OMG. I swear my blog is growing cobwebs already! I have since arrived the "Golden Land" and trying to update my blog on seriously slow and unstable internet access. I have been slapping my forehead and banging my head on the wall so much that my friends are advising me to wear a helmet.
Well, most of you would have read this story on Vanity Shack, but for those who haven't, I'm re-posting it here (yes, just to update my blog and get rid of the cobwebbies :P)
___________________________________________________________________________________
Well, most of you would have read this story on Vanity Shack, but for those who haven't, I'm re-posting it here (yes, just to update my blog and get rid of the cobwebbies :P)
___________________________________________________________________________________
It had been 2 weeks now since I packed my bags and left the Kingdom of Wonder and relocated to Mystical Myanmar, joining My Other Half (and 50 million other people!!) in this“golden land of opportunities” – the last Asian frontier for business opportunities, the “sleeping giant awakens” as they say.
When I was in Cambodia, a friend asked me this : “How can a dolphin be stuck in a goldfish bowl?” Arriving in Myanmar, with a population of 60 million and within Yangon itself, a population of 5.5 million, I felt like Nemo. This country is H-U-G-E and together with my extremely bad sense of direction, I haven’t yet been able to get my bearings right. Oh dear.
Now, of course, this wasn’t my first relocation, having relocated well over 6 times in both developed and non-developed countries. I wasn’t glassy-eyed about the move either, having had a look of the condition of Yangon and researching about the country’s limitations. I had expected this relocation to be a Cambodia 2.0 and I’d be simply adjusted and adapted within 2 weeks. They say the human body is super-intelligent in adapting itself to suit and all it took was a 2-week period. BOY WAS I WRONG. And whoever came up with that 2-week crapola ought to know that it probably doesn’t apply to Myanmar (and likely other worse-off countries).
Before I continue, I’d like to clarify that I love this country and especially the people here. They are the sweetest and gentlest and kindest. Buddhism is the foundation of this nation and as such, doing good is almost a way of life. That is not to say there aren’t any unscrupulous people out here. Plenty of those too, like how there are plenty in other parts of the world. But generally, the culture here is one of moderate living. I suppose, “karma” is a big thing here since most of them folks believe in donating to temples and pagodas as a way of earning their brownie points for “Nirvana”. There is even a channel here on TV that is dedicated to the teachings of Buddha! In just 2 weeks, I’ve met some of the most honest and helpful people here. Just yesterday, I accidentally paid a taxi man 200kyats (USD0.25) extra. He returned it! Of course, the food goes without saying. It’s spicy and it’s awesome! I’d get fat in this country if I wasn’t careful. It’s just that, there are certain things that we are used to, that we take for granted back home (or even in Cambodia for that matter) that you can’t get here or doesn’t work the same way here.
Now, of course, this wasn’t my first relocation, having relocated well over 6 times in both developed and non-developed countries. I wasn’t glassy-eyed about the move either, having had a look of the condition of Yangon and researching about the country’s limitations. I had expected this relocation to be a Cambodia 2.0 and I’d be simply adjusted and adapted within 2 weeks. They say the human body is super-intelligent in adapting itself to suit and all it took was a 2-week period. BOY WAS I WRONG. And whoever came up with that 2-week crapola ought to know that it probably doesn’t apply to Myanmar (and likely other worse-off countries).
Before I continue, I’d like to clarify that I love this country and especially the people here. They are the sweetest and gentlest and kindest. Buddhism is the foundation of this nation and as such, doing good is almost a way of life. That is not to say there aren’t any unscrupulous people out here. Plenty of those too, like how there are plenty in other parts of the world. But generally, the culture here is one of moderate living. I suppose, “karma” is a big thing here since most of them folks believe in donating to temples and pagodas as a way of earning their brownie points for “Nirvana”. There is even a channel here on TV that is dedicated to the teachings of Buddha! In just 2 weeks, I’ve met some of the most honest and helpful people here. Just yesterday, I accidentally paid a taxi man 200kyats (USD0.25) extra. He returned it! Of course, the food goes without saying. It’s spicy and it’s awesome! I’d get fat in this country if I wasn’t careful. It’s just that, there are certain things that we are used to, that we take for granted back home (or even in Cambodia for that matter) that you can’t get here or doesn’t work the same way here.
Of all my relocations, this had been the most stressful one for me because a place of stay wasn’t sorted out before my arrival. MOH arrived a month earlier, hoping to sort out a ‘palace’ before I arrived. Unfortunately, like one of those many ‘mystifying’ things that one needs to understand here, looking for a decent apartment with a reasonable rent is NOT easy. Unless of course you had a budget of USD1,800+ a month for rental and had time to wait since they’re all on waiting list till at least August 2012 – which we don’t on both counts. Some landlords also do not want to rent their properties out to foreigners, not wishing to go through the tedious and lengthy process of filing a registration, etc., etc. And then, most of these “decent-priced” apartments do not come furnished. MOH finally found one – a 3-bedroom brand new apartment in the Yankin Township. This was near to his office – which was a great plus point. BUT, the owner refused to install tiles to the floor and it came with nothing except a 1960s light bulb in each room. MOH managed to wrangle for an air-con for the master bedroom and security grills (I call them cages) though. Majority of these properties for rent aren’t experienced in dealing with “foreigner needs”. There’re even cartoons in the local newspapers poking fun at foreigners for not knowing what a generator or an inverter is. You know you are outnumbered foreign-wise, when all you needed to tell the gas delivery guy was “Malaysia” or “Philippines” and he’ll know exactly where to bring the gas. This, I found truly hilarious and amusing. You’d think a population of 5.5million could easily keep you hidden, eh?
Anyway, once the landlord handed us the keys, thus began our new adventure of “trying to move in” and for me – my first tryst with how things worked in Mystical Myanmar.
MOH and I had never needed to “set-up-nest” after our marriage since we had already been based in Cambodia by that time and our nest consisted of moving around in rented, and mind you, fully-furnished apartments. So for the first time ever since we got married, we went furniture shopping. This was fairly easy and the options were in abundance – from furnitures to electronics – so no worries there. I was just a bit disappointed MOH didn’t give me the budget for my 2-door ice-making refrigerator :P However, it wasn’t till a full 8 days later that we could finally get all these items delivered to the apartment! Why? Because the fixtures and grills promised by the landlord were not ready!
Now, electricity is a major problem in this country. Actually, it shouldn’t be a problem considering they sell power to neighbouring countries. Unfortunately, power outages are an everyday thing here. They last up to 6-7 hours per day. Sooooo…. no work gets done when there isn’t power. You can’t expect them to drill when there isn’t electricity, right? Thus – the delays, after delays of handing over the apartment to us. And even then – there were other things that needed to be done on our own like installing a water pump for the water pressure, idiot stuff like these – which I never had to worry before in my life (even my condo unit back home was previously handled by my Dad so I was pretty sheltered from all these nitty-gritties :P). And here’s the near-tears breaking point –the apartment was filthy, like beyond filthy. MOH and I spent 3 days cleaning and cleaning and just cleaning. On top of that, the electrician, the plumber, the cable TV guys, all came at separate hours on separate days due to power outages and each time they finished doing what they needed to do, we had to clean all over again because dust was just flying all over the place and for some reason, they also left feet marks on the walls. OMG, I swear to you – it was a seriously stressful period. But we both wanted to move in as soon as possible, having lived in a dingy hotel for a whole week – and an entire month for MOH!
I remember in one of my online research about apartments in Yangon, I stumbled upon a blog by a Japanese woman who also relocated to Myanmar following her husband. She had, in broken English, described how it was a nightmare and how she was crying and frustrated and the whole works, from the squat toilets to the filthiness of the place, etc. Reading that from Cambodia at that time, I was like, “Surely it can’t be more difficult than Cambodia!” Now, I intend to look her up and tell her I share similar experiences! For those who have never set-up new nests in an undeveloped country, this can truly put your relationship to test. Looking back at the first week I was here, and now that we’ve moved in and got the place almost done, I am able to laugh at how much grief I had caused MOH. Not so funny then, though. J
I remember in one of my online research about apartments in Yangon, I stumbled upon a blog by a Japanese woman who also relocated to Myanmar following her husband. She had, in broken English, described how it was a nightmare and how she was crying and frustrated and the whole works, from the squat toilets to the filthiness of the place, etc. Reading that from Cambodia at that time, I was like, “Surely it can’t be more difficult than Cambodia!” Now, I intend to look her up and tell her I share similar experiences! For those who have never set-up new nests in an undeveloped country, this can truly put your relationship to test. Looking back at the first week I was here, and now that we’ve moved in and got the place almost done, I am able to laugh at how much grief I had caused MOH. Not so funny then, though. J
All those 50 million people who are jumping on board right now to catch the “sleeping giant” before it fully awakens will not just be shocked – they will find it extremely frustrating starting here. I’m not even going to touch on the skilled human resources issue. Just the basics – like electricity is off-putting enough. The government has promised that as of 1stJune, there’ll be no more power cuts. Everyone is holding their breath. How productive do these new MNCs expect their workforce to be when life actually revolves around power and no-power? Sure, sure – there are generators – but they better remember to add this into their daily operating cost. I mean, can you imagine if I were to open another business here now (another Hell’s Office??) and when I ask a staff why wasn’t a deadline met and the answer was “No electricity.”? I would go berserk! Or why wasn’t the email sent to the client on time? – “Internet not working.” Oh-My-God. In all fairness though, the locals here – they are hardworking and they want to work. Whether blue collar or white collar – they generally want to do their work and finish it. But they are unfortunately limited by these “unforeseen circumstances”. I’m sure a delay in labour work would mean a delay in payment and therefore a delay in salary, etc…. Doesn’t bode well for them, really. Derailing a bit, I was actually very impressed with the furniture installers – one particular guy fitted and re-fitted our wardrobe door just so he could get it to be as perfect as it can be. This type of passion is hard to find. It was also very interesting to watch the men working in their longyis –these magical sarongs hold not only wallets, but their tools and stuff. You don’t even need a tool belt!
Since I am still trying to adjust to a routine that revolves around power outages, things can be pretty challenging here – even as an unemployed housewife. If MOH expects a 3-course dinner every evening, after purchasing all the cool gadgets for my ‘Jamie Oliver Kitchen’ he is sadly mistaken :P By the way, our first night in the apartment was a night of no lights, no fans and an army of mossies :P As impatient as I am to start my volunteer work or part-time work or whatever, I think it’d be better if I took my time adjusting and adapting and finding my way around this country. I have committed though to a small project with an NGO but I think the first order of the day would be to learn the language. I intend to sign-up for classes because whilst I have a flair for languages, I don’t think I’d be able to pick-up the Myanmarese language off the streets. Our one word in English is equivalent to five words in their local language!
Since I am still trying to adjust to a routine that revolves around power outages, things can be pretty challenging here – even as an unemployed housewife. If MOH expects a 3-course dinner every evening, after purchasing all the cool gadgets for my ‘Jamie Oliver Kitchen’ he is sadly mistaken :P By the way, our first night in the apartment was a night of no lights, no fans and an army of mossies :P As impatient as I am to start my volunteer work or part-time work or whatever, I think it’d be better if I took my time adjusting and adapting and finding my way around this country. I have committed though to a small project with an NGO but I think the first order of the day would be to learn the language. I intend to sign-up for classes because whilst I have a flair for languages, I don’t think I’d be able to pick-up the Myanmarese language off the streets. Our one word in English is equivalent to five words in their local language!
I’m positive and hopeful though. Obviously, things can only get better in time. The other major problem with this country is in all things to do with telecommunication. Most frustrating being the internet – I have elevated from slapping my forehead to banging my head on the wall trying to get‘normal’ internet speed here or any internet at all. But you see, I’ve started with a 128 internet speed in Cambodia and saw it go up to 512 and beyond. Like I said, I am positive and hopeful. I am remembering to try – the key word being“try” to laugh at the frustrating circumstances and be compassionate at all times. After all, this was not a decision I made with a gun pointed at my head. Though, I think the next time I chose my country of relocation, I should really be careful about their tourism taglines – from the Kingdom of “Wonder” to“Mystical” Myanmar – from a country where I wondered why I was there every day to a country where everything seems mystifying, at least for now J
We’ll talk more about my “telecommunication” adventures next. For now, I better send this piece off to my editor before the internet dies out on me again. (Since I am merely re-posting this, it should read : I better post this now while there IS internet connection. Clicking and Praying....)
