Langkawi, Malaysia

I was offered the opportunity to join about 10 other international students for a weekend trip to Langkawi, which is a very beautiful and touristic island north of Penang, right on the border of Thailand. I wasn’t sure it would be worth it, since I couldn’t leave till Saturday morning (I had program obligations) and would have to come back Sunday night due to my classes not being skippable Monday. In the end I was impulsive and said yes! I’m so glad I did.

We left on a ferry 8:15 am Saturday morning and arrived 3 hours later. After finding our hostel by taxi, we got a ride to the beach, where we met up with some of the guys who arrived the day before. Thus commenced a great beach day. Later on we went to a nice restaurant before buying some cheap beer (alcohol is quite expensive on Penang so this was a big deal) and heading back to the beach to hang out in the sand for the night. It was so hot that we remained in swimsuits until going back to the hostel at 1 am. Talking, drinking, and laughing on a tropical paradise island? There wasn’t much to complain about :)

Knowing that I and the boys who came up on Friday had to catch the 2:30 Ferry back to Penang, we woke up excruciatingly early to eat breakfast and go to the cable car more north on the island. It cost 30 RM to ride up the cable car and it was worth it. The views from the top were spectacular, and the breeze up there made it so the heat didn’t bother us as much. It was neat to see the island, and the other islands around Langkawi. There is a skybridge too, but it’s unfortunately closed for renovations for 3 years. The cable car was good enough for me though.

Exhausted, I made it back to Penang Sunday night, ready to start the week. It was a nice whirlwind trip, and make me excited for what else Malaysia might have to offer.

WRITE TO ME!

Third world (noun):

            1. the underdeveloped nations of the world, especially those with widespread poverty.

            2. The group of developing nations, especially of Asia and Africa, that do not align themselves with the policies of either the U.S. or the former Soviet Union

I am living in a third world country.

What does this mean? It means that it’s not the U.S.A, I do not have the same comforts as home, and things are not kept to the same standard. Squat toilets and cold showers are a thing, as is no toilet paper or hand soap in most places. Nicer areas of the island are closely bordered by run down areas, and beggars and stray animals are easily spotted. It’s an interesting place to find myself, and my first full week of class was similarly composed of high and low points.

Classes themselves are good. I think I will enjoy the different pace offered by them and I am most excited for tropical ecology. I’m very excited for the field trips to begin. Religious Diversity class got off to an interesting start, as a professor teaches it with a clear bias towards Islam, and a hatred of atheists. Overall however, class is good and keeps me busy.

We’ve gotten to explore the island a little. Georgetown is the main city, and I’ve been there a couple times so far. It’s a vibrant busy, sweltering place with a fun wet market. It’s easy to get to by bus or taxi, and I’ve utilized both. I also went to the only swimmable beach on the island (Batu Ferringhi) and spent the day with a few international students that I met. It was a lovely day, and very hot.

An interesting aspect about Malaysia (besides the driving on the left hand side- I’ll never get used to it) is that cash is such a hot commodity! I go through it so fast, as people do not carry cards. Quite the opposite of how we live in America!

Fun fact is that I ate a scrambled oyster… and liked it! I then proceeded to try stingray and crab. Surprisingly I liked it all!

The low points so far are bed bugs, laundry, and homesickness. Our dorm room was infested with bed bugs, and we had to move to a different room. As you probably know, bed bugs are easily spread, so we had to wash all of our clothes before moving. I was dumb, and did two loads of laundry, like I would at Gustavus, not thinking about how the only option was hot water. I managed to turn my first load entirely pink, and the second load a splotchy blue. Fantastic. My already limited wardrobe was not down to like nothing. I had to go to the mall in Georgetown to buy some basic clothes, and begged my parents to send me a care package of clothes. Not the best start to my trip. Homesickness comes and goes, and is the reason I like to stay busy. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the international students, and hopefully will continue to cultivate relationships.

First week done. Moving forward.

P.S. It would probably make my life if you would send me a card or something. Here’s the address:

Jumie Samsudin (Attn: Heather Goff)

International Office (Building C09)

Universiti Sains Malaysia

1180 Minden Penang, Malaysia

We Made It

           Approximately 37 hours and 4 separate flights later, we have traveled halfway across the world and find ourselves in Penang, Malaysia. Can’t say I’m eager to do that trip again, especially since the cankles due to flight swelling of my ankles and feet have yet to subside. It’s all good though, because we made it safe and sound.

I’ve heard the first two weeks are the hardest for studying abroad, and I can definitely see it. It’s been very overwhelming. Thrust into a completely new place with new culture, we’ve been given a whirlwind tour of the large campus, went shopping for essentials at the mall, given various orientation talks, connected to wifi, and were assigned to a dorm room, called “hostels” here. Shouts out to everyone who made it into my picture collage, it made the janky room a little homier. No AC in the dorms is a struggle, but windows wide-open and large overhead fan seem to help.

For once in my life I wished classes started already. I have to wait until Monday. For now, it’s just orientation. I’m such a schedule person that I’m craving some routine, especially since everything else is so new. Eating out for the first time was a success though! No idea what I ordered but it was some sort of delicious noodle and chicken dish. The drink was recommended to me, and tasted just like cold chocolate milk. Yumm! Definitely could get used to the food and how cheap it is. I can get approximately 3 ringgits for 1 US dollar, so I have essentially tripled my money. Combine that with a 5ish ringgit cost for dinner, and I’m like yesssss!

The island is quite beautiful. There are large forested hills and when we can see the water, it’s a lovely shade of blue. It is however, a metropolitan type city, so the bustle and hustle is real. There are a lot of buildings, shops, and apartments, and traffic always seems to be heavy. It is quite the change from small town St. Peter. The campus is large, and so confusing. Incredibly different from small GAC. We have to take busses to class! Which reminds me, I still have to figure that out…

I was feeling a bit out of sorts, and completely tired after dinner the first day when me and a couple other girls decided to walk. We came upon an outdoor track near our hostel, which had a men’s soccer team practicing inside. We couldn’t go in yet, because we need student IDs, but we could look from outside. Many people were running around and I instantly felt better. I’m such an endorphin junkie, I wanted to go for a run sooo bad (and hopefully meet the soccer boys). That’s my plan for as soon as possible, and I was grateful to see some women wearing shorts which means I don’t have to die of heat stroke wearing pants while running.

In summary, I don’t quite know what I’m doing, where things are, or what I got myself into. I’m excited (and anxious) to become acquainted with the area, meet some people, and settle into a routine.

Why Malaysia?

This is the most common question I get asked when I tell people where I'm studying abroad (closely followed by the "So.. where is Malaysia exactly? --> please look it up if you don't know). The answer is kind of complicated, so instead of packing I thought I'd try to explain it here. I think you'll best understand if I break it up into categories on my thinking.

Location
Malaysia in in Asia. Newsflash I know. This is important though, because I always thought I wanted to study abroad in Europe. The problem was that I couldn't pick where. Everywhere seemed incredible and I couldn't choose one place over another. So naturally, I choose a completely different continent. This might have been one of the only decisions I've ever made on a gut feeling, then followed with logic. Hearing about this program sparked something in me: excitement, apprehension, or curiosity I'm still not sure. Whatever the mix of feelings was, it felt like adventure. I wanted in. I told myself (and I do believe it) that I'll get back to Europe in my lifetime. I'll explore the Irish pubs and the Swiss slopes, and see the Eiffel Tower. I will. I may not however, get back to Asia. So I'm going now.

Program
I'll be traveling to Malaysia with 11 other Gustavus students and 2 faculty members. Of the two faculty members, Shirley is a native of Penang, Malaysia, and her husband Steve, has lived there off and on since initially being stationed there through the Peace Corps. They have invaluable knowledge about this country that I'm lucky to get to learn, and will make the transition that much easier. I will room with one  other Gustavus student, and all the pairs will be spread out over the campus of Universiti Sains Malaysia (comparable in size to the U of M). This allows us to get to know the students that attend the school but always have someone there who reminds us of home. A good balance I think. Together, all 12 of us will take the same 4 classes, taught by faculty members from the school. These classes include a language class, where we will learn Malay, a religions class, a culture/history of Malaysia class, and my personal favorite, a tropical ecology class. Built into the program are various excursions around the country, both for tourism and for site work related to our biology course. And, we never have class on Fridays. As a science major, this is a dream!

People
The country of Malaysia is unique in that is has multiple different cultures and religions all living and working together in relative peace. I think that residing in a country that accomplishes this will be incredibly enlightening and hopefully I will learn things that I can carry with me for the rest of my life. I will get the opportunity to live among vibrant people in a wonderful medley of culture and I could not be more excited. Also, I want to experience being the minority. This is probably a weird thing to admit to, but I really do. All my life I've been taught about racism and diversity, but I never felt like I could really understand it being white and living and going to predominately white places. Now, I will be the minority, and I will stand out, in both good and bad ways.

Food
A country with such a mix of culture is bound to have amazing  food, and everything I've been told leads me to believe that I am essentially going to a food paradise. For anyone who knows me, this is perfect. I love food, and trying new things, and by the sounds of it, I will be hard pressed to try it all.

Price
I'd be lying if I said that price wasn't a factor in my choice. For a study abroad program, this one is quite manageable. I was told by my parents that any extra cost for a study abroad program would have to be covered by me, so I chose the one that is actually saving us some money up front. This leaves me with more to spend while I'm over there. An all around win.

Hopefully this answers the big question "Why Malaysia?!" and seriously, if you don't know where it is, Check out a map. It's my home for the next 4 months :)

One Week

One week from today I will begin my journey. First stop, the Hyatt hotel in Bloomington. We will undergo a 2-day orientation before flying out of Minneapolis on the morning of the 10th and arriving in Penang the morning of the 12th. I have one week to get everything together, a daunting thought, but I'm ready for the challenge. How does one pack a suitcase for 4 months abroad? I'll let you know when I figure it out.

I wasn't sure I wanted to keep a blog, but I think that this will be the best way for me to share what I'm up to with everyone (hello extended family!) so I'm going to do my best to keep it updated, and interesting. So here goes...