And The Fun Just Keeps On Going

Well, the last couple of days have been pretty exciting.  First of all, I finally took some pictures.  Yay!  Since so many people have asked when I would get some up here, I figure that is the first thing I will do.

This is the view of the famous Patronus Towers from Dad's apartment.  I didn't have to zoom or anything.  

This is the rest of our view of downtown Kuala Lumpur.  You can see the mosque at the bottom of the picture and all the trees are part of the public park right next to our apartment.

We went to dinner last night and decided to try coconut juice.  To our surprise they pulled out a coconut, lopped the top off, and handed us straws.  Wow!


Now that I have fulfilled that obligation, I can fill you in on everything else.  So our first adventure this week occurred because we decided to try renting a car this month to help with the commute, and on the first day of having it, we got lost.  I'm not talking just kinda lost either.  I mean we got REALLY lost.  We were supposed to be going somewhere close and it was supposed to be easy.  Well, in fact it was not easy...somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn and after ending up merging onto three different freeways, paying three tolls, and losing sight of downtown completely, we had no idea where we were.  It didn't help that our cell phone died so we couldn't call anyone.  I definitely had a stomach full of butterflies (which was not helped by the way people drive here either).  Well, we finally found an exit that actually let us off the freeway instead of connecting to another one, and we figured we could at least ask for directions back home, when all of a sudden the street we were looking for was right in front of us.  It was like a scene right out of a movie.  Our mouths dropped open, we kind of looked at each other, gave a nervous laugh and went on our way.  And the good news is, we were only 15-20 minutes late for meeting with our Branch President.  Haha.  Let's just say we see a lot of value in investing in a GPS.


Well, the excitement didn't end there.  While meeting with our Branch President, who is awesome by the way, we were extended callings.  I think that's the fastest I have ever gotten one.  Ever.  Anyway, I will be the new Young Women's President, and Trip will be the new Young Men's President.  Holy crap!!  I am still somewhat overwhelmed when I think about it.  Oh well, it's just another adventure, right?  Needless to say, Trip and I will have plenty of things to do in our 'spare time'.
Side note:  There is a thunder storm going on right now and I am home alone since the men are still at work.  It's kind of creepy.


So, something that has really stood out to me is how many stray cats there are here.  It seems like you can't go anywhere without seeing one.  The worst part about it is the kittens.  I feel so horrible when I see these poor little things running around the streets.  We had one follow us home the other night.  We were walking down the street and I saw something move in my shadow and there is this little black kitten running beside us and mewing.  It took all my will power not to scoop it up and take it home with me!  I really wish I had my camera so I could have taken it's picture.  It's funny because shortly after that I thought I saw another kitten and it turned out to be a rat!  I have never seen such big rats in such interesting places.  The cats ignore the rats though.  They are probably afraid of them; I know I would be!



Anyway, we still really like Malaysia and there is a lot that we can learn from this culture.  It is amazing to see what a developing country is like and it definitely reinforces our appreciation for what we have in the U.S.  Oh, and if you get the chance, ask Trip how his first day of teaching went and what he has learned about the school systems here.  It is pretty interesting and surprising!