Asia Holidays - Malasya

Malaysia was my first holiday place in Asia. Really good, and my proposal
myself go to somewhere different from China was filled. But difficult to find places around there completely different from China, you find them, but always you find quite a few things similar to China as China colonized almost all the countries in Asia, but still different culture, people are not so different physically as most of them are Chinese descendants, so they are not SO different, but Malaysian people are very nice and friendly.

But one thing that release me straight away was the majority of them speak English! What made feel really comfortable there.

There I stayed in Kuala Lumpur with a few friends that works for the Brazilian Embassy, their son had a girlfriend by the time that was Miss Malaysia, so top people there, was very nice these days I spent there, and I found out Malaysian is socially very divided by their country origins, they are divided by: Chinese-come from China and Chinese descendants, Indians come from India mostly are Muslims and the local ones the Malays,

It is very difficult to understand why they do segmented in these groups, but you can see it working when you walk in Kuala Lumpur and travel around the country, you have some areas that are for the Muslim, other for the Chinese , the Malays could mix better with all them.

For instance, I went to spend one week in a island in the east cost Pangkor Island and found out after arrived that most people in the island are Muslim.
I didn't think was a smart choice, but I was in holiday and I felt I must enjoy it and I did, but they couldn't believe I was there alone all the time they were asking me 'where is your husband?' after a while I started to feel uncomfortable there but this question happens also in other countries in Asia.

Lost in this world

Here I'm beginning again this blog. Well it is about my life living in 3 different countries around the world.

First one - England - UK. I lived there 3 years, doing my Masters Degree in Media and Arts.

Second one - Netherlands also knowed by Holland. I lived there for 3 years, trying life.

Third one - China. Lived there for 4 years, working.

I have a flickr website that I can say it is my visual diary, it is interesting you check out when you read the blog can explain visually a lot about Im writing here.

FLICKR : http://www.flickr.com/photos/raquelrna/

These blog is to explaining for me and for you this time in my life = 10 years, outside my home country. Why I spend 10 years living outside Brazil?

Im sure for many different reasons, the first one is I'm utterly curious about this world and the variety of different cultures and different views about life.

For me make sense start my steps from the last ones to the first ones, does it make sense for you? I hope so

Last last step... I was living and work in China and I decided to have holidays, my brother was living in Australia, Melbourne and why not? Was summer, beaches, sounded so perfect to me!!

I went there to find out I have Multiple Sclerosis - MS, by the time I never heard about this disease, but the doctors at the hospital in Australia said strongly ; ' don't go back to China' and I suggested Brazil and they said 'Perfect'.

And 'Go back home' it is what I did, and here I'm now, not very happy by the way, but this is another story.

How everything started

Here I'm back my hometown Brasilia and it is not being so nice, I have this disease, Multiple sclerosis, Im taking the injections that avoid you have attacks, but this the only good point to be back Brazil, I've trying to get work here and nothing, may be because I'm too specialized for Brazil, but I just tried in Brasilia, maybe I should go to bigger cities like Sao Paulo, but even there I'm not sure if I can find work.

Brazil developed a bit, it is true, but still a lot of work to be done to step up to a second world country, for me still a third world country.

Anyway without work and a life here?
I don't think I will stay longer here.

Anyway, my purpose for this blog, it is tell my story around the world

For me make sense start all from the last place I was living


CHINA!! Changzhou

China was a very interesting experience. Quite different from any culture I've ever imagine. And working teaching Interactive media for the Chinese guys was a great experience, I can say I would not go back to live there, but as a life experience was amazing, I've learned about the world and myself as person.

I've lived in 2 towns there: Changzhou and Shanghai, my first 2 years I spent living in Changzhou, teaching there for the same school - Raffles Design Institute.

Do they speak English? A little, they speak as much English as majority of the population in Brazil, almost nothing.

Did you need to learn Mandarin? No, I've always had a translator with me in the classes. All my classes always were in English.

But it was very interesting to see the interaction between me and the Chinese students, firstly they were coming to try to talk with me and of course I've answered in English and they look at me as they are understanding but NO!

But if you look their faces you think they are, this something I've learned from them; they never never can be ashamed! Its a very bad bad posture in China, I've heard about it, in all Asia, but I just perceived it in China.

Physical living conditions in Changzhou, first apartments I've lived there not very good, but after I situated myself there I found what is not too bad and cheap (it is cheap because Changzhou is a small town).

Life was not bad by this time, good apartment, good job ah I found a boyfriend, not Chinese, but French. Many foreigners going to China to work, as you get paid well and live well and for men you can have all those Chinese girls surround you. In my first year in China I completely hated all those girls, for me they were going around the foreigners, almost attacking them to have something with them, aarggghhh!!

And Im a woman, as anybody around the world, you can be alone for a while, but after a while we need to find a partner, someone to share life and in case Chinese men was not for me at all, but the foreigners were going to the Chinese girls aarrrgghh!!

Then luckily I found this French guy Ronan, he is working for a Belgium company in Changzhou.

We spent one year and a half together and it was a good relationship, I don't have complain about.

I had a few serious relationships lets say 4 or 5 ones, and this one with Ronan was a very good one, almost no arguments, we are very similar kind of people.

I can see after a few relationships that I'm stepping up in this aspect, has a evolution, you dont do the same mistakes and silly things that you did before, definitely a evolution and I can say that next relationship ( Ronan was the last one) will be better as I'm 37 years and all the time I'm learning better to deal with live, so....

Relationship, a man, a partner forever??? I sometimes miss it, but I ask myself. does it exist? I'm still checking out...

My problem is, I built up myself to be very independent, so after sometime specially after 30 years, you feel you need to settled down and stop somewhere alone?? Loneless is not nice now, it was a few years ago but now, I don't feel anymore in this way

But anyway it is just life, lets come back to my story.

I had a different experience with Ronan in Changzhou, may be just different for me; surprisingly one day going holiday with him to Hong Kong I found out I was pregnant.

I never expected this in my life but I didn't think was a bad situation, I was with a good job, good boyfriend, why not have the baby?

First thing that really scared me 'has a baby to live in China???!!!' Different culture etc...

But I didn't have time enough to think about it, I had a miscarriage in the second month of this pregnancy and then I felt really bad, that is normal and my relationship with Ronan started to go down to the hole.

I think now I should talk a bit about my holidays in Asia.
I didn't travel to all the countries in Asia just, Malaysia, Phillipinas and Thailand.
You can check the pictures in my FLICKR website, ah and in China I went to travel holiday in many towns