From Malaysia, With Love.

Top of the morn' to ya folks.  I just came back from my trip to Malaysia, and it was probably the best time of my life.  I met so many cool people from all walks of life, ate a LOT of good food, and I saw a bunch of good touristy/non-touristy spots.  To sum up my trip, I'd like to share some things I've learned and experienced there in numbered points.  Bear with me...

1. No matter where you go, English is the international language of communication. 
There were too many times where I would be talking with people from Germany, Finland, America, Malaysia, and other countries at the same table, and we were all communicating and having a good time through one means of communication: English.  Although we all looked different, had different cultures, and economic backgrounds, we were all able to come together through our common language.  That was very comforting to me, not only because I didn't have to worry too much about miscommunication, but because it shows that our world is becoming more involved with each other.

2. Western Culture is everywhere.
There were multiple times where I was walking past Starbucks on a marble floor in a huge mall watching women run around in short shorts (I miss short shorts).  The consumerism culture is HUUUGGEE in Kuala Lumpur; buy, buy, buy!  At first it was absolutely overwhelming to me.  I was kind of getting used to escalators still while were were looking at which Samsung Galaxy was cheapest (almost bought a tablet).  The reoccurring question of 'which place is more western?' kept coming to me, and I honestly believe that Kuala Lumpur is more 'western' than Denver.  Crazy, right?

3. Muslims are really nice people and aren't that different from any other religion
Just as there are many kinds of Catholics (orthodox, uptight, relaxed, and just those ones who are addicted to repenting! haha) there are many kinds of Muslims.  At first when I saw women completely covered from head to toe with black veils I was a little shocked, but as soon as I learned the reasons behind their clothing I actually understood their practice; Muslims believe that a woman should only be able to seduce her husband and that showing any body parts other than the eyes is a way to seduce other men.  While I can see their point and appreciate it, I must say that some of those Muslim women were definitely trying to seduce me with their gorgeous eyes.  No matter how much you see of a woman, you still know it's a woman.

Muslims are also very loving people.  I got to briefly know a Muslim family who was absolutely wonderful.  They fasted during Ramadan, they accepted me into their home, and were just the most lovely people.  I truly got to know better the belief of how all religions are the same, or better said, how religions make good people no matter which one it is.

4. You never know where you'll meet good people
I wasn't expecting to meet too many people during my trip, but I did.  I met a wonderful girl named Lia, and we spent days exploring her city like tourists.  It's funny how when you live somewhere you never go see your place's tourist sites...  I also met a guy from Russia, girls from Finland, a guy from the Netherlands, local Malaysians, and many others.  All really good and interesting people who made my trip unforgettable, and I will definitely be seeing at least one of them in the future :)

Okay now, enough talk!  Picture time!

Kentucky Fried Chicken never tasted soooo good.

Cheap Indian food filled my stomach all the time

Chinatown: where you can buy almost anything for next to nothing.

Monkeys!

Petronas Towers.  Ya, I conquered them.

Coconut trees in a concrete jungle.

Lia and I decided to become Indians for a day.

Fish spas are scary.

Paul (from Russia) and I on top of the KL Communication Tower.

I went to the National Mosque during call to prayer.  A very humbling experience.

My Malaysian friend Mia with her Lilo and Stich Galaxy 4s phone.  Mia and Lilo are about the same in that they have unlimited energy and never stop moving.

Batu Caves.

I don't follow directions very well.



Any questions about my vacation?  Just leave a comment!

I miss you all back home, and I miss all of my new Malaysian friends.  Sama Sama (thanks).

Busily Bored

Summer: the time when everyone enjoys hot weather, one day of fireworks, and children peeing in pools.  Well for me it's been hot weather, the occasional beer, and a mixed period of being completely bored and feeling slightly overbooked. 

It started about a week ago.  I woke up at the crack of 10am to decide whether I should think about getting up or whether I should skip the internal 20 minute conversation and just get up.  I chose the latter because I was feeling ambitious. 

One productive decision leads to another...

I went to the Peace Corps office to kill some swings of the clock when my friend Ben walked in.  We convinced me that being a bum, although a respectable profession, was not the best way to spend my summer.  We headed to the Upward Bound office which runs a program for high school students during summer, and within 20 minutes I found myself signed up to teach a Junior Literature class four days a week. 

Two productive decisions lead to another...

After feeling slightly less hobo-ish, I walked to the library after hearing about a meeting after a planned meeting to the addendum of a meeting (basically, there was no meeting) to have a kids summer reading program.  I talked to the library director and basically begged him for some sort of free labor to do.  He signed me up for the reading program, and he also gave me some "come whenever you want to" book entry work.

Three productive decisions lead to another...

Two days later I was referenced to the Sports Office here in Pohnpei to see if there were any sports I could help out with.  I fell right smack dab into a meeting about a basketball tournament starting on July 15th.  Perfect.  By the time I headed out the door, I had a new title: Coach of Team 3 "The Underdogs".  We've had two practices, and my team is going to win the tournament.  This information is based on little to nothing, but whatever.

Four productive decisions lead to another...

On another referral (I think Peace Corps office gave me these referrals because they wanted me to stop drinking all of their coffee) I got a call from a IREI (Island Research and Education Initiative)  asking me to help in writing a book.  What the book is about or how much I'll be writing/helping I have no idea, but I like the idea of having my name on the list of supporting authors.  I start tomorrow.

Five productive decisions lead to... me locking my imaginary scheduling book for now.  It's a great start (or shall I say midway start since it's already mid-June) to my summer.  I've also been taking my little sisters and two other little relatives to the pool and the library, and I've also been letting them ABUSE my Gameboy and Ipod.  Mom, I know now why you locked up our N64; these kids won't stop playing video games!  It's been fun to hang out with the kids because I feel like I'm getting "dad practice".  Knowing when to say "yes" and "no" to my sisters' thousands of requests has been quite the learning experience over the past month.

To sum it all up, I'm busy and having fun, and that's all that matters.

1 year - The Foreign Country Isn't So Foreign Anymore

The gravity of this post really hasn't hit me yet.  While I've been here in Pohnpei, my planet has been busy making a whole revolution around our sun.  We've both been very busy the earth and I.

This year, and especially these last 5 months, has been the most intense personal growth period of my life.  I've learned to be more at ease with my personality and to take on life with a sense of I can control my situation more.  That's one of the reasons why I wanted to be a volunteer, and I feel like I've been a rock tumbling down a river becoming more smooth and refined as I meander down.  I feel comfortable.  I feel great.  I feel like Nick.

During this past year, I've been through hell, heaven, and thousands of "meh..." days.  Bacteria have become my new best friends, cold showers are actually relaxing, and the Pohnpeian language has gone from being something unpronounceable to being a social tool I use to connect with people (especially the ladies ;)).  Also, some serious cognitive dissonances have become common mental thought processes for me.  Dogs, for one, can be hit and fed next to nothing, but I can still go play and pet them.  I can go eat a hamburger in town and then instantly go to cooking rice on an outside fire without thinking twice.  Certain foods like bacon and ice cream (a good combination I must say) are now scavenging opportunities instead of culinary choices like in the States.  Socially, I can talk with Americans for hours about personal issues and in the next hour I can go back to traditional Pohnpeian society and not discuss feelings for days.

I've changed.

But I've changed mostly for good, and that feeling is a huge accomplishment for me.

There are so many misunderstandings, dangerous excursions, and accomplishments that have been jam packed into 2012-2013.  I can't do them all justice, and that sucks.

The mental unspoken question that's going through my mind is "Would you choose Peace Corps again knowing what you know now?".  Yes, no doubt.

I've got another whole year to go.  Here's to the past, and here's to the adventure that lies ahead of me.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Go Pee at 3am

I lived with just my mom and sister for a good amount of my life.  I've learned how to share the bathroom, deal with mood swings, and understand the necessity of a once a month band aid.  That was for 2 females. 

How about for more than 110 packed in a place with 3 toilets, 3 showers, and limited space?

That was Camp G.L.O.W. in the shortest of blurbs.  In all, it was a great experience where us Peace Corps Volunteers had the chance to teach 8th grade girls about the things to come in high school and with being a woman.

Some highlights were teaching some girls taekwondo, staying awake at night to make sure no Micronesian borrowing happened to our supplies, and telling multiple girls that 3am is not the time to hang out by the bathroom.

It was a great camp, but afterwards I needed a lot of sleep.  Girls are tiring.

Other news: I'm starting up my summer here in Kolonia looking for any volunteer activities to keep myself occupied.  I'm planning to do a summer reading camp at the library and coach some sports teams here, maybe even introduce Kolonia to Ultimate Frisbee!

Here's some Camp G.L.O.W. pictures.  Enjoy!

The Campers and "Staff".

Making Local Baskets.

Fun.

Dance Party.  Yes, I made a fool of myself.

The Blind Snake Leadership Activity.

Sunsets Forever.

Summertime on an Island Feels Like Winter

Well, it's officially been a year; well, almost.  Close to 11 1/2 months anyway.  Summer has just unofficially started, and that means a dilemma for a Peace Corps Volunteer assigned to an education position.  It means a huge change in my daily routine.  It means no students, no teachers, no classrooms ( *cough* Alice Cooper, it's your time to sing).  But here's what it really means:

Boredom.

To combat this brain-drain, I've been trying to find some other projects to take up my time.  I'm researching into the public library to see if I can help with their summer reading program and general library duties ( *cough* *hmmhmmm* Mr. Cooper, you can stop singing now).  I've been working on my school's library for the past month with categorizing books and helping the kids to sign-out books, so if needed I could boost my verbal resume' with that.

I also have some vacations planned.  The biggest being to Malaysia to party and see the beautiful country.

In other words, this summer is going to be a lot of downtime, but I'm going to use this opportunity to volunteer and see the world.  Oh, and it'd probably be a good time to skype with you guys more frequently than the once per never I'm currently doing.

More to come, and I hope you're enjoying your delicious hamburgers wherever you are.  Oh how I miss hamburgers.  And chicken nuggets.  And beer.  And wings.  Oh food...

Frisbee Golfin' and a Peace Corps Valley

I don't have enough time to give this post what it deserves, but I'll give you a Cliffnotes version of my past 2 weeks.

It's been difficult.  I got an awesome birthday package including a Denver Broncos SIGNED cheerleaders calendar.  I made Salapwuk into Boulder, Colorado by teaching frisbee golf to my kids.  I was reassured that I don't have TB or any other severe medical illness.  I got to see my Kolonia host sister's baby (I'm pushing her to name the boy 'Nick' haha). 

In all, it's been one of those Peace Corps lows and reevaluation points, but at the same time it's been great.

They say pictures say a thousand words, so I'll shut up now.

The frisbee golf hole constructed solely out of hibiscus branches and bark for the nets.

The almost finished frisbee golf hole.

At the dinner table.

He really likes frisbee golf with the finished product.

Volleyball in NanMand.

3 hours of free time translates into a world of possibilities.

How To Post Comments, Part 2

I've had another request of a detailed description on how to post comments.

As Mario would say, here we go!

1. Scroll to the end of any blog post to where it says "No comments" or "(some number) comment/s".
2. Click on the "no comments" or "(some number) comment/s" link
3. It will take you to the individual blog post page.  Then type your comment in the big blank box at the bottom of the page
4. Under the blank box, there is text that says "Comment as" with a selection box to its right.  Click the selection box and choose "Anonymous"
5. Click "publish" below the "comment as" seletion box.
6. It will take you to a new page where it will ask you to "Please prove you're not a robot".  Type in the jumbled picture's text into the "Type the two words" box below the picture.  If you mess up, it will give you another chance.
7. Click "publish" below.
8. Boom, you have posted on my blog.

Any questions?  Just comment below... haha