Arrived in Malaysia! 2/1/2007
Dear Family and friends,
Greetings from Malaysia! I arrived here safely after way too many hours on planes and in airports. It's hot here, but I'm surprised to find it's not all that humid -- a blessing as far as I'm concerned! The island of Penang is very green, hilly, with the human encroachment concentrated on the city of Georgetown so that there are lovely untouched hills around the city. They seem to be making some real effort to keep it that way.
I was met at the airport by my former student, now university faculty here, Yumi Yoshioka. Unfortunately, I did not get to greet my luggage! I swore last year that I wouldn't fly American Airlines again, after they lost my luggage and spent DAYS tracking it down; unfortunately AA was the only practical choice for this trip, and yes, they lost my luggage AGAIN. It supposedly will be here by tomorrow night, at which point I will be on stage playing my first recital of the trip. I sort of have performing clothes with me, but not quite the real thing. Sigh.
Anyway, today was pretty quiet; checked into the hotel, found a drugstore for a few things to tide me over until my luggage arrives, spent a couple of hours practicing at the university, and had a wonderful Chinese dinner with Yumi and her husband Jason, a Penang native. Chinese food here is amazing! I didn't get names for everything, but Buddha Climbs Over the Wall was fun. Now it's past 11 PM here, and I'm going to call it a night soon. I've managed to stay awake through the afternoon and evening, so I think my jet lag will be minimal. We'll see how I feel tomorrow!
Much more to come -- stay tuned!
Love,
Carlyn
Last updated 12/07. Copyright
2007 by Richard C. Morenus. Questions? Send email to richard.c@morenus.org