4 Thornes in Malaysia

Back at the beginning of October, our community celebrated the Chinese Lantern Festival with a big party. Everyone was instructed to bring a lantern - but when Bob asked where we would find them we were assured that someone else would buy them for us. We have so far been the one Caucasian family to attend these neighborhood events and I think they are quite happy to have us, so they took care of the lanterns for us. Here you see Bob, with all of his innate craftiness, putting together our lanterns. He did quite a good job!! And here are the finished products... Ours were very simple and traditional, but some were quite elaborate. And some young children's lanterns came with annoying, tinny music...just like those annoying Christmas toys whose batteries can't die soon enough! We're in the middle - we're pretty conspicuous in the crowd! A few weeks later we blended in quite well into the crowd of Canadians who gathered for a Thanksgiving dinner. We all enjoyed delicious t...

(blog post from Rachel) A group called "Care and Share" at my school has been taking on a project, an apartment building called the Rifle Range in a poor part of the island. One day a group of my friends went to the apartment and brought bags of food, played with the kids and had a great time. Feeling compassion for these poor families one of my friends, Chan-Mi, planned a day for all of the kids from the rifle range to come to Dalat (our school). The day turned out amazing. We started out early this morning. I spent the night at my friend, Beth's dorm, and we were woken up and asked to drive to the rifle range and help get the kids. Arriving at the rifle range we met the kids who were so filled with excitement for what the day had in store for them. We drove back to the school and it was neat to see the joy on the kids faces as they saw and experienced things that I take for granted everyday. They live in the middle of the island and were amazed at the view of the ocean...

I had an experience this morning that has shown me how far I have come in adjusting to the cultural differences we encounter here in Penang. Every Friday morning I meet with a Korean woman who has become a friend of mine. This morning she came in, walked over to the table and peered into my coffee cup and declared, "Ooohhh...drinking that coffee with cream and sugar in it will make you FAT!!!" And the victory is...my first instinct was to laugh, rather than to get offended! I am learning that many people here in Asia are forthright and that what they say is not a personal insult. I am learning not to take myself so seriously. And I'm also learning to be more forthright in what I say as well - they're not holding back, so why should I??? Laughing in Penang, Karin