Malaysia is basically the complete opposite of the Philippines. And by that I mean Penang is totally opposite from Manila, I’m not making assumptions about the whole country.
-Manila was loud where honking horns, roosters, and street sweepers were as present in the air as the city pollution. Penang, though a big city, is eerily quiet at night.
-Manila, as I blogged about previously, lived on Filipino time where 7 means 8, maybe 9, maybe even tomorrow. In Penang, time is honored and 7 means 7 (thank God).
-We ate obscene amounts of white rice in Manila and a lot of pancakes and not a whole lot else. Penang is considered a food paradise and I have yet to see any white rice.
-Manila did not require a dress code. In Penang, you can’t even show your knees.
-In Manila you could talk to anyone about Jesus and we did. In Penang you can only talk to the Chinese and the Indians about Jesus, it’s illegal to talk to a Muslim about Him.
-In Manila, Catholicism reigned and nothing but. In Penang there are two mosques, a church, two asian temples, and an Indian temple on one street.
We are here in Penang doing homeless outreach and working at a little place called Kawan. Kawan is a place open three days a week where those who need it can come off the street, eat breakfast and lunch, take a shower, and take a nap.
We are currently residing in a sweet little apartment, again in the redlight district, with access to the roof where we have a great view of the city, needless to say, that’s where I spend a lot of my time.
Though totally opposite from the dump (and I did adore our month at the dump) this is a nice change of scenery and this month has only good things instore for us.
