Tips for Homeschoolers, from a Homeschooler: The Social Aspect

Homeschooling is tough when you’re first starting. I was a traveling homeschooler between the ages of 6 and 9, then went into a Schooling System for 10, 12, and 13. Now a couple months from turning 17, I’m a year and a half away from completing “High School”. But if you’re starting 1st grade, transitioning from Public School to Homeschooling at 14, or a parent thinking about homeschooling their kids, these are some things I’ve learned (with added wisdom from my parents) about homeschooling.

Social

Its no secret that making friends and getting out of the house is the biggest challenge that a family can face when they’re starting to homeschool. The first thing you need to know for sure before starting is exactly how you’re going to fulfill your social needs. When pondering about this, don’t go crazy thinking that you need 7 hours of social life like in a “normal” school day. You don’t. Though different for every human being, the time we need to spend with people isn’t a ridiculous amount like that.

When I first arrived to Malaysia, my Mom and I looked up different things that were going on here. You can be surprised what you’ll find when you start looking online, because I didn’t expect to be able to take after-school classes at an International School 5 minutes away from where I live. Much less Debate, Acting, and Impromptu. In Malaysia. The classes were a great way to meet people, but this wasn’t where we stopped. After a couple months I was taking violin lessons weekly, in an exercise group 5 times a week, and had made friends to hang out with on the weekends. Now over a year later, I think I’ve learned a couple things that could’ve made it easier:

• W H E N  Y O U first arrive to a new place, its a good idea not to be too choosy about your friends. That doesn’t mean take whoever will befriend you, but lets be honest, you’re not in a position to be up-ity. Without betraying you’re values (don’t do stupid things to get people to like you), you can find people you genuinely get along with. Maybe even someone you wouldn’t expect. Because honestly, a best friend isn’t going to magically fall out of the sky.
• W H I C H  I S why you’re going to join every possible activity out there. Even if its a flute class and you’re more of a trumpet kinda guy. You’ve gotta suck it up (no pun intended) and give yourself a month or two. Even if it kinda stinks in the beginning, which it will because being the new kid isn’t easy. This is a good idea for so many reasons, but mine are that it throws you into groups of people that otherwise you’d never meet, and also lets you do something you wouldn’t normally try. But you can find people, who even if you don’t want to “hang” with them outside of whatever group/activity brought you together, you can enjoy them enough in the activity itself.

The definition of Homeschooling to me is Balance, on all sides of the spectrum. Which means that once you have your social aspect set up, you can’t be ignoring any important things because of it. Nothing new, but having lots of friends isn’t more important then paying attention and learning in your studies. So to help set you up beforehand, or when you first get there:

• L O O K  U P anything and everything online. Not only should you look for other homeschoolers in the place you live or are going to live in, but check out the classes you’re willing to take and get into that look like they would be diverse and full of people similar to yourself. Then mix these with classes you’re really interested in, which will help get you out of the house.
• A S K  A R O U N D when you get there. If you meet other homeschoolers, maybe they’ll know something that you’d be interested in. I volunteered at a Spay and Neuter Clinic twice a year for a couple of weeks at a time, and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. And I wouldn’t of know about it if it wasn’t for locals, because things like that won’t pop up in Google.

And thats about it socially.  Homeschooling is complex, even if you aren’t traveling anywhere while you’re doing it. Just make sure you relax, be yourself, and don’t miss out on an opportunity because you’re nervous. You’re not the only one who has had to go through this, and you won’t be the last.

Trust me.

Or instead of making friends you could spend your time lamely posing in front of conveniently planted signs. Boston, U.S.A, 2011

 

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I’m Back!

Hey guys! How’ve you been?

So my long absence has been for good, trust me. A couple of days ago I returned from over 2 weeks of traveling Thailand. I got to see Bangkok for the 3rd time, before heading on over to the lovely, infinity beach-infested Hua Hin. It was a pretty crazy trip, which meant that I wasn’t able to get a whole lot of writing done. But I did take lots of videos and photos for me to look back on, and also share with you guys!

So while I’m writing my new article for Friday, I hope I can offer this little video as a peace-keeper!

Until then,

James

One of the biggest man-made natural disasters you don’t know about

One of the biggest natural disasters this year started 6 months ago, and I doubt you know about it if you’re not from Asia. Because besides the fact that it affected several countries in South East Asia, the major media outlets haven’t bothered to even headline it.

“Not even kinda?”, you ask?

Yep, not even kinda.

Between July and October this has been going on, and the country I live in was suffocating in a thick smoke that traveled across the sea from Indonesia for 2 months of it. A haze, repugnant in look and smell, and in an absolutely god-awful taste rolled into Penang, Malaysia while I was away. I heard about it while I was gone, but nothing that was startling. Nothing about how devastating it really is. So after a month of travel, I came back to what I thought was a normal Penang. Almost exactly how I left it. And for the most part it looked so. I didn’t know the winds had shifted, sending it another direction. A few days after returning we were getting back into our routine. I was starting my school year. Everything seemed to be back to normal.

But then it began.

It’s a yearly event, something that was mentioned in passing by fellow expats who have experienced it for decades. But no one could expect that this would be the worst year since it started over 2 decades ago.The white smoke snuck in from below and above. It blocked out the sun, and covered the mainland before weaving its way along the bay outside my apartment, slowly covering everything in sight 3,000 meters away. Then 2,000ms. 1,000ms. Suddenly our gorgeus view was replaced by a smog so thick I could cut it with a knife.

But by then the view was the least of our problems.

Our view a year ago.

Our view in early October

Once it began to seep into our apartment we had to have our doors and windows closed at all times. We soon became the air-conditioning addicts we made fun of before, and avoided going outside completely. On Facebook, I could see people who had jobs outdoors wearing gas-masks. Schools were closed across Malaysia, and every outdoor acivity was cancelled without mention.

Everyone knew that the haze had officialy closed down a country.

So cooped up in our apartment, avoiding the outside world by ordering groceries online and calling for take-out, we looked up what this haze really was.

And this turned up.

Our country-neighbor Indonesia, one of the most amazing places I’ve ever been, is also one of the leading exporters of Palm Oil. Palm Oil is in 50% of the products you use, in case you didn’t know. And with fields across the nation, companies big and small manufacture and sell it internationally. But after a busy year, the fields that had once hosted their products barren, and are completely useless to them. The crops, after use, tarnish the field to an almost, un-reusable extent. They need to start again, and need fresh space to plant new trees. But how can they do this?

Well, it’s simple. Burn the soil, and replant, and while you’re at it expand a little.

Quick and easy, right?

“Today, rainforest area the equivalent of 300 soccer fields is being destroyed every hour.”

– RainForest-Rescue.org

This year it started in June, and winds from El Nino (The big bad storm) pushed the smoke to Singapore, Malaysia, and even up to Thailand. Since the fires started aren’t properly contained AT ALL (Smaller businesses even claim not to start them), the fire doesn’t just stop in the counterfeit fields. It spreads into one of the most magnificent and beautiful jungles in the world, home to the ever-dwindling orangutans, monkeys, rhinos and tigers.

And to countless Indonesians.

And while most years these fires are put out relatively soon, this year the right winds and a very dry rainy-season provided the perfect opportunity for the fires to manifest. Unstoppable, they eat away the jungle into ash as they suffocate Indonesian children, women, and men. With over 500,000 documented respritatory tract infections this year, there is an expected 100,000 premature deaths for next year caused by the smoke. 

And while Malaysians complained about the haze, looking at the official Haze Index, the highest the smoke reached was in the late 200’s.  That was where schools closed. The highest it is in the U.S.A at the moment is 107 at a town in California (Who knows whats going on over there). But you know what the index was in Indonesia? A place where a large percentage of the population can only afford curtains for doors, much less air-conditioning? Where fires rage uncontrollably over 5,000km of their land?

Over THREE THOUSAND.

“These fires are a threat to the health of millions. Smoke from landscape fires kills an estimated 110,000 people every year across Southeast Asia, mostly as a result of heart and lung problems, and weakening newborn babies.” ~ An excerpt from news.mongabay.com

 

 

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While the flames have finally died last month, Indonesia is slowly recuperating from the devastation left. “Slash and burn needs to be put to a stop…” says, The Guardian, who also says that small buisnesses and the government are apart of the problem. The small buisnesses really can’t be held accountable until the government strengthens the laws on the fires killing their country.

But right now Indonesia needs everyone’s help. The corrupt government isn’t helping its citizens, calling the complaining affected countries (Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand), sensitive, and saying that it has done enough for its people by telling them to “stay indoors”. But when indoors isn’t even possible for most, what can the people do? And while the endangered Orangutans are slowly being rescued from the flames, it is more clear than ever that it just isn’t enough.

So how can we help?

We can help by spreading the word of the devastation. And we can help by donating to help kids and mothers and the Orangutans in Indonesia. If you didn’t know this was happening, your friends probably don’t either. So please spread the word by person and online.

Don’t let ignorance kill lives.

 

Sources

•  Air Pollution Index
• “So why is the world looking away?”
• Time Magazine

 

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Through Singapore (1/2)

I’ve been to Thailand and Indonesia. I’ve living in Malaysia. Believe me when I write that in the South East Asia I’ve explored, Singapore is what you find in the back of a magical wardrobe beside Narnia. Sleek silver brilliance striked with elegance and class, the most expensive country in the world was a shock to my system after 8 months of living in cabins in the jungle, trekking through dusty crowded cities, and crossing bridges into developing islands. All these massive buildings that cast their long shade down entire roads, all the international people, and all the cameras. The country where chewing gum in public is illegal was where I stayed for almost a week, and where I saw the lifestyle of the wealthiest class that exists mesh with those who sell Wanton Mee out of carts and hang their laundry off bamboo sticks. Singapore is a pretty cool place though, and I’m going to tell you all about it.

I arrived with my parents after an overnight bus ride from Malaysia, where getting into the country was easy (Though a few Arabian men were held back, most likely Singapore being cautious about Murrs). Hotel was an easy walk away from the bus station, and by the time we were checked in we were back out again. The main downtown area of Singapore is small, so walking we found an MRT Station and bought Easy-Pass cards. This turned out to be one of the best things we would’ve done, as the MRT was crazy-easy to use and got us everywhere we wanted to go for our complete stay for about 14 Singaporean Dollars each. We walked around downtown a bit once we were in the center of it all, and as luck would have it a free walking tour was starting and my Mom was more than excited to join it. Somehow we had missed the fact that the annual Olympic-Tier sports tournament was happening in Singapore for that week, and 2 free walking tours covering Little India and China Town were cancelled. But as luck would have it we were able to join the last Walking tour of the week through the business Centre and beyond. So not even 6 hours off the bus we were walking around Singapore with 3 college girls explaining this building and that fountain and this hotel. While I do enjoy these types of things, it was a major walk-athon after a short, abrupt night’s sleep. 2 and a half hours later I was more than happy to go eat do I could sit down.

But touching on Singaporean History, the nation used to be apart of Malaysia but broke off for a couple of reasons. One being that the main leader Lee Kuan Yew wanted full control, and after centuries of British Rule he wanted to grow Singapore to be free of corruption. Having a thriving trade port, Singapore was able to finance itself and grow steadily. With a strong set of rules, Singapore never as much as stumbled. One particular bump that it had to get past though was the multiple ethnicities within its borders. 60% Buddhist and just under 20% Muslim, along with Hindus and Christians flourishing abundantly, religious discrimination was something that couldn’t exist for even a second if Singapore were to reach its full potential. So intense rules stating that not even a word of hate against any other religions were put in place, and massive fees were placed upon those who broke them. This greatly discouraged everyone else, and from it the country remained peaceful. Though those were not only the intense rules to exist. Jaywalking, chewing gum, and most recently publicly drinking alcohol after 10:30 at night are all prohibited with the threat of tall looming fines placed on all of them. And I’m only mentioning a few. It’s so common to have to pay a fine in Singapore that stalls are placed across the city for easy access to those who have to pay them.

But luckily I never broke the rules while there (Actually I should rephrase that: Never got caught. I may or may not have jaywalked there but I’m not tellin’ you nothin’.). After the walking tour my Mom and I met my Father at the Crazy Elephant in Clarkes Key, a main night-time area in Singapore. Situated alongside a river, the Key is crawling with tourists. My Dad being the musician he is was invited a week before to jam there, so as he played music I played pool and watched a light show coming off of Marina Bay Sands. You know, that hotel with a ship on the top of it.

57 stories? Yeah, I think so. 57.

Scenic place, but damn is it expensive.

It was a fun night, and believe me when I say that I crashed hard that night. In the morning, we were off to China Town, Orchard Road, and the top of Marina Bay Sands (The super cool hotel I told you about. Yes. To the very top.)

Singaporean Buisness Centre

Interviews and thoughts of growing up with travel

Hey guys, how are you?

Diving right in: I’ve been thinking about travel recently and its affects on me for the past 10 years. At 16 I’ve been to 20 different countries, and I haven’t lived in one place for longer than 5 years. Its been exciting, and always different. Recent events have made me re-evauluate my life, a life without travel.

What would that have been like?

I think I would be a very different person if I hadn’t always seen places and met people as a foreigner. Sometimes I forget that always being the new guy in a place isn’t supposed to be a yearly event. I’ve grown up looking at a side of life that allows failures, lives off passion, flourishes in the bad times, and will always appreicate the good times. And now I can’t imagine living in a different way.

So I guess a little self-exploratory is this weeks blog :). Who in your life inspires you the most, and what effect do you think you might have on people in your life? For me a professional donut tester is probably the most influential.

Frosted? Yes please.

My Mom was interviewed by An Epic Education talking about our whole life adventure from the start a decade ago. So if you would like to learn a bit more about me, from leaving normal life in the U.S to sailing in the carribean, from a different perspective you can listen to it here.

Thanks for reading guys! Until next time,

Sincerely, James

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I wrote about homeschooling in Malaysia!

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Tsunami or Earthquake? ~ A day in Penang, Malaysia

I woke up this morning to the prayers of a mosque. The “Floating Mosque” rests on pillars on the beach, and during prayers at 6 in the morning its tower is alight. I’m not getting up though, and as I toss and turn drifting in and out of sleep, 7:30 comes fast. By the time my alarm goes off and my mother has knocked on my door twice, I’m finally out of bed. I get dressed, go out to our kitchen for breakfast, and when 8 o’clock comes around I’ve got my sneakers on and am ready for bootcamp. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 8:30 are Workout sessions conducted by the Warriors Organization. Associating the word “bootcamp” with lighter terms, its about an hour of running, jumping, stretching, and doing the infamously unbearable planks. Along with atleast 20 other people for that hour and a half I sweat every liquid out of my body, and then some. The majority American, English, and Australian, we’re a queer sight to the Muslim-Malays who are getting ready to go to work from where they live in a small clump of houses behind our park.

After a particularly painful session, I’m limping my way throughout our apartment as I turn on the hot water heater and grab an apple. Looking out from our balcony doors I can see a long curved beach, on one end holding fishing docks and the Floating Mosque, the other with little restaurants and condos. Across the water is Butterworth, Malaysian Mainland, and the bridge connecting our island to it. After 8 months living here everything is still as beautiful as when I’d first arrived. But today my mom and I were headed to Georgetown, a hour and a half bus ride away, to grab lunch and book bus tickets. Following the rules, we are planning on leaving Malaysia again like we did every 3 months. Having been to Indonesia and Thailand already, this time we wanted to see Singapore, something that would most likely blow our minds and be exactly the opposite to the jungle and dusty cities we had experienced before.

When we were ready, Mom and I made our way down the long curving hill from our apartment to the main road to catch the bus. Of course as soon as we are crossing the street, bus 101 cruises by and we’re left to wait patiently for the next one that would take us to Georgetown. We’re right outside the Floating Mosque, giant speakers looking above us 70 feet high. As the road turns around the mosque there is a nook of free space, where a man sometimes sets up a coconut stall to sell to the students who are bused in from schools on Fridays for prayer. Fridays for Muslims are similar in some ways to Sundays for Christians, and the Mosque will have crowds of hundreds of people pouring through its doors when the time comes.

A bus finally comes around and we hope on with our 4 ringgits for the both of us. The ride into Georgetown is an hour on traffic free days and almost double on a Monday Afternoon like ours. Where I live there are plenty of apartments and houses alike, but you know you’ve reached Georgetown when the towering monstrosities vanish and the square buildings seem to mold together. This isn’t to say that there aren’t any big buildings left in view though. Komtar is a giant tower that protrudes from the inside of a mall, and is the highest place in the downtown area. The mosques and buddhist temples much flashier in Georgetown where the tourists like to walk. Riding on the bus you could be admiring a gleaming silver mosque with luscious green gardens one second, and then a daring red traditional buddhist temple the next. When I first arrived here I thought that all these different cultures clashed. After times gone by though, I’ve decided they meld together more passively, acceptance given all around.

An example of this would be when we got off the bus to go to a place for lunch. In Georgetown, we walked into a large open setting with chairs and tables that were formed into a rectangle by atleast 30 stalls. Each stall had its own set of dishes, and as my mom and I sat down next to the Japanese Stall I could smell Wantan Mee to my left, fresh Dumplings to my right, and even some Koay Teow behind me. It’s a mesh of smells, and around me crowds of people wanting to get in on some of them. Usually I drink Watermelon Juice when I go there because the lime juice can be a bit sour and the orange juice with loads of sugar. Fresh juices are pretty typical at the majority of low-key restaurants. When I go to bigger restaurants they always have the box juice, which is ironically 3 times more expensive than the fresh stuff. So juice and a couple rolls of sushi later (About 10 USD total for both of us) we walk 5 minutes to the free bus shuttle around Georgetown. It’s a fantastic way to get around this area, and a little while later we’re at Komtar Mall.

Komtar is a funny place, because when you arrive you’re in one giant building of a surrounding four. One is a bus station with plenty of little restaurants around it. Another is riddled with shops. The other 2 lead into giant malls. In Penang all of the malls seemed to be located in the same area, and here in Komtar alone there were 3. But we were on our way to the shops for a travel agency that could get us a bus from Penang to Singapore. After a surprisingly quick 10-minutes later, we had our bus tickets for an overnight to SIngapore. 11 hours away, we’d have comfy seats and a little tv screen everyone seems to just fickle with and never watch something for the whole night. We’d get to SIngapore bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning for a day of walking around what a friend called “the most futuristic city he’d ever seen.”.

With time to kill, we hopped on another bus and headed halfway home before jumping off at Gurney Plaza, a mall coincidentally infront of Paragon Mall. Gurney in particular seems to be the most popular mall, and everything from Starbucks to F.R.I.D.A.Y.S sits inside. Don’t worry, there are plenty of crazily expensive shops inside too. But we weren’t here for a coffee or a brand of watch George Clooney owns. We hopped up to the highest floor and snuck into the movie theater to watch “San Andreas”. Talk about an awesome film. The apocalyptic movie provoked a discussion afterwards on whether an Earthquake or a Tsunamis was more terrifing. While they’re equally horrible, I went with Tsunamis. Outside of our apartment a Tsunami struck less than a decade ago, and since then they’ve installed speakers to warn citizens on the beach when there is a n incoming. Hearing one test-drill from that, the booming siren echoing through the buildings. If I’m on the beach and a Tsunami is coming from just a little while away, there isn’t much I can do about it. I’d spend the last 5 minutes of my life being absolutely terrified. But with an earthquake there is no warning, and thus no fear-upon-arrival.

But what do you guys think? Which seems more terrifying for you, Tsunami or Earthquake? Have you been through one of these? Leave a comment, I’d love to read what you say!

In the meantime, I’m headed to Singapore this Saturday. I’m so excited, I’ve heard amazing things about it and I can’t believe I’ll be there for 4 days. When I come back I’ll have a great time writing about it and posting photos for you guys.

Until Monday,

Cheers!

Sincerely, James

A temple in Georgetown

Something I didn’t know to expect in Penang, Malaysia

I’ve lived for the past 7 months in an amazing, quite large island called Penang, which is connected by bridge to mainland Malaysia.  Being a 16 year old American Homeschooler here, I tend to ride the bus alot. I don’t know if that actually has any connection to who I am, But I do. I ride the bus alot. And because of this I’ve seen a decent amount of things, which have in turn provoked me to write this article:

How Malaysians are so incredibly kind.

Penang, Malaysia is one of the most westernized and touristy places in Malaysia. Yet when I’m riding the bus in the afternoon, and three pale 20s-something girls in Bikinis barely covered up with thin shawls and shirts that were made for someone in 5th grade, get onboard headed to the beach, I cringe. I cringe because this is disrespectful to the people who are accommodating them in their country. In Malay Culture it just isn’t cool to walk around in your Bikini. Penang’s Government Board’s have just settled an issue last month on whether Bikinis should be allowed on Beaches, which Penang is very popular for having. They ended up being allowed, but the fact that there was an actually discussion and voting sequence shows that wearing something immodest, in the middle of the city and then onto a public bus for a hour-and-a-half drive up to the beach, isn’t cool. There isn’t any law against wearing bikinis here in Malaysia, but the majority of Malaysians who’ve grown up in a strong Islamic Household won’t approve, and I think if you’re going to visit somebody else’s home, their country, you should at least try to cater to some household rules.

But when I think of this incident and what comes after wards, I can’t help but think that there are so many friendly, nice, and utterly amazing people here in Penang. On the bus, when the 3 girls boarded, the bus driver didn’t mind speaking in broken English to tell them what it would cost to get to the beach. The girls didn’t know where the beaches were, but the driver waved his hand in a careless fashion and told them he would let them know where to get off. And when the 3 girls took up the complete priority seating aisle, nobody said anything. Actually, most people who stood holding onto the sides of the bus, old or young, were smiling and nodding at them.

And that’s when I realised, out of the whole busload of people, I was the most offended. Everyone on the bus saw these three girls as the typical tourists, a mixture of some cluelessness and naiveté. They knew these girls were among hundreds of other people visiting their city not realizing that they could be insulting with the way the could dress, or the fact that the didn’t study their culture or learn a little of their language beforehand.

And I mean, c’mon. Priority seating? Really?

But yet I don’t feel like Malaysians get enough compliments on how thoughtful they are. Bus drivers never hesitate to help me out when I don’t know where I’m headed. Restaurants here cater their menus in English for Tourists, and for the past 7 months I’ve been a regular in a Chinese and Thai Restaurant down my street and only with their knowledge of English I’m able to order every time I go. I’ve even been on the bus before when an elderly Chinese man gave up his seat for a Canadian Mother and her child in a stroller, and after, when the woman was getting off the bus, a group of Malaysian Construction Workers in their twenties, picked up her stroller for her and set it down on the ground, making sure the bus wouldn’t close its doors on her. There are so many amazing people here that have the most unique and caring perspective on us, absent-minded foreigners, that it makes me smile and really appreciate the place I live.

A Regular Trip

I’ve been traveling for quite an amount of time. I’ve noticed, when someone travels for long periods of time or has decided to meld travel into their daily lives, they develop trends in their daily lives. Travel is usually linked to Vacation, which is basically a different way to say “Relaxation”. So a traveler is usually seen as someone trying very hard to shake off their responsibilities, like a job, moving them to the back of the line in their mind. But this isn’t usually the case, and if you want to see the world you have to learn to bring responsibilities into travel. After looking back, I figure a great example of this is my trip to Bangkok for a week.

We didn’t have our days planned out, and all three of us brought our laptops to do work (Geometry isn’t any funner in courses on a computer – trust me) So every morning in Bangkok we were out the door and working on computers at a little cafe around the corner from where we were staying. Something I’ve realized from having to stay for long-periods in a cafe is that if I get to choose, eat outside. It provokes me to be a bit more social provoking opportunities to arise. Tuk-Tuk drivers hung out right in front of where our little cafe was nestled, and we were able to chat with the drivers. From then on, we had multiple taxi drivers we could trust after getting to know them, and (sometimes) make better deals with them (Though know you or not, most of the time its 3 times higher than standard fare, so if you ever find yourself heading to Bangkok, make sure to practice your haggling-bone beforehand)

I also lent my laptop to two lost Spanish Women who had just gotten in from Dubai and couldn’t speak more than a couple of words of English. I was estatic to let them use the computer (to their surprise) because after 5 months of living in Malaysia I hadn’t gotten the chance to speak a lick of Spanish. They were surprised, though I think for the most part relieved, and I was able to practice my Spanish as they tried to find their hotel to show the Taxi Drivers.

By Noon all the work is put away, and we’re off to somewhere extra-captivating. Ruins, Shrines; Temples and Monuments. The significant feeling flowing through pieces of art hundreds upon hundreds of year old is hard not to appreciate. Mixed with some Pad Thai or Satay, our afternoon is spent enjoying the city thats opened its doors and welcomed us in. After that, there is always Back Massages for 30 mins for the price of 4 U.S.D or some perusing at the shops and stalls along Khao San Road and most of the adjoining roads. By late evening though, the other side of the world is awake, and we’re back in our room early enough to get work done so we can go back out again, or late enough that we’re a change of clothes away from calling it a night.

And I think thats it guys! I’m excited to get us back onto Malaysia, before June where I head back to Thailand again, this time a bit more on the outskirts.

Thanks for reading,

Sincerely, James

A day in my life – An American homeschool student living in Malaysia

I moved to Penang, Malaysia 4 months ago with my parents. I’m in tenth grade, and I’ve homeschooled for the majority of my life. When I entered Highschool I switched from a home-planned curriculum to an American Correspondence School. This basically meant that I was given a set curriculum, with online exams to do for qualified teachers in the United States to grade, and guaranteed Transcripts at the end of the torturous 4 years. This would give me the ability to apply for American and International Universities.

At home, 8 stories up in an apartment complex, I have 5 subjects in my curriculum. On Weekdays, I wake up earlier than weekends, and do more “average” things. So let’s say today is Thursday (Which it is. But wait, keep reading)

I wake up at 7 and am up eating cereal in 10 minutes. School is started as soon as the last sip has been taken, and that’s my world for the following  4 hours. Each lesson is 45 minutes to an hour, one per subject, so around 11 I’ve finished. At that point I tackle Social Media and my Blog, responding to your guy’s lovely comments and interacting with the community. At 12-12:15 I’m out the door and down at the gym.

There’s a Half-Marathon in June which I’ve just started training for, so far I’m up to an average of 3 miles, working up to 4. I also do weight training, and bicycling on rest-days. After the gym and a shower, we’re off to lunch.

Lunch is usually in 1 of 4 places. A Malay restaurant 25 metres away. An Indian and a Thai exactly 1 block away. And a Chinese restaurant 2 blocks away. We have no form of private transportation except for our feet, so closer the better. Commonly, as we’re deciding on where to go the “Floating Mosque” is belting out the first of the Afternoon Prayers.

We choose Thai, and have navigated our way into our regular seats in a tiny building apart of a long strip that consists of a Pharmacy, Mini Market, Indian restaurant with funny – smelling soups (We, ah. We don’t eat there) and 2 Barber Shops. I’m going to quickly tally the costs for you:

A drink is 1.50 Ringgit, or 50 American Cents.

A Thai Rice, Yellow Curry Chicken, or anything on the menu for 1 person is 3 – 4.50 Ringgit, or 1 – 1.50 American Dollars.

So an average lunch for the 3 of us, with 2 drinks each, is 15 to 21 Ringgit or 5 – 7 U.S. If I ever want to eat by myself it’s less than 2 dollars.

These are average prices for all of the thousands of Stalls and local restaurants in Penang. Japanese, Chinese, Malay, Thai, Indian, or even Indonesian are included. Yet don’t get me wrong, there are still over-priced coffee in Starbucks on every other street. T.G.I.Fridays and Chillis is just a 15 minutes bus ride away, usually in giant malls that hold shops like Forever 21 and H&M. Also Italian, German, and really any Western restaurants will have a nice meal, just at normal or slightly above typical Western prices. All locals are rather fluent or know basic English. With our few words of Mandarin and Malay, it’s very easy to get around no matter what.

So now it’s about 3 o’clock. Usually I have after-school classes I participate in at an International School just a couple blocks away. I used to do mock debating every Thursday and watch a pair of talented actors practice a duet play for a Forensics Tournament.  But the Tournament has passed, and classes aren’t until April again. I also did Basket ball of 3 months, and am taking Violin once a week with a teacher. SAT’s are coming up soon, and studying can never come too early. But whatever I end up doing, I’m usually home or finished by 6.

At that time I work on Blog Posts, update sites, play cards and watch a show. (Suits!) Watch a gang of Monkeys from our balconey and work on any personal projects I want to pursue. (Like video editing or Fiction Writing)

The last prayer is uttered around 9 p.m. and I’m in bed with a book by around 10 that I borrow from a local library. “Little Women” is what I’m working on at the moment, with “7 years in Tibet” next.

For such a long post this is really a rare tranquil day. Georgetown holds sushi, street art, and life music. Batu Ferringi offers beaches, a favorite Indian restaurant, and one of the longest markets in Asia during the Evening. Gurney Plaza, a 7 story monstrosity of a mall has a cheap high – quality movie theater and Coffee Bean. We do 1 of each practically every week, along with a couple of days spent with friends aswell.

One day I’ll probably write about those.

Until then,

Sincerely, James

 

(Below are photos taken around town)