Encountering a Different Lifestyle and Exotic Foods
Serena Chang | Aug 25, 2010
Chang and her fellow PRIME buddy with some students at a local village.
After seven weeks in Penang, I have had fascinating experiences. I’ve shared so many conversations, met so many people and greedily ate so many delicious foods.
Deciding what to write about this time around was very difficult, but I managed to condense some of the most interesting impressions, namely encountering foreign situations and foods, into this dispatch.
When I first arrived, I was not quite comfortable in my new surroundings, particularly the hot humid weather, the spicy, fatty food and the overwhelming amount of things to learn for my research. But being out of my comfort zone was one of the main reasons I chose to come to Malaysia. Health-wise, I soon learned to avoid extremely spicy and oily foods to protect my delicate stomach. I also can’t really do anything about the bipolar weather, roaringly rainy in the morning and scorchingly clammy at noon, except to simply deal with it.
Working on my research project has often been frustrating too, because I often have no idea how to resolve the difficulties I face. I also feel exasperated by my extremely slow pace. After chatting with some friends, I try not to get too discouraged. While I am still worried about my snail-like progress, I am convincing myself that I should treat it as a research experience, rather than a results-oriented obligation.
Undoubtedly, there are certain things I fell in love with immediately in Penang. Local food rules! The most unassuming food stands, tended by humble hardworking aunties and uncles, belie the extraordinarily savory dishes they serve, brilliant in color, flavor and texture. I really love duck rice, served with juicy slices of duck meat over a crown of soft, soy-sauce enriched rice. The duck sauce that accompanies the rice is amazing too—a sweet, dark plummy reduction serenading the sharp, buttery duck fat.
I also enjoy a popular dessert called cendol, a shaved ice delight with translucent green jelly pandan noodles swimming in a happy bowl of red beans, coconut milk and palm sugar. I adore how refreshing this dessert tastes, with the cool noodles melting gently against the fragrant coconut bath in my mouth. Bak kut teh is another favorite of mine. It is a delicious broth made by boiling garlic, Chinese herbs and pieces of pork until they simmer into a translucent brown soup. Eaten in concert with soy-saucy taro rice and fried pieces of dough called you tiao, a bak kut teh feast makes me feel so warm and complete.
Last weekend, my mentor brought me and a few other students to a Malay village. It was interesting because the village was quite rural and undeveloped. One bathroom I used was basically a little hole in the wall, with a few bucketfuls of fresh mountain water to flush. At the village, we visited a little school for the local children. It was definitely inspiring to see what they must make do with. With only a roof over the rundown desks and chairs, the schoolroom has no walls and is therefore exposed to the elements. I must have gotten about five huge mosquito bites while I was sitting at one of the desks.
After this short visit, I really grew to appreciate what I have back in the States, especially the clean, large, modern facilities and numerous amenities that so many people here live without.
With only a few more weeks left of this internship, I am going to cherish this time as much as I can. The friends I have made, the food I have eaten and the research I have done make this experience unique and important to me. I will be sad to leave, but I will be so glad to go home as well.
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