So, I learned an interesting thing this week. Well, really, I should have known it already. When I wrote the first draft of the Youth Handbook, Jaya came back to me and said "listen...people here, well, I mean, they're not so....forward. What I mean is, if someone doesn't want to go have lunch with you they say 'oh, you know, I have this thing that I have to do," they don't say "No, I'm not going."' My reaction to this was a lot like, "duh, no one just says no when someone invites them somewhere. Thanks Jaya" in my head (of course, I said "Ooooohh, okay"). But apparently what Jaya meant was that people in Malaysia don't say no ever.Especially not to your superior. 

Now, I have no idea how many times I have said no. But, I mean, I'm not shy about my feelings or my thoughts, so I'm sure I've said it a fair amount. I don't know about the Director, but I say no to Jaya pretty regularly. I am VERY LUCKY apparently that Jaya is so progressive and accepting, because while I think my forward qualities (AHEM) catch her off guard sometimes, I don't think it really offends her. The Malaysian way, from what I'm told, is to say "okay, sure" and then just not do it. 

That is kind of infuriating for me. First off, the reason why I am successful (I think) is because I am able to say what I mean clearly and effectively, which includes saying a great deal of "no"s. "No, I don't think I am able to do that," "I think that it is actually this other way," etc etc etc. I don't even realize when I am saying no, I just feel like I'm communicating. The only way I can kind of tell is that Jaya gets a little frustrated with me when she's trying to correct me and I'm like "but it's right here in this document, and this this this."  Where I think that I am just working towards finding the truth of it, others think that I'm being really rude and should just say "okay" and go with it. Which is incredibly ineffective, I must say. So, I am trying to adjust my language but like I said, I don't even realize I'm saying no, I just think that I'm trying to find a solution. I also do not think that anyone is unhappy with me because of my "no"s. I suspect that this is a very important skill for me to learn if I plan to work internationally. 

So anyway, that was my Malaysia Culture Lesson for this week.

I also got another lesson in Malaysian prejudice! Apparently there is a stereotype of Hong Kongers as being really sly and cunning. The term used was "Honkeys" ( how will I ever know if someone is refering to a white person or a person from Hong Kong deragotively now?!)

It's very odd being thrown into other cultures and experiencing their prejudices. I had this experience when I moved to Canada as well. you would not BELIEVE the awful things that I have heard about the Quebecois and Natives. I think the bigger challenge for me is not knowing how to approach a situation where someone is being, well, a biggot, in a culturally appropriate way. Like, when someone says something in the states I know very well what to say and the roots of the prejudice and how to make it very clear that that is not attractive or acceptable. But even in Canada I have trouble because I don't know the history well enough, and I haven't had a ton of experience with the systems of oppression there. So it's easy for someone to dismiss my protest with, "oh, you just don't know, it's still true, you just don't know the truth yet because you're foreign." That thought process is even more blatant here because people feel like they have to warn me about these people that are apparently out to get me. And I'm not really in a position to challenege someone's biases (people really hate having their biases challenged, especially but a little white intern) Sometimes I try to use humor like, "Are they responsible for global warming as well?" but most of the time it is ignored. 

(and now all of you are thinking, "man, how does Clara manage to make even her travel blog have a debby downer effect?")

And to that I answer, China Town! That's right, I'm going to tell you about China town. China town is really dirty and full of sketchy people and dirty alley ways and hawkers and bad smells, but also fresh fruit and markets and internet cafes and TONS of tourists and endless curiosities. There's actually so much Chinese stuff that I didn't even know existed, like there are these meat shops where they fry bacon all day and you can just buy some bacon, and they also make these weird meat squares that are like flat and shiny. I think they're also supposed to be sweet. Sweet meat squares. Theres also a lot of chinese sweets and meat buns and noodle shops like set up in the weirdest spots.

In the morning, all the shop venders wheel their moveable shops onto Petaling Street, which is the street where the markets are. There are restaurants that are set up that are open before the shopkeepers come in, and close when they do. There are also these fresh markets that take place in like a crevice between buildings. Like, really, you have to walk single file through the place. I went with Kathleen but have no idea how to find them again. There are also pet stores which always have the cutest puppies and kittens (the fluffy kind; meanwhile, there are always like 5 stray cats right outside). Everyday there are different animals in cages outside of the shop. Today it was pigeons, usually there is a very large rooster, and the other day there were chipmunks. I kid you not. like 8 chipmunks running around this little cage. 

On the way to work I pass what I think can only be a market of found and stolen goods. There are a bunch of people sitting on the ground, shoeless with piles of like used sneakers and batteries and stuff and there are lot of people milling around looking at stuff and picking up stuff up. Today i saw a guy taking a look at a rear view mirror from a car, clearly seriously considering buying it. Like, where is your rear view mirror?! Who needs to buy that? I've heard about like "markets" that homeless people have where they all meet at a place and lay out the stuff they've collected and barter which each other, but this doesn't really seem like the same thing, especially since it's in the morning. Perhaps they are not homeless or poor, perhaps they are legit, I really have no idea. I do know, however, that I can smell like every person in that alley from 10 feet away. 

I like walking through China Town. It's ALWAYS interesting, even if it is a little sketch. I'm going to another night market tomorrow night so hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures from that also. This is a wild city.