Settling into life in Penang

Well, it's been two weeks since we arrived and we are beginning to feel somewhat settled. Many have requested photos and asked questions so I hope that this post will give you a feel for our journey so far.

We arrived at Calgary International Airport on January 6 at 4:30 pm. We checked our 10 bags in with no problems and then spent some time with friends and families who had come to see us off. THANK YOU to all our loved ones who came to see us off. There were many tears, but it meant so much to us that you all made the time to come. (We're also so thankful to those who helped us in so many ways the last few days - hosting us in their home, running last minute errands, taking responsibility for some 'stuff' we had to get out of our house...it seemed that the list of final jobs would never end!)

Our total flight time was somewhere around 30 hours and all four of our flights went as planned. We were so grateful that the two longest flights were fairly empty; we all got a row of 3-4 seats to ourselves to stretch out and 'sleep'. There wasn't too much sleeping, but at least we were more comfortable!

Teary-eyed on the flight to LA after the airport good-byes in Calgary.

Josh looking a little worn out in LA.

We arrived in Penang in the middle of the afternoon of Thursday, January 8. We waited for our luggage - but it didn't arrive because it spent another day in LA! After we filled out the necessary paperwork we went through the doors to a wonderful welcoming party of several families (mostly Canadians!). It did my 'mother's heart' so good that when we came through the doors there were several teens there and one girl, Khalie, met Rachel with a hug!

We were given a Haagen Dazs ice cream cake that said 'Welcome to Penang!' This is in the living/dining room of our apartment.

We divided up into vehicles and headed to our apartment. What a blessing to arrive and see that the fridge and counters were full of food, the beds were made and there were towels, soap and shampoo to clean up with after our long journey. We managed to stay up until a 'regular' bedtime and then spent our first night in our new home. Josh and Rachel both slept well and quickly recovered from jetlag over the next few days. I took a few more days to get back to normal, and unfortunately, Bob has returned to his typical sleep patterns.

Our well stocked fridge - but notice how small it is. It will take me some time to get
accustomed to more frequent shopping - no Costco runs for me!

Much of our time over the last two weeks has been spent shopping, trying to outfit our home. We were lent some of the basics of linens and dishes and kitchen equipment so had to purchase all of those things so we could return the borrowed items. This has proven to be a somewhat overwhelming and time-consuming task, but we are much more settled now. Other items that need to be purchased are not 'urgent' and so we will be able to take our time.

Needing to do so much shopping necessitated a lot of driving around the city. Many people in Penang are surprised that Bob was willing and able to drive from day 1 anywhere he needed to go, but those of us who know him well are not surprised at all by that! He's driving very confidently on the 'other' side of the road and is fitting into the Malaysian style of driving very well - that is, aggressive and assertive! I took much longer to get behind the wheel, but now I will at least be able to get to and from school without needing Bob to chauffeur me.

We've met so many wonderful people and have shared meals almost daily with someone new. This has been a great way to slowly work our way into getting to know so many new people. We are hosting four 'Open Houses' in our condo in the next few weeks that will allow us to be in a smaller setting with anyone who wishes to come. I'm thinking of having nametags and taking photos of people on those days to help me learn names and faces!

We have tried to experience some of the authentic, Penang things like eating in the 'stalls' and shopping at the 'wet market'. You need to be careful which stalls you eat at, so we've only gone places that we know are recommended. So far none of us have been sick, so that's a good thing! We love the fresh fruit juices that are served at some of the stalls and are also finding our way to some foods that we enjoy. The hygiene in these places is certainly not what we are accustomed to in North America, so, particularly for me, I have to work on adjusting my expectations...and praying! Last night someone told me that her children's challenge when they go to the stalls is to try to find where the rats are hiding that night - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I SO did not need to hear that!

Having chicken rice and watermelon juice at the New World stalls. It's like a big, open air food court with stalls all around - you go around and order what you like, give them your table number and then they bring it to you and you pay them at the table.

When we shop at the wet market, Bob goes to buy the chicken and I go for the veggies and fruits. I think that's the only way that I won't become a vegetarian while we live here! I'm thankful Bob is willing to do it. The prices at the wet market are great - if you lived on those things, eating here would be really cheap. Prices at the grocery store are a different story, so learning to shop and cook here within a reasonable budget will be an education for me.

Josh and Rachel have finished their first week at Dalat International School and both really enjoy it. The school atmosphere is so neat - the only time the students are inside is for their classes. The rest of the time they are outside - eating at the outside cafeteria on the beach, playing in the covered, brand-new basketball court, sitting under the palm trees visiting with friends...quite a difference from Calgary! They have both connected with friends and have already had some fun experiences with them like playing sports, going to a movie, kayaking on the ocean and playing games. We're so grateful for how they have adjusted so well, so far.

Khalie, Reagan and Riley M. and Danae F. and their parents joined us to celebrate Rachel's birthday on January 18th and played and we introduced them to the game of Quelf.

Rachel went to the beach with Khalie and Rebekah and Sarah yesterday.

Bob had his first meeting with the Leadership Team for PIC this week, so he has some direction and things to work on now. We have joined a fitness club, both for exercise and for a place to connect with other people. We are thinking and praying these days about where we need to get involved in the community - there are so many activities available and we want to be careful that we don't become too busy.

It took about a week and a half for us to get our phones and internet connections all set up, but now that we are, it is so great to be able to stay in touch with people in Canada. All the technology available to us makes the world seem smaller, somehow!

So that's an overview of our last two weeks. We were out last night - Saturday night - for dinner with the school principal and his wife - a couple from Vancouver, actually! Today we enjoyed connecting with Paul and Renate, a couple who live and work in China but who were part of our church in Calgary. People at church this morning were amazed that we already had visitors after only two weeks here!!! :0) The next few days in Penang are wildly busy with Chinese New Year celebrations. We are looking forward to experiencing our first CNY here. We hear there are weeks of fireworks - we'll see how that goes!

Blessings to you all - until next time!

Karin