To Dwell in Possibility: YES Abroad

DC, Take 2

DC was another whirlwind of workshops and visits with people.
We (Malaysia and Thailand groups) visited Senatorial offices at Capitol Hill and gave presentations at the State Department. It all felt like a blur, probably a combination of jet lag and reverse culture shock. Everything about America seemed clean, shiny, loud and over-sized. But then I think back to my first days in Malaysia and that makes a lot of sense. The opposite of what surprised me there surprised me here.
We stayed at the hotel where we were for our Gateway before we left, so it was a very strange sense of deja vu.
At the State Department, we received presentations about careers in the Foreign Service, including internships and programs available for high school students and undergrads. The State Department staff were very excited to talk with us, as they are the ones that administer the program and they enjoy seeing the results. We were names on a paper for them, and they finally got to put faces to names. We received books, journals and a lot of contact info for future opportunities. Participating in the program has opened so many doors.
Discussions with the Senators' staff were beneficial in that we were able to share what we learned with people that vote on the exsitence of our programs. I met with someone from New York Senator Gillibrand's office and someone from a Mississippi Senator's office. They enjoyed hearing from us and hopefully they'll share what we shared with their bosses.
We talked a lot about how we changed and discussed how the experience would impact the rest of our lives. Discussing my experience with our group leaders (who were alum) and with the Thailand returnees made me realize that this experience has changed my entire life.
DC ended with final goddbyes at the airport as we returned to our home states. My plane was the last to leave, so I was with Teresa until she got on her plane. We both cried, a lot. Teresa became my best friend

Murrica

With my Thai girl Augusta

At the State Department

Satu Malaysia in DC

5 comments

, by Hannah

AFS Camp

Wrapping it Up

My last few days in Malaysia were spent trying to eat as much food as I could in between saying goodbyes to the people that had become my family and best friends. I gave a speech (in Malay!) at assembly, I had a wonderful goodbye party from my class, I received lots of gifts. My host family took me to karaoke one last night. I tried to pack so much into my last few days, and that really helped to keep my mind off the fact that my time in Malaysia was drawing to a close.
James, Teresa and I, the tiny YES Abroad Malaysia family had our departure orientation. There was crying, there was laughing, there was Starbucks. The wonderful E Laine and our other LP's were there as well as we spent hours discussing the bizarre period of re-adjustment and reverse culture shock. We read the letters we wrote to ourselves back in July, when we had no idea what we were getting into. It was eye-opening to see how much I've changed, how different my views have changed.
We had our farewell luncheon with our host families, AFS Malaysia staff, Dato' Dale, and one of our favorite people from the US Embassy. Although small, it accomplished what needed to be done.
I stayed with Teresa's host family in PJ for the final days before our flight. We said a very teary goodbye to the other exchange students, strangers that grew to be my best friends. One last Pavillion trip. One last KL Sentral meet-up. One last time getting stared at on the LRT. One last drink in a bag. One last night spent staring up at KLCC, thinking about how blessed I am to have had this experience. To have this experience. It's not over yet.
My last dinner in Malaysia was Bangsar banana leaf rice with mango lassi. My last breakfast was dim sum. And there was definitely one last roti canai bought at the airport.
The airport was quite a scene. 3 American teenagers with easily 250 pounds of luggage between us (100 from Teresa, 100 from me, 50 from James...) We did have to throw away stuff at the airport. Itwas rough, but it kept my mind off of things. After baggage was sorted out, Teresa and James said their last goodbyes to their host family (mine couldn't come to the airport) and with our flight chaperone, we were off.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't bawl on the flight to Hong Kong. I cried like a baby. It wasn't easy leaving my home, to return to my home. After the best roast duck ever (SERIOUSLY TRY IT IF YOU'RE IN HONG KONG AIRPORT) I survived the 13 hour flight to LA.
Even those first steps into LAX felt very strange, the difference noticeable despite the unmistakable airport atmosphere. Due to a long layover, we had an overnight at an LA hotel. Dinner was provided and I enjoyed my real cheese and bread very much. I slept for a few hours, despite sleeping on both previous flights. Finally the next morning we hauled our luggage back to the airport and completed the last leg of our journey to DC.

Farewell Dinner with Dato' Dale

Last banana leaf rice

My bags were severely overweight

Last photo with the host fams

First meal back in the USA

1 comments

, by Hannah

Malaysia

Community Service Report: Ecoteer on Pulau Perhentian

I can honestly say my week on perhentian with the other YES Abroad students, volunteers, and villagers was among the most tiring, hottest, busiest, amazing and above all rewarding week in Malaysia.

Before our trip, we were given only a little information about exactly what we would be doing. We knew there would be teaching English, cleaning up the community and interacting with the locals, but that was about it. I'd say planning was pretty minimal, but somehow the few conversations we had sufficed.

Sunday morning, after a rough taxi ride from kuala Terengganu to kuala besut, where the jetty was located, I met up with Ari, James, Teresa anI can honestly say my week on perhentian with the other YES Abroad students, volunteers, and villagers was among the most tiring, hottest, busiest, amazing and above all rewarding week in Malaysia.

Sunday morning, after a rough taxi ride from kuala Terengganu to kuala besut, where the jetty was located, I met up with Ari, James, Teresa and Ben. It was a sweet reunion, as Ben was the volunteer that met us when we first landed at Kuala Lumpur airport and he was with us our first few days in the country.

Our first day on perhentian was a lot of sleepiness.y We went in a sweltering tour of the island, met the other volunteers that would be at the ecoteer house with us for the week, and listened to some presentations about ecoteer's work on the island and the coral and turtles there.

The rest of the week was honestly a blur- but in a good way. The days and nights more or less fused together into one sweaty, challenging but ultimately worth it week.

With the children, we ran two school slums, English club and ecoteer environmental club. At English club we taught the children the body parts using pictures, a song and a few games. The children were certainly energetic and although keeping them under control was difficult, I think the students and us as the teachers enjoyed the experience.

At the environmental club, we taught a bit about endangered species. The children used arts and crafts, more pictures, and of course a game to learn about the threats these animals face. The kids were honestly sweethearts and they loved hanging around me because I could speak Malay with them. I even managed to pick up some of the island slang. As part of this club, we also went with the kids to clean up the beach. The beach was strewn with rubbish, and even the rubbish we collected was just left on the beach to be either burned or transported away from the island. It's a bit of a vicious cycle. However the kids were very passionate about helping is to clear up the litter and I think they definitely appreciate the value of a clean beach.

One of the projects ecoteer is trying to implement on perhentian. At around six o'clock everyday three volunteers go around asking the food stalls and the home owners if there's any food waste there. A lot of the places don't bother to separate the food waste and the paper products, which is a shame, because composting is effective and fairly simple. It seems like as time has gone on, more and more people are separating their trash, so hopefully this project will be a success in the future.

We also helped out painting a mural in the school library, a menu board for one of the restaurants and cleared the community garden. All the volunteers were also responsible for chores, so we all ended up clearing the table, cooking dinner and clearing the garden at least once. It gave the ecoteer house a really community feel.

Hands down, the most rewarding experience for me was teaching English to some of the Malay ladies that operate a bakery/ restaurant on the island. They were a group of fun, funny, and really eager to learn aunties. We taught them basic phrases only, like greetings, questions about the meals, if someone is a vegetarian, but even those tidbits of language can be helpful when dealing with a tourist that speaks no Malay whatsoever. Knowing that we gave them the tools they needed to further their business and interact with their customers is such a fantastic feeling. An impact like that can last forever. With weekly lessons from ecoteer volunteers, The women hopefully will continue to practice and learn English. Although a few phrases don't seem like a lot, I feel like we've opened a door to more social interactions for them.

I'll never forget my time in perhentian. I know that our time there was short, but so well spent. I hope that the children will remember what we taught, the housewives will remember to separate their food waste, and the boatmen will think twice before tossing their petrol cans carelessly on the beach. What I loved was that for a week, we were seen as part of the island. We were teachers, big sisters/ brothers, children and friends. Perhentian is blessed to have such a beautiful community there and I would love to see it flourish and become an environmentally friendly place. Perhentian brought me closer with the other YES Abroad students and also with myself.