Selamat Datang!

I’m back…with a vengeance. Not really, but I am in a different country, though. I’m in the 3rd week of a month long semester break, and after much difficulty in attaining a visa to go to China, I settled for Malaysia instead. I say settled, but really it’s been an absolute bargain. I love Malaysia! Let me tell you about the country: Selamat Datang (Welcome)! Sitting partially on a peninsula off the Strait of Malacca, an important trade passage which links the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as well as Borneo, Malaysia has historically been a magnet for cultural diversity, and the country does not disappoint in displaying its eclectic and multiracial culture. It’s incredible: Ethnic Malays, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Africans, and more, all in one place, attempting to interact with each other as best as they can. Coming from a nation as homogeneous as Thailand (at least racially, although there is a lot of diversity), I’ve not felt this much at home in a few months. It also helped that I came to visit some good family friends and some PiA fellows, and happened to link up with two other teachers from Khon Kaen since I’ve been here. Malaysia has been very kind to me.

I started off in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the commercial capital of Malaysia, home to my uncle Cliff (a Brit) and auntie Enna (a Tanzanian), who perfectly reflect the diverse nature of the country. Kuala Lumpur is an amalgam of activity that is just striking to your senses. It is not uncommon to meet a Nigerian transvestite/ladyboy bargaining for Ray-Ban sunglasses with an Indian Malay in Chinatown while grubbing on a whopper. I encountered this canvas of events, not exactly in that order, but was insanely awestruck by all that I was witnessing. KL, for a major regional capital, is surprisingly structured, neat, and walkable. There’s a compact city center, which is lively and offers a lot of attractions; the foods are culinary explosions in your mouth; and I found people very approachable and more eager to get to know me, which is refreshing when compared to the timidity of some Thais. Since Islam is the state religion of Malaysia, there a lot of Islamic influence in the architecture of the city – and I have an affinity for Islamic architecture. All this combined with the fact that a lot of people speak English greatly influenced my perception of the city. (Pictured above are the Petronas Towers, followed by the old railway station and Batu Caves)



Next, I visited Penang, an island off northern Malaysia and on the Strait of Malacca, which is a cultural and historical throwback to Malaysia’s days (actually 100s of years) under colonial rule, most noticeably by the British. In Penang, I visited Alex and Aggie, also English teachers at a university in Penang through PiA, and really cool kids. I was also lucky enough to meet up with two teachers from Khon Kaen (where I work in Thailand), Diana and Anna, with whom I linked up with in KL and followed to Penang; they were my travel partners, as Alex and Aggie were busy at work. On the island, we went on a great hike in the national park which ended at Turtle Beach, so named because that’s where turtles come out at night to lay and bury their eggs (although, no turtles were sighted). We then took a boat to another beach, this time Monkey Beach (no monkey, but iguanas were spotted), before heading out of the park. We also spent some time in the old colonial district of Georgetown, and toured the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (or the Blue House), a renovated 19th century home of a Chinese mogul, dubbed the Rockefeller of the East, who built a vast business empire throughout Asia. The mansion was one of many that he owned all around the continent, and the home of wives 2 and 7, I believe, out of 8. Penang was a cool cultural experience, made better by the fact that I was able to interact and travel with friends that I really enjoyed being around.



Malaysia is a very interesting country. As I mentioned, it is super diverse, but there are some real issues underlying the social utopia that it’s made out to be. A part of me feels like the country is living a lie that is snowballing out of control. Some problems are really in need of mending, like giving preferential EVERYTHING to ethnic Malays, while not really catering much to the Chinese and Indian communities, which make up the two biggest minority groups in Malaysia. For example, if you're Indian Malay, you can't ever aspire to be the president of a university, and Chinese schools are not given as much money as schools that teach ethnic Malay kids, leading many Chinese to set up segregated private schools for their children. There's a certain glass ceiling, which is meant to keep "foreigners" from dominating social/economic spheres, but it's straight up discrimination.

Historically, non-ethnic Malays have dominated the peninsula for many centuries. Malaysia was colonized by the Siamese (Thais), Portuguese, the Dutch, and the English. And Chinese, Indian, and Arab traders have had a long history here because of the important role of Malay spices and other prized goods in the Indian Ocean trade routes. After Malaysia got its independence in the late 1950s, a large scale effort was made to put the country firmly under the control of ethnic Malays. Thus, the educational, commercial, housing, etc., sectors (and even tax payments) were all structured to cater first to Malays, and then to others. The result of this policy is an unsettling racial segregation that I find very detrimental to the country’s image as an oasis of diversity. So, although there’s a tremendous amount of culture sharing – you can go to an Indian restaurants and find Chinese and Malays also eating there – what I didn’t see very often were the different races eating together, or dating each other, or going to school together (outside of universities). In effect, what the ruling Malays in the government are trying to do is prevent “outsider” races, especially the Chinese, who hold incredible power in places like Singapore and Thailand (although in Thailand I find the Chinese better integrated with ethnic Thais and Thai society), from dominating the politics, the economy, and the media. This is understandable when considering how little control the Malays themselves have had over their own territory in the past 600 years, but I find it unfortunate that people are deliberately made into second-class citizens in a country in which they’ve had roots for centuries; and as a professional, it must be frustrating to be unable to reach the apex of your field in the country that you call home.

And yet, what I do like about Malaysia, although it frustrates me, is that, unlike in the US, where 2nd generation immigrants quickly lose their cultural identity and take up a general “American” social identity, mentality, and speech, here it’s not like that. Although everyone speaks Malay (which is a fusion of Southeast Asian languages, Sanskrit, and some Arabic, Portuguese, English, and Dutch words), I get the sense that Chinese Malay kids want to learn Mandarin (or maybe because their options are so limited, they are forced to learn/retain it in order to open up more doors for them in the future?), many Indian Malays still speak Hindi, Arab Malays practice Arabic, etc. People really make an effort to retain their old cultural values and lifestyles, which I think is great, but implies that there are roadblocks to full assimilation into Malaysian culture and forging a new identity out of all the diversity.

I say all these things and I’ve only been here for a week and a half, which means that I’m in no way an authority on matters Malaysian. These are all very, very rough observations that I just had to write down. Before I leave, I’m hoping to visit Melaka, the famed port city which was crucial to the Indian Ocean trade, and Uncle Cliff got us some tickets to see Akon in KL! So, I’ll be jamming my way out of Malaysia with some good tunes. I’ll take pictures.

Peace out. One.

Music

Hey hey! So, I've been listening to a lot of interesting music lately and I wanted to share some of it with you. Most of these are old, but some are recognizable. Check out some of the African music...so good.

1. "Down" by Jay Sean feat. Lil' Wayne: This is very Enrique Iglesias-esque with it's thumping beats and repetitive hooks, but it's gets you going. Lil' Wayne's lines are epic: "Don't you ever leave the side of me/indefinitely, not probably/and honestly, I'm down like the economy." Haha! No matter what you think about him, he's incredibly witty and surprisingly intelligent.

2. "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman" by K-os (pronounced Chaos) feat. Saukrates: You can never go wrong with a sample of Phantom Planet's California (the OC theme song). It's just timeless and it gives me nostalgic chills, just like one of my all-time favorite songs "Bittersweet Symphony" (here's a great soca version of the Verve's superhit). Despite the strange title of the track, maybe K-os was trying to channel some Fall Out Boy and their affinity for awkward titles, the song is a poignant, swagger-inducing, and yet, kind of mellow and eerie. And, it has nothing to do with Natalie Portman...unless, in some strange way, those adjectives I mentioned above are some characteristics inspired by the actress. If you like the Gorillaz (especially "Feel Good Inc."), you'll like this song.

3. "T.R.O.Y." (They Reminisce Over You) by Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth: This is the epitome of a great DJ/MC collaboration. T.R.O.Y. is classic, early 90s, cruising in your car, bumping your head to good music, music.

The next few tracks are some songs that I grew up listening to: great African songs made by some of the most incredible musicians/artists in the world.

4. "Agolo" by Angelique Kidjo: The energy, the imagery, and the mystery of "Agolo" makes for an incredible song. I don't know if Benin has ever had as great a cultural and musical ambassador as Kidjo.

5. "Show Me The Way" by Papa Wemba: This is English/Lingala fusion by the Congolese (DRC) artist is just fresh and innovative, and pleads for a connection with the listener.

6. "Sweet Mother" by Prince Nico Mbarga: How can you really enjoy a song that's 10 minutes long? That's what I first thought when I pulled out my dad's Prince Nico Mbarga (Nigeria) CD and started listening to it. This song was a jam when my parents were younger, and it's an ode to the women who brought us into this world and who care for us lovingly and endlessly. It's just one of those songs that you put on and just let go...just give it up; get on the dancefloor, enjoy the rhythmic beat, and move. The time flies and you barely notice.

Enjoy!

9.58!

DAAAAMNNN!!! That's the first thing that came out of my mouth when I saw that Usain Bolt had crushed the 100 meter-dash record. 9.58 seconds?!?! I mean, how is that even possible? It's insane, it's other-worldly (It's Jamaican), it's...any and every glorifying, terrifying adjective you wish to use. Kanye said it best: It's Amazing! But for me, this was also a moment of self-reflection.

After my shock waned, I started thinking about time - time really flies by fast. Even when we look at the history of the "World's Fastest Man," we realize that time doesn't even let the men who broke the record enjoy it. Since 1960, the record has been broken over 20 times, with each man mercilessly blazing his way into the record books, and stamping his torrid spikes into the heels of history. Each man wants to be remembered, wants his ultimate achievement of athleticism and youth to live on forever, but it never lasts long.

I started thinking about how time has passed me by. I mean, I'm young. I'm 21 years-old and have so much life still left to live, God-willing. But it's hard to believe how fast things have moved. I remember certain stages in my life when I looked forward to a milestone. I reminisce:

I looked forward to my 10th birthday because I would be a decade old (WOW!!). That just felt unreal to me, and Nov. 2, 1997 couldn't come soon enough. That day, my dad gave me a $100 bill, and although I saw it and felt it for only a day, I knew that in some bank account in time and space I had a Benjamin waiting for me - I felt so proud, and there no better feeling to a son than to be entrusted by his father with a huge sum of money at such a young age.

The year 2000 was another period that is etched in my memory. The world was entering a new era, a new millenium, Y2K was on everybody's lips...and 2000 would be the year of my 13th birthday! This was the year that I'd become a teenager - no more pre-teen woes for me, buddy, my voice would finally stop cracking. I remember so well the anticipation for 2000.

Turning 20 was yet another big deal. I would be out of my teenage years, and suddenly be more responsible for myself than I'd ever been. My dad promised me a decade earlier, that every ten years he'd multiply that $100 by 10...he lied.

But now I'm 21...and I don't really have a milestone to look forward to, yet I find Father Time whizzing by me in his Lamborghini, with two hot girls in the back, chuckin' deuces. And although this image sometimes (shoot...many times) worries me (why can't I be in that car?), I know I'm going to be alright. I believe that we're put on this Earth for a reason, and every day we are given opportunities to do something with ourselves, to make something of ourselves, and to influence somebody positively through our words and our actions. Those are the things I live for, and those are the things that make life interesting. It's all a matter of how you use your opportunities, and about whether you choose to live by faith and not by fear.

I don't know about you, but I'm gonna try my hardest to take hold of those opportunities, and run as fast as I can. Yeck, maybe one day I'll break 9.58. If you don't believe me...ask Kevin Garnett: "ANYTHING IS POSSIBBBLLLEEEE!!!!"

Damn homie!!!

Hilarious article: I love Thailand!

Here's to good health.

I took parts of this post from an email I sent to some friends not too long ago. I think it's pretty funny:

In terms of health, I've really been blessed since I've been here. The only big problems I've had were 1) a monster spider (I think) bite on my left cheek which left a thumb-sized bulge on my face (this was around the second week I was here), 2) a tingly feeling in my left arm that lasted a few weeks (I think it was from some bug bite as well), and 3) a killer headache 3 weeks ago which really shut me down, but, luckily, it was a one-day thing. Overall, I've been good though, and I those are just issues that you have to deal with in a tropical country; the locals definitely get it a lot worse than I do, so I'm not complaining.

I'm actually happy that I'm not in the U.S. during this whole swine flu fever time. It's crazy over here, but the issue often seems like a light-hearted affair at times, although I don't know if it should be. A few weeks ago in one of my classes, I had 6 kids out: 2 were just MIA, 2 had high fevers, 1 had H1N1 (swine flu), and the other had bird flu...AND, the kid who told me about the student who had swine flu had JUST recovered from it himself. I rolled up to that class one day to a sight of 40 students ALL wearing disposable masks, looking like some straight-up ninjas!! It was so weird, and yet silly; every time a student wanted to talk, s/he would slip the mask off his/her face, which pretty much cancels out any deterrent effect the mask would have, right? Plus, I really don't know how effective masks are in stopping the spread. With a few exceptions, it doesn't seem like people take many precautions against swine flu: I don't see cats whipping out their hand sanitizers at lunch (although in Bangkok they handed you some before going onto the Skytrain/Metro), don't see students rushing to the bathroom to wash their hands, or people restraining themselves from picking their noses in public. But, some students are making the best of the situation and putting their own style on their masks.

To deal with the swine flu scare, the university brought students and teachers from the many sections of the course into a huge room, turned off the AC, handed out a bunch of masks, and the health officials told everyone to avoid being in the same room with many people. Haha!!! I missed this meeting, but that's just how ridiculous the whole thing is. The second the health experts left, the students asked if we could turn the AC back on...and life went on. It's a serious issue, but not really that serious. I feel like in the States people are freaking out more than they are here, but I might be wrong. I assume that I'll be good when it comes to H1N1, because with all this direct contact with it here, I should have been in trouble by now. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed...and avoid hanging out with this kid.

Big, Bad Ajarn (Teacher) Frank

Today, I inadvertently laid the smack-down on some students and I wanted to share what happened:

I have a class of 1st year medical students and I absolutely love them; they're smart, witty, funny, they engage me, I make fun of them, I throw markers at kids who come in late, etc. -- it's all fun. I enjoy teaching the class, and I think they are fond of me. So, tomorrow's Mother's Day aka the Queen's birthday (FYI: Thailand has a very influential royal family, although the family isn't as engaged in the political scene as it once was), and as with many of these random Thai holidays (which are often, and freakin awesome!! Thais love their holidays), I get alerted far later than everybody else. It's usually the students who'll mention something, then I ask a member of the faculty and they confirm it, a couple of days before the actual event; I've had a whole week of a class canceled on one day's notice. So, because tomorrow's Mother's Day, one of my medical students, Berm, rolls into my office and asks if we can have class canceled today. He says that all the medical students and it seems like only 3 kids will actually be around; the rest of them were already home or were planning to go home early. I'm sitting there thinking, "Shoot, I get to go home early today!!!" but I'm a bit skeptical, so I don't give him a definitive answer. I just told him to show up and if we didn't have enough students, I'd cancel class. In fact, I had no intention of teaching.

Class starts at 1PM, so around 12:30 I start walking to the Faculty of Medicine without my backpack or any teaching material. I usually ride my bicycle there, since the van they provide us to the Fac. of Medicine usually arrives at our faculty (Humanities and Social Sciences) kind of late, but this morning it rained heavily so I decided to take a songtaoh into school. I get closer to the Fac. of Medicine and I see a few of my students walking around here and there. Some of them caught a glance at me and had that guilty "Oh Shit!" expression on their faces when a teacher catches you skipping class, and others let out a semi-audible "Ooooyyyyyyyyyy!!" which is the Thai equivalent of "Maaaan" or "Shoooooot," or any other stretched, often nonsense, word used to express surprise or agitation. I sensed that something was up.

I got to my classroom and just chilled for the next 10 minutes waiting for 3, 4 kids to trickle in. Over the next few minutes though, a full 30 (out of 37) of them show up, and I'm a bit pissed. I was clearly lied to, and these kids were slyly trying to take advantage of my niceness. I gotta give them props for trying, I mean, I've done my share of bullshitting in my life, but the teacher in me just couldn't believe how bold they were in trying to con me. I tell myself that I want to teach them a little lesson on honesty and not lying/cheating, so I sit in silence for a little while, then get up and say something along the lines of: "So, I was told that there would be only 3 students in class today, but almost everyone's here. Either you think I'm stupid or you lied. You see I'm a very nice guy, but I don't like lies, and you lied, and I'm disappointed...blah, blah, blah." I finish off with a dry: "That's all I have to say, have a good day," wave, and walk out like a G! I have to say, my theatrics were on point... Silence....nobody moved. The second those words came out of my mouth I started realizing what I had done: I'd crushed these kids. Thai kids are taught from a very early age to respect and pay deference to authority and I had let them know that they let me down. Plus, here I am - big, bearded, and when I put on my "angry face," I can look pretty mean...I probably scared the crap out of them. I didn't feel good about it, and I knew that they felt so much worse.

I was walking back to my faculty, when I heard 5 of my students calling out my name. Two were on motorcycles, and 3 were on foot, chasing me down - it looked like a movie scene. They came to explain themselves and apologize for lying. I told them it was OK, that I wasn't mad, but that they shouldn't do it again. Next, I'm in the canteen (outside cafeteria area) back in my faculty, and another 3 students come up to me begging for forgiveness. This group includes Berm, the kid who had told me that everyone had gone home and that I should consider canceling class, who just looks terrible. The whole time I think he was holding back tears. I tell them that I've already forgotten the whole thing, that they should just enjoy Mother's Day (how cruel am I to do a thing like that before Mother's Day? 30 moms are gonna be worried by how depressed their children look), and that I'd see them in class on Friday. I try to smile and be kindhearted the whole time because I didn't mean to tear them down so badly. They leave, but I still sense that they're feeling down.

Before coming to Thailand I had been warned about how sensitive Thai students could be, but I definitely didn't realize how bad it could get. Criticism, especially from a foreigner, can just be damning, and students particularly are nervous about being singled/called out in front of their peers; in a society so strongly rooted in community networks and the essence of inter-connectivity, being blatantly individualized can be the worst feeling in the world, and can cause one to lose face. I guess I'll have take it easy on my kids next time so that I don't crush their spirits, but at least they won't try to bullshit me again, that's for sure. I feel like I need to bake them a cake or something to show them that I'm really not that upset. We'll see how Friday goes.

Hope you enjoyed the tale of Big, Bad Ajarn Frank. Take it easy.

I'm Baaacckk!!!

My month-long hiatus has ended, and I have finally decided to write something. Forgive my absence, but I've just been pretty uninspired (although plenty has happened since I last wrote). I just get back from school most days and numb my mind with the anesthetic of television until I have no desire to do ANYTHING productive. Today, I shut off the TV, bumped some good music (Kid Cudi's Make Her Say and Cheb Khaled's Aicha were some favorites), and began to excavate my brain of interesting experiences in the past month.

Then I thought, "I really haven't said much about Khon Kaen, have I?" Nope. I haven't talked much at all about where I live and how I've been living. So, I want to give you an idea of what Khon Kaen is like, and compare it to the great metropolis that is Bangkok (I guess that means that I'll have to tell you a bit about Bangkok as well). Here it goes:

Khon Kaen is charming city in Northeast Thailand. It's population is in the 100,000s, but Khon Kaen province itself holds nearly 2 million people. Khon Kaen is the capital of Isaan, the Northeastern region of Thailand; but for such an important administrative center, it knows how to keep its cool. And its a Don Cheadle kind of cool, as opposed to Denzel or Will Smith for example - understated and underrated, but when he nails that scene, your eyes just gleam with amazement and all you can say is "Wow!" That's Khon Kaen for you. It's geographically flat and uninteresting (it sits on a plateau). Economically, it's nowhere close to a bustling city and after 10PM most places are closed, but people are always on their hustle, especially the street vendors. Scholastically, it has one the best universities in Thailand (Khon Kaen University), and it's youthfulness gives it a college town feel. The social scene is very limited. There are only three "clubs" in the city (Ubar, Rad, and Tawandaeng), but at night, almost every restaurant or bar plays live music and people (usually men) heartily drink beer. The scene definitely picks up on the weekends, with more people out on the town, but despite its limitations the party scene grows on you: it's quaint and predictable, but you keep going back to it every weekend. Politically, Khon Kaen is a pretty vital part of Thailand and is a crossroads between Northern Thailand and Central (Bangkok). About 1/3 of the population of Thailand resides in Isaan, and the region is the poorest and funkiest part of the country. Isaan is culturally strongly tied to Laos, and the Isaan language itself is more similar to Lao (the language of Laos) than Thai. The people of Isaan have a strong cultural heritage and are proud of it. This makes Khon Kaen an interesting cog in the giant wheel of the Thai political sedan. Anything that happens in Khon Kaen affects the country as a whole.

KK is an authentic (in the sense that you actually have to know some Thai in order to get around), unassuming Thai city, but you can tell that it's on the verge of something bigger. A new, massive mall is being built that, apparently, should compare with some of the behemoth shopping complexes in Bangkok (and it'll show movies with English subtitles too!!!), more and more farangs (foreigners) are popping up in the city, and interesting new businesses are springing up everywhere (I went to a "hip-hop" shop the other day that sells oversized shirts, fitted caps, and the coolest, acid-induced, multicolored high-tops I've seen in my life). This all goes to show that Khon Kaen is perhaps losing it's innocence, it's cool, and turning more and more into a Bangkok (think New Orleans on crack). I really hope not.

I like KK just the way it is. I especially like the people. Khon Kaeners, when you get to know them, are some of the most graceous, generous, and friendly people in the world. You never have to ask twice for a ride, you get regularly bombarded with snacks and fruits from colleagues and friends, and invitations to join in a meal, or in a drink, are as ubiquitous as sculptures of The Buddha. People just really want you to feel comfortable, and they'll go to some lengths to make you like them. In my short time in Bangkok, I didn't find people to be quite as accommodating, which is actually understandable. Bangkok is a big city which caters to tourists from all over the world, most of them uninterested in the people and the culture and more interested in the elephants, pad Thai, the seedy nightlife, and the mind-blowing temples. Bangkok is also a hub for Thai people from all over the country. It's the New York City of Thailand: If you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere! So, lots of people (especially young men) leave the hometowns for Bangkok in the hopes of finding riches and/or opportunities to support their families. This creates a city of multiple personalities - the naive, the disgruntled, the angry, the overwhelmed, the awestruck, the starstruck, and the desperate... all vying for a role in the great theater that is the "Venice of the East." In this environment, people become a little less friendly, start guarding their privacy a bit more, try to squeeze out one more buck (or baht, in this case) out of a customer, and become more wary about who to trust. That's how you get by.

Now, I'm not bashing Bangkok. In fact, I think its a mesmerizing, cosmopolitan city, and one of my favorites to visit. But, like many big cities (New York for example), it often gets a reputation for being unkind (the traffic and pollution doesn't help either). A fairer characterization of Bangkok is: complex. But I have to admit that I prefer the simplicity of life that Khon Kaen affords me. People are more at ease and comfortable in the environment. There's actually an environment here, with more greenery and less concrete than in Bangkok. Yeah, I don't see too many people who look like me. Yeah, it can be very difficult finding anyone to actually have a conversation with. But this has forced me to adapt, to try to understand better, and to work on my nonverbal, orangutan arm-swaying communication more than ever. I'm digging Khon Kaen, and I think it's loving me back a bit more everyday.

...What I'm not digging though, is this leak in my ceiling. If I have to wake up again at 4am to clean my floor, I'm gonna go ape on somebody...