10/22/11 Malaysia

We are now half way through our voyage!  It's going way too fast, and all of us wish we had more time in all of these ports. I especially wish I had more time in Malaysia because I was on-call for the 3 days we were here. Being on-call means I have to be able to get back to the ship in 1 hour if someone needs me, and that I hold a morning clinic each day.  Usually it hasn't been too big of a deal.  This port was a little different. I spent one whole night dealing with students who had gotten some severe jellyfish stings and then with a student who had fallen through a second-story roof and gotten pretty scraped up and bruised.  Luckily, everyone is ok.  It meant I spent much of the following day sleeping while my family was out exploring the National Forest and eating fabulous Malaysian food. I really can't complain though. If it weren't for this job, none of us would be having this amazing experience, and the job is an amazing experience in itself. For example, until now I have never seen first-hand the damage a jellyfish can do!  OUCH!!!!

Malaysia is a tropical, lush, green island with nice people and great food.  The combined influence of the Indian, Chinese and Malay locals makes for some wonderful cuisine.  It would take a long time for me to tire of it, especially the variety of flat breads and curries.  The highlight of this country for me was going up Penang Hill on on a tram on rails.  The grade was steep and the scenery amazing, with tropical plants all over and homes perched on the side of the hill.  At the top we had amazing views of the ocean and of green rolling hills.  I was left wishing I had time to do some hiking and exploring on the nice path system they have constructed on the hill. This society is relatively well-to-do compared to the countries we have recently visited, and there are luxuries such as air-conditioned malls and Starbucks coffee houses with free WiFi internet access.  Skype is a wonderful thing, and I was able to connect with one of my friends back home.  I tried to Skype with my sisters the next day, and the internet connection was down.  Oh well, 50% success with my Skype attempts is better than I've had so far on this journey, usually due to my inability to get somewhere with a good internet connection.  By the way, if you'd like to leave comments on my blogs, I'd love to hear what you think.  The best way to communicate with me while I'm on this journey is to use my Semester at Sea email address which is: hlwarner@semesteratsea.net.