malaysia. Each day, experience and activity is more amazing than the last. I think I came here expecting a major culture shock, but dealt with and adapted to various situations in a way that makes me feel proud of myself. I feel like I am leaving Malaysia a more intelligent, worldly, and mature person. More open to different cultures, norms, foods, races and religions. I have more respect for the way people who are vastly different from me live, and I am leaving with so many new friends and memories. This experience has been life changing, eye opening and all around amazing.

Relaxing Weekend

This weekend was very relaxing and fairly uneventful! Started friday with getting off work early and then went to workout with Breann. Once Stef got home from work we went down to the pool for dinner and then got ready to go out with about 8 of us with Stef's boss Shahir. He took us to a street full of bars and we spent the night on a patio hanging out and dancing! It was fun, and nice to be taken out by locals who know all the good places to go!

On Saturday morning, we all woke up at around 10, and dragged our butts down to the pool for a few hours in the sun (it was soooooo nice and warm and sunny!) then went up stairs for a wonderful nap before getting ready to go out for dinner as a family! We decided to go for dinner at the mall, and went to TGI Fridays which was so delicious and legitimately western it was amazing! After dinner we were all pretty tired and it was already after 10, so we just went home to bed!

We woke up early on sunday for another family adventure to the zoo! Zoo's here are very different from our Zoos at home... fences are very small, and hardly protect you from the animals! So we get to the zoo and walk in and the second exhibit we see is the elephants.. and about 2 seconds after we get there the man elephant decided it would be a good idea to make some moves on the girl elephant... awkward, but it was a little like a car crash where you just couldn't look away! haha Breann was funny and asked whether the elephants were allowed to do that and thought one of the zoo keepers should stop them! haha Most of the animals in the zoo were the same as we have in Calgary, but for some reason they were a lot more exciting in Malaysia!

After the zoo, we were going to go to the Orchid gardens, but it started to rain so we decided to go to the mall for dinner instead.. and were so happy with our dinner at TGI Fridays the night before we decided we should go there again, so we did! Then we spent about 2 hours or so shopping around, and then we headed home for a quick swim to cool down after our hot day adventure! After swimming it was time for laundry, a movie and bed!

We're going to Singapore next weekend and spending the day at Universal Studios! So this was our last weekend to spend in KL, so sad! I can't believe how fast this trip is going, but I'm having an amazing time, and love all the people and the food and everything! I'm already getting sad to leave, and I still have a month before I get home!

I miss you all, love you all, and think of you all a lot! <3