Sunday 07/01/12

Selamat Pagi!!!

I am currently located in Penang, Malaysia and have been attending Universiti Sains Malaysia (Science University of Malaysia) for about a solid week. WOW! What an amazing state! It is the most diverse state of Malaysia (there are 14 total) and happen to be the capital of the world of many things!

Check out the cheesy tourist videos and some random pics I took around town. Although the videos are cheesy, they really do capture and represent all that I have experienced here thus far! :

USM ~ 

http://www.brusselspress.com/asia-business-channel/universiti-sains-malaysia-2

Penang ~

So some quick important things to know:

1. There are numerous languages spoken in Malaysia but about 4 dominant ones: Bahasa Malay, Hokkien Chinese, Tamil, and English. So that means there is a 95% chance that you will be able to communicate with the locals. But most likely in the more developed areas like Penang and Kuala Lumpur. 
2. The exchange money market changes daily. One day it is high and the other it is low. A day before I left the U.S. for Malaysia, the USD to MYR (US Dollar to Malaysian Ringget) was 2.7 MYR to 1 USD. After i arrived in Malaysia a couple of days later, the exchange rate was 3.1 MYR to 1 USD. Believe it or not, that small change made a huge difference for some of our budgets.
3. Malaysia is a Muslim country. If you want to have a great experience here, you must dress conservative to avoid unsolicited and/or unwanted attention. Also, have to be dressed appropriately to enter mosques and temples. Lastly, spiritual conversations with the intent to convert a Muslim to a different religion are against the law and have a heavy consequence.
4. Bring your own toilet paper, hand towel, sunblock, and baby powder to stay dry and fresh !!!  (This is not gender specific)