What is it like living in Malaysia...I'll tell you!

So I'm sure people ask me all the time and I really never have a good answer. I say things like it's great or we really like it. But what is it really like living here? I have a very good example from the other day. So as I'm sitting here eating my little chocolate chip cheesecakes I'll tell you. There is a place here, in Bangsar Village, called Hammam. I've always been intrigued by it, but never could commit to making an appointment. It is a turkish bath and spa where they bathe you and scrub you down. I'm going to do another post decribing the details of the Hammam experience so don't worry I'll give you the dirty little details :) about what occurred in this dreamy place. So anyway back to Malaysia. I finally made an appointment for a 2.5hour session. They bathed me and scrubbed me and masked me and massaged me and I relaxed with mint tea and bhaklava...so yes - it was FABULOUS. 2.5 hours of fabulousness all for a very low price of RM268 ($86 USD). Yes I said $86! So I left hopping and skipping and singing to myself all the way to my car. I felt so good, so relaxed and so prepared for the rest of my day. Uh huh...whatever. So I head out of the parking garage around 12:45pm. I have to pick Reid up at 1:30pm and I have not had lunch which is now 2 hours overdue. Totally worth it, but I MUST EAT NOW. There is a shopping center nearby Reid's school and there is a McDonald's there. I hardly ever go because it really is a logistical nightmare...another parking garage followed by no parking spaces and a strange layout....yada, yada, yada. I decide this is my best option. I pull into the garage just praying for a space and voila! A space...my day is excellent. I walk straight to McD's picturing in my mind the rest of my steps (get McD's takeway - pay for parking at that autopay - head back out the way I came and at school on time with a full belly...perfection!) Place my order at McDonald's and it is RM9.50. Hand her the Visa debit card and she says cash only. I almost say WTF? to her cause I'm like...THIS IS MCDONALDS! How can it be cash only? I'm outraged because I know I only have RM5 in my purse. SHIT! So I tell her to cancel my order and walk out thinking where in the world is an ATM here. I don't know this place well enough. I know McD's, Starbucks and the autopay. Ah yes - focus Natalie don't panic - there is one right there. So I get money not paying attention to the sign on the ATM which says RM100/RM10 only. I have enough money now, but only in 100 bills. And I know that lady is going to look at me and say sorry no change! At this point it is sometime after 1pm and I'm starting to panic a bit. I think it could be 1:15pm. I get more cash out this time in a weird amount so I can get some RM10 bills. Back to McDonalds and at last I have food. I go out the door to the autopay I know and it says card- unreadable. At this point I know I say "you have to be fing kidding me." The display also tells me to insert my card the proper way. I look at it and it is very proper so I try again. No luck. So now I'm looking for another autopay machine. After a little searching I find one and same message. SHIT! What do I do? I push the little help button on the machine and a Malay speaking gentleman says something to me. I tell him card not readable and I'm barely able to make out...block c, basement 1. Yes this shopping center is set up in blocks...nutty! Anyway, I make it down there and see the carpark office. He tells me to pull up to the gate by the office and he will let me out (I'm thinking where in the hell is my car - I ALWAYS go out the way I came in) I ask how much I owe he says "RM2, do you need a receipt". At this point I'm ready to fight anyone, but not willing to wait one more second or in this case probably 5 more minutes as he hand writes a receipt. So I say "No I don't need a receipt as long as you open the gate for me when I pull up". He assures me he will...hmmm. I was able to find my car, cram a crappy McD's burger in my mouth and pick up Reid on time....barely.

So what's it like living here....there are things here that are absolutely fabulous...FABULOUS. It is wonderful getting to do and know things I would have never done in Texas...and then there are moments...short ones...like the 30 minutes I described above that can completely slap you back to reality and out of your blissful state. Don't get me wrong, these problems are not big ones by any means, but they are so damn frustrating. Most of the time you can run around and feel like you're in any large city in the world... tons of shopping, luxury items, etc, but then there are these little things that they just haven't bothered with or haven't figured out yet here in Malaysia that drive you mad. Here in KL our response to a story like this one would be "that's Malaysia!". It is so true.


This is a picture of the relaxing room where you retreat after your scrub down and then again after your last treatment. It is very dark, you drink hot mint tea, and just melt!

And Bill is off again

A few months ago Bill was traveling non stop. I think four weeks in a row he was home only 1 day a week. It was a very busy month and I missed him terribly. That kind of traveling really throws a kink in your love life. Like everything else you adapt. I was hoping that we would try as much as possible to not go there again...and here we are. Bill left about 30 minutes ago to head back to Jakarta. This will be his 3rd week gone in a row. The downer about this week aside from him just being gone is it is Chinese New Years holiday for MKIS, Reid's school. We have the whole week off and I had high hopes for doing some cool things with Reid. I'm still going to try, but it's not the same without Bill. While is it hard to see Bill off again I know it is for good reason. He is making really great progress here and making a name for himself within his company and around Southeast Asia and India. I'm really proud of him. I'm hoping he'll be back soon and definitely before Friday. The Kelly's have invited us over for dinner and to watch the fireworks from their 40th floor condo. Really looking forward to the action. The Kelly's have really been a blessing for us and Bill and I say how nice it is that we connected with them before we even arrived here. We've met a lot of other really great people here as well and it is so amazing how natural it feels getting to know them so quickly. You really just hit the fast forward button. We been very lucky to come to know this many wonderful people.

It hit me yesterday that I feel like I've definitely settled in and have become "with it" as far as where to go around here. With all of the complaining and frustrating moments I had when we moved here about the parking and the autopay parking and where in the world to find everything...I finally feel like I can for the most part find just about everything I need. Now whatever I find is just icing on the cake. I feel really comfortable knowing where to park, where to pay and how things generally work here. I told Bill recently that I definitely have settled in and feel Malaysian. I was out with the girls one night and we sat outside as usual and I felt cold (because they have the a/c from inside that makes it outside as well). Bill thought I was crazy, but it's true. I find myslef getting cold places that I wouldn't normally. I remember my friend Jennifer telling me the same thing after moving to California. Once you deal without a/c for awhile you really can do without. When Bill is gone I don't mind turning the a/c off or leaving the doors open for a little bit.
I've also done something I never thought I would...I DOUBLEPARKED! Yep, my friend Keli was telling me how she does it as it is just a necessity and I did it the other day. I felt like such a rebel! What a rush! I'm sure those that know me will understand as I am definitely a rule follower...boring yes I know. So I think that is about it for now. Kids are napping, I need a shower and then we are off to do a little shopping at Plaza Damas and then over to a friends for some play time and dinner.

Playing Catch Up

I'm not one for New Years Resolutions as I find most people don't stick to them. However, I think blogging will make the list for me. It would be much easier if I kept up with it. The end of October was my last blog post sorry to say and a lot has happened since then.
The most memorable part of November was obviously Thanksgiving and celebrating it outside of the US. I was surprised to see so much "Thanksgiving" food at the grocery stores...turkeys, cranberry sauce, stuffing, etc. I didn't splurge and go for all that this year, but made a special dinner for the family that night. It was strange being in another country knowing people back home are all together celebrating. It was like knowing there was a party and you weren't invited. However, a few days later the Kelly's or who we refer to as Ashely and Ashley invited us over. We had turkey and mashed potatoes, etc. It felt so nice to be together with friends. It was very special.
December was jam packed full of "things". The first and very special part was Nana visiting us for a week. Having her here made our house feel a little more like home. We did our best to show her around and she was able to spend a little time in Reid's classroom. The kids really enjoyed spending time with her. I know they are looking forward to spending more time with her this summer.
In front of the twin towers
Tamarind Springs Restuarant
Ice cold towels that smell of lemongrass to clean and cool you down before eating...plus the table always looks really cool to me.

Nana is an angel for many reasons, but the most recent would be flying home with me and the children. Bill was not able to fly home with us so we asked her to help. Thank goodness for Nana. It was quite a trip and at times I didn't think I was going to make it with Georgia screaming to fall asleep and us racing through the Hong Kong airport to make our connection. I'm so thankful for my friend Heather who let us borrow their double stroller. Pushing 2 tired cranky kids hecticly through and airport is much easier than pushing one and pulling the other or even carrying one for that matter. Thank the Lord for Nana and her help. It was wonderful to have her with me and I so appreciate all that she did. I'd like to say that the trip was the most difficult part of the journey, but unfortunately I can not. We must have caught a very bad stomach bug on one of the flights over because a few days after arriving in Houston we were sick as dogs...no other details needed or desired I'm sure. Georgia was sick, then Reid, then me and Nana and then my mom. It was awful. With the sickness and the time zone changes it took the kids about 7 days to get back to a somewhat normal schedule. It really was a bummer to feel like we lost so much precious time. I had to reschedule and cancel many visits with friends. I must say though prior to us getting sick we were able to squeeze in a visit to see Gammaw at Silverado. They had a Christmas party for the residents and it was very nice. They had a buffet with all kinds of goodies, drinks, carollers, and a carraige ride. It was wonderful to see Gammaw. She looks great and is very with it right now.



I think that is all the play by play I can give for the visit home.
Instead I'll tell you how wonderful it was to be back on American soil...to have the immigration officer at San Fran airport tell me welcome home...and to just be in a place I know with the people I love. I treasured every moment with my family and loved watching Reid and Georgia play with Nino and Pop. Waking up as a family and going to bed as one was priceless. Thanks to my parents for putting up with all of our BS while we took over their house. Can't wait to do it again! HA! Below are just some of the special moments from our trip home. There is a story of our trip home which at this point I just can't rehash. It was a long long trip home, but we are so happy to be back.

Where to Begin?

First, Thanks to Erin for designing our cool new blog! I really love it. Thanks Erin.

We have been very busy here at home and at school...and at work. We ended the holiday week for MKIS with a much anticipated trip to the KLCC Aquaria. Bill was traveling so I took the kids and Beth. Reid had been waiting to go all week. Turns out I think Georgia enjoyed it more than Reid. I made the mistake of telling Reid about the conveyor belt that takes you on a tour of a huge aquarium so he practically ran through the first part of the aquarium saying "where is the conveyor belt". "Come on lets go to the conveyor belt." Unfortunately we had to take a trip through the snakes, spiders and other insects which made Reid freeze in his tracks. Did not like the creepy crawlies at all. After the aquarium we headed to the KLCC park. I've shared pictures before of this huge park. We only stayed for a little while as it was very hot.

Next up is just some pics from family time at home. Georgia is hilarious. she keeps us on our toes and keeps us laughing. She was playing peekaboo on the balcony. We also had Bill's coworker and friend staying with us in between his travels. We went to Chinatown for a little shopping and then out to a tapas restaurant called El Meson which is in Bangsar Village.

At MKIS we had UN day in October as well as the Halloween Carnival. The week of UN day there are lots of activities, but the week concludes with an elementary assembly in which all of the students participate in a performance for their country. It was nice to see all of the countries represented at MKIS and the mix of students. Of course for the US, everyone dressed in their football gear. Reid was a hit in his full UT football costume. Thanks to Mary and Gabe for that gift from a couple years back. During the Canadian performance the fire alarm went off so we all had to exit the school. That made UN day interesting and ...long. The following week (this week) was Halloween. The kids got to do some arts and crafts and had a costume parade Friday morning. It was cute to see all of the kids dressed up. A friend here passed down a bumblebee costume for Gigi and Nana also sent her a tinkerbell costume. Georgia is getting picky about what she wears and threw a fit with Tinkerbell (sorry Nana - we'll save it for dress up). Luckily the bumblebee costume was more like a onesie so once I got it on she didn't mind it too much. She wore it to the parade since I was not taking her the carnival. The parents assocation put on the Halloween carnival at the school for the elementary kids. I volunteered to do our classroom table and chose Witch's treasure. I filled the sand tables with rice and buried lots of toys and candy. The kids really did love it and some did not know it was rice. It did look kind of creepy like little bugs or worms in the dark. There was also a trick or treat trail through the school. Each grade decorated a hallway and had a "treat" station for the kids to get candy. I was surprised as Reid went through the "Haunted Hallway" twice. He was more scared by the spiders than the people with missing limbs with blood all over them. NICE! In all of the Halloween craziness this week, Beth got stuck in Thailand. It's been a trying week to get all of these things done carrying around the little princess. Luckily I was able to able get Lorna, our previous maid, to come back and watch Georgia during the festivities Friday night. Oh and I dressed up as a witch...greeen face and all. Will have to see if anyone has a picture to share! Reid was a little frightened by my green fingers with long nails...until he got to wear them. Happy Halloween to everyone. Next post...I hope is an update on where we live and pics of some places I frequent.

Settling In

It seems hard to believe that it has already been a week since we visited Hong Kong. It was our first vacation in our new home country. We visited one of my best friends, Mollee, and her family. They are expats as well and moved there when we moved here to KL. It was unreal that both our families were making this life altering journey at the same time. With everything being so close in Asia (travel wise) we took this opportunity to see how the other half lives. I can say without question that we absolutely loved it. Arriving in Hong Kong after a quick 3 hour flight, the first thing I noticed was all of the smog. I know that the weather forecast was rain all weekend so that didn't help, but it definitely was not clear. We took a shuttle bus (1`like a tour bus) to the hotel. This was nice because I was able to see some of HK and take a few pictures. Of course Reid heads to the back of the bus. Bill, who can get car sick, decided to sit somewhere in the middle so I sat in the back with the kids. I tried to take some pictures of Reid and me on the bus, but you will see he was not interested. It wasn't long before both kids were asleep. I was able to see the huge, and I think the largest, container shipyard in the world. It was actually very pretty for lack of a better word. All of the different colored containers stacked on top of each other for what seemed like miles. All of the landscaping and plants reminded me a lot of KL, but with a little Colorado added. They had more trees resembling pines like in Houston. It was very beautiful seeing all of the hills and mountains right up on the coastline. We stayed at the Trader's Hotel in the Western District which is older than than the more hip Central area. After settling in we met Mollee and Carson in Times Square for dinner. Reid was so excited to see Carson and I was sooo excited to see Mollee. I took a picture of the moment I saw them. We ate at an interesting place called Star Seafood or something like that. It was decorated like something out of my big fat greek wedding....lots of fake flowers. The kids loved it because as with most Chinese places they have live seafood for you to choose from. Thankfully the kids are old enough to make the conenction that someone was going to choose "Nemo" for dinner. It was neat to see some of the huge crabs they had. We attempted to have a dim sum dinner, but they only had a few kinds to choose from. We chose shrimp and they were pretty good. Georgia was a pill after traveling all day and we couldn't drink wine fast enough. I'm sure we were quite the site as the only non-Asian with kids screaming and talking loudly. We snapped a few photos on the way out. Reid and Carson seemed to hit it off and we headed back to the hotel. Times Square seems like a very cool place to be without kids. Bill and I put HK on our list as a couples trip...very much like New York. Georgia had a terrible night sleeping and I was so afraid she was going to crawl out of the baby crib the hotel let us use. The mattress seemed bery high and she has started to climb EVERYTHING! Friday in HK was Disneyland day. We took a taxi which was about 200 HK dollars (ok maybe 300). When we arrived Bill and I wondered if it was even open. It looked like no one was in the parking lot and it was eerily quiet. We joked about "Sorry folks. Park is closed." from Vacation. That gave us a good laugh. Sure enough we just hadn't wlkaed far enough to start hearing the music. It was exciting to begin our first family vacation and Disney one at that. The weather was perfect and it was a weekday so there were hardly any lines. We got to ride all but one ride. Mollee brought her helper, Gena, so we could leave Georgia and Marlo with her when needed. It was a really great day. To top the day Mollee made reservations at the Disneyland hotel for the character dinner. It was a buffet and some of the characters came to visit. We were little disappointed as we expected more characters, but it was Mickey, Minney, Pluto, Goofy and maybe one other that I have forgotten. The buffet wasn't too bad. Tons of seafood so if you could eat a ton a raw fish you would definitely get your money's worth. After a long and fabulous day we took a taxi back to the hotel got everyone bathed and ready for bed and crashed! Thankfully Georgia slept much better. Saturday we headed to Discovery Bay where the Mongori's live. We took a 25 munute ferry which was very nice to their little get away. It was such a wonderful day. We got to see their house and have lunch, play at the park on the beach, play in the plaza with all of the other DB'ers and have dinner there. It felt so good to be Mollee. I have been homesick. Just needing some real life hugs from someone. Mollee filled that just fine! I was happy to get to hang out with Joe as I really have had the opportunity to spend any time around him. They certainly seemed to have settled in well and Bill and I both agreed that DB would be a yes on our list to expat. Something about living on the water makes you feel at ease. I had to say good-bye to Mollee that night in Discover Bay and it was very difficult. We didn't make a big deal, but said our goodbyes and thanks and got a great big hug. I had tears on the way home as it was so great to see her.
The next day just seemed like a long day of traveling. It felt good to get away from KL for a few days, but felt great to be home..to our new home. Going away to Hong Kong put the travel bug in me. We are too close to too many things in Southeast Asia and we should take advantage every chance we get.

Since that trip I feel like I have a life here now. We've made a vacation, we have help around the house, we have friends, our kids have friends... I feel happy here. I actually love living here and I hope it only gets better as we travel more, find other places to eat and hang out, develop lifelong friends who, like us, will probably move on to some other place in the world. What would make our stay perfect? If I could have a hug from home! With my parents traveling the last couple weeks I haven't been talking with them much. Now that we are finally catching up I soo want a hug from my mommy. I know she feels the same and we ALL look forward to our trip home December. How nice it will be to not only catch up but get a great big hug from everyone!

Bill is off on on another trip. He arrived home yesterday at noon from Singapore with a coworker and they left eraly this morning for China. I'm hoping he will be home quick as he leaves again next week for Jakarta. Beth our helper is fabulous. She is a huge help and we are so thankful to have her. It makes my life so much easier. She keeps a very clean house, the kids are warming up to her, and is genuinely a nice person. This week she washed my car and did all of Jason's laundry for him. Ahhh...I don't want to lose her ever!!!!!

Next up...our 5 year anniversary, signing up for pilates, finding a wine spot to meet the girls at night, and planning our next vacation. We would like to make a trip to Langkawi in November.
On our way to Hong Kong











Off to Disneyland Hong Kong today. Bill and Reid tried to swim in the morning and nearly froze in the rooftop pool.










Headed to Discovery Bay today.