A Very Coconut Day

4:21 PM

Today was the best day of school ever. Seriously.

It started out as most mornings do, a very tired me trying to figure out what's going on in Bahasa Melayu class, or History class, or any class that's not taught in English... But after recess, Bahasa Inggeris, and Add Maths, things got interesting. Every Thursday my class has a time called "mentor." It is kind of like a study hall in the U.S, only it isa time for teachers to have meetings. This particular day though, our class teacher didn't have any meetings so he came to our classroom.
I guess I should start by saying today I brought my camera to school. Originally it was just to take a picture of the mooncake Mr. Lau was bringing for, but then Mr. Lau decided I should take pictures of the school and of the class! We first gathered around the volleyball court and snapped a few shots, and then we were off to the coconut trees for more photos! Or so I thought.
After snapping some more close photos and a couple really nice ones with friends, Mr. Lau showed up with a ladder! Some of my classmates helped him set it up against the tree and he began the process of pulling down a bunch of coconuts before. After a long battle with rope and a long pole, success! 6 or 7 coconuts tumbled to the ground. With a cleaver (literally, the blade was insane) he sliced off the top off a coconut and stuck in a straw.
Fresh coconut is amazing. Really amazing. It's sweet and smooth, reminiscent of a day on a tropical beach. All the coconuts were passed around the class and we all enjoyed them very much! After all the juice was gone, Mr Lau whacked the coconuts in half and we scooped out the flesh using pieces of the skin, a sort of natural spoon you could say. Again, really delicious. To use my Malay, very sedap. The inside of the coconut is kind of jelly-like and also very sweet. It is very different from the dried coconut flakes we have in the United States. It's a whole lot better first of all. Looking back, it made me smile how uniquely Malaysian today was. Picking fresh coconuts from a tree is something that wouldn't- and couldn't happen in the U.S.
While eating/ drinking the coconuts, I was with the other 40 girls in my class. These girls, who didn't even know I was coming, are some of the nicest people I have ever met. They not only accepted me into their class,but welcomed me. They help me with my Malay, walk with me to classes and are there to listen if I need to talk. I am both happy and proud to call them my friends, and I hope they think of me the same way. Massive thank you to Mr Lau and 4 Kekwa for a truly fantastic day.