Surf's Up Dude

Tomorrow I embark on another adventure as I participate in my 3^rd race in Perth. I will be running the 4km portion of the Cityto Surf with a friend from church. This race is incredible in the fact that it has grown immensely over the years and continues to bring newcomers each year. Participants come from all over Australia as well as all over the world. The total number of participants this year reaches well over 40,000. Should be a spectacular sight! *On a side note, as I was writing this, I thought that it would be quite amusing if they used this event to create a huge flash mob! :)* I initially was planning on running the 12km portion of this race, but I as I began training for the 12km my knee started acting up somewhat horribly. After that I kind of forgot about the idea of participating until I discovered a friend from church was training for the race. I soon found a running partner. :) City to Surf is huge not only in the numbers that it pulls in, but also for the fundraisers that it raises money for. As a participant you can choose to raise money and ask for sponsors and from there you can choose from dozens of different organizations to fundraise for. It’s a pretty phenomenal city event!

In the next few weeks, I have some pretty spectacular events happening. In addition to City to Surf this weekend, I’ve been invited to join a bunch of friends at a chocolate party (yes, there will be tons of chocolate because my friend won 10kg of chocolate!). In just under two weeks, I will be celebrating my birthday (the big 2-3! Haha) and thinking of my bro on his “unbirthday.” :) I’m bummed out that I will be missing out on my nephew’s upcoming birthday (he’s going to be 3!!), but there will be plenty more birthdays. *Nikki, I already call dibs on making the next two birthday cakes for Andrew and Sophie. :)* Then a few days after Andrew’s birthday, I will be participating in Light the Night.

Light the Night is a particularly special event to me as it a night supporting those that have blood cancer and continue their battle and remembering those that have lost their battle. The Leukemia Foundation sponsors this event and it is used as a fundraiser for the fight against all blood cancers. This year has been a time of growth for me, a time of loss, and a time of change. With that, I feel that this event will help me bring some closure regarding my grandma’s passing in May. Since I wasn’t able to go home for her funeral, I wanted to do something to remember her in my own way. So I started a team in her honor and now have a few friends to join me on that night. My choice to create the team was quite timely with some events going on at church as we lost a young mother recently to blood cancer. This event has been a way for me to connect with others in the church and hopefully bring awareness for the fight against leukemia, multiple myeloma, and all blood cancers. If you are in Australia and want to join me on September 21^st for this great event, please join my team. However, if you unable to join me please consider sponsoring me. Any donations are greatly appreciated and they certainly go to a great cause. Just visit my Light the Night page and it will direct you to the area for sponsorship.

As many of you know or have to come to find out, I moved to Australia for a year for a bit of soul searching and figuring out what I want for my life. These last 7.5 months have been amazing but by no means a breeze. I’ve had my fair share of trials and tribulations, heartache and sadness, frustrations and confusion, but I’ve realized that what I have learned this year far outweighs any of the bad that I may have come across. This year is the first time in my life where I’ve had to completely depend on myself 100% for getting things done and figuring out where to go next. I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way, but I’ve learned and grown so much from all the choices I’ve made and the things I have done. I have really come into my own while being here and I couldn’t be happier with the independence I have found and the growth that has happened in my life. I really feel like “me” here and it’s a great feeling. I’m not living for anyone else. My choices aren’t based on anyone else. I am completely me. In some ways it’s scary realizing the growth and change that has happened in my life, but it’s so amazing at the same time! The best feeling I have come across while being here is absolute contentment with my life. Though it is not always easy being away from my family, I am content with the life I have created for myself in Perth. Sometimes it’s difficult being a decision maker, but I’m content to have that responsibility completely and fully now. I still don’t know exactly where my life is headed, but I am more than content to put that all in God’s hands and trust him fully to lead me in the direction he sees fit for my life. By far one of the greatest things I have learned from all of my Aussie friends is to be flexible and not let the little things get you down. No worries, mate. She’ll be right. :) Such a blessing this journey has been for my life! Bring on the next 4.5 months – I cannot wait!

~A

Fantastic Food Frenzy

Finally my food tour update. I realize this should’ve happened a couple weeks ago, but I haven’t quite been in much of a journalistic mood. But here it is!

Throughout my trip to Kuala Lumpur, I experienced new and exciting foods. I had such a great adventure trying new tropical fruits and various vendor foods. Having the chance to experience local cuisine with locals was probably the best experience and the most educational. Here’s just a brief overview of the food tour I took at the end of my Malaysian journey.

The three hour tour started at an Indian restaurant. This restaurant is a bit different as it is actually located in a temple and there are no prices on the cuisine. No, this did not mean it was exorbitantly expensive, but rather it prices were based on what one could afford. In a sense it was a bit like a soup kitchen, but way more upscale as there was a specific dress code you had to abide by out of respect for the temple as well as keeping up the demeanor of the restaurant. Most Indian food in KL is of a very heavy Southern India influence. The flavors I tasted on that plate were incredible. What’s more amazing is that all the food is made by volunteers! Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of my drink, but it was a fabulous Mango Lassi – a very good accompaniment to the spice of the curry. :)

Onto Chinese food! What you see pictured is barbecued pork belly. This was so delicious! Crisp and sweet charred outside, followed by the silkiness of the fatty belly, ending with a very tender piece of meat. Yum! The drink pictured here is kind of like lemonade but not. It’s lime with sour plums. On such a hot day, this certainly served well to refresh the palate and keep one cool!

Now for some snacks….by this time I was getting very full, but I did not want to give up and miss out on such great food! At a little street vendor we had rojak which was quite spicy, but filled with such great such like veggies, hard-boiled eggs, and chicken. Along with the rojak, we had something that kind of looks like soup. However, it was cold and was more or less a bowl of shaved ice with milk and flavoring. Made a very good pairing for the spice of the rojak. Our last stop for the day was to pick up some traditional Malaysian treats. We had a parchment full of fried bananas and fried stack of tapioca, sweet potato, and a starchy sweet that turned all caramel-y when fried. This is probably one of my poorer descriptions of the treat, but it sure was yummy! We finished off the tour with my favorite drink of the whole trip – teh tarik. This is an Indian pulled tea which I closely relate to chair just because of the spice and sweetness. However, I sincerely think teh tarik is phenomenally better than chai (yes, I am going out on a limb here hehe). The bubbles of the tea are creates by the tea maker pouring the mixed tea from pitcher to pitcher a few times. It’s quite a sight to see as it almost looks as though the tea is suspended in air just for a split second.

I was stuffed by the end, but it was a great day indeed. I love food. :)

~A

An International Affair

I've had quite the multi-cultural experience while visiting Kuala Lumpur. Not only have I been immersed into a city filled with Malay, Chinese, and Indian influences, but I have spent my days with Norwegians, Germans, Australians, Dutch, Polish, and Italians (just to name a few). Staying in a hostel really opens one's eyes to the world. Similarities between travelers are inevitable, but finding friends is an even greater treat. :)

While visiting Melaka for a simple day trip over the weekend, I managed to find a travel buddy - a Norwegian/Californian. How nice it is to meet another single traveler to spend some time with! Chris and I met by happening to take the same boat cruise in Melaka. Since we were both traveling alone, we decided to venture around together. Melaka is a very clean little city about 2 1/2 hours south of KL. It's interesting wandering around because not only do you see Asian influences but also those of Dutch and Portuguese. Melaka is situated right by the water with a river running right through it to the sea. The Dutch and Portuguese used Melaka as a port city, so touring around you can see remnants or replicas of various buildings or ships. We had some very yummy food while walking around - some pork dumplings of sorts and crispy potato on a stick. I also picked up a pair of the most wicked pants ever! I love them. :)

Sunday was a day of relaxing with a little Starbucks treat and attempting some shopping. After some successful bargain hunting, Chris and I made our way back to the hostel to rest up for a bit. However on the way back we had a slight change of plans when we randomly made friends with some other travelers on the street. We all aren't exactly sure how we met, but it was fun hanging out with some new people. So with 2 Germans, a Norwegian, and an American, we made our way to Chinatown. After some haggling with shop keepers and my persuasive nagging to try some different foods, we made our way back to the hostels for a little R&R before heading out for the evening. Our goal was to see some live cultural dance that was within walking distance in the shopping district, but it was certainly a less than stellar event and we made our way to the bars. A few nice cold beers is a great way to end a hot day in Kl. :)

Malte, me, Chris, Andreas

After a short visit to Batu Caves with our new little group, we trained back to the city in search of Central Market. This market was originally a wet market used for trade, but was almost torn down in the 70s/80s. However, some local conservationists fought to save the building because of the character and integrity it brought to the city. It was saved from demolition and was turned into a market for shopping. I originally thought the market would be more like a flea market with vendors and stalls. However, I was quite mistaken as the whole building has been revamped and is completely air-conditioned. The market is set up more like a mall with proper stores and kiosks, but all have a very multi-cultural influence - everything from a Little India shop to a glass blower. The day concluded with some great fun and laughter with my new friends - even met an Aussie from Perth. haha :)

I'm amazed by all the wonderful people I've met while visiting KL and the stories they have to share. The world is such a big place, but even being in a completely foreign place by myself, I've come to start to feel at home. Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly and I'm so thankful for the friends I've made along the way. Just this tiny taste of traveling alone and hearing stories from all these amazing people, I've really got an itch to get out there and experience even more of the world! :)

~A