To Dwell in Possibility

Saturday I was able to visit a friend, and current YES exchange student to California, in his homeotwn Taiping. Although it's only an hour drive from little old Ipoh, I had only been once with my host family where I ate mee udang then left. Which is quite typical for Malaysia.
Anyways, my friend's family took me to a coal factory, and a seafood market. The coal factory was really neat, it smelled smoky and I had no idea charcoal actually came from wood. A far cry from the stuff we put on our barbecues in the US. The seafood market, albeit the stinkiness, was so traditional and had amazing fried tiger prawns.
Afterwards, we went to the Lake Gardens, a beautiful attraction in Taiping. We got there just as the sun was setting which made for some very beautiful photographs. The best part is that it was very non-touristy, so I was able to experience a part of every day life for some dedicated joggers and fishermen. Hands down one of the most picturesque and serene places I've been and I absolutely want to go back one day.
I also am another year older! My birthday was 14 January and overall it was a good day. My class surprised me with a New York Cheesecake (score) and a wonderful card. I love my class. Seriously. The next night, after modelling for my host mom's new spa advertisements, I went to karaoke with my host dad and some of his friends. I'm not saying things were wild, but they got silly string on the KFC... and in my hair.

In the room where they burn the wood for charcoal

@r+$y

Tiger prawns

Colorful Plastic Bags

Gazebo

So gorgeous!

At my early birthday dinner. Duck faces because asia.

The National Monument of Cambodia

Cambodian flags in a beautiful sky

Next few pictures are from a former prisoner holding facility. It was eerie being there, as if the souls of those who had been killed still stayed in the place. Strange how we don't learn about things like this in our history classes...

Shackles they would chain the prisoners to

Barbed wire covered the walls to prevent prisoners from escaping or committing suicide by jumping. The most interesting part of the experience was being able to see a survivor of the camp and read a book he wrote about his experiences. In a strange twist of events, he lives across the road from one of his former tormentors and there's nothing he can do due to the problems with the trials of former war criminals.

Map of Cambodia made out of skulls. Haunting.

Hungry birds. There were about 6 or so young children who tried to sell us corn kernels to feed them and were relentless. Even after we bought them, they wouldn't stop swarming us.

Gorgeous architecture. Even the roofs of schools were elaborately decorated.

Me and the host fam. Cuties

View from the water cruise. An island almost completely comprised of buildings like this.

KLCC from the sky. Good to be home

December has been a bit of a whirlwind to say the least. Blogging just didn't happen, so I'll try to lump most of the December events into one post.

Kaila Visiting

One of my best friends here, another exchange student from America stayed with me in Ipoh for about a week. It was a time full of adventures: getting yelled at for sleeping in hotel lobbies, shopping until we literally dropped, and of course eating lots of food. It's so nice having someone visit and I love it when there's another exchanger staying with me. Not only is it a time of laughter and fun, it's also a time for having someone to share the inevitable awkwardness with.
My favorite thing we did was cook for my host family!We made grilled cheese and tomato soup, salad and ice cream served in orange peels. My host family seemed to enjoy, so I hope everything was sedap!

Kaila and meeeeee

Sedap kan?

Little  piece of paradise in the middle of nowhere

Exchange students are cute

So much swag.

Chinese dance group

Sadly, one of the YES Abroad students is headed back to America. Her university required that she started in January in order to ensure she receives scholarships or something like that. It was really hard saying goodbye, literally like saying goodbye to a sister that you won't see for a really long time.From what I heard, Rachael is safely back in Michigan and already has cooked Malaysian food for her family there. Go her. She'll be so missed here ♥

Kinda sums up Rachael and my friendship....

We so coot.

Favorites <3

Maybe you've noticed my absence in the blogosphere the past  month.. Sorry about that! December's been a busy, but nonetheless challenging month. It was my first Christmas away from home (Malaysia home and US home. I was in Cambodia! Will post on that later), and it was hard not being with my family for what's considered the festive season back home. So I've been pretty sad and just not in the mood for blogging.
BUT
School's starting up again tomorrow and hopefully having something to do everyday will let me fall back into a routine-- one where I will regularly blog again.
Today is a good day to start up with blogging again actually. January 1st, the beginning of 2013. New Year's was a pretty laid-back evening for me, going out to dinner with my host family then watching fireworks with some friends. However I got to celebrate the New Year again, 13 hours later with my family on Skype, which was great.
I can't help but reflect on 2012, a year of change. Every year is change as that goes along with time passing, but 2012 has introduced so many things into our lives. 2012 was the election, Oppa Gangam Style, the Sandy Hook shooting (RIP to those 26 angels), Hurricane Sandy, twitter and of course so many other events with a great impact. 2012 was a year of tremendous change for me personally. I moved across the world for Pete's sake! I've changed a lot this year, I almost feel like a new person. But still, I have things I need to work on.
In America, I always have made New Year's Resolutions. Like most people's they lay forgotten only a few months later. Hoping to break that tradition, this year I've made a to-do list of things I want to accomplish in hope they will improve my life and myself. Often I use lists to help organize my thoughts and strategize. I hope to keep up with them, as there's nothing better than fulfilling a promise to yourself by completing a task on a to-do list. Some of these are Malaysia specific, things I want to accomplish before I make that 24 hour journey back to the States, but others hopefully I can upkeep for the rest of the year. So without further ado, I present to you
Hannah's 2013 To-Do List

• Stop looking back on decisions wondering what could-have-been; accept your past and don't dwell it
• Lose exchange weight! (only 3 kilos...but still. Thanks nasi!)
• Join a club or activity outside of school
• Have a conversation with everyone in my host family everyday
• Pray every night
• Volunteer more often
• Do something I enjoy everyday

So there you have it. What I hope happens in 2013.
I've seen this quote posted everywhere, but I like it.
"The year is a 365 blank page book and it's up to you to write the story."
Best wishes to all for a happy, healthy and fabulous New Year!