kuantan, malaysia

so far life in malaysia is pretty much stress-free...the weather's been great (it's the end of monsoon season but it hasn't in the past two weeks), the pool and sea are warm, and the food is awesome.

today was an interesting day- we went for a "drive" in the countryside, south of kuantan, along the beach...sometimes on the road, sometimes on the sand or sort of makeshift road. lots of malays having picnics, some fishing, a few swimming and tons of goats, sheep and cows. we stopped at a local market for a snack- there were incredible amounts of rice noodles, fried rice, chicken (ayam in malay...one of the few words i know!) and homemade sweets. i have to admit that the unrefridgerated uncooked chicken swarmming with flies did not look to fresh but aside from that everything else looked fairly safe.

driving in malaysia is a bit of an art, not only does one drive on the left hand side of the road, but you have to be aware of motorcycles (often with 3+ people on it), animals, appearing and disappearing lanes (often without notice), and overall wreakless drivers. never a dull moment on malaysian roads.

next weekend is Chinese New Year here- a huge deal for all the Chinese and non-Chinese. stores are full of decorations, red cards (you're supposed to put money in them and give them as gifts), mandarin oranges wrapped in little red bags, etc...
we're planning to head south for the long weekend to a small island off the east coast of malaysia, Tioman island so i can learn how to scuba dive!

enough for now...more about malaysian life later

s.

holiday pictures

a few memorable pictures from the holidays...















new york city, dec. 21

christmas dinner in fort mcmurrary, alberta- cousin Erika, aunts Lori and Denise, and Jen






steph, dad, dylan and braden
















skiing at big white, british columbia...

one of the few non-foggy days...what a view!

on the ferry from vancouver island to vancouver, british columbia

just the beginning

2006- a year for exploration

The year 2005 ended just as quickly as it began and 2006 is already at full speed. As I said my temporary goodbyes to auburn in december, it was hard to believe that the past three years were over and done with. just like that.

Right now I am on my way, in transit if you will, to the other side of the world. really. The next few weeks will be spent on the coast of the south china sea in kuantan, malsysia before heading down under to new zealand. school starts february 20 but until then, i'm on vacation.

I hope to use this space to keep whoever is interested updated with my goings on for the next year- I promised lots of pictures and postcards and emails, so hopefully this will accomplish many things at once. Check back as you wish and don't hesitate to bug me if nothing has been updated for awhile...chances are i am just being lazy.

until next time...cheers and happy new year

s.