The two monolithic limestone mountains greeted us as we stepped from the train early in the morning. Their deeper recesses shielded from the harsh scrutiny of sun and tourists by draped foliage. The jungle was clinging to these structures with a waning fervor, the encroaching presence of man pushing the jungle's front back with each year. These particular mountains it sheltered in its embrace, the undergrowth blocking any effort to reach and conquer these natural giants.
Gua Musang, a sleepy town 8 hours north by train from Kuala Lumpur, was going to be the location of "Manistry Month," the month where the guys on B-Squad come together for wild boar hunts, warpaint and jungle excursions. The daunting structures and the caves within them we were promised seemed to be the serious answer to a joke we had said on the way in.
In Kuala Lumpur, we watched Hunger Games and ate at Chili's, Wendy's and Burger King at one of the city's 14 story malls. Some people enjoyed an amusement park inside the mall itself, complete with a roller coaster. A few friends of mine utilized the indoor archery range that was right next door to the indoor bowling alley. Crazy, huh?
We met our contact, Kumar, at the train station. He was accompanied by Brandon Forshall of X-Squad, a welcomed surprise. It seemed that we would be spending the first week with a team from this Squad. They were finishing month 9, and were able to share a little bit about their experiences. Swapping stories became a good pastime, and it was a great comfort to be able to share some of the stories that are only truly funny to other Racers.
It's a fraternity of sorts, being a part of the World Race. Everyone has stories about the things they seen along the way, and while we can share them with people from home, only a Racer truly has the perspective necessary to grasp the emotions and significance. We can translate the danger, the struggle, the raw emotional exchange that have become indelible marks upon our lives with as many gilded words as we wish, but understanding comes from experience.
It may be a bit premature to talk about sharing stories with people from home, though. I still have 5 more months before that really happens. But still, I'm preparing myself to treat those exchanges with a grain of salt, as suggested, because it just won't hit home the same way. And that's okay. It may sound… belittling to suggest such a thing, but I think wisdom would tell those reading that I'm right. In the end, we have a plethora of great stories, and we relay them to the best of our ability. Some are better at it than others.
Before I talk more about what we're doing, Gua Musang is to be treated much like Vietnam. That being said, we've thoroughly enjoyed teaching English here.
It's Friday in Gua Musang, and the beginning of the weekend here. The town is pretty dead. Friday is a day of prayer for the Muslim community, which is nearly the entire population. While being a Christian is perfectly fine, spreading it is severely punished. Imprisonment is the most basic of punishments, and political force is being mustered to pass Sharia laws, the same legal code which would allow stoning to death and cutting off the hand of a thief.
The town is comprised of Malaysian, Chinese-Malaysian, and Indian-Malaysians. It's pretty easy to distinguish between them, mostly due to the presence of Saris or not.
We live in a couple rooms above a motoshop. They are recent additions to Kumar's properties, and he plans to use the room to house future teams. The rooms are pretty bare, mostly due to them recently being added. We have a dart board in one and a recently acquired shelf and table. Each room has a ceiling fan, which is a huge comfort. Malaysia can be stifling hot, and humid. Not quite as bad as Georgia or Florida, where you can literally feel the moisture on your arms when you walk outside, but it's not far off. The sun rises directly in front of us, between the aforementioned limestone mountains, and behind us. We have a window to view each, and I'll get pictures of them as soon as possible.
Kumar runs an English center, which teaches locals ages 5 to 20 and some adults English. The Malaysian school system flip-flopped from teaching the Malaysian language to English, then back and forth. So, in the end, the students have a disjointed and incomplete education. Kumar sought to remedy these inequities by opening a school to fill the gaps. The purpose of teams is to help staff the school.
Because we have an overlap of teams, Manistry has assumed the role of construction workers. We're repainting all the walls in the school, giving some a two-tone blue and others an orange. I definitely don't mind the Orange and Blue themes, if you know what I mean, Tigers. Sometimes we breathe in the fumes by accident, hence the huffing paint part of the title.
We're also doing some carpet work at the school and the rooms in which we're staying. Kumar also has plans to make a shelf and a plywood partition to block the air conditioning from leaving through a metal garage-style door. I'm actually looking forward to it, because I'm assuming I'm going to be working with wood that hasn't been left out in the rain and warped (like other places on the Race). We also have plans to try and introduce ultimate frisbee to the community, which is the definition of baller.
Oh, right, the skinny dipping part of the blog title. I was just thinking of an evocative title to get people to click on my blog. But hmm, let's try and loosely relate it. Well, after we work, we go back to our living quarters and strip bare the troubles of the day and dip ourselves into the word and worship music. Satisfied? Probably not, sorry!
We did have an Easter service of sorts, sang some songs and watched Passion of the Christ. It was a lot of fun.
It's weird thinking that I'm more than halfway done. And while I love Journalism, writing, photography, and everything that goes along with my major, it's becoming clear to me that I have no idea what I want to do with my life. When even the prospect of being a dental hygienist is intriguing, you know you're pretty lost. Well, I have 5 months to gain some perspective, and maybe things will be more clear by the end of it. Hmm, what about psychology?
As always, I love your comments and e-mails of support, and I hope the title got you to click! If I get 1,500 views I win an invisible prize. Send the link to all your friends! 🙂
