6 Things I Forgot About Living in Malaysia

1. Amy is a name for Malay men. I sat in the Doctor’s office and watched the flow of patients go by and the busyness of the secretary when I heard my name. I looked up and realized the secretary was talking to the woman beside me. I couldn’t understand the rest of their conversation except the word Amy. You might say, that could have been her name, but I was in a knee and joints specialists office and not long before this conversation a tall dark-haired guy in his mid-20’s wearing a football tee-shirt and sporting (pun intended) crutches came in. He talked to the woman sitting next to me for a while and then limped back to the seats in the hallway. That must have been Amy.

2. When you most want a seatbelt, it’s not there. My first experience back in my parents car was on the way to church last sunday. I slid into the back seat and by habit reached for my seat belt only to discover the buckle didn’t appear to exist! I got into the car the third time before I was fed up and pulled up the seat to find the buckle hidden beneath the seat. No one uses backseat seat-belts despite it being illegal. That law isn’t so strictly enforced. Besides, some taxi drivers feel insulted when you put a seatbelt on because it shows you don’t trust their driving.

3. People are polite in person but vicious on the road. I grabbed the side of the car as we drove trying not to get scared by my dad’s hair-breadth escapes between cars. People are anything but polite when they drive here. If you don’t get cut off at least three times on the way to your destination you must be driving only two blocks! Maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration but not much ;).

4. Malaysians like to be cold when they’re inside public buildings. So, I spent 7 hours at the Doctor’s office yesterday. DOn’t worry, I’m fine. He’s a very popular doctor and I met with him twice. With an X-Ray inbetween the meetings there was a long wait everywhere. Hospitals here tend to be clean and well-ordered but they do like to keep them cold. I thought no air-conditioning in Malaysia could phase me after all my time in Portland, but I was wrong. I sat there shivering with a shaky pen in hand–I thought a good way to fill the time would be to write–until my Dad brought a blanket and sweater from the car. I haven’t been that cold for months!

5. Laundry is best done in the morning so they dry before the Rain comes. Rain comes on a daily basis and everyone hangs out their clothes in the sunshine to dry. This is why I loved dryers in the states so much! I expected things to dry a lot slower here than they do. Despite the high humidity the heat helps dishes, clothes, and floors to dry quickly. Even now, I have clothes on the line and I watch the skies for the threat of dark thunder clouds. If we see the first drops everyone on the street with laundry out runs to their patios.

6. The sky pours and the shower drips. If I were to compare Portland water pressure to my shower here I would use the rain as an analogy. In Portland I used to joke that the sky spits at you and if you’re wearing a coat you might forget it was raining. Here you won’t forget. In a single outburst, our melodramatic skies can bucket 7 inches of water in half an hour. The heavens throw a tantrum, sparks fly and rumbling voices echo across the city or it sounds like the angels have a bowling party taking pictures of each other before the ball hits the pins with a loud CRASH!

So the shower reminds me of Portland rain. No rumble or lightning in Portland but only the drizzle, and here it would be easy to forget the water was on it’s so gentle. Except, you feel it a little if lighting strikes near and the water tingles over your head. (This isn’t a common occurrence. I’ve only had it happen once or twice.)

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