Home safe and sound!

I made it home! After taking a KL 'LRT', airport bus, 2 planes, car, and train... I reached Totnes station to find my Dad, sister and Dog along with a beautiful 'Welcome Home Bea' banner! The journey home was pretty long as at each stop we had to turn our watches back a few hours - it felt like the day was going on forever. We reached Gatwick around 1pm, where we were meeted by one of the volunteer's mums (and her delicous cakes!)

Its strange to be back, but surprisingly it doesn't feel like I've been away that long. Nothing has really changed and I am not finding doing things again for the first time that exciting! Still its great to see everyone again, and the weather has been amazing the last few days. After leaving my bag untouched for a few days, you will be glad to know I have now unpacked my stuff, and there is a long queue for the washing machine...maybe I should just handwash everything now that I am such a pro!!

I feel sad that my Gap-Year is nearly over... I have had so much freedom and now I must get into studying mode for university. I've had such a great time and am so glad I took a year out despite the fee rises. Hopefully I will have other opportunities to travel in my university holidays, because that is what I would save my money for. England seems so grey and boring compared to the bright colours and spicey smells of Asia...

Seeing as this blog is called 'Bea Chapman in Malaysia' and technically I am no longer in Malaysia...this should be my last entry. I hope you have enjoyed following my trip... even though I know some months I was pretty hopeless at posting. I have enjoyed sharing my stories with you all, although sometimes I found it hard putting experiences down into words that can be read by anyone... family... friends... my students... local people - dont want to offend anyone!

I am now facing a long list of things to do before I go to university. I have been quickly swallowed back into the fast pace of family life back home - I miss being in Malaysia so much already, but its good to be back home. I will cherish all the memories fondly, as I could never forget such a challenging, yet  enjoyable and eye-opening experience. 

Leaving life in the kampung

I am leaving for KL in 5 mins and have just enough time to blog before I leave. My bag is packed (literally stuffed) and it will be an immense achievement if I make it to our hotel without a broken back!!

I have been staying with my adopted Malay family for the past few nights to say goodbye. I currently have their little girl climbing all over me...so its quite hard to type! She has just returned my camera after running off with it and taking photos of the shower...garden and lots of other random things around the house! I am really close to Syara now - really dont want to say goodbye.. She is 4 years old and is my new Malay teacher! Yesterday we did some painting together and I explained how I was leaving to her... she said "Cak tak datang lagi?" which means "You're not coming again sister?". Playing with Syara was really good at the start because I really missed physical contact with people - but as she is 4 there are no rules about me picking her up or anything. After a bad day, playing with Syara always cheered me up!

I had my last buka puasa with all the family last night. Mak Cik cooked my favourite spicy aubergine...it was so good! Then I went out to the stall I always go to and ate my last rojak - tofu, soya and vegetable in a peanut sauce. All the hari-raya decorations are up around the villages - lanterns line most small roads, and people were setting off fire crackers. Its a real shame to not be here for hari-raya but I will just have to come back for it another year.

I am seriously going to miss the kampung life here - it's so peaceful and laid-back. Yesterday I rode around the village on the scooter as the sun was going down and all the kampung people were inside preparing to buka puasa. I also went for my last run to say goodbye to my circuit - not looking forward to the Devon hills which are going to be tough after running for 8 months on flat!

So our flight is at 2am on Thursday... now its time to leave Parit Haji Abrahim and head for bustling KL - the start of my journey home to South Brent. I will come back one day, and hopefully Mak Cik and Pak Cik will still be alive. The next time I blog will be from my house - how crazy is that!!

Last day at MRSM

Me and Fiona had our last day at MRSM last Friday (the 3rd). The students organised us a leaving ceremony at break time, with some performances and lots of card and present presentations. There were of course SO many photos taken - pretty much every student in the whole school wanted a personal one with each of us. The students all made us beautiful cards with all their names inside, unfortunately some are too big to bring home so I have had to take pictures of them instead. We were given many school souvenirs too, including a very handy thermous mug which will be very useful for staying awake in lectures next year! It was a busy last day, sorting our desk and clearing out the computers of all our files, as well as saying our goodbyes and walking around the school one last time. I felt sad to leave the school, but saying goodbye to some of the students was harder. I have a feeling I am going to get alot of facebook friend requests this week! When students said goodbye to us, they would always say three things...firstly 'I will miss you', secondly 'please forgive me for all my mistakes and anything I have done wrong to you' and thirdly 'please pray for me'.

Packing up all of my stuff and clearing the house was an even bigger challenge! It seems I have either bought or been given enough stuff to double what I came with. It was quite satisfying throwing lots out, although its a shame I can't bring home more. The next time I come to Malaysia I will bring an empty bag so I can bring back loads of food! It will be an amazing achievement if I make it back to Devon with my bag because it is insanely heavy - hope the underground isn't too crowded. I guess its good weight training...

So now I am free of my teaching responsibilities... I have spent the last week in Taman Negara (Malaysia's national park) trecking in the jungle and having awful sleeps on roll mats which smell of pee! It was great fun though and I'm glad I saw another side of Malaysia. I am now back in Batu Pahat for the weekend to say a proper goodbye to my favourite places and people. On Tuesday next week we have a meeting with MARA (our employers) to discuss how the project was and how it can be improved etc. Then on Thursday its our flight....so looking forward to seeing everyone but seriously not looking forward to the weather or prices!!!

You can expect a suitably deep and reflective entry next week before I fly home - but don't get your hopes up because the standard of my English has reached an all time low. I have been living with speakers of 'the broken English' and I cant remember the last time I read a novel. You will all have to correct my speech when I am home because I have started saying things like 'Better eat now' and 'I'm know'......oh deeaar!