Dear friends and family,
We’re here! And we’ve already met a few challenges with perseverance
and optimism. The first was flying out of O’hare 1.5 hours late, the
three of us from O’hare not getting our luggage until yesterday, and
the next was trying to avoid being scammed by the many friendly
gentlemen at the airport who wanted to offer us a ride to the hotel.
So far Kuala Lumpur is amazing. It’s impossible to generalize other
than to say you can’t make any generalizations. The country is a mix
of Chinese, Malaysians, Indians, and tourists from all over the area,
including Australians and Middle Easterners. And of course
westernization is ubiquitous – even the street vendors speak clear
Enlgish and everything (not just the street signs) is in English in
addition to Malay.
Yesterday we overcame the jet lag of our 1.5 days of traveling and
went on an excursion downtown. We used the subway system (which is
quite intuitive in hindsight) and enjoyed an incredible aquarium near
the Petronas Towers (the more so since most of the animals there live
near this very island). We’ve even planned our next two days: a trip
to the coast (which is quite far away) tomorrow and today, the orchid,
bird, and deer gardens. It will be great! I’m so glad I brought
binoculars.
I’m going to run. I’m afraid all my posts will be under the pressure
of time. It’s off to breakfast downstairs where we’re set to meet at
8:45. We’re very well fed here. The other day I ate a fish whole. I’ve
also become the group guinea pig because I’m the only one who has been
drinking the municipal tap water. No unusual bathroom visits yet!
Fun stories coming later. Take care!
Ever your loving and protist-free
Isaac Hanson
pseudoisaac 