Thought I'd add some things about KK that I think I've missed out. Weather- hot, humid with sudden monsoons that strike unexpectedly! But it's cool cos although you're soaked through, you dry in a matter of minutes. And the rain's always refreshing. Culture and religions- there's such a diversity of cultures here. Malaysia is predominantly Muslim, however there are Indian people, Chinese, Thai, Christian, Indigenous, - I could go on. Each religion and culture is respected and act slightly differently- however the population generally follows the state's culture of Islam. Clothing- We must wear clothes that cover us modestly when we're out and most definitely when we're teaching. For instance, we wear tops that go below our elbows in the sleeve, high in the neck and are long. Our skirts must be below knee length or trousers are suitable. We also cover our toes when teaching. However, Chinese people dress more Westernized but usually would still dress quite modestly. Food- due to the mix in cultures, there's also a wide variety of food. So there's Malay, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian and Western food. However, in East Malaysia there's a much lower population of Indian people than in West Malaysia so there are much fewer Indian Restaurants (which sucks cos I love Indian food and the Indian restaurants we went to in Penang were good). Shopping- it's so so cheap here! So I'm having loadsa fun shopping. Although there's fake brand stuff at the markets, you can go to genuine label shops and still geta really good deal. They've gota lot of good shops here and numerous boutiques, which Aman and I are constantly drooling over! Everything's so retro and vintage in the boutiques. Can't wait till we go shopping in Hong Kong tho! People- the people are really friendly here and although we initially felt like we majorly stuck out like sore thumbs (well we do) - we don't feel like such outsiders anymore. At first, due to the language barrier, it seemed like the locals were put off by us but we discovered it was mostly due to them being concious of communicating with us with little English. Poverty- I'm sure the poverty in Malaysia is nothing compared to some other countries but it has shocked me in some ways. There are regular people begging on the street and sleeping on the street aswell as homeless disabled people. We have also learnt at our school that some students walk through the jungle, in the dark at night, to reach school. This was part of the culture shock that hit me when I arrived. Marketting animals- Another thing that I have found hard to watch is the marketting of pets- ie hamsters crammed in a small cage- sitting in the blazing sun. Rabbits, again cramped and being handled roughly. Numerous Terrapins in a tiny tank, fish in a tank the size of themselves, unable to even swim in a circle, etc. Not nice sights. Music- Oh my! Well all I can say is "Crazy Frog" and "Black Eyed Peas" are big big big. Tis highly amusing- in the shopping centers, that's all you'll ever here- Black Eyed Peas- "My humps". They are also into European music, which isa bit odd- feels like I'm ina Spanish market sometimes when I hear it. Photographers+ beauty comments- Aman and I have already been approached to do a photo shoot as "New Faces" are wanted- ha! People often shout- I love you! Etc. Tis crazy- if you're white- you're automatically seen as a film star or model - not an exaggeration. The hostel girls at our school are constantly saying everyone in our photo's (family and friends), are beautiful and keep asking if they're famous. They're so adamant that Darren's the lead singer in a band. So that was just to sum up a few things that I may miss out in my other entries.