Louisa Goes to Malaysia: Trip to KL and the Annual Dinner

We have been pretty busy the past week so I thought a little update on the blog was needed. Malaysia is known for the amount of holidays it gives so we weren't that surprised last week when we were told on Tuesday that we had Wednesday off for the celebration of the Islamic new year. To celebrate this we went with the form 5s for a fun morning on the beach. This was a very enjoyable morning playing games, splashing in the sea and listening to a motivational speech (even if it was in Malay and we couldn't understand a word!)

Form 5 girlies

We love the beachhhhhh

Last Weekend we took a trip to Kota Tinggi as we were in need of some new Baju Kurungs as this is what we teach in everyday. We took a bus from Mersing which was very blowy with all the windows open but ran smoothly nonetheless. When we arrived we headed straight for the ATM as we needed cash. However what should have been a simple task turned into a lot more when Hollies card got stuck in the machine and the bank next door was shut for another hour while they were praying. The machine was not giving back the card and no matter how many times we, and everyone else who came in, pressed cancel it was not coming out. Then we noticed a McDonald's across the street so had the greatest idea to get a take out and sit and eat it in the bank until it opened again. Thankfully after about an hour and 20mins the staff from the bank came back and Hollie got her card back in one piece. Even if we did get a few strange looks sitting on a bank floor eating McDonald's on a Saturday afternoon.

Form 3s busy at work

This week we have been super busy especially because a lot of teachers have been away on courses and have been busy marking exams so we had a lot of classes to cover. As well as this we had the responsibility of taking over some of the Form 3 programme. This is what they are doing from now until the holiday since they have completed their exams and are just waiting for results. This was super fun as we were allowed to be a lot more creative and have more fun with them as there was not the constant threat of exams looming. We did many activities over 3 days including an enterprise, apprentice themed activity. This was where we got the students into teams and they had to create, advertise and pitch a brand new chocolate bar to us. This was a very successful activity with lots of artistic and unique ideas all pitched very effectively. We also did drama activities and debating with the form 3s which was very enjoyable and at the same time still increased their English skills!

The winning team

After such a busy week we decided to let off some steam by going for a weekend in KL with Catherine and Emily, 2 other Malaysia vols. It Was fab to get to experience the hussle and bustle of KL again, it so very different to our project, and also to see the girls. We had a fun time exploring all the malls and also spent a lot of time in Chinatown which was super cool and the food was absolutely delicious. We did however struggle getting around as the monorail is very confusing especially when you are on the wrong side and there is no bridge to get to the other side! It took us about an hour and half one night to get from our hotel to where we were going haha! However we still had a hilarious night in KL which was well needed and has got me really excited to go travelling at Christmas.

The joy when you find British flags in KL

Food in Chinatown

A teacher kindly agreed to drive us back from KL on the Saturday so we would be back in time for the annual dinner on Saturday evening. This was a fab event for the form 3s and 5s with catered food, speeches and dances. Everyone dressed up and looked lovely and all in all it was a very pleasant evening. I was even persuaded to wear a hijab for the first time which was exciting, I don't think I suited it very well but it was interesting to see how it felt on and truly feel what it's like to be a Muslim girl in Malaysia.