First blog post

Opening up blogger to write feels like something I used to do in a different lifetime, like an ancient art. I used to love blogging although I never got any followers. It's a way of diary keeping, one that I want to pick back up. I'm rusty, that's for sure, but in this year of 2019 I want to take time to reflect on life instead of just letting it pass by. And what better way than a blog?

Last year I moved to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. It's definitely a BIG lifestyle change. There is so much to get used to, even though I've lived here for almost a year now. I want to document my life here, the challenges and chances that come my way. 

I have a long way to go and a lot of milestones to surpass in order to become local, or sabahan. First of all, I need to get a basic understanding of the Malaysian language. Sure, you can mostly get by with English, but the truth is that many locals here don't speak it. It's so embarrassing to try and order something in my limited bahasa melayu and not understand the questions I get back. So Malay, definitely a big goal for 2019. 

Another huge step is to find a job once my visa permits it. Is there anything scarier than a new job? 

I have some unrelated goals as well. Even though I've lived here a while, I've never gone swimming in the sea. It's pretty wild since the beaches and climate here are perfect, but there's just no real beach culture in Sabah. I'm comparing it to Sydney, Hawaii, and other warm islands. The truth is, it's simply too hot most days. And I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable going in my bikini, since I want to respect the culture here - a lot of people are quite conservative. Even in my apartment's pool, only tourists wear revealing swim gear, the locals all wear t-shirts and pants. I'm getting away from my point here, but there is just a LOT to get used to around this place, especially if I want to mix in well and not be completely outlandish. 

Returning to my point, I do want to swim in the sea this year, and I should look into getting some covering swim gear and also research safety hazards like when stinging jelly fish are in season. 

Of course I can never truly become sabahan, that is a privilege reserved for people born here. My goal is just to assimilate well and become comfortable with life here. I'll just have to accept that no matter how local I become, people will look at me and think "ang mo". 

I think that's good enough for a first diary entry!