First weekend in Kuala Berang

Alright, so this weekend "alone" wasn't at all bad... I have to admit, I kind of like hanging out in Kuala Berang on the weekend. I have been here for over 3 months now, and that was the first weekend I've actually spent in the town!! Speaking of being here that long, I have set a new milestone in my life... Malaysia is officially the ONE country in which I have spent the most time, and in fact, this is the most time I have ever spent out of the United States. 3+ months with 9 more to go!! Ecuador was my leading nation, but Malaysia has battled it down to second.

In other news, I really like a meal here called Masak Merah. That means "red cooked." It is a spicy sauce that you can drizzle on rice, chicken, fish, or anything that you wish. I usually take mine with chicken, and some Nasi Minyak... NOTE TO ALL WESTERNERS, did you know there are different kinds of rice?? I know that sounds really dumb and condescending, but I did NOT know this. To me, rice had always been rice. In Malaysia you can get Nasi ayam, nasi goreng, nasi minyak, nasi lemak, nasi kerabu, nasi putih, nasi berani, and the list goes on my friends! (Nasi means rice) Well, my favorite is nasi minyak which is oily rice. It is soooooo good! It is a breakfast rice and it comes with a curry dish that is delicious... I have plans to learn to cook it so maybe you'll get a taste in the USofA. Anyway, I've been eating masak merah like it's my job, and I've had it for the last 3 meals. I think it is seriously messing with my gastro intestinal track big time. It's like eating a lot of garlic times 500! But like all things that end up being bad for you, it is just so goooooooooooooood.

Back to business. This weekend I spent hanging out with my host family. I usually always refer to them as my step family, by mistake. I'll say, "Yea, I went to KL this weekend with my step-dad" or "My step-mom made me dinner last night." I don't mean to, but it really is sort of what they're like. That, and they are awesome. First of all, there is my step-dad, Mustafa, and my step-mom, Aini. Aini is a biology teacher at my school and she is in charge. When something needs to get done and no one is doing it, I just tell Aini and it's like a genie snaps his fingers and poof, it's taken care of. She's great! Then they have 8 children. 8 kids is a normal size family in Malaysia which is incredible to me. Anyway, there oldest son, Zahid, studies in KL. He is preparing to move to Japan to do his undergraduate degree. They're oldest daughter, Aisha, goes to boarding school in KL. The third oldest daughter, Rosana, goes to school about 10k away from Kuala Berang. So, I usually end up hanging out with Mustafa, Aini, and the 5 other kids. They are Zakinah, a form 1 student at my school so I teach her class and it's kind of awkward because she is essentially my sister, then Wahadi, Liyana, Sallehuddin, and Zahira. The children in this family have so much energy, but because I'm half ADD, I can safely keep up.

Well, this weekend we decided to go on a picnic to Tasik Kenyir, and this time I didn't forget my camera. Tasik Kenyir is gorgeous. I don't think I could possibly say that enough. I'm just going to end that rant here and tell you all you must see it for yourselves. Anyway, we went to a waterfall, did some swimming, ate some lunch, then headed back home. We met up with some family friends who went to the waterfall with us, too. After the day was done, we headed back to their house and just hung out. I love hanging out at their house because I get to eat meals with them and I think Aini's food is some of the best I've had in Malaysia. She always makes so much food and a wide variety too, enough to feed her small army! Well, I always stuff my fat face and it's great... it beats eating at the dorm with the students because the food there is pretty, eh. After eating, I played tennis with Mustafa. Mustafa just started playing tennis about a year ago, but he is a natural. He's really good and playing with him is fun. Of course I have to use a borrowed racket that I'm not used to, and I'm really nervous to play because I feel like eveyrone is watching my every move, so I screwed up a lot. I did make some pretty sweet shots that were substantial evidence of my greatness, haha. We played a doubles match with some of Mustafa's tennis buddies, and they beat us 6-3. Whatever, I'm going to bust them up next time. Mom, if you're reading, send my racket!!!

So, that ends my spiel for the day. I am just going to leave you all with some pictures of the waterfall at Tasik Kenyir.

Here we are packing up and getting ready to go. Liyana is in the front, with Zahira and Sallehuddin already in the car


Here's the waterfall, well, all of it that fit in the frame... it's massive!


Here's a picture to show the immensity of it. That's my host dad Mustafa standing in the yellow shirt


These are man-made pools so you can go swimming. Well, the man who made these was a little too concerned with authenticity, because man-made rocks were added to the pools to give them an astethic value of sorts. Well, as I was sliding from pool to pool, I fell and was stabbed in my pubic bone by one of those nice little "accessories." I now have a beautiful blood blister bruise right below my belly button!


Faizul, a family friend, and Liyana enjoying the churning sensation of falling water


The picnic area... a bridge right in front of the falls, ah, Malaysia


How to do a picnic Malaysian/Small family army style


I really liked the sun shining through the jungle in this photo. From the left is Zakinah, my step-mom Aini, and Liyana.


My step-brother Wahadi managed to find a freshwater crab, then he actually picked it up... braver than I'll ever be, haha


And the most adorable 2 year old on the planet, Zahira. I think she should really be the next Welch's Grape Juice kid, that or a gymnast. This little girl is so active and she might be the epitome of the "terrible twos." One day I watched her climb a bookshelf that is taller than me, and she did it in 3 seconds. She swings on anything she can reach and the other day I taught her how to walk up me and flip. So, now I hold her hands and she climbs up me and stands on my shoulders. She is amazing... she might be Malaysia's first Olympic gold in Gymnastics.

Finally, side note, the past 3 times I got in a car in Malaysia I have seen terrible things. You'll remember the man and cat from previous blogs. Well, this weekend I saw a baby goat smashed to bits while his family stood about 10 feet away, waiting for him to get up and move. It was awful. I needed to get that out, it is freaking me out to keep thinking about it inside. Alright, take care!