the path Les travels: The Caucasian Population Triples!

This is a long-overdue post about my family's visit to Labis in mid-August.

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That’s right, folks, you heard it here first. The Caucasian population in Labis has tripled, from one mat salleh* to three!

Monday marked the official end to a two week school holiday. And what a lovely school holiday it was. I spent five days in my town Labis, celebrating the final days of Ramadhan with students and teachers and their families. Fasting all day, cooking in the late afternoon, breaking fast together at a table or on the floor, eating with our hands, watching and partaking in setting off fireworks, sharing photos and stories, until the clock chimed late-o'clock announcing my time to depart.

On Wednesday night, the eve of Raya, I took the overnight train to Singapore where, in the morning, I was reunited with my mother and sister! We spent that first day together walking around Singapore, seeing some wonderful sights. It was lovely reuniting with my family after eight months apart. For the next three days, my sister and I played for our respective countries’ Ultimate Frisbee teams at the Asia-Oceanic Ultimate Club Championship (AOUCC), the largest tournament in Asia where teams from 17 countries competed against each other to see who could come out on top. Malaysia has a relatively young team, in terms of playing experience, but this tournament was a great experience for our players and I know we all learned a lot, myself included. We ended up placing 19th out of 27 teams. We would have liked to do better, but we never gave up and fought through the last point of every game – what more can you ask? Robin’s team had more experienced players and performed quite well, making it to the Quarter finals and finally finishing 8th in the tournament.

A week in Indonesia – in Ubud and on Gili Meno – brought us back to Singapore just to hop on a train straight to Labis. I was so excited for my mom and sister to come to my home and see where I live and work in Malaysia. Unfortunately, they were only able to stay for two nights, one full day, but we somehow managed to pack most everything in. They met an overwhelming number of people at school and in town, ate an absurd amount of delicious Malaysian foods (even managing to eat with their hands!), and through it all somehow managed to keep smiles on their faces regardless of how tired they felt and how many photos they were asked to stand in.

Monday morning we arrived at school by 7am, giving us enough time to greet the headmaster before the morning assembly. As we sat down with the teachers, I briefed Mom and Robin on our morning schedule. Encik Wahab will introduce you in English and in Bahasa Malaysia. Then we will all be invited to the stage and you will be asked to say a few words. "Oh dear," Mom exclaims. But they successfully give their mini speeches and I say a few words before taking them on a tour of the school.

Throughout the day, we entered four classes - 4A, 4B, 2A, and 2B (the equivalent of 8th and 10th grades). Each class had questions for them and information about Malaysia to share. 2A got to play a short game with Robin, spurred by the question, "how do you teach drama?" The students really enjoyed that.

After school, we explored downtown, stopping at the bus station to buy their tickets to KL, buying sugar cane juice and fried bananas at the small stall next to the station and enjoying a cup of cendol (a Malaysian dessert) while we waited for our ride back to my house. After a short rest, Mom and I went to a Chinese friend's house for tea. And then shortly after returning home, we all left for a traditional Malaysian dinner at an Indian family's home.

On Tuesday morning, I went to school late so that I could take my mom and sister to the bus station. Another friend they had yet to meet picked us up in her car and we went to breakfast at my landlord's restaurant. Every step of their journey, Mom and Robin met someone who plays a significant role in my life in Labis. A teary-eyed goodbye and a drawn out wave later, my family is safely on the bus to Kuala Lumpur.

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I'm so glad my mom and sister were able to come and see where I live and work. It meant so much to me and to my teachers and students. The students kept talking about my family for weeks after and still ask when they will return to Labis.