Thanksgiving '08 in KL

Yours truly was caught with a mouthful of food when Nancy snapped the picture at ISKL on the evening of Thanksgiving Day as we joined others from the Middle School teaching staff at an end-of-the-day pot-luck Thanksgiving feast. (Thurs. was a regular school day at ISKL, but turkeys were cooked at school and all of us brought an abundance of salads, vegetables and dessert to complete the meal.)

We had gone to the same event last year when Levi & Ramona Willits were with us. At that time Ramona used her famous recipe for tasty mashed potatoes which we managed to duplicate this year. It was a fun event, and needless to say there was plenty of food.

Our second celebration of Thanksgiving was two days later on Saturday afternoon when Nancy had invited a gathering of 19 (!) including 14 of us adults and 5 kids. Reeve, Gabi, Rania and Rex Inskeep had their own table, with Phoenix Inskeep situated right by his Mom.

Again, it was an occasion with no shortage of food. I cooked the turkey and Nancy prepared the mashed potatoes, but for the most part others contributed the rest of the meal including pumpkin, apple and pecan pies. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the event and our hosting role was made much easier with the help of Mary, our part-time household helper for the month of November. Unfortunately, Nancy is not pictured anywhere since she took on the role of "staff photographer."

With Thanksgiving celebrations behind us, we had an interesting experience with modern technology late on Sunday morning after we had returned from church. In talking to Mark and Tasha in Maryland on Skype we discovered that they were watching the Oregon "Civil War Game" on TV (U. of Oregon vs. Oregon State). Mark focused his laptop computer (& Skype camera) onto the TV screen so that we could watch the game as well! Sound transmission was poor but the picture was fine! Sadly, OSU was soundly defeated, ruining their chance, in all likelihood, of representing the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl on January 1. - rw

Teaching Perks

Resort in the Rainforest

One of the joys of working at ISKL is getting the opportunity to go as a chaperone on student trips. This weekend I went on the IB Anthropology Field Trip. Thirty-one students and four teachers went to Terak Besa for the students to learn about the Semelai people. They are indigenous people who live along the banks and surrounding forest of a wetlands called Tesak Bera. ISKL students visited the local school and interviewed students. They explored the rainforest and village.-- Nancy
We took a boat ride through the wetlands, did the traditional dances, tried weaving, saw rubber being harvested, and the students had to study some. The students also acted out myths of the Semelai People which made for lots of laughs.

The Election here in Kuala Lumpur

Since we're now 13 hours ahead of EST in Malaysia, the election returns started coming in right at about 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning. As a result, the American Embassy had booked a large ballroom right downtown at the classy Renaissance Hotel to host a "U.S. Election Party" especially for other embassies as well as business leaders in Kuala Lumpur. A large-screen TV was high above the stage, and a smaller TV had a row of chairs in front of it for the more dedicated. Both were tuned-in to CNN International. A select group of Americans were invited to the event, the ISKL advanced placement U.S. History classes were there, and I had volunteered with the American Assn. of Malaysia to be on site to answer questions about U.S. politics. So, when I arrived, I was outfitted with a crazy "Uncle Sam hat" that would designate me as someone who might be able to answer questions! It was fascinating talking to people from many different nationalities and fielding questions about U.S. politics. Not long after 9:00 a.m. Pennsylvania was announced for Obama and sometime later, Ohio. So, by that time the election was pretty-well over.

U.S. Ambas-sador Keith was present from 9:00 a.m. until Noon and spoke briefly to the group. Catered food was in abundance, along with tea and coffee. The whole ballroom was elaborately decorated with red-white-and-blue. A "mock election" was even held, with the only rule being that no Americans could vote! Out of 200+ votes cast, 88% went to Obama! - rw