May 8, 2010: Saturday
Last night I went to sleep to the sounds of Akon coming from the club or bar next to the Guesthouse. After a while it stopped, thank God. But I kept getting up every now and then, with a smile creeping over my face in between spurts of sleep. I'm finding myself happy again, like this, and it's been a long time, buddy. Sadness is just a visitor, but happiness is my buddy :) Welcome back. I can hardly believe I'm finally here, and gosh I'm so excited about the Marketplace! :)
Speaking of, I went to the WIEF office today and met the remainder of the coordinators who I've been communicating with now through email, phone calls or a skype conference here and there over the past seven months. It's great to finally meet them in person, and wow, what an amazingly loyal and young team it is, under the leadership of Fazil, who I've come to admire for his enthusiasm and vision so much just within a day, MashaAllah! Every member of that team is such a unique soul though, and soooo much fun, I laughed so much today just being around them hehe .. man, they definitely know how to keep things light amidst their heavy loads. I actually felt like I worked there myself after a few hours of sitting at Said's desk and working on the computer, and chatting, etc. I haven't been able to experience the joys of team work like this in a while, since working independently for the past 2.5 yrs.
I dropped off my art work at WIEF and met the Curator, who is so sweet and easy to work with. I was supposed to go to KL Design Week event with the guys but was still overwhelmed with jet lag so called it a night. (Thanks for lookin' out Aliou! ;) I'm still deciding on the first place to go visit away from KL > Kuching, Taman Negara, Penang, Cameron Highlands?? I don't know, I'm confused but have asked around a lot now so should force myself to make a decision.
Also, finally took some photographs, check out the "Approach" Series under "Images" on the main page.
It's dawned on me that I love Malaysia, and I've only been here two days. I'm beginning to understand now why so many friends have visited and studied here for greater lengths of time. I keep trying to relate Malaysia to another country or place I've visited, but I just can't do it. People are so diverse, look so different from each other, practice such different faiths, but blend in so well, live in such harmony. Parts of KL remind me of any urban downtown in the States because of the unfortunate amounts of trash and littering around the streets, and the sewer smell of course reminds me of Pakistan (not knockin' Pakistan, still love it but the country could use some major improved infrastructure), but it is an entity unto itself ~ Malaysia . . . and the food? Oh! They do not exaggerate when they (meaning everyone who has ever been to, or lives in Malaysia) tell you they have the greatest food ever: they DO! And they have the hottest heat I've ever felt in my life. Just when you think it can't get any hotter, it does. And though you get soaked with sweat as if you've taken a shower, it somehow does became bearable with time.
So grateful to be here, so grateful to have been invited, so grateful to be alive . . .
More pics from today to come on the "Images" page. Here's a preview:
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nnnnnnnnnnnnStall in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur
