A very very late Selamat tahun baru cina! (Happy Chinese new year) to everyone. To celebrate Chinese new year, and the fact we had a long weekend, we (5 other volunteers and myself) went to the Chinese dominated city of Georgetown on the island on Penang. Here we thought there would surely be parades, dragons and celebrations breaking out in the streets, however from a lot of red lantens, we didn't see any kind of celebration at all. After arriving in Goergetown, via the ferry across from Butterwoth (which is only half an hour from my school), we dumped our stuff at our hostel, which was in the middle of town, and went for a wander around town. We took our trusty bible (lonely planet) and did two self guided tours around the colonial district then Chinatown and little India. Little India was soo vibrant and busy with so many beautiful shops and stalls and music playing everywhere, it has made me want to go to India very badly. In fact Rachel and I have decided that since I'm visitng here this year, she will come to Austrlia next year and the year after we will go to India together....India 2011 here I come! Walking around Georgetown and just soaking in the atmosphere was definately my favourite thing to do. All the bulidings are so interesting and there is just such a great vibe about the city.
One night we went to Batu Feringgi to have dinnner with Leigh (our mentor for this program) and her daughter, Emily who is the most independent and assertive 11 year old I have ever met. Leigh is English but has lived here for 9 years. Batu Feringgi being a resort town, is full of westerners which was actually quite strange for us. So much so that Danae, one of the other volunteers, was so facinated with a whole group of blonde kids behind us, she took a photo with them. After talking these kids and their parents we found out that they were all from Perth and they ended up paying for most of their meal becuase they "appreciated what we were doing by volunteering etc.." which was really lovely, although I think they thought we were doing something a lot more nobel than we actually are.
In Penang we visited Chong Fatt Tze's Mansion which is a UNESCO world heritage site and so facinating. Chong Fatt Tze was a very wealthy Chinese businessman from the late 19th early 20th century. He had a different wife and a mansion in most countries through out South East Asia, his favourite of which (both the wife and mansion) was in Penang. The mansion was restored about 10 years ago and the archeticture of the buliding along with the interior is beautiful. We also went up Penang Hill from the top of which we got a nice view of Georgetown and ate some really nice corn which had a tub of butter and salt poured on top of it. Near by Penang Hill there was a Chinese Buddhist/Hindu/Confucian temple (they combined aspects of the 3 religions) which was beautiful.
We spent Chinese new year eve/ Australia day (since they fell on the same day) out with 4 Swedish guys we met in the hostel. They were super nice but made me realise how much being a backpacker just puts you in your own little world. They has just spent a month partying in Thailand which is a complete world away from what we are doing. And so going back to school after talking with them was quite strange and for a few days I felt like ditching school and just backpacking. I suppose this brings me to the reason I am here and I guess I haven't really talked much about acutally teaching or what life is like here...and well I'm too tired so I won't be doing that now either. I will however, be writing a new blog in the next few days to fill in the last month, since it has been so long since i've written one. I hope everyone is well and I do love getting your emails, although I know I take a while to reply sometimes. Love han
