Discovering Human and Architectural Treasures in Malaysia
Jessica Hsieh | September 28, 2009
Still reeling from the effects of jetlag, I begin reminiscing on the past two months. Although I have been home for only a few days, Malaysia now seems to be a place so distant. Yet, it is quite funny to say that home feels out of sync to the lifestyle I have been used to for the last two months. I hop into a car to get anywhere, following the red and green lights along the road. It feels weird that I barely walk to get to places now at home; I have been so used to running across the street after a quick right-left-right check. Going to buy things reminds me how strange it feels not being able to hear numerous dialects and see store signs in multiple languages. Walking under the Californian sun and not breaking out into sweat is a refreshing, yet also a slightly odd, change.
Jessica Hsieh with school-children at a Malaysian village, Merbok.
Although I have missed home during my time abroad, I have to admit that I now miss walking into lab in the morning, hearing the “good mornings” chiming in. During lunch, I miss laughing with my co-workers over a plate of noodles and a specially requested unsweetened drink. A little thing like eating my mango and guava after lunch, fresh from the stall down the road, is also another thing I miss. Unable to fall asleep at night, I miss staying up late just chatting with friends at Khaleel’s, an eatery near my hostel, drinking a cup of hot milk tea, talking deep into the night until I lost my voice.
It struck me while I was sitting down in a famous chili crab restaurant in Singapore after my PRIME internship was over that it felt weird to be surrounded by such bright lights and skyscrapers in a bustling city. I have been so accustomed to the greenery of Malaysia that the city life in Singapore felt almost foreign. The dazzling buildings lighted up the whole sky in such a way that the night was no longer black, but blue, like sunrise even though the sun was already supposed to have set. Additionally, I have been so used to sitting on little stools, laughing during random conversations over the roundtable. It felt odd to have waitresses and waiters constantly serving me; the informal hawker stalls that simply consisted of paying and ordering no longer seemed to be around every corner.
Hsieh holding a yellow python at the Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
One memory stands out in my last few weeks in Malaysia. Dr. Habibah took me, along with Jessica Liu and two other international students in the lab, to Merbok, a traditional Malay village. We were told to prepare speeches for the kids, something along the lines of encouraging them to pursue higher education. But in the end, although I do not know if the kids really learned anything from me, it was I who learned something along the way. It has been a long time since I can remember when was the last time things like a simple American No.2 pencil, an eraser, a notebook, or a ruler could make me glow with happiness. I forgot how it felt like to screech my head off while being chased by a little kid in a game of “Duck, Duck, Goose”. Dipping my feet in clear, cool river water after visiting the village also reminded me just how beautiful Mother Nature can be.
Of course, my PRIME experience would not be complete without some traveling on the weekends. Aside from going to Merbok with Dr. Habibah, I also managed to tour a bit more in Penang. I took numerous pictures inside the historic Fort Cornwallis and even wore a headscarf to take a tour in the Kapitan Keling Mosque. Despite the rainy weather that dropped in on Penang in my last few weeks there, other sites I visited include Air Itam (a dam), Pantai Asam (a local beach) and Snake Temple. Additionally, I got the chance to experience a morning “wet market”, pay a visit to a gorgeous Chinese temple (Tow Boo Kong), and see some beautiful rice paddies after crossing the Penang Bridge in Butterworth. Finally, one weekend, I went with four other students to the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. We not only saw beautiful architecture, such as the National Mosque, and visited some must-go tourist sites, Merdeka Square and KLCC, but also went further on to the outskirts of Kualu Lumpur to visit Putrajaya and Batu Caves.
Hsieh at the Tow Boo Kong Temple in Butterworth, Malaysia.
For my research, I was able to draw general trends to serve as guidelines for designing siRNAs. However, I must continue my work back in UCSD because my proposed design probes require further testing. Additionally, a long-term goal of mine is to have my findings backed up by experimental validation.
Ultimately, Penang, Malaysia is a place that I could have never really understood as a tourist. It was until I lived there for two months and just went about my everyday life like a regular Malaysian that could I really say that I learned a lot about Malaysia. I learned not only about its people, but also its history and culture. My PRIME experience has not only allowed me to appreciate Malaysian culture, with its distinctive mix of Malay, Chinese, and Indian cultures, but also to turn inwardly and really be grateful for my own Taiwanese American culture as well.
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