Penang -- Week 17/18 -- Potato Hangover

THURSDAY, July 10th
I decide to host play group again since I'm not hearing from the girls.  It's just Rachel and me this time.  Brandy is in the Cameron Highlands for a little break from the heat, and Missy is teaching a summer course at the International School.  It is so much fun to sit and chat with Rachel.  I really enjoy her.  Plus, I am SO excited because she (she's the linguist, you remember) confirms this theory I had about Malaysian English.  Let me explain...

So, I noticed way early on that they say "already" a lot, and at weird times.  For instance, whenever the maid at the hotel was finished, he/she would say, "Miss, I finish already," before exiting our suite.  I wondered what they were implying!  Were they wanting me to be impressed with the speed of their cleaning?

After some time I started realizing that it was whenever something was in the past tense they would say "already."  Knowing that Malay is an extremely economical language that doesn't have the same kind of verb conjugations (if any) that other languages generally have, I decided that "already" had to be something carried over from Malay. They must use some kind of word as a marker of tense since their grammar doesn't otherwise give them a tense.  Rachel says I'm right that they do that in Malay, and she is impressed.  Today I'm totally feeling like I should have studied linguistics.  It was (is) one of my many interests and definitely one I considered spending serious time on in college.

Week 18

FRIDAY, July 11th

We're invited to dinner with the Paz's and some of their family who are in town visiting.  It is SUCH a fun night.  We have lots of laughs over dinner.  I always get a kick out of Carmen and Fernando who are both terrific storytellers.  And their relatives are funny too.  We get to hear about the wild adventures the C & F have taken them on and what they think about their experiences here.  The restaurant is terrific.  An absolute haven for George and me who just LOVE this kind of stylish little spot that you only hear about through word of mouth.  It used to be a house and retains a lot of the history of the home, and yet it's this quietly modern place with personality, and cozy decor.  There is a little jazz club area too and there is a fabulous singer performing.  The food is also fabulous.  I have these amazing tuna skewers and George has the tradional Penang favorite -- Char Koay Teow.  On our way out the other two couples dance some hustle to some disco tunes.  There are only two downsides to the experience.  One -- the smoke, such a shame, but it really does affect me now.  Two -- I accidentally ate mashed potatoes (the menu said pureed beans) I now have a hangover-like feeling through Monday!

Afterward we go salsa dancing at our usual spot: Hai Nam Town

Other random photos:

Regin on the pot -- we're trying so hard to make it a positive experience for him again.  We still haven't regained much of the ground we lost when we moved here, but at least he's willing to sit there again and occasionally 'go.'