Halfway Home: Bizarro World

Kuala Lumpur is a bizarre place. It's a mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian, Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, towering high-rises, the speed and efficiency of technology alongside tradition. And I've only been here for a day. The juxtapositions are so glaring but maybe because I'm fresh out of the rural Middle East.

Either way, I am enjoying it. For a few hours, it didn't really feel as if I had left the Middle East as Malaysia is an extension of the Muslim world and I've already run into a few Arabs just in the few hours I've been here. In fact, it didn't really feel like I was anywhere new; it kind of felt like I've been here before. Walking among hijabed women, passing mosques set me back in the Middle East. The humidity alongside the sleek city look reminded me of my childhood experiences in Japan and the Philippines. The abundance of mega malls are reminiscent of parts of Orange County and the smells wafting from restaurants brought me back to the our neighborhood seafood market. Everything is so familiar, it's bizarre.

Another aspect I'm really enjoying is the anonymity. Despite my terrible clothing (my legacy from my recent volunteer days), I'm just another Asian strolling down the street. I'm not a foreigner. I'm barely worth a glance - and it is awesome. It's restored my self-worth a little to be in a place where to be Asian doesn't necessarily mean you're someone's servant. I'm just another person.

However, there is an amusing downside to my apparent Asian-ness. I've fooled everyone enough that they're confused with my lack of linguistic capabilities. Even for me, this is a novelty but I guess I've always been that bizarre foreigner. Once I was the lone Asian girl who spoke Arabic (dialect, not Standard like most foreigners) with a horrendous American accent, usually capable of arguing or sweet-talking my way out of exorbitant foreigner pricing. Now, I look like most people but I've become the American that's assumed that everyone speaks English, garnering confused looks when it becomes obvious that I don't understand Malay. On top of that, I seem to fall off westerner's radars (despite the tell-tall backpacker gear I'm hauling around.) I tried to giving that look of recognition to my fellow countrymen but I must have come off as a crazy local who stares too much at white people. That being said, I'm working on my social skills.