Malaysia

Confident and chaotic, Kuala Lumpur sits amid a soft hazy fog and sweet smelling air. I'm amazed by the multi-cultural aspects, the multi-phonetics on signs (Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu and English), the differences in language being spoken only meters apart from one another and the fragrance of food. While riding a bus, trying to find my place for the night, I catch conversations here and there, trying to hear for one I can understand. I soon find one among a woman living in Hong Kong and another from Iran. They talk about boyfriends and studies. Here, English becomes the connecting language, being spoken by both native Malaysians, and foreign visitors. I've met Filipino, Thai and others. I love the feeling of comradare here, the sense of being apart of something amidst a strong cohort of young people looking to succeed. I'm opening up, asking more questions and smiling more. I got invited to volunteer at a conference sponsored by the UN in just the morning after arrival. I can't take it due to my short time here, but it's reassuring to know how open this all is. The opportunities seem endless and I'm smiling. All the more reason to smile too, the world is opening its doors to me and I'm saying "lets go!".