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| Going local all the way..... |
Mingalabar! Once again, hello from Myanmar J (actually, I'm posting this while I still have great internet in KL!!)
After being here for close to two months,
the one thing that I am so aware of everyday, everywhere I go is the fact that
I am the odd one out. It really seems like foreigners are few and far in
between here in Yangon. Compared to Cambodia where I spent the last 4 years, I
can go by a full week in Yangon without meeting another foreigner. Whereas in
Phnom Penh, every corner you turned, there were at least a couple of foreigners
hanging out.
So, obviously, I attract a lot of stares.
Now, initially, I thought – OMG, they are just like the Cambodians! But then,
having interacted with both locals and foreigners alike, I realized that I just
look strange to them. Even stranger than a mat salleh would, simply because I
look like one of them, but I am not one of them. In other words, I just look
strange. In the way I dress, my hairstyle, my tattoos (yes, while tattoos are a
big norm here for local men, it isn’t so for the women and definitely not when
there’s a slapping big one on the thighs!)
On the odd days where I see a foreigner
(who isn’t associated with us via work or friends), it gets a bit like “Oooh!
Oooh! Look! Foreigner!!” Being the odd one out has brought about very odd
behavior from me as well :P Before we moved to Myanmar, MOH and I had decided
that we will not live in an expat bubble – which also explains why we’re in a
very local neighbourhood (complete with geese-rearing, nurseries and local
markets). I will not be one of those hi-so expat tai-tais either (darn it!)
hanging out for tiffin teas and such. And by gosh – it is so easy to stay out
of the expat bubble here that I want to get in!!
Having said that, OF COURSE there are other
expats in Yangon. Just that the city is so huge, you don’t meet them unless you
go to the expat hangouts like 50th Street Bar which is in downtown
Yangon or otherwise – a sure place to meet them would be at the hotels or the
gyms. Though at the gym – it also depended on the hours you go. Oh, and of
course, you definitely meet other expats at Marketplace – which is a high-end
supermarket by Citimart, much like the “Marketplace” we have at The Gardens
Midvalley. Still, I can count the number of foreigners in one hand. The long
lines are usually made up of locals.
I think I mentioned this before – you know
for sure you are outnumbered when you called the gas delivery guy and all you
had to say was “Malaysia!” and he’ll know where to deliver the gas. Since I
haven’t mastered the language yet, it’s great because then there’s no need to
speak too much, thereby avoiding any confusion or miscommunication J Even the taxi driver does that! Here’s a funny conversation I had
with our regular taxi driver – “Hi Ali (yes, we have a regular taxi driver who
is Muslim), you remember me?” and he’ll be like “Yes! Malaysia!” And I wouldn’t
even need to tell him where to pick me. How great is that? I suppose, when the
expats start pouring in, the taxi drivers or gas delivery guy or the water
delivery guy would just have to do ‘Malaysia 1’, ‘Malaysia 2’, otherwise, he would have to start remembering
names or keeping a proper record book.
I have also done an orientation prior to my
starting volunteering with Life Garden Orphanage – an orphanage supported by
Friends of The Children of Myanmar (FMC). They told me that they have other
volunteers and I had expected foreigners but ALL their volunteers are locals.
MOH and myself would be the only foreign volunteers except for when the FCM
team from UK visits. It is really very different here. We constantly have to
re-tune our mindset to adjust to this “being outnumbered” situation. But it’s a
good situation to be in, I suppose since there’s nothing like learning the
country’s culture and customs by getting down with the locals.
Just over the weekend, my first floor
neighbor made the climb all the way to the fifth floor to invite MOH and myself
over to their home for housewarming. This marked our first visit into a local’s
home. It was a pleasant surprise. As I said before, the locals are very kind,
gentle and helpful people. And now, we’re going to add warm and hospitable to
that as well. A Do Sheila (which just means Aunty Sheila) stays in the
apartment with her 3 daughters (and very pleased to know that the eldest
daughter is a trained paramedics!). When MOH finished his second helping of
mohinga – a staple diet of curried-noodles for the locals, he told A Do Sheila
that he “loves curries.” She excitedly replied saying “I love cooking! Good!
I’ll adopt you as my son!” That was a funny moment. She told us too that if we
ever need any help, please look her up. Best of all, A Do Sheila and her
sister, A Do Vicky both speak the Queen’s English! Yay! I foresee me visiting
her to brush up on my Burmese and I foresee MOH growing at the waistline.
I will begin my work at Citimart soon after
I am back from a 3-week break in KL. I have since met one of my soon-to-be
colleague who hails from Manila. She was so excited when I told her I was
joining the team, albeit part-time only. She said this : “It’s good to have
more foreigners join the team because right now, there are only 2 foreigners.
You want to get anything done, it’s like 2 versus 100! Majority always win!” Oh
dear. She also gave me tips on having extreme patience and adopting the
attitude of “letting things be” at work. I see I will be having loads of fun at
work, eh? Like I said, I’m excited to start and I’m sure there’ll be days where
I’ll tear my hair out (internet speed aside) but it’ll all be part of my
learning experience of life in Myanmar. I’m going to be praying for more
patience everyday and luckily, from the balcony of my apartment, I can see the
Shwedagon Pagoda – one of the must-visit places when in Yangon J
I have bags to pack and a flight to catch.
I had a blast at home the past 3 weeks but I had missed Yangon despite all ‘complains’ I have launched about
telecommunications and internet J So, folks,
till the next time around……… Be well J
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