First full day in Malaysia
Yesterday we arrived in Kuala Lumpur in the late afternoon. We had very little difficulty going through customs, except for a long line. We were grateful to not have to push and shove as we were used to doing in Uzbekistan, and were pleased with the all together civilized tone of the process. Luggage was coming out as we stepped out of customs and all we had to do was pick up the pieces that were being organized by the baggage handlers as they came out. Something the Uzbek airport people could definitely learn from.
Leaving the customs area where no paperwork nor scanning was necessary, we walked through and eventually were met by the school's secondary principal who got us set up with a taxi that took us directly to the hotel where we are staying: Boulevard hotel. http://www.blvhotel.com/ We were greeted by the Elementary Principal with a cold glass of orange and an envelope with the local currency. We then retired to our connecting rooms, showered, unpacked some, and got ready for dinner with my new colleagues.
Meeting my new colleagues has been interesting especially as the majority of them are Brits and Kiwis. We seem to be the only ones with any connection to the US. After last night and a full day with them today Namejs is worried that we will all lose our American accents. Especially as according to him I am already speaking like a Brit... However, they all seem to be a great group, and just as enthusiastic to begin the process of working at Nexus.
Today we spent the whole day in orientation at the school where we went through Human Resources information, signed up for a bank account, and then were brought to purchase a Sim Card for our phones. We also got a tour of the school where we saw the entirety of the facilities. I am very impressed, and like that I have my very own classroom to organize, although I will miss the camaraderie shared with my ex-colleague from UZ while sharing a room.
General first impressions that all three of us have are that have landed in a fantastic place. The fact that it is all so modern with any possible restaurant or store choice is amazing! The people are friendly, and speak English extremely well. Anyone we have come in contact with has been very helpful, and we have no stress about the settling in process right now. The only thing is that things occur slowly, and in a somewhat haphazard way. Right now this is quite fine as we are not really in a hurry to get anywhere, but it makes me realize that I will have to plan for most things to take longer, and just not stress about it.
Today I got my new MacBook Pro, and am enjoying returning to the world of Apple. Next week we will have a lot of training in how to use the laptops in the classroom environment and I am quite excited about this as all of my students will also have a laptop - including Didzis and Namejs. Luckily a part of my contract is that I don't have to pay for their laptops, but that the school will cover the expense!
Tomorrow we will begin looking for our housing. The majority of the places we will be taken to will be near Kuala Lumpur, and we will have a good sense what is available out here. Then another day we will go to places in and around Putrajaya. Once we have a sense of what is available we will be able to make a more informed choice. However, we are leaning towards Putrajaya. Hopefully I will be able to post a few pics over the next days.
Leaving the customs area where no paperwork nor scanning was necessary, we walked through and eventually were met by the school's secondary principal who got us set up with a taxi that took us directly to the hotel where we are staying: Boulevard hotel. http://www.blvhotel.com/ We were greeted by the Elementary Principal with a cold glass of orange and an envelope with the local currency. We then retired to our connecting rooms, showered, unpacked some, and got ready for dinner with my new colleagues.
Meeting my new colleagues has been interesting especially as the majority of them are Brits and Kiwis. We seem to be the only ones with any connection to the US. After last night and a full day with them today Namejs is worried that we will all lose our American accents. Especially as according to him I am already speaking like a Brit... However, they all seem to be a great group, and just as enthusiastic to begin the process of working at Nexus.
Today we spent the whole day in orientation at the school where we went through Human Resources information, signed up for a bank account, and then were brought to purchase a Sim Card for our phones. We also got a tour of the school where we saw the entirety of the facilities. I am very impressed, and like that I have my very own classroom to organize, although I will miss the camaraderie shared with my ex-colleague from UZ while sharing a room.
General first impressions that all three of us have are that have landed in a fantastic place. The fact that it is all so modern with any possible restaurant or store choice is amazing! The people are friendly, and speak English extremely well. Anyone we have come in contact with has been very helpful, and we have no stress about the settling in process right now. The only thing is that things occur slowly, and in a somewhat haphazard way. Right now this is quite fine as we are not really in a hurry to get anywhere, but it makes me realize that I will have to plan for most things to take longer, and just not stress about it.
Today I got my new MacBook Pro, and am enjoying returning to the world of Apple. Next week we will have a lot of training in how to use the laptops in the classroom environment and I am quite excited about this as all of my students will also have a laptop - including Didzis and Namejs. Luckily a part of my contract is that I don't have to pay for their laptops, but that the school will cover the expense!
Tomorrow we will begin looking for our housing. The majority of the places we will be taken to will be near Kuala Lumpur, and we will have a good sense what is available out here. Then another day we will go to places in and around Putrajaya. Once we have a sense of what is available we will be able to make a more informed choice. However, we are leaning towards Putrajaya. Hopefully I will be able to post a few pics over the next days.
Comments
Glad you are writing in your blog again, and that Malaysia sounds like it will easy to settle. Tell Namejs that losing his US accent wouldn't be the end of the world ;)
Marianna
That's about what I told Namejs when he complained. You know that I fought giving up my accent all the way up until I had to begin teaching in a classroom where every different word by my students was targeted - all of course to distract the student teacher! Survival in the classroom meant getting rid of the accent - maybe I will have a similar experience here too. :-)