So I've been in malaysia for about a month now!! And I've posted.. Three whole times. That's dedication right there. I would apologize, but I wouldn't mean it. Moving on.
Malaysia is very different. VERY different. First of all, there are random, emaciated stray dogs just wandering around. Am I the only one that finds that odd? Over half of the people in Malaysia are Muslims, a religion that officially forbids touching dogs (unless they're dry and there's a genuine reason- I don't particularly understand this rule). I expected there to be much fewer dogs..
I've been going to school for the past couple weeks, and it's been going surprisingly well, considering my knowledge of malay is not so great. All of my classmates speak enough English to be understood in a normal conversation, but some of them are kind of shy to talk I me. Apparently I talk fast- not something I was expecting to hear, considering I'm from the Midwest.
So far, everyone I've met has been completely friendly. I was expecting some animosity when I went to school, but that didn't happen. At all. I feel like I'm a celebrity every time I walk down he school halls. People I've never even met before will greet me by name and tell me to accept them on Facebook! I have approximately 50 unconfirmed requests.
School is completely different. The teachers have to move around to different classrooms after every period, not the students, so I'm with the same people every day. Every morning, we go to "assembly", where all of the students sit in the courtyard (yes, there's an actual courtyard! It's actually really nice, although sometimes this random cat will wander around the students. Nobody seems to care.) and listen to te principal talk about how the young people today are lazy and immoral. Apparently adults don't think too highly of teenagers in general everywhere..
Malaysia is very diverse. In my class, nearly everyone can speak three languages. English and malay, obviously, and then for the Indians Tamil, and for the Chinese, Mandarin Chinese. It makes me feel super inadequate, to be honest!
The school atmosphere is strongly reminiscent of middle school,(and really.. Who wouldn't want to relive those fond memories?) mostly because in this culture it's not really socially acceptable to have a boyfriend or girlfriend in high school.
I'm not nearly as homesick as I thought I would be, and the food is fantastically delicious! You just have to watch out for the occasional bone, because biting down on a random bone is a very unpleasant experience.