Cameron Highlands & Life in Penang

September 2, 2007
We are doing great. We love it here, it is just adventure after adventure. We were visited by 5 Maquaque monkeys today, and I was feeding them bananas from my porch. They are really just amazing, wild creatures! They climb the coconut tree by our pool, hold on to a palm branch with their feet, pull the coconuts off the tree with their hands, and crack them open with their mouths. Then, holding this hugh coconut in their mouth, they scale the gutter up to the third story roof, and sit on the apex, drinking the coconut milk like if they were people!

We went on a 5 hour hike through the jungle in the mainland (3 hours up the mountain and 2 hours down) . We hiked up holding unto the roots of trees for balance with the guides yelling "Don't shake the trees, or snakes will fall!", we saw a Tiger scratching post, and crossed rivers walking make shift bridges (2 bamboo poles tied together). We saw the largest flower in the world the "Rafflesia" which grows on the floor and spans about 6 feet in diameter. It is the most physically challenging thing I have ever done, but just an awesome experience.

We have met so many friends here, both locals as well as expats, and there is a group of hispanics here that we go out with frequently. They are actually hosting the 2nd Annual World Congress of Salsa dancing in Penang next year, so there are a few places to go out dancing.

The kids are doing great, in Dalat a Christian / American school which they love. Dito is in 5th grade, and started off the year with an overnight retreat at an island resort off the coast of Penang called Jerejak. Mati's happy because she actually has another girl "with yellow hair" this year in her class ... last year she had 3 Korean kids only.

We think about Karen & Eric our friends in Colorado sometimes. Penang has a lot of mountains (hills really) and they have bike trails everywhere. Fernando wonders how they would like the trails.

We've taken up hiking in the mountains which is really amazing. We have seen 3 types of monkeys, monitor lizards (huge like alligators), and several unidentifiable mammals ... imagine a 30 pound black squirrel with a bushy fox tail about 3 feet long flying through the trees... just amazing! On a recent hike I found some frog eggs which I brought home and have successfully hatched into tadpoles in an aquarium ... we have about 65 of them at last count!

The people here are so nice, and SO different!!!!! Everyday is a surprise. Kanthi is our ahma, (nanny / housekeeper) who is live in and Muslim Indonesian, and a driver, Siva, who is Malaysian (Hindu / Indian) (Yes, he is holding up a whip viper snake that he caught in our driveway). Most of the people we work with at Motorola are Malaysian Chinese (Bhuddists). Each one has a different superstition, different holiday, different customs.... Penang is just alive with celebrations almost every day of the year. We are particularly enjoying our driver, Siva, and his stories.. his life is like your typical Indian Love Story movie, full of heart break, comedy of errors, and even demonic possessions ... Fernando said his life would make a great movie or novel! Seriously.

Fernando is doing really well at work. We just shipped our first product from Penang, and it shipped on time with high quality. So the GM from Florida came here last week for a big party. As for me, I work mostly nights so my days are free to explore Little India, the beaches, the jungle, and I volunteer teaching 4 local teenage boys math and English.

Our house is huge -- Its three stories, with a huge play room on the 3rd floor, all the bedrooms on the 2nd floor, and the living area on the first, and overlooks a beautiful golf course and the jungle / mountains. My ahma is a delicious cook, so we've hosted all kinds of parties and luncheons, so I am in hostess heaven!